Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A thought

I wander around the blogs that I like to visit and believe me, there are many. I love their goodies and am constantly looking for freebies and ideas. I see all the awards that are passed around and I begin to wonder...if they are just passed and passed, do they really mean anything? And, I leave comments to artists that I really like, sometimes and often, I ask them questions. To date, I have received 1 answer to the questions I have left, and I have left several.
Don't people read their comments? Don't they care about their readers?
I am begining to wonder and that makes me sad!
Mental out

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Breezy Monday!

Well, today was not an ordinary Monday to say the least! LOL I went to work. It was really freezing out and we even had some snow in the wee hours. So, I wore my fav pants, black corduroys that are really snuggly! It was dark and rainy by the time I left however the ride in was fine. I was feeling a bit sleepy and wiggling an awful lot in my chair to keep awake. After 3 cups of coffee, a Diet Orange and a Mt. Dew, I was making several trips to the ladies room and no closer to waking up. Late in the morning, about 11:40am, I was just coming back and plopping back down into my chair when I heard a strange sound. Actually, I had been hearing it all morning but couldn't figure out what it was. This time however it was a bit louder. I said to myself, "that sounds like a ripping of cloth sound." but, I paid it no mind and went back to my task. After a moment, I noticed that my... behind was feeling quite a draft! I had been getting chillier and chillier but, I thought the temp was dropping. Well, something was dropping indeed but, it wasn't the temperature!! My bottom was now down right COLD! I reached around to warm it up a bit by pulling my coat further over my chair. That's when I felt it....a soft, snuggly piece of material. I couldn't quite figure this out...then, I felt my behind...felt icey cold skin and panties!! NOT the warm, soft material that was supposed to be there!! I jumped up! The whole bottom of my pants had ripped out!! Horizontally and were working there way vertically now!! Think of those old drop bottom jammies!! Yep, my bottom was exposed to all the elements and co-workers in the whole office!! Not only that, I had to walk from the back of the office to the front where my boss's office is to tell her I had to go home! AND, explain why! OMGssshhh!! I was mortified!! Then, I had to go down from the second story of the office building, across to the other side of the complex and across the whole parking lot!!!! No, my coat did NOT cover it as it had ripped to wide and long by now! Believe it or not, not one sole saw me! Or if they did, they didn't say a word!
My snuggy cords are now in the rag pile and another Monday goes down in Mental history for another blonde moment!
Mental out....LMBO...for REAL!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Jacqueline's Interview of Mental

Jacqueline wants to know.....
1.How long have you been using PSP, PS? PSP? I have been using PSP for about 8 yrs now. I have dabbled in PS and look forward to learning and using it more! I would be lost without my PSP tho! I LOVE it!
2. How did you get into making tags, scrapkits? I got an enail years ago that had a sig tag in it! I fell in love and wanted to learn how to do that! I joined HGH aka Heather's Graphix Haven (closed) and began to learn. I formed my own PSP list with some friends, then, opened my own list and invited Jacq to co-own when I met her...Whimz & Wishez. The rest is history!
3. Who`s your fave artist? OMGshhh, I literally have TONS and TONS of favs! Jody Bergsma, Susan Comish, Jonathon Bowser, Alan Ayers, Jim Warren, Bergkvist..TONS! So many I forget them all!
4.Who`s your favorite Scrap Designer? Like above, I really do have tons of favs! You should see all the sites I have bookmarked! I really love Melissa from Sentimental Style, Sunf from UrbanFairyTales, Seaschell, Alexa, Shawna from Scrap Stuff with PSP, and sooo many more! There are some really awesomely talented people creating!
5. Which three blogs do you visit everyday? I Love blogs and Jaqc's always has wonderful stuff on it! I try to get there atleast once a day and hit the others that I have bookmarked as often as I can! I visit all the ABCD blogs of course, and my own. LOL
Now, I am supposed to send this to 3 others...well, seems most all are hit that I visit so, am breaking the chain here! Sorry Jacq! LOL Thank you tho!! I loved being 'interviewed'! :O)~
Mental Out!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

A HUGE Thank You!!

My wonderful and awesome friend, Denise, taught me how to change my blog layout!! I am so thankful!! I goofed it at first and lost my ad placements/htmls but, I just put new ones on. I did my own design, LOL, it's my very first so, please, bare that in mind while viewing. I also had to change my font coloring but, I just love the thought that I can change the background any time now!! I can't wait to learn how to change the Title Header pic now!! Wooohooo!! I got the tubes I used in this design from a scrap kit called: "Growing Pumpkins" I am not sure who the creator is but, if you know, please contact me so that I can give them credit!
I have my second design already to go and am dedicating it to Denise...shhhh...it's a surprise and I really hope she likes it! Here is a preview:


Nothing fancy...but, it's from the heart! The preview is kinda funky here but, I guess you get the idea. Thank you, Denise!! You are so AWESOME!!

Mental out

Freecycle Organization

I have the link to the group I was telling you about! To find the group in your area, please go to this website:
http://www.freecycle.org/
Hope it works for you!!

Mental out

This and That

It's a gorgeous Saturday morning, a chill in the air and the sun is just starting to peek out from the horizon. I have great hopes that today will be a wonderful day!
I am choosing not to stress over money worries today! Now, that may be easier said than done but, I am going to work on it.
I joined a new Yahoo group about a week ago, it's called Freecycle.com and it is awesome! You sign up for your area and then people post with free stuff they want to offer or things they are looking for. It's like having a yard sale every day! It's well worth finding one in your location! When I know the exact name for it, I will post it for you.
I am off to work on WW now, get some stuff done for the list and see where the day leads.
Till next time....
Mental out!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

What doesn't kill you makes you...hurt like heck!

Tonight I had a friend call me and she was very upset. She is hurting so badly that she could not even think and to be honest, I believe she was in a state of shock. It wasn't a physical hurt but an emotional hurt. Let me give you some background...
My friend is in a really bad relationship, the kind you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. She is 'stuck' in that relationship due to financial reasons and I honestly believe that right now, there is no way out for her. She is doing everything possible to get out of it however. This last year has been a very turbulent and painful year for her. She met this person, a person that she absolutely fell head over heels for but, didn't see a way to have a relationship with this man because of the state of her own situation plus, she wasn't sure if this man felt the same way she did. Anyway, she ended up moving away from this man, and then finding out that he felt the same, or he indicated that he did. So, here she was, miles from this man, feeling as if he was her knight in shining armor and not knowing how in the world to get back to him. He as all she thought about. He was everything she dreamed of. So, she put a plan in motion, get a job, save some money and get out of the current relationship, move back to the area she had left and start a 'real' relationship with this man. She believed that he felt the same and was going to wait for her, meantime, they would have an 'email' relationship. Apparently, he didn't feel the same. She told me that he told her never to write him again, that the "rollercoaster world" she lived in was too painful to him and he needed something 'real'. My friends' whole world came crashing down, again, in 2 lines of an email.
The thing is, she told me that he was right, that her life was a rollercoaster! She has been recently diagnosed with 2 magor illnesses and has been fighting those, she lost her job, and is in this awful relationship that she is desperatly fighting to get out of. This other man was her lifeline I think, her hope for a better future and her last final belief in love, that love really does exist. She has now lost that last bit of hope she was clinging to and her self esteem, gone, totally and unquestionably gone. She told me that she understood that this other man could not possibly love someone like her, she had too much baggage, was too fat, too old and too sick. How could she ever have believed that he would wait for her? She said that she had put unrealistic expectations on their relationship, that she had not meant to but, that she had. She believed that the only way to keep their relationship alive and well was to communicate thru email since that was all she had. She had told him her thoughts. She emailed him but, he never really had the time to email her back and she constantly told me that he was just too busy with drama in his own life. I told her that should have been a clue. She agreed. I told her that life IS a rollercoaster! Some days are up and some are not! Sometimes we all expect too much. Sometimes we all say things we don't really mean in the heat of the moment or even do things we wished we never did but, that is how human beings are! I told her that if it had really been love, he would have 'talked' to her and not simply emailed her a 'Dear Jane' email. That, of course, is the easy way out. I told her that I believe that he did not have the love level she did nor the committment level that she did and yes, she did put too many expectations on him. She thought he was the most awesome man she had ever met, that he was funny, intelligent and gorgeous! I told her well, then he sounds too good to be true. Then she said, yeah, I guess he was. I built him up and there was no where for him to go but down. She said she just regrets that he didn't care enough to talk to her about his concerns or anything else. I agreed, that was sad and perhaps, he gave up just too easily on something really special.
Ah well, I believe that my friend will heal in time. I don't believe however that she will trust again and maybe, just maybe, she will never let her heart get away from her again but, she will live. After all, a broken heart may hurt worse than the physical abuse she lives with but, it won't kill her......
Mental out

Friday, October 3, 2008

Testify

Well, I have been meaning to get back here, to catch up with all but, life really got in the way. Where to start...
The last 2 weeks or so have been...gosh, it's hard to find the words. I guess I will start at the beginning...
I got a call from the Mer Monster, for those of you that don't know, Mer is my 14 year old daughter. She is..stubborn, intelligent, talented, beautiful and a pain in my rear end! LOL She is my baby girl, what can I say. Mer called me and she told me that she needed to talk to me, that she had 'done something'. Let me tell you, I have heard these words before but, there was something in her tone of voice that cause a HUGE pit to form in my stomach! I was silent. She told me that she and a group of her friends had been 'playing this game', that she had 'hurt herself'. Even tho it registered somewhere in my brain what she was telling me, it didn't register in some ways. I know that's hard to explain, and understand. She continued and told me that she wasn't hurt that badly and that she had 'snapped' before she had done too much damage. Ok, I was freaking and trying really hard to keep it together all at the same time while listening and picturing this beautiful little girl 'hurting' herself. By 'hurting' I mean stabbing and cutting. These kids who love each other, were doing this to themselves AND each other. Why? Because they hurt so much 'inside' that the pain to the exterior makes them feel better!! Yes, we have all heard of this and these 'cutters' but, WE NEVER THINK OUR KIDS ARE THOSE KIDS! I am here to tell you that THOSE kids are OUR kids! Yours, mine and ours! It doesn't matter if you are black, white, pink or purple; rich, poor or inbetween; it doesn't matter what school they go to, who they hang out with, what clubs they are in or who their Mommy and Daddy's are! They are ALL kids and they are OUR kids! Get a clue people! Our kids are crying out for help! Depression is a HUGE problem with our children!! YOU need to know what your child is doing, saying and what their friends are doing and saying! You need to wake up and pay attention! I was so lucky that my daughter snapped and called me for help! Every day, other parents are not so lucky and they are getting a call from someone else, someone telling them that their child killed themself! Please take some time to research teen depression and the EMO culture that is alive and well....for lack of better words, in our kids lives today! Before it's too late for your child, you and your family. If you have time to read these words, you have time to read about teen depression!
Ok, sorry for yelling but, sometimes ya gotta wake some folks up.
Now, some good did happen during these painful two weeks as well. Last week, I was walking into Church, Granger Community Church which is now our full flegded home church, and as I was sitting down, I heard a rather loud determined voice say, "So, I am worth less than your dirty clothes." Now, I looked around, kinda startled, and embarrassed at the same time. See, I had been thinking that I had some money in my purse...2 piles actually. One pile was a 5 dollar bill with 3 ones, and the other was a 20 dollar bill I was saving for laundry. I wanted to know who heard this voice and how did the voice know I was going to save the 20 for laundry and only give the 8 dollars to the church plate. As I looked and noticed that nobody else heard the voice, I began to realize with my head what my heart knew the instant I heard that voice. I KNEW exactly who said those words...God. I KNEW it. Plain and simple and let me tell you, it was like when you were a child and being scolded by your parent!! I was embarrassed and ashamed, right to the core! I felt soooooooo bad that I can't tell you! And let me tell you that when the church plate came 'round, I couldn't get that 20 bucks in there quick enough! Phewww! It was a relief too!
After I put the money in the collection plate, I turned to my husband to explain why I had given our laundry money. I told him I would explain it better in the car...I didn't want anyone to hear me and think me totally insane, but, that I just had to. He simply smiled and said, "I was thinking that we should give that 20 anyway." I told him later on, about God speaking to me and he didn't even think me crazy a bit. He said he didn't hear God but, he knew God wanted us to give that money.
Just a few days later....worrying about how we were going to pay for repairs to our car and get some food and pay some bills...we got a phone call telling us to come trade in our broken car for a new one...no money down, we got a check in the mail from my blogging for 120.00$ and my hubby got a brand new XBox to replace his that had failed. Now, you tell me that obeying God doesn't pay!! J has been testifying like a mad man all week to the guys at work and anyone that he can get to stop for a second and listen! It's crazy! lol He said tonight...God said follow me and I am saying follow me to God! Let me tell you folks, when God speaks to you, YOU KNOW it! You might ignore it and try to rationalize it away but, YOU KNOW IT! My daughter asks me how do you know when God talks to you? I answer her this way...you know that little voice in your head that says, you know you shouldn't have done that?...well, that's God. I know that isn't really explaining it right or correctly maybe but, it's simple and honest. We know when we do right and wrong, plain and simple. God isn't this huge mysterious creature somewhere, He's plain and simple...He's God. You know Him and you feel Him. He is alive and He is in your life. You may not know it, you may not like it but, it is. When I explain to her the way I do, she gets this look in her eyes like a light bulb went off and usually says oh yeah! She knows, just like you and I know and, just like God knows! So, from a simple and plain woman like me to you...check God out, you really won't be sorry!
Before my hubby was saved, he used to ask me things like "how do you know there's a God" "how do you know God talks to you" "how can you be so sure?!?!" I couldn't explain it well, I don't have the words. I would simply tell him how I found God, my experience and how I felt and feel. I told him, I don't have the words to tell you but, I simply know. I mean look at it this way, if I am wrong, what have I lost? But, if you are wrong...what have you lost? I would rather believe and be wrong than not believe and be wrong!! If I believe and I do, I get to spend enternity in heaven. If I am wrong, and I am not, then, what, I go to sleep forever and ever. If you are right, you get to sleep too but, if you are wrong.....well, we know where you get to spend eternity! So, what side would you rather be on? Me, I am betting on the Big Guy! lol Besides, once you know how awesome God is, you can't go back! God kicks butt! The feeling that God gives is a million times better than anything you have ever tried! I call it the God High! It's amazing! It makes you all silly and giggly and hungry. No, it's not weed, it's the God High! You get silly with joy, giggly with knowing you are saved and hungry for more of God! Hubby and I are 'baby Christians', we are still learning about God and wow, we are hungry to know more! Every single Sunday after the church service is ending we are already looking forward to next Sunday and wishing it was here already! We hunger for knowledge of God! We thirst for Him and want to learn everything we can! It's overwhelming how much we want God in our lives! We can't get our fill of God! LOL
Anway, I invite you, if you live anywhere around Mishawaka, Indiana, to check out Granger Community Church and to check out God, you won't be sorry...and hey, tell Him that the dirty laundry lady sent you, He'll know who you mean. *smiles*
Till next time....
Mental out