Traveling Pink

Ray and I went down to our home in NC this past weekend. It was a very restful trip. We don't go the way that our GPS  wants us to go. It wants us to go down HW 17 to New Bern and we go down HW 13/11 through Greenville. If we go the GPS way, we would get to drive through parts of The Great Dismal Swamp. Of course, there may be some better places to stop for a potty break. NC has never been a great place for that. We have a list of places that are acceptable to stop at.

It was really funny, Sunday on the way back, we stopped at a small grocery in Whaleyville. Not a fancy place at all, but the bathroom (not pretty) is reasonably clean. A lady and I stood there for about 10 minutes waiting to go in and she finally gave up and went to the Men's room. An employee came to the back and I told her I thought someone had taken up residence in there. She asked me if I saw someone go in there and I said "no, I was waiting because another lady was waiting and finally went into men's room". She tried the door and it was stuck. It came open and no one was there! I felt a little dumb, but the relief of having an empty restroom soon overrode that. When I came out, the other lady was coming out of the Men's Room. We had a good laugh about waiting for no one.

Of course, then I had to buy something, that is the least you can do when you have used the facility. No Diet Dr. Pepper, it was all gone. So I tried a Diet Mt Dew. How refreshing. I was really surprised. I have never had one before. Then I had to have Creole Cheese Popcorn. Not bad, a little hot thought. Ray liked them. Why do we feel obligated to spend money when all we want to do is use the bathroom? I guess it is just courtesy.

Another thing I have discovered when we have traveled, NEVER eat in a place that has a dirty restroom. Can  you imagine what the kitchen is like, if no one cleans the restroom. There is a difference between a clean restroom and a mess one. A clean restroom is clean (it may be a little messy from careless customers), but a dirty one has nastiness. Women definitely know the difference. It is pretty bad when you go into a place, you cannot even pee in. LOL!

I guess that is my soapbox complaint for the week. (Don't you hope so?)

Saturday, I went to Ft Barnwell Baptist Church for my granddaughter's Girl Scout Brownie  Meeting. It was a very good meeting. They made enough money again this year to take an overnight trip to one of the Amusement Parks within driving distance. Last year, they earned enough money to go to the Great Wolf Lodge and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg VA. They had a grand time. Also, there is a trip scheduled to go to the Washington Mall for the Flash Dance by the Girl Scouts to celebrate the 100th Anniversary. I was looking for the video of the instructions but cannot find it this morning.

I love Pinterest. Take a look at this. It is my nephew and friends "planking" in Kentucky. Thoughts of Family  By the way, if you want an invitation to Pinterest,  you need to send me a DM on Twitter with your email address or subscribe to me on Facebook.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

SOPA Pink

I may be just showing my ignorance, but I supported SOPA, I think. I am not sure exactly what it means but I do know that the government has too much control over almost everything in our lives. At least, we have free speech and can pretty much say what we want. We have the rights because a few hundred years ago, a bunch of Christians came over from Europe and founded a colony that is supposed to protect our speech and our basic human rights. That is kind of what Christianity is all about - Freedom. Freedom to worship, make our own decisions, say what we feel, and protest things that are not good for the majority of people.

Personally, I am offended by a lot of people on the Internet, druggies, hookers, jerks, etc. I am offended by the way they use the "F" word and other words that people tend to use when they cannot think of anything really intelligent to say. Why in the world would someone want to pose for a picture in the nude and then upload it to Twitter or Facebook where children can see their disgusting body parts. Or, why would they want to let the world know that they are so stupid that even though they were born in the USA, they cannot speak English. I am not talking about the English language, I am talking about those people that think that if they use the fewest letters they can in a word, everyone can understand what they are saying. I am not a medium, I cannot read your mind. Say what you mean in a language I can understand. The point is, if I don't like your language or nudity, I can delete you or block you. I really don't want to see your body parts or stupidity in my timeline. That is because this is the USA and I may not like your language or your morality, but I defend your right to do it. I don't think that it is proper in social media, but that is just my opinion.

I had a wonderful 30 hours. I went to a Doctor Appointment, and 2 Bible Studies yesterday. It was great. I picked my ladies at the Chesapeake and we had dinner at church. I got some housework done. It was very difficult not to turn on the computer, but I didn't. I thought I would turn it on at midnight, but instead, I went to bed early and had a great nights sleep. I probably spend too much time on the computer anyway.


We had quilting at church today. It was great. I found some new ways to cut and put things together from watching quilting videos on YouTube. I know that one night, I stayed up until 3am looking at quilting videos. There are all kinds of videos out there, you can learn just about anything you want to learn how to do on YouTube.

Rebecca started a basic drawing class on Tuesday evening. She had to take Benita, her mother who has Alzheimer's. Poor Benita was so miserable, I told Rebecca to come by and pick me up to ride with her and Benita can stay here and watch TV in a nice warm house. The gym was cold and kind of not a fun place to take a class. Imagine my surprise when I got there and the other 7 students in the class are all 9 years old. Well, I am a little older than that. They called me "Ms. Barbara" and called Rebecca "Miss Edwards." Actually, my grandchildren, twins Garrett and Taylor are 9 years old. So I got along well with the other students. And, I did learn a few things. Got to practice though.

I just got back on the Internet after I came home this afternoon and got dinner on. Wow, loads of email, Empire Avenue is crazy, Twitter is great, Facebook I haven't even looked at yet. I bet Farmville is stuffed with things to do. I know, you thought I quit Farmville, and I did, but I didn't delete it. I am playing catch up and will probably get out again soon. I just like to do it sometimes. It is just fun to do sometimes.

Well, that is my couple of days without computer. I am so tired I am probably  going to have to have a nap just to go on.

Love to you all,

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!

Pain Pink

Monday is Methotrexate day. Sunday, I took the Enbril shot. Every day I take Folic Acid  along with about 12 other pills each day. The only benefit I can see is my hands are not getting deformed. Yaaaaah! This Rheumatoid Arthritis is for the birds. Wish I had a bird I could give it to. LOL! No, I am nicer than that. I couldn't hurt a little bird like that. Everyone thinks that RA is just arthritis. That is really very far off the truth. It is an Autoimmune Disease, related to Osteoporosis, Lupus, and a myriad of other diseases. I do have Osteoarthritis in my knees. In face, I had shots in both knees this morning at the Knee Orthopedist office. Did you know that they have different orthopedists for each part of your body, back, knee, foot, hip, elbow, hand, shoulder, etc.? I have been to a hand doctor for a anular cyst on my right hand. He drained it and gave me a shot of cortisone in the palm of my hand and said it would not come back. The next day, it was back. Then my rheumatoid doctor shot it full of cortisone, and it is still there. It makes my hand hurt a lot. I think it is pressing on a nerve.

On a lighter note, Ray took me to York County and I signed up for a basic drawing class. My friend Rebecca is teaching. After we got home, I was replacing our coffee pot with one we bought at Walmart. I set it on the table while I was setting up the new one. I turned around to get it and it fell on the top of my right foot which immediately started to swell. I am sitting at my computer perch with the portable keyboard typing this. I have had a Vicodin, a cup of extra coffee from WaWa, and now am drinking a Dr. Pepper. I will be wired by the time my class starts at 6 p.m. I may call Rebecca and have her pick me up.

I just went into Triberr and approved all the bloggers in my Tribes. This is really a fun thing. Oh, and have you tried Pinterest. If you want, let me know and I will send you an invitation for Triberr or Pinterest. I could become obsessed with Pinterest. It is more fun than Farmville on Facebook. Triberr is great because it really gets your blog posts out there for people to see. I have had a lot more interest in this blog since I joined. I started a Tribe of my own called SweetTweets and I am going to tie it to my SweetTweetslifeplan.blogspot.com blog.

I just love @DabneyPorte on Twitter. If you know someone who would like to be a sponsor on the big Twitter #slumberparty from 11 p.m. - midnight every Friday. I would like to get some sponsors for this so I can become more involved with #SMGirlfriends (live 24/7) or #latteclub (live 24/7). Tonight at 10 p.m. EST is Social Media Manners (#smmanners).

Twitter chats involve using a #hashtag to bring everyone together in one column on either Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. Personally, I like Tweetdeck. I think it is because the background is darker with white print and is easier to read. All you have to do is click on the #hashtag and it automatically creates a column at the end. You just go there and press the arrow on the left at the bottom to bring it back to your normal screen so you don't miss anything there while you are in the #chat. We would love to see you there tonight or any Tuesday night.

Oh, and the #slumberparty is a place where you can win terrific gifts if we have a sponsor. I know @Udderly Smooth has sent me a lot of Udderly Smooth cream to share with my girlfriend who are making quilts for the children's hospital. Last Friday 5 ladies won purses from Rebagz.com They are just awesome. I am going to get one to take my art stuff to class. They have purses, computer bags, rolling bags, and all kinds of bags.

My foot is numb with cold now, at least it is not hurting, or I am just feeling no pain. Maybe Ray will drive me to class if Rebecca can't pick me up.

Midnight Stars

Check this out: http://pinterest.com/barbarapduke/sewing-and-quilting/ and take a look at some of my Pinterest stuff. This is one on quilts. I have Dream Home, My Style, My Virtual Puppy, etc. It really is fun.

Got to go get my stuff together for class, if I can walk, that is.

I love you all, and please remember:

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

(even when a coffee pot falls on your foot!)

Quilting & Slumberparty Pink

We met at the church to quilt today. It was a quiet day for us to learn some things. I spoke about finding all the quilting videos on YouTube and showed some of the things that I learned watching those videos. I made a small sample about 9" by 18", Lena worked on a quilt for her new great-grandbaby, and Judy worked on a binding for a quilt. We needed a small break to do our own thing today. We are starting today going to met every Thursday. I am thinking about creating the squares here and then we can put them together and quilt at church. If I can ever get the garage fixed into a craft room, it will be a dream come true. I need a place I can go to each day and get on some kind of schedule. I really need to feel like I am useful. The quilts put together in the picture are from the AIDS Quilt. The one in the lower left-hand corner is the one my mother created in memory of my brother, Paul L. Burns. Paul was in one of the first waves of people to die from AIDS in this country. That is when I became interested in quilting. So, when Judy asked me to join the Joy Quilters, it was a no-brainer. It helps to make me feel useful and also helps others. Since I believe that the only way to serve God is to serve others, this works for me.

Sometimes I wonder why I am writing this blog. People have joined and maybe even read it on a regular basis, but they comment very little. I am going to make an effort to leave comments on blogs in the future. The thing we need to remember about making comments is to be nice. There is a big difference between critique and criticism, but some people cannot seem to walk that fine line. If you are not positive in your critique, it comes off as criticism. Maybe I need to print this out so I won't forget.

I watched the People's Choice Awards last night and really enjoyed them. I think I will watch the Awards show this weekend with Ricky Gervase. I have been watching all the interviews this week of people who are nominated. Dolly Parton is one of my favorites and so is Queen Latefah. We will see.

#Slumberparty last Friday was awesome. We all had so much fun and the hour just went by so fast. Our sponsor had bags. Can you believe it? One of my favorite things, purses. @Rebagz was there with BAGS, PURSES, COMPUTER BAGS, MONEY BAGS, etc. Eco-friendly purses. Try http://rebagz.com/ and see some of the wonderful designs by award-winning designer, Marty Heebner.

FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/Rebagz

Us gals and guys at Twitter's Friday night #Slumberparty from 11pm-Midnight EST

Come join the magnific @dabneyporte and @mamabritt for a wonderful FUN time.

We have virtual food, drinks, and throw virtual silly string and water balloons. A great time is had by all!

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

By the way, I am not rewarded with any goods or services for my little ads of businesses promoted by the #Slumberparty. I do it because I love the people who attend and want them to win wonderful gifts and have a good time. I have even hosted on occasion when things are going on and there is no sponsor. If you or someone would like to be a sponsor, please contact me and I will set it up for you. 

Love you all!

     

Blood PINK

It seems I am always having blood tests. One last Friday for Coumadin check, today for appointment w/cancer Doc next week, one later in the week for Rheumatologist appointment next week. I feel like a pincushion. Why so many? My doctors don't all belong to the same group so they cannot see tests from other doctors. The Cancer Center is part of the major hospital group that I belong to, so all of their doctors can see my tests, but those outside of my group cannot. They have to rely on people faxing them with the info. They may fax today, or next week, or not at all. I am surprised the insurance companies don't make them transfer them electronically. I am sure that this adds to billing with all these duplicates. Oh, I forgot about the doctors offices that have their own little labs. 

Then think about the x-rays. When I had pneumonia, I was in the hospital in New Bern NC for 10 days. Do you think the x-rays taken there were sent to my primary care doctor who is responsible for my major care? A summary was sent that was the opinion of the doctor who saw them in NC. While I was there, I saw almost every doctor in town, except the fertility docs and pediatricians. They agreed I had pneumonia, but there was another thing that they could not figure out. When I came home to VA, I was put back in the hospital and all the same kinds of doctors came to see me. All the same x-rays, blood tests, etc. There were gastro, pulmonary, heart doctors involved. Even my vein doctor became involved. He was so concerned, he had them do a full body scan to see if there was any cancer involved in my bones (it was after I was declared cancer-free from my cancer doctor).

I am finding out now that the term "cancer-free" does not mean that it won't come back. I met a lady the other day who has had 2 lumpectomies previously and now has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She was at the cancer center to speak with her cancer nurse to set up her chemotherapy appointments. Evidently, once you have had cancer there is a pretty strong possibility that it will come back. I know this is not a popular opinion and it is just my own. No one tells you this when they tell you that you are "cancer-free." It doesn't mean "cancer-free" forever.

By the way, all three times she has had cancer, she found it herself just like I did. So, please remember that self-examination is so-o-o-o important!

Anyway, in keeping with my own positivity, I declare me "cancer-free." So, I will keep getting stuck like a pin cushion for as long as it takes.

I think that when I had breast cancer, it had been caused by extreme stress instituted by a very unprofessional bully boss. Then when he retired, the new boss was nice but the bully spoke to him at lunch the first day he was in the office and declared me an incompetent person. It was strange because, the boss I had before him was very positive and loved my innovation and dedication to my work. He praised me constantly and provided me with training that involved sending me to California and Seattle occasionally.

When he retired, the bully boss came. He didn't like the previous boss, so therefore, he did not like me. Luckily, I had become friends with the region chief, who became one of the top people in the agency. I called him on occasion or emailed him with info about what was going on at his request. I even went to personnel about the bully occasionally. I think he finally retired when he was told to retire of get fired. Not a good situation. He had demeaned me so much in the office that the other employees began to believe him. I was at my wits end and when the time came that I could retire, I did.  I thought I could get another job and continue to work but once I got settled down enough to look for another job, I had cancer. Tell me stress doesn't harm your health. Over three years later, I am still not doing so well.

If you are in a situation where you are being bullied, get out, any way you can. Life is too short to let others bully you. At the same time all this was going on, I was ordained as a deacon in my church and I became lead usher. I was elected President of my Lions Club 2 times and held positions in my Woman's Club and NAP Unit. I have never had anything even comparable to happen to me in my life. I am not stupid and have a reasonably high IQ. I am a nice person who lives to help others, because I believe that the only way to serve God is through service to others. Why do you think that this man had such evil notions toward me?

Personally, I think that it is because he is a part of LDS (Mormon). He knew that real Christians believe that LDS is a cult. We believe that they have gone against specific Bible tenants about not believing in new prophets after Christ. We believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and cannot be replaced by fairy tales of being gods of planets and such (I have read the book of Morman-which has had over 4000 revisions since originally printed). They also don't have much respect for women. So, even though I think of myself as a Conservative, I cannot in good conscious vote for a Mormon for any office, just as I would not vote for a Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, Scientologist, etc.  (I have also read the Koran, and many books about religions)

Here I am on my soapbox again. I really don't like to do that. If you want to quit following me, go ahead. I didn't say I didn't love them, I just wouldn't vote for them.  As a child of the one true God, I love you all. 

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

EAT LESS - MOVE MORE PINK

On my SweetTweets LifePlan Blog I issued a challenge on Jan 5. Eat Less, Move More. Click on the link a take a peek. It doesn't require a diet, just common sense. The reason that I decided to start this is because everywhere you turn, someone is talking about diets. We need to learn how to live. "Live-it" as Richard Simmons used to say.

I am having a wonderful time. I went to PT this morning and zipped right through it. After I got home, lots of leg cramps. That is what I get for trying so hard. I am praying to get me back. I am not sure that I will ever reach that point again. Rheumatoid Arthritis is an awful thing.

And, even when they tell you that you that you are cancer free, the cancer word keeps coming back into your brain. Then you hear about people that are survivors, and then you hear that cancer was found in another part of their body and metastasis. It is always there hanging over your head, no matter how positive you try to be or think. They just don't tell you this could happen again.

We didn't have quilting today because we are having Port at our church this week. Each week a local church gives the homeless dinner, a place to sleep, and breakfast. They have mats, pillows, and blankets that are carried around to the churches and used each night. I haven't heard how many we have this year. It has been so cold, I am sure glad they are not out on the streets. We are not allowed to preach to them or try to convert them in any way unless they specifically ask for help in understanding the life of a Christ-follower. It is an awesome ministry. We have seen many people who have changed their lives and we have helped them to reach a new level. They have places to live and jobs. You cannot help everyone, mainly because some of them don't want any help, either from pride or just plain stubbornness. They get  their 2 hot meals and a place to sleep.

Every Thursday throughout the year, we have Need A Meal. It is a dinner for anyone who needs a meal. There are no qualifications to come to it. There are some homeless, but there are also people who are retired on fixed incomes, or single moms with children. If prayer is your thing, please pray for these people that are visiting First Baptist Church of Newport News this week.

I have been trying to get my house in order. You know what they say. "You can eat an elephant, one bite at a time." So, I am working on my house, one little step at a time. Lots of rest breaks which are mostly spent right here on the computer. It is the sorting that drives you nuts. I did get the Christmas things down today, packed up, and put in the shop. I bought clear plastic boxes to put things in so I could see what is in them without opening them up. If you pack things in cardboard boxes, you end up with mice or bugs. Plastic also keeps things from smelling musty or dusty.

By the way, you know the nice looking coat hangers that are coated in felt so that clothes won't fall off, they are one of the biggest scams around. If you hang a coat on them, the weight of the coat will take the hanger part separate from the rest of the hanger and there is no way to fix it. They are just something to fill the land-fills with. For Pete's sake, don't waste your money.

If you have something that you know doesn't work, let me know by putting it in comments. I will check it out and we will try to make sure that other people don't get scammed.

Lets have fun with this. Love you all.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME 

Beginning 2012 Pink

Here we are into the New Year and I am falling behind already. I have been having trouble keeping food down. I am not sick with the flu or anything. I think it is because over the holidays, I ate things that I shouldn't, now I don't feel good. My tummy is upset and legs are swelling. Got to get over this. The only way is to start eating right like I am supposed to.

My house need a good cleaning, but I cannot really do that until I get some stuff out of here. I am beginning to feel like a hoarder. I put things by the back door in the kitchen for Ray to take out and I don't think he has taken anything out to the shop in 6 months. I hate to keep reminding him. Is that what women do, we just get tired of asking and start doing it ourselves. Now I am not able to do it myself and Ray doesn't know he is supposed to do it. Go figure. I am not a nag and just hate to have to keep reminding him. He says he forgot. My problem is that when I ask someone to do something, I expect them to do it now. That doesn't happen with Ray, he is busy and will do it later. Only, later never comes. Then I ask why he didn't do it, he says I never asked him to do it. Are all men like this? I am not really complaining, I hope. Ray is one of the most wonderful men I have ever met. He has a strong faith in God, very even tempered, and one of the sweetest men you would ever want to meet. Not to mention, he is a hard worker and he can DANCE!

I had such a great time in NC. I almost feel guilty. I was by myself, no computer the first few days. I didn't have to cook or do anything I didn't want to do. Just think. I didn't even watch a lot of TV. I did read and enjoyed it immensely.

Charles Ladson

This past Friday, a friend in our Sunday School passed away. The wife, Lou, was in Williamsburg at her brothers and Charles was at home. The weather was so nice that he went out into the yard and was cleaning it up some. They live near the water with some very tall trees in their yard. There are always twigs to pick up. He was cutting a small tree coming up and a limb fell out of a really tall tree. It broke his back in 2 places. The neighbors heard him calling and called the Rescue Squad. Lou drove up about the time they got there. They got him to the hospital and were going to operate. The doctor said he would never walk again and went to prepare for the surgery. He came back a few minutes later and told Lou that Charles was gone. She had a chance to speak to him in the ambulance, but he was in so much pain.  We went to Peninsula Funeral Home and just got home. There were so many people there paying their respects. It makes you wonder. I know where Charles is, he was a devout Christian. He is with the Lord.

If you were to die today, where would you be? I know where I will be. I hope to see you there in the future.

GOD is Good, ALL the time!