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!

END OF YEAR PINK?

Check out this site: Modlandusa Article: Are You a Twitter Snob?
This is my response:

"Good article to a point. There are also those of us who don't have an agenda. I tweet because I love to. I have been on Twitter since March 2009 and my friends have seen me through a lot of illness and were always there praying for me, giving hope when I felt hopeless. I am not selling anything other than encouragement, joy, and God, not necessarily in that order.

I use Tweepi to delete people who are essentially gone from Twitter. I follow anyone who is clothed and doesn't use profanity. Personally, I prefer to see people on my TweetDeck who are dressed and swearing is offensive. I am eternally searching for those who need friends. I have spoken on the phone with people in the middle of the night when they are troubled. I like to think I have helped in some way."

Dear Friend, I hope you know that I am not a Twitter Snob. I follow everyone. I really don't care how many followers you have. If you are a reasonably nice person who is intelligent enough to converse without profanity, I want you on my timeline. It is that simple. 

Tweepi.com is a great way to delete people who don't think enough of others to follow them back, or people who are only trying out Twitter and haven't tweeted in months (or years). I will be using Tweepi over the next few days to clean up my timeline. 

This is the end of 2011 and I am glad to see it go. It has been a year of innumerable tragedies. There have been so many natural disasters, it breaks my heart to even think about. There have been so many political careers that have been destroyed by their own stupidity, and so many celebrities who use their celebrity to act totally idiotic.

There have been incredible people who have helped others and done more good in the world in one year than most people do in their lifetime.

We have lost a lot of good people to death and a lot of really bad people too. Sometimes it makes you stop and consider your own mortality. Are you ready to meet your maker? I know that I am, do you? As a Christian, I am taught that there is only one way to Heaven, through Jesus Christ. This is what I truly believe. 

"I would rather live my life as if there was a God and die to find there isn't, than to live my life like there was no God and die to find there is. Albert Camus"

This makes a lot of sense if you really think about it. What have you got to lose? Okay, I will quit preaching. 

I love you all and pray for you collectively every day. You have become an extended family and your life really means something to me. You don't need to be a Christian to follow me, I don't discriminate, I love you all. 

Have a Happy New Year and may you be prosperous and joyful.

Tweet Love To You  (#TL2U)

Barbara

Santa Claus PINK

Holiday Romance in the Keys ~ The Diva Gets Engaged!

This is the big story, my dear friend, Dabney Porte got engaged to Vic Maranto (@DabneyPorte & @VicMaranto on Twitter).
As we vacationed in the Keys at the beautiful Hawks Cay resort, my family and I were surrounded by all things fabulous! This resort is simply amazing. Even more amazing and romantic is . . . . (click on link above)
Vic still had on his Santa Hat. Such a cute couple. I pray for the very best for them and their family.

Home Again
We are back home in Virginia. I had a lovely week in North Carolina. The weather was mild and it didn't feel like Christmas until I woke up one morning with frost on the windshield. There were so many decorations to put up. Garrett and Taylor counted over 100 Santa Claus' in the great room. There was so much red. I had chosen a lovely red shiny paper to wrap with. I usually use the same paper for everything. I wrapped a lot of presents and still had a little left over. Last year I used red and white pinstripe and I had some of that left to mix with the current paper. It made some beautiful LARGE candy looking pieces for those round or odd shaped gifts. I used most of my boxes on my daughter's presents and ran out myself. I will definitely purchase more boxes next year.

Ray took me down and went back to VA on Sunday. I stayed by myself most of the time. The grands did spend the night on Tuesday. They are afraid to stay there because there is no telephone. Our cells seldom work there. I had a phone installed on Thursday before Christmas with Internet and Ray came that night. I first asked for phone and the girl said "$23.95." So I asked about Internet, she said. "$39.95." I said I didn't want to pay that much since we are not there but 2 or 3 days a month. Then she said, "If you get the Internet, the phone is free!"  I said, "Sign us up!" It took a week to get it installed and I had to become a computer expert again to get the Internet working with my computer. Everywhere you go, things are different.

So, now I guess I will stop telling everyone I am going to Verizon Wireless Purgatory when we go to our NC Get-Away. Although, having a land-line doesn't make the cell phone work. We have a dish from my daughter's so we do have TV most of the time.

I certainly missed my friends on Twitter and Facebook, mostly the Twitter friends. I still haven't been on Google Plus enough to get used to it and LinkedIn is too professional for me. I am behind on my blog posting for Triberr, but will catch up today. Twitter seems so much more "in time" for me. I guess because I don't chat on other venues.

I wish I had pictures of the week in NC, but I don't right now. My daughter will be sending me some, I hope.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

Holidays Pink

The Singing Christmas Tree at our church went very well. Pastor Seley said they estimated at least 1500 people showed up over the 3 days. It was a lot of fun with cookies, hot cider, hot chocolate, and lots of singing. Joyeaux Noel!

I bought myself this little Clap Camera on Amazon. It is so small, it looks like a usb thumb drive. It didn't come with the Micro SD Card that it needs, so I haven't been able to take any pictures yet.

Photo and Movie Feature, 2 MP

Utilizes Micro SD Card up to 16GB (Not included) (I evidently didn't notice this)

Plugs directly into your USB

For Windows and Mac, No Driver needed

1280 x 1024 Resolution, Fine Glass Lens

I cannot wait to get the card to put in it.

I hope that everyone is doing well. I have been going to physical therapy for about 5 weeks now. They are wearing me out. For some reason I am more nervous lately and my regular doctor has upped my nerve medicine. I took two a day for the past week and I have been having a problem driving, so I think I am going back to one a day. I ran a red light at least into the middle of the street. My car has very good brakes. And, the people with the green light did too. Later that day, I almost side-swiped someone. When I went to my therapist yesterday, I had to be extra careful. I have only taken one today and my head feels clearer already. I think being depressed is better than having a wreck.

I am going down to stay in NC over Christmas. Ray is taking me down to our house tomorrow and coming back to finish up his work before Christmas. It will give me some time to get caught up with my present wrapping, cleaning, shopping, etc. My daughter lives about a mile away and I can use her car or go shopping with her. I don't know my way around there well enough to go very far by myself.

I have a very poor connection when I am down there since we don't have a land line. If I go to my daughter's with the laptop, it is ok, but they don't understand my being on the computer a lot. Most people don't. The reason I am saying this is that I probably won't be on line much for the 10 days I plan to be gone. It might be good for me. I have become a couch potato with laptop attached. I really like tweeting. I like Facebook alright, and Google+ is just okay. I guess I should try it more, but I just cannot see the point yet. I am sure the kinks are being worked on.

I have joined Triberr. It helps to get your blog out to more people and I do have a bigger following and more people reading the blog since I started. If anyone who has a blog would like an invite, let me know. I am starting my own tribe. Also, you can join 10 tribes, a different account for each and get lots sent out. I am still working it out. Nothing is automatic. Just about the time I got if figured out, they had to take out the automatic feature at Twitter's request.

If for some reason, I don't get back on here before Christmas, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.
Just remember: Jesus is the Reason for the Season

God is Good, All the Time; All the Time, God is Good!

Singing Christmas Tree Pink

First Baptist Church of Newport News will have the "Singing Christmas" Tree starting on Friday night this week and will continue through Sunday night Dec 9-11, 2011. It will be outside in front of the church where the great big tree is. Reverend Dennis Adams  will be leading the singing with the various choirs and groups at First Baptist. The public is invited to attend. I have it on good authority that there will be hot apple cider and cookies. The time is 7:00 p.m. Bring friends for fun and fellowship. 

As Virginia's #1 Tweet, I hope to see you there. Please come up and say HELLO!

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

Sunday Rest Pink

Me and Ray

I am blogging, Ray is watching the Redskins play the Jets and reading the paper. He keeps reading to me about the sales. Why is the only time he really wants to talk when I am blogging.

We went to church this morning and I was the Lead Usher for the first service. Sandra took over so I could leave before the second service. I wasn't feeling too well. I may be a little depressed. I have been the Lead Usher for 5 or 6 years and now all of a sudden, I was asked to resign so someone else could do it for a while. I really didn't want to, but you just don't argue with God. There must be something that He has in the plan for me that will take away the hurt that I have felt because of this. I said a couple of times that if someone else would step up, I might be persuaded to give it up. Well, I guess the nominating committee found someone to do it. They never called and asked me if I wanted to stay on and help out. But, then I guess it will be easier for that person taking over, to do so without me in the wings.

Garrett and Taylor

I used to walk around the sanctuary to greet and hug people before the service. I know some of the elderly probably don't get a hug all week. So, I guess that is what I will do for a while. Meanwhile, I am going to take a couple of weeks and go to North Carolina and stay, so I can enjoy my grandchildren. I know my Sunday Bible Class will be glad to see me again.

Mother, Pat, Cindy, Jeremy

I still need some help in my house. I went into the upstairs in the shop yesterday and brought some Christmas Items out, but I am not going to do a lot. (Just enough to make me feel like Christmas is coming!) I just love Christmas. I love giving gifts much more than I do receiving them. I try really hard to get something that I think the person really wants and will not re-gift. My mother-in-law from my first husband is the original re-gifter. I always like to give her something that is personal, like a book. I even inscribe it. I still give her something, even though her son has been gone about 7 years and I haven't been married to him in almost 25 years. I always told her that I didn't divorce her, just him.  She is a real sweetie and I love her dearly.

Mother and Taylor

Karch, Jason, Heather, Tabitha

Speaking of mothers, my mother, Bertha, was doing well when I saw her at Thanksgiving. We were all at my brother's and it was so very nice there. Everyone had plenty of room and the children had a ball in the Movie/Play Room downstairs. They guys even enjoyed the play room, since part of it had a pool table. Most of the ladies took turns putting together a jigsaw puzzle. We didn't get finished but it was on the game table in the basement, so it may be there to finish when we go back. (I hope).

Jesse and Bryan in kitchen

I have been having fun on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and Google+. I just love all the wonderful people in my streams. Only occasionally, do I come upon someone who makes me pause. If someone is not nice, uses profanity, or is undressed in their Avatar, they are gone from my stream. I have a low tolerance for fools. LOL! I try to follow all who follow me, Sometimes Twitter hiccups and won't let me follow any more until I un-follow some, so I use Tweepi.com to see who has not tweeted in the past couple of months, and un-follow them. That way, I can follow people who will actually engage.

It is an absolutely beautiful day here, I hope that you are having the same. Just remember, God is Good, All the Time!

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!