Awareness PINK

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you have someone in your life that has or has had breast cancer, please say a prayer for them. I think a lot of money will be collected this month to help with this problem. I am so grateful that I am a Survivor. I am grateful that I am here for my husband, my children, and grandchildren. We have a large extended family, and I am grateful to be here if they need me also. I am so grateful for the prayers said in my name from so many people. God was listening and gave me a few more years to be here and be of service to others. There was a friend at the hospital who was having breast cancer surgery. Thankfully, it was very small, but I am still praying for her. And, I am her deacon also. The other person in my Triberr SweetTweets is Erika Diamond. She has a very interesting article in her blog that I think you would want to see: Fighting the Odds

Ray had rotator cuff surgery and it was more extensive than was planned. It all took place on Friday at Riverside Hospital. The staff there were all very nice and things went along as planned. Not sure I planned on all the work taking care of Ray. I made corn chowder today. It wasn't hard. I kind of made up the recipe and it is wonderful. Ray really liked it and he could drink it out of a cup. Tomorrow, I will add chicken and more veggies.

I sat in the waiting room at the hospital and struck up a conversation with a man named George. His mother was having some surgery. Funny, he knew a lot of people that I know, but I have never seen him before. I introduced him to Ray when we were back in the recovery room picking up our patients. I told Ray that George's parents had owned a restaurant down near the bridge and Ray knew who they were, but he had never met him either. Isn't it strange how you can come on people who know people that you know. The nurse at the reception desk when Ray was checking in looked at our address and told us that her niece lives next door to us. She had even stayed over when her niece was working the night shift and the husband was out of town. Go figure.

The best mathematical equation I have ever seen: l cross + 3 nails = 4 given.

I fixed my Triberr today. I got off of all the Tribes except mine (SweetTweets). I was involved with 2 other tribes and at least 60 people were getting my blog, but only about 10-14 were bothering to send it out. So, I bailed on them. I was getting pretty tired of approving theirs and hardly anyone approving mine. When I joined, I was told that everyone sent out everyone else's blogs. That is just not so. So, I have a Tribe named SweetTweets. If you would like to join my Tribe, let me know and I will send you an invitation. I have some very specific rules. I want people with good morals and integrity. There will be no quoting anyone without a reference. If you copy and paste from other people's blogs, you will be asked to leave if you do not cite your source. There will be absolutely NO plagarism. I prefer people that want to post photos to include where and why the pictures were taken and who took them. If this seems impossible to you, then you don't want to be on my tribe. Not being mean, just realistic this morning. I would love for you to be on our tribe, but since it is mine, I have the right to make the rules.

Today is Sunday:
 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24 

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!

King James Bible 
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Remember PINKeee

I remember PINK all too well. We are back to October which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Most of you have been with me since I started this blog 3 years ago. It has been a difficult time for me and I am not sure that it will ever end. The cancer is gone, but the ravages on my body have remained. Sometimes it is very difficult to keep a positive attitude. I have mostly been able to keep my attitude on the positive side and it was due to all of you out there who read this blog and my others. You have supported me personally and emotionally. If there were times you didn't hear from me, something was going on that was too painful to write and I had to wait until I could put a positive spin on things. You have been faithful and wonderful. I enjoy the occasional comment and try to reply as soon as possible. I love you all and want to THANK YOU for being there for me these past years.

I celebrated a birthday on October 1. Aren't birthdays fun? Of course, when you get to be my age, they are still fun, but you hesitate to smile because you are afraid it will cause wrinkles. But, to keep on the positive side, smile wrinkles are much more attractive than frown wrinkles. I have never been in favor of plastic surgery or Botox, but I think I am beginning to see why some people might think it is necessary. I was reading an  article in Vogue yesterday about freezing fat, and melting fat. Not sure there is a machine large enough to accommadate my thighs. I have dimples there too. I really think they are past help. I plan to grow old gracefully. It may not be pretty, but I feel good on the inside. The good news is that I had over 300 Happy Birthdays wishes on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, maybe more. This is one of my favorites. The BEATLES  "Birthday" song via @youtube.

I have started helping a couple of ladies try to get their message out. I may be paid in the future. My deal while I a learning how to get their names out, is that if they make it big, they can take care of me in my old age. LOL! I will tell you more about them in the next post. They are so sweet and if we can do something to help them stay home with their children, Hooray for us!

Speaking of staying at home. I could use some help. I am trying to get Ray to the point that he can retire. His business is not doing as well in this time of inflation. I would like to put something on the web to sell, but I am not too sure how to do it. I am taking a course on marketing, but I still am not sure that is what I would enjoy doing. I would like it to be something that I would enjoy doing, maybe Ray could help some, and it would help others. My first priority is always to serve others. Serving Others is really the only way to truly serve God. So, if you have a wonderful idea for me, I would love to hear about it.

Something you could do to help is to subscribe to this blog and recommend it to others. I went over 70K followers on Twitter last weekend. I am so grateful for everyone who follows me. I go through each time I follow back and make sure they are "real" people, so if you would like to follow "real" people, check out the people I am following and follow them. I use Tweepi.com to clear out people who haven't been on Twitter in over 6 months. Chances are they are not coming back. I like to follow those who like to engage.

So follow me here and on
Twitter: http://twitter.com/barbaraduke
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/barbaraduke
Other blogs I have:

http://thoughts-of-christ.blogspot.com

http://thoughts-of-harmony.blogspot.com  w/CresentiWilliams

http://barbara-duke.blogspot.com

http://attitudeaptitude.blogspot.com

http://sweettweetslifeplan.blogspot.com

http://twitter-sweettweets.blogspot.com

http://environmentalhome.blogspot.com

http://lionsgreenroom.blogspot.com

http://nnlions.blogspot.com

I am writing a book also, but that is in the works and I am not ready to reveal.

Lets get Ray retired. He will be 76 soon and it is probably about time. He has been having some health problems and I think that it would take some of the stress off of him.

 If God brought you to it, He'll bring you through it

★ ♡ ♥ KINDNESS ♥ ♡ ★

Love you all. 

And if you see @DabneyPorte on line Friday, wish her a Happy Birthday!

GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME

 ALL THE TIME - GOD IS GOOD

Cancer Pink

I apologize for not writing in so long. I had a little scare. I thought I had another lump. After a mammogram and an ultrasound, it was determined that it was some scar tissue. Evidently they removed lymph nodes near to the chest wall. Needless to say, it has been an interesting couple of weeks. I thank those who knew what I was going through and prayed for me. Prayer works.

Some very exciting things have been going on. The Ricki Lake show has started and it is such a wonderful program. Ricki is at home there and everyone loves her so much. I remember her from when she was on before, but I don't remember very much because I was working then and we did not have a VCR. Now I have a DVR and can save it every day. I love the way she has integrated Social Media into the program. I also love being able to see my friends in the audience. They are all such beautiful women, inside and out.

I will be speaking about all this on my blog Barbara Duke - Professional Encourager. Please take a look on Sunday and see all the exciting things that are going on. It was so much fun and continues to be fun.

Sometimes things go so differently than you plan. Someone is maybe not the person you thought they were. I am comparing this to cancer because it can eat you up from the inside if you let some people to have access to your life. Some people are obsequious and will fool you for a while. You have a high opinion of them, you begin to genuinely care for them. Then it comes, there is something that is said or done that gives you a sick feeling. I know it sounds trite to say "rely on your gut," but many people have told me if you have that feeling, search it out.  I did this and conferred with other people, unknown to the person, and decided to end the relationship. I really wanted to end it in a good place. I did not want to fight with this person, or gossip about this person. This person seems intent on being unkind to me. I know that you have seen me write: "If you have a choice, choose kindness." I am trying, but this person doesn't seem to understand the concept. It is trying my patience sorely. Anyway, please say a prayer that I can keep this on an even keel and work it out so that no one is hurt, not even me.

Dabney says that I shouldn't let anyone steal my joy. We haven't discussed the particulars, but she is so supportive. A true friend stands behind you and holds you up when others are taking pot shots.

Love you all. Sorry for the downer today. Things can't be super all the time. Well, at least the mammogram was positive.

GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!

ALL THE TIME - GOD IS GOOD!

LABOR Pink

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Last week was intense. Ray insisted on watching every minute of the Republican Party Convention. Not that I didn't enjoy it, it does get boring after a while. I just wish I could go and vote tomorrow. I started watching the Democratic Party Convention tonight and it was even more boring. I just don't know about politicians, do they think we believe every thing they say. I do know that things in this country are in a mess. I wish they would quit blaming each other and just fix it.  They seem to want to fight over every thing so nothing gets done. Just put the money back in Social Security and leave it alone. It was not meant to be a backup for the budget. Why, if we have all this oil underneath us, are we in an energy crisis where a gallon of milk cost less than a gallon of gas? So much for that. I am getting off my soapbox for today.

We went down to NC for the weekend to see family and check out our Beach House. It rained most of the weekend but that wasn't so bad. Ray and I had a chance to relax. I had a strange week. I found a tender spot on the breast where I had the lumpectomy. I had a mammogram and a diagnostic ultrasound. Then they made a hurry up appointment with a surgeon. It turns out his father actually removed my gall bladder in the 90s. Dr Marshall Cross, what a personality. He made me feel better. He tried to contact the radiologist but he was gone for the weekend. He said that he would call me on Wednesday and if I didn't hear from him, to please call him on Friday. He asked me if that was alright and it was because he said I was probably fine, he just had a question about the way the radiologist worded something in the report. He wanted to make sure I am okay. We are praying (but I still have my wig!).

Can you believe that I fell asleep typing last night? I was so tired from cleaning and doing laundry all day. The only thing about going to NC is I usually bring home work to do. I have a Doctor's appointment this afternoon and then I have to go to church to hang up the quilts we made for CHKD chemo patients (children). The quilts are going to be part of our celebration tonight for the beginning of our new year at our family dinners and Bible study. It will be so nice to see all my regular friends and also some of the new members. We have had quite a few this past year. I may have to stop somewhere on the way to get some candy for the children tonight.

There have been a lot of things that have come to mind since I wrote my last post, but I just have to learn to write my ideas down. I am thinking about creating a blog to sell some of our personal items. I have some very nice things and the quality is just better than you see at yard sales. I have been thinking about a local site to do this. Just thinking. If you have ideas let me know. We are selling our beach house and it is full of nice things too. Too much stuff.

Got to go get ready for my exercise. Love to all!

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME-ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!

FACEBOOK R US Part 2

Have you ever thought about how many hours you have been on Facebook since you joined? All I can come up with is "Countless." Did I, or you, ever pay anything to use Facebook, other than our time?" "NO!"

    I read the other day that if Facebook stock tanks any more than it has, it will be very bad for those people working there. They get a bonus for their hard work paid to them in stock. What kind of bonus is it to get something that is not worth anything. Countless people will be out of work, if the stock does not rise. 

    And, no, I do not know Mark Zuckerberg. But, to show my support for Facebook, I purchased 50 shares of stock for around $20 each ($1k) this past Monday morning. I am not saying that you should buy 50 shares, but maybe 10 or whatever you can afford. This could be our way to show Facebook our thanks for all those hours of free use. 

    There were employees who made millions in the beginning of Facebook because their stock shares rose so fast. Loads of them retired or started businesses of their own. 

    So, lets see, I am not so good with math, but what if my stock tripled in value, it would be worth 3K, or more considering it probably would not triple all at once. I am sure there is someone that could explain it better than I can. I am certainly not doing this for myself, but for those people that I would like to be able to help in this world. I believe that the only way to serve God is to serve others. If by following my lead, others are helped, so much the better. 

    My whole point is encouragement. Lets encourage Facebook and its employees with the purchase of stock. These things can build. Some people help, their friends help, and their families help, before you know it Facebook shares are valued where they should be, and we are all much better off. 

    Can you pay-it-forward? Facebook has paid it forward for years. Their service is free all over the world. People who own Internet services like Verizon, Cox, Century Link, etc., all benefit from Facebook. People want good service and Facebook provides good service. They fix problems as soon as possible and they upgrade all the time. 

   Let us show Facebook that we are really interested in their future, because they have always been interested in ours. 

Nothing is Impossible!

   By the way, I used Scottrade for my stock, but there are lots of other companies that can do the same for you. They only charge $7 a trade, per purchase, whatever. Nice people too. By the way, if you use Scottrade, use the link above. This is a link to the real site, not a clone. I had to go through some other sites from Google that have similar names, but are not actually Scottrade.

   Here is to your good graces. You are all in my prayers. Who knows, we could inspire our entire country and bring us out of this slump. 

Invest in America

It is the only home we have! 

Love to you All

  Let me know if you invest by tweeting me at @barbaraduke on Twitter, make a comment here, or even just Barbara Duke on Facebook. I know that we can do this. Lets show those people who wonder what we are doing on the web and make bad comments about people who are just playing with their computer. 

LET'S SHOW THEM THE 

POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA!

GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME

This is a reprint from my blog BarbaraDuke-Professional Encourager

Pajama Party Week of Pink

I am the hostess on the Twitter #Slumberparty tonight at 11pm EST. We are having a #PajamaParty. I have asked everyone to put up a picture of their favorite PJs. We will see who has the best PJs. I wish we had a sponsor to give out prizes, maybe Victoria's Secret later on and we can have an actual contest. Think I will contact a retail company to sponsor our party next time so we can have prizes.
Dabney has great plans working on this fall. Dabney Porte is one of the most motivated people that I know. She is the ultimate Girlfriend. I just love #smgirlfriends. Click on the link to see what is going on today! Join us! Then there is #smmanners . Of course the SM in the titles stand for Social Media. It is a blast and I have made some really good girl friends on there. There are even guys on #boysontwitter on the Man Cave .
You can also check out #SMGirlfriends, Social Media Girlfriends, #SMManners, #SMManCave, and my favorite #SweetTweets on my Pinterest Board. Be careful, you can get stuck there all day.

I have started my exercise again. Monday, I woke up with a lot of pain. At 8:45, I called a friend and I worked out with the girls over the phone. By the time we were done, all joint pain was gone. My neck even quit hurting. Usually, I can only get over this by taking a Vicadin. I have felt better everyday that I have exercised with them and the days that I did it on my own. The pain has been so much better, I dropped 1mg of cortisone from my regimen on Tuesday and I was a little achy yesterday and today when I first woke up. My fingers even froze up this morning. After the O2 it quits. I think the oxygen part of this program is the key. It gets the blood flowing and cuts down on inflammation. I had shots in my knees yesterday and they really hurt this morning.

I am back. Pain free! The Exercise Session really helped. I did a lot better today, even though my little Snow Ball kept trying to lick my face and eat my tissue. He is so funny. Maybe I can get him interested in the exercise. I am cooling down now so I decided to let you know what I am doing. I was doing it last year before I started watching Benita and I really shouldn't have stopped. I was doing better and watching someone with Alzheimer's is so stressful and the breathing and the stretching really removes the stress in life.

Snow Ball

I am watching "The Doctors" and a weight loss program they are sharing. I still think the best thing you can do is "Eat Less, Move More!" You can eat just about any raw vegetables you want. They told me not to eat spinach, kale, turnip greens, broccoli, etc. because it had more Vitamin K and since I am on a blood thinner, it could make my blood too thin. Well, Dr. Oz says that I would have to eat a small car full of those things for it to make a difference in the thinness of my blood.

Barbara Duke

We have a new WELCOME Center at our church and I have been there the last two Sundays'. It is so nice to be in the foyer again. I really miss being the leader of the Welcome and Greeting Committee (ushers). At least at the Welcome Center, I can get my Sunday hugs again. We also have mints. We give out gift bags to visitors with information about becoming a Christian, information about our Sunday Bible Study, and our services. There is usually a small book with poems or stories inside also. I love doing things for the Lord. I missed quilting this week. Judy went to Northern Virginia, Lena and Hettie were not feeling well, and I had shots in my knees. Oh well, everyone needs a break sometime. I am going to do some cutting before next week. I need to put together another top.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME

ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD

Week of Pink

Ray drove me down to NC to our home there. He came back on Saturday because he had a lot of things going on at church and with the Lions District. He left before we had the birthday party for Garrett and Taylor. So, my son Jeff took me home after the party. Their grandmother Duncan was there along with one of their aunts. I got a wonderful cake at Walmart and we had a couple of gallons of ice cream. There were a few snacks and that was it. Rhonda and Jesse usually go all out but since the children were in camp this year and Rhonda took cupcakes and ice cream cups to the camp, our party was family and fun. Jesse had brought some chicken from BoJangles' earlier before Ray left. He knew Ray would stay long enough to get a piece of chicken. My son Jeff took me back to my house and stayed about an hour talking. It was so nice, I don't get a chance to talk to him much.


My how time flies. I wrote the first paragraph in NC and I have been back in VA two weeks. I didn't realize that I have not written in that long. During the week that I was in NC, I rested, ate, taught Snowball tricks, ate, cleaned, sewed, ate; the upshot is I think I gained about 10 lbs. It was very nice, though I missed Ray terribly. I stayed in most of the time because the heat index was around 105 most of the week. We did take Thursday afternoon to go to the movies in Greenville. Twenty years ago I saw "Hunt for Red October," ten years ago I saw "The Passion of the Christ," and to top this off we saw "Madagascar 3." I don't know if I am getting better or worse. We had a pretty good time, although I think we spent more at the snack bar than we did for the tickets. One little tray with a 1oz pkg of gummy somethings, a small drink, and about 2 cups of popcorn was $5.75. Taylor brought two of her friends, Hanna and Shelby. They had a great time. The movie was not exactly one I would have picked, but it was their day. 


The next night there was the shooting at the opening of "Batman" in Aurora, Colorado. It will probably be at least 10 years before I go back to a movie.


During the week, I did work on my quilt. I was trying a new pattern and it worked out well. I was able to finish it up this last Thursday and start to quilt it. I tried to keep up with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. I even took some time to read. I didn't have to cook for anyone. It was great. I usually go down and cook for Rhonda, but I just wanted a break from having to even think about cooking. I made some wonderful chicken soup and ate on it all week. 


Ray came back on Friday and we all went to our favorite Mexican Restaurant in Kinston. We go there almost every time someone has a birthday. Ray's birthday, they almost scared him to death by popping a paper bag behind his back and placing a Sombrero on his head. They sang "Happy Birthday" in Spanish. It is a fun place to go with great food, but I can never remember the name. I will have to write it down next time. 


Ray and I drove home to Virginia on Saturday. He had to teach Sunday School on Sunday morning. One of the alternate teachers was in Pennsylvania and the other was on a mission trip to Romania. We went to lunch at Chili's. It was great, as always. Ray had the sliders and I had soup. Their baked potato soup fills me up. 


Later, we went to a meeting at church. We have a beautiful new Welcome Center that needs to be manned. I volunteered for August. I need to get back to church. I have taken a few months off from my duties at church to sort out some personal things. I hear the Lord calling me back. 


Thursday, I started the O2 Breakthrough with Zna Trainer. I seem to be doing well with it now. I had to give it up when Bonita was with me because Bonita just could not share me. It was difficult for her to share me even with Ray. She did not like me to be on the phone, the computer, or ignore her in any way. The benefits of me being on the program are already noticeable. I am breathing better and the pain in my legs is better. The doctor is with me on my guess that my little "spells" are mini panic attacks.


Take a look  at my Pinterest!

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME 

ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD