POP PINK

I ordered a Pop Phone. It connects to my cell and is just like an old style phone receiver. I love it. I always have a problem with my cell, but when this is plugged in, no problem.I can hear great and it is so great. I can prop it on my solder and it won't fall off very easily. I was able to order it using the money I earned on MyLikes. They credit your Amazon account and you can purchase anything that they sell.


I have been busy reading this past couple of weeks on building blogs, writing books and working with Google Adsense and Amazon ads. I have to figure it out soon or try to find a job. I also joined Google+. Now there is a wonder. I haven't exactly figured it out. It is different. I will get it. I am still a Twitter and Facebook person. Circle the wagons!

So many of my friends have been ill. The sisters, Crystal and Roxanne, are both on Hospice. They both have stage 4 cancer and are not expected to be here much longer. I am so glad that they both know the Lord. Last time I saw them, I told them to save me a place. Even though they are in terrible pain, the seem to always look on the bright side. That is how a Christian can cope with the hardships of this world. Our friends, Marc and Judy, have gone through a lot this past week. Marc was thought to have had a stroke, but thank God, he didn't.

So much has been going on with the government, Ray is listening to FOX News 24/7. I hate to think what might happen if they don't pass the budget. I am not worrying so much about whether we will get our retirement or social security, I am worried about the fools on Wall Street do with our retirement funds. Will the stock market crash? Who knows. I think they should repay the money that the government gave them to bail out with a few years ago. Wouldn't that be amazing, someone actually giving our government money back that we gave them in the first place. Too bad we cannot designate how our taxes are spent, like we do at church. Our tithes go to the general fund, and any gifts and offerings are spent as we desire.

I have been busy all week. My cleaning lady hasn't been in over a month. She is taking care of her ex-husband who has dementia. I sure do miss her.  If she doesn't come back soon, I may have to find someone else. My daughter keeps telling me I should do a little at a time, but she doesn't understand what is going on with me. I am not sure that anyone can understand who has not been through it. If I move around too much, I end up hurting. If I don't move, I hurt.

Friday night was special at the Twitter #Slumberparty. I brought popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, Virtual Margaritas, and we had a pillow fight. It is all virtual so all the cheesecake we ate didn't go to our thighs. That is an idea, instead of eating, send your friends virtual food. Think, visualize food. I bet if I did that for a few minutes, I probably would even smell and taste it. LOL! Our sponsor last night was the lovely Linda, @UdderlySmooth udder cream. My skin has never been so soft. I really love it and it is never greasy. Sometimes creams come off on the keyboard even after I have wiped them.. No problems with all natural UdderlySmooth.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

Udderly Smooth Pink

 This is from a previous post about the Twitter #slumberparty that happens every Friday evening at 11pm. EST. We have so much fun and I hope to see you there tonight. Below is just one of our sponsors.


Have you been to the Twitter Slumber Party? Friday nights at 11 p.m. EST. It lasts for an hour, but usually gets going a little before 11 and continues after 1200am. We have so much fun. The lovely @DabneyPorte hosts the evening with help from others. On one Friday #Slumberparty was sponsored by Udderly Smooth (Big Cow - @UdderlySmooth on Twitter). There were five games with prizes.  We had so much fun. I am not good at the games and if you want to play them, you need to read @DabneyPorte's FaceBook Page Twitter Slumber Party. The rules for #Slumberparty are there and you play on Twitter. Or zzz, even if you don't play the games, come and do the virtual chat, where you have virtual drinks, popcorn, chips, cake, cookies, etc...... Good News is Virtual doesn't stick to your thighs, and you meet some awesome Tweets. Thanks again to UdderlySmooth for sponsoring #SlumberParty. Wonderful cream!

Udderly Smooth® can be used on Dry Skin, Cracked Skin,

 for Diabetes Foot Care, as a Facial Moisturizer, as a 

General Moisturizing Lotion and many other uses.

Graduation Pink

Emily and Corey

Emily, our granddaughter graduated recently from Tabb High School in Yorktown VA. She is absolutely beautiful. She was a cheerleader and in the band. Here is her picture from the prom with her #BFF Corey. Emily had an awesome graduation party at her home, with friends from school and family. She left on a mission trip on Monday after graduation. How wonderful is that? We love her so much. I remember when she was born, there was a small problem and no one could see her but family. Ray and I weren't married yet, but were told I could go anyway. She has really grown into a beautiful, intelligent young lady, who will be entering Longwood in the Fall to study to be a teacher. Congratulations! Emily

We have had a lot of rain here. I have been having a lot of RA pain. I have an appointment next week with Dr. Wilson. I hope he can figure out how to keep me from hurting all the time. Typing is a little difficult. I want to start a new blog that will actually be a book of some of the ups and downs in my life and how they relate to what is going on with me. We will see if I put it on a blog.

I have started Empire Avenue. It is very interesting. I still don't understand it, but it is like the stock market, which I really don't know know anything about. I seem to be doing alright. I am already worth over a Million Dollars in Eaves (Empire dollars). I have 539 people who own my shares and my stock value is already up to $86.26 per share. I have only been on there 8 days.

I am going through a lot with Social Security. It is really difficult to get disability. You think you have everything right and they turn you down again. So now I have an advocate. We will see where that goes.

#Slumberparty Pink Move

I have moved my #SlumberParty, #SMManners, #SMGirlfriends, #latteclub, etc., over to my Barbara Duke blog. I find that I need to keep my focus in this blog on health problems that have developed that I feel are related to the breast cancer that I had in 2009.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. We had a lovely time at Lions Ray and Kay Braguglia's home. We sat outside until the thunder got bad and it started to sprinkle. We had our Newport News Host Lions Installation ceremony. I will be working on that link later today.

I also transferred the Lions District 24D Green Room (environmental) blog to the Newport News Host Lions Club Green Room. We have a new cabinet in the district and they decided they want a "professional" to do the blog, so they have appointed someone who is more knowledgeable than I am. Professional usually means they charge for their services; therefore, they know better than someone who does it for free. Do I sound a little put-out? Decide for yourself. I really like to be positive about everything in my life, so my positive take on this is that I don't have to use my time for that any more. I can do something to help someone else.

Empire Avenue Pink

{EAV_BLOG_VER:0271b30066c50ff2}
Good Morning! I hope you are all well and happy. I hope you all are looking forward to the 4th of July. Not just because of a picnic or because of fireworks. Lets celebrate those who have served our country as soldiers, sailors, civil service, etc. They have all had an enormous influence on the things that are happening in our country. Without them, we would not be free to say the things we do about our government. They protect the freedoms that the United States of America provides.
HATS OFF TO ALL USA CITIZENS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I found something out the other night when I was on the #smmanners chat on Twitter. There is a game that brings all your social media together and shows you where you stand. You can invest in others and they can invest in you. It is amazing. It is called Empire Avenue. If you decide to go there and sign up, please use my name as the person who referred you. I will get points and you can do the same later when you are playing. It is kind of like playing the stock market. I just love it and I have only been on there 2 days. I have already accrued almost a half a million EAVs (Empire money, like Monopoly money). Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I am thinking of transferring my #SMManners, #SMGirlfriends, #Slumberparty, #latteclub, EmpireAvenue happenings to my personal blog: Barbara Duke - Writer Author What do you think? I need to keep Thoughts-of-Pink focused on surviving breast cancer and dealing with Rheumatoid arthritis.

I have been having more fun on Twitter since I started doing the #hashtag parties. I have met some amazing women. I have found people through them who are amazing tweets. Today is my unfollow day. I hope you are following me, I would hate to unfollow you. I do this through Tweepi. It is a great way to get rid of the bots and those people who haven't tweeted in months. Bots are fake accounts. Usually they have 0 Tweets, but lots of followers. Sometimes they have a few tweets, but as you go through your followers, if you keep seeing the same tweets repeated by different people, chances are they are bots too. The reason you want to  block and report them,  is that when Twitter cleans house, you could go down hundreds of followers at one time. It is better to get rid of a few a day than to lose 500 at once. I have heard from tweets that have lost over a thousand.  They seem to target people who tweet a lot. Why do people do bad or stupid things? Who knows. It is just a little irritation during my day. Better a little one once in a while than a big one all at once.

Our Grandaughter, Emily, graduated this year from High School. She willl be going to Longwood in the Fall. We went to a party at their house to celebrate. It was lots of fun with great food. Rhonda was visiting with the twins and went with us. I don't think she had seen them since Emily was a very small girl. Pictured is Emily, Paula, and Betty White who was visiting Hampton Roads a while ago.

Paula & Emily Duke with Betty White

Our shop was hit by lightning. Now we have no power in the shop. The A/C was hit, Ray's work computer, my laptop cord, our new telephones, and our lovely TV in the living room. We are still getting estimates for fixing things. The homeowners insurance will pay for it. I think there is a small deductible, but now we have new stuff. Okay!

We went to NC last weekend and had a lovely time. We had a cookout at my daughters, Steak, baked potatoes, salad, Texas Toast. Taylor and Garrett stayed with Ray and I on Saturday and we went into town shopping. We also stopped by my son, Jeff's home. He was getting ready for a getaway for him and Sharon. She was getting off at 2 and they were going to spend a couple of days in Raleigh. Better get their "We" time in now. When the baby comes in December, that may be the few and far between for "We" time. LOL

Bryan & Jeremy Bates

My Brother's Sons have started a new company called Bates Security. They are combining the Sonitrol and ADR security businesses and going under their own Logo. They gave away gift certificates and an IPad 2 on June 28. It was fun sending people to their site to "Like" them. Most people don't realize that the more "likes" you have is good for your Klout Score. Of course, I will let you know if they decide to have another give away. They are amazing sons who had a very strict and loving father and mother.

I have to get off the computer for a while and clean this place up. My cleaning lady has been busy for a month taking care of her ex-husband who has dementia. She says she is not doing it for him, but for her children until they figure out what to do. Go figure. I am not sure that I could do it. It really shows her Christian walk. Bless her heart. Go Catherine!

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

Viaggio Pink

A few weeks ago, our Diva Coach Dabney Porte hosted a Twitter #slumberparty on a Friday night at 11 p.m. EST. The lovely Dabney had procured a sponsor for the party and that was Viaggio, owned by Julienne Paulson.  Julienne is an amazing lady.
I was so disappointed that I could only watch and not participate because I was in #VerizonWireless Purgatory and couldn't even tweet.

Julienne provided five prizes for the games, listed below:

• @princessaeryn 
  won: Journal w/Swarovski crystal birthstone charm.
• @alongcamemary1 won: Journal w/Sterling silver Mended Heart charm. 
• @elivya won: Sterling silver chain w/Detour charm.
• @sunnee63 won: Journal w/Sterling Silver chain & Celebration charm.
• @tiffany053p
   won: Viaggio signature Sterling silver bangle w/journal & birthstone charm

"When my great grandmother's charm bracelet was passed down to me, I wished I had known what each charm meant to her. Viaggio's bracelet has captured this so beautifully! Now as I begin my own journey, I am able to document my experiences so that my children will have a true heirloom to treasure." Julienne Paulson
For some unknown reason, I cannot download a picture of the bracelet, so could you take a look at the links below. It is so beautiful.  It is definitely on my wish list.
Check out the links out to see the absolutely beautiful bracelet and charms. Hear the touching story of the history of the bracelet.
Viaggio Bracelet      Viaggio Charms      Viaggio Video     Viaggio Mp3 file 

I apologize for being so late to post this. We had a lightning strike and lost 2 computers, TV, phones, and circuit board on A/C. What a time.

IN THE PINK

I am in the Pink. In the last month, I have had a brain scan, mammogram, colonoscopy, and endoscopy. Other than having diverticulitis, I am doing well. That doesn't include the Rheumatoid Arthritis though. After the tests this morning, we stopped and got me a giant latte. I was so hungry, Ray bought Benita and I a muffin at the hospital. It was so good. I did notice something, just like a lot of things these days, the price was the same but the muffin was half the size. I guess that is the way to go. Most people eat too much anyway. Benita and I had a chicken salad sandwich and chips for lunch. After going through 3 days of starvation, it sure was good.

I decided this is a good time to get me on the right track again. I have been on steroids and gaining weight. So, no more snacks for me. I will only eat just enough for each meal and no snacks at all. No dessert either. I really don't need the sugar. It does strange things to me. I had a gastric bypass in June 2001 and the last 10 years have been a real battle with food. I keep telling myself that it was just a tool. Just because I had the surgery does not mean I will lose weight. I have to work at it too.

Zna Trainer

I have been talking with @ZnaTrainer on Twitter about starting the O2 Breakthrough again. It was working before and I was feeling better. The doctor told me to quit. Now that I have gained over 10 lbs, I think I will take my own advice. I bought 2 books on her website and plan on reading them this weekend. Get myself back in the mood is my goal. I hate exercise, and I plan to use gardening as an exercise as much as I am able. Don't want to get too tired to plant flowers.

GOD IS GOOD. All the time!