 | | |
| | |
|
Spaces home  JEANNIE'S SPACEPhotosProfileFriends |  Tools   |
I should have saved it elsewhere!I had an entire entry ready to publish. That is, up until I tried to add the pictures. Now it's gone. Vanished! Kapoot! What's up with that? Grrrr. I'll try to get back here later today and give it another shot. Meanwhile I hope everybody is having a lovely weekend. Where did time go?*enters blog, peeks around....nothing but dust and cobwebs here*
I can't believe it's already the end of March. I'd honestly thought I'd be in here to blog before now but life has a way of throwing little surprises at me. January brought one of the biggest surprises of all. After being told I wouldn't be able to have reconstructive surgery to get me mobile again the surgeon called to let me know the surgery would be taking place after all. The middle of January I went in for the surgery and the rest of the time I've spent recovering. Soon I should be walking nearly as well as I ever have.
Meanwhile I've continued to work on my bath and body products, get my website published, sell on ebay, blah blah blah. Being without the use of my feet has kept life challenging to say the least. You don't realize all the places you CAN'T get in to until you can't walk. It also teaches you how to be more creative in the things you would normally be able to do. I can ride a wheelie on my walker, take sharp turns in a single spin, and scoot in reverse like nobody's business. I have a fancy, schmancy camwalker that's much like a walker/wheelchair combined. The joys of modern science. Yay!
Tomorrow I meet with the surgeon to check my progress. He doesn't know yet but i have been weaning myself from the walker and actually manage to do a LITTLE walking now. I should be well ahead of the program by the time he releases me. Who knows, I just may be back to riding horses this summer. Help!I am having just the most awful time trying to figure out how to access my blog. It doesn't make any sense to me anymore. I guess that's what I get when I don't visit often enough. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and may 2008 bring you all the very best of your hearts desires! Happy December!I'm still having fits trying to figure out my way around my own live space space. I've finally got my website functional, though it needs a bit of work yet, my ebay store is holding it's own and I've begun listing my bath product lines in other places. Thanksgiving is behind us and now we're moving forward to Christmas. What a beautiful time of the year!
Perhaps with all these other things out of the way I'll be able to start updating my space again and visiting people like I used to. I miss the conversations with everybody, the day to day updates and even the little battles on our playground.
I'll keep this entry short and make my way around to those I can before I am called away again. Happy December everybody!
Wow!Seems I've been gone a little too long! This place looks so BARREN. Fall is definitely here. The temperatures are dropping, the trees are shedding their leaves and I'm contemplating warm fires, comfortable throws and the joys of having my family around me.
I'm still developing my ebay store. I have one customer in particular who inspires me. This person has a small child that is a burn victim (over 85%) of his body and has had repeated grafts. Because of this person and her 3 year old son, I've developed a special line of bath salts that I've been experimenting further with and refining as I go. My experiments, work and life have kept me very busy! Read this testimonial and tell me YOU wouldn't be inspired too!
"I used the clay based salts with Christopher, and since he likes bubbles, I added a bit of the Aveeno oatmeal moisturizing bubble bath to it. I used most of the bag in the water..:) Chris thought it was funny when it changed color. Anyway, he came out after only about 15 minutes feeling soft and his dried up area on his lower abdomen was gone. Wierd. It worked. I am amazed, and have people asking me what the heck was in it! I said, don't know, a lady made it from her own ingredients for him. So - I have not tried mine yet, or the other one for Chris yet - but I want some of that clay based salts for sure! Even once a week will improve his grafts! Still today he was not dried out......". And a week later, this follow up: " He still has not had ANY dry scaly spots on his graft since the ONE time I have used this so far. He was literally splitting and bleeding on his abdominal grafts and has not done so at all since. He is just now, after 1 week, showing signs there of dryness, so he will get another bath today in the rest of it. Thank You!"
and finally:
I appreciate your e-mail and your product. I would rather you use Chris in this endeavor as a means of getting the word out that this is a relief for graft patients everywhere. Whether that is through advertising, word of mouth, a newspaper article, sending the information to burn units, whatever. This is horribly itchy and painful for people. Medications are either constant, or the itching is. The grafts are very "tight" feeling and uncomfortable. Grafts in some areas can delay motor development and proper walking, along with other things. Chris' tightness and itching are worse in the area that he needs to stretch to walk upright. The lower abdomen and sides. This is where is was splitting and bleeding. Now he never splits or bleeds, and he is almost completely upright in walking with his walker.
Honestly, I only tried the bath salts because you seemed like such as nice person on the blog. But when they did what they did, for whatever reason, whichever ingredients, I am now a lifetime customer for my son. I want others to know. I want others in pain to try this. I want them to have the help with this Christopher has. They all deserve it.
Thank You for being such a great blessing to us. I feel closer to you than many people I have known for years.
I'd often wondered since the accident what direction my life would take. I believe I'm beginning to find that direction. My physical health continues to improve though never, ever as quickly as I would like. Perhaps this was meant to slow me down so i could stop and really see life, see all the beauty in life, take a moment to capture the love, joy and wonders of it all.
I love helping others, so what I'm doing now with my bath salts, foot soaks, face masks, etc., seems like such a natural course to follow. Still, whenever I can stop for air, I think of my little space over here and all the wonderful people who were my life line for so very long. Today I wanted to sneak in and wipe some of the cobwebs out and take a peek at what everybody's been up to.
Meanwhile, here's a link to my store listings: http://stores.ebay.com/Crazy-Jeans-General-Store_Bath-Salts_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ12896149QQftidZ2QQtZkm I'm knee deep and loving it!Today is my day off from my regular job but I'm home making Bath Salts for Pets and I'm knee deep in salts, clays, fragrances and colorings. My house smells heavenly!
I know it sounds crazy, I mean, Bath Salts for pets? And really it all started out that way too. One morning I woke up from a dream where I'd been making tons and tons of bath salts for pets and the more I thought about it the better it sounded! Why not? Especially older pets who suffer from arthritis, hot spots, sensitive skin? And so I got to playing around with the idea, ordering ingredients, researching online and VIOLA. I have my own unique creation! And this just keeps getting crazier because they've taken off like wildfire!
 Actually, it wasn't quite as easy as that. First I had to find ingredients that would actually work on pets and not irritate them or make them sick. I had to be careful to find just the right ingredients for animals coats and be careful I wouldn't be coloring them purple or something. And what about fleas and ticks? That's where all the research came in. Then I located a chemist who could walk me through how certain ingredients might interact together. Next step was checking with area vets to make sure I wouldn't be unwittingly poisoning everybody's furry friends. This wonderfully simple idea was suddenly becoming a rather involved process.
Now, after alot of experimenting (my pets run in fear when I enter a room) and many months of research, I have a 100% totally organic Soothing Bath Salt for pets. Call me crazy if you will (I wouldn't have it any other way!) but I'm loving it! This in itself has also lead me to create several bath salt lines for the people owned by these pets. I've already had several internet news releases placed, my labeling designed, packaging is coming along and contacts made to offer these products as private label. And you all wonder where I've been? Good Golly Miss Molly! *gasps!*What in tarnation happened to windows live spaces? I leave for a while, trusting all of you to look after things and when I return THIS is what I'm greeted with? I couldn't hardly figure out how to get in to create a post!
Life is good, I've been keeping really busy. I've picked up a new degree. Now I'm not only Crockpot and Microwave Queen, I'm the Queen of Ebay as well. NOT! It does keep me a little busy however.
Tonight I've been making the rounds, lurking mostly, catching up on everybody's happenings and leaving random comments here and there. I'll try (really!) to get back around here more often. Time has NOT been on my side lately, it seems there's far too little of it that's free.
Life is good, I'm doing well but I've really been missing all of YOU! So pop on in here and say HELLO already! I'd like to introduce.....(drum roll please!)I'd like to introduce another awesome ebay blogger, Kelley, who I totally enjoy. Just discovered she has a yet unadorned windows live space. Kelley is another ebay seller and provides a link to her store on her space. She's a gifted person in more than one way. And now, after this brief introduction, I'm headed out to get us some more ebay bloggers! Won't you pop over and say hello to a really wonderful person! Just say Jeannie sent you! LOL.
As the stomache turnsI guess you realized I'd thrown up more fluff to herald my return. I was wanting to be back here in live spaces and wasn't sure what to write. My life has been so incredibly full it seems I don't have time to sit still.
It's been nearly a year since the accident. I'm still recovering, I'm still battling physical therapy. At least these loaner legs don't carry me into traffic anymore. Some days they don't carry me at all, we just kind of sit and stare at each other. There are days I'd like to just knock the stuffing out of them in my frustration but I could see somebody walking in and finding me wrestling myself around on the ground. Mmmphh...take that! Pow! And that! Try to explain that one, would you?
I was talking to somebody on instant messenger the other night. A lively person. Our conversation was filled with a great many lol's, rofl, lmbo's and the like. As ever, my mind grabbed a thought and had me laughing. Could you imagine having a conversation in real life just as we write it in our blog comments or instant messenger?
"Hi Ralph! Ell oh ell! How are you? Rolling on the floor laughing my butt off."
"I'm good, Jeannie, ell oh ell...except that hemorrhoid operation was a (too much information) pain in the butt, laughing my butt off!"
"ell oh ell". (Jeannie)
"ell oh ell". (Ralph)
Wouldn't we sound like complete lunatics?
Speaking of lunatics and how we speak or present ourselves to others, after my journey away I returned to live spaces to visit some of my friends. Reading comments on my walk I felt like I'd stepped into a soap opera....."As my stomache turns".....Scathing, demeaning remarks left by one in another's comments. A Christian person acting very unchristian. Leave it to me, my temper boiled and I left some rather ugly remarks myself. Later, feeling contrite, I wished I hadn't.
I don't understand how a person can profess to be a good Christian and then viciously turn and attack another person with their words. Especially on public display. To me, we set an example of being GOOD Christians through our own behaviour. I know many of us that visit one another have different belief systems. Seeing this attack clearly demonstrated why it is we aren't more successful in influencing others in their own faith. If I had been teetering on the verge of becoming "christian" this attack would have sent me running for the hills.
I realize that we cannot judge the multitude by the actions of a single man or woman. Being human, we have our faults. One of those faults is being able to make ourselves look like complete IDIOTS from time to time. Not only did the person who initiated the ugliness succeed in doing that, I did as well by following suit and behaving nearly as badly. My name is Jeannie. My favorite color is clear!
And so the drama on live spaces continues to unfold. Each of us with our differences, our commonalities, our hopes, our dreams, our NIGHTMARES! I guess that is the fodder that helps keep drawing me back here. What would I do without it? What would I do without all of YOU? Ell oh ell, laughing my butt off!
Food for the soulOnce upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another. He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times. The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her! One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone." Thus, he asked the 4th wife , "I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will! You follow me and keep me company?" "No way!", replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart. The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!", replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated. Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!" In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others. Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout Eternity. I've been gone to the far side!Yes, I've been gone and far longer than I thought. In between work and my real life I discovered ebay. Then came ebay blogs. If you've never been there ebay blogs are very fast paced and interactive. They're very much in the here and now though, unlike live spaces where you can post an entry and continue to visit it for new comments.
I'd been meaning to get back over here and finally have. Meanwhile, I've bragged about live spaces so much I've had a few people want to come back here with me. So I brought my first live one back! Mind you, I'll only be bringing back the keepers! The first such keeper is a woman named Suzanne. I absolutely adore her. She's an ebayer like myself and teams up with her daughter. Suzanne is a lovely, big hearted person and I think if we give her a big welcome aboard she just might stick around!
I see she's posted a short entry to get started so I'll let her tell you about herself. Go on over and welcome her aboard. Show her all the kindness you first showed me when I came aboard. Meanwhile, I'm going out to drag some more back over here. I want to keep all my favorite people in my favorite place!
I'll be back with an update soon, so watch for me. And now I'm off to catch up on some of your spaces! Woo Hoo! I've been googled!And I somehow came up under "sexy black hairy armpits". Ummmmm....okay! Eeeeuuuw! LOL. My first blogging anniversaryYou would think that this would be a momentous occasion for me and really, it is. So much has happened in the year that has gone by since I first started this blog. First the wreck, then my hubby, his father's passing, my son getting married....so many changes, so many wonderful things to count my blessings for.
I've met alot of amazing people here on msn spaces. People that have touched my life, who have inspired me, who have made me laugh, made my cry, made me contemplate. God bless, there are even those who have totally pissed me off, but in doing so have taught me to appreciate the others that much more.
This past year has been a year of discovery as well as recovery. I've discovered so much about those closest to me and I've learned some truths about myself. As for recovery, that's a step by step process (every pun intended) but I'm coming along. I've learned alot about life, about love and about faith. Many of you have helped me through these discoveries and that has created a special bond between us.
Even as I've been away from my space quite alot, I think of all of you and want to hurry back just to catch up on what's happening in YOUR lives. You're like a big extended family for me. And, ike any trip back home I'm always excited to be here, to share, to laugh again, to moan and groan and to explore.
I've seen bloggers rally together to support one another in ways I never imagined people would do. I've also seen bloggers turn on each other over a few misplaced words. Mostly I see alot of good. I've watched bloggers cheer each other on, to encourage one anothers dreams and ambitions, I've seen you comfort each other in darker moments.
Guess this is just my corny way of saying I love you all for who you are...the amazingly wonderful, loving and loveable people you are! Now I'm leaving you all with a big mooshy hug! Have a great week! The Trouble TreeI found t his little story somewhere out in cyber world and thought it was a good story to share with all of YOU!
"The carpenter I hired to help restore my old farmhouse had a pretty rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work in the morning. In the afternoon, his electric saw quit. At the end of the day, his ancient pick-up truck refused to start. As I drove him home, he sat next to me in stony silence.
I hope all of you have a safe Easter weekend!
A little spring cleaningI've been doing a little blog walking, trying to catch up with everybody since you've all been sweet enough to continue to visit me even during my absences. We've been busy tying up the last of family matters since losing Andy's father and trying to maintain both our work lives and home lives.
I see a lot has been happening in my absence! KC is getting a house, Yvonne (MIA like myself more often than not) out sprinkling her funky friendly dust in peoples comments, Jaysey still providing us amusement with her WTF-isms and more! Diane, as ever, is magickally entertaining and Nooner continues his risque business over at his space. Even as some things change, many things remain the same.
Brian still professes to make the best mojitos (I have yet to confirm this!), Ponyboy (elusive as ever) is out galloping the countryside, entertaining everyone by juggling Corona bottles and Grace graces us with her lovely presence from time to time. PJ, bighearted woman that she is, provides beautiful poetry to soothe our souls and Nadine regals us with her wild joy of life. Manny, our fine furry friend, seems to be king of his domain, keeping his people in line feline style.
Susan is out there somewhere, rattling some rafters in her barn and showing a man how to woo a woman country style! (Way to go, girl!)
I see Richard is still defending the fort for all of us, holding the evil blogger mongers at bay so we can blog in peace. Whatta man! Siobhan has FINALLY updated (like I'm one to talk) so I'll jog over there for a quick visit....you're all welcome to follow me! Then I'll be off to visit Kerrie and see what adventures she's been on.
Vicki, Beth and Becca still running around sharing kind, comforting words with others and I see Liz out there somewhere (still on that snowmobile), zooming through spaces sharing her lively spirit! Jean and I still have a date to go dancing.....providing we don't knock each other down in the process! What a fine sight that'd be to see! (C'mon girl...we can do it! LOL) And then there's Greg who's great for a spiritual pick me up any day of the week! Katy, I'll be by for an update on your world too!
All these people are linked to the right of this entry. There are many more I love to visit (my apologies if I didn't mention all my favorite people here!) but it seems I hardly have the time these days. Eventually I'll be caught up and you'll see me terrorizing your comments again. So many wonderful people out there, so little time.
I just wanted to pop in long enough to say that while I'm not here leaving comments everywhere I go I haven't forgotten you are all out there! As Arnold would say, "I'll be back!" Life gets in the way...Come on in, put your feet up and sit for a spell. We have alot of catching up to do! It would seem from the emails I'm receiving that some of you have noticed I've been missing in action (Jean...are you there???? LOL!). That's only because life's been getting in the way of my blogging.
Nice sunny days and warm breezes have me clamoring to be out of doors more and more. Cabin fever had me climbing the walls so I suggested to Andy that we take his little girl and go for a walk along the lake. About 12 miles from our house is a nice resort and lake so it was only a matter of minutes before we reached our destination. I haven't been to the lake since before the accident and I was a little nervous about how I'd maneuver around the sand and rocks with these loaner legs.
The rocks, while a big challenge, weren't as difficult as the deep sand turned out to be. These legs seem to lack four wheel drive. Andy was a jewel though and anytime I bogged down, he'd come tow me behind til I reached an area I could manage. He didn't fuss around me but showed me enough respect and consideration to let me go it alone unless I asked for assistance. Truthfully, this was much better than the physical therapy I've come to dread. Not only did it make my body work, it was therapeutic to my mind. Now if I could just get a prescription for this I think I'd make faster progress! I've been told that muscles have memory. I'm suspecting that MY muscles have amnesia :-( .
The lake is way down this year so we were able to do a little exploring along the waters edges. Peyton and I collected some petrified wood and clam shells.......drew stick people in the sand...........and took lots of pictures. This is a fascinating area since the lake was built over the top of an old town. With the water being down you could see the exposed basements and part of the old school house. If you Google Lugert, Oklahoma you'll see some of the history on the links there.
By days end we were all lightly sunburned, badly windblown, but tired and happy. I'll try to post some pictures this evening. You can all pop back over and take a peek if you would like.
Things on the work front continue to plod along. No improvement and I'm still not impressed with corporate. Less impressed when the owner comes to visit and refers to me as "Gimp" or "Crip" or as being handicapped. I'm not of the above. I have a mobility impediment...much like a speech impediment . It's not that I CAN'T but more that it takes me a little longer than others....for now anyway. I find the remarks derogatory and offensive. That's alot of the reason I persist in working at developing something home based. When the time comes, I would like to be able to simply walk away and I'm confident I will soon reach my goal. That also explains some of my absence from spaces.
Home life....married life....are wonderful. Andy's everything I could have hoped for and more. Some days, however, I find myself panicking and wanting to run screaming....NOW....before I wake up and find out none of this is real. Mostly I just thank God that it is. How did I ever get so lucky?
As for being "as well as I might ever be" physically, I refuse to believe or accept that prognosis. That's a hell of a thing for any doctor to say, especially when there's so many more avenues that could be explored. It's been 10 months. Trust me, I will be much better.....I'm just stubborn enough to want to prove the powers that be are wrong. And I will! I understand and accept that I won't ever be anything like I was prior to the accident...but I do know I can and will be better than what I am right now.
Now I'm going to do some blog walking and see what I've been missing. What's up with all of you these days???? Just a passing thoughtI received the following in an email and felt it was something to be shared!
"There was once a blind girl who hated herself for no other reason except that she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend. One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind. Not wanting to be burdened by a 'blind' person, she refused to marry him. Her loving, devoted and understanding boyfriend walked away in tears. His heart was obviously broken. The girl who had been so fortunate to have the world opened up to her, continued enjoying it ; day in and day out...trying to never miss a single pleasure life had to offer. A while later she received a letter from her ex-boy friend, which, stated simply: "I sincerely hope you enjoy your life. Your happiness was all that ever mattered to me. I am so happy that you are enjoying life as I always hoped you could. I would like to ask one parting favor of you my dear... Just take care of my eyes." "This as sad as it may seem, is how the human brain changes when our status changes. Only a few remember what life was like before and who's always been there even in the most painful situations. Life Is A Gift: Today before you think of saying an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion. Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren. Before you argue about your dirty house, someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance. And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job. But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us are without sin and we all answer to one Maker. And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and thank God you're alive and still around. Life is a gift... Live it... Enjoy it... Celebrate it... And fulfill it. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2" DO YOUR EARS HANG LOW?Poor Fred! Andy's little bassett hound picked up a nice case of kennel cough from my youngest sons new labrador puppy. He has this deep croaking cough that sounds like he's trying to launch up a chicken bone. Poor Fred just mopes through the house, his head hanging low and his incredibly long ears swaying to and fro. " Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro, can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them in a bow?"
Every time he walks past me that song starts playing in my head and I can't get rid of it! I think I need a new mental D.J. Any suggestions?
And of course, just as luck would have it, kennel cough is airborn and quite contagious. I had thought it would only be contagious to other dogs but it would appear the two cats can get this as well. Dr. Jeannie to the rescue! A little Robitussim DM and lots of rest for my hairy children. For the next seven to ten days (in some cases longer) we get to listen to the not so musical sounds of dogs coughing up chicken bones and cats harking up hairballs. Ugh.
A LITTLE EBAY FUN!Several people I know, myself included, have Ebay stores. It's a great way to shop Ebay and sell a few nonsense items while we're at it. Since I have nearly 100 items listed at present I check my messages often to make sure I'm answering any questions people might have. The other night I was checking my messages and there was a question on a jeans vest that is really pretty and I thought would be a great seller. The question read "Would this vest fit my dog?" Initially I was shocked and a little pissed. I mean, this is a really nice vest! As soon as my initial offense passed I got to wondering which of my friends had sent me the question. Surely, it had to be someone I know. As I read the senders name and contact info I turn to glare at Andy, my wonderful husband, who's absolutely rolling on the floor laughing! Beast! I had thought of responding by shooting back an email reading "This vest is only designed to contain two breasts, not six or eight. However, with some tailoring it could possibly be adjusted to fit your dog. Thank you so much for your interest and happy bidding!"
Apparently, for lack of anything better to do, Andy had set out to terrorize me and my friends in our Ebay messages. This isn't uncommon. We all send each other weird questions on each others items. It keeps things interesting. What's even worse is that we often end up buying each others items. That's what happens when we all have such great taste!
My girlfriend Krissy, has a number of items up for sale on Ebay. One of these items is this funky pair of suede and courderoy patchwork boots.
Little did I know that wonderful hubby had already emailed Krissy. Here's his question: "What kind of cow were these made out of?" What was even better was Krissy's response: "A very rare paper cow. I think they are only found in the nether regions of the south African desert where the paper cow breeds with the corduroy rabbit. This breeding takes place only once every ten years under a full moon. Their offspring are talented boot makers by trade!!! These boots are priceless, but we've fallen on hard times and are forced to sell all the family treasures at a mere pittance!! If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask! Thank you for your interest!!"
What an imagination!
Who says you can't find absolutely EVERYTHING on Ebay????
BEAUTY IN LIFE...BEAUTY IN DEATHAll around us, beauty in life abounds. From the budding of trees preparing to embrace spring to the whisper of hummingbird wings softly beating the air.
 Beauty is depicted through art and photography, you can see it in the smooth skin of a newborn baby or the reflected blue lights touching upon raven hair. Beauty is on billboards, the sides of buildings, on your coffee table, on television. You can touch beauty by running your hands over a sleek piece of silk or by dusting the powder off the petals of a dandelion. You can breathe beauty when you take a whiff of a nice fragrant perfume or bury your nose in the center of a rose. You can hear beauty in the strumming of a guitar beneath a starry sky or the throaty tenor of an opera singer. You can taste beauty as a delightfully elegant dessert that melts on your tongue.
Even as there is beauty in life, so too is there is beauty in death. Death lends an air of rest and peacefulness. A tranquility. A blessedness. A heavenly lull in divine time. There is a dignity in death that we can never obtain in this life. True too, in death there is no pain or worry, no imperfectons, no strife. " And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4
Death is an uplifting that carries one high above such mortal things. It's a soft gentle sigh as life traipses by. It lends wings to our feet and carries us up to where angels sing. It's a warm embracing of God's eternal love. How is it possible to mourn a person who is journeying to such enviable heights? And yet we do. It is human nature to grieve, but in our grieving we are not alone. God promises to be there, to lift us up, to give us srength and hope. He promises us everlasting life. What a beautiful gift to look forward to! And what a wonderful gift those who have passed are enjoying!
 (Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. " John 5:24 "These, the ransomed of the Lord, will go home along that road to Zion, singing the songs of everlasting joy. For them all sorrow and all sighing will be gone forever; only joy and gladness will be there." Isaiah 35:10)
"Only joy and gladness" is what awaits us on the other side. And yet, in our grief, we fail to recognize that this is where our loved one has gone and where we will join them one day. They have journeyed to a place of "joy and gladness". What a wonderful place to be!
 When we lose a loved one, we mourn our own loss as much, if not more, than we do theirs. We mourn the great, gaping hole their passing leaves in our lives. In reality, once they pass, they don't feel our pain and sorrow, they don't recognize our loss, they are so far removed from such trivial emotions. In death, they are lifted above all that. In death, they have gained the peace and perfection that we will never know in our lifetimes. And still, it is hard to watch a loved one pass on. Sometimes the greatest love of all is a love that's strong enough to let go. Let go, and let God. God promises us comfort in our time of sorrow. ("Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. "(Matthew 5:3,4) "He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 )Even as we turn one to the other in our times of loss and sorrow, we should remember there is another there to comfort us, to bring us a peace that is ours for the asking. Joy shared is twice the joy but sorrow shared is half the sorrow. Turn your grief over to God and he will lighten your burden. He will help to heal the holes in your heart. ("Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalm 27:14 ) Above all, God understand's our grief. He knows the heartache of losing a loved one! His only son gave his life that we might have eternal life. Eternal life. Wow! How beautiful!
("For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16) For those who have left us and journeyed beyond, peace and blessings be with you, in God's loving arms!
 |
