The Moya

As I sit here in the quiet of the day, The Moya is laying on the sofa next to me. She is curled as tight as she can get to stay on the blanket. She knows she isn't supposed to lay on the sofa so she squeezes herself up onto the tiny square of blanket that my legs are under. Moya is twitching as if she is closing in a group of wandering sheep or redirecting a calf that wants to stray from the herd....she is yipping and barking in her dreams. I can hear her muffled voice calling out to whatever it is she is corralling in her
fields of wild grass and flowers.............


.......I wish I could join her there. In her dreams. I wish I could see her face smiling and hear the laughter in her bark as she runs, untethered and free to do what she loves most, keeping 'it' together. In her dream, I'm pretty certain she is herding some sort of animal back into a tidy little group. She does it at the dog park with the other dogs. She keeps them together. She keeps me together. The Moya brings so much joy into my life. 

Have A Wonderful Day

Have a great day!!

I'm serious. My wish for you is that you will go through the day with a smile on your face and with grace in your heart. If you can do those two things, it will be a good day. It's a fact. Try it.

Even on my worst days, I find myself wishing a good day to everyone I encounter. No, it's not just a thought, I say it to them and I smile. My exact words are usually these,"I hope you have a wonderful day." Then, I smile and look them in the eye. It's important to look them in the eye because then, they'll know that I mean what I say. At least I hope they'll know.

So to you I say,"I hope you have a wonderful day." If I could see you, I would smile as I looked into your eyes and I would know my day will be a good one. Wish someone a good day today and mean it. I promise, your day will improve and you can go through your day with a smile on your face and grace in your heart.

xoxo

Escape.....Your. Dreams. Escape, You.

So much for my "30 Day~ A Post A Day" attempt. I'd like to say I'm going to get back to it but who am I kidding? If I make this a job or a chore, I won't do it.

Photo by Patty Maher - 

Fact is, I was quite occupied and probably should not have undertaken the chore when I did. The kids were here visiting and we stayed rather busy during their stay here. Having them here is always fun but it is also exhausting.

For weeks now I've had so many things turning over in my head. Things that seem to want to find an escape from the dark caverns in my brain but probably should be kept where they are. Down, deep into the blackness that rarely, if ever, sees even the smallest flicker of light. Maybe it will see a teeny tiny flicker of light. A flicker as weak as that of a candle. That flicker of light that makes you turn and try to look twice, straining for a peek, at whatever it was you caught a tiny glimpse of out of the corner of your eye. You strain - lean harder in to see it.... it is like that small, tiny, whisper that calls out but you can't understand what it is saying.... it is in there, deep in the dark recesses of your mind and that is where those things should stay (I think). Once you let them out, who knows the havoc they shall wreak on you and your steady, contented, uncontented life.

What if.......what if you open up the way out, like unlatching a suitcase, and what you had held in for so long....what if it all..............................................





 escaped.




What if?

Shopping With a Teenager....Gotta Love It!

Today was pretty low key. We spent the day lounging by the pool and then went up to the roof to watch the sunset. An adequate recovery plan after the previous day of mall shopping with a 15 year old girl and a 12 year old boy. HOLY CROW!!! Shopping with kids that age is more painful than a dental visit for a root canal without Novocain.

I have to laugh, each year I look forward to having the kidlets here and each year, they want to go shopping. I dread shopping days. Laughing is all I can do. They have very definite ideas about what they do and do not like. Nic has officially grown out of the phase where I could talk him into joining Shelby and me for pedicures. This year, he has put his proverbial foot down and declared he would NOT be getting a pedi with us. I am greatly disappointed. Why do boys and men (for the most part) not understand the importance of taking care of their feet?

The no go on the pedi is also a precursor to when the kids will be busy with their friends and summer plans that no longer include their aunt. It makes me sad to think that day will come, I'll deal with that when it comes. In the mean time, I am going to enjoy what time I have with them and I'm going to take advantage of whatever adventures they are willing to share with me, including mall shopping. Tonight, they were as excited about going to watch the sunset as I was.... I love that about them. They still see the beauty in life's simple things. I hope that never changes. 

Let The Fun Begin!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Today could be considered an adventure. The kids are in town again for their annual summer visit and as usual, we went to the aquarium. They love to go as much as I do. Each year we try to do things different than the last, unless we liked it so much last year we can't wait to repeat our place of adventure and find new memories in a familiar place. That is how we feel about the aquarium.






Family is precious and mine live so far away that I try to take advantage of any opportunity I may have to spend time with those I love. Soon, the kids will be grown up and living their own lives and they won't be coming to Florida any more to visit their aunt....I'm enjoying them while I still have them. Life goes by so fast, spend the time you have with those you love whenever you can.

When we visit the aquarium, we love to take photographs. Each visit to the aquarium means I take my SLR and a few different lenses so I can capture the beauty and share it with any one who is interested in seeing the sights through my eyes. This year, however, I went armed only with my iPhone... below are some of the things the kids and I saw. I hope you enjoy the sites as much as we do.

Live your time on this planet with open eyes and an open heart, and spend as much of it as you can with those you love.

Shredding of The List

And on the 6th day, I took a nap. A very long nap and I'm pretty sure I might have, possibly, probably, snored. It was that wonderful of a nap. Don't be hatin', I'll try not to rub it in too much.

When I began this 30 day blog journey I thought it would be enjoyable to begin a blog journey of interesting topics. After yesterday's topic I find myself somewhat disenchanted with the predetermined topics of the "30 day- A Post A Day- Blog Challenge". No idea what I will be writing about for the next 24 days but I'll do my best to keep it interesting.








In about 30 minutes it will be tomorrow. For now, I'm going to get back to continuing that nap I was talking about earlier. Tomorrow is going to be fantastic, the Aquarium is on the list of things to do for us. I can't wait!!

Have a great night y'all!! xoxo

EX-cuse You?

Day 5 ...things I want to say to an Ex? Nothing. If we've remained friends through the years, nothing needs to be said. If we are no longer friends, there is nothing to say.

Stupidest damn blog topic - WTF?!? If there is going to be a 30 day challenge couldn't they, at the very least, make the topics somewhat interesting? FFS.

I'm going to go get a drink.

Ciao y'all....stay tuned for tomorrow's 30 Day Challenge Topic. I'm afraid to see what it will be.

Thank you for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment. xoxo 

Gimme Back My Bullets..... Day 4

Day four of the blog challenge - bullet my day. Since I drove approximately 650 miles today, bullet-ing my day seemed rather, how should I say it? Short.

• 3:17 am, I was awakened by the sound of The Moya retching all over the bedroom floor. Yes, tossing her doggy cookies so to speak. At 3 am, this is not fun for either of us. 
• 3:17:30 am I begin cleaning up puppy vomit.....4 piles of it. I love her so, it's okay.
• 3:20 am kitteh begins licking my face and drooling on me. Gross! I begin to understand how my day is shaping up
• 4:45, last time I looked at the clock before I fell back to sleep
• 5:20, the alarm goes off. I roll over and try to snooze a little longer. to no avail, kitteh is back 
• 6:00 am, walk The Moya
• 6:30 am, make coffee and call my sister let her know I am planning to leave in about 30-40 minutes
• 6:40-8:00 am, wash the dirty dishes in the sink, clean the water fountain for the kittehs, clean the litter box, feed everyone, fold the laundry, put away the laundry, pack an overnight bag for myself and for Moya
• 8:00 - 8:30 am, load the vehicle with our things and everything we are bringing to NC for assorted peeps. 
• 8:31- 8:50 am, shower, get dressed, put on make up, put hair in pony tail
• 8:51- 9:15 am, double check everything, grab my computer, grab Moya and make our way down to the car.
• 9:20 - begin our 9.5 hour trip to NC
• 9:20 am - 6:45 pm drive and sing the songs on my iPod as loudly and as off key as any human can possibly do. LOVE to sing, just not very good at it. The musical talent in the DeGarmo family did not fall on me.
• 6:45 - arrived in Rockingham and enjoyed 3 hours of non stop talking, jewelry ogling, and food with beer and tequila. I lost track of time and hated to leave but I had three little girls waiting up far past their bedtime for me to arrive.
• 10:45 pm, arrived at my sisters in a whirl of noise and activity, kissed the girls, tucked them into bed 
• 11:39pm,  sat down to bullet proof my day. 

This particular blog post seems like a silly chore but, I am following the challenge so, there you have it. My day in bullet point.....sorry to have put you all through this. 

Until I sat down to write this post, here is how my day really went (in my mind)..... some of the words may have been changed to fit my warped brain on a long day of driving. Yes, I do make me laugh.....

• I'm not calling you ghost, just stop haunting me
• ain't no grave gonna hold me down
• happiness hit her like a bullet in the (brain) back
• this ain't a scene
• you really think you're in control
• I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know
• as I wake its kaleidoscopic mind
• make your life madness
• m m m m m m mad mad mad but now I have finally seen the end
• the things that could have been are repressed
• like an apparition, you don't seem real at all
• oh the bee does quickly sting
• my heart's forsaken me, big black horse
• I'm going to Wichita
• through this poisoned nightmare have you set yourself free
• Blame it on my A.D.D. baby

and this particular bullet list could go on, and on, and on, and on.....

Thanks for reading, and sorry it is dated a day late but I did begin this on Day 4 *big smiles and a wink*

xoxo

Only One? Impossible.

Over the course of my life reading books has always been a joy for me. Being given the chance to walk through other worlds, times, dreams, truths, reading a book has always been a welcome escape. My library isn't enormous but it is a good size and over the years, it has traveled everywhere I have gone. My books are like old friends and some have been with me since I was nine years old (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit Trilogy.....). To say I love my books would not be an overstatement. 

In all of the years of reading if you were to ask me to decide on one favorite, I couldn't do it. Yes, I love to read and re-read the classics, many of them have taken up permanent residence alongside Stephen King, Tom Clancy, Anne Rice, and many others. My favorite? I can't say that I have just one. What I do have are a few 'Go to' books. These are books that always seem ready with advice or a calm word to soothe my busy mind. Clarissa Pinkola Estes penned a book titled, "Women Who Run With the Wolves". On any given day, I can open it to any page and find a word of guidance or assurance. Joining Clarissa's book are a few others, Richard Bach's "Illusions", and Beverly Rollwagen's, "She Just Wants". 

Today, Clarissa's words are, from the chapter "Homing: Returning to OneSelf".....uncanny sometimes - this was what I read....“The psyches and souls of women also have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.” 
This passage seems apropos to the place I'm at in my life, returning to the soul-place. Creating my place. I feel comforted by her words.

Richard Bach offers something more akin to a Magic 8 Ball. *Laughing* Yes, I am serious. You know how you used to concentrate so hard on a question regarding your hearts most desired wish, shake the 8 Ball and then flip it over hoping for an answer or guidance to help you gain your heart's desire? That is sort of what it's like to open a page of "Illusions". Today I opened the pages and it spoke these words...

“You are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self. Don't turn away from possible futures before you're certain you don't have anything to learn from them. You're always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past.” 

Food for thought and thought to ponder.




To say, "Finally," would be inaccurate but another of my favorites that I go to just to quiet my mind was a gift from a friend. She always put great thought into the gifts she gave me and this one, even though we are no longer friends, is still a treasure and makes me think of her and smile. Beverly Rollwagen's "She Just Wants", is a fabulous compilation of everyday thoughts that women have regarding what seems so simple yet so complicated - everyday life. I think my favorite piece is this one.....maybe....I can never choose just one, so I'll share this one...

"She just wants to let the lazy water fall around her. Someone calls it rain, but that comes with sky-splitting speed. What she wants now is the calming steadiness of a shower. The water should not be cold. She should feel every pore of her body being filled. She will tip her head back, open her mouth and receive what the sky gives. This is a perfect way to drown."

There you have it, a brief, tiny peek into my library. It is my sincere hope that you also have a way to escape and a means to find your way.

Thank you for stopping by and thank you for taking the time to read my rambling thoughts.

Be True

Day two of the 30 Day Challenge - Missy is to blame, she was doing this and I thought to myself, "Self...WTF are you waiting for? You keep saying you want to get back to blogging, here's your kick start!"

Today, the challenge is to talk about something I feel strongly about. Hmmmm, where to begin?
The things that are important to me run a very broad and diverse path. My family, my friends, our military, my country, and my future. All of these things rank in the top for me and all of these things require the same thing from me, simply to be the best person I can possibly be.

Yes, I have said this before, and I shall go right on saying it because every day is a reminder of what needs repairing, what needs boosting, what needs my attention, and what needs my love. My life is far from perfect. Just like most people, I face challenges along the way that I have sometimes thought would get the best of me. They haven't. Nothing, and no one, can ever get the best of anyone unless we give them that power. Empower yourself, you'll be happy when you do.

So what is important to me? Holding my head up (even though some days I fail at this), being honest (with myself and others), caring about myself as much as I care about others, and loving without conditions and without judgement (this can be tough). Ultimately, my words have not changed for years and my belief has not faltered. If everyone worked everyday at being the best person they could possibly be, the world would be a much better place and the world could understand true forgiveness and grace. I'm working on being a more graceful person and any help I can get along the way is greatly appreciated.

In closing, now that I've told you what is important to me, would you tell me what is important to you?

20 Random Facts .... About Me (Because I knew you were dying to know)

 

1) People who butcher the English language drive me nuts.















  2) I was once a photojournalist and it is still the best job I ever had- I still love photography but only if it's at my leisure

  3) I cherish my friends

  4) If I say, "I love you." I mean it.

  5) I LOVE LOVE LOVE my ink.

  6) Roller coasters are AWESOME

  7)  Ramen - I can prepare it a hundred different ways. My favorite is simple, with nothing added except the flavour packet. Yummmmm

  8) I'm allergic to apples - WTF?!?















  9) I enjoy laughing....a LOT

10) I trust everyone, until they prove they cannot be trusted. Then, even if I like the person, I probably don't trust them

11) I have lived in Ethiopia  & Germany

12) Fast cars get my heart going. Think of Homer and how he feels about beer, that is how I feel about fast cars.

13) I have lived in 8 of the continental United States.

14) Raspberry is my favorite fruit flavor... or is it Mango, I can never make up my mind

15) I don't believe in regret. I think regrets are a waste of time and energy. Life's experiences have helped to make me who I am, the good and the not so good. How can I regret that?

16) Red is my favorite colour. It isn't the only colour I like but it is the one I always return to.

17) If you fuck with someone I love, I will make your life miserable. I will make you wish you had never met me.  Seriously.











18) Pretty sure I have A.D.D. It takes me 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because when I start putting dishes away, I find other things that need doing as well.........

19) I have had a multitude of careers in my lifetime and enjoyed them all, I still don't know what I want to be but isn't life supposed to be full of adventure?




20) I have a recurring dream about alligators. I've had this dream since I was a little girl and the dreams change
a little from dream to dream but the alligators are there, and I'm usually naked. I look hot in my dream though so it's all good.