Thoughts And Considerations

FREE CREDIT REPORT W/OUT USING A CREDIT CARD! EUREKA

2008-11-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

Guess What! It is me again blogging. How long has it been? I don't think I can even count the days! For those that keep up with my blog, let me just say, MY LIFE HAS CHANGED so much in the last 6 months, and my future is now heading in many different ways. Long story, and will try to get around to blogging about it as soon as possible.

For those that are new to my blog, this is important information to read, as it has to do with credit and getting your credit online that is really free. Funny how I found this out reading where I took on a free 15 day membership with one that charges you after 15 days. I read their TOS and within their TOS, discovered I could get all three reports free. (By the way, I was just about to pay $24.00 with this particular credit report place when I found out, by agreeing to their TERMS of SERVICE. And low and behold, I assume by law, they gave a link where I can get this all free. LOL It does pay to read any and all of TOS within websites, as you can find out all kinds of good stuff without being ripped off, so to speak.)

I am sure that most all have seen the commercial where the young guy is always singing about his credit and how his life became screwed up by not checking his credit first. Singing songs about not being able to buy a car or marrying a girl before he checked what her credit was like, to give a few examples. He is SO CUTE, and I really liked the commercials.

As it has turned out, recently, I needed a credit report. So, off I trot my fingers to FreeCreditReport.com. Turns out, I was a ghost while trying to get my credit report, as I have not placed anything on my credit since 1996. 1996 was 12 years ago, and when they tried to identify me, I could not remember stuff. This was a headache, and ended up having to fax them tons of stuff to prove I was really me. I got a little irritated and ventured over to other free credit places (well, free for 15 days.) I was a ghost there also.

At these free credit reports for a certain amount of days, before you can get your credit report (and it usually only gives you only one out of three) you always have to give your credit card number to continue. I always make a date of when I do this, as I really do have intentions of canceling whatever I am doing, especially if I am just looking for something simple and not really interested in all their "Premium Memberships" that cost each month that I know I will never use.

OK, I see that I am running off at the mouth again I see, so I will get to the meat of this blog.

Here is a link where you can get your credit report for free once a year. You can access this link once a year for most states, and you are given 30 days to view or do whatever you need to do on the site. They DO NOT ask for a credit card to do so. (But be very careful, as there are links within this site where you might think they are part of viewing your credit and you would have to pay.) This site also allows you to do what the other paid sites let you do, such as disputing your credit, or changing things that are not correct on your credit file.

And the winner is************* Annual Credit Report Make sure you check out their toolbar at the top. Especially the FAQS. It is really informative and important.

I could just KICK myself in the BUTT for not finding them first. If you google Free Credit Report, they do come up pretty fast, but others come up before them, and they all say they are free until you get to the fine print of what all their memberships offer within your so many days time frame. Once you get to Annual Credit Report one is almost of the opinion that it is just another one like it or attached to it, as like I said before, some of the advertisements on the site can be misleading and take you to a paid membership site on credit reports.

In ending, I HIGHLY encourage anyone to check their credit, especially if it is really free. Main reason I say this as I have very little credit, but even in all three of my reports, I found out that several things were wrong within my credit report and therefore, disputed them. I also found out that checking my own credit did not count in ratio of having several places (credit cards, car loans, housing, medical, etc.) of messing up my credit score. (If your credit is checked a lot by places you are trying to get credit, then it can lower your credit score.) If something is wrong with your credit, then FIX it. Especially now with the economy in such a slump. On my credit report they had the residence I lived in back in 1999 as my last place of residence. OMG! LOL.
What made it really funny was they had all my other addresses listed as well, even the right dates, but still listed my 1999 address as my current address. (Well, I faxed them all the proof and information they needed. I guess they will now have a lot of new paperwork to do concerning me.)

Hope many read this blog and I hope this helps. See, many of the good things in life are free. Just gotta find them. Which is why I choose the word EUREKA as I am so happy I found this information.

Katie

HURRICANE MEMORIES~LOADED THOUGHTS! GUSTAV?

2008-08-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

KATRINA MEMORIES~LOADED THOUGHTS!

The title above is of a blog I wrote back in June, 2006. No reason to really click the link as I have done a complete copy and paste of it. Once you finish reading the blog, is the update of how this once again may happen. Another hot August day, but years later. Also, I will give links to update on this from what I have found, and the resembles of Katrina.

While I was working on my own personal goals tonight, my husband appeared with a magazine in hand in a demanding voice of “you love to blog, you must read this, as trust me, you will find time to blog on this.” I looked in his eyes, and he stood there with the pages open for me to read, and stood over my shoulder while I read the article. I should have know if was an article by National Geographic, as he reads them all. From the antique volumes to the new ones pressed in dates of 2006. And he reads them from front to back!

With him over looking me, I started to read the article. It started off describing a broiling hot summer day on a August afternoon, and forecasters warned of storms approaching that would hit the city of New Orleans. How it was forecasted and the devastation would unfolded. How the storm turned into a hurricane and the loss of life was involved. How the storm gathered speed and why people evacuated to higher ground. The story entailed how thousands remained in place, giving examples of the homeless, the car less, the aged and infirmed, as well as the die-hards that refused to go.

The article talked about how the devastation continued. How it hit certain areas in close relationship description of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly splurge into Lake Pontchartrain. How the waters of the lake broke away under the strength of the storm, flooding the city with unexpected waters. How it enveloped the city and destroyed the houses, and took away the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street, and how it reached the entire city going over 25 feet while people rushed and climbed on roof tops to escape the fury.

The article went on to read about thousands drowning in the murky waters, and pointed out those that did now drown would die do to contamination of sewage and industrial waste, and how thousands of others would perish from the flood in regards to dehydration and disease while they waited to be rescued. How millions would be homeless, and thousands were dead and dying. How this was the worst disaster in the history of the United States.

He was expecting a reaction out of me, as he knew I had been watching CNN all day today on the Katrina disaster memories, and he is used to my tears that fall, but his point was strong as he knows me well and my emotions. He expected me to look into his face on the next line I read of “When did this calamity happen? It hasn’t-yet!” My first thought was, “Oh God, the possibility can happen again”

My husband took the book from my hand, and flipped it over for me to read the date. The date on the National Geographic magazine is October 2004. My insides and my body shook. We had already discussed this and knew this was reported on, but seeing this in such description in reality stunned me.

The article goes on to read that the doomsday is not far-fetched. That the Federal Emergency Management Agency list a hurricane to strike New Orleans as a dire threat to our nation. It even goes so far to say that Red Cross has a problem with hurricane shelters with claims the risk to workers is too great.

The article is devastating to read, as it brought back so many memories that touched the entire USA. And like with Tsunami, it reaches much further.

Jim, my husband deals with things different than me. While I cry and mourn on these things, his heart is heavy as he cannot stand the fact that people in power did not know this was going to happen and then it did happen, or if they knew the possibility of it, they refused to believe it, or own up to the fact so therefore passed the buck to stay clear of any blame.

Article is provided on the warning and prediction of trauma that did hit our USA and devestated so many lives less than a year ago, and their lives still continue to be stiffled, and hurt! GONE WITH THE WATER~NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 2004

While the article of 2004 says so much that stands true in reality today, it breaks my heart to just go on. There was a statement in the article of why people will be broken forever, our wallets also suffer the problem as tax payers. And this could have also be avoided. When this happened, my last thought was a tax problem and my dollar spent as a tax payer, but what the author wrote gives me reason to think on this without guilt. When such a disaster happens to us, as a nation, as a caring respondent, our first thoughts are for the people that suffered. Our other thoughts come later. Reading the article will let you decide with your own feelings!

Katie

Date now is August 30th, 2008! Below!

Now here we are once again almost of what could be devastating news, and will hit in the early days of Sept. yet the same day as the Anniversary of Katrina, when the news of Katrina hitting New Orleans August 29, 2005.

I so hope this is not a repeat of Katrina and the devastation we saw back in Aug. 2005, but it could be. Many residents of Katrina have not even finished building the homes that they wanted to return to. The levy's are not even ready or strong enough as this takes so much time and money to finish and prepare for such another disaster. Streets and highways are already jammed and buses are already being loaded. At least the people are taking much more energy to realize the importance of such a disaster that can strike. There are tons of links of what is possible and what can happen. Many forecasters are even predicting that the storm surge can be higher than what Katrina brought. It really matters not if we are prepared for this or not, as it could very well be a reality of the repeat of Katrina with Gustav and with Hannah right behind it.

The news is pretty much updating every few minutes now of the possibilities of what can happen or expectations. Please see the links below. And once again, my thoughts and prayers are with all that might suffer from this, and as a nation as well should it come to this. Hugs to all, Katie

PREPARING FOR GUSTAV

GUSTOV NOW MAJOR HURRICANE AND PICKING UP STEAM!

GUSTAV TRACKING, Information, Wind, Surges, Forecasts, related issues(I consider this to be an excellent link as it gives so much valuable information)

Google research of "Gustav" will bring many more excellent links!

Recognizing Other Bloggers

2008-05-20T07:47:00.000-07:00
Even while my life is busy, I have yearned to blog as a release from the complications of life, and decided to do some blog exchanges. The blog exchanges I do, I must feel they are worthy to blog about before wasting my time. Especially if the bloggers have something valuable to offer not just me, but readers as a whole. Trust me, I have turned down blog exchanges already.

Today, I was offered to do a blog exchange on Filipino Life Abroad. I was really impressed with this blog as it is pretty much close to the way I write when it comes to everyday life, my feelings of what is going on with me personally, plus this blogger also writes on things that could be informative to other readers. While the name of the blog is Filipino Life Abroad, her blog does not just cover subjects on life abroad, but also several interesting subjects or educating information. There is a touch of sweetness and soul searching also in some of her blogs, which I found very interesting. I am really glad I had the opportunity to give this blogger some exposure to my dedicated readers. Her writing style is really excellent, and it is evident that she puts a great deal of time and thought into her blogs.

I was also impressed with the widgets and other blog options such as interesting polls and a really neat video bar. It really dresses up her blog by placing these options here.

If you get the chance, visit her blog for some interesting blogs and information on other subjects. My Thoughts and Considerations is that Filipino Life Abroad has a great blog, and I will be back to visit her blog often!

Katie

LUCID DREAMS and Questions

2008-04-02T01:11:00.000-07:00
I am trying to get back to blogging. I feel kind of out of touch with blogging, yet working on it and touching base with things I have written on before, regardless of how long ago it was. Which pretty much brings me to the blog of dreams, due to the fact that I have had lot of dreams lately, plus the subject of dreams have always interested me. I wrote a blog about dreaming and what it all means over a year ago called What Are Our Dreams Trying To Tell Us?, and a reader commented that I might be a lucid dreamer. My first reaction was "NO, that is not so", yet, I was ignorant to the fact of what a lucid dream meant, and thought it meant that I peed in my bed! OK, I am not the smartest tool in the tool shed at times, but I do pay great attention to educate myself to understand and research more on the subjects I write about, and with lucid dreams, I think I have accomplished some what of this.

Readers may ask the question, what is lucid dreams? This question was also one I wanted to know as well, and basically, the answer is being aware of what you are dreaming while in a deep sleep. The quality of lucid dreams can vary with individuals in many degrees, which in times can be exciting or frightening, depending on how you look or deal with your dream. At high levels of your dreams, if you are a lucid dreamer, you are pretty much aware of everything experienced in your dreams as if in real life so to speak, and the ability of handle it. If the dream scares you, you are capable to wake yourself up in efforts of not facing the trauma that it might have brought you otherwise from a sweaty and scary sudden wake up dream, realizing the reality that you are not in any real immediate danger, and safely tucked in the comfort of your own bed. For example, say you have a constant dream of going down a long hill of a road where it meets at a five points area with no stop signs available, and on the way down the hill, you see multiple car accidents, and all the gore, before getting to the bottom of the hill. With a lucid dream, you would be able to wake yourself before getting to the bottom of the hill, or if you wanted to, you could avoid the trauma of the bad dream and wake yourself up. Or you could take the responsibility within your dream to meet what your fears are at the bottom of the nightmare hill, proceeding through your fears as you go, and braving your way through the five points and onto the next road. Pretty much like a video game play, reaching the next level. The dream decision is yours, to take it to the next experience, or end it where you feel most comfortable. This is my opinion at least when it concerns lucid dreams, and how I try and work with them when I have that chance.

When it comes to lower levels of lucid dreams, this to me represents a level of being less comfortable and the ability in a degree concerning a dream world of what can happen or not, in relationship with depending on a choice inside the dream, which has not yet matured in a dream stage of lucid dreaming. Yet, I think this level of dreaming leads towards help and experience y with what will eventually be total lucid dreams that one (you) might experience at a later stage concerning your dreams in time. Examples of low level lucid dreams gives the dreamer the ability to fly or alter their dreams to fit their particular mood at times and in some cases I think, or this level of dreaming may find a map in comforting ways to the dreamer , yet also in these low level dreams, the realization of what they (you) are dreaming may not deliver the option to change or alter the dream. The dreamer may wake up in a cold sweat, fear of immediate conscious danger that is not real, before the dreamer realizes it is only sleep related. Yet, also at times, when they (dreamer, you, etc.) wakes up, the realization sets in that this was only a bad dream, finally apparent to the dreamer. Therefore, I think with that in mind, the dreamer will reflect with the knowledge given, that they are safe and have the ability to deal with their dreams and work with their dreams on a more comfortable level. At least this is true with me, and what I have accomplished in my own dream route.

I wanted to know more about the definition of LUCID DREAMS! The best description I found was given in the link provided, explains that lucid dreams are experienced by ones who are dreaming while actually knowing what they are dreaming, described by Frederik van Eeden, an exceptional link who also goes on to suggest that the word of "lucid" and in relationship to dreamers in a mental clarity, such as being in a midst of a dream and realizing the experience of being there, yet understanding it was not a real physical experience, but just a dream. My take on this, is that the dreamer is triggered or set off by the dreamer realizing impossible things in the dream, such as flying, meeting or fighting monsters, seeing ones they know are dead in real life, but are alive in their dreams, etc. With this definition and explanation, this pretty much describes me and what I have felt within my own personal dreams.

A great deal goes into the research of lucid dreaming, such as how far can lucid dreams be controlled, or are they related to out of body experiences, why one has lucid dreams, how it deals with adventure and the fantasy world in dreams relations, facing and overcoming nightmares, and the list continues, and with me, etc. means etc. as so much is given on the the Internet concerning these very questions. Thankfully the Internet is vast and stock full of many links and information to help dreamers understand more, as it is a very questioned subject.

I have given the most researched link that I found on the Internet to the readers in regards of information concerning Lucid Dreams. Many more links can be found on the Internet by using keywords of "LUCID DREAMS", and other keywords. It really is a very interesting subject! And with my take f lucid dreams, I give you my Thoughts And Considerations!

If you are interested in this subject and can find the time, check out the particular link I have given above on Frederik van Eeden , or do some research on your own!

Thoughts and Considerations from Katie, and her Logue!

Keeping Up With Life's Challenges

2008-03-30T06:46:00.000-07:00
It has been a pretty long time since I have written a personal blog. I think about writing in my blog all the time and even have all kind of subjects listed in my journal of what I would like to write about. But my life has been so busy lately, that I have put blogging on the back burner somewhat. Good thing is that I do like the new challenges in my life, and look forward to them each day.

As I wrote about in a few previous blogs a couple of months ago, I joined a social networking site called Rotatrix Friends Network , or RFN for short. RFN has had some growing pains as any new fast growing site would have, which in return called for a lot of changes. One of the new changes was getting rid of the old administrators and replacing them with new ones. Any I am one of the new administrators there, along with my husband and two other people, who are very good friends of mine that I grew to know and love while I was Exec. staff at RFN. This position at RFN keeps us all on our toes, as so much needs to be done, and so many things are in the works, which is expected with so many members of almost 14,000 and still growing so fast. Thankfully, we all work so well together, and have accomplished a great deal within the network.

Besides RFN, and my regular personal life, I have been writing advertising blogs for Smorty, and I really enjoy the extra income from doing that, as it only takes me a few minutes to write the blogs. While there are several opportunities to write on, I only choose the ones that I feel comfortable with. It takes me longer to research the product I am going to write about, then writing the blog itself.

Other news in my life is that Renee, my daughter, will not have to return to Iraq. I am so happy that I do not have to worry and be stressed out about her being over there again.

Anyway, just letting the readers catch up with what has been going on in my life and why I have not been blogging much. I am hoping to get better organized in the future, and start back to my blogging on a more regular basis.

Hugs to all!

Katie

Disappearing Bee's Will Up Food Cost

2008-03-11T04:47:00.000-07:00
It appears each day that what is happening to mother nature, has a direct influence on our world. It is becoming pretty scary, not to mention costly to humans and planet earth. Now there is a buzz about the disappearance of bees. Without the bees, crop products do not produce well as we need the bees to pollinate the crops. This in turn also has and will continue to force farmers to go bankrupt. Not only that, but what crops are available will be extremely high in the grocery stores and farmer markets. Scientist do not yet know what is causing the bees to disappear, and hopefully a solution can be found to save the bees. Interesting read below on this.

When Will The Shootings Stop?

2008-03-08T10:20:00.000-08:00
When will it end? It seems every time we turn around, another innocent individual is killed. Sometimes it becomes disheartening to watch the news due to the violence that abounds . It seems to me that students are being targeted more and more, and this is scary. What do you think about this and the violence that is so close to our homes?

MEREDITH EMERSON, TEARS ARE SHED

2008-01-08T07:03:00.000-08:00
It totally amazes me how emotional we get when we so hope the one all are searching for will be found. For many days, besides the family of Meredith Emerson, many caring and loving people have been on pins and needles searching and hoping for her safe return. According to CBS NEWS, Missing Hiker Found Dead In Georgia, Meredith Emerson body has been found. Other news stations are now confirming this, and it is not what any of us wanted to hear. Meredith Emerson went hiking with her dog Ella, whom she loved so very much. Meredith Emerson was young and strong, and her life had so much to tell, yet her life has been stopped suddenly, and many cry with this. How sad, such a tragedy. I don't even know her and it breaks my heart. Life just sometimes seems to jump out at us, when we never expect it.

Meredith Emerson, 24 years old, a vibrant and beautiful girl who loved all animals so much, but especially her dog Ella, who was always beside her, yet they both quickly made the news. No one wanted to hear the outcome of this news, but sadly I think it rested in our heart, and broke out hearts, and explains why it is so heartbreaking for all those that hoped to see her smile again.

Of course an autopsy must be done to conclude what we already expect. This is police procedure to do this in any case. Enough said concerning this.

There in not much more I can say concerning this, as tears are in my eyes and in the eyes of many, and I know my tears cannot even compare with her families tears and what the family is feeling and suffering right now. With that said, I am so sorry and wish I could do more to comfort you, as I know your heart is breaking. So many want to help alleviate your pain with this loss. I hope this brings at least some comfort your way as a family concerning Meredith. I speak for so many when I say HUGS AND KISSES in so many ways. Katie

THE MEGAN MEIER CASE - MEDIA VILLIANIZES BLOGGERS INSTEAD!

2007-12-02T18:15:00.000-08:00
Fighter of EOPC, did a live broadcast with FOX NEWS' Mike & Juliet Show on 11/30/07, where EOPC was sandbagged, insulted, called names just for using a pseudonym to protect themselves and for bringing some attention to the Internet and public as a whole on the Megan Meiers story that happened in 2006.

I am here to support them.

What is your reaction when a 13 year old commits suicide by hanging herself, all due to what the Internet brings on its super highway and you learn an adult used her as a token of play? Especially at the hands of an adult that knew her & her family well, and that set up the plot (using the fake name "Josh Evans") to make this child feel really special, unique, only to destroy her in the end with so much trauma and stress. An adult who told Megan "the world would be better off without her". An adult who has shown no remorse or taken any responsibility, to the point she told Megan's mother to "give it a rest."
This was such extreme emotional rape that this 13 hung herself as she just felt that she could not face life anymore. Is this plot a murder even though they did not knot the loop, or place this child's head in the noose? Some say not, and it is a controversial subject.

In my eyes, it is just as close to murder as one can get without touching this poor child, pulling a trigger or hiring a hit man.

Let me give you a brief history of this child, as it might fit the description of your own child without you even knowing the trauma that lies deep in child's heart, the way they feel about life and not fitting in, their personal insecurities. Megan, battled attention deficit disorder, bipolar depression and a weight problem for much of her young life; always tried to fit in with others her age, suffered with her own emotions and others not understanding. She had a great deal on her plate for a 13-year old child with all these problems. Anyone that would pay attention to her, make her feel special, compliment her, tell her she was worthy, etc., would obviously mean a great deal to her. It was the attention she needed to make her feel better, and gave her a reason to smile and face the next day with a smile. ALL of this was known to her cyberbully/ attacker. Very well known.

To make a long story short, she had a falling out with the perpetrator's daughter. And this other child's parents that had issues with Megan, stepped in via the Internet creating a FAKE MySpace profile of a boy that supposedly liked Megan, and that eventually led to Megan hanging herself.

Instead of explaining to their own child that this is part of growing up, how to handle this situation and being a REAL PARENT, they set out to destroy Megan. And they did. Took time to set up falsehoods, talking to Megan on the Internet with MYSPACE, instead of being a RESPONSIBLE PARENT to their own child of how to handle teenage years. And to make matters worse, since these adult parents knew Megan, they knew her insecurities, and how to get to her, how to make her suffer. How to destroy her. They might as well have had a gun and shot her. Yet, no gun was needed. And, I think they knew that. I think they knew Megan well enough to expect the outcome of her committing suicide.

"Oh, Mom, you don't understand" Megan said to her mother. The thing is, Megan's mother did want to understand, yet realized that while she talked about the dangers of the Internet, and all the things that could go on with it, especially her young daughter that felt some wonderful feelings with all the attention she was being given, her mom also I think had to be careful of how she choose her words to warn her child.

Telling her to not believe anything she heard on the Internet, also might come across to Megan that her mom, who loved her with her heart and soul, was putting Megan down as Megan might have then thought that her mother did not believe in her or think she was special to have a caring and loving relationship. We do have to pick our words careful when it comes to things like this. Parents are not trained on how to express to their children that they are tokens in a game, or beingused, therefore try to give some leeway to let in what happiness their child is experiencing. Yet, I bet they do not sleep well at night as they are unsure of what consequences might fall as they could not find the right words without hurting their child more. Taken from EOPC in a blog with words from Megan's mom:

"That was always the talk," Tina Meier told Lauer, repeating the conversations she had with her daughter: "'Megan, c'mon, we don't even know this person. Let's not get too excited.' She'd say, 'Oh, Mom, you don't understand.' So I did talk to her daily about that. But children at this age, they don't think that."

And then the boy, (remember, this was not a boy, but a parent, an adult) turned on Megan, leading a campaign of vilification and online name-calling that ended when Megan took her own life.

If this does not bring tears to eyes, then we might need to check our tear ducts. SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE that a child's mind can be played with by someone using a false personna that spent time with her, told her how wonderful she was, built the confidence as a person she felt she could depend on, make her smile and feel special, thought her life was changing; yet once this was all purposely done, sprang upon her that she was nothing, so much that this poor child felt she can no longer live and takes her own life.

Megan Meier hanged herself Oct. 16, 2006.

For over a year, the law did nothing. Lawmakers used the excuse that "no law fit." That's simply not true.

On Friday, November 30, 2007 Fox TV's Mike & Juliet show had Fighter on via phone, NEVER mentioning that EOPC is a victim's services site. A site that helps those adults conned, coerced, and traumatized by predators online. They treated this one member of the Fighter team as a representative punching bag of a "CYBER MOB" (their term) of bloggers, never mentioned their site (despite producers promising they would!) or the great work EOPC does for victims.

Fighter was also villanized along with other bloggers for posting ALREADY AVAILABLE INFORMATION about the perpetrator of Megan's cyberbullying. Things already posted by the New York Times. Mike, one of the hosts, chided Fighter for linking to Rotten Neighbor, despite Fighter telling him repeatedly they had never advocated violence or viligilante justice against the perpetrators and again, was linking to already publicly available information. Eventually the show just cut off the phone connection so the Fighter team couldn't say another word!

As fellow blogger Danny Vice says:

The media has earned it's reputation as the "drive by media" for a reason. It thoughtlessly reveals the names of anyone it deems newsworthy on almost every subject, in it's relentless bid to get the 'exclusive rights' to a story or simply gain market share.
...

The Vice could go back and list thousands of stories where the media wasted no time in delivering the names and occupations of individuals that were later exonerated of any wrong-doing. The vice is aware of no instance where the same media outlet apologized to the family who was wrongly accused. The media simply cut the story and jumps on the next "name" that emerged as a compelling story.

Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry", a great song from the 80's, certainly nails it on the head rather well I think. The hypocrisy here is so well documented over decades of story telling, that simply opening tomorrow's newspaper easily confirms the silliness of it.

The Vice has concluded that naming Lori Drew was legitimate news. She is a primary subject of the story, is not a rape victim, and is not a minor. Identifying her breaks no new ground, nor does it deviate from what news outlets do on a daily basis.

The Vice also reminds readers that her name and her role in the Megan Meier tragedy were documented as public record. A public record that Lori filed on her own accord. This is a critically important fact in this case.

News outlets, bloggers and the general public were handed Lori's name and Lori's own self admissions when she herself filed that police report and sought to elevate the severity of the situation that had developed between her and the Meier family.

Had Lori Drew simply acknowledged what she did was wrong, and apologized - the police report that identified her may have never been filed, and the entire situation may have well been kept at the lowest profile.

The real story here may not even be about Megan Meier. It may simply be another example of why the Golden Rule has endured the many years it's been repeated. Do unto others, as you'd have them do unto you.

CLICK HERE FOR DANNY VICE'S GREAT BLOG

Dr. Keith Ablow proved he is merely a media sensationalist as well by questioning the fact that Fighter is a pseudonym for the team of people who do the blog (because EOPC outs predators (potentially DANGEROUS pathologicals) and the persons running the site wish to protect their own families while assisting victims) implying Fighter had 'psychological problems' to which the audience foolishly was prompted to applaud (and did so like lemmings).

The Fighter Team was positioned instead as 'raving lunatics' and a 'cyberbullys' who weren't allowing the law to 'take its course' -- all without giving a fair shake for the great work EOPC does.

Dr. Ablow and the hosts never even bothered to question the sociopathic tendencies of the adult that drove Megan to her death or the righteous indignation of bloggers who are angry that the law has done NOTHING in over a year until this came to light.

Nor was the sick blog called 'Megan Had It Coming' called out.
WEB HOAX LED GIRL TO KILL HERSELF

MYSPACE HOAX VICTIM'S FAMILY SEEKS JUSTICE

PUBLIC OUTCRY ON THE MEGAN MEIER CASE

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR MEGAN

MEGAN MEIER: A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT EOPC IS ABOUT

FIGHTER ATTACKED ON FOX TV OVER MEGAN MEIER CASE

JUSTICE FOR MEGAN - SIGN THE PETITION & LIST OF LAWMAKERS TO CONTACT

SUPPORT FOR EOPC ON THE MEGAN MEIER CASE

FOX ATTACKS BLOGGER FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE FOR MEGAN MEIER

CONTACT THE MIKE & JULIET SHOW AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR CALLING BLOGGERS A "CYBER MOB

I am reposting a letter EOPC got from Dr. Sandra Brown in support of their work:

The Dangerous Relationship Institute
A Relational Harm Reduction & Public Psychopathy Education Project
Sandra L. Brown, M.A. Director

Cyberpaths/ EOPC and all the other victim-based websites whose mission it is to educate and provide sanctuary and healing to those who have been victimized are the heart-beat of the victim's rights movement.

As the web grows to become a healing hospital, those of us who provide online services like Cyberpaths/EOPC know all too well, there are far more victims than website providers.

We need more victim-based services online that boldly proclaim the rights of victims, offer psychopathy education, and solace for those wounded in the soul.

We thank & support EOPC for their valuable contribution to victims worldwide in their valant efforts to educate and protect.

I am always saddened to hear when media and others take pot-shots at victim service providers like Fighter and EOPC. We owe them our gratitude and respect for the work they do and the lives they save.

It's easier to throw pot-shots than it is to provide what victim service web sites do, day in and day out. We need more courageous souls like "Fighter" that step forward and do the work--not more sensationalistic media seekers!

Thank you EOPC--from one victim service provider, to another.

Sandra L. Brown, M.A.
Psychotherapist, Author, & Pathology Researcher
The Dangerous Relationship Institute/Safe Relationships
Author of: How to Spot a Dangerous Man Before You Get Involved,
Counseling Victims of Violence Eds I & II, Women Who Love Psychopaths

Christmas Is Right Around The Corner! SANTA! SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS AWARD

2007-10-05T23:04:00.000-07:00
September 29th, I got a comment from my good friend Michele from her wonderful blog Concerning the Spirit Of Christmas Award at Rocky Mountain Retreat. The award is a Santa Clause Reward pretty much, based on blogs that have touched the hearts of others, and one I humbly accept and am honored that she would think of me to give me this award. Remember all, Christmas is closer than we think, and the spirit of the holiday gives us much to think about.

To know more about the award, click

This is what Santa himself says about this award:

Ho! Ho! Ho! Everyone
As we are now into the last 90 days before Christmas I am releasing my next group of the Christmas Spirit Award.
This award is for those who talk about and show the spirit of Christmas in their blogs.

What is the Spirit of Christmas you ask?
Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the "Spirit of Christmas".

This is the only award that I am releasing that you may pass on to others. I am giving it to five and you should too. Those that have touched your heart with their kind and giving and caring nature.
As always,

Santa ô¿ô

Choosing of who I think deserves this award in reality is not an easy task. I have so many online and blogger friends that are so kind and loving and go over and beyond with their friendship. With the decision not being easy, I still made my choices.

My first thoughts were to give this Santa Award to Margie, a new friend that I meet on Rotatrix Friends Networking. She and I have become good friends and have enjoyed and discussed our love of animals. She and I are even working on putting a website together concerning our love of animals and common relationships we have on our love of horses. Margie has definitely touched my heart and soul with her kind words, her caring and giving nature and her good advise. Thank you Margie. You deserve this award! Santa would be so proud of you! I am. You are now listed on my daily reads, as I think your words and efforts are important. Your words of My menagerie of Pets is a very important issue! Santa would be proud that this award was given to you!

I am also giving this award as Santa would want me to, to another friend from Rotatrix Friends Networking Community. TERRY, again I am honored to give this award to you! Terry's Blog Life Easy Shopping and Tips, is a wonderful blog where Terry tries with great efforts to share her secrets of tools in success in making money on the Internet. She is so honest and caring within her words displayed in her blog. She has become a great friend of mine and has helped me in so many ways. Thank you so much LIFEISEASY~TERRY, you really put an effort in the realization of what you are doing to help others. This blog and the ho ho ho of what Santa thinks, fits you so well. Santa would be proud of you!

Really important to me is Daria Black and her website (she has so many) but did want to point this one out as she has worked so hard on it, and is so determined for herself and what she tires to educate others on concerning Webernet Architect Design. Daria always finds ways to reach so many people with her words and her ideas, and her importance of her gifts that she hopes to share with others, always giving ideas and help to her readers which she gives with so much of her time in research that she freely gives and it really makes a difference to so many. (I also have a link to her other site in my side bar of my daily reads. If you click it, you will understand why!) Daria touches many souls and gives gifts without us even knowing it many times. Her gifts find ways into my dreams, or things to think about or ponder upon. Thanks so much Daria. Your friendship to me is so important. Santa would be proud of me giving this award to you!

I could never leave Ms. Karen out. I have known her since I first started blogging. She somehow found her way into my life, and I am so thankful for this. She has reached me in her humor that makes me remove my keyboard before reading some of her humorous blogs due to spitting what is ever in my mouth in efforts of saving my keyboard. She has also written about such serious and deep thinking things that I have to remove my keyboard again as I do not want my tears to mess up my keyboard. She has away that makes the humor so funny, yet so serious, and with other blogs of her, just so down right human for us all to think about. Santa would be proud that I gave this award to her.

And last, I give the award back to Michele to her blog Rocky Mountain Retreat, as she is one person that has touched my soul and heart in so many ways. She works so hard to place smiles on people and give information about so many things, and with saying this, I am talking about her ability to write, her ability in her art, her ability in placing smiles among so many. Continuing with this, I mean her personal, humor, educational she gives, and so much more. I really think Santa loves her a lot. I know I do!

Ending this, I know that times are busy right now, and the ones I have given the humble award I was given from Michele, they can do what they want with it. Times are busy right now with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, their jobs, their lives, their personal stresses in front of them. I do not want them to think this honor to them has to be passed on. My whole idea of writing this blog was to just point out to my readers of how wonderful these bloggers are. And how proud SANTA would be of them!

Hugs to all the bloggers mentioned above. All are deserving of such an award and so much more!

Katie

STAR BLOG AWARDS! IT WAS NOT HARD TO CHOOSE!

2007-09-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

What an honor! Again I have been awarded with a blog award, named BLOGGING STAR AWARD! My good friend Daria Black passed this award on to me, which was awarded to her from Rolando & his Wonderful Playground Blog!

First things first, with the two mentioned blogs above, thank you so much for such an excellent reading experience, information, etc. etc., that I have gotten from both your blogs. Great job, and both are exceptionally written and brings a great deal to the blogsphere in blog land!

With that said, I am excited to point out and award others of excellent writing, time, consideration and thoughts of other bloggers that I keep up with, and if one takes the time to read their blogs, one will see that it is evident that these bloggers spend a great deal of thought and consideration of what they place in their blogs, making them deserving of this award also, not to mention exception and needed reads, and why I choose to pass these awards on to them. I hope readers will take time to view the bloggers and the links provided, and you will understand why I speak so glowing of them!

When Daria gave me the award of Star Blogger, the first person I realized I wanted to pass such an award to was Terry, a good friend that I meet on Rotatrix Friends Networking site. I personally never thought I would join a social net working site, but glad I did, as Terry has been instrumental in helping me with many things, and sharing her knowledge with me and so many others in many areas. I so appreciate that, and that has made my joining of RFN even more enjoyable.

Her screen name of lifeiseasy alone is an eye catcher. She sports 3 blogs, and I want to mention them all as I have found a great deal of information with all her blogs that has helped me in numerous ways. But, I think I will give her "ABOUT ME PAGE" first. I feel the "About me" pages on bloggers always give readers a great deal of information, not to mention a great tool in wanting to know more and read more about the blogger. Terry has a excellent blog called NOT MAKING MILLIONS YET?? I think this is a very interesting and eye catching title. She is not making millions yet, but if you read the blog, you can see where her directions are aimed and headed, and how she is so consistent in sharing what she has learned so far, and how she wants to share and help people within their own personal quest! Her above mentioned blog gave me excellent ideas on how to do things concerning PAGE RANK! I did not even know that I had a Page Rank until she told me so. (Have since changed to Firefox, and have learned a great deal more and understand page rank a little more now!) Her next blog is titled Shopping and Blogging Tips which is full of excellent ideas and wonderful blogging tips. For true bloggers, this is an excellent blog, especially for new bloggers! In this blog, she has awesome and explainable ideas within her blog which gives readers much to explore on help and ideas to implement with their personal blogs. Her other blog is Lifeiseasy ADSENSE 101 and deals again with helping others with blog ideas. Again, she was instrumental of my own placing of adsense in RFN, and now actually making new money there. (Just a few scents of right now, but HEY, thanks again Terry for the few pennies I have now earned. They all add up in time!) I loved her last blog concerning Tags and Keywords placed in blogs! Very informative! Terry, you have some wonderful blogs here, and it is an honor to nominate you as a STAR BLOGGER! You have really helped me out in so many ways, and I am sure many others as that is just the type of person you are. Thank you! YOU ARE A STAR BLOGGER!

Next in my list is for KELI who writes the most humorous blog on Counterfeit Humans - How to Maintain Sanity over Everyday Stupidity. If you ever deal with stupidity in your everyday life, and need to find some humor in it, THIS IS A MUST READ BLOG! Keli's writing style puts you right into the story as if painting a picture. We all need a laugh in our personal daily lives concerning our own stupidity and the stupidity of others, and she has a way to place it right before our eyes. She is a must read of mine, as well as my husbands, and we always make sure when we read her blog that some kind of plastic piece of material is available to protect the keyboard and monitor(this mainly has to do with spitting in what ever is in our mouth, or for that matter, just the spit as if in a contest. Laughing causes spits, please remember!). Other reasons why? If we do not have the named protection, we have to sit way back to protect both (And this makes it difficult to read!). Keli's blog would not surprise me to find it under the true definition of ROTFLOL. By the way Keli, why I am thinking about this, I would love to see a blog about where your own stupidity might have come into play at some point! I think we all have our stupid moments, and I would be more than happy to give you some material on this concerning me. BUT NO FAIR in mentioning my name. LOL YOU ARE A STAR BLOGGER!

Again with blog awards, I would like to mention Michele over atThe Rocky Mountain Retreat. Her blog is always an inspiration to me. She actually has 3 blogs. Her other two are on Fishing and Weather and Space. Make sure if you visit her blog that you visit her ABOUT ME PAGE for other links concerning her. Anyway, back to her blog at the Rocky Mountain Retreat. Her blog always is about everything and anything concerning life and so much more that we endeavor in our life. In other words, something for everyone, and never a dull moment! An exception blog where any reader can find something special that interest the reader. Thanks Michele for always such an enjoyable read with your blogs! YOU ARE A STAR BLOGGER!

Last on my list is to give the award back to Daria in regards to her other sites that she spends so much time and effort on. THESE are beyond words of how much it can mean to others to read her blogs if really interested in finding the ins and outs on so many things within blogs, writing tips, and in between it all. A little of everything concerning writing, blogging, life in general, etc. is found within her FIGMENT WRITING STUDIO and COMMUNITY, which is such a wonderful place to visit and explore! It is chock full of so much information, and the posts that really interested me most are her writing prompts, which evidently she has spent so much time on. The other that has meant a great deal to me is her JOB BOARD, where she has done a great deal of research in sharing with the readers, directions of her words leading readers to new possibilities. So much more is there besides the two that I mentioned. And if that is not enough, she has spent a great deal of time, effort and research on her site WEBERNET ARCHITECT DESIGN STUDIO, which by her PAGE RANK of 4 proves how much this site is viewed and considered. I am not surprised at all, as everything Daria does is done with over 100% effort, and a great deal of thinking and planning when doing so. YOU ARE A STAR BLOGGER!

This ends my blog. I am so thankful that I have such good friends that I have found via the Internet to give these awards to. I wanted to give the award also to Ms. Karen, but Daria always beats me to awards considering Ms. Karen Place! Other than Ms. Karen, I cannot imagine right now giving this award to anyone else other than the chosen that deserved the award so much and that I am happy to give it to! Not to mention that all these STAR BLOG AWARDS have helped me in so many ways of information, help, inspiration, laughs, and the list could just go on and on! LITERALLY!

Katie

STUPIDITY! How Far Can It Go?

2007-09-18T21:11:00.000-07:00
I was reading Daria Black's blog tonight and comments on her blog, and as usual I view the websites of those who commented. A Keli commented, so off I go to her site Counterfeit Humans - How to Maintain Sanity over Everyday Stupidity. OMG, this is the funniest site dedicated all to STUPIDITY. One of my favorite subjects. My husband and I spent over an hour laughing so hard at this, drying our eyes of tears from sheer laughter, and excited now to read it every chance we can. Remember, laughter is the best medicine! Ms. Karen, if you read this, please visit this blog as it sounds like something you would write with all your wit and humor. You will thank me for sending you to this blog.

This is for sure one blog I will add to my favorite and daily reads. My husband and I wanted to know more about the person writing this blog, and from what I read, Keli is a name picked out just for this blog and in real life Keli is a attorney and has many articles, etc. in many places under her real name. I can believe that.

Keli, you rock! And please let me know when you come out with your book on STUPIDITY as I promise ~ I WILL BUY IT, and even buy more to give to friends as gifts.

Katie

AMERICA STOOD STILL~911

2007-09-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today is the Anniversary of the 911 disaster that happened 6 years ago. Still thinking about it today breaks my heart. I wanted to take this opportunity of expressing in this blog of what I wrote that very day back in 2001, just a few hours after the twin towers were hit by high jacked airplanes destroying so many lives and making us all as a nation to sit up and realize what had happened, and why we all cried together as a nation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
America Stood Still Today~911

I had to remind myself to breath several times today, as I got dizzy just watching the news and what took place.. I had to let out breaths of air as if coming up from underwater.

This is reality in the worst way, but as I watched the news, it seemed so unreal as I had never experienced anything like this before, and hopefully never will again. But it did happen. I have to grasp that and remember.

Magnificent towers of Businesses and lives, reaching toward the skies as if trying to touch space itself were hit by American planes filled with innocent people with no control, capturing and distinguishing lives on fire that could not be put out with a blow. But the blow touched everyone and always will. As I watched, the towers tumbled and then fell, with the dust and smoke reaching way beyond the 100 stories. But the dust of what happened will never settle. As they fell with the lives in them, the Nation was hit as if lighting. America, USA our Nation was struck, and forever will be touched.

As the strong construction of the Twin Towers crumbled and smoke expanded higher than the buildings themselves, I broke down and cried personally, as well as many in this great Country did. Millions of lives were touched, and we have no way of knowing how many were changed and destroyed. No one can measure the gallons or inches of tears that have or will fall in time.

Some of these measurements are personal and not to be recorded. One can only imagine! But think big!! Reality of tears will go on for years and will never be measured. While my own personal feelings become evident, I need to remember and think and act on it. Did I tell my child, family, my husband, my friend "I LOVE YOU". I need to do it now. Taking things for granted are no longer accepted.

While I watched the buildings of the Twin Towers & Pentagon tumble, rumble with devastation and smoke and then fall before my eyes, I had to remind myself that they are only buildings - Man made!! But, the people inside of them were our stepping stones of our Nation, our future. The victims, casualties and heroes cannot be rebuilt, never saved and with their loss and hurt of burning, hurting, devastation; their families and friends and all who loved them suffer along and always will. Forever.

While I think, mourn and grieve on this, it is not just the victims in these buildings. This is a much bigger picture. The America Airlines crashing into the buildings with no choice ( or so we hope) What were they feeling, thinking, praying while they knew that death was near and intimate? Who were they going to visit, what friend or family, what business meeting were they going to attend. How many knew them and loved them and will never get the stories out of them. What will the "little black boxes" on the plane tell us about them? While I know nothing about them, I mourn and grieve for them and grieve for their families.

While this tragedy goes on and will for ever, I also think of the heroes efforts, and their strong and brave stands must be remembered. My heart felt as never before as I heard that over 200 fire fighters were missing. How many more of police, emergency and just day to day caring people, and other heroes are we going to grieve over as a Nation?

While my heart skips more beats that I had hoped for, I go back to my own life and family. All of a sudden all my aches and pains and psychological problems are no where close to what this Nation has just experienced. Especially the families that are suffering more than I will ever understand or experience on a day to day basics. There are no words or thoughts of how I can put this. The magnitude of these events reach higher than most can comprehend. My own thoughts are "AMERICA HAS BEEN GROUNDED"" and cannot go further than that. My personal grief as an American is devastating, but cannot reach what the family or victims will experience.

As a victim of nightmares myself, I can only understand my own scares, but while I do, I will lay my head down tonight and think of the victims, their families, loved ones and the survivors. I know that many nights of screams and sweats will awaken them. It hurts me that I cannot console them.

This is a wake up call for AMERICA. DID WE MISS A WARNING? AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACH!! How do we deal with this?

My thoughts on this are that I am heartbroken, stunned, and have no power to help. Yet, as I feel this, I still believe that this is the greatest country in the world. I still cry every time I hear the NATIONAL ANTHEM. I still get goose bumps when "GOD BLESS AMERICA" is played or sung. I always get emotional with "I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN"!

This is certainly the most tragic, traumatic, stunning, devastation act that my 47 years have experienced. But, I have to believe that the US, AMERICA will pull together and work through this with love and strength and support. Character, backbone, morals and values make this a great Nation. My hope of all hope is not just that "peace is WON" but "PEACE IS ONE". We will get through this. I know we will.

THE SEVEN P'S MEME

2007-09-03T08:47:00.000-07:00
Daria Black has tagged me to answer THE SEVEN P's. I consider this a really good meme as it really makes one think about themselves. My next blog was intended to be about UU Religious Education, but I have not finished that blog yet, and so I share this blog with you for now. Below are my answers to this.

My Passion:

My biggest passion is my writing, as I hope it will reach out and help, encourage, educate, amuse and define to others of who I am. When I speak of writing, I don't mean in just blogs, but in emails, poetry, short stories, letters to my children, and other places as well. This passion lies also in my personal journals, as I have discovered that when I am able to write my personal feelings down, I learn a great deal about myself, both good and bad.

My Purpose:

Is to make a difference or impact in this world, and the lives of others, whether it be large or small. Helping, understanding and having empathy for others, and even just doing small things for others, has always given me a natural high. In other words, if filling my purpose in life helps others find their purpose in some way, then much fulfillment enters my soul.

My Pursuit:

Reason. I want to know the why and wherefore of things, as well as why things happen or do not happen. Even when it comes to myself and what I do with my life, I want to know and understand the reasons behind it. Searching reasons about life as a whole has always sent me on many adventures and through this I have discovered a great deal of knowledge.

My Position:

I am a mother, grandmother,wife, daughter, friend, writer and hopefully an educator.

My Pummeling:

Organization. I find it very difficult organizing all the projects I am working on, not to mention other projects I want to do in the future. Organization with me takes a lot of discipline on my part, and that is something that I am trying to work on daily.

My Progress:

Progress to me is reaching goals, or at least trying to. With that in mind, my past progress has been excellent, especially work related. Now my progress seems to go in cycles at this point in my life, mainly due to the organization mentioned above. I consider writing this blog as progress, as it was something I said I would do.

My Personality:

Is outgoing, fun loving, yet very serious at the same time. I have been in sales that were very productive 95% of my adult life, and I feel my personality traits had a great deal to do with my success in sales.

With all that said, I am going to tag Small Town RN, Michele and Kiril at Sneakeasys Joint.

I don't know if they participate in meme's but hopefully they will as I would love to see how they respond to this as all of them are great writers and thinkers.

A QUEST FOR TRUTH! UNITARIAN UNIVERALIST CHURCH AND RELIGION

2007-08-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

"free and responsible search for truth and meaning."

For the last few days I have been thinking about the Unitarian Universalist Church, as I have been a UU member in different cities since I was 16 years old. Recently I did a blog about my 23rd year wedding anniversary, where our wedding vows were administered by a UU female minister, and I found myself missing the UU church and the beliefs of a UU congregation. The little rinky dink town that I live in of only 500, does not have a Unitarian Church, but I have been happy to discover that there is one within 30 miles of here.

Many people balk, especially Christians, on the UU religion and belief, yet statistics have proven that the membership is still growing in leaps and bounds. The controversy is that UU's is not a true religion and there is no creed within the church. The lack of formal creed has been a cause for criticism among some who argue that Unitarian Universalism is therefore without religious content. Although lacking an official creed or dogma, Unitarian Universalist congregations respect the Seven Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association as noted below.

"We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote"

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all;
7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

So, yes Unitarian Universalism is a faith with no creedal requirements imposed on members. It values religious pluralism and respects all diverse traditions within their movement. Many times it is seen as as a syncretic religion, as personal beliefs and religious services draw from more than one faith, tradition or belief.

I personally, think it is an excellent religion , and one where I personally draw much hope and faith within our ever changing world.

Why do I personally feel this way? Because UU religion is a liberal religion, and as members we keep our minds open to the religious questions people have continuously struggled with through out history and now. UU's believe that personal experience, conscience, and reason should be the final authorities in religion. In other words, religious authority of our personal beliefs lies not in books, other people, or institutions, but in ourselves. The UU religion is a free religion, and UUs believe people should be encouraged to think for themselves, and that should be honored and appreciated for their own individual thinking, regardless if we differ in these opinions.

UU's believe in responsible freedom of speech, thought, belief, faith, and a great deal more. We also proudly believe that each person is free to search for their own personal truth, concerning issues such as the existence, nature, the meaning of life, creation, and afterlife, and that is just naming a few. UUs can come from any heritage, have any sexual orientation, and hold beliefs from a variety of cultures or religions.

The following excerpts are from First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, and in this blog I will talk more about the UU church in Baltimore.

"We uphold the free search for truth - we will not be bound by a statement of belief, nor do we ask anyone to subscribe to a creed. We believe that religious wisdom is ever changing; human understanding of life and death, the world and its mysteries, is never final. Revelation is continuous. We celebrate unfolding truths known to teachers, prophets, and sages throughout the ages.

We seek to act as a moral force in the world, believing that ethical living is the supreme witness of religion. The here and now and the effects our actions will have on future generations deeply concern us. We know that justice, equity, and compassion should govern our relationships with one another, with diverse peoples, races, and nations."

The two paragraphs above say so much to me, as it describes so much of how I think and feel, which is why I choose the UU church and religion.

I found a survey where the Unitarian Universalist in the United States were asked which provided term or set of terms best describe their belief Below are the top choices.

Humanist - 54%
Agnostic - 33%
Earth-centered - 31%
Atheist - 18%
Buddhist - 16.5%
Christian - 13.1%
Pagan - 13.1%

On my journey of researching the Internet about the UU religion, I wanted to make sure that I found a link to the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore as I have memories of a Religious Education Director(RE for children) member attending a seminar in Birmingham Alabama in efforts to help RE directors, ( I was a RE director for the church in Huntsville), with curriculum, ideas and teachings for the children. It was an amazing weekend, and will be further discussed concerning Religious Education in my next blog.

Anyway, the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore was originally called "The First Independent Church Of Baltimore" and the UU Church of Baltimore has the distinction of being the oldest building in the United States built for, and used ever since by, a Unitarian congregation. If readers have time, I encourage you to visit the link, or at least bookmark it for reading later, as it is the best site on the Internet when it comes to UU churches that I have found. And if you are interested in knowing what UU sermons are about and how they reflect the UU religion, please take some time to read their Sermon Index.

My experience with the UU church as a member has brought a great deal into my life. While the members come from all talks and walks of life and races, what I discovered about the members is that they all are what I consider above average intelligence, very articulate and deep thinkers, and concerned about many things and the UU church has given them the opportunity to explore and express themselves. Many famous people are (and were) members or connected to the UU church. Albert Einstein wrote "the religious spirit of science.....a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection." This spirit, he says, is "closely akin to that which has possessed the religious geniuses of all ages." which can be viewed more and understood in this article Let's Get Physical by John Hertz, where he explains this particular quote is in so much relation to UU beliefs.

Also Famous Unitarians, Universalists and Unitarian-Universalists has a list of famous UU's, and I found this link concerning Charles Darwin also fascinating in reference to UU churches, religion and beliefs.

There is a great amount of information dealing with this subject of UU churches and their religion and beliefts on the super Internet highway that one can google to find more on. With me, it turned into an very interesting journey, which is why I blogged about my Thoughts And Considerations concerning this. I am working on my next blog of Religious Education for children in reference to Unitarian Churches. I am hoping that it will give parents a better idea of what and how children in a UU church are taught and how the curriculum is planned.

Finding Friends From Your Blogs

2007-08-21T12:14:00.000-07:00
This past weekend, I wrote a blog about something that happened in my personal life. Very seldom do I write about my personal life, but this time I was glad that I did for many reasons. One of the main reason is because a new reader happened to find my blog and wrote a very heart felt comment on my blog, which meant a great deal to me. I checked this new readers blog out as I wanted to know more about her. As it turned out, she has three wonderful blogs. Not only are they wonderful, but they are so informative, well written and beautifully put together. Therefore, this blog is dedicated to her blogs and I really hope my readers spend some time viewing her blogs, as it will be well worth your time.

First of all, I was very excited to see that she is a Capricorn , as I am also. I have discovered that the majority of people that I meet that are Capricorn's, I get a long with extremely well. Capricorn's are acknowledged by their organizational skills, practicality , and their self discipline. By viewing her blog, she evidently has all these traits.

Her Fishing Fiesta blog I found extremely useful and informative and will be spending a great deal of time at that blog as my husband and I love to fish. She has many excellent pointers in this blog, wonderful pictures and advice. I really think even professional hobby fisherman (or women) can learn a great deal from this blog.

Her The Earth And Weather Space blog is awesome. I love her caption of the "Average Person that Likes To Have Their Head in the Clouds" .The pictures and information here is just spectacular. She once again caught my interest with this blog as I am very interested in space exploration. It is evident that a great deal of time and research was put into this blog. WOW!!

All Kinds Of Information LURKS Here in this blog. Here, you will find a little of every thing in large amounts of life, nature, and so much more. A very practical, informative and well written blog that touches on so many things. The information one will find on this blog can be serious, humorous, and the A to Z of daily life as she sees it. The pictures she has placed here are just beautiful. I WANT her camera.

In ending, thank you Michele for commenting on my blog. I am so glad you did for many reasons. And one of the main reasons is because it has given me the wonderful opportunity to visit your beautifully written blogs and share it with my readers. I really applaud you for such excellent blog material, which is evident that you have spent much time and consideration, research and though before placing them on the Internet.

A Charmed Life! Could "IF" have changed it?

2007-08-19T02:19:00.000-07:00
To understand this blog more, I suggest that you read the blog below it where I blogged about my 23rd year wedding Anniversary. Things did not go as planned. And for several hours of that day, I felt horrible guilt.

To make a long story short, my daughter and her friend were in a terrible accident yesterday. An unexpected storm hit and due to the amount of unexpected rainfall in such a short period, the truck they were in hydroplaned, and after flipping twice, they landed 200 feet from the road. Almost all the glass in the truck shattered and could be found several feet from impact, as well as in the hair of these young girls. The accident was so bad that it pushed the driver side tires completely under the vehicle, and the top of the truck looked like a bomb went off. Why had they left the comforts of their home? The answer was to bring a nice bottle of wine to us as a gift to celebrate our 23rd milestone Anniversary. The amazing thing is that they survived the accident without a hospital stay, and very lucky to be in a comfortable home bed. If anyone looked at the truck, total amazement would be in their eyes that they even survived.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you would have noticed that I seldom talk about personal things in my life. I have broken this chain, at least for now concerning this blog, as I think it is important that what I have reflected upon will be understood conerning my feelings, as well as maybe some comfort to others. My first selfish thoughts were that our Anniversary had gone bad. Then my thinking changed on that, after I was able to settle down somewhat, so to speak.

My thoughts now are that this is a wonderful Anniversary. Why would I hope for more. We could be spending it on preparations of a funeral, or constant sitting at the hospital hoping for the best if a serious life threatening issue called us to our daughters hospital bedside.

My husband always uses the words of "We live a charmed life", which many times I have argued as things seemed not to work out in my life plans. Tonight he reminded me that even if we make plans, we are just lucky if they turned out to be the plans we made. And what "if" always makes a mark on all lives, and not just ours. History proves that. With these words of wisdom I seem to understand, or at least try to, what life delivers us in a different light. For example, our daughter involved in the accident was adopted by us when she was three days old. What IF we had not moved to our small apartment while single and then got married. What IF we had not meet the neighbors and they told us that the girl across the street was due in one week and was giving the baby up? What IF we had not gone over there and convinced her to give us the baby? What IF the baby now 22 years old had died or was seriously injured? Would not the what IF of our adopting her years ago brought more what IFs? What IF we did not have the chance to be thankful for all concerning her? What IF she never entered our life? She did, be thankful for that and thankful you can see her first thing in the morning. What IF did not happen, but life reality did.

What IF World War Two had never happened? For that matter, any wars? What IF Ann Frank had not died, and the world had not been able to read her diary? What IF that did not happen, or for that matter Martin Luther King, and so much more in history that teaches us to live and grow upon?

According to my husband, he and I have lived a very charmed life and have been very blessed, as the what IF's that have touched our souls have not been so bad, especially compared to others that have suffered so much more than us.

After all his words, I agree, especially today that our what IF'S have been a charmed life, and I have no reason to think other wise, but to only be thankful of the IF's among our life. And I am hoping that if the IF's follow a blow much harder for me to handle, that I can reflect back on his words and carry on. I am sure he is counting on me to do so. These are true Thoughts and Considerations of mine. I started to write a poem concerning my daughter of what my feelings are, and I was only able to write three lines. While the three lines are not complete, they say so much to me, and I am sure once my stability returns that I will complete this poem.

Your tears melt into mine and I taste the salt of both.
It somehow taste familiar, I guess that is what love does.
Why am I so lucky in holding you in my arms and heart?

Apache Wedding Blessing and your "Your Still The One"

2007-08-18T05:32:00.000-07:00
Today is our anniversary, my husbands and mine. We have been married 23 years, and I hope to see many more years of marriage. I feel extremely fortunate that I can tell people that I am in a happy marriage, as sadly many people cannot say that. I was married before, and I know myself how awful it is to be in an unhappy marriage, but this all changed the day I married Jim.

Jim and I have had many bumps along the way of our life together. Life does that to people, but we have figured out how to get over the obstacles that have faced us together. The happiest years of my life has been with this man, and he has taught me so much about life, as well as about myself. He and I are best friends, and actually were before we even realized that one day we would marry. I think one of the reasons our marriage has been so strong is due to honesty, trust and loyalty between us. The fact that we have so much in common has also been a great attribute in our marriage.

I think back to the day we were married, and it is still so clear in my mind, and a wonderful memory. Our wedding was small, as got married in our living room in our small apartment. Only our family and closest friends were there. We had a big part in writing our vows, and my two small children were part of the wedding ceremony. Jim had written a poem about us, and read it at the ceremony. My daughter at age 5 sang "The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow," as we felt that song reflected how we looked at life. Life can and will be hard, but the sun will still come up tomorrow. My son, age 3 had the rings to give us, and that did not go well, as he wanted to keep them and we had to force him to give us the rings. Also in the ceremony we gave the children roses as a token of family love. (The children are from a previous marriage and a few years later, Jim adopted them.) Our wedding was much different than most weddings, and we were married by a Unitarian minister. Eight months later we adopted a beautiful little baby girl, and our family was complete.

Today I am sure Jim and I will be looking once again our wedding album. We do this each year, and it always brings tears to my eyes. (It will probably bring tears to my eyes today as we look so old now compared to the pictures. LOL)

I have included the prayer which was read at the end of the ceremony, and that wonderful poem has continued to be on the top list of my many favorites. We hope to plan a large party when we hit the 25 year marriage milestone, and have the song Your Still The One, played at our Anniversary party. Ain't life grand?

Apache Wedding Blessing

Now you will feel no rain,
for each of you will be shelter for the other.

Now you will feel no cold,
for each of you will be warmth to the other.

Now there will be no loneliness,
for each of you will be companion to the other.

Now you are two persons,
but there is only one life before you.

May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years.

May happiness be your companion and your days
together be good and long upon the earth.

What Are Our Dreams Trying to Tell Us?

2007-08-05T13:40:00.000-07:00
I have always had very strange dreams, and dreams really fascinate me. Problems is, like most people, when I awake from a dream many times I remember only bits and pieces of it, or sometimes nothing at all. And if I go back to sleep and wake up in the morning, chances are I will not remember any of the dream. Lately though, I have had some really bizarre dreams, so due to this I have decided to keep a pen and paper on my bedside table.

While I have always been extremely interested in dream interpretations, my life is at a point right now that I feel I must try to analyze my dreams and try to figure out what these dreams are trying to tell me, regardless if it is good or bad. There is always room for improvement in our lives, and maybe our dreams are somehow teaching us how to improve our lives. Our dreams could be stepping stones in many ways in our daily lives and future growth.

When I was a child I had a lot of nightmares that scared me to death and I was afraid to go to sleep at night. My older sister told me that if I concentrate while in dreams that I could wake myself up if I felt that I could not face the outcome of the dream. She told me to squeeze my eyes real tight, tighten my body and force myself to wake up. This actually works the majority of the time, still to this day. If I have a problem waking up from a bad dream, it is usually because I am sick and have a fever, and often dream things in slow motion which is quite scary, especially if being chased.

I have a lot of recurring dreams, and have figured out how to stop recurring nightmares. I will touch more on this later. The other recurring dreams I have, such as dreams about a certain house, being on a train, flying or family dreams do not really bother me that much and I always let them continue as they are really interesting. When I was young, my brother told me that he flew in a dream. It sounded wonderful the way he described it. So when I went to bed that night, I concentrated on a story of me flying and seeing beautiful things below and feeling free, and by the time I finally went to sleep, I dreamed about my own story. Therefore it is my conclusion that we do have some kind of control over our dreams.

When researching dream interpretations, I found an absolute wonderful website and spent hours there, and plan on spending many more hours there. Dream moods, an online guide to dreams, and is so well put together, informative and very user friendly when it comes to navigation. If you are interested in your dreams, what dreams mean and with help in interpreting them, then you will love this site. They have a large and excellent dream dictionary data base of what things might mean in our dreams, as well as dream information, dream forums, dream faqs and common dreams. The most common dreams are Naked Dreams, Chase Dreams, Teeth Dreams, Flying Dreams, Falling Dreams and Test Dreams. I was somewhat surprised that Water Dreams did not fall into common dreams. My most common dreams are all of the above except Test Dreams, and I dream a great deal where water is involved. Dream Moods in their dream dictionary states "To see water in your dream, symbolizes your unconscious and your emotional state of mind. Water is the living essence of the psyche and the flow of life energy. It is also symbolic of spirituality, knowledge, healing and refreshment.". I agree with this statement, and it brings back memories of when my mother and I would discuss dreams about water and what it represented.

Quoted also from Dream Moods faqs, and they do give their permission to do so, follows below.

What is the average amount of dreams a person usually has in one night?

The average person has about 3 to 5 dreams per night, but some may have up to 7 dreams in one night. The dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full 8-hour night sleep, two hours of it is spent dreaming.

Everybody dreams! This is a scientifically proven fact. Research has shown that all human beings in a study showed brain activity during their sleep.

Why do you think that we have dreams?

This is still an unresolved topic amongst researchers as to the reason we have dreams. One theory suggests that dreams serve as a means for cleansing and release. During the day, we may hold back our feelings and repress our anger. Thus dreams serve as a safe outlet for us to release our negative emotions. Another theory says that dreams is a biologically necessary aspect of sleep. Research has shown that people who were prevented from entering the dream state and woken up before they can dream were more easily irritated, jittery, and performed far below average. I believe these are two theories summarize why we dream.

What causes or why do some dreams keep repeating themselves?

Dreams that recur (or repeat themselves) is a clear indication that some issue is not being confronted or that it has not yet been resolved.

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Concerning the above statement of dreams repeating themselves bring me back to a memory I had of a disturbing recurring dream that I had for years as an adult. The dream was always the same where I was coming down a big hill and at the bottom of the hill the roads meet in five points and there were no stop signs or warnings to stop and it was evident that it was a very dangerous place. Coming down the hill I could see dead bodies and blood everywhere and people and children were screaming in agony and pain. It was a horrible site and I did not want to get to the bottom of the hill, as I knew certain death was probably there. So, I always woke myself up before I got to the bottom of the hill. Again my older sister came to my rescue when I told her about this continuing horrible dream. She convinced me not to wake myself up and to try and get to the bottom of the hill, even though it was frightening to do so. So, the next time I had that dream I did not wake myself up (but I did think hard about that), and when I got to the bottom of the hill, the car turned right and the next thing I knew I was on a peaceful road and all the horrible things were in the background and I was safe. I have never had that dream again, and this has taught me to face the majority of my nightmares by continuing my dreams. I think even though we all hate nightmares, they have something valuable to teach us about ourselves.

According to Webster's Dictionary, dreams are defined as a "sequence of sensations, images, thoughts, etc., passing through a sleeping person's mind" .

Study of dreams date all the way back to 4000 B.C and pretty much dreams are a part of our human nature and existence going all the way back to the first civilization. Numerous authors, poets, musicians, screenwriters, and other famous people have used their vision and ideas of the dreams they have had as an inspiration to explore and incorporate them into their daily lives and their works. An example of this can be found at
TWELVE FAMOUS DREAMS~Creativity and Famous Discoveries From Dreams. Another excellent example and entertaining read can be found at Stephen King An exerpt from Writers Dreaming by Naomi Epel where Stephen King discusses how his dreams inspired him and how he incorporated his dreams into his stories and novels.

I have always been fascinated with Sigmund Freud and his analysis of dreams (not to mention other works by Freud, which by the way I am also working on another blog to post in the future concerning Freud) which is why I want to share this site of Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams (1900).
Bookmark it if you do not have time to read it right now, as it is extremely fascinating read. Well, at least it was to me. Dream Moods also has a very informative write concerning dreams and Sigmund Freud.

I am a firm believer that dreams while in our unconscious state are trying to tell us something important about ourselves and our lives, regardless if they are good dreams or nightmares. And I for one will be investigating my dreams as I want to learn more about myself and why I dream the way I do and what can my dreams teach me. It should be an interesting journey, or at least I hope so!

Are we really alone in this Vast Universe?

2007-08-04T15:35:00.000-07:00
Of course this is an age old question, and a puzzle among mankind, and there are theories for and against the question of are we alone in the Universe. We have heard stories or watched movies where little green men walked around with their pear shaped heads and their beady eyes, bringing horror and havoc to those they encountered. We are all familiar with the movie ET of an adorable alien, and all he really wanted was to phone home. Thousands of books have been written addressing this very question, and I am sure thousands more will probably be written.

I wonder if one day with all the technology that we have, or will have, that these question will finally be answered. Personally, I hope we are not alone and I have many reasons why I think we are not alone in the Universe. This type of thinking has a tendency to upset some Christians as it goes against what they were taught to believe in according to the bible. This really does not bother me that much though, as I am agnostic, actually closer to atheist. But, I am a huge believer in history and science. Personally, I think it would be arrogant of me to think that there is no other intelligent life in such a vast universe. Science has already proven that there is some type of life on other planets, and new planets are discovered each time we turn around. For example, Earth-Sized Planet Discovered in the Habitable Zone. And I really believe that with the universe so enormous that we have not even begun to really know or touch on what all is out there, and what it will bring to our future lives, or at least to the future lives of our descendants. Science many times has touched on the possibility that is some form of intelligent life outside the realms of our world as we know it.

Spend some time viewing Ancient Mysteries, and try to explain to yourself how these mysteries came about and why they can never be totally explained. Is there a possibility that some other higher intelligent life had something to do with this? Ancient Art is by far one of the best sites that I visited that covers pretty much the same questions that I have about life outside our universe.

Giordano Bruno, who was an Italian monk over 400 years ago wrote "In space there are numberless earths circling around other suns, which may bear upon them creatures similar or even superior to those upon our human Earth." Sadly for him, he was burnt at the stake in 1600 while in Rome. I wonder what made him write this. Did he know something we did not know or was it just a guess, as it could possibly prove in the future to be a good guess.

This link of Unknown Geoglyphs taken also from the Ancient Mysteries link is mind boggling to me. These images were discovered once airplanes came into our lives. How and why did these people construct such things, especially knowing that they could only really be seen and realized if one saw it from above, and I don't think this was done just impress the birds. Take a few minutes to look at Intaglios~Blythe's Giant Figures , another mystery that is best viewed from the air.

And then of course there are the crop circles that we have all heard or read about, or have seen documentaries on. Many have explained these as done by earth life forms, but there are just so many and found in numerous places. I believe that many probably were done by people that wanted to fool the public at large, but I am not completely convinced that all of them were done by life forms on earth. Crop Circle Connector is a large site that has a great deal of information, history, pictures and much more on crop circles. A definite site to visit if you are curious about this phenomenon.

There is just so many amazing sites and so much history that still cannot be explained concerning the possibility of other intelligent life, and I have just hit on a few of the examples in reference to life forms outside our world.

Are we really alone in the Universe? hmmmm

And with all that said, I leave Here's Looking at You, Universe, an excellent write about what is going on at NASA and what other planets have been discovered. Nothing really about aliens, or intellegent life, but still a most excellent read.

THINKING BLOG AWARD

2007-07-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, Daria Black nominated me for THE THINKING BLOG AWARD, which really made my day, as I guess this means I make people think. Well, at least I make her think, and that is one of my goals of my blogs. To make people think! For more information on Thinking Blog Awards and how it was born, or originated, click here.

Now, I need to list 5 other blogs and give them the same award, which is really difficult for me to do, as there are just so many blogs out there that I enjoy and that make me think. In all reality, it took me several days to decide who I wanted to present this award to and why. I agree when Daria said, and I quote

"When I read blogs, I think about the person who wrote it. I think about not only what they wrote about but how they wrote it and why. In my mind, I create an image of them as the person behind the blog. This not only helps me to understand them (the blogger) as a person better but it also contributes to my understanding of humanity in general and, consequently and quite selfishly, help me create better characters because of what I’ve learned."

I pretty much feel this same way, but she just says it so much better than I could.

The blogs I have chosen are numbered, and the numbers really mean nothing or in anyway reflects that I like one blog over another, as they all are wonderful. Also, the ones I listed, I cannot expect them to list five blogs themselves, as some of these blogs are very busy doing other things, or they just might not wish to continue listing other blogs themselves, which I understand and appreciate.

Geri's Journal ~ Geri's Journal is a blog that deals with cancer (Tumor) and is pretty much a daily journal so that others that know and love Geri can keep up with her progress. This blog makes me think about how one deals with cancer, medical ups and downs, family love and support, life in general, and how we deal individually with our own thoughts when it comes to unexpected health issues. It really is a wonderful blog, and if anyone that has cancer or tumors, or knows anyone that has these health issues, I would recommend this blog for reading and thinking. I found out about this blog from a high school friend of mine, telling me about Geri's blog. Geri and I went to high school together and Geri lived across the street from me in a small town in Alabama. I care a great deal about Geri, and I think she has pretty much licked her medical problem, which makes this blog also an inspiration to others. (Hugs Geri!)

Devrie MySpace~Saraswati Understudy ~ Devrie's Blog always makes me think. She is very intelligent and an excellent writer and poet. I meet Devrie a few years ago, and have continued to keep up with her, as I always enjoy seeing what she has written. She writes about anything and everything that has to deal with life. She covers many subjects and has a unique writing style that gives the readers the ability to view her writing as if a picture was in front of them. She never leaves me confused about what she writes about and she always leaves me thinking about it.

EOPC Cyberppaths ~ Cyberpaths is a blog that I read everyday as it deals so much with what my goal is with Cyberstakers~What Lies Beneath. I get a great deal of my ideas from this wonderful blog. This blog is always well written and extremely educational and helpful when it comes to Internet Predators and how to deal with them. It is always news worthy and has helped hundreds of people. It is one of the most important and vital blogs I have ever seen on the Internet. Trust me, if anyone reads this blog, they will always go away thinking about it.

Sneakeasy's Joint ~ Kiril's blog is just over 5 years old, and covers many subjects from everyday living, religion, politics, family, hiking, etc. There is always something to read on his blog that makes me think! He also is an avid biker (bicycle) and if I remember correctly, he does not even own a car. His 4 year old BikeBlog, The Cycling Dude, is full of his stories about cycling in Southern CA., & his opinions on cycling issues, and is one of the premiere resources online for cycling links. Kiril and I meet back in 2004 when we both belonged to a poetry site, and became friends. Kiril is an excellent writer, and on Sneakeasy has shared his creative writing, and poetry, and is very expressive and thought provoking in all that he writes about. When visiting his blog, make sure you look on the side bar for CATEGORIES, as I am sure readers will find many things that are of interest to them. Excellent thinking blog.

Figmeant Writing Studio and Community ~ This blog was designed by Daria Black and is filled with writing tools and tips to help others get published. It is full of excellent information, educational sources and ideas in efforts to help writers. And it is so well put together with much thought and time. If you are wanting help with your writing skills or need information, then this is the site you should explore and expand on. An excellent thinking site, and one I expect to see much growth in. A must read and bookmark as far as I am concerned. Daria, please correct me if I am wrong, but I classified this as a writing blog. If it is not a blog, too bad, as I really wanted to award THE THINKING BLOG back to you on this wonderful site.

Well, that is the end of my list of five wonderful blogs that I have chosen for THE THINKING BLOG AWARD. I highly suggest that all readers check these blogs our, especially if you need something to think about. If you see duplicates of this, it just means that you have visited both of my blogs, as I decided to place this blog on both sites.

Opportunity Of Celebrating the 4th of July in 2007

2007-07-04T20:32:00.000-07:00
July 4th, 2007. Memories I did not expect to explore within my mind, I somehow did. I spent today writing about Cyberpaths today and what I felt about them on my blog of Trolls, Flame Wars & Cyberstalkers. My husband and I were pretty much alone today to do as we pleased. And I just wanted to write. And so, I did.

Then the phone call came from my youngest daughter almost in tears while at work. She was somewhat bored, and wanted to talk about past memories. Family ties and times. Without her knowing this, she made me create this blog of past times or family times together, and added part of the future now within our lives. The memories she spoke of were so long ago, yet they were important to keep in mind of today's thoughts. So much has changed as we have grown older. And with that, I have taken the time to write this blog for all my children. My youngest that grieves for memories, and I do as well. My oldest that has her own memories with her career in the military. and sheds much light on today in many ways. Due to this, I am giving stories of past and present of what I have recorded, or have available to me. Below is a story of how our family use to celebrate the 4th of July. It seems like ages ago that we lived in that old country home and made this such a special day. I decided not to edit the story at all, yet one day I might expand on it., and correct all things that need to be corrected within it. If you are a reader of my blog, please continue on with other things that have affected my family in their grown up years.
I finally wrote my memories years later, as when these wonderful memories happened, my children fell between the ages of 3 to 7 and continued until they were of ages of 13 to 17. I did not edit my memories, but someday I think I will, as they can be somewhat confusing. When I wrote the entry of our past 4th of July memories, I was writing them for myself at the time!

July 4th Memories
Written July 5th, 2005 THEREFORE COPYRIGHT! (This is when I finally felt comfort in writing expressed memories of family and life, and so glad I did, and hope to continue to do so)

The Fourth of July has always been a great celebration with us. At a younger age, I am not sure of why, but as I grow older, somewhat realize my thinking on this. Husband, family, kids, government, history, and so much more. At some special place, they all seem to bond, or connect somehow. Someway.

But this is about memories. Important ones that I still dream about and remember so many years ago. 4th of July ended up with my family bigger than Christmas or any other holiday. Presents were not involved, or eggs, or any gifts. This holiday was meant for true fun, love, friends, bonding, cook outs, laughs, and many loud noises.

Alright, I will get to the point. But, I have to paint a picture to get there, and an honest one.

We lived in old farmhouse, pretty much in the boondocks, where dogs ran without leashes, and everyone in residence there, was a member of the small community. Our house was over a football length from the road. Pigs, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, and other country critters lived on our property. And taking advantage of this, we started a new history with us, and hopes with our children. It started small at first. But ended up large and larger over the years.

The 4th of July Celebration. "Wake up, get up" I demanded. "But it is so early", the children protested. "Point well taken. GET UP!"

This was an important day, especially concerning the fort. The Fort each year made us dream of what we would do the next year with sticks and mud. What strategies were involved. Who would be the last man standing, or "King of The Hill?"

The Fort was the most important part of the Celebration. Tiny sticks were gathered and broken with care in precise of the owner of the stick. These sticks were the Fort, and the fort needed great detail. The fort was to be demolished with the fireworks, that consisted of so many explosions! Bottle Rockets, Fire Crackers, Tanks to set them all off, and trust me, I do not remember all the names of the fireworks bought. ( I wish I did remember!)

I am hoping my children will remember. IF not, my husband will. All day my children worked so hard on this, to blow up the Fort. My husband and myself worked on cooking or entertaining the crowd. (Word had gotten around of the Fort and our fun)

After the first Fort was blown (trust me, over the years, I found tiny parts of that day)
we ate dinner, which was also a great thing. We always cooked out and had BBQ ribs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans and Rolls. But, back to the Fort, a second chance was given. Build better, remember what you did, correct if possible or needed. This was the true time of work, concentrating. This was at night, when you could think on things, see things, and remember. This was when the Fort lit the sky with all the fireworks at hand, and in darkness, you could see your laid plans. This is what we remember and still talk about today. And I am so thankful that we have this.

Written for Jim and his encouragement to do this, and so I wrote this story.

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Yesterday, July 3rd. 2007, my oldest daughter sent me an email which I am sharing with all. Within her email to me, she was not concerned of who wrote what and who took pictures, but I, as a writer know that writings need to have credit due to who wrote what or at least the history concerning this. (Therefore I apologize if I left any thing out, photo of pictures, mentioned names, etc., as it was not intentional. I did try to research to cover it all. )

Readers need to keep in mind that my daughter is in the Air Force and stationed in Iraq, and as far as I am concerned, she is in immediate danger. The war does that to parents to think that way! The first thing in her email was

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

My first question was WHO WROTE THAT? That was the first thing I really wanted to know and had no idea that it had a history with it. But it does. See below!

On September 8, 1892 a Boston-based youth magazine "The Youth's Companion" published a 22-word recitation for school children to use during planned activities the following month to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America. Under the title "The Pledge to the Flag", the composition was the earliest version of what we now know as the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

And the story continues! Just a few days later it was changed! “I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all. October 11, 1892”

And then changed again 31 years later to
“I pledge allegiance to my the Flag of the United States,and to the Republic for which it stands:one Nation indivisible,With Liberty and Justice for all.”
June 14, 1923

Then changed exactly one year later to read
I pledge allegiance to the Flagof the United States of America,and to the Republic for which it stands:one Nation indivisible,With Liberty and Justice for all.
June 14, 1924

Then again changed by Dwight Eisenhower in 1954, 30 years later by adding the words “under God”. See below and follow link of http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfc_pledge.html

The last change in the Pledge of Allegiance occurred on June 14 (Flag Day), 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved adding the words "under God".

Just a little history for any interested.

My daughter in the Air Force, also sent me in her email, these words of “For all of our military personnel, where ever they may be. And God Bless our Military who are protecting our Country for our freedom.. Thanks to them, and their sacrifices we can celebrate the 4th of July. We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of which we should be eternally grateful” I tried to research these worlds, and could not find them via the Internet. She may have written them herself. I will find out and when I do, I will give credit where credit is due. I find it a powerful statement, no matter who quoted it.

Also in her email, she gave a poem written, yet did not say who pinned it. I searched it, and found the author of the poem. The name of the author is Kelly Strong, dated 1981 http://www.wrensworld.com/notfree.htm. And I for one applaud her for bringing such strong words to hearts and minds, and with so much emotion!

I watched the flag pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Soldier saluted it,
And then he stood at ease..
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men and women like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still, I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin.
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children, Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
Kelly Strong@1981

Last, but not least, my daughter sent me several pictures to make her point. I apologize that I do not know who took the pictures she sent me, but if anyone can point them out to the photographer, I will certainly give credit where credit is due, and I am just hoping that who is responsible for such wonderful images will understand that I wanted to use these images as they were from my daughter who is fighting a war that no one really understands, or have problems understanding, and she chose your pictures and images to verify and express her feelings. And if these pictures or images are yours, please alert me so that I can give profound credit to such wonderful images that tells stories!

So there, you have it, my all of my thoughts, my memories, my love of my children and with this I wish all a Happy Fourth of July of 2007. Be thankful that we can celebrate it.

The pictures my daughter in the Air Force sent to me, made me cry and at the same time hold strong of my feelings and made me brave, especially concerning my children. I am so thankful that my children, regardless of their ways, brought me out of my mundane life to face the reality of their lives and the world as a whole.

I hope all had fire works this 4th of July of 2007, as I did, and did not even expect the fireworks, but some how they managed to explode in my heart!
Katie

In Memory Of Virginia Tech Victims and Their Families

2007-04-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Easter Memories With My Grand Boys

2007-04-09T13:41:00.000-07:00
I kissed my grand boys good bye yesterday and helped them pack to visit their other grand parents for awhile. I am going to miss them.

I was lucky that I had them for most of the holidays, but Easter turned out to be very special, and my heart broke to see the car leave the yard. But, my daughter is leaving for war in a few short weeks, and Easter was the open space of time she had to take them halfway to be met by the other grandparents.

To help them get excited about the trip, Saturday Renee and I put a project together for them to work on. It turned out very well, as Renee is very much into scrapbooking, and had a lot of things they could use with their craft project.

We helped them make a picture frame out of a CD case with pictures of them in it to give to their grandparents on their dad's side as an Easter Gift. They did such a wonderful job and had such a good time doing it. And were quite picky amoung the hundred of things they could choose from when it came to decorating it.

The above CD picture holder was made by the youngest grandson, who is 3, and except for helping him with the words of Grandma, he picked out and placed all the items on the front and back of the CD case. For his age, I was very amazed at how well and with such thought he did this.

Our oldest grandson, age 5 did the above CD, and he also did such an amazing job. They both had such a great time and experience doing this. They both also decorated a cup for them, which turned out well.

That night when we put the boys to bed and waited what like seemed for hours for them to fall asleep so that we could put their little Easter Baskets together, and call it a night for ourselves, as we knew the boys would get up early to see what the rabbit had left them. She and I parted over comments that this had been a really good day and how much fun the boys had had.

Easter morning, we all had a big breakfast and we helped the boys with the dye for the Easter Eggs, and then the decorating began.

While Renee and I were helping the boys decorate the eggs, My husband, Jim, was outside hiding the plastic eggs with the surprises inside, and we sneaked out to help Jim while they were so intense with decorating their eggs.

We took several pictures of the boys, but this one is so funny. You see that huge red flower? The three year old ran up to it while hunting eggs as it was so pretty and yelled "Mom, look at this pretty flo - and paused - Hey, I found an Easter egg."

It was so comical. Jim had placed a egg on top of flower.

Soon after the egg hunt we helped Renee get things in the car and held and kissed the boys goodbye, and told them how much we loved them and would miss them.

By the way, does anyone know what kind of flower that is? Our knowledge of plants is very small, yet we are trying to learn anything and everything we can about the plants and trees in our yard.

I have wonderful memories of my grandboys while here, and I will miss them so much while they are gone, and this Easter memory is one that I don't think I will ever forget.

So, until they return, I am hoping to blog as much as I can. (trust me, when I can depends on how the day is going and what needs to be given attention to more.)

Katie

Who Says Dogs And Cats Don't Get Along?

2007-03-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Story Of Precious And Kitty

It was a very cold and dark night in November when we found Kitty. We went to our bank to withdraw some cash at the Teller Machine, and while Jim was getting the cash out, I kept hearing a kitten crying. We decide to try and find the kitten, as our bank is on a very busy four lane parkway, which would mean certain death for the kitten should she cross it. Not only that, but it was bitter cold, and we were concerned that the kitten would not survive the cold. We finally found her in a ditch right next to the parkway. Question was, now that we found her, what would we do with the kitten?

We had four dogs at home. Two large dogs and two small dogs. How would we keep her safe from the dogs? We decided to try and give her away before we got home. Behind our home was a small trailer park. Maybe someone would take her in. We knocked on all 10 trailers, and no one would take her. We were forced to take her home and hope for the best.
While I held her securely in my arms, Jim let the dogs in the room to see the kitten. They all were quite excited at first, but after awhile, the two big dogs and their mother Gypsy, got bored with the new addition and left the room. But not Precious. She was fascinated with the kitten and wanted to play with her. Precious was the runt of a litter of four, and was always wanting to play. Her brothers snubbed her and would not play with her, and her mother was never a dog that played much. I think she was hopeful that the kitten would play with her and be her pal, which in the long run, the kitten was that plus so much more. And so, the story and relationship of Kitty and Precious began.

We did not really name her Kitty, but just called her Kitty because we had no intentions of keeping her, and naming the kitten was to personal and might create attachments. We eventually did keep her, and the name Kitty just stuck. Precious and Kitty became very big buddies, as well as loving and loyal friends. They played constantly. You could hear them chasing each other on the hardwood floors in the hall. Hearing nails clicking and sliding on the floors was a constant sound. Not only did they play together, but they ate and slept together, and as time when on, Kitty started to nurse Precious. This was an amazing site to see, as this Kitten was way to big to be nursing even her mother. And Precious of course, did not have any milk, but it was just the comfort of the act I guess. When we found Kitty, she was so tiny and probably only about 3 or 4 weeks old, so I assume she was weaned way to early, and removed from her family way to soon, and needed the security of the act of nursing Precious. And with Precious, we had given away her two pups only a week before we found Kitty. Precious was a very nurturing and loving mother to her pups, and Kitty probably filled the need of her pups being gone. Kitty nursing Precious was a constant site in our home, and it was always so amazing to see. The entire time we had Kitty, which was a little over a year, she continued to nurse Precious.

When Kitty was about 11 months old, we had an unexpected surprise out of her. She had two baby kittens in our closet in our office. We did not even know she was pregnant. She was such a tiny cat herself, and never showed any signs to us that she was pregnant. She had a little gray kitten and a orange kitten. The orange kitten died the first day. Both of the kittens were premature and so tiny. The vet told us not to expect the other to survive as it was so small and premature. Still, we hoped for the best. But the Tiny kitten being premature was not the only problem. The biggest problem was with Kitty wanting and expecting Precious to help her in the role of taking care of the kitten. Kitty would constantly take the kitten from the warm box in the closet and put it on the floor in front of Precious. We would constantly have to pick the kitten back up and put the kitten back into the box. We lived in an old house which was very drafty and we were concerned about the kitten getting a cold, as well as being handled so much. Yet, Kitty did not understand, and kept bringing the kitten out to Precious. Of course, Precious could not help with the kitten, but was always so gentle and loving to the kitten, just as she had always been with Kitty. As it turned out, our fears became real and the kitten became sick with a cold. And there was nothing we could do to help her.

Jim was up with the kitten one day and realized it was fixing to die as it could hardly breath due to her cold. Kitty did not seem concerned. He brought the kitten to me while I lay sleeping so that I could hold her one more time, as I was so close to the kitten. She died while I held her, and I cried for days. She was the most beautiful kitten I had ever seen, and was so sweet and innocent.

We moved two months later from that drafty house, and it was nothing but chaos. And we could not find Kitty when we moved. After we moved, we went back several times to try and find her. We asked the neighbors if they had seen her, and gave them our phone number should they see her. No one ever called, and we never found Kitty. Besides being concerned about Kitty, we were also concerned about Precious and how she would handle it. And it was hard to tell, because the move, as with anyone, was hectic. But, in the long run, I think she did fine, as of this date, she is a very happy dog, and has a new playmate and buddy called Silas, a black Pitbull and lab dog we got as a very small puppy. And they are best friends now, and she treats him as if her own. Silas and Precious and their relationship, well, that is another story.

But to this day, we think about the time with Precious and Kitty and the wonderful smiles they both brought to us. And we are thankful that not only do we have the memories of them, but the pictures as well.

The Ghost Of Emily~A Very True Story

2007-03-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

My time is spent with grandboys and new ideas and writing projects, leaving me little time to blog. I have become concerned about this as I do not want my blogger readers to forget about me, so I have decided to place some things on that I have written awhile back. This particular story is one of my favorites, and a true story. I had at one time a great deal of pictures that went with this story, but cannot find them as I have moved pictures around so much. If I find them, I will add them to the story as they are truly amazing.

The Ghost Of Emily ~ A Very True Story

Until the year of February 2001, I never really believed in ghosts. I loved to hear ghost stories, with all the eerie details, but to me they were only ghost stories to scare one by. And everybody likes to be scared a little. But my opinion of ghost and ghost stories changed in the year of 2001, and here I am telling the ghost story. By the way, my name is Katie Fairchild, and this is a true story written on true facts and experiences.
My opinion concerning ghost changed when my husband Jim, and my daughter Crystal (age 15 at the time, now she is 21) and I moved into a very large and old home located in Huntsville, Al on Meridian Street in February 2001. We were told that this old home was built in the late 1800's, and at one time had been a very prominent plantation home, owning property surrounding the house for miles. Jim and I were so excited about moving here, as Jim made his living selling on eBay and we really needed a much larger home to store all the eBay items. I personally, fell in love with the home because it had so much personality and the rooms were very large and inviting. The house definitely had potential for fixing up and making into something special. Yet, even though we were only renting, I was so excited and could hardly wait to make some well need improvements to the home. Old wallpaper needed to be torn down and it really was in great need of a paint job inside.

The first rooms I always work on when in a new place is the bathroom and kitchen. After we finished unpacking all the boxes and putting the furniture in place, I decided to start working on the large bathroom downstairs. Eagerly I picked out the perfect paint and wallpaper for the bathroom. And then one night, very late, possibly early morning, I started working on the bathroom. My project that night was to paint the bathroom. But I ran into a problem. There were two spots on the wall that refused to accept the paint, or be painted over. Thinking this must be oily or something, I cleaned and scrubbed the two spots well with Ajax, and tried again. Still, the paint vanished. Evidently this was not working, so I went and got some sanding paper from Jim's tool supplies and sanded the area and retried painting it. The paint vanished again in the still air. I was puzzled. Maybe if I tried some different paint it might work. And I did try a different type and color of paint - and it vanished again! In confusion, I sat down on the edge of the tub and thought - WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE? All of a sudden the name EMILY came to me. It was so strange and it is so hard to explain even to this day of how the name came. It is not as if someone whispered Emily where I could hear it, but whispered into my mind and imprinted it onto my brain, as well as a description of Emily. Emily, a little girl between the age of 10 to 13 years old was all I got. I got nothing of what she looked like, or the color of her eyes, hair, or skin. But somehow, which I cannot explain, I knew her name was Emily, and that she was a child, a little girl. And so, Emily entered our lives, and us, her home.

Realizing it was so late and the experience was over, plus I could not paint certain areas, I went to bed, and was anxious to wake in the morning to tell Jim of my encounter and experience in the bathroom, and to show him in the morning how the paint would vanish on the wall when painted. While trying to sleep, I realized that I was not afraid at all about this, but actually excited about the new found possible ghost that lived in our house. To me, it was apparent that Emily was not really a scary ghost as you hear in ghost stories. Emily was more playful, full of games and mischief, as any child would be at her age. I will never forget the time we lived in that house, especially concerning Emily. It certainly made me a believer in ghost. The next morning, in much excitement, I told Jim of what had happened and of Emily. He was quite skeptical of the wall, and especially of the story of Emily, and I could tell it by the expression on his face. But time would teach him well. He eventually became a believer. I confidently led him into the bathroom, paint brush in hand, and let him see first hand of the vanishing paint. His eyes got a little wider when the paint vanished before his eyes. This was the first encounter with Emily, but far from the last. And the story of her only gets better. Before I continue with my story though, I wanted to point out that many times, Jim and I would try to repaint that area. We even tried fingernail polish, magic marker, and many other things. But the paint, always vanished.

It was several weeks later before we spoke much of Emily again. There were only a few strange things that happened in the house, but we did not pay much attention to them. For example, the hall smoke detector would start beeping at odd times. At that time we thought the batteries just probably need to be replaced. With everything else we were doing and working on, changing batteries were not very high on our priority list. These smoke detectors and what happened later there, is also talked about more in this story. Keep reading. It's freaky!

Anyway, there did come that night when Emily was about with her ways, and her showing off. I had gotten a hair cut that day, and so I wanted to dress up sporty and show off my haircut in a picture. So, I had Jim take some pictures of me. Four pictures were taken and a ghostly image appeared in one in the picture with me. The other three pictures came out clear as a bell. The picture was taken with our digital camera that Jim uses for eBay, and all four shots were taken in less than 30 seconds. That night, Jim and I really started to see things different concerning ghosts. And as time went by, there would be many more ghostly images and hundreds of things called orbs. I did not even know what orbs were, but after seeing more pictures of ghostly images, I went to the Internet to look up ghostly images. To my alarm, I realized those white and gray colors on my pictures could be orbs! For a long time I thought something was wrong with the camera, as we had to deleted eBay pictures we had taken to list, because they were covered up with these spots. It is only obvious that we were also confused when pictures came out clear as clear can get. From here on out, Emily continued with her playful ways, and one of these playful ways, were with the doors.

Considering doors, this house had a huge hallway, with 8 doors leading to other rooms, including the laundry room, which had 2 doors off it. Jim was having a problem with these doors. When we would go out for the day, Jim would put all 4 dogs in the hall and shut them totally in, so that they could not get to the other rooms of the house. If there were going to be any accidents in the house, we wanted them to be in hall. And it never failed, each time we came home, at least one or two doors were cracked open. Could the dogs possibly be opening the doors with their teeth as I had seen on TV? I loved my dogs, and considered them intelligent, but really was skeptical of them opening the doors! With their teeth! Our son Cameron, lived in Huntsville also, but he did not have a key to our house. Jim, in the beginning, had actually accused Cameron of climbing through a window and then leaving the doors opened in error. Cameron swore up and down that he had not done that. Crystal was at school, so no need to blame her. I really thought that Jim thought he shut all the doors, but left one at least opened on a possibility as there were so many doors. Due to the door problem, Jim started chaining the two big dogs outside, and we would take the small dogs with us, always leaving the doors closed. And again, everytime we arrived home, at least one or two doors were cracked opened. And again, Jim was suspicious of Cameron. One day, when we were about to leave the house, I noticed Jim going all around the house and locking every window there was. He then chained the two big dogs outside and put the two smaller dogs in the van. When he came back into the house, he said "I want you to walk behind me and check each door as I close it, to make sure it is securely closed." I did as he asked, and then we left. We arrived at home two hours later, and beyond my beliefs, all of the eight doors leading off the hall were WIDE open, as well as the two doors off the laundry room. The kitchen door and the utility closet. I am sure you can imagine, our eyes were WIDE open also, and in total surprise. This was really eerie, but I found it fascinating and exciting. Emily was not out to harm, but only to play. After all, she was just a child and wanted attention. She got our attention, and from then on we noticed things with a different attitude.

Remember the smoke detectors I wrote about earlier? Well, here is the situation concerning that. There were two smoke detectors in the hall, but only one was giving us problems. One would just start beeping for no reason. Not a lot of beeps, just a few and then stop. It could be a few minutes to an hour or so before it beeped again, depending how Emily wanted to play I think. Regardless, it got very irritating and annoying, so Jim decided to get the ladder and change the batteries. This did not clear up or take care of the problem at all. It still continued its annoying sound. Once again, up on the ladder, but this time he took the smoke detector down. Doing so, I guess Emily had to find another way to frustrate and play with us. She found many ways as time went by, but after the smoke detector, she started with the TV in our office. I don't remember exactly what month it was that Emily loved to play with the TV remote control in our office, but I do remember it was cold, and the house was very drafty. The only heat we had was kerosene. So, we put a sofa bed in the office to sleep in during the cold months as a way to save energy and cost. And late at night during this time, while working on eBay with the TV on, or lying in bed watching TV, the volume would turn up real loud, or turn down so low that we could not hear it, or the channels would change for no reason. The little red light on the channel changer would light up when this happened. I would have to place the channel changer under a pillow to keep this from happening. I think this is when we first started talking to Emily. And we would scold her, but it never helped. It was annoying and frustrating to us, and she knew it, which was part of her game. If that was not enough, one night while Jim was working late, he awoke me to look at the TV. It had been programmed for the hearing impaired, showing the words and with the sound on the TV. Jim and I did not even know our TV had that option. Jim had no idea what to do to correct the problem, and had no book on the TV or channel changer to guide him. It took him more than an hour to straighten out the problem, and he admitted that if he had to fix it again, he would not know how, as he really didn't know how he fixed it back in the first place this time. As I write this story now, we live in another house and still have the same TV and remote channel changer, and it has never happened here. No volume problems, channel turns, or hearing impaired options have occurred since we have moved here. But, as long as we lived in the house on Meridian Street, and did not cover up the channel changer, Emily continued to play with it.

Emily had pretty much become a part of our family now, and our kids loved to joke about it. If anything went wrong, Emily was quick to be blamed with it. I personally don't think that Emily was guilty of all the blame she got. But it was a great excuse for our kids. But there are certain, definite things we could not blame on our kids. And with that statement, here comes Emily. Emily decided to mess with us by playing with toys. Jim's business with eBay meant putting all kinds of items on that would sell for a profit. And Jim had bought a dinosaur toy from the popular movie The Lost World as a possibility for eBay. To activate this toy, you had to press a button, and then the dinosaur would make a roaring type noise. One quiet day, while I was alone in the room and surfing the Internet, I heard a noise. It would stop and then start. For a long time, I had no idea what it was. But as the noise continued to start up, I eventually started searching the room, until I found this dang toy which was causing the irritating noise. Keep in mind again, a button had to be pressed to activate the toy. Emily was once again at her playful ways. It appeared that Emily really loved the office and finding ways to let us know she was in the office. The dinosaur was promptly moved out of the office to stop the noise. Then the NIGHTMARE GAME! Emily, at mischief again.

The Nightmare game is a popular game that sells well on eBay. Jim was so excited about finding this game at a thrift store, as he was familiar with the value of the game. And several pictures were taken of the game displayed, to put on eBay. This is standard that anytime an item goes on eBay, several pictures will be taken to decide which picture will be the best to entice the bidders to bid. Eight to ten pictures can be taken in less than 30 seconds with a digital camera. While checking the pictures to put on eBay of the Nightmare game of the four taken, one of the four, had a ghostly image, and the other three, were totally clear pictures. Emily was up to her tricks again, and I loved it. This is by far one of my favorite pictures. How exciting to have a ghostly image around a game called NIGHTMARE!

As I have mentioned already in this story, we have four dogs. They are like children to us, and we treated them so. Emily knowing this, I think, decided to play with the dogs. I have no idea what she did, or what they saw or experienced, but our dogs would start barking in the hall for no apparent reason. And my sweet small dog Gypsy, whom was the mother of the other three dogs, was scared to death at times, would whine and beg us to let her into the office. When we did, she always had this frightful look on her face, and there were a few times when we let her in that she was literally shaking. I would scold Emily about this, but it did not do any good, and she continued to pester the dogs.

One day on one of our outings at the thrift stores, Jim and I found a beautiful brass wall candle holder. I want to call it a candelabra, but I think it needed more candle holders for that definition. I was so pleased with it and rushed Jim to put it up for me. Jim put it high on the wall with two screws. It looked so nice where he had put it. The next morning when we got up, the candle holder was dangling on one screw, as if yanked from the wall. I was alarmed, and also a little confused. This was not like Emily to be destructive. And it was at this point that I became suspicious of more than just one ghost in the house. And my suspicions grew over time from looking at pictures of other possible ghostly images, and dealing with the second smoke detector in the hall. Jim put much deeper screws into the candle holder to insure it held well, which it did, yet, not long after that, the problems with the second smoke detector started. It started vaguely, and then more prominent in a period of just a few days with the irritating noise. It ended up being almost a constant beeping. Jim, once again changed the batteries on that smoke detector. Upon replacing it right back on the wall, it started beeping again before he even got off the ladder. "That's it," he said, "I'm taking it down!" I kid you not, I swear that upon him removing that smoke detector, the most eerie howling groan emerged from that smoke detector as he removed it. That was the first and only time I actually felt a certain fear, and goose bumps covered both mine and Jim's skin. It was the second time that I felt this is not Emily, but another entity of a ghost. Shocked we were, totally at the sound and experience. And if that was not enough, we had no more smoke detectors downstairs, as both use to be in the hallway.

I've heard that holidays have a way of bringing the spirits in, and I am not talking about drinking spirits. But ghostly spirits. At our house, the ghosts appeared in their spirits at Christmas, but only in our pictures. Our first Christmas at this house was so exciting to me. I had tons of Christmas decorations and set about decorating the house in Christmas glee. Dozens of pictures were taken of this Christmas time and holidays to include the months of November, December 2001, and early January 2002 as well. Many of these pictures have ghostly images and orbs, and many do not. Were they sleeping at times? Or just watching me? Or just trying to confuse me? Nevertheless, I believe that Emily and maybe other gang of ghosts, decided to join us in our Christmas celebration, and I loved it. I think if I had spent another Christmas there, I would have hung a stocking for Emily, and possibly wrapped a present for her.

In the spring of 2002, Jim and I decided to try to investigate the house and prior owners. We set a day aside just for that, and off we went to the court house. We spent the majority of the day there trying to figure out the original owners and history of the house and property. The lady that helped us was inexperienced to help us find what we needed, and the records were vague. Unfortunately, we did not find anything out that would help us explain our ghost, or ghosts. Our plans were to come back to the court house and research more at a later day and date, but this never happened. I had actually looked into contacting a group of "ghostbusters" of phenomenal workers on the Internet to visit and investigate the house. I even went as far as emailing some sites, and they emailed me back, and wanted to continue on this project, but personal and family problems came up that stopped my tracks with this. It was a great project never completed. Oh, how I would have loved to have worked on this project and learned more.

Unfortunately, my mother was having several problems that needed to be addressed. She was ill and needed to be removed from her home to my sisters home, who also lived here in Huntsville. I spent a lot of time away from my home. Many days and many nights. Things were different with what I needed to do, and Emily quieted down. According to Jim, while I was gone, Emily would every now and then mess with the TV, but it was seldom. I have often secretly wondered if Emily backed down with her playful ways and mischief behavior because I had so much going on in my life, and I was always so tired or worried most of the time when home. Was she possibly being considerate of not rocking the boat I was aboard? And Jim and I were also confronted with having to move from this old ghostly home dealing with problems with the landlady that refused to fix the heaters that were not working in the home. Therefore, we had to heat with only expensive kerosene, and due to the cost of the fuel, our rent was behind. Forgoing them suing us, and us suing them, the best decision was to just move on and let bygones be bygones from both parties.

We moved December 1st, 2002, and left Emily behind. But I did not leave her without a talk with her. I knew she could not answer me, but I still told her what I felt. And I spoke to her in the bathroom, where she first entered my life. I told her I wanted her to come with me, and that I would miss her, and that she had changed my life and way of thinking. Most people would feel kind of strange talking out loud in a bathroom with tears in their eyes, to nobody. But, I did not, as I knew who I was addressing. I wanted her to go with me, to follow me, as she had become an important part of my life. But, she did not follow me, and to this day I miss her playful games and ways. I miss a ghost. How weird can that be? How weird can it be to invite a ghost to move from one home to another? But I did, and with great sincerity.

Now all I have left of Emily are the memories of strange things and great experiences that changed my life and opinions and attitude of the super natural. And the pictures, which are my constant reminder that strange things do happen. As I wrote in the beginning, this is a very true story. The Ghost Of Emily~A true story and Emily remains untouched by human hands, but not by human emotions. All my life I have believed in honesty, was taught the importance of honesty as a child and made it a personal goal for myself, and taught my own children, and now my grandchildren the importance of honesty. This is an honest and true story. And one I will never forget and remember with many different emotions.

Written by Katie Fairchild @2004

Difference Between Lying & A White Lie?

2007-01-12T20:03:00.000-08:00
I think this is something we all need to consider and place thoughts on. The link provided I hope all my readers will read and consider. When Is A Lie A Lie? and think upon!

I tried to link this to my blog, but still not sure how to do these things, so if you get the chance, please read this blog, and keeping up with this blog might prove excellent for soul searching and questioning of our inner souls. Well, with me it is.

My adult children favorite story was "The Little Boy Who Called Wolf", even though they did not really understand it until they grew and matured and had been hurt themselves concerning lies, but when we told it while they were young, I think they just loved it because the way we sounded out WOLF! (I am telling it to my grandchildren now, and seem to get the same response of the effect of the WOLF sound.)

Anyway, I think this is an important issue, a soul searching issue, and something I think we all think about at times. Thank you smalltimeRN for bringing this to light!

BTW, lies and lying burns bridges that go up in flames real fast, and I think about that often as building bridges takes a great deal of time, especially if built with care.

Katie

WRITING TOOLS I FIND USEFUL

2007-01-07T14:32:00.000-08:00
Today while I was working on some writing projects, I realized how important writing tools are that keep me organized and on top of things. Especially since I started blogging. Three years ago when I started to organize and place on my computer my mothers works, I started looking for a writing program. I tested out several, as most will give you a free month to decided before paying for it. I feel in love with THE JOURNAL as it just had so much to offer and I can honestly say that is has become my writing bible, and would be totally lost without it. I would encourage anyone that writes a great deal, or keeps a personal journal to check this out. Right now they are offering a 45 day free trial.

The main reason I love THE JOURNAL is because it keeps all my writing, both personal and professional so organized. It lets one have as many screen names as they want (or need) and they can be password protected. I have a ton of screen names that help in my writing as well as my everyday life. I use KATIE for my personal journal, and the notebook part for my personal writings. (Poems, short stories, letters to my children and friends, etc.) I use Thoughts And Considerations and Trolls, Flame Wars and Cyberstalkers for my blogs, and Rose Desrochers for Internet behavior (This is where all my good stuff is.) I use ADDIE for my mothers works, and I use GARDENING, POOL STUFF, RECIPIES and many more where I save links or keep a journal on them. By doing this, I stay pretty organized in many categories.

THE JOURNAL also allows one to place icons for things, and you can upload pictures to THE JOURNAL and click links you have in the journal and go straight to the site. You can also submit your blog straight from the Journal. Anything and everything I write goes into the proper categories inside THE JOURNAL first. And of course it has spell check, thesaurus, dictionary, word count and so much more. I have really enjoyed the ability to download pictures in The Journal as it comes in real handy with special events, such as birthdays and holidays that I want to remember. It is just totally amazing what one can do with The Journal. Check it out free for 45 days and see what you think. Also, the customer service is EXCELLENT. Any time I have had a problem or needed advice, I emailed the head honcho and he always emailed me back as if we had know each other for years.

Another writing tool I use since I do so much research is COPERNIC DESKTOP SEARCH. They have a free download as well as premium downloads. Excellent way to organize your searches and keep up with them.

Both of these are excellent writing tools and I wanted to share them.

Katie

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION~FINDING TIME TO WRITE

2007-01-04T08:06:00.000-08:00
It seems I never have much time to write or blog anymore, yet I think about writing in my blogs all the time. My New Years resolution is to better organize my time and schedule so that I can fit in more writing projects.

Since we have moved here, I have picked up many new hobbies, one being gardening. And where we live it will not be long weather wise for us to plant our spring crops. This hobby takes up a great deal of time.

Also, the grandboys are now here full time, which takes up most of my waking hours. Thankfully they like to play outside a lot, which is where I will be in the garden. And I plan to have them in my garden also working their little bitty butts off.

I have also been spending time checking out sites that I want to become involved with, especially writing sites. I have joined one writing site already and will be blogging about it soon.

My rough draft is pretty much complete on my book dealing with Trolls, Flame Wars and Cyberstalkers. Now the real hard part starts with filling in the gaps that make it into a book, and I still have some research left to do.

As most of my readers know, Rose Desrochers unwilling inspired me to write this book dealing with Psychological Internet behavior and a character in the book will be based on her type of behavior, but names and other things will be changed. (You know, to protect the innocent. LOL) Rose has been pretty quiet from what I can find, which has given the the time to work on the rough draft, and besides, I had to stop somewhere. Of course she has not been totally quiet judging from this LINK dated in Nov. 2006 where Rose (Swtrose) shows her true colors again as someone (Vision Jinx) had the nerve to disagree with her. You will need to scroll down a little to find the story. Same story, same song, and many can sing along.

Also from her own BLOG written 4 days before Christmas, it is evident that trouble is brewing with others. (Of course out of jealousy of her, and she is once again the victim and needed people to feel sorry for her again.) Evidently someone called her a manipulative bitch and referred to her as someone that likes to stir things up. You will need to scroll up on this link to read her blog, as I also included the comment section for the link. Now, I don't know what individual she is talking about yet, but I have heard this before from many others. I guess the line gets longer.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and continues to have a wonderful New Year.

I have truly missed being out of touch with reading blogs and blogging myself.

Katie

Christmas Puppies Are Here!! Tons of Them!

2006-11-10T18:56:00.000-08:00
When I got up this past Monday morning and saw Precious, I knew I might as well set aside all plans I had for the day. She was sitting underneath our windows in the family room, and had some how managed to drag a blanket out from underneath our day bed, and a pillow, and had also taken the little cover up blanket I use from my recliner. Yep, it was puppy time, and I did not have much time to get things ready. First of all, I was not going to let her have her pups on my good comforter and the other things she had found to make her nest. Instead, I got one of our laundry baskets and some old blankets, and placed Precious in the basket and took it into the office. When I woke Jim, I told him puppies were coming soon. (I had no idea that soon meant in 10 minutes.) Well, to make a long story short, she had 3 beautiful puppies. 2 boys and 1 girl.

The majority of this blog is going to be pictures. I just love puppies, and we have bunches of them now. 11 total. And I took bunches of pictures also. Will explain in more detail beside or under the pictures of some. (Yesterday morning, Zosha, our other dog also had pups. A litter of 8.) Like I said in my blog about the dogs last month, they went into heat at the same time, and the pups are 4 days apart. Geez.

Here is Precious first puppy. A boy and just beautiful. He has the exact same markings as Silas, the father of the dogs. I had Jim hold the puppy while Precious was getting ready to deliver the second pup, and while doing so, this little puppy squirmed all over the place. He had it under his jacket and the puppy tried to climb to where the sleeve was. Fiesty little thing.

Here she is finally settled down with her puppies. They all are very healthy and have grown so fast already. They already have their own little personalities and are going to make great dogs for someone.

See the battle scars on Precious face? Remember my last blog on the dogs fighting. They both have scars. So far, we have not had any more problems with fighting since Jim fixed the back porch where they could not jump through the screen.

The above picture is another shot of Silas Jr. and he does just like his dad, he always sleeps with his back end legs behind him. His little feet are just so cute!!!

The above picture was Precious second pup. I call him the Whinner. He gets real crabby and cries and even barks when he can't get the nipple right away. He has a beautiful coat, almost a dark grey. Really loud, yet sweet puppy!

Above is Precious last puppy. A little girl and the runt. But she is doing great. She is a very calm and sweet puppy. She does not fuss much. She is solid black.

Zosha right before she had her pups. Jim and I were with her the entire time, and it was exausting. (Not just for Zosha, but for us also. It took over 4 hours for her to have the puppies. We are very worried about 2 of the brown ones and not sure if these two will make it. They don't seem to not have any control over parts of their body (especially their front legs) and we have to hold them to her nipple so that they can eat, and pratically have to force them to do so. It is so sad. Zosha is a wonderful mother and it is so weird as she really dotes on these two more than any of the other puppies. It really is strange as the first born has the problem and the last born also has the problem. I was not there when the first was born, but the last born was breach and she had a hard time with is as she was so tired and barely had the energy to push.

I just love the above shot. These puppies squirm so much we had to turn the front of the dog house around to keep them from getting out, and that little brown one found its way to the top and fell asleep. Great shot! (In case that was confusing, they are in a rubber maid dog house, and the top comes off. Dang good thing it does, or I have no idea how we would manage this. Also, if you are concerned they are getting cold, well, they are very warm. They are on our back porch that has blinds that come down that keep the wind off them, plus they are under a heat lamp.)

Well, that is all folks. By the way, don't you just love the blanket pictured above that we used once we were able to move the pups without to much worry and stress from Zosha? Just think, I have sweet little troll puppies. LOL

MY HANDS ARE DIRTY~I LIKE IT THIS WAY!!

2006-11-08T21:29:00.000-08:00
My Hands Are Dirty

And I love it!! I now wash my hands several times a day, knowing the dirt washed off might be back very soon, maybe within minutes of washing them, and my finger nails will need some extreme cleaning as well. This seems to happen to me many times lately, the need to get my hands dirty, and the need to clean the dirt away. Especially on a beautiful day!!! Such as noted within the picture below (BTW, this blog will have several pictures, as I am hoping they will express my words within the story I am telling!)

The country life of the deep south has made a mark upon me, and the gardening aspect of life has hit me with a bigger picture. Especially since before my move here, I really did not even believe it was important to garden. (Silly me, as I had no idea that it might actually save me money, not to mention give relief to my soul for the pure enjoyment of it all!) Things with me and my family have really changed on that attitude. Probably a good thing, and an important one, considering the move was very deep and will be remembered, at least to me as an important MILESTONE.

It is totally amazing what a move can do to one. I have read and even watched per TV a great deal on this subject, concerning a move, and it is a very personal experience, not to mention so much more that it directs on our lives in the move as well as in the long run. I understand this, as our move to our new home was extremely traumatic! While we made the move, I even questioned if I would survive it emotionally, just survive the move period, and the costs, and in the long run of the future. We had to give up so many things that at one time we thought, using the expressions of our children "ROCKED OUR WORLD!" And I understand more deeply Mark Twain's words of "7 moves equal a fire!" (And now I even have to question that, or find the book with that statement, as my Internet search is now telling me that Mark Twain said that 3 moves equal a fire. Boy, am I am trouble now!!) In my lifetime of 52 years, I have faced many fires if this statement was true of Mark Twain's just considering 7 years, but this particular move to me was tremendous, stressful, heart breaking, sacrificing so much that I was afraid of, which left me desperate, new to things I was not ready to face, plus so much more! And in the course of this move, I felt the burning of the fire~so to speak, and worried about water and such to make the fire go away! But, just for a little while, thank goodness. As while the move was so extreme, my life changed extremely, seeing good things on the way, in within the move, my life headed in new directions, and therefore, I am thankful! (Hope I can keep up with this new life experience, since I am still not sure, but some what confident!)

As it turned out, I think it might have been the most important move of my life, even with all the hell and brimstone. My entire life still continues to change while here. Especially concerning gardening. (Which is by the way, why I wrote this blog in the first place!) Since our move, and with the property available to us, I want to so much with our new surroundings express my feeling! This, at last, is one of the times I am happy with the Internet and the knowledge I can get from it! (Especially since I cannot afford, or find the time to buy all the DANG books I need to help me with this search, and thankful I can find easily on the Internet! Appears, I am not alone in my search for my desires and dreams concerning Mother Earth, and what part can I play in chords in positive ways!)

I WANT TO KNOW what is in my yard! And I want to know the names and games available for me! When we lived in Huntsville, before our move, I knew all the things growing in our yard. And they were easy to remember, GRASS and PECAN trees. Our responsibilities were to CUT the GRASS, and pick the PECANS (Most of the time, we just gave them away. What a mistake that turned out to be. Miss them now! Trust me!! Especially when you are making cookies!)

My question now with my life is how does MY garden grow. "Silver bells and cockle shells and maidens all in a row" sound real nice, but I now understand the joke of "silver bells and cockle shells and one DAMN petunia!" It seems to fit well with me, and makes me want to explore more to change this, so that this is more a joke and not a reality! In other words, I want to know how to plan and plant a successful garden! How do I take care of banana plants that are 20 feet tall in my area instead of when I look it up on the Internet, 12 feet is good! And once again here is a picture (take~Georgia skies on a beautiful day but captured the banana plants above the 5 foot pool, and over the 5 foot deck stand , as if in competition with the pine trees! Guess what I learned! The pine trees help the banana plants!)

My new way of thinking and learning is HOW do I care and make sure the elephant plants grow and survive during the winter months? What do I do about the rose bushes that have brought me sweet smelling and fresh flowers each day? I have learned much about that! My pictures prove that! For example, here is my first picture of roses placed in my house, that I picked with excitement and care and I was so proud of them!

Since I took the pictures of these flowers, even though still beautiful to me, my husband did the research, and found out when and how to prune them to place in the home, and I am so proud that he passed that knowledge my way, not to mention that it was important to him also. I did research with his directions , and cut the stems on the plants that had buds, but had not budded yet, but would do so while in the vase, and the results are below. Such a big difference!
And a big one at that! Good thing I have learning capabilities and still strive for success! Especially for the roses, as their colors and smells go a lot further doing it this way!!

What about the cactus plants, now that is a new one on me! See that tiny thing growing up among the other cactus? Well, according to what I read, this was not supposed to happen!! From what I read, this plant needed a lot of light to do well, and it got neither, yet grew in leaps and bounds! My question to myself is "do I leave it alone now, or water it? Or listen to music from Outer Limits of the sound track and make decisions from there!!! Do Do Do Do Do DOOOOOOOO

What about the morning glory that finally peeked my interest so much that I finally found it this particular plant on the Internet, even while and about it in my sleep and dreams! I even went so far to take pictures of it, which did not turn out well, as evident, and considered to delete them, and thankfully I could not delete the smell that still reaches my chair of where I sit on my back porch! And I so still love the smell!! I do know the plants above are morning glory. Bad pictures, need a new camera, but still I try and capture some resemblance. At least in the bottom picture, some of the lavender finds away to peek out in glory in the morning (which BTW, in the moring, it was taken) to give a good idea of the art I try to explain in my words, and need for a new camera.

What about the Palm trees that give personality to my front porch, and things that grow around it that I have no idea of what it is, but WANT TO Know?

For example pictures below, that I am looking for answers on, and have no idea of the names, and what they are called yesterday and now today! (BTW, any help is appreciated within my search!) Is this a weed, and something I need to weed out? Seems awful pretty to me!!! (Also, I read and researched on the Internet, about rocks and shells and how they help with gardens. I had no idea how special rocks and shells worked well with keeping plants healthy! Something I should remember!!! Are they just another weed? Or a neat plant? Personally I like then all. Pretty much explains the book I read from front cover to back cover or plants and weeds! Still not sure of what every thing is, as many are not mentioned or pictured, but has me going with curiosity, especially thinking do I pull it, or replant it?

I have so many more pictures on hand, but afraid now that I might be boring and redundant, (not to mention time is closing in to whelping puppies, and that is not a pretty picture, but a needed and loving experience), so I will end this blog, or so to speak! And at the same time, as my life goes on, I am sure I will speak about this more, and hopefully with new knowledge, and ideas.

So, yes, my life with the Internet has been a very useful and needed tool! Most of my time on the Internet has been searching for gardening questions and answered, which is on a positive note since I spend a lot of time saving them to my favorites and to my journal!! (spending less time on troll behavior, yet that is still a very important part of my life, that I do not forget!) My life has found new soul mates in silly things such as COMPOST piles, or knowledge or fertilizers, soil and soil testing, and DIRT DIGGING!!! But most of all dirt digging in relationship to experimenting! I am digging up all I can find (And some I do not want to find, such as ant bites, other bites, red marks on my body) in hopes of discovering of what it is, and to see if I can make it grow, and learning while I do if it is of significance importance!

Actually, it has turned out pretty well, in the long run, and I am happy about that! Dirty hands can be cleaned. And right now, I love the dirt and the cleaning!

This whole move has changed my way of thinking in many ways! Especially concerning Mother Earth! I now wake up each morning deciding of how I pick and chose of what I want to do today, (or this) day! And trust me, it caries it own dilemmas! Writing use to be my main goal, my personal baby, one I loved so much! And in the long run, I will not give up on that (hopefully), but will allow myself to "relax" and not make it my entire life, as I use to do! Mid, you were right in your words of the "gardening bug would hit me. It did, like the flu!! And I hope I do not get over the sickness, as it is one I really need!!!

With that, I will end this blog! My fingers are clean right now, and that will change! I need dirt! WHY, BECAUSE IT MAKES MY GARDEN GROW, AND I GET TO GROW WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs,
Katie

I Have Ignored My Fellow Bloggers & I am Sorry

2006-10-22T05:44:00.000-07:00
I have been so wrapped up in the last few weeks on a blog that I am considering placing on my other blog, that I have ignored my fellow bloggers when I have had Internet time, and I hope this will be something I never do again.

It has just come to my attention that Indigo Black's father died suddenly the 16th of this month.

I know she must be grieving and heart broken, and I wish there was something I could do to ease her pain. Indigo, when you get a chance to read this, please know that my sympathies are with you, and my thoughts are with you.

For those that do not know Indigo Black, she is one of the most wonderful people I know, and cares greatly for so many. She is the one that has spent hours that she did not have to spend putting my blog templates together and offering me advice many times.

There is so much more I want to say when it comes to the death of a loved one in ways to hopes of easing the pain, but I know nothing can ease that pain for a long time, and never completely.

My thoughts are with you Indigo.

Hugs,

Katie

Written below was some thoughts my mother wrote, though I know not when as she did not date it. She died in August 2003, and my family has several times shared this with others that lost a family member. Many found it very comforting, and I hope Indigo and others do also.

Death Can Be Beautiful

Death can be beautiful - when it gives release from suffering and pain. Death can be beautiful when it magnifies love through the comfort, the compassion and sympathy of friends and relatives.

Death can be beautiful when it binds those yet living more closely together, when it revives memories of a life which in its totality displayed a richness of texture and a strength of design in which the selflessness, tenderness compassion and generosity were merged. Death can be beautiful when in coming it opens the doors of life again - a life revealed in God's beyond and evermore. Death can be a gift, a reward, a promise fulfilled, the essence of God's love. The sorrow itself, that trails the wake of death, is a quality and measure of love that is creative in that it requires us to re-examine the values we hold. It causes us to question the validity of our lives, it opens our hearts to renewed appreciation of those whom we still have to love and underscores the possibility of unpredictable loss.

Addie W. Williams
Undated

HALLOWEEN FUN~PICK A NUMBER

2006-10-18T13:17:00.000-07:00
My husband found this site http://www.break.com/games/pick_a_number.html and it is just amazing and will freak you out. Really neat since it is close to Halloween. You have just got to try it!! It only takes a second, but you will do it over and over again, as you just cannot believe it! Do computers now read minds or your thoughts?

Katie

MEET OUR DOGS~A FAIRCHILD STORY

2006-10-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

This is ZOSHA, a 2 year old mix breed of pit bull, Pomeranian and lab! She belongs to our youngest daughter, which we have custody of her right now! (The dog, not the 21 year old daughter who lives where no dogs are allowed at the time!) Zosha is fat, dumb and happy, and sleeps and snores a lot on our back porch! Why? Because she is pregnant! Pictured below!!

Meet Silas & Precious! Parents of Zosha!
Silas is 3 years old, has a great deal of pit bull in him, and goodness who knows what else! Precious is 7 years old and her mother was 100% Pomeranian and her dad was a lab!

Precious is also fat, dumb and happy right now! As pretty evident below, she is also pregnant! She got this way 3 days before ZOSHA! (When it comes to luck, we must not have any, as both these dang dogs went into heat at the same time!!!!)

Silas is the king of the dogs! And father of both the girl dogs! When Silas is not sleeping, he is doing something that causes us alarm! Always! Although he is 3 years old, he still chews everything in site pretty much, and has taken over as number one in the family! That includes Jim and I! Why did we let this happen?

And if that ain't bad enough, just throw in the fact that all three dogs are alpha dogs! Especially Silas! Don't let anyone tell you that female dogs cannot be ALPHA dogs, especially if they are in heat or pregnant!

Zosha and Precious, even though they are mother and daughter, hate each other, and we have the destruction and scars to prove this! And each day, we play what seems to me like "musical chairs" to keep them from killing each other. Letting the dogs out to do their business is not an easy chore at all!! And a few times we have not succeeded, and had to save the dogs from ripping each others throat out! Twice we have had to yell at our daughters while the dogs were fighting that THROWING WATER ON THEM DOES NOT WORK!! Doing so just makes the dogs wet and smelly like a wet carpet! (Even our grown daughters, both pass the age of 21 had to try this at least once, because they saw that it worked on a movie!)

When Precious was young, she was just as sweet as pie and loving to all animals, even cats as evident in the pictures below!

When she had puppies of her own and she was tired, she was very patient, but now, with them being pregnant together, (mother and daughter) she displays the theory of EATING HER OWN YOUNG!!

This is what our back porch looks like now! (Actually, I love it, as it gave it more personality I think! Thanks dogs!) Before it was just cheap screen that has had to be repaired several times over, as if one dog was out in the yard, while the other locked in the back porch, they discovered that they could just jump through the screen! ARRG!

Katie has been busy SEWING SCREENS of all things!

And now, I have to sew again it seems as SOME DOG (Precious while she was outside) decided to eat through the screen, only to realize she could not eat the wood on the other side! As evident below!

Of course my husband, needing to do many things with a new move, still shakes his head that he had to pretty much put everything on hold while he cut and placed boards on our back porch so that the female dogs could not kill each other!!!
And Silas did not make things easy for anyone! He had to always be a part of the fight, never even thinking about whom he was sticking up for. He just had to get involved. Sometimes he stuck up for Precious, and sometimes Zosha. I think it depended on who was closest when he got involved!

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? Well, Silas knows how to open doors by denting the door knobs with his teeth so that he is able to turn the door knob! (We are in the process of ordering glass door knobs now!)

For readers that know some of our history of our move of the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY, well, this falls under the bad and the ugly, and I have scars on my finger from a fight to prove this!! (and it is just now healing!)

But, with trial and error, things are getting better, and we have come up now with a pretty good routine of letting the dogs out to do their business without a fight!
Anybody want a puppy? They are due in 4 more weeks, and would make a great Christmas gift!!

I am thinking about putting a sign out in front of our house once they are age enough to give away that reads "FREE PUPPIES, and take the MOTHER'S & DAD TOO!!"
I could never do that, and if nothing explains anything better to me ever, it does now for my sanity! Once this ordeal is over, SPADE and NEUTER as soon as possible and hope we can survive!

I realize that it has been a long time since I have blogged, and have wanted to save the world from certain people, but right now, I am enjoying my new home and adjusting to "the country living" not to mention the dogs! (this is all new to them also, so I just have to smile and say OK! Choking them seems easier, but I love my dogs, and my life, and will get back to other things when I fill fit and good for me.)

In ending, is a picture of Silas not long after we got him, and his eyes are still close to this color of blue! Also is a poem I wrote about him that still fits pretty much today!!

Silas~Our Grown Up Puppy

Silas is our grown up puppy, with a
Long black wagging tail!
He makes us warm in bed, reluctantly
As we want the room as well.

Honestly, though, he puts smiles on our face,
And expects some embrace. Which he gets, even with my fits.
As we get older, our children still make their place~
And he also, does with his bark, his speak.

His bark is loud and obvious,
But his body language is louder.
Curling securely between legs, with the comfort of warm,
Makes you somehow forget fleas, but instead
Reaching love in emotions with pets.

Who am I kidding? Sweet dog kisses and slobbers on the face,
And anger with chewed up clothes, shoes~
And things you once embraced.
Anger and frustration, entered with Silas,
Or your pet as well, and their name or names! But love!

He is just a dog, and became somewhat my baby, my child
And the life of what I live with my husband. Who actually loves him as much as I.
Silas depends on us, and we, as him as well.
Never do we have to worry about what he has to tell.
His tail does that, and in his own way, his emotions as well.

His story is written with a wag of a tail,
And a wet ear, that has to be wiped off as well.
Or of a slobbered face, those kisses do tell.
Just a dog, a companion, and a child as well.
Only Silas can tell, and we listen!!

So, it is as we grow older~
That we let the ones that cannot speak tell us~
Of how we deal with our lives, and think about and
What our loved pets teach us!

Silas, our hero, in so many ways, saved
Us from depression in many days.
Kept us sane, while we thought we were going insane!
The story pets can tell!
And we should listen, and LISTEN well.

@Katie Fairchild
Jan. 7, 2005

What A Way To Meet The Neighbors!!

2006-10-05T12:30:00.000-07:00
Since we have moved to our new home in the middle of TIM BUCK TOO, BOON DOCKS, BACKWOODS, etc. whatever you want to call it, it still seems nothing goes as planned. (But we still hold out hopes!)

For example, yesterday a HUGE pig -I mean HUGE, was in our poor garden, the garden we started only a few weeks ago (actually things were peeking out from it, spinach, collard's, etc.) Our daughter on her way to work so early yesterday morning, chased the monster pig off and felt guilty that she had yelled at our dog for her constant barking. Especially since the dog resorted to the chair crawed up with a sad look on her face, of "I was just trying to alert you!" Reminders of the pig were evident of the huge hole it dug, the footprints of the pig, actually the smell, which attracted all 3 dogs, even though the pig had left hours ago. DANG it, I had just gotten use to the chickens and roosters in our yard that made our dogs go into fits, but I had no idea that a huge pig lived or was loose in our vicinity. Well, to make a long story short within this paragraph, my husband spent all day yesterday repairing the interrupted garden back into its proper shape and building a fence to protect our little garden. (which by the way, we are still not sure how to grow!)

Speaking of my husband, today is his birthday of 51 years. Last night I went to bed with thoughts of how to make today very special for him. You know what I mean! Romantic stuff. I had planned the entire day ahead of time for his birthday to pamper him, make things special for him, make it a day that he would remember. And it started off well, with breakfast in bed for him covered in a tray of sweet smelling rose petals from our rose bushes in grand colors laid upon dishes of his favorite foods. I was so pleased with my effort and his gratitude expressed upon his smile. That was just the first of things I wanted to do for him on his birthday. (I love romantic things, and he also does.)

But then the calls came (which will explain why this story is about meeting my neighbor via the phone.) The first time it rang, I answered and the other party said "Angela?" I replied "No, this is Katie, and I am sorry, but I think you have the wrong number." I set the phone down (we were on the back porch) and it rings again, and my husband answered it. Again, he tells them it is the wrong number. And again, and again. (Actually he is now become irritated, and sounds close to being rude!) Around the 5th ring, the caller tells him that there is a problem, as she is trying to call her own home, and each time she does, we answer the phone. I am standing in front of Jim and saw his facial features change with concern, and a much nicer tone entered his voice. When he said "Oh, really?", I knew we were once again a victim of Murphy's Law, and possibly the one on the other end of the line talking to him.

To make a long story short (well, sort of, as I did leave a lot out, as not that real interesting) I found out that my area did include broadband instead of just TURTLENET (dial up) and it was to take place yesterday for my insulation. My phone service was cut off yesterday for about 20 minutes, and then right back on without any problems (well, until today). Yet, it turned out that the phone service made a mistake in my order and switched lines to my neighbor 2 miles down the road. And all calls coming in to us, were actually for my neighbor. It was so confusing for awhile.

Yet, it actually turned out to be quite funny (at least now) as the first call that we answered was from the grandmother hoping to talk to her granddaughter. My husband kept telling her she had the wrong number. Grandmother sees red flags and calls her daughter that a strange man is answering her phone, and the granddaughter is home alone!! (Not so funny right then!)

When the mother of the daughter called, we realized something was amiss. Phone calls from me and my new neighbor stopped and we both started calling our phone carrier. (I was pretty angry as an add went into effect today that cost a pretty penny to place, and the idea was to sell the majority of my daughters possessions of furniture, etc., in her efforts to make her move to Iraq. And if any callers answered the add, the got a dead number!)

In the ending, it was fixed, and we laughed and joked together about it, exchanged numbers and life experiences. We just clicked, as if we had known each other all our life. As it turns out, her family has been here for ages, (in this small community of only 500 families), and told me many things that were helpful to me as a newcomer to this community. We actually have a lot to talk about, and it is good to meet the neighbors.

It just goes to show, that when things do not go as you hoped or expected, and things interrupt your life, the silver lining that we always hear about behind the black cloud still shines through. Sometimes we just do not see the shine. But, I did this time, and loved every minute of it.

Katie

Connected By Love And Life

2006-09-30T22:03:00.000-07:00
I got an email today from my sister that a friend of ours had passed away from cancer yesterday. It was one of those swift cancers, where he died not long after he was diagnosed. My sister knew him much better than I did as they had been friends for 25 years. They went to the same Unitarian Universalist church for years, which is also where I knew him from. He was a super guy, and he will be missed.

My sister said that she saw him the morning before he died, and sang him a popular Unitarian Universalist song called Connections. It has a beautiful thought. It goes like this,

There is something between us that words can't define.
Existing in memory and outside of time.
Though we just can't forget with the passing of days,
There's still a connection that won't slip away.

CHORUS~ We're connected by love, we're connected by life, we're connected by stories and tears in the night. We're connected by memories, connected by friends. Feel deep the connection made strong once again.

I have opened myself to the sound of the lute
and where once I heard chatter, right now I am mute.
Rejecting the noise of the usual hour,
I feel in the stillness this union of ours.
(and then the chorus again)

She said it comforted him she thought. I think it probably did also.

Goodbye my friend, many are going to remember and miss you.

Katie

DVD RESUME & INTERVIEW IDEA

2006-09-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today while my daughter was taking about her job, for some reason my mind drifted back to a memory 23 years ago. At that time, I ran and operated an Employment Agency, and a man that did videos of weddings and other important affairs, approached me about doing a VHS video interview of one of my customers. He was curious to see how well this idea would work for job hunters. I thought this was a pretty good and new idea, so I agreed and put together an Interview that followed real close to a resume of what I would ask the interviewee. And asked one of customers that I remember interviewed real well upon their first interview, and she agreed to be our genie pig. The interview went real well, and viewing the tape, it was really impressive.

Now, remember, this was 23 years ago, and in the long run, this did not work out as well as we had expected. Reasons were the expense of the tape itself and having to make multiple tapes, packaging and shipping, plus finding businesses to send the tape too that had available jobs that she was looking for, was very time consuming. All in all, pretty much not worth the whole idea.

But, in today's age with the Internet so available, I think it would be a great idea. The Internet has hundreds of job sites available with every kind of job you can think of. And seeing someone pretty much in person, seems to me that it would be an asset for companies, and less expensive for the job hunter as well as the company or business looking to hire. The expense of the job hunter would be much cheaper due to the ability of burning CD's or actually just sending a file to the contact person. And less time consuming due to all the job listings available on the Internet.

So, I googled some keywords to search on, and was surprised to find very little on this. Maybe I did not put in correct keywords to find more on this.

My question is this~Are any of the readers familiar with this idea, and what are your comments concerning how well you think this might work? Pros? Cons?

Katie

Examples Of Cyberbullies

2006-09-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

http://cyberstalkers.blogspot.com/ has new blog posted Titled Examples Of Cyberbullies. Very interesting read.

TROLLS & FLAME WARS HAS FIRST BLOG

2006-09-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, first blog is up at http://cyberstalkers.blogspot.com/. If you get a chance, check it out and let me and Indigo know what you think.

Hugs,
Katie

Trolls, Flame Wars & Cyberstalkers ~ New Blog

2006-09-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

I opened a new blog today, titled Trolls, Flame Wars & Cyberstalkers. http://cyberstalkers.blogspot.com/

I wanted to separate Thoughts And Considerations from blogs that deal with these subjects. I want Thoughts And Considerations to be a more positive blog that deals with different subjects. Also, many of my readers (at least right now) do not have predator, troll, flame wars, cyberstalking or psychopath behavior problems with others.

The new blog is only in test condition right now, and I will be working on it (with some help) the next few days or so. I do have a lot of blogs I have been working on and promised to write on for people. I also have some blogs that I need to finish concerning the Internet behavior from people that many of my readers know.

Like I said before, the new blog is in construction right now, and I will have a header page and am looking for a title. (Katie's Louge works great for Thoughts & Considerations, but I need something different for this new blog. Any suggestions?)

I have many blogs that I am also working on for Thoughts & Considerations, and at first when I put a blog on Trolls, Flame Wars & Cyberstalkers, I will alert the readers here that a new blog is on.

BTW readers, Fighter from Cyberpaths, wrote an excellent article today on Cyberbullies. Very informative, important and has excellent links. http://cyberpaths.blogspot.com/ I encourage all to read this and check out the links provided in the blog.

Have a great evening.

Katie

The Good ~ The Bad & The Ugly ~ PART ONE

2006-09-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

The Good ~ The Bad ~ The Ugly! Part 1

I wanted to start with the GOOD of our moving adventure, which is our new home and being near our daughter and her family, as the rest of our moving experience pretty much falls under The Bad and The Ugly.

We live way out in the country, with the closest city being 20 miles away. We will not be going to the city often! The home sits on 1.3 acres of beautiful property. Thank goodness we have a riding lawn mower. The property is nestled among pine trees and the prior owners also had planted many different types of trees and flowers on the property. One of my biggest ambitions now is to learn about gardens of all types and to do some planting and growing myself. Mid, if you are reading this, I noticed that your interest falls into gardening and I might need some tips from you.

See below pictures for more details.

The above picture is of our 2 car carport. It has a light sensor that comes on should anyone drive up. It also has a sign on the gate from the previous owners that has a picture of a dog and reads "I can get here in 3 seconds. Can you?" Pretty neat since we have a dog that can do just that. LOL

The above is a picture of our rock garden and pond. Water comes out of the frogs mouth. Not sure if I am going to put gold fish in there or not, as our dog loves to jump in the pond.

The above picture is a front view of the home. It is a modular home designed by the prior owners. (I am sure Shawn Desrochers is probably saying "See, I told you that they would live in a trailer!" LOL.) I did want to give some information on a modular home. They are built by design and then moved to the property. They are permanent structures and increase in value. They do not have wheels under them and cannot be moved. Still I go back to the same thing that Shawn said about living in trailers. Does he think that people who lives in trailers are beneath him, or that he is superior to them? Give me a break!

The above picture is a back side view of the home. It did not come out real well in the picture, but beside our back screened in porch are several rose bushes. Yesterday a beautiful orange rose bloomed. The rose bushes have many colors. Red, white, pink, and as we discovered yesterday, orange.

The above picture just shows a view from our back porch. We really are enjoying the back porch. We have our swing on one side of the back porch and a sitting area on the other side.

The picture above shows the banana plants that surround the deck of the pool. They actually produce bananas.

The above picture shows some other plants around the pool. Not sure what they are, but I intend to find out.

The above picture shows a chicken in our yard. Behind our house on a dirt road and a little way down is a chicken farm. The roosters are very loud in the morning. Our dogs love to chase the chickens out of the yard.

The above picture shows flowers I picked from the yard. I do this about every other day now. It is so nice to have real flowers in the house, and the roses smell just wonderful.

The above picture shows the family room where we spend our time eating popcorn and watching movies, or just chatting. Very spacious and comfortable room.

The above picture shows the dinning area and part of the kitchen. The floor design is hardwood, which I really like. Behind the kitchen is the laundry room, which is also where our upright freezer is and this room leads out onto the back porch. I am wanting to put swing doors (or door) or something between the kitchen and laundry room, as I do not like it not closed off. Tacky to me. Any suggestions?

The above room is our living room. As you can see, it is pretty empty. We sold or tossed away all our living room furniture as it was not the right color for the room. The only thing we brought from our old living room are our paintings. Jim and I both love art, and many art pieces are also done by my family.

The above picture shows some of our bedroom. I am glad it is a large room, as our bedroom before was large and we collect oriental items, and they all went great into this bedroom. The bedroom also has a very large walk in closet.

The above picture is of our bathroom, which is off our bedroom. We really have enjoyed it. Behind the door is where the shower is. There is a HUGE walk in closet behind the bathroom. More like a little room actually. (We are using it for stuff we have not put out yet, right now.)

The above picture shows the skylight above the garden tub. Jim hung my stained glass butterfly in the skylight window, and it just glows with colors in the room when the sunlight first hits it. This skylight brings in a great deal of light into the room. We are always trying to turn the light out in the bathroom, only to realize it is not even on. We have to close the bathroom door at night as the light is so bright in the morning, it wakes us.

This little entry hall coming off the family room, leads to the guest bath and the other two bedrooms, which one we use as an office.

This is our office. We still have a great deal we need to do in organizing it. Our desk sits between the window, and right outside our window is the rock pond. It really is nice to have something to look at.

Well, that's it. We finally made it and had to give up and sacrifice a great deal to move here, but I must say, in the long run it was worth it. I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Hugs,
Katie

History Lesson Of What a Century Makes

2006-09-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

My brother sent this to me via email, and found it so interesting and thought I would share it with the readers. Things have changed a great deal in 100 years.

There was no information about who put this all together (heck, it could have been my brother for all I know) so I have no links to this.

History Lesson --- 1906

SHOW this to your children and grandchildren.

?? THE YEAR 1906??

This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1906. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906:

************************************
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City
cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles
of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more
heavily populated than California.

With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st
most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in the US. was 22 cents per hour.

The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and
Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over
the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists
said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian
of health." ( Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least
one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

??IT STAGGERS THE MIND, EH....!??

ALIVE & DOING WELL~KATIE'S BACK!!!

2006-09-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!! I hope your life has been well. Today we finally got our phone service. Talk about slow business! When we ordered the service, it was supposed to be 2 to 5 days, but as it turned out, it was 14 working days. And since it is dial up, life on the Internet Super highway is a whole lot slower. I guess that is what we get for living so far out in the country.

Not long into the move, I had a name for my first blog, and I was going title it "Nothing According To Plans", but as time when on, and things kept happening, I decided it would be almost book length by the time I got done with it. You will just have to trust me when I say that we faced many obstacles and challenges concerning this move. Right now you could probably find our picture under the definition of "Murphy's Law".

But I wrote this while sitting on my back porch, before putting it into blog form, and it is a beautiful day, and overlooking the property is a comforting and calming feeling. Of all the things that did not go as planned or expected (or happened when unexpected for that matter), I must admit that it was worth it all. We are very happy with our new home and surroundings, and life is good.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back, have missed everyone and will write more when I can.

Hugs,
Katie

Project 2996

2006-08-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

I hope Katie doesn't mind but as she seems to be receiving quite a bit of traffic of late...

On Sept 11, 2006 bloggers will be honoring those that fell in the Sept 11, 2001 attacks by writing and posting tributes for those heros. There isn't a whole lot of time left so if you are interested you can sign up here. More information about the project can be found here.

This is such a beautiful act of kindness and I hope that each of you are able to participate.

Happy Blogging
Indigo

MOVING RIGHT ALONG

2006-08-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

This will be the last blog I write for a long time. Actually, I have no idea how long it will be before I get back on the Internet. As most know, we are moving, and our new place is out in the country, and I mean way out in the country. The town we will be living in only has a population of about 700, and there is no such thing as cable internet (for that matter, cable TV, but we can use Satellite dish.) We will have to go back to the primitive days and use a dial up modem. So, I am taking some very precious time to write this as our internet will be cut off today.

This has by far, been the hardest move we have ever made. In reality, we have been preparing to move (packing, etc.) for 2 months. The home we live in now (for 2 more days) is a two story home built in the early 1900's and sports servant quarters of 4 rooms in the back, as well as a large barn, and large well house. Perfect place if you have a lot of junk, which we did.

Our new home is one story and 3 bedrooms, and on 1 1/2 acres of land, and is just wonderful. But it does not have much storage space at all. Pretty much all it has is an old horse stall in the back.

I want to say just a few things concerning Rose and Invision Graphics and what they have written about me on their forum. Actually, I was not going to make any comments at all, but my good friend James Landrith emailed me last night to say that he had written a short blog on Katie's Logue. Since he has such a high volume of visitors, I decided I needed to make a few comments.

Shawn is assuming that I started the thread on Players and Psychos, rumored that he was an unemployed individual and that I placed Rose's picture on the thread. This is a false hood and I thought Shawn was savy enough to find out who started that thread. I know that Shawn does work and I think my reputation shows that I do not write anything unless it is truthful or well researched.

Speaking of truth, they said I lied about the pictures of the children on TW being removed. I did not lie about that, as twice when I checked, the pictures were gone. I will admit that they might not have been removed permanently but were not there at those two times I checked. Many times on our eBay store someone will email me that the picture is missing. The problem was with Photobucket and were shortly placed back.

This brings me to another subject of what was found in the forum. Shawn made a comment that my husband sold on eBay and insinuated that he made little money, and he would like to compare income between what he makes versus what my husband makes. First of all, who cares about who makes the most? I certainly don't. But he did try to make his statement sound as if my husband was just a poor little thing and forgot to mention the fact that he is, in fact, a Power Seller, which requires a certain volume and feedback to become such.

It was also discussed that I had issues with Authors Den. Where they came up with that is beyond me. If you look at my side bar under Assorted Wonderful Links, Addie Williams is there, which is a site for she and I both, where someone (and to this day, I do not know who) paid a life time membership for us. Another subject at hand in their forum was that I was not a good writer. Heck, I have no idea if I am or not. Some like what I write and some don't. But, I was honored after Katrina devastated so many to have a poem ELDER PRAYER, chosen with only a few others, to put on Podcast by Authors Den.

Then something was written about us living in a Mobile home, which we do not, but what if we did? Does living in a mobile home make people different? What has that got to do with anything? Are they saying that people that live in Mobile homes are inferior to them, that they are better than people who live in mobile homes?

A great deal more was written, and it is all distorted and manipulated to fit them, and to confuse their followers. This is not a surprise to me and expected.

Concerning the book I am writing, I do have a publisher who is very interested and becomes more interested each day as Rose, herself, helps promote the book. Actually, it might just be a good idea to go with Lulu or another POD as I think it would sell and could make more profits due to the interest now. LOL

Indigo will be taking care of my blog and monitoring comments for me. She knows that I accept comments as long as respectful, and even if they disagree with me. Everyone can voice their opinion.

Take care everyone and I will be reading when I can.
Hugs,
Katie

****************

Katie has asked me to edit this post a little and to also look after her blog (bwahahahahahahaha!) until she gets settled into her new place. I'm not as intuitive as Katie, so if you send a comment that you do not want published please be sure to say so in the comment otherwise they will be published. Any and all troll comments will be zapped.

Just briefly I want to add that it is typical for the group of trolls in question to demonize those who oppose them. If they can't find something on the person, they'll either make stuff up, twist the facts or resort to name calling and nitpicking. Sometimes all of the above. Katie is a good person but because she has taken on the task of exposing this cyberpath, she has come under attack. Personally I believe this attack is nothing more than a 'poor-pity-me-sign-up-at-my-site-and-donate-money' pr move but only the trolls know their real motive.

In short, it may take all of a minute but eventually this too shall pass (when the clicks and the poor baby back rubs stop) and trolls will move on to the next act in their High School drama. In the meantime, I'm sure Katie would love it if you all said prayers (or sent virtual hugs or said a mantra) for her and her family.

Hugs to all and happy blogging :)
Indigo

The World's Display

2006-08-02T01:56:00.000-07:00

We are moving, and with our life this takes great time, especially with the choices and decisions we have to make in our years of age.

I will be back, with time and I will think of so much while away. And write as well.

Katie

The World's Display

Today
The World's display of fare
Broad on the map of opportunity
Is as always divided by circumstance
And time.

There is more of fare
Than fair
Considering the negatives
Of circumstance
And time.

But, so it always was
And is
And we will die, cheated
Of the most we might have done
If we'd been allowed
Before we died.

Addie W. Williams
May 18, 1983

DOE says "Think Good Things & Have Good Dreams"

2006-07-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

While most grandmothers are called by Grandmommy, Grandmother, Nana, Mom (with the first name of the grand parent attached to mom) and other sweet names, my name as a grand mother was totally unexpected. When my first grand son, DeShawn was born, I searched for the right name, and it seemed that nothing came up to fit me, so I just settled with Grandmommy, hoping that would work for me in the long run. And it worked well for awhile, good enough since nothing else came up.

Then Anthony, my youngest grand son came along, and I was amazed in his total beauty when I first say him at the age of less than a month old, sadly unexpected at my Mom's memorial. Both my grand boys light in their eyes held a special light in the lose of my mother.

Anthony changed my name a year latter when he started to talk. I thought he was saying DeShawn, but I was wrong, he was calling out for me, and my name was Doe. He cried it when he was tired, when he was sleepy, rejoiced the name of Doe when happy or when my attention was needed with him. To this day, I do not understand how or why he decided to call me DOE, and I accept this, as it is such a love name in regards of me having a new name replacing everyday grandmother expected name!

So now I am Doe, the one that today and hopefully in their future will they see me as their grandmother with worlds of who knows what, they named me Doe. (Maybe I am dear to them.) They are 2 & 4 years old and we have our bed time story of sleep time and many other special times.

Our bedtime story from me as Doe is special , and rules are no toys, no talking, no playing, or getting up at bedtime, and the most important thing when we close our eyes is "to think good things, and have good dreams." Then I kiss their face in their full yawn, not even sure if they know I placed the kissed in their half sleep, and watch them turn over to settle themselves within a deep sleep, and pat both their backs to make sure they are concentrating in their sleep. And I am thankful of my new name of Doe, and thankful it is so easy for them to say and future grand children can say with ease. And thankful that they dreamed up such a name and tickled that my grand children would called me of such a love name. I hope it is because I am a dear to them, yet, I realize that Anthony could not pronounce my name at the time, and Doe just fell in place and stuck. I love my grand boys, and telling the story of my name of Doe is something I want to remember and them remember as well.

Katie

PSYCHOPATH & SOCIOPATH DISORDERS & BEHAVIOR

2006-06-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I was contacted by a reader of mine to surf and read on the behavior of PSYCHOPATH & SOCIOPATH. I am glad they suggested this, as there is just so much on this particular subject, and how it now affects us via the Internet. Please make sure you check out and read the links given at the end of this blog!

No longer are we thinking our next door neighbor, co-worker (even family) might posses the traits of this behavior, and we are now more and more seeing it on the Internet. We have seen movies that portray these type of people, and we sat back in amazement while watching the shows of "DAMN, these are scary people!". Now it has invaded our activity on our computer, and many times people become the victims of these types of behaviors, (maybe you) having no idea of why it happened.

There is just so much written on Psychopath & Sociopath behavior. While we think we have a pretty good idea of recognizing them, I wanted to blog on what I have discovered and it has certainly been an interesting and educating read for me. I am hoping to educate to some degree of what a psychopath is, as you might be a victim of one (or could become a victim of one) and have no idea of what you are dealing with.

While the articles say many things on the behavior of this group of people (of the ones I have read, and trust me, there is much information on this), they all say certain things in common of this type of individual. Perhaps you know one and can now recognize this type of person.

I read an interesting article about Trolls speaking about the disordered personality of antisocial types, which in reality is the same thing as psychopathy or sociopath behavior. The behavior of the Troll touches on personally experienced and what I have heard from others concerning their behavior follows, therefore my writing deals with this, but is not limited to:

1. Inability to accept or recognize social norms. I could go on forever with this in great detail, but it is recognized in other ways in my blog.

2. Repeated lying, deceitful, uses many aliases if discovered on one, then goes to another (especially if found out), conning and manipulative to others in order of personal or pleasure profit and gain.

3. Lack of remorse and irresponsibility concerning others, and then rationalize their behavior within their minds, disregarding the ones they have hurt, mistreated and many times destroyed.

4. They posses a narcissism behavior or grandiosity, need of admiration from others, yet total lack of empathy for others. Let me explain this more.

Concerning GRANDIOSITY , they need a sense of self-importance, and they accomplish this by exaggeration of their achievements, what wonderful things they have done, their religion, how they care, and expects to be recognized in a superior role for this. They have an unreasonable sense of entitlements and expectations, yet expect favorable or automatic compliance with their expectations. And with their interpersonal goals, they take advantage of those in their path to achieve their own ends, and that can be many things. And sadly, they are void of any empathy, and do not realize (or recognize) or identify with the feelings and needs of others, and shows arrogant behavior and attitude.

It has been expressed in several articles concerning trolls that have a personality behavior that they crave and feed upon constant need for attention, and are not happy at all when they are not the center of attention. Their writings are displayed in impressionistic form, and lacking of details, yet get very angry if questioned on this. Their behavior is manipulative and self centered, yet hard to recognize at first until you personally get to know the troll. The psychopath troll makes a point in provocative comments in order that emotional responses will be given by others. And many times when responses are given, they challenge the conversation, many times breaking the rules of chat or forum board, therefore being banned, and then cry VICTIM and go back in under a new identity.

I have found out through my research that this type of behavior of trolls do ask for forgiveness at times, and change their stories so that others will read it, using words of I made a mistake, instead of telling the entire story. The problem is that others are now questioning their behavior, and reading about it via the Internet, and they must do something to change it. The attention they are getting now is not what they wanted or hoped for, so they must ask for some type of forgiveness. More of this behavior follows in the blog, so keep reading!

OK, I am now ending the Troll comments that are related to Psychopath and Sociopath. It all has some relationship to the rest of what I have written. Heading now to all behavior of this group of people! You might see some redundant of the same behavior tho.

BEHAVIOR PATTERNS OF THIS TYPE OF BEHAVIOR, to include but not limited to!

1. Superficial and Glib~They can come across as very charming, intelligent (and actually, many are) and articulate individuals. They are very aware of what people find appealing and interested in, and work diligently to present themselves in favorable ways. As already stated, they tell tons (lies) of stories about themselves and their achievements and their attention need is fed when others think and believe on them, never knowing any better.

2. Egocentric~Total self-centered and under the unrealistic opinion that what everything and everyone does (or should) revolve around them. They have a superiority complex to the rest of society and think and feel they are right in questioning and violating all rules. They are arrogant, boastful, controlling, not to mention COCKY.

3. Manipulative and total deceitful~Their greatest talent is lies and then more lies. They still continue to carry on with their deception even when caught. Being caught is no big deal to them, even when confronted, as they just alter the details of their story.

4. Guilt & Remorse & Empathy and Emotions~ is total lacking with this type of individual and their behavior. They do not have the ability to "step into another's shoes", or relate to how the pain they have inflicted upon others is devastating. In the psychopath, they rationalize all they do and therefore do not feel any remorse or pain and possible destruction that they caused to others.

5. Impulsive~The psychopath revolves around here and the now, pretty much "living for the moment in time", and seeks instant total gratification (giving none, or little consideration to the consequences of their actions.)

6. Lacking in reliability and responsibility~This behavior problem among these individuals have no understanding or care of social goals, such as commitment, obligation, rules, etc. and cannot be counted on for them to understand. Making and breaking promises is not a problem with them, regardless of how it affects others.

7. Behavioral problems existing from early adulthood~Many times when looking into the psychopaths behavior, childhood problems were evident and present. Red flags go up if seen. Problems such as constantly lying, cheating, bullying, violence, just to name a very few.

8.Adult behavior~Antisocial~It all comes back to this. All the things I have already listed and spoken on. Standard and rules show no importance with them, and they do as they please, how they please with no regards as how it affects others. While their ways might not be criminal, they are most definite immoral. Their self centered goals are still the same, to think only of themselves and disregard how it affects others. Truly sad!

In ending concerning Psychopath and Sociopath (and I do apologize for this being such a long blog, but hopefully it will serve as an educational blog) I wanted to point out just a few more things that I have read concerning this. (As well as personal experience and others that have contacted me concerning this.) And I might be redundant in some of my comments on this.

These people and their behavior exhibit poor emotional intelligent, lack of conscience and unable to feel attached to people except in their own terms of their personal value. They usually start a relationship with others, and will invite the victim to participate in their game. (Sadly, the victim has no idea of the rules). They display a Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde personality. In other words, they play the part of the role to rope one in, so that they can get what they want! They have no conscience and their biggest goal is for their gratification only. They come from all walks and talks of life, making it easy to fool the victims. It is hard to spot one at first. And when spotted by someone else, they cry VICTIM, and think they are, as we do not understand them. They play games, hoping us to become a token in their play. Yet, when we see the rules are out of order and we do not want to play by their rules, we become a subject of their vengeance. And this is very scary! While the majority of us do tell some little white lies, and feel guilt on this, the psychopath cannot or will not discriminate why it is that they lie, cheat or steal from. With them, no one matters, and it could be you as a friend to them, family, but most likely you will feel in the end SUCKER!

This is the end of my blog and I hope it has given some education to this behavior. Please, please read the links available and search more on google on this subject.

LINKS:

Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Case of Diagnostic Confusion
by Robert D. Hare, Ph.D.

Trolls May Have A Disordered Personality

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Look at the Psychopath

MSN GROUPS on PSYCHOPATH This last link I am not getting to come out right, but I will work on it, as it is a great read!

TROLL & CYBERSTALKER BEHAVIOR

2006-06-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

The more I read and hear about trolls and cyberstalkers, plus the fact that I know what I consider a troll and Cyberstalker by the name of Rose Desrochers, and have seen the damage she has done to others, and I actually, in a small degree, feel sorry for this type of people. What happened in their life to make them this way? Why is their self esteem so low and why are they so paranoid and jealous of others? The human mind has always fascinated me, and the psychology of the behavior of a Troll & Cyberstalker fits right in with that fascination.

If you are being harassed or stalked by a Cyberstalker or troll, chances are you are not the first one and will certainly not be the last one stalked by them. They are stalking because they need and love the attention it brings to them and crave having power over others, especially if they can hurt others by attacking them, as this is how they bring up their low self-esteem. As a general rule, the majority of these people in real life, are not very good at social skills, therefore, the Internet is their tool. They are cunning, manipulative, and many times at first come across as a real nice person. As you find out more about them, and those that have encountered this group of people, you will find that they are bullies, and care basically for no one, except themselves. Many times they have their groupies that agree with what ever they say or do. Kind of like the Jim Jones effect. Yet, if one of the groupies disagree with them, they might find themselves being stalked and trolled with a vengence, with the purpose of hurting them, as they hurt the stalker by going against their control. They hate this. They hate rejection. They hate it if anyone criticizes them or disagrees with them, and they refuses to listen to or understand view points of others. Their opinion is that they are right and everyone else is wrong. This is generally what starts flame wars, especially on chat boards and forums, which the majority of the time after this goes on and gets out of hand, they become banned. But, that does not stop them. They will go to another board, and usually, history will repeat itself. These type of people on forums are big posters, posting many times 20 to 30 times a day. Often posting about controversial subjects so their attention need is fed, knowing dang well it will start a flame war among the groups. Then the sympathy part of the behavior comes in if the anger turns toward them with "Why is everyone being so mean to me? I am such a good person?" Right!

These type of people have a common behavior pattern of banning people from their sites or blogs if someone disagrees with them. They hate people that see them for what they are, especially if told to their face. And sometimes this is a dangerous thing to do. Confronting a troll and Cyberstalker brings out another behavior pattern they posses, which is revenge. They will hunt you down the best way they can (and they are usually real good at this) and set out to destroy you in anyway they can. Trust me, thousands of people have been destroyed by trolls and cyberstalkers in many different ways. Emotionally, financially, have had their reputation ruined, and so much more.

If you are being stalked (and remember there are many different type of stalkers, trolls and predators) I would encourage you to visit CYBERPATHS BLOG . This is a brave site that is taking on a goal of outing these type of people for what they are. Also make sure you check out their side bars for stories and recommended sites (which is by the way the same exact links that OFF2HUNT "borrowed" from CYBERPATHS BLOG (( except for the exception of Todays Woman link that OF2HUNT replaced on the one that was originally listed straight to my blog)) for interesting reads and great information. Actually, I am on their side bar under EXPOSING A TROLL. Now I do understand Pam Browns comment on Roses blog that she did not realize that link was there to my blog. That is because the original link to my blog was provided by CYBERPATHS BLOG.

ANYWAY~~~~~~~

There is so much information on the psychology of Trolls and Cyberstalkers and when time allows, I will be writing more on this. There is just so much to this, which is why I am writing a book, as it covers so much and is so important, and the public needs to know.
Katie

KATRINA MEMORIES~LOADED THOUGHTS!

2006-06-12T02:07:00.000-07:00

Katrina Memories

While I was working on my own personal goals tonight, my husband appeared with a magazine in hand in a demanding voice of “you love to blog, you must read this, as trust me, you will find time to blog on this.” I looked in his eyes, and he stood there with the pages open for me to read, and stood over my shoulder while I read the article. I should have know if was an article by National Geographic, as he reads them all. From the antique volumes to the new ones pressed in dates of 2006. And he reads them from front to back!

With him over looking me, I started to read the article. It started off describing a broiling hot summer day on a August afternoon, and forecasters warned of storms approaching that would hit the city of New Orleans. How it was forecasted and the devastation would unfolded. How the storm turned into a hurricane and the loss of life was involved. How the storm gathered speed and why people evacuated to higher ground. The story entailed how thousands remained in place, giving examples of the homeless, the car less, the aged and infirmed, as well as the die-hards that refused to go.

The article talked about how the devastation continued. How it hit certain areas in close relationship description of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly splurge into Lake Pontchartrain. How the waters of the lake broke away under the strength of the storm, flooding the city with unexpected waters. How it enveloped the city and destroyed the houses, and took away the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street, and how it reached the entire city going over 25 feet while people rushed and climbed on roof tops to escape the fury.

The article went on to read about thousands drowning in the murky waters, and pointed out those that did now drown would die do to contamination of sewage and industrial waste, and how thousands of others would perish from the flood in regards to dehydration and disease while they waited to be rescued. How millions would be homeless, and thousands were dead and dying. How this was the worst disaster in the history of the United States.

He was expecting a reaction out of me, as he knew I had been watching CNN all day today on the Katrina disaster memories, and he is used to my tears that fall, but his point was strong as he knows me well and my emotions. He expected me to look into his face on the next line I read of “When did this calamity happen? It hasn’t-yet!” My first thought was, “Oh God, the possibility can happen again”

My husband took the book from my hand, and flipped it over for me to read the date. The date on the National Geographic magazine is October 2004. My insides and my body shook. We had already discussed this and knew this was reported on, but seeing this in such description in reality stunned me.

The article goes on to read that the doomsday is not far-fetched. That the Federal Emergency Management Agency list a hurricane to strike New Orleans as a dire threat to our nation. It even goes so far to say that Red Cross has a problem with hurricane shelters with claims the risk to workers is too great.

The article is devastating to read, as it brought back so many memories that touched the entire USA. And like with Tsunami, it reaches much further.

Jim, my husband deals with things different than me. While I cry and mourn on these things, his heart is heavy as he cannot stand the fact that people in power did not know this was going to happen and then it did happen, or if they knew the possibility of it, they refused to believe it, or own up to the fact so therefore passed the buck to stay clear of any blame.

Article is provided on the warning and prediction of trauma that did hit our USA and devestated so many lives less than a year ago, and their lives still continue to be stiffled, and hurt! GONE WITH THE WATER~NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 2004

While the article of 2004 says so much that stands true in reality today, it breaks my heart to just go on. There was a statement in the article of why people will be broken forever, our wallets also suffer the problem as tax payers. And this could have also be avoided. When this happened, my last thought was a tax problem and my dollar spent as a tax payer, but what the author wrote gives me reason to think on this without guilt. When such a disaster happens to us, as a nation, as a caring respondent, our first thoughts are for the people that suffered. Our other thoughts come later. Reading the article will let you decide with your own feelings!

Katie

APPRECIATION OF BLOGGERS

2006-06-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we forget our appreciation of other bloggers and what they teach us or give us to think about.

I have gotten way to involved in my own writing and my own debates and debatable voice of my own as of late. And in my scattered mind, I realize I forgot to mention others that I promised to myself that I would write on and about as they speak volumes. And for a long time, I have meant to write on and about bloggers that I have encountered, and I need to comment that they have a great deal to say, and express and point out of things we all need to think on and sit back with “hmmm, I never thought about it that way”, or I just so needed and enjoyed the humor to brighten my dark day in my readings. (We all need a little bit of both to understand the why of our lives.)

Therefore, I have two blogs I want others to read, what I consider important blogs that will follow this particular blog, and I do hope the readers spend some time reading this and appreciate both the following blogs.

One is written on ms. karen and how she expresses humor, yet points out many things that involve our every day life in her blogs at her site ms. karens Place while in humor, expresses how serious our lives can continually be.

And the other one is written on Indigo Black and how she expresses things that we all need to at least consider and think on, and with the majority of us, we have at some time. Things that are controversial and debatable but given with great thought of what she writes on. Indigo Black

I so enjoy their blogs, and readers that enjoy humor or things that involved our daily lives will really enjoy and appreciate these bloggers words.

Katie

HUMOR IN BLOGS~HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU SPIT AT YOUR KEYBOARD IN ROTFLMAO?

2006-06-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

ms. karens PLACE

I read a great many of blogs each and every day that I can. Reading blogs has opened up worlds for me, and has given me much to think and ponder on, and to write on. But, it is so refreshing to read a blog that has so much humor in it that it makes you choke, and to be ready to “cover your keyboard” as you might have food or drink in your mouth when you read it, and laughing sometimes makes us just spit. Especially with an unexpected full mouth, no matter what is in it.

I love humor in blogs and I keep up with a certain blogger, know as ms. karen as I know what to expect when I read her blog. Total giggles, and what is so nice about her blog, she makes serious points with humorous description. She does not want anyone, to include me, to know who she is, what her real name is, or her children’s names, her job, etc., but points out in great detail of what type of person she is, how her life is, how she deals with things, and all with total drop of complete humor. She should be a writer for comedians.

I make a point each morning to read ms. karen blogs as I feel it is important to start the day off with a smile. And if she has not blogged, I am disappointed, as I need her humor with my morning coffee. (My keyboard disagrees with this, as I have cleaned it way to many times of “replace me or stop reading her blogs.”)

As a very young child, I read my grandmothers Readers Digest, and my most loved part of the magazine was the humor section. Ms. Karen really needs to have her humor published. Smiling faces is an important part of our daily life with all the other crap we have to deal with.

About two months ago while watching TV, I found out that there are actually awards (not the ones that people just give to give their links) for people writing blogs. Awards for different categories, and as of right now, there is no category for humor blog awards, but if there was, she certainly has my vote.

Maybe we all need to write the link provided to include our favorite things we like to see in blogs. 2006 BLOG AWARDS

In ending this, one needs to read ms. karens blog for a smile to start the day off with. And if she does not have anything written that day, just go back and check her other blogs, as they all are filled with humor that affects our daily lives. (Just be careful to move your keyboard while reading!)

Katie

Indigo Black~The Open Minded Want to Know

2006-06-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

INDIGO BLACK

When it comes to blogs, many times we are afraid to write our feelings that are controversial, debatable, and voice opinions that others do not agree with. Especially when it comes to religion or god, the devil, or abortion, politics, same sex marriage, or mix marriage, aliens, outer space, who should live and who should die, law, and the list just goes on and on. It is very scary to do this in our writes, but when I see it done with much thought and excellent expressed words, I cannot but help appreciate it. To me, it is a very brave thing to do. It teaches us to at least understand other points of view, regardless if we agree or disagree with it.
I for one, so appreciate open minded people that welcome debate, especially if the readers do so without going over board in anger in their post and welcome comments that give us something to think on and about. We all need to remember that why and where we come to our opinions and hopefully is based on being open minded, thoughtful, and listening to other ideas and views. It does not mean that we will change our minds, or agree, but it does give us something to think on, and about.

With this, Indigo Black as a blogger comes to my mind. She writes with her heart but on brave things that the majority of the public might question, or disagree with in their beliefs. But is that not what makes the world go round, and open for debate for all who agree or disagree? Isn’t she what makes blogging important and open up for discussion concerning what she writes on and about, to a degree of what we learn or think on things? Bringing new thoughts or considerations to mind?

I have been chastised on not writing on other bloggers, and I promised I would. And I am trying and still have many more subjects and ideas to follow, but it will be something positive to me when I do. And with honor, I wanted to write about Indigo and how well she voices her opinion, and how well she thinks out things before she writes on them. I read blogs all the time, and the more I know people, the more I will write on them, but as of now, I do know Indigo, and did much research on this before I, myself wrote this blog, and I feel that she is an expert in what she writes, how she writes and appreciate her expertise and thoughts in her words. Below are links I wanted to give on her and her success. I have several more, and that will be another blog and another day.

INDIGO~Ezine Articles~Expert Author
Project Indigo
Smutwriter

The above links are just a few examples of someone that speaks well and examines well of things. A great many will not agree with her, but if nothing else, it will give you a great deal to think on and about. I, for one appreciate her being so honest and clear and thoughtful with what she writes.

Katie

OFF2HUNT DROPPED MY LINK

2006-06-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

I wrote a previous blog on OFF2HUNT concerning that they had my link in their side bar as a recommended site. That link has been dropped and replaced with Todays Woman link.

I have no idea what Rose may have told her in an email to them, but it really does not matter. I am sure we all can probably guess, and we all know that it was one sided.

I do want to say one thing concerning this, what OFF2HUNT did, in my opinion, is still a good thing. They outed someone that was hurting women, and gave evidence of why this is a danger and showed this guy to be a fake, an impersonator and liar. Someone who broke hearts and the law while at it.

My only concern is the new link they provided is from a Troll & Cyberstalker that has many times has set out to destroy and hurt people. This in not uncommon with this group of trolls. Trolls in this group go by many screen names, set time aside to injure people, and then cry "I AM THE VICTIM". I have included one link to show my point, yet there are just so many more.

Rose Desrochers / Shawn Desrochers- WW removing their posts

Rose (and with good reason) thinks I am a troll. I pretty much am in the same role as OFF2HUNT, to expose people as who they really are, and try to find away to point it out or try and find ways to stop it. Many people know what I am doing and I get all kinds of emails of their stories, and it is just SAD! Majority of these people were on her site of Todays Woman at one time, and were booted for silly reasons. Todays Women, and I have always said this, is a great site, well put together and user friendly. The problem is not with the site but with the Administrator and how she runs it. I have met many wonderful people from the site. Caring, kind, positive people. The majority of these people are also afraid of Rose. I am not. In an email, she asked me if I was on a crusade, and I am. I stand up for what is right and wrong, and I sympathize and understand people that have been destroyed and hurt.

I am in the process of writing another blog concerning trolls, as with my research, again I learn so much. There are a great many articles on trolls that lie and convince, using sympathy as a tool. "Woe is me". They use the distorted facts of "see what I have done", and I am wonderful. And they are so convincing in what they do, the other party just believes them as they come off so real, and do not even check out the "Other side of the story." I actually use to be that way, but experience has taught me different now. Research has taught me to research as much as I can before I re-act to anything. One of the best lessons in my life.

And I encourage all others to do this before you find yourself as a target. I do not mind anything on me to be googled. As what will be found on any google is true and done with pride.

I do want all to readers to know that I am not at all angry with OFF2HUNT dropping the link. And I still have the utmost admiration for their cause.

Katie

PS, for those that have emailed me to leave this alone as you are concerned for me, I thought I could, but I really can't at this point. I at LEAST had to make this particular point, but thank you all for being so supportive and caring, and I will try and give it a rest, but I can't make promises right now!

Reading Between The Lines & Giving Opinions That Count

2006-06-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Well, so we hope so. While I might not blog a great deal of time, I do read a great many blogs many times. I think blogs are important as they give our feelings and what we think about, and why. And the responses we get from blogs gives us value and consideration, and things to think on and explore. Things that might change our mind or at least give us consideration to understand the person more that wrote a response to our blog!

And this is a pet peeve that I have found in blogs. While the names are there in response of the readers, with many blogs you cannot click on the names to find out more on the readers and why they responded on the subject at hand. Just the name, but no link or allowed history of why they wrote their opinion of why they disagree or agree. When I search for things and find things that I am interested in, I want to know more, of why and wherefore, therefore, and what more is there to the reader responding that I am missing? I love reading blogs to further my expansion of what I think and why do others think different. And reading blog responses is where I many times sit back in great thought and think "Well, that is another way to look at it, or I disagree, or I agree, (and question myself why) or I need to look into this more of why they came up with their opinion."

Considering my PET PEEVE is that if I cannot click the links of response to a blog by a reader, but can only read the bloggers thoughts and opinions without sharing the readers opinion than not only am I missing something possibly important, but the responders to the blogs are missing something I think that are trying to tell the other readers of their formed opinion, and of why.

It really IRKS me when I can only click onto the blogger author and their link comes up, but am not allowed to click to the reader who responded to their blog, as no link is available. What am I missing? And why? Thankfully there has been times where I can at least google to find out more information if a full name is given, and if I am truly interested, and hopefully I hope it is worth the time! Yet, honestly, I hate to do that, as it takes time and much effort, and a given link would be so much easier. With blogs like this, I have to sit back in my chair with a frown on my face and have to concentrate of why would this be a part of blogging? I really do not understand! WHY?

Something to think about in many ways. If any of my readers respond to my comments, I have it set up that they will be linked so that others can see why they felt a certain way, and have the opportunity for others to know more about them with the click of their name. It really does not matter in my opinion if they agree or disagree with what is written, but will give other readers the opportunity to form opinions of knowing them better of why they made sincere thought out statements. Hopefully, this makes bloggers and readers of us all in hopes of to blog, to express and for us all to respond and have the opportunity to understand of what is written before us, by all of us.

All opinions on this are welcome. I do not ban any from this blog, and all I ask is that responses are subject at hand, respectful and not vulgar.

Katie

OFF2HUNT ~ NEWSFLASH!

2006-06-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Well, here is a little bit of news and reading for interested bloggers. It has been awhile since I wrote in my blog, actually the last time I wrote in my blog was the 18th of last month, so I fell upon a shock today when I checked out my sitemeter to see who has been lurking, and WHOAAA, I nearly fell over as TROLLS FLAME WARS & CYBERSTALKERS had been read 67 times and 18 people were reported on the sitemeter at that time.

What in the world generated all this interest? I checked, and all the readers were from one referring URL call OFF2HUNT. OFF2HUNT had placed me in the side bar as a recommended site. The reason this site is so popular at this time is because it is all over the news. Yet, I expect it to continue to be a well read site, as in my personal opinion, it is a needed site, and full of valuable information.

This jerk of a guy name Richard Kudlik had been impersonating himself as a Federal Marshal to impress women. He had the badges, guns, gear, etc., which appeared very convincing. As it turned out, he has been married 17 years and works as a mechanic's helper. After his last girlfriend found out anonymously from someone that he was not who or what he claimed to be, she did some research and spent a great deal of time to show that he was a phony. He was arrested yesterday. Very interesting story. You can read all about it in the links provided.
Authorities: Angry girlfriends out fake U.S. marshal~CNN

Angry girlfriends turn in fake marshal~CNN LAW CENTER

Neither Federal Officer Nor Gentleman, Women Say ~New York Times

Fake Fed is a chat room phony ~NewsDay.com

I must say that I am quite honored that they used the very first blog I ever wrote of TROLLS, FLAME WARS & CYBERSTALKERS to place on their recommended sites side bar. It sure has given my blog a lot of attention and exposure.

Hmmm, maybe new ideas to place in my never ending book!

Katie

When Getting Sick & Tired Stops

2006-05-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

When Getting Sick & Tired Stops

Well, here I am early in the wee hours of the morning writing again! Things just seem to never end! House, eBay, grocery shopping, preparing for grandkids, and it seems the list goes on and on, and then the almighty blog that calls.

For those that know me well, know that I do not lie and do not write, so to speak, to just write without purpose behind it. Since this Rose business has been going on, and I have commented in my blogs that pictures of the children were removed for a time from her site, and others have gone there as well saw that the pictures were gone and only the link remained, I have been accused of lying about this. (As well as needing glasses.) Also, I have been accused of not being truthful of bluepost sending emails to me, and as a precaution, I have forwarded these emails to certain parties so that there is more than one up keep of them besides myself.

I guess the main reason I am writing this is because this has really gone further than I had hoped, yet I still will keep up the fight. My life from childhood to adult has been to believe in myself and to stand up for what is right and do so with all I can muster in my body and soul. Sometimes it would make since to just stop it all as it just takes so much out of one, and defeat would seem an easier route, but my upbringing has taught me different, as when one gives up, the wrongs never get corrected or exposed and lessons fall behind. I am just a small person in this world, but many of my values, besides being taught as a child, come from history and how important it is to stand up and be strong and take things as they come. While they might be hard to deal with, our history leaders that made this country what it is, have taught us to stand up and be important. And adamant in what we believe is right.

Now, don't get me wrong, if it is decided by a certain authority that you are not in the right, no matter how much you believe in it, then you might have to admit to defeat. Or keep fighting to a higher level. When it comes to such a situation, then you have to decide, do I continue or stop!

With this drama with Rose, I have decided to stop writing concerning all this crap. Is this not ironic that once again it is over a link? Rose has these immature groupie fans that want to get involved and post on my blogs in very immature ways and not even in relationship to the subject. Personally, I think they have the ROSE syndrome and need the attention as well. It is really silly! I would be highly disappointed in any of my readers that think they need to stick up for me by sending a comment to her blog that did not deal with the situation at hand and in a respectful manner.

So, in ending this, let me make one thing clear for any readers that do not know me well. I do not lie, and I do not make things up. And I always try and make a point when I write blogs to give links to further my point. If I say something that is true, you can bank on it. If I say it is Christmas, then you can hang a stocking! If you tell me something to keep private, no one will ever have any idea you told me anything.

While this is the end of the story concerning this particular situation with what is going on with Rose and myself, I also want to add that I will always be lurking her way and checking in with what she says and does, as she is why I started this book and I have every intention of finishing it. And every bit of piece of information I can find and add to my never ending list concerning my plot and byline, I will record and decide if I need to add it or not.

By the way Rose, I know you will read this. Don't loose any sleep over this, as all names and circumstances will be changed to a degree, and while you will be pretty much the star, the book is being written of others that act and re-act like you and problems on the Internet in regards. The majority will have no idea of who I am even speaking about, but there will be also a large public that will know who it is just by reading the book. Don't underestimate me with this. I already have a publisher interested as there is a high demand for a book on this subject, and I am going for the brass ring on the Merry Go Round! Indigo Black might possibly be right that you could make me a rich woman, as without my encounter with you, I would have never dreamed up this project for a book!

Sorry readers, no links on this go around. Yet, I am ending this in a poem written by my mother found on the side of my blog, which she always believed in and taught me as well!

My Most Passionate Wish

If at this moment

There could be granted

My most passionate wish,

What would it be?

Love? Wealth, health?

No.

It would be

To know I was confirmed

Acknowledged as worthy

In the human chain

Because of having deserved it -

To have lived

Yet to be

And To die with the honor

Because I earned it.

October 1985 @Addie W. Williams

I Have Been Banned! Should I Laugh Or Cry?

2006-05-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

News on the home front here at Katie's Logue is that according to Rose, she will no longer be posting on her blog concerning what I write, so therefore I will not have to worry about providing any more links in connection to her blog. Well, except this one so that you can read the comment of why she will no longer be posting concerning my blog post. Fair Use & Copyright - Freedom to Exercise Rights. After the blog, scroll down to the last two comments.

The other news is that my IP address has been banned from her website. Now, I wonder why she did that? She writes in her blog of links to visit to prove her point against what I write via my blog, and when I go to click the link to see what she is referring to, I cannot view it as I have been banned. I wonder if she banned me because she cannot tolerate that I speak the truth and find and respond to contradictions found on her site? Whatever her reasons, it is no big deal, and I don't think I will lose any sleep over it. Yet, I would not be surprised if all who read my blog has been banned as well.

Oh well, the one link I was interested in her blog concerned with what Howard Zaharoff had to say, and I found this excellent link concerning him through google, which is well written and very informative. WritersDigest.com~A Writer's Guide to Fair Use in Copyright Law No wonder Rose did not want me to view anything he wrote, as what he says in this article pretty much validated my point again. There is a thin line of what is Fair Use and what is not, and this has been expressed in all the articles I have read concerning this. While I consider that it was not Fair Use, she feels that it was. Also in all the articles I have read they all express that out of respect that a link should be provided, and if the author would like the words removed or a link provided, then the party in question also out of respect should do that. What Rose copied and pasted onto her blog was penned by me, and I consider it copyright protected. I still do not understand why she would just not give the link to my blog out of respect, or except for fear that her readers could see the whole story and not just her one sided view. And I did get an email from her that she has no intentions to remove my statements from her blog. I guess that some so called freelance writers do not understand respect. Why does this not surprise me? And I am sure others are not surprised about this either. This is typical behavior of her, and she had a chance to own up and be responsible concerning this.

As with all writers, criticism is hard to take, and I was critical of what I wrote concerning her endless contradictions, yet even Rose points out in her article that accepting criticism is part of the writing process . And I think points should be given that you should be careful of what you do write, and stick to the point and belief in what you say to start with. It is my belief that if you are going to be a freelance writer, one should take responsibility in what they write or how they respond to other writers, good or bad, and should allow comments from others without anger, and should refrain from name calling just because they do not agree with what is written. Calling people stupid is a lack of maturity in my eyes.

I want to comment on another site she is a member of, as a matter of fact, she is Assistant Administrator of Invision Graphics . At this site, she and her loyal followers have their own little chit chat against others, as evident by the title once the link comes up. Here she also comments that she has visited my blog (giving the impression she seldom does) and trust me, according to my sitemeter, she visits a great deal. Sometimes 4 or 5 times a day. Now, I want to point out that Rose said that she could not give the reason for my leaving Todays Woman due to privacy reasons and could only say that I requested to have my account removed. (Scroll down to bottom of page 12). While I am glad that I am no longer there, the statement she made is a false statement and I wrote what happened concerning my leaving her site at Virushead~Drama At The Poetry Forum. It should also be noted that sadly, Invision Graphics is a site where they can and do belittle anyone and everyone without giving them the opportunity to state their case in their own defense.

It is my position and belief that if you blog on something and others want to reply to the blog, they should be allowed no matter what they say as long as it is not vulgar and done with respect. I do not mind at all disagreements on my blog comments, as I matter of fact, I welcome them. Rose even knows this! And I also believe that if you are going to dispute a written blog inside your own blog, then a link should be given so that viewers can see both sides and make a decisive opinion from both points of view!

One last comment! She also made a statement that I never commented on any other writers, and she is right. I have not, and I am working on this right now and I think it will be an informative and interesting read, and I hope to have it up soon!

If you are interested in this blog, you might want to check back on it several times, as I have a tendency to publish my blog and then add something to it, or correct something. My biggest problem is editing, and I will admit, I ain't real good at it!

Katie

Defining Contradiction And Hypocrite

2006-05-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

I posted a blog recently concerning contradiction of a blogger, and my loyal fan reader who wrote the blog, posted a response in her blog that I called her a Hypocrite.

So, for the few readers that do not know the difference between Hypocrite and Contradiction, I am hoping this will educate in the difference.

Wikipedia~Hypocrite

Wikipedia~Contradiction

These definations can also be found in all dictionaries, or other defination sites on the Internet.

I also did write Suzanne Stanford on the link from the earlier blog and sent her my link as to what I said and she did reply thanking me for the Clarification. I think it important that readers of just one blog get all the information concerning what I write, and I always extend this respect to others.

Hmmm, I did not call her a Hypocrite, but....................

UPDATE~Children's Pictures On The Internet

2006-05-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well readers, I thought you might like to see the response on my article concerning this with what Rose wrote by clicking here . (She should be so proud that I am sending others to read her blogs). You can decide for yourself on her point of view concerning this. If you will note, any thing I write about, I always use links to direct readers to better understand my point. I do this in respect of other things written on the subject penned by others, as well as it also the law! I did not give Rose permission to use direct quotes from my blog to use in hers, as it is against Copyright law. And she needs to go back and remove my quotes totally or put a link in concerning this subject. This has been discussed before with a Intellectual Property Right lawyer which is why I only use links. And I expect my quotes to be removed, or I will make an issue over this.

And of course she has something to say on her blog here concerning copyright. It might be to her benefit, webmasters, bloggers and all Internet users to read this article, especially #7 & 8 .

There are several articles concerning this, but they all pretty much say what this one does. Do I need permission to use quotes from another source in my work?
Or just google permission to use quotes Internet.

Readers, keep in mind that I have no problem with children's pictures on the Internet, and the site on her poetry page concerning these children, I think is a wonderful idea, but the original blog was written due to Rose contridicting of her article on children on the Internet, and then placing a childs picture and links to many others on her poetry site. And concerning a predator, I think as sick as they are themselves, they could care less who they prey on; a healthy or sick child means nothing to them. If you can prove otherwise, by all means do so.

She posted a letter to an individual here myinternetsafetycoach.com (and the individual was confused thinking I was a member of Todays Woman, instead of ex member) and without giving the link concerning my blog, the individual she wrote to did not have the entire story. That is OK, I can write her myself and send the link so she understands this and that I did not "knock" the site, just the contridiction given by Rose.

Katie

GUESS WHAT!! I AM AN EXPERT!

2006-05-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

I AM SO EXCITED!! WHY? BECAUSE I AM AN EXPERT! (But I can't get my picture on the cover of the ROLLING STONES!)

Guess what, I found out today?!?!?! I am an EXPERT!! Who gave me this title? I did! And I am going to keep it, so there! I can also be a published poet, an author of a book, a columnist, and many other things if I want to claim the title! I don't have to show you any papers to prove this, all I have to do is write it on the Internet and I don't even have to speak with authority to claim the title! Yippee For ME!!!!!

If you want to, you can be one to, just say the word, and POOF, you are what you want to be, at least on the Internet!! Papers can even be printed out to prove this for you! Forget being all you can be in the ARMY, on the Internet, it is a reality if you say so!!!!

OK, all kidding aside, I wrote this because I was researching the Internet of who is who and what they claim to be! (And I am really good on research, maybe an expert, via the Internet!) And so far, all the names that I found claiming to be an expert WERE an expert according to their words! And the links I clicked to verify this, were their own links! Hey! I can do that! Google and all the other search engines allow me to do this!

So, I am now an expert, and have many things to choose to be on! Well, let me think on this!

Here is my list! I wanna be an expert on:
History
Science
Psychology
Law
DNA
Animals
Giraffes (I think these are the ones with the real long necks, right?)

OH, forget it, I want to be an EXPERT on all things, AND NOW I AM! WHY? Because I SAID SO and WROTE SO!!!

Signed, KATIE the EXPERT OF ALL!!!!!!!!! LOL

So, What Makes You Such an Expert? This article is a great read and does touch on certain subjects concerning my state of thoughts. Not totally related, but does add some insight to the idea!

Children In Danger Of Pictures On The Web? Who Said THAT?

2006-05-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

Children's Pictured On The Web? Is this a concern?

Well, I just had to write about this! I know that many readers are probably thinking (and I am also) that I would not be writing for awhile, but the missing blog bug has bitten me with a virus, along with my soul searching and researching, and a few beers probably helped also.

While or when I have time, I touch on subjects that peek my interest or have some relationship regarding the book I am writing about. And, if there is anything that caused me to think "hmmm", to my thoughts or the book in progress, I am going to point it out! Everyone needs to know some of the plot to keep interest!

An article was written on INTERNET SAFETY CALL concerning pictures of children on the web highway, as it could be dangerous. According to this article, the pictures could be altered, changed, re-arranged or possibly put the child in danger concerning information given. The author of the article went so far as to say that she would NEVER place her child's picture on the web in regards of protecting her children from danger, and you, she stipulated, AS A READER, should never place your child's picture on the Internet either! And states that putting a child's picture on the Internet is putting the child at risk, therefore we should say NO as responsible adults of subjecting our children in pictures on the Internet highway! (This was not word for word verbatim, but what I got our of the article personally myself). Since this is published as an article of her right for all to read and learn upon, I am allowed to use the link. Thank goodness for good lawyers that allow me to write without worry!

Teens and Blogs - Internet Safety Wake-up Call

The above link deals with many things in regards to protecting children, but if you read the entire article, you will see my point of how she points out that as a parent that YOU SHOULD NEVER PLACE a child's picture on the Internet! And goes into great detail of how babies and young children are in danger concerning their pictures within her article!

WHAT!! What is this I now see? On her poetry site she contradicts the article written above, as a picture of a child falls under "HUGS AND HOPES" on her well known poetry website, and could this be harming by publishing this child's picture? Other links to this are available, but decided to show the one obvious on her site, which by clicking it can show a beautiful child from infancy to older ages of the child, and gives parents names, and much more. And with a google research I found out much more on this child, as well as the parents. THANK GOODNESS I am doing this only as research! (OK, and to make a valid point!)

The link provided below shows the contradiction! And once you click the link of the child on her site, you can also click another link available that displays numerous children with their history, and a great deal of information that she writes articles about of not to give! Now, do not get me wrong, I personally see this site as something needed, and a great way to reach the public on children's disease, problems, etc. And I mean ETC. Wonderful site! I, myself, would place my child here also if the need was there, and I have actually saved it as a favorite place, and one that does need to be visited and very informative! But, my point is, do not express advice concerning children's pictures on the net and then advertise a site where many children's photographs can be found, and the child is not hiding behind a cat! NUFF SAID!

Todays Woman

I almost feel guilty on writing this concerning the adorable child and evident loved parents of the child, but I am trying to make a point. Again ROSE, if you are going to make a point on something, stick by it, or accept the foot in your mouth! And it might be a good benefit that you have a small foot to go in a big mouth, or at least something to think on before you write on things you hope to give others advise on~ There is a reason of why the quote of "Think before you speak" came into play! (and now with the Internet we have the capability to do all, think, research and speak. Let us be careful, as it can be abused!)

Katie

The Journey Of A Mother~

2006-05-11T01:27:00.000-07:00

The Journey Of A Mother

While in the wee hours of the morning, I checked my email, and this wonderful poem below was sent to me from Malinda, the best friend of my daughter since they were 9 years old (Malinda is now 26) Malinda from her childhood, called me Mom, and vise versa, my daughter also called Malinda's mother Mom. No jealously was ever involved between us as mothers, as we (Mom's) were happy that the girls had others to lean on in a mother type way.

Malinda's Mom died several years ago, and mine not long after, so we also share this, an understanding of a special common bond. Malinda now is a wonderful mother of 2 young beautiful girls, and with that, having your own children makes you think so much of your own mother. Steps our Mothers placed in so many ways, that we think upon!

I wanted to blog this while I had time, as Mothers Day is approaching this Sunday, and I need to post this now and while on my mind, as I think this a very important subject.

Malinda, thank you so much for sending this to me. You have sent and touched on a subject and poem that I think all can understand! I love you always, Mom!

The Journey Of A Mother

For those who are fortunate enough to still be blessed by

having

your Mom with you, this is beautiful...

For those who aren't...it is even more beautiful.

The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked.
And the guide said "Yes, and the way is hard. And you
will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end
will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not
believe that anything could be better than these years.
So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed
them, and taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a
bike and reminded them to feed the dog, and do their
homework and brush their teeth. The sun shone on
them, and the young Mother cried,
"Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the nights came, and the storms, and the path
was sometimes dark, and the children shook with
fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and
covered them with her arms, and the children said,
"Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near,
and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead,
and the children climbed and grew weary, and the
mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children,
"A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed,
and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms.
And with this, she gave them strength to face the world.

Year after year, she showed them compassion,
understanding, hope, but most of all...unconditional love.
And when they reached the top they said,
"Mother, we would not have done it without you."

The days went on, and the weeks and the months and
the years, and the mother grew old and she became
little and bent. But her children were tall and strong,
and walked with courage. And the mother, when she
lay down at night, looked up at the stars and said,
"This is a better day than the last, for my children
have learned so much and are now passing these
traits on to their children."

And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her,
and gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers.

One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill, they could
see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.
And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey.
And now I know the end is better than the beginning,
for my children can walk with dignity and pride,
with their heads held high, and so can their children
after them. And the children said, "You will always walk
with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone,
and the gates closed after her. And they said:
"We cannot see her, but she is with us still.
A Mother like ours is more than a memory.
She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you.
She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the
street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember,
flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's
the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well,
she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day.
She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep,
the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.

Your Mother lives inside your laughter.
And she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows
every emotion .happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy,
love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow...
and all the while, hoping and praying you will only
know the good feelings in life.

She's the place you came from, your first home,
and she's the map you follow with every step you take.
She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy,
but nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, not space...not even death!

Jacque Powers

I tried to find more information on Jacque Powers as this poem was just so touching, but did not find anything on Google search concerning her. She is possibly just as many of us are as new writer or old writers pouring out our feelings,and making a point, but this poem has certainly touched my soul, and if and when I find out more about her, I will certainly thank her for such a great write and will tell others about her if she will allow me to do so. I think in my heart that she is someone I want to know!

When Writing In My Blog Becomes Hard

2006-05-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

I miss writing in my blog so much. My life has been so distracted of late with so many other things and does not allow me the opportunity to write as I would like to. I think about writing all the time, and the things I want to write about in the blog, but I am not like the majority of my blogger friends, as my words do not flow so easy when I write, and a great deal of thought in time goes into my writing, making me a much slower writer.

My mother, like so many of you I know as bloggers, could just pen anything on an instant thought, and it would come out great. I wish I had that talent.

My thoughts of late have been with a terrible court battle in place concerning my oldest brother and myself and my other three siblings suing him over a piece of property that belonged to my mother that he says she signed over to him (this all happened when she was incompetent and in final stages of Alzheimer's.) He was and had been for several years addicted to crack when this happened (and probably still is), and besides robbing her of every penny she practically had before she died, he wanted this property also due to oil rights. A great deal of money is in the land, and while it might be nice to have some money, we sued as we are still trying to protect her rights even though she is now deceased, and it is the right thing to do for many other reasons. This whole mess is heartbreaking, time consuming and very stressful.

I am so hoping that my time soon will allow me to write more on this and many subjects, as I feel in writing certain things, others can learn from them and find information and advice from my blogs. I try not to be real personal concerning my personal life, but this particular story is very important for others in this situation, and if I can ever find the time to write on it, it would cover so many important subjects. Drugs, elder care, law, forgery, and so much more. And besides this, I have so much more I want to write on. I wish I had the time, but right now I don't.

So, therefore my regular readers, don't think that I have just gone away, as while I might not be writing in my blog as much as I would like to, my mind is always thinking of what I want to write about. And also while I might not be writing, I am always reading my blogger friends entries, and as always, they are great!

Katie

The Cycle Of Addiction Concering Crack And Other Drugs

When & Where The Whistle Blows!

2006-04-24T02:32:00.000-07:00

Lately in my life, (though it started with my childhood dreams), I think about the trains I hear on the busy streets of where I live now, and WHERE THE WHISTLE BLOWS that take the people on their different lives and where they are going, and where do they live and what do they think, and what got them to where they are now? How did their life and their times move them to where they are now, and if so different, how so closely related to our own lives, and traumas, and scares, and dreams that made us who we are now, in relationship to them?

With me, WHERE THE WHISTLE BLOWS in the long quite and slumber deep of the train, tells so many stories that we so strive to be able to reach many times in our own lives, yet, we do not, nor give reasons related to our personal lives, as it might be to hurtful. It might personally touch our souls, or make us think about things we are not ready to deal with, such as forgiveness, family lost, children, death and dying, and so many more things that we are not ready for. And the list goes on and on, and dealing also does! If we were on that train of WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS! I many times wonder if others think this way and reflect on their lives if the blow of whistle!

I just thought it might be a good thing to write in a blog, as I am sure many others think on this, and I (probably like others) could write a book or short story, (thinking of others lives) and stories they could give on their own pesonal thoughts, concerning this, regardless, on or off a train and humans abound and going somewhere!

WHO were the people on the train that we hear in our near slumber thoughts, or our busy life, or who in thoughts interrupts our hectic day! What is their life like, and why do they feel whatever thoughts of today, and what could they teach us? Would it be important, and would it teach us something important? What about our horrible feelings inside, yet good feelings in place~ could they have reached us? Or we them? Just something to think about! Do you ever think this way?

And WHERE are they going, and where will they lead us in our own thoughts? Where will we lead ourselves in our own thoughts thinking of theirs?
WHEN & WHERE THE WHISTLE BLOWS!

April 23, 2006~Katie

IN MY SISTERS GARDEN

2006-04-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

In My Sisters Garden
Things are planted so well,
Besides the flowers and vegetables
She has so much that she dwells and tells,
Within her life she plants in her special garden, of
Her life, her living, her God, her being!
The stories she could tell, whispered
In her Garden!

In her Garden, are stories that reach us all,
Of heartbreak, and heartache,
And things that touch us all,
Her siblings, her loved ones, her family
Her past, her friends, her love in of all,

So many ways, and stories she tells, the truth is
In her Garden!

Flowers bloom and strength resumes locked
In her garden, that touches her there
And feeds the family, and others as well
In so many ways with her thoughts
That has spoken to so many hearts that will remember the days,
That she expressed her wisdom to others, as well as herself
In her Garden!

From her garden, things of me have bloomed,
Thoughts on my life that she has taught me on,
And things I write in poem and phrase,

Pictured memories I have saved on things taught to me by her,
Of things that bring beauty and love,
Lessons taught to me concerning life,

Whispered in silence from her that touched me
From Her Garden!

4-22-2006

I wrote the outline of this poem several days ago, as I took pictures of the few plants that grew in my yard, and thoughts of Delia in consideration of the beauty while I did so, as I would never have even planted them without her encouragement of how wonderful it was to just see them grow, even if they were alone for awhile, or took a year to grow! And this is dedicated to my sister Delia.

Hospital Patient Care~Advocate Caring Is Needed

2006-04-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Going back to my blog that I wrote on BREAKER~BREAKER, I wanted to write on hospital care, Physicals bedside manner and patients needing an advocate. When my daughter was placed in the hospital for emergency surgery for a staph infection, I realized that she needed someone with her 24 hours a day, even though she is a grown adult at the tender age of 21. And I am starting to believe, that no matter what age, someone needs to be with a patient as an advocate for them, especially if surgery was involved.

In my daughters case, she had no idea of what a hospital stay meant, and was so drugged and in so much pain, she was totally lost as to what to expect. Not only that, she is shy, and hates to ask for anything, especially from strangers. For example, the pain medication they gave her at first, did not work. (and I totally understand this, as when I had my kidney removed, morphine did not work for me at all.) And had I not been there, the pain medication would not have been changed. Even when it was changed, and did work much better, she was still having great difficulty sleeping. She needed something more to go with the pain medicine to help her relax.

I spoke to the doctor on this, and while on am on this, I came close to having a fit when the doctor came in and looked at her hand and to redo her bandage. He tossed her poor hand around like a rag doll while unwrapping the bandage, and jerked the bandages off her sore spots, even taking the skin off at one place on her thumb. She was screaming bloody murder to please be gently (so loud that it overcame my voiced opinion to be gentle as this was causing her great pain). This only seemed to irritate the doctor. She screamed so loud, that the head nurse came in and saw it all. With anger in my voice, I told him that she needed something to relax her, but no sleeping pills. And then the doctor left. My daughter laid in the bed sobbing, and could not understand why she was treated this way, or why anyone would want to treat her this way, with such disregard of her pain, plus the fact that she is human and felt like she was just treated as an animal about to be slaughtered. I rubbed her head and tried to comfort her. She continued to sob uncontrollably. After awhile, I marched to the nurses station and asked them when was she going to get a pill to help her relax as I had told the doctor that she needed this. Guess what, no order for this. Well, that had to change, and after my tirade and voiced opinion that I wanted her to have something and right away, and I did not care if they had to call him out of bed, out of surgery, out of hell for all I cared, that they call him and have him order her something. (I had a lot of other choice words, that I would make a case of this, and that now these things can be researched on the Internet and make an opinion, and mine would not be good, and also the head nurse saw this ordeal.) 30 minutes later, a valium was brought in for her, (and surprised they did not order one for me one as well, LOL), and she was finally able to get the sleep she so needed to help with her recovery, and I also was finally able to get a nap.

When the doctor saw her the next morning, it was like night and day concerning his attitude. He was so kind and understanding, and very attentive. I was very happy to see this, as well as my daughter. Even though when he first walked in, a great deal of trepidation was in both of our eyes, as if facing the monster.

The other concern I had with the hospital and why an advocate or care giver is necessary, is when they brought her meals to her, they were just dropped off onto her table. Now, she has one hand totally bandaged up and in great pain, and the other hand with an IV in it. There is no way that she could take the plastic tops off of anything, cut her meat, put sugar in her tea, etc.

Pain medication was also another problem. In the beginning, when it was time for her pain medicine, we were confused on the times when it could be given. While we thought it was every 4 hours, it was actually every two hours. So while she fought the pain for 2 hours, we counted the minutes to get her next dose, and when we thought it was time, it took forever to get someone in to give it to her. Once I finally made an issue of this, and what her schedule was, I was at the nurses desk 10 minutes before the time of her dose telling them that I wanted her to have the medicine. That I wanted her to have the medicine if she was awake or asleep on time.

Sadly, my mother after having a stroke taught me how to make an issue over hospital and recovery care. Once they placed her in a recovery nursing home type facility after her stroke, I came in late to be with her due to problems on the road (accident) and there she was sitting in front of a cold breakfast, just looking at it. She was paralyzed on one of her sides, and still could not talk, and needed to be fed her breakfast.

While this is a long blog, I did want to include the article I wrote on this (and probably need to submit it somewhere) on care of the elderly in a nursing home or care facility.

I am hoping this blog will alert others as this is an important issue, as when we are sick or in pain, we need someone to help us with the care.

Nursing Home Experience~And NEGLECT!

As time goes on since my mothers death, I realize that I need to write down and share the Nursing Home Experience. I do this as away to realize some of my anger, now that I am able to face it, as well as warn and educate others that are or will face putting their parents into a Nursing home.

My mother had a stroke in May of 2003, which left her speechless for awhile, as well as paralyzed on her left side. After her hospital stay, we were encouraged to put her in a Nursing home where they had everyday care for rehabilitation and physical therapy. Reluctantly, we did this. Before her children did so, we search the Internet for hours and days on Nursing home care and the roles we needed to play in this. The Nursing home experience turned out to be horrible regardless, but thankfully, what we learned helped us, as well as her along the way. Also, my sister and I were able to be with her everyday, and stood up for her since she could not stand up or speak for herself.

We were able to visit everyday, but not spend the night, in the first home we had her in. The first morning she was there, I went to see her right away. I got there at 8:30 that morning, and was alarmed to see her in her bed with a cold tray of food sitting in front of her, utensils still wrapped in the napkin. Breakfast was served at 8:00. To say the least, I was angry. Very angry, as we had talked to the staff in detail of her problems, her needs, and the support she needed. From then on, we were there at all her meals, except at the very end of her time there, as she was able to eat with some assistance, and the facility knew if a problem arose, there would be problems with her children. And all and any time away from her, we utilized our research about care concerning her and elder care. One thing we learned was to always date, document, write notes, list the care workers, their names, their shifts, and so much more.

Even with my anger though, (which went on a lot) things never seemed to get better. Our daily journals were filled with pages of what went on with her and her care. One day I came into her room and she was on the floor. They had left her in her wheelchair alone, and she had slipped out of the chair. According to records of when last checked on her, she could have been there a long time. Her leg was scrapped and her nose was bleeding. I was fit to be tied. Again I marched up to the front desk with my anger. Trust me, the front desk was getting real tired of myself and sister Delia, as it seemed all we did was bitch. She could not bitch, so we did. She deserved much better than she got. Then one day, a worker took her to the bathroom, and left her there. She fell off the commode onto the floor. And today I have bad dreams about how long she was on that floor before she was discovered. As it turned out, she fell from her chair two other times. So, we told them that if they were going to leave her in her wheelchair when we were not there, to put her in the day room where the front desk is so she could be watched. As this turned out, they can fall from their chairs right in front of them, as they are not even looking. I came in one time, and a man was already on the floor, and she also had almost slipped out of her chair, in the same room as the front desk.

I know a lot of people reading this are asking "Why did you have her there, why did you not move her elsewhere? What kind of Nursing home was this?" To answer this question, we spent several hours looking at homes and referrals from doctors and others. Sadly, this is a typical nursing home, and this type of problems go on in all nursing homes pretty much, unless you are rich and have care there for the patience (sitters) at all times. The employees are overworked and under paid, and the turnover rate is awful. I have done extensive research on the Internet, and Nursing home problems are extremely high, and reports of Nursing home neglect care is not reported as it should be. And I understand why. Sadly, it is looked at with blind eyes. And the children are so tied up with taking care of an aging parent while still trying to carry on and maintain their own lives and responsibilities.

I recently just found out from a lawyer that you cannot report or sue a Nursing home after the parent has died. I was astounded. It took me a long time to get over the grieving of my mothers death to finally reach the stage of anger to report the problems. And I was doing it for her and other helpless elders. This is a very sad problem and needs to be addressed. So, if any readers are having problems with Nursing home care, take time to make an issue of it. Don't wait until they die. Even with all these problems, my mother did improve some. I really think all the visits from her children, and we never missed a day, as well as the physical therapy helped. She did regain her speech and partial use of her arm and hand. And, in answer to the question of moving her, we did. Another disaster.

My sister and I moved her to an assisted living home. We looked at everything, made visits, talked about programs, told them of her special needs, and her problems. Trust me, it was a total sales pitch with them. All smiles and how well she would do, how great the help was, physical therapy, on and on. The place was very nice. The place was beautiful, and the rooms were like little apartments, and nice things to look at or do. It is funny now, when we look back that all the nice rooms we were shown, such as the sun room, library, TV room, no one was ever in there. We fixed her room up with all her favorite things. We wanted her to feel like she was home here, and that we would visit all the time. Since she was paying for a small apartment pretty much, we were able to spend the night if we wanted. We set up for a laser beam should she start to get out of bed, as there were now no bed rails. We got her a necklace where she could push the button if she needed help to alert them to come right away. After we left that first day of settling her in, we walked thinking things would be OK with her, but there was trepidation in our steps. I can still remember my sister turning to look at me in the car and saying "You are frowning. You are worried about Mom." She was right. I was worried, and as it turned out, I needed to worry. That very first night, Mom wanted a sit up pillow on the other side of the room. She forgot she could not walk, and got up to get the pillow, only to fall. She broke and fractured her pelvic bone in three places. She did alert them with her button on her necklace, but to this day, I have no idea how long it took for them to get to her based of me hitting that button myself several times after that, once she returned from the emergency room.

She did go to the hospital that night, and the doctors said that the way the break was, it could heal, but there was not away to set it. They sent her back to her little apartment. That was the last night that she spent alone there. Delia and I arranged our lives to be with her 24/7 there from then on. Thankfully, we had understanding and caring husbands that understood our shifts with mom. And being there 24/7, we were able to see real problems with this place, and I am sure it is not a monopoly. Since she had to be in bed, and not go to the dining room, we became alarmed. They forgot to feed her. She would have faced total neglect I think, had we not been there to speak up for her. We had to go to the dinning room and ask for her meal many times. We had to remind them that she needed a bath. She would complain that she wet herself and we made her push her button, or we would push it for her. Many times with me, it took over an hour for them to come to her aid. And I paced the floor or went to tell them, she needs help. My sister was able to help when the help she paid so much for did not come. But I was not able to, due to a medical problem of my own, and not being able to lift more than 10 pounds. Now this place hated us, as we stuck up for my mom and made issues of improper care and neglect. And when most care giver employees came to bath her or change her, they moved her as if she did not have broken bones or as if she was not hurting with the moves. It was heartbreaking. And our voices of concern or feelings of how they moved her almost made it worse. They tossed her around like a rag doll as she screamed in pain. And her pain only got worse. We took her back to the hospital for pain management. They put her on all kinds of drugs to help her and told us that she needed her medication when if in pain or prescribed. And sent her back. Meetings were made with the staff again on her condition and her medication. And they were totally ignored. She would be in pain and so we buzzed for her medication. No response. We would buzz again. And again. Finally, my sister or I would go find help, and they would reply they would get to her when they could. Sometimes it would take an hour for her to get pain medication, while she fought the pain. And when she did get it, it was brought into the room almost with anger.

Anger flared with our care and love and looking out for our mother. And their anger flared also. Why theirs did, I am not sure. But, it did. We all came to agree to remove her to my sisters home. She died three weeks later.

And for those that are or will be facing this, as many baby boomers do, I am only trying to make a point of the problems that you will face, or are facing. And it is so sad that our parents, or someone's parents go through such things. How sad that the ones that taught us, raised us, loved us, was someone important, ended up suffering and neglected. I guess I am still speaking up for her, and others in the position she was in, as well as the position we were in. Our position was out of love and respect and treating her that way, and proud that we did. And, one day, each of us that read this, might be in her position also. Who will protect us if we cannot protect ourselves?

Readers, if you are faced with such a problem, make a voice. And document, document, document. Not only for yourselves, but for the victims of Nursing home neglect. They deserve so much better. After all, they are or were our parents, and our stepping stones of our past. Something really needs to be done concerning this. (this was written in 2004)

Katie

SLUSH PILE & NARROW MINDED BLOGS

2006-04-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

In one of my recent blogs called BREAKER~BREAKER, I expressed that I had a lot to write about and had thought about, dealing with hospital experience and blogs where I wanted to comment with open minded thoughts to narrow minded blogs. One of my readers said that they could not wait for me to "tell all" , as they were curious of where this was leading. BY THE WAY reader, thank you for suggesting that I change my title blog to KATIE'S LOGUE. It fits perfect! Sometimes pointing me in the MID dle gets me to the center of my thoughts, and ideas.

Anyway, this is a bit hard to do. Especially since I want to write on so many things, and I have to pick and choose what to write on. After much debate within myself, I decided to write on NARROW MINDED BLOGS that I cannot comment on, (per their personal blogs, as I am not allowed.) So, therefore, I will just comment as much as I can in one night to get the general idea across of what I hope to say and express!

This does call for examples. I wrote a blog concerning MYSPACE on Child Internet Safety, and the next thing I knew, there was a blog having fits on this subject that I blogged on, as if I did not know what I was talking about, wanting to prove me or anyone wrong that voiced a different opinion on this. I pretty much go on my own personal experience and research to make a point! (Don't get me wrong, the writer did have good ideas concerning a rebuttal, but broken or links hard to find to express her point well left a lot to be desired.) The next thing I read on her personal blog was a link from MySpace on how to keep children safe within the link via SAFE TEENS (direct link from MySpace). Now, it seems to me, if you do not agree, or at least give consideration of what others have to say, do not include a direct link from the MySpace site, as it makes you look like you have NO IDEA of what you are talking about. Kind of like advertising them when you think they are so wrong, and then making them right! Confusing~VERY!!

Not long after this discovery, another blog was written by this same blogger (and daily reader of my blogs) concerning International Library of Photography (where many sites were in question and put on warning pages on her website) , and included a site I am very familiar with that has some of my own pictures up on one of sites in question of PICTURE.COM. I even have 3 pictures published in their books ( Kitty Nursing Dog and Kitty & Dog In Love and Premature Kitty~2 weeks old ) that you can find in bookstores, but I did not buy the book as I did not want to pay (nor could afford) the expensive price just so I could every now and then say "Hey look, see my picture here?" AND, there does appear to be some pro's and con's with this particular site, and I do not really care, as no money was spent on my behalf, but, this site does use their advertising to get people they publish their pictures on, in hopes they will buy the books. Business at its best, and you do have the choice to become a part of the site, buy or not buy. On this note, I do need to point out that there are many frauds that are used with big businesses such as these, (and not associated directly with) that will try and make a good place look bad or find away to get your hard earned money through fraud and very sneaky ways, using the site. (Think eBay & Paypal, other known sites to understand) As a matter of fact, one of these fraud emails was used in one of my recent blogs concerning Spam, Scam Fraud Theft & Other Internet Horrors, and used as well on one of her warning pages. As far as I am concerned, you must do a lot of research (and I mean a lot, or I do) to know the good from the bad, and understand the relationship to it. I think it very sad, and unfair that many sites that started out with a good idea, found themselves in bad or dim light due to problems that were not even caused by them, but by fraudsters taking advantage of a good thing, that gave them a bad name. (or blogs written about them without adequate and responsible research.)

And I tell you what, I also do not believe in giving links to a place where the entire name of a place in question written about with when you click, it comes up to a article or blog written in derogatory statements about it, or search of finding links of your search, and the site in question does not come up, or you have to look for it in cache. I even did a short blog it this In Thoughts Of What I Research. This behavior I call narrow minded and with lack of research in regards to readers that are trying to read or find the entire story. Copyright questions might even come into concern, especially if the link given with their name is not even available to their site. (I have to give some thanks here, as a lawyer pointed this out to me as well.)

Since I am on a personal role here, lets talk about an article written by a blogger on POD PUBLISHING concerning the SLUSH PILE. POD Publishing - The Slush Pile, by Rose Desrochers. This particular blog was written on how great it is that books are now POD published, yet so many are so poorly written that they need to be slushed. Now, I am thinking, how many of these POD books from LULU, or other sites that are POD published DID she read? And what makes her an expert? And this blog is from one and the same of her other own personal blogs and online articles that encourages people to write no matter what, to continue on with their dream of writing, and to never give up! How the heck does she has a right to say these things in her blog to encourage, then discourage, that some books (posibbly your book might probably belong in the slush pile, according to her considerations). How arrogant and uncaring can this be? Not to mention confusing per her blogs and articles on never give up on writing! For example, interesting read of hers Self Publishing - Pod Publishing . By the way, I am the unmentional blog she is speaking of.

Also, this same blogger wrapper herself up in an Publish America contract without reading their contract well, and for months fought for PA, which actually started flame wars, (only to find out that she, herself was taken) and now only has nothing but bad things to say concerning PA, then she became partners with a site that if she had checked it out in any kind of research, would might have realized it was a bad idea, as there were already known problems with this site, yet took the chance to BE TAKEN, and she was, and now has tons of bad things to say about that problem. She never would have gotten screwed if she had NOT JUMPED the gun! Or done a little research!

In ending and point I am trying to make, we need to be careful of what we do and what we become involved in on the Internet. And do not believe all you read. And do not believe me either. Research it yourself and find your own way. I ALSO am a published Poet and Writer and Blogger. Whatever you read that I wrote, is published on the Internet. And who knows, it probably belongs in the slush pile. Depends on the reader, I guess!! I could write so much more on this, but I need to shut up before I upset myself. LOL

Katie

LITERARY ESCAPE Is Back Up & Running!

2006-04-05T09:25:00.001-07:00

Several of my dedicated readers know who Devrie is, and she had a wonderful site called LITERARY ESCAPE for several years, but do to come complications, she took the site down for awhile. Well, her site is back up today, and it looks like it will be great fun and a promising place for some R&R time.

Here you can post poems, have your poems and writings critiqued, and critique others, involve yourself in intelligent conversation, and experience a growing role with your writings.

The site is brand new as of today, and to me, I find that exciting, as I can become a part of a site that will grow over time. And, from knowing Devrie, I expect it to grow fast.

If you get the chance, please drop by and visit her site here

Good luck Devrie, and I look forward of being a part of this exciting adventure.

Katie

BREAKER-BREAKER~What Will Happen Next?

2006-04-04T00:34:00.000-07:00

How things can change on an instant moment. Busy doing something you enjoy doing (or have to do, if that is the case), and then BOOM! Like an explosion, your world changes, and everything you were doing, or all your plans are put on hold. Life is a bitch sometimes, ain't it!

If my memory serves me well, the last time I even thought about my blog was a week ago Sunday. I was writing in my journal on things to consider putting in a blog, and also working on eBay, and then the phone call came. BREAKER - BREAKER, needed at the emergency room, problem with your son! My son will be 25 in a few days, but he is still my son, and I was needed to hold his hand. (I remember holding it so well that night, and memories I felt of the comfort of his warmth in the palm of his hand when he was so young and little.) He was running a fever, so cold, and threw up blood, and I have to admit the emergency room attendants were wonderful and so caring. He was released that night, and we took him to his apartment, and when I got home, the bed looked so inviting. I slept or piddled around most of the next day in confusion. Tuesday would be a new day, and a new start. So to speak.

Wednesday was to be our best day. I mean we had a list of things we needed to get done and goals for that day. And we were well on our way, and very ambitious of what we were doing until about 2 that afternoon, and then ~BREAKER-BREAKER, another emergency call. My youngest daughter who just turned 21 (and very independent in her own way) was rushed into emergency surgery for a staph infection on her hand (Think Rosie O'Donnel). This was extremely serious, and could have been deadly. She was very sick, and she just got out of the hospital the other day. The infection was so bad that they had to slice her hand in 4 places. Split the thumb, split the top of her hand, and split in 2 places underneath two of her fingers. This infection started only 2 days before she had to have surgery. (I intend to write a blog on this at a near future date on this infection, and hospital care and drugs when I get a chance to breath again.)

Anyway, for those that think I have had nothing to say, OH, think again, and I hope that no more BREAKER-BREAKER comes into effect before I get the chance. This entire week has give me many things to think and write on.

By the way, I have been reading the blogs when time allows, especially on my reading list, and I will comment soon, and think they are great. Also, will be writing on blogs that I want to comment on, (but can't on the blogs I want to, as they will not allow the comments to go through) , but want to and will voice an open minded opinion on narrow minded blogs, per my blogs.

Katie

Researching In Thoughts Of What I Am Looking For AND?!!

2006-03-26T00:44:00.000-08:00

Researching In Thoughts Of What I Am Looking For and Credibility getting there ~ has of late BLOWN my mind.

I spend a great deal of my valuable time and effort on research, whatever the subject may be that I am interested on or about, and I click all the links thinking I will find something valuable in regards to what I am researching, (I am a sucker for this, and for good reason, as I never know what the next link might bring to me, and hope to learn something new by the click of my mouse). But, as of late, I am a little disturbed and frustrated, as many of the links I have clicked in my excitement of search, have nothing to do with the subject at hand at my first glance upon my click of the mouse, and I do not have the time to explore the site given in the link, (to question if I am lost, or what gives) as there are other places to visit on my journey, with other hopeful clicks to explore.

In other words, a word to the wise (or unwise), if you are trying to make or express a point, and use links to describe or express certain things on your blog, or your site (whatever the case may be), per your links that computer users click, on your examples of links given, it might be a good idea to give some explained history, or adequate information before you give a link where the viewer has to search for the plot and story in place, especially if they are looking for the information via your words, which leads to your credibility.

I guess right now I am just a little perturbed with this, as I do a great deal of research on the Internet so available to me, and when I click a link, I want it to tell me something, or lead me to think and learn more, and become excited on pressing another link to expand further on what I am looking or searching for. I get so frustrated at links that do not lead me anywhere, and waste my time on trying to figure out "WHERE THE HECK AM I. AND WHY DID THIS LINK APPEAR, AND WHERE IS IT SUPPOSED TO TAKE ME NOW?" Thank goodness I know how to use the BACK BUTTON!

Considering other things in relationship to this, if you are going to write on something and try to prove your point, please take the time to give adequate links (and refrain from giving duplicate and redundant links) in efforts that lead your viewers on a lost journey in following your story, and while at it, make sure since you DID spend a great deal of time in providing these links, that you check the links yourself to make sure they follow through with what you are trying to say, and make sure they upload right and with no problems for viewers. Try and make sure the folks that follow these links can find your reasons of why you placed your links with care.

So, in closing, and this is just my personal opinion, it is a good idea to give only a few well researched and valuable links to get your point across (especially if chosen well in what you are trying to get across), as to many links requires to much reading in one spot, and even the good readers have a problem of picking and choosing which one to click next, especially if the links go nowhere on readers, viewers journey.

Just some thoughts on my night research and thoughts, and once again, my considerations for who wants to hear them.

Keeping Children Safe Via Internet Blogs

2006-03-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Recently I have read a great deal of blogs and articles concerning the dangers with children and teenagers, who are now becoming more and more of the vast majority of Internet bloggers, and their safety being at risk. And to a degree, I agree with this, especially the fact that we must protect our children until they reach legal adulthood of age to make their own decisions.

Bloggers and blogging has become very popular in the past few years, and it is a great way to release what we think about, write about, and give our views, thoughts and ideas on and about. Teenagers are not really that different from us, as they do have their own thoughts developed from their unique personalities, and within their personal blogs, they have found away to express a great deal of this.

MySpace, a very popular expanding and constantly growing blog spot, has been "under the gun" a great deal as of late in relationship to statements that they are exposing teenagers to pedophiles and predators, leading to problems with trolling and cyberstalking the underage youth group. So with my interest peeked on this, I had to know more and when I researched MySpace and all it had to offer on setting up a blog, (easy to do, easy to navigate, options available) I was not surprised why the younger group choose this particular blog site. And because it is such a popular blog spot, this age group (and keep in mind, adults as well) are navigated to this site, explains why, if you do the math, it is so successful, well known and productive now. Anytime something grows to be so expansive and large, there is going to exist an alarm of problems, yet we need to keep in mind that there are other real problems on many other blog spots, located in many chat rooms, forums, etc., but they are not "under the gun", in a matter of speaking, as they are not as large, or well known as MySpace.

Take this into consideration that the majority of the Internet public does not even know that Yahoo has an online auction, and it is free to list and sell, and if you google it concerning problems, you will find very little on the subject. Now, compare that to eBay, which is now a household word, and if you google it for problems, thousands of sites will appear. Why? Because they are well known and HUGE! That is the price you pay when you grow out of your britches while you count your millions.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand concerning children and teenagers on the Internet. This is not a new problem, but one that thankfully in the past few years, has finally been recognized, explored and addressed to a much larger degree. In reality though, this has been a problem since the Internet became the superhighway, and the younger underage crowd were found in many chat rooms and forums and inappropriate web sites.

Parents I believe, have a great responsibility in protecting their children concerning the Internet if they are going to let their children be available to the computer for long hours. I mean, get real, you would not leave a loaded gun lying around the house would you? If a gun is in the house, it is locked away or hidden or no bullets available due to dangers, yet at the same time, parents still let their older children have bb or pellet guns, and sometimes rifles for the sport of hunting. The point I am trying to express is that as parents and responsible adults, we must take responsibility on any and all dangers concerning our underage children. If you have concerns about them, snoop to see what is going on in their life, if that is what it takes. (yet be ready, if and when you do snoop, as you might find things about you and what they reflect and think on and about parents, both good and bad.) Talk with them on the dangers of the Internet, and point out real things that have happened and can happen to bring your point across. Check their computer time to where they have navigated, and the time they spend at certain places. Keep the computer in a safe room, and allow only certain times and reasons to be on the computer if you are concerned or feel there is a need. Try and get them involved in outside activities or give them a good book to read. Promote and expand their interest with your involvement and enthusiasm, and instill discussions on and about things concerning the Internet. But, do let them blog, yet try to set rules concerning blogging, and explain why giving personal information in blogging is a "no no" and is a safety concern for many reasons. Better yet, if they show an interest on setting up a blog, go over the policies that the blog site in question has implemented, and make sure both of you understand the rules and regulations, policies and guidelines.

For example, MySpace has gone to great lengths from all I have researched and read to point out that the age limit to become a member of their blog, is 14 years of age. They also have safety tips here and here and other excellent links connected to them concerning safety at Netsmartz and Safeteens to protect your children. It appears to me that MySpace realizes there is a problem, and have gone to great lengths to address the problem.

In closing, my whole point is that we, as parents and adults need to play a vital and important role in making sure our children are safe. It is so easy to blame MySpace for problems that have been happening concerning the younger crowd, and as far as I am concerned, not a fair assessment. MySpace became a large community because much time and effort, good business decisions and much more was involved into what it has become today. Also, with a site this large, they cannot (and should not be expected) to police all the blogs. And unfortunately, many of the young bloggers are also to blame for the problem, by posting certain pictures (for example, their boobs hanging out, or mooning their butt), and saying inappropriate things. By doing so, they are seeking a certain type attention, (that needs to be addressed) and this does and should cause red flags and alarm. Yet, we should keep in mind that the majority of the younger bloggers display common sense, and use MySpace only as an outlet to meet new friends and share ideas and thoughts and become part of a group, as well as many other reasons. So, if blame is going to be placed on this particular subject at hand, lets make sure we have all the information before placing blame. This last link is also a very informative read Wikipedia Concerning MySpace .

Katie

Writing And Research Resources & Guides

2006-03-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

The other day I got an email from a Mr. Paul Bocij, in response to an email that I had sent him on advise on the book I am working on concerning Cyberstalking, and other matters. He has written several books, as well as papers that deal with this subject, and as far as I am concerned, he is pretty much an authority on this, and he was kind enough to give me some excellent advice and pointers. (You can visit one of his sites here, and an example of some of his many papers Victims of cyberstalking: An exploratory study of harassment perpetrated via the Internet by Paul Bocij

Also, he gave me two important sites to visit that I was not familiar with, and I wanted to share these, since the majority of my readers are writers and I thought this might be valuable for you also. Especially if you have to do a lot of research.

Biblioscape appears to be an excellent program for researchers, writers, students, and much more. While the program does cost, it looks like something I might be interested in at one point. And I could not help but notice the other programs on the sidebar that look also to be very valuable programs, especially for serious writers, and I do intend to look closer at these.

Copernic Agent, also seems to be a great program that deals with writing and research, and it has 3 different programs to offer. One being a free download (which I now have) and 2 other that are premium download programs.

For the last 2 years I have used Journal 3, which has been and continues to be a valuable tool for me. I would be lost without it, and before I ever put anything on the Internet, it goes into the Journal first. I did a more in depth review on this at Wild Mind here. (You need to scroll down the comments to my second comment to get my full review on it.)

Anyway, I wanted to share these resources to my readers, as it might be something you are looking for, fits your style, or might be up for your consideration.
Katie