This time last year, I was not this busy! At least, I cannot remember being this busy...

I'm in the midst of making all the planning arrangements for a trip to Vermont which is to take place on May 18th. I am going to Brattleboro for a week's worth of training to become a facilitator of Mary Ellen Copeland's Wellness Recovery Action Plan.

I've always wanted to travel all the New England states; so my little trip to Brattleboro, Vermont is a start at least...I need the break! If you read the whole link on Brattleboro, you'll see some pretty interesting facts; one, which I found to be very intriguing, was the January 2008 petition for the indictment of president Bush and vice president, Cheney...

Lots of stuff going on around here all at once. I can't elaborate on much at present because I need to grab a nap before I head back into town tonight to play "Deal Or No Deal" for our Relay for Life walk this weekend. Of course, it is a most certain fact that I cannot walk, as I did in years past. But, I will be participating in other affairs for the relay this year....

Gonna' get some shots in the knees again before the doctor actually schedules me for knee replacements. He knows my suffering. He also knows I won't suffer much longer before I start throwing things at him. Soooooo, I think he is resolved to doing the surgery for me...more on that later.

I want you guys to know, I have been reading your blogs to keep up with you. I would be lost if I couldn't check in with y'all all the time. However, I haven't taken time to comment the way I usually like to when I read. Doesn't mean I'm not there, and it doesn't mean I'm not delighted with some of the news you're sharing about your lives and your kids, and jobs and such. Peace out, my blogging buds!!! (((Hugs)))

In the name of all that is sacred in life, I have never seen such loyalty as this.

"Whether thou goest, I will go..." (book of Ruth; 1: 16-18)

It's been astonishing for me to hear about the insurmountable amounts of money pouring into Barrack Obama's campaign these days. That people would offer their financial support so freely to a man whom they know very little about frightens me; to say the least.

When Al Gore won the popular vote in the presidential election of 2000, and had to hand his probable win (had the state of Florida counted for something) over to the man who is now our commander and chief, the first thing that came to my mind was, "Washington insiders." It was sad for me to see a man who had worked for something his whole life, robbed of his rightful place in the oval office.

Presently, we are watching two people of the same party racing hard for the white house. Both share almost all the same views regarding what our country needs to survive the mess made by the present administration. The difference in the two? For me, the answer is quite simple. Hillary Clinton has worked her whole life towards this one goal. I'd never heard much about Obama before the campaigning began last year; which also leads me to reason why he has sung so many of the same refrains as the well-known Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The fact that Barrack seems to be in agreement with most everything Hillary has spoken of in policy, also seems curious to me.

And yet, money continues to flow in Obama's direction....

Barrack Obama has recently begun to hit below the belt in his campain speeches; a thing that had previously distinguished him from all others, according to some people. It's so funny to me that he called Hillary a "Washington insider". I can't help but wonder what he thinks he will be if and when he actually takes office in DC. Or, is it safe to say he is already moving in the general direction of all other Washington insiders?  In regard to this link, I'd like to add food for thought: Hillary wasn't the one who ran the ad, y'all. It was fair game in this race for the white house, for her to use the information. 

Obama is not anything special folks; and he's not anything new!!

Hi Folks ~ Below is an exact copy of a form letter I received today from our own representative Boucher. Thanks to George W., we continue to lose the important funding needed most in this country at present. Below Mr. Boucher's response to the people of Virginia, is the letter which many of our mental health consumers throughout the state, signed and sent to Mr. Boucher's office. Perhaps you want to read that letter first, and then scroll back to Mr. Boucher's response. This original format would not allow me to copy and paste the letters in proper order here, for some reason unknown to me...

April 16th marked the year anniversary of the tragic murders at the Virginia Tech. campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. Really smart move George; to cut funding for the mentally ill.

I am blessed with coverage for my medical needs, under my husband's insurance policy; however, so many people who suffer with very severe illnesses and/or substance abuse problems, do not have insurance coverage; except that which they manage to have through medicaid. Many of these people would love to work, but are not in a position to work at this time. Many may never be able to work a public job. What indeed should we do with these people? New programs are beginning, in order that we may keep people like Cho (who murdered the Tech. students and faculty members) from slipping through the cracks. With these enormous cuts in funding, the mental health systems in this state, and across the country will never be able to see them through properly.

Thanks to our "let's go get 'em boys" president, the United States Embassy building which was recently completed in Iraq, houses an olympic-sized swimming pool for the embassy guys and gals who may be there for the next hundred years or so.....and they only need upwards of $35 million per year, to pay the security people they will hire to watch over them so they may swim in safety.

Here are the letters:

    Congress of the United States  

I'm feelin' pretty fine about the husband I chose for my life. In a million years, no man could fill his shoes. He has hung in there with me through the worst times; I've stuck by him as well, but I honestly don't know how my life would have progressed to this point, without Sam's love and support of all I do.

Don't remember if I ever told you all, that the day Sam and I met was November 14, 1992; I was almost 32 years old. Sam was 34. I knew by that time that I hadn't liked a lot of men I'd known through the years; not that I was involved with many, I just watched the men I knew--family members, friends' husbands, and such... 

We became engaged on February 4, 1993, and we married on October 16 of the same year. I realize this present month is not related to any of those dates. It's just that every now and then, I am overwhelmed with humility, that I have been blessed with someone as great as this man with whom I share my life!

Love you sweetheart...refer me back here when we are at odds, okay dear? Your answer is, "Yes dear". He knows....

This old favorite, kinda' pulls it all together for me. Or you can listen to this particular version..., Which is new to me--heh.

Oh my gosh! It's April 15th and where have I been? My work is increasing and spring has sprung here in southwest Virginia, and I haven't blogged in a week! I really hadn't blogged much before that last entry either. Lots of stuff going on...

Well, Sir Bentley is doing good; he is taking his medicine like a good doggie, and he seems to be holding his own regarding the heart condition. Miss Jesse is adjusting to the new dog food we have them on; finally! Whew...

Pickle is really just so happy to be here with the doggies. He actually thinks he is the same as they. Lots of funny things go on here between the two dogs and Mr. Pickle. I really should have sent some stuff in to funniest home videos through the years, with these three stooges...Pickle loves Bentley to distraction, and Bentley constantly growls when Pickle comes near, but at the end of the day, those two sleep very close to one another in our bed with us. Sometimes Jesse and Pickle come in contact with each other and they just stop and do a staredown...then the damn cat jumps over her back, turns toward her and starts cleaning her ears. It's just the kind of stuff you really have to see...

I graduated from the Crisis Intervention Training last week, same as the 14 cops who attended all week. It was pretty cool stuff actually. I was able to interact with the officers in a relaxed setting, where I had the opportunity to see them as human. We had a great week together as the staff of our community service board and I, taught the officers some tricks of the trade, in working with those who deal with mental illness everyday of their lives. We all took part in skit activities chosen from real situations that happened with clients in the past. We had a lot of fun and it was all very serious at the same time. Now I can say I have played cards with the cops...woo-hoo! We literally did have a card game going on one of the days. It was a game where everyone playing had a different set of rules to follow. The purpose of the thing was to teach about the many aspects of a variety of different cultures with different socio-economic backgrounds, etc...and we had to do it all without speaking. Damn that was hard for me!

We are having potato soup and corn muffins for dinner tonight. It's a little chilly here today, so I thought soup was a good choice. Of course, I will enjoy the corn muffins. Sam will probably eat a peanut butter sandwich with his soup; or some such silly thing as that.

I am agitated to say the least, regarding our two democratic candidates running hard for their place in the oval office. What concerns me is they both are in agreement on so many of the same issues, and yet they continue digging away at each other. Oh I know, it's politics, and it's about winning the game right now. I just feel the focus needs to be on the seriousness of what we all are facing in this country; and that my friends, is not a game. Guess I'm just tired of it now, and ready to move it up a notch...

I'm trying once again, to organize my computer room. This place has been a real uphill battle for me; mainly because when I start to get things the way I want them to be in here, my beloved husband throws a monkey wrench into the project. Well, it may actually not be a monkey wrench, but my Sam has lots of tools and shit, and he feels comfortable making the computer room his catch-all for stuff quite often. No matter how much I threaten to trash whatever things of his I happen to come across in here, the result is always the same. He's good about it for awhile when I bitch and moan, and then....well, you know the rest of the story...I am back to finding his stuff all over the place again. Sam is anything but an organized individual; and that just makes me crazier than I would be if I didn't take prozac, ya'll!

I mailed a package of newborn clothing to our daughter's friend who had a baby a few months back. I really love shopping for baby stuff, even though I have never shopped for my own baby. I always get such a kick outta' the cool outfits that are out there now for boys, as well as girls. And, the little tiny socks just kill me...

Gonna' go finish adding some touches to dinner I suppose. Tell me how you have been...???

Hi All. Gotta' get scootin' early this morning, but I wanted to stop by the pointe here, and leave ya' with something of myself. Life's been fragile lately, but I've got all I need to play it forward because I am really so blessed in many ways. So here's some bits and pieces of meself I share,

*Love, love, love the Bigelow Lemon Cream Body Wash from Bath & Body Works! The stuff is light and so softening to the skin.

*I'm on my way this morning to sit in on the crisis intervention training that our service board presents for local law enforcement folks. This is an excellent program toward integrating services for people who exhibit severe mental illnesses, and/or developmental, and substance abuse issues. I will get to listen through the whole teaching/learning experience until week's end when I do my presentation of the program I serve.

*Sam and I have our new metal roof! We love it; and yes, we can hear the rain as it splashes against the rooftop...all over the house. Of course, it doesn't sound as close as with the old metal roofs that were used on housetops from back in the day, but, I do get a sense of that pleasantry when it rains now. I love it!

*CJ. Banks clothing store had a 50% off sale this weekend on every clothing item in the store! What? Did I buy something, you ask? Well now, how could I pass up the opportunity to have a couple really jazzy outfits for work this spring? Well-made clothing priced at 50% off...well of course I bought something!

*My baby cousin will be 18 years old on May 10th. She is at that oh so special place in life, with all that it entails--heh.

*Our daughter is working in the office of a local automobile service department by day; and in a restaurant by night. She wants to do this thing her way, and by god she's making it! I love my "punkie", I do.

*We started the dogs on a new food for adult dogs. It's good stuff for them, but our Jesse had the worst gas the first week of this change in diet. My god, I jumped straight up outta' bed once last week, as Sam lay snickering and telling me I should be on his side of the bed, where Miss Jesse sleeps on her own little bed under Sam's nightstand. Go ahead. I meant for you to LOL...

*Retail therapy is the best!

*My favorite chocolate concoction in life is simply, "no-bake cookies".

*I really don't like all country music, however, I will listen to anything Ms. Dolly Parton puts out there.

*I wish for a fully loaded, leather interior, Honda, Nissan, or Subaru vehicle. Ya' gotta' dream a little...

I hope you have a pleasant week in your little neck of the woods!

As I reflect on the past few days of my life, while on a very real adventure with an illness I manage, I realize that it is mostly through the sorrow and the testing I endure, that my character is built. I am seeing a difference in the way that I cope with any serious issue these days, from the ways I have failed to cope in years past. In this knowing, I can eventually find the calm in the eye of the storm.

However, as we grow in life,----is as we go in life; and the sheer living often becomes the overwhelming task, much more than the figuring we do, or the dramas with which we become involved.

I can’t honestly say that I would always want to be here, if I didn’t believe in a loving form who will welcome me into loving arms somewhere beyond all this. So I live. I write as I always have. I write what I know for the people of my world. The seeds planted well will scatter, and find their own fitting destinations; as it should be.

I have lived it through the years, so I know, that sorrow and joy are akin to one another. We cannot have one without experiencing the other in due season. CS. Lewis so brilliantly stated this in all his writings. And, I believe that it is within this circle of life, this pattern of being, where our souls touch the very essence of the "whys" that we beg for answers to.

As the great author so well stated, we are not always here to be comfortable, or comforted, or to even be loved by others.

And in my own words, we are here to strive; to dream; to believe; we are here to love others in ways that we would like to be loved. We stay because we hope...In purest form; a hope that makes us most worthwhile. We are here to learn and teach, in service to a greater purpose for mankind than just ourselves. The purpose serves us well, and will serve us well in times to come.

As the circle always goes, I wait for the joy to come once again.

I have so much catching up to do here; so much to tell you all. But, I am going to have to hit the sack early tonight because I have a second meeting to attend in far southwest Virginia first thing in the morning. I attended the first of the two meetings today, and only arrived home a couple hours ago. Well, of course I farted around stopped and grabbed a bite of dinner and went to the store as well when I got back into town.

So I will spend more time on an update very soon, when I have rested from these hectic days. However, I could not go to sleep without telling you all my very biggest news of the day!

Remember back when I mentioned that I might have an opportunity to take part in writing a book for mental health in the state of Virginia, and out of 36 applicants I had been chosen as one of 15 finalists? I just received the email that I have been chosen along with 6 other people across the state to write for the book, and do some public speaking near Richmond; the state capitol of our little commonwealth.

I REALLY can't believe this people!!! I am beside myself, needless to say; nervous, anxious, and hopeful that I will contribute something of myself that may touch someone, somewhere, who needs it most.

And, without further ado, I bid you goodnight my blogging buds...

Remember, keep your paws off someone else's jelly beans

Some good things come in smaller, sugared packages

The Agnus Dei is the reason Easter came to be. For those who choose to believe the wonder of a man whose only habits involved teaching love and peace to others, and then died for that cause, Easter is not about the candy, or the baskets, or the eggs, or the money generated from these things. We'll dive into the candy and spend our money on some other form of basket all year anyway...Not any of us needed a holiday in order to spend money on things. Not Christmas, or Easter...I respect what people believe or choose not to believe, generally. It's not for me or anyone to say what any of us should or shouldn't believe about anything, and I am certainly in no position to judge others. Uuum, for me...the love and peace thing, and the not judging others, is why I like the guy. We are all so full of our own hopes and dreams, philosophies and opinions, and scientific facts, that it is really neither here nor there what we think we know. I believe more than anything that we all see through a glass darkly, and that the most real thing we will ever do besides the day we came into the world, is the day when we take our last breath. Everything in between is a learning process, full our hopes and dreams, our philosophies and opinions, and our scientific facts; none of which I would want to go through life without.