Month: January 2015
Weekly Photo Challenge – Shadows
Wordless Wednesday – January 14, 2015
Sharing a Memory: Thanksgiving 2014
Hubby and I returned to Wisconsin to spend Thanksgiving with the kids, grands, relatives and friends this past year. Since we decided to go at the last-minute one, our airline ticket prices were over the top. (Side Bar Correction: The decision was mine and I bugged Hubby until he agreed.).
Why I Bugged Hubby
For years, we postponed visiting Hubby’s last remaining Aunt even though, by car, she lived six hours away from our home in Wisconsin. I remember reasons like “not enough time” or “maybe next year.”
Sadly, she passed away the first week in November. There was “enough time” and we couldn’t wait until “maybe next year” to attend her funeral and show our respect.
It was an up-front and up-in-my-face reality moment. Our tomorrows with loved ones are not promised. And, nothing short of my death was going to prevent me from spending Thanksgiving with the children and grands.
It was a short visit with a lot packed into three days, but I am grateful for the many precious memories including this one about my Little Girls.
The youngest members of our families are oftentimes the funniest. And, these two were in hot water for their shenanigans during the after Thanksgiving Family Gathering.

Our 6-year-old granddaughter, Cupcake, and great-granddaughter, Lyric, 7-years-old proudly announced to all that they were putting on a play later in the evening. Everyone purchased a ticket. The two girls disappeared; and, we all assumed they were pulling things together. When the girls came downstairs a bit later, they started to play a board game, and the play was soon forgotten by all.
Several hours later, the Eldest Daughter answered the phone and the caller said, “Someone telephoned 911 from this telephone is everything okay?” She assured the dispatcher all was well and said, “I can’t imagine what happened.”
My son decided to ask the girls and Cupcake admitted making the call. He explained to her that 911 calls were for emergencies only. She quickly said, “This was an emergency Lyric stole my money.” Lyric piped up with “I deserved more money because I am older.”
Aunts, cousins, uncles, dad, friends, etc., all took turns sharing examples with the girls of the right and wrong times to call the 911 emergency number.
The money collected was equally split between the two girls with the promise they would put the play on at our family’s July 4th Celebration.
Once everything settled down with the girls, the party activities continued. Then, the doorbell ring, a police officer came down the steps and entered the lower level. Cupcake looked up from her card game, saw the police officer, and quickly ducked behind the ottoman.
Her dad called her out of hiding. And, she meekly stood before the officer as he calmly explained to both girls that 911 calls were for emergencies only.

Something positive came out of this 911 incident. After all the negative publicity about policemen and their negative relationship with the African-American community, it was good for our teenage family members to witness a police officer interacting with these two little girls as well as our entire family in a kind, professional, and respectful way.


Gratitude Sunday: “Hearts As One Dream Beat Award”
Gratitude
I believe everyday there is something to express gratitude for. Acknowledging and expressing thankfulness, on a daily basis, is one of the most used tools in my Healthy Living War Chest.
Through the world of Blogosphere, I have found many, many bloggers who have given me a reason to express gratitude; and because of them I add new tools to my War Chest daily.
Grateful for Award
And, today, I am grateful to Beverly at My Wonky Donkey Life for nominating me to receive the “Heart As One Drum Beat Award.”
The rules for passing this award along is for the recipient —
“Within their posts whether if be through Poem or Word caring for others if a must for this award. Be through laughter or humor, photograph or story, love and compassion are mandatory.”
I say with the highest level of confidence the five nominees I have selected meet the must requirements for this award –
- Caring for Others
- Love and Compassion.
For me, their
- Humor has generated laughter,
- Words have raised awareness, and
- Photographs have served to bring new people, places and things into my space.
And, without further ado, my nominees for the “Hearts And One Dream Beat Award” are:
- Apple Pie and Napalm
- Imanikingblog
- Kentucky Mountain Girl
- Living, Learning and Letting Go
- Rectal Cancer My Ass
Nominees, I leave you with the words of the Award’s creator:
“Together let us beat our drums for harmony, peace, unity and equality. Let the beat of your thoughts ripple out as we share our hearts in one beat of unity. (Sue Dreamwalker)
A healthy approach to life – the mental
Alternative Integrative Therapies Part 4: Cancer and Epigenetics
According to Wikipedia:
Cancer epigenetics is the study of epigenetic modifications to the genome of cancer cells that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence. Epigenetic alterations are as important as genetic mutations in a cell’s transformation to cancer.[1] Mechanisms of epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes and activation of oncogenes include: alteration in CpG island methylation patterns, histone modifications, and dysregulation of DNA binding proteins. Understanding epigenetic mechanisms holds great promise for cancer prevention, detection, and therapy.
If this explanation was too complicated for you, as it was for me (Science, biology and all related fields were never my strong point), I have another definition by the person who discovered epigenetics. Author Dr. Bruce H. Lipton, a former medical school professor and research scientist breaks it down in simpler terms, “Genes and DNA do not control our biology. DNA is controlled by signals from outside the cell, including the energetic…
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Wise Words
“Language informs behavior.”
This was a quote I heard recently on a local public radio station as stated by Dottie Morris, the Chief Officer of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs At KSC. This was in reference to two local ‘officials’ (one a police chief and one a politician) making racial remarks in public. One was overheard in a private conversation in a public place, which sparked much public debate about his first amendment right to freedom of speech.
Living in a small New England state that prides itself in freedom of all sorts it didn’t surprise me that, while people might not like what this man said, they felt he had the right to say it. So they called in to this local talk show and said so. Emphatically.
But when Ms. Morris said these three simple words: language informs behavior, I stood dead still in my kitchen. There were no…
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