no phone zones

I saw Oprah's show and was converted.

Too many people are dying on the road from distractions. The worst of it are the children :(

It is not only the phone of course, it's also make up, and other distractions. You know what yours are and I know what mine are. I definitely am (but now it's a "was") guilty of texting and speaking on my cell while driving with no hands free. No more. I need to get a bluetooth so I can have a conversation if necessary.

TEXTING NO MORE!

Here's a linky to the Oprah site on this

I got a testimony!

Yesterday I tried to complete my tuition exemption form online to have my classes paid for and in place of the form I saw a message saying I was no longer eligible for tuition exemption.

::heart hits floor::

So I call the number that's included in the message with bated breath. The lady who came on explained that my employer is no longer offering tuition exemption to my particular type of staff. So new hires get none, and persons starting programs in 2010 get none either. Since I started last year, I have to just take a few extra steps (the annoyance I will certainly tolerate) and I'll have my tuition covered. Now, I have to get a letter stating I began my degree program in 2009 and bring it to another part of the organization to be allowed to fill out a form and have it signed. I have made the request for that letter and I'm hoping to be able to pick it up on Monday.

I am oh, so grateful for this! I would have had to quit/take a leave of absence or quite a bit of loans to complete the program BUT thank God I don't!

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"...blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."
Jeremiah 17:7

Acceptance...

Getting it from others, and giving it to people are both very difficult. But guess what is rewarding though? Coming to the realization that those who love and care for you, will always support and offer a sense of acceptance.

My wedding day. This is my Auntie Marcia giving me a huge hug. I kinda jumped into her arms when I saw her show up at the door of the hotel room I was getting dressed in. This was my first teary eyed moment that day. Why? Because I could feel the love, strength, & support pouring from her to me. She loved me, wished me the best, and every happiness. Even today, loving words of advice still pour out from her.

I had to learn to live without acceptance from certain persons in my life because it was too exhausting to keep vying for it. Trying to do things, say things, eat things, wear things, be places, and stress over things because so-and-so doesn’t like this, or this person isn’t talking to that person, or "I did it for you, so now you should do it for me." I had to let it all go. I am glad who I am, is good enough for those who love me. I mean, people do disappoint from time to time. It is the nature of the process. I am sure I have disappointed people, and sometimes people disappoint me. But there's this thing called forgiveness - you gotta give it to receive it!

I am not saying I don't care what others think or that you can't have an opinion on something going on in someone's life, especially someone you love. What I am saying is that you (or I) shouldn't be thinking about someone else's life so deeply that there is a need to provide constant commentary or criticism. It is in poor taste and it is hurtful. What I am saying is I try my best not to spend time constantly evaluating my friends' and family's decisions and actions to see if they meet my level of approval. Of course, I have my standards. I would never knowingly have friendships or be close with people who were criminals, unethical, deceptive, malicious, or dangerously selfish. In addition, I would never sit aside and see a friend or family hurt physically or emotionally, or in a bad situation, and keep it shut. That's for wimps. But I have stopped trying to place Shumpy’s Stamp of Approval on anyone. My opinions remain my opinions, and they are how I live my life, but they don’t have to be my friend’s or family’s opinion. I have come to learn that being a great friend involves not being selfish or demanding. I have to allow people to give and not force it from them. Ever since I realized that, I have released myself from the pressure of doing things to please people and having out of proportion expectations from those in my life.

My aim in life is to be true to myself while taking care not to injure those around me. Being the true you should never become hurtful, poisonous, or isolating. It should be something others admire.

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"Real strength is a decision and can be found within each of us. It is our opportunity to awaken our inner strength and live the life we desire; to create, explore, and accomplish the things we hold dear. It takes strength to be in a loving relationship, raise a family, be yourself, and allow others to be themselves."
Anon.

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”
Peace Pilgrim

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength."
Frances De Sales

"one one coco full basket!"

translation: do not expect success overnight, take it slowly

Just a pleasant reminder to me (and you!) that we don't have to gain success or achieve all our dreams right now. Yes, sometimes it doesn't even look like we're even close to getting there but we have to keep at it.

Maybe you're having difficulty completing a task, maybe you haven't even started on the journey to where you want to be, or maybe you don't even know where you're going. Be encouraged that every bit of effort you can make towards achieving that end is valuable. Even if it seems fruitless or unrewarding. All your answers and/or rewards may not come at once, but work hard and dedication will get you all that you are deserving of!

people

This is fun irony my friend, K shared with me this morning.

She's been in a medical rotation in Hyannis Port, MA for the past 3 months and throughout she's told me little stories of these 3 ladies (a.k.a. the 3 musketeers) that are what we Jamaicans call extra. They volunteer to do everything, even things that don't need to be done. They basically won't give residents, attendings, or the program directors air to breathe, jumping at every single task as if they are more dedicated than their counterparts. Well, after all this stellar behavior and air of excellence, you'd think they'd leave the rotation (which ended on Fri) with glowing reviews *tsk tsk* NOPE.

Why did 2 or 3 of the group steal the toilet paper from the hospital (or maybe just their section or floor) on the last day of rotations? SERIOUSLY? Why on earth would you do that? Well, the great part is they were caught (dwl) and now the rotation director has demanded that they return the stolen property. So, one or all of them need to haul ass back to Massachusetts to return stolen toilet paper. How embarrassing but totally satisfying??

woiiiiiiiiiiiiii

All that faking for nothin' at the end of the day.

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"The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere"
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

the number 8!

Why am I loving the number 8 you ask?

I am now back to fitting in size 8 NY & Co work pants *HUGE grin*

That's my dream size. Don't wanna get too small now. I plan to have another reason to love Mr. 8 because you see, before the spring is over I hope to have lost 8 lbs. I think that will make me a comfortable size 8 a.k.a. a size 8 on bloated days *tsk tsk*

Wish me luck!

great weekends

Don't you just hate when you've worked all week on school stuff, work stuff, life stuff, everything and are looking forward to the weekend and it's a bust?! You get into a fuss with your spouse or a friend, or you spend time doing something you'd rather not, or you're sick. Nothing gets to me more. Well, I didn't have one of those *smile*

I feel that a great weekend is the reward for a long, sometimes trying but most times tiring week. This weekend I had great family time, lovely worship, time with friends I hadn't seen in toooooo long, a couple good hair days where my ousted bang made a comeback (lol!) AND a lovely Sunday nap. I am not a daytime sleeper but when I do manage to fall asleep during the daytime, it is always a reward. I must say I did get a parking ticket and I had a run in with a deviant stocking that I bought on Friday and still cannot locate, but the net result was still a fantastic weekend.

Today I'm feeling productive and fresh despite the fact that I'm damp from the rain and was mauled by the 40-plus m.p.h. winds we're having in NYC. I hope and pray my car is not crushed and the lights stay on. The sound the wind is making is scary!

Hope you had a great weekend too! Feel free to share...

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"There aren't enough days in the weekend"
Rod Schmidt