Sadly I'm not in that category, but dreaming is always good. Going for the Ferrari...."pure sex on wheels" sounds like something I can live with. Did someone say midlife crisis???
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Need a New Car?
If you are filthy rich, then MSN presented today the top 12 cars for you. You can check them out here.
Sadly I'm not in that category, but dreaming is always good. Going for the Ferrari...."pure sex on wheels" sounds like something I can live with. Did someone say midlife crisis???
Sadly I'm not in that category, but dreaming is always good. Going for the Ferrari...."pure sex on wheels" sounds like something I can live with. Did someone say midlife crisis???
Happiness Is a Journey
Haven't we all thought that if this or that happens, or as soon as I complete this or overcome that, I will be truly happy?
Well, the bad news is that life is full of obstacles and surprises, and we are continuously presented with situations to deal with - both good and bad. The good news is none of that should keep us from happiness. Being happy is a state of mind, and should also be continuous. Below, please find my listing of things that define my happiness. Feel free to add your own.
 |
| Photo by Graur Codrin/FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Happiness is:
- Waking up to the smell of breakfast that someone else is cooking for you
- Having a job to wake up to
- Getting an honest opinion about your looks, and suggestions on how to improve it....from your child
- A hug
- Seeing the first flowers bloom in the spring
- Parting with your hard earned money to pay for your house that you share with loved ones, the car that brings your children safely to school and you to work, the power that keeps your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer, the phone that allows you to stay connected to friends and family far away
- Watching the sunrise on the beach
- The smell of a newly bathed baby
- Being rewarded for your good deeds by someone else's success
- Falling in love over and over again with the same person
- Watching your children and knowing they're perfect because they're yours
- A candlelight dinner
- Encouragement when you don't see your own potential
- Recognition when you learn that you can do whatever you set your mind to
- Finding the perfect dress, shoes, purse.....OK this list can get long, you get my drift
- A compliment from those who matters in your life
- Receiving a bouquet of flowers for no special reason
- Finding the perfect gift
- The look of pride on your children's faces when their efforts are praised
- The feeling of accomplishment when you overcome yet another obstacle in life
- A hot bath
- Knowing someone loves you for who you are, just the way you are
- Being reunited with long lost friends
- Girl talk over a glass of wine (or two...)
- A good joke
- Sisters
- "Me time"
- Late night swimming
- Knowing your smile and kind words made someone feel special today
- Having friends who laugh with you through good times and make you smile through tears during bad times
- Celebrating your birthday and being grateful you got to live another year (working on this one....40 was a tough one!!)
- Key Lime Pie
- A good book, and time to read it
- Watching the rain hit the windows while the wind is howling outside...from a cozy chair inside
- Feeling safe
- A great movie with a happy ending
- Chocolate...mmmmmm!
 |
| Photo by Graur Razvan Ionut/FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
And so the list goes on and on. Cherish every moment and every opportunity, or as Father Alfred D'Souza said:
 |
| Photo by Dan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Dance as though no one is watching you.
Love as though you have never been hurt before.
Sing as though no one can hear you.
Live as though Heaven is on Earth.
| Have a fabulous week!! |
Monday, July 25, 2011
Seeking Peace
The last couple of weeks have been full of sorrow and tragedies, both close to home and far away. A dear friend lost her battle with cancer; a friend's grandmother passed away; my neighbor's friend committed suicide leaving behind his wife and young children. Then Friday we saw the horrible attacks in Norway leaving over 90 people dead and several wounded, and Saturday we see yet another young artist gone much too soon. And that is not counting the bad news of crimes in our community. I struggle with finding peace in all of this, but then it helps to write to clear my mind.
Even though losing someone to illness, or having a grandparent, who has lived a full life pass on, is tough and very sad no matter how much it may be expected, it is still part of life. We can go through a grieving process and in the end, live on while cherishing the memories of the person who is no longer with us.
Losing someone to suicide is quite different. When I was younger, I used to think that taking your own life was such a selfish act. Obviously because I always felt I had so much to live for, and still do. Although I complain over trivial things, and life is not always what I wish for, I still love life. Therefore, I find it is so sad that someone cannot find a reason to live, even when they have a spouse and children, but it would be wrong to label suicide a selfish act. I cannot imagine the despair one must feel when choosing to end ones own life becomes the only option.
Reading about Amy Winehouse's death, was sad, but I think for many, not unexpected. We have seen many more news stories related to her drug and alcohol use than about her music. However, she joins a long line of artists whose lives have ended much to early because of drugs. It makes me wonder if we as fans, demand so much of these artists, that fame is too much to handle. It certainly has made me believe that if presented with the choice, I would much rather be rich than famous.
Mass murder and terrorist attacks fall in to a whole other dimension. We've certainly seen too many of them here with school shootings, attacks on government buildings, and of course the 9/11 attacks. School shootings seem to have spread around the world taking young victims in schools not only in the U.S., but also in Scotland, Yemen, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Argentina and Finland. That is most certainly a list I hope will not grow longer.
Countries around the globe have been victim of terrorism; in my book, the most senseless violence. Terrorism is commonly defined as violent acts which are intended to create fear, are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians. When searching for a listing of recent attacks, Wikipedia shows one listing from 1800-1899 and one from 1900-1969 both having a complete listing of events on a fairly short page. However, from 1970 - present, there is one page per year of terrorist attacks, and the list just seem to continue growing. What happened? Did the world just go mad?
I cannot imagine the grief and pain families who lost loved ones in such attacks must feel, and I pray I never will. We see it in Norway now, as we did here both in 2001, and many times over as children were killed in school shootings. To have a family member or friend lose their life for an evil minded person or group to prove a point is beyond senseless, and I find it hard to hold on to my belief that there is a meaning with everything, and God has a plan for each of us. The question always pops up; then why did he not save these people? A question that remains unanswered.
The only thing I hope we don't see, is that we let hate foster hate, and seek revenge in order to move on. To quote Mahatma Ghandi, "there is no road to peace, peace is the road", and hopefully that is the road we choose. But the most powerful thing I heard this weekend, was from one of the survivors of the shooting at the youth camp in Norway who in an interview with CNN stated, "if one man can create so much hatred, just imagine how much love we can create together". With that in mind, I hope we never give in to the fear, but rather fight for peace in our own country and communities, and support those around the world that have a much tougher fight than we do.
 |
| Photo by Marcus74id/FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
Countries around the globe have been victim of terrorism; in my book, the most senseless violence. Terrorism is commonly defined as violent acts which are intended to create fear, are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians. When searching for a listing of recent attacks, Wikipedia shows one listing from 1800-1899 and one from 1900-1969 both having a complete listing of events on a fairly short page. However, from 1970 - present, there is one page per year of terrorist attacks, and the list just seem to continue growing. What happened? Did the world just go mad?
I cannot imagine the grief and pain families who lost loved ones in such attacks must feel, and I pray I never will. We see it in Norway now, as we did here both in 2001, and many times over as children were killed in school shootings. To have a family member or friend lose their life for an evil minded person or group to prove a point is beyond senseless, and I find it hard to hold on to my belief that there is a meaning with everything, and God has a plan for each of us. The question always pops up; then why did he not save these people? A question that remains unanswered.
The only thing I hope we don't see, is that we let hate foster hate, and seek revenge in order to move on. To quote Mahatma Ghandi, "there is no road to peace, peace is the road", and hopefully that is the road we choose. But the most powerful thing I heard this weekend, was from one of the survivors of the shooting at the youth camp in Norway who in an interview with CNN stated, "if one man can create so much hatred, just imagine how much love we can create together". With that in mind, I hope we never give in to the fear, but rather fight for peace in our own country and communities, and support those around the world that have a much tougher fight than we do.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
R.I.P. Amy Winehouse
So sad to see yet another young, talented person gone much too soon. Here from her debut album.
May she rest in peace.
May she rest in peace.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Is Security Out of Control?
In the almost 10 years since the 9/11 attacks, we have seen quite the tightened security at airports and on board planes. Obviously we want to avoid any further terrorist attacks, but is security a bit out control by now? You be the judge:
Yukari Mihamae was arrested and charged with a count of sexual assault after allegedly grabbing the breast of a TSA agent after a pat-down. Honestly, I don't blame her. If you have ever been subjected to a pat-down, you know how thorough they are...not much left untouched. She has taken on a bit of a folk hero status, and searching Facebook, I found 5 pages for her, 1 calling for her conviction, the other 4 to help her.
In Tennesee, a mother was arrested when yelling and cursing at TSA agents after refusing a full body scan and pat-down of her daughter, telling them she "didn't want her daughter's crotch grabbed".
In Destin, Florida, a 95 year old woman in the final stages of leukemia, was asked to remove her adult diaper to complete a pat down search. Seriously? I understand not wanting to exempt anyone from the security standards, but do we have to remove all human decency in it all?
ACLU reported in November 2010 that they had received over 900 complaints in November alone over the security measures enforced at airports. Complaints included the following excerpts:
Some are really fed up, like John Corbett who has filed a lawsuit against TSA for violating his 4th Amendment Rights. So far there is no ruling in the case, but you can find more information on his efforts here.
YouTube, is by now flooded with videos of children being patted down, strip searched, and according to parents - violated by TSA agents. All with the same complaint that TSA is out of control. A comment posted on one of these videos might be a good measure of what people across the pond is thinking: "That is one of the reason people from civilized countries don't want to travel in that Zionist hellhole."
What are your thoughts? Do we have a good balance between security at our airports and the passengers' privacy, or has our fears gotten the best of us allowing security to completely take overhand?
While pondering that, let me end this with a quote from Benjamin Franklin: "Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Yukari Mihamae was arrested and charged with a count of sexual assault after allegedly grabbing the breast of a TSA agent after a pat-down. Honestly, I don't blame her. If you have ever been subjected to a pat-down, you know how thorough they are...not much left untouched. She has taken on a bit of a folk hero status, and searching Facebook, I found 5 pages for her, 1 calling for her conviction, the other 4 to help her.
In Tennesee, a mother was arrested when yelling and cursing at TSA agents after refusing a full body scan and pat-down of her daughter, telling them she "didn't want her daughter's crotch grabbed".
In Destin, Florida, a 95 year old woman in the final stages of leukemia, was asked to remove her adult diaper to complete a pat down search. Seriously? I understand not wanting to exempt anyone from the security standards, but do we have to remove all human decency in it all?
ACLU reported in November 2010 that they had received over 900 complaints in November alone over the security measures enforced at airports. Complaints included the following excerpts:
- “The TSA agent used her hands to feel under and between my breasts. She then rammed her hand up into my crotch until it jammed into my pubic bone.”
- “I cried throughout the groping and have had intrusive thoughts since. It was humiliating.”
- “The procedure was violating, degrading, invasive and humiliating.”
- “It was so rough that I felt the effects of it throughout the day.”
- “I do not feel safer. I feel violated.”
Some are really fed up, like John Corbett who has filed a lawsuit against TSA for violating his 4th Amendment Rights. So far there is no ruling in the case, but you can find more information on his efforts here.
YouTube, is by now flooded with videos of children being patted down, strip searched, and according to parents - violated by TSA agents. All with the same complaint that TSA is out of control. A comment posted on one of these videos might be a good measure of what people across the pond is thinking: "That is one of the reason people from civilized countries don't want to travel in that Zionist hellhole."
What are your thoughts? Do we have a good balance between security at our airports and the passengers' privacy, or has our fears gotten the best of us allowing security to completely take overhand?
While pondering that, let me end this with a quote from Benjamin Franklin: "Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)