The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

[mama bear]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

I'M HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Goats, Purple sun glasses, and ROGER IS DRINKING??? WTF???? I swear I felt the room spin when I heard that........Rog - first I am coming down there to kick your ass and then I am going to hug you so hard you will break in half. My heart hurts for you....what happened during the interview that got you so upset???

Vicks...my little tomatoes are about 2 inches tall......what do I do now?
here's the article about the monster that murdered Stephanie...it's pretty sad...

gotta run and do laundry and then to the office for a few hours...
I love you all...be strong Rog

Florida fugitive found in Madison | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME

[rubywillow]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

WELL! What can I add to Friday?? Insanity reigns at Casa Del Rubes, as usual, so lets get at it, friends.

[mama bear]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Hiya Tony...you sweet thing
oh btw...I put on some glue on finger nails for my metting ..they actually looked really good...but now they are popping off and flying everywhere......

[mama bear]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Rubes....I am on my way to wrangle goats, kittens and Hubs if needed. I love you my sweet generous friend.

[sunshinedaisies]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Morning all - rushing off to work - be back this evening - hope everyone is feeling good today! welcome back MB !! Sorry about the bird Bird - sad! Talk later everyone,

Hugs, Sun Xx

[RingingCedars]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

I sent you an email about some stuff for Maggie Sun. Have a good day! xo

[rubywillow]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Something I've been reading and seeing on the news is about how bad the heat and fire problem is across most of the country. It's been normal or below, very comfortable around here mostly, but I know how this affects other places. I'm hearing about heat deaths, etc. If you have someone elderly who is in danger, please check on them. It's 79 here, unheard of this late in July, and we've had nice rains, along with the horrendous thunderstorms. But the elderly and the very young suffer quickly from extremes in temperature, so again, if there's someone you need to check on, please do. I actually miss calling to be sure my Aunt Nina was warm, had power, or was staying in and cool. Take care, everyone.

[sick of being sick]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

tlrgs;1147918 wrote: WELL i have come to conccultiion i hate beer it makes me sleepy and dry mouth and spitallot

That is wonderful news, Roger! I know you must feel pretty lousy today. Just stay in bed and drink lots of water. Today is a brand new day! Don't even remember yesterday, Roger! You made a mistake. Now, it is time to move on! God gives us new mercies every day and He can make miracles out of our mistakes! You have NOT disappointed anyone! We all just hurt for you and love you so much! I am praying for you, our beloved friend! Ruby, I love you so much and enjoyed talking with you yesterday. We are having the exact same weather here! Bird, so sorry about the little bird! MB, welcome home! We missed you! Sunni, have a good day at work! Nora, how is your nephew doing? RC, sorry I couldn't stay in chat long last night. Tony, so good to see you! Did you read my thread "Press On!"? I love all of you so much and hope you all have a wonderful Saturday and schedule some rest in your busy schedules! Love, Vicki

This is for Roger and all of you...

"May Christ through your faith dwell in your hearts. May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp all God's devoted people, the experience of that love, what is the length and height and depth of it. That you may really come to know through experience the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God and may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body filled and flooded with God's love." Eph 3:17-19 amp

[tlrgs]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

well thank you and have an great day one and all . if ya need me you know where you can find me later

[sick of being sick]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

I hope you feel better today, Roger! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Vicki

[melissa27]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

My chapter two! Read it!!

CHAPTER TWO ? HOW IT ALL STARTED
PART 1 ? THE GOOD YEARS
It was 1983, I was only 17, when I left the so called ?safety? of my dad?s buddy. Did I ever mention his name in Chapter 1? I don?t think I did. Anyways, his name was John.

I was already in college and working at the same time. So, after staying with my friend, (who was so nice enough to share her place with me) and working two part-time jobs, I came to a dead end when UCLA sent me an acceptance letter in the mail! I would have rather died than not been able to go! Young, ambitious and ready to conquer the world, I was determined to make it happen. Nothing was going to stop me, but, how was I going to pay my way through? Tuition fees seemed outrageous at the time, so I had to come up with some type of an income that would be able to support my life demands!

I think it was February 1984, when I called John trying to find a solution to my income. He was very happy to hear from me, apologizing again and again, saying how much he loved my dad and what my family and I meant to him and begged me for forgiveness again?., stressing out the fact that I needed to look past what had happened, that I needed to focus on my future and that he was more than willing to help me out, as he said to me: ?Ef, I gave a promise to your Dad and a life time commitment! You were meant to be here, you have what it takes. Please allow me to help you!?

I had already started taking the mandatory courses at UCLA. I wanted to become an Electrical Engineer. Don?t ask me why, but it was my life?s dream. John was a Mechanical Engineer working at Chevron, and referred me to a couple of Contractors, but deep down inside I NEVER wanted his help?.! He could go to hell as far as I was concerned!! Fate worked for me and as I was ready to call his referrals, I got word from a Paper Mill looking for an apprentice electrician in their engineering department. I got the job! Started at the very bottom and ended up two years later being the Jr. Engineer in their main electricity producing unit. I stayed there for 2 years. The knowledge and the experience I gained was, very lightly putting it, precious! I was still going to UCLA, trying barely to hang on to my passing the basic classes, as there was no time for studying. But, as I was going up the rank so fast, in such a male dominated environment, led me to think that I was above everybody?. I quit the job, not thinking anything. My self confidence was in the red?! I felt like I was on top of the world, there was nothing I couldn?t do. By that time, I might as well have been invinsible! I might have been a young Greek immigrant girl, but I was climbing up the ladder in the world, being so positive and full of ambition and energy, that I was ready to put up a fight with anyone who would dare stand in my way of doing what I so much loved. I was determined, but, at the same time taking everything for granted?.

And that?s when I turned to John?s referrals, that came in handy and so I started working for a Contractor. There is not a refinery in the LA basin that I didn?t end up working at? I was working the shut-downs as an Electrician (when a unit in a refinery has to be shut down.., every second is translated into millions of Dollars, so, they bring in as many Contractors as they can, in order to bring it up and running as quickly as possible). That translated into lots of working hours. I used to work 16 to 18 hour shifts. I got the opportunity to work on just every Unit in a refinery. I never complained and totally loved it! Especially the money I was earning. Loved what I was doing and to this day, those years I spent working where, remain the BEST times of my life,? but my life dream of getting that Electrical Engineering degree was more and more becoming a ?far away thought?? Being a realist, I contacted my BC (Bachelor?s Councilor). After two hours of meeting with him, I decided I was going for a major in Automation Computer Programming and a minor in finances (yack? I hated finances!) But, it was the shortest and cheapest cut to a degree, so I took it. Besides, I was making good money and life was smiling at me, there was nothing I couldn?t do.

PART 2 ? THE DOWNHILL
In a little tiny refinery (compared to what I used to work at), called Powerine, in Santa Fe Springs, California, I met this Electrical Engineer. His name was Bill and he was a permanent employee there, not hired by any Contractor. He was originally from Arizona, but grew up in LA.

He was the number one man in the refinery. He and I met on a project. A strong friendship grew and I mean real friendship. A year had already passed since I met him, when the mask of this ?strong capable male? started to come off slowly, revealing to me all his personal problems and giving me an insight into his childhood dramas and his life in general. A little bit at a time, his thoughts, dilemmas, and, of course, all his troubles ?! That?s when I found out that he had divorced three years prior, that he came from a family of Jehova?s witnesses who never celebrated Christmas (that was incomprehensible to me..!!!), and though Caucasian, he was forced to marry this wealthy African-American lady when he was 17, with whom he had two daughters, that as soon as he started talking about them, his eyes got all watery! Believe it or not, I had never bothered to ask about his personal life. As time went on, I got to know him more and more and got to truly love that man for his strength, ability and for the pure softness he carried in his heart. No sexual relationship up until then!

So?. , as this friendship grew, so did my love for the man and it was inevitable that he and I became lovers. During the first year of our relationship, I managed to get my Degree from UCLA and?.ALSO my American citizenship!!! I WILL NEVER FORGET that day, the happiest day of my life! (I will talk to you about that at a more appropriate time, because I feel is worth sharing that experience)

The relationship was going really good, so Bill and I decided to live together. It didn?t take me long to realize that something wasn?t right about the way he behaved some times. Although, a quiet very sensitive guy, he would , out of the blue, change completely, being more talkative, more aggressive and selfish, in a way I?ve never seen before. He wasn?t drinking, so I didn?t know what to think?! When one day, I discovered a little box with all kinds of pills in it! When I asked him, he said it was a prescription for his back (he was suffering from lower backaches a lot), that the doctor gave him. ?So, where?s the prescription Bill?? I asked. And ?why do you carry those pills in a little candy box, instead of the regular pharmacy container with the prescription on it??. I got all kinds of answers that didn?t satisfy me. In a matter of months, he got worse..! He was acting so weird, and every time I would find those little candy boxes, hidden in all kinds of weird places, he?d get furious. So, I left him. Isn?t it amazing, that when you?re healthy and in tune with yourself, how easy you make the decisions that you know are the healthy ones..??? I left him without even blinking an eye. And, when I say I left, I really left!! Talked to someone I knew in New York and in a matter of weeks, I had managed to get me an apartment in downtown Manhattan, on the east side.! Believe it or not, I packed most of my furniture on a little mini van and drove across country from LA to NY. I can?t help thinking with tears in my eyes when I say: ?WHERE?S THAT STRENGTH RIGHT NOW..???? GOD, HOW EASY IT WAS FOR ME BACK THEN?. It took me 30 days to get to NY, but something inside me was telling me to RUN away from Bill. It was my instinct, which I was very faithfully following, without even knowing why!

New York was so different from LA, but I loved it! My apartment was on the upper east side between Park and Madison! I was subleasing it for only 1,200 Dollars a month. I was living in the best part of Manhattan and all New Yorkers were envying this little Greek immigrant girl. I was working as an Asst. to the VP of Finance, in a very prestigious non-profit organization. I had my own office on the 25th floor and enjoying life tremendously. Admired and respected by all friends and colleagues, I was really moving up the corporate ladder. During that time, I also seeked psychological help trying to deal with my issues. Two years of bliss went by, when one day I get a call from Bill, saying he was in New York and he would really love to see me. I must admit that made me happy and I was looking forward to seeing him too.

He was looking good and free of all his pain pill addiction. He admitted he had a problem, but that he had dealt with it, and it was obvious, or so I thought?, that he had taken care of it. Our love flared up again and told him he could stay with me until he gets a job. Two months later, he got a job in an engineering company and I was thrilled. Although, he too, was excited at first, he later became grouchy and complaining all the time that he was a construction man, not an office engineer..! He was clean though and I was trying really hard to stand by him! But, it was only a matter of time, before he got laid off! He only lasted 6 months on that job.!

One evening, AND I REMEMBER THE DATE, it was the 23rd of March 1991, he came home and he said to me: ?I got some pot to relax us a little bit?. He opened up his palm and showed me two little plastic baggies, one black and the other one white! I was never a pot lover, I only had tried it once and hated the way it made me feel, but I said, ?what the heck?? ?.WRONG?.!!!!! I should have sticked to the fact that pot made me feel horrible?! I started feeling really bad, forgetting how to breath and getting a cold sweat?..! That stuff was not for me!!!! (Don?t laugh..!) But, my ?sweet? Bill came to my??. rescue?..!!!! That little black baggie was cocaine?, so he said to me: ?Try this, it?ll make you feel better!? AND WOW?.. that stuff really did make me feel sooooooo good?..!!!! (crying right now?..)

Bill had succeeded in finding a way to stay with me and I?.. well?, I have succeeded in finding the best way to destroy my life?, after all this effort I had put in and all the recognition I had earned????.!! That night was the beginning of MY DOWNHILL, my very step backwards?..! In one moment alone, I had managed to turn my life around 180 degrees???..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the next 4 months, we were ?partying? every night? I got to meet all the junkies in NY City??.! I was still holding on to my job, but everyone could see that something wasn?t right with me! I had, by that time, become the Finance Manager of my company and had the authority to sign off payments and being in charge of receivables also. In no time at all, I had managed to turn my beautiful upper east side apartment into a rescue place for all the junkies?.., giving them a place to sleep and supplying them with food! At one point, I had about 10 people living in my apartment?., shooting up and smoking crack?.! My addiction to crack cocaine was so big, that I couldn?t stop?.! My job was in danger?! It was August 30th, when my boss called me into his office and said to me: ?Your job performance has hit top bottom?., I don?t know why, but I?m in the sad position to tell you that we can no longer have you here!? and, he continued? looking down and in that sad look, which I will never forget, he said to me: ?Please, Effie, PLEASE stop whatever it is that you?re doing.., you had the potential to go higher, I just can?t help you anymore, they won?t let me.! But I?m your friend and I will be there for you, if you want me to?!

The day I got laid off, is the day when a couple with two young little girls 6 and 4 years old, came to my apartment to sleep and eat. (I WILL NEVER, EVER FORGET THEM) The husband was helping his wife shoot up, while I was putting those two little angels to sleep in my bed and stayed with them reading stories and trying to answer all those questions about Mom and Dad and why they were so sick?..! No words to describe this? I?m sorry!!!!!!!!!! Those angel faces will stay carved in my memory for ever!

That same night was the first time I tried to heroine?., BUT, since I hate needles, I sniffed it?.! I LATER found out there?s no difference to the addiction effect. It?s just the same as shooting it, you just don?t have the danger of needle infection?! I WAS A FULL BLOWN ADDICT.

MIRACLE No. ONE:
As I was enjoying the ?high? of the heroine?.., my phone rang! It was my mother, calling from Greece. She wasn?t sounding good at all, she was crying, and couldn?t speak without pausing or sighing..! She said to me ?Effie, I had this horrible dream that woke me up in the middle of the night and I?ve been counting the hours to call you. Are you OK? I had this awful dream, I was on a plane crash site looking for you? there were parts of your body scattered everywhere and you were calling to me to save you?.., PLEASE, baby, tell me what?s going on!? ??! I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT NIGHT!

Those two angel faces, my mother calling me?.! I just wanted to die?.! I took a quick look around my apartment and I got crazy?.! I can?t remember exactly what I did?, but I remember pulling, kicking, screaming and trying to get all these people out of my apartment?! No one was moving?.! I lost it! I picked up the phone and called the police, and that?s when they all got scared and left?! The mother of the two little girls said to me: ?PLEASE take care of my babies?? The police did come?, they took Bill, cause he had drugs on him. I was high, but as soon as the cops realized that I had no previous record and the apartment was legally on my name, they decided not to take me in, (I don?t know why, they should have) Social Services came and took those two little girls and I was happy that they wouldn?t have to put up with their parents? addiction any more, but sad, that they had to be put in a foster home.

Stayed by myself, in my totally destroyed apartment, for two weeks, with no money, no hope and totally shattered?, still smoking crack by selling everything that I had left?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill came out and we went to live with his parents, who at the time, lived in Las Vegas. I left New York, as a complete failure, an addict. I had so much going on for me and in a split second, it was all gone. I can?t describe the feelings. It had taken me so much time to build everything and in no time I was in the gutter?! Our addiction continued in Vegas and even worse. I?m super lucky that I never got caught or spent time in jail?., Bill and I, were both working, construction in Vegas was booming at the time and we were both good at what we were doing?., both work and? using drugs.!

In 1996, at the peak of my addiction, working in the day time and partying at night, I realized I was pregnant?! It was November 1996, when I found out I was almost 2 months pregnant..! I was 29 years old by then and an addict for about 5 years?! The day I got the news of my pregnancy, it was the day I got DOWN ON MY KNEES AND PRAYED, and I prayed and cried so hard???., for hours and hours??., that my knees got raw, to a point that I couldn?t stand up and walk?! I was determined to keep that baby, but not determined to stop using??..! What was I doing? Praying for God to pity me and give me a healthy child at the same time????

The drug abuse went on throughout my pregnancy?., drug dealers were walking in and out, in that little apartment of ours in Vegas, (his parents had enough of us and so we had to get our own place). I only did heroine three more times, since New York, only crack cocaine and, of course, alcohol?, lots of it!

MIRACLE No. 2I was 6 months pregnant when I had lost 3 pounds instead of gaining 7?! My Ob-Gyn got suspicious and he came up to me and very bluntly said: ?Do you want this baby, or not?? I said ?Yes, I do?, he replied: ?Do you believe??, ?Yes I do?, I said. And with a sharp look in his eye, he said: ?You better pray for a miracle then?!
Let me try and tell you how I felt when I heard those words: It was like this empty blank space filled me up, I could feel my baby kicking inside of me, but I had no pulse, just my baby kicking?..and all else was black. I was dead but how could I feel something kicking me inside?? I passed out in the doctor?s office?! I woke up in the ER of Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, hooked up to all kinds of machines, wires all over! The baby had already positioned itself for birth, head down, but no room to move around, since there were no fluids to sustain it. The placenta had given up long time ago and that baby was barely hanging on! My blood pressure got up to 220 and the baby?s way low? The doctors were all over me, trying to save me instead of my baby..! They were telling me all about labor and preparing me to give birth to a dead baby?!

My mother had come two days before, a Greek mother, speaking no English, whatsoever! She was there with me, not understanding a single word the docs were telling me? She was only looking at me and begging me to tell her what was going on..! I just couldn?t, only wanted her to hold my hand. She could, of course, sense that things were not good and all she did, was PRAY.. .! Now?, imagine, this woman, in this huge hospital, being down on her knees, in the middle of the corridor, praying and speaking in a language that no one understood! They thought she was a crazy woman. It was my mother! When the psychologists came in to prepare me for giving birth to a dead baby?, I looked at my mother and I knew, JUST knew that I had hope. Her hair had just turned grey overnight?, I couldn?t believe it!

My baby was still alive and kicking, but no room to breath inside me, the doctors were trying to find a way to get some amniotic fluid out of me, in order to find out whether her lungs were mature enough and get her out, but there was no room to stick the needle in my belly. My mother praying every day got everybody?s attention?! Hospital personnel would come to me and tell me what a wonderful woman that was..! Ultrasounds were done every hour and I could see in the monitor how crumbed up my baby was inside me, but still breathing?! On May 8th, 1997, it was the ultrasound that gave the doctors a little bubbly room in my belly, available to stick that needle in there and get some amniotic fluid to find whether the baby?s lungs were mature enough. Ten people came in, holding me down, the procedure had to be absolutely precise, or the baby would get hurt. If her lungs hadn?t matured, there was nothing they could do. The results came in 5 hours later?. That baby was ready to be born and they had to induce labor pains and get her out of me ASAP. MINNA ANN CHAPPELL was born on May 10, 1997 at 5 pm on a Saturday. She didn?t even have to go into an incubator ?! Took her home the next day, Sunday May 11th 1997, on MOTHER?S DAY?.!!!!! THAT?S A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Between a rock and a hard place, I made the ultimate decision to leave the country that I so much loved and come back to my roots..! I never wanted to come back, but I knew that if I had stayed, my baby would have no future. One miracle was enough for me to let me know that enough is enough! NOW, the hard part came? Coming back home, where I didn?t any longer belong, and having to explain to my family what had happened..! Still an addict?, I took my baby girl and travelled for 26 hours to get to Greece. God, she was so tiny and so fragile?! My true struggle was about to start??.!

END OF CHAPTER TWO

[melissa27]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Wanted to add that both my chapters' "heroes" are now gone..!

John died 3 years ago from chirrosis of the liver, 69 yrs old, and Bill died in 2006, 48 yrs old, from internal bleeding. He never got to meet his daughter.!

I want to thank all of you for giving me the courage and the love needed to do what I did!

Love you all, my sweet dear family!:h:h:h

[rubywillow]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Eff, I'm stunned. I've been in tears for a while. While I WANT to know the rest, till now, what I've read till now is EPIC! I've had a bad day, with my Hubs, over things we're dealing with, but I feel SOOOOO ungrateful for life. I've had problems, heartaches, aggravations with the people I care about, but this trumps EVERYTHING.
I'm so sorry for the triviality of what I post, either bad or good. What has happened to you is not within my realm of talking about. I've asked my Hubs, who I've been spatting with for a week or more, to sit down and read this all tonight. For most people I know, this is so unheard of. But first, I want you to know, this happened, and you are NOT a horrible, terrible person because of it. There are hundreds, thousands, maybe millions who have gone through similar experiences. But now you have found THIS place. And you had your BEAUTIFUL, wonderful mother, to be there. I can't find where to place the fault, except in society. We allow our young to be exposed to the things you did, and if they aren't secure enough in what is happening, they succumb. Again, you have us. And you have me. And when you're ready, tell us the next chapter. You are welcome in my house. I'm a no-shit momma, I guess, but I will treat you without expectations of reward, just to give you a rest and visit with people who call you 'friend'. And I do. And if you want my phone number, PM me. We can share a lot.
(I'll say that Hubs makes me want to choke out his eyes QUITE often, but I'm SO blessed to have him (most days!) but between him, and my great Daddy, OH my! what a payback there would have been to those perverted, drug-using, sadly not understanding men.)

[sick of being sick]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

Effie, sweetheart, you are such a gifted writer! That was like reading a book and couldn't wait for the next sentence! When you get through with your life story, I strongly urge you to talk to some publishers that would finance it and get it printed and oh, how many thousands of people you could help! I must have missed chapter 1. Does anyone know exactly where it is? I would love to read the very beginning. Effie, I am so proud of you and your story brought back so many details of my life that was so similiar to yours. I know this was very painful for you to remember and to write, but I pray that God would cleanse you of all that pain and renew your soul! I love you! Ruby, I've been thinking of you all day and I love you, too. Roger, I really hope you read this story and get inspired by what God can do in your life! I hope you are all having a wonderfully blessed day! Love you, Vicki

[sick of being sick]

The Journey begins here so get YOUR ASSES IN GEAR!!!!FOR JULY WITH A BLAST

I was gonna show ya'll my new hairsut I got a few days ago. I had 4" taken off the ends! It looks so much better and is so much cooler! Great news today, our pool pump has quit! $400. or no pool the rest of the summer! Ugh... Oh, and MB, your tomatoe plant needs to be atleast 5" tall before you plant it. Don't be too disappointed if it doesn't make it. It is so hot that most of my plants have died! Good luck on yours.