December Determination ~ Week 3

[dill]

The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.
Carlos Santana

December is getting away from us FAST! We are well into week 3 already and nobody noticed~:H

I've been super busy and have not had time to post the last couple of days. I will read back and get caught up, but in the mean time, I wanted to get us going on week 3.

Good AF Tuesday everyone!

[cyntree]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Fabulous quote, Dill. Errrr - Week 3? Holy cow, I can't seem to even remember what day it is - earlier today I wished everybody a happy Hump Day (Wednesday), and up until 4:00 pm, I really thought it was Wednesday! uughfffff....

Lav - I do think the strange weather has something to do with the way we're feeling. I am just plain out of sorts for no apparent reason. But, I also hope that you will get some dedicated "Lav" time soon - you have really been pouring yourself out for everyone else...time to fill the well!

Good TUESDAY evening to everyone!

[Lavande]

December Determination ~ Week 3

I just ate a huge handful of dark chocolate M&Ms & feel better.
That was my problem. my dark chocolate level was low :H :H

Cyn, I just kind of snicker to myself at the thought of having 'me time'. It just hasn't ever been in the cards for me, for one reason or the other

Dill, I did think about starting week 3 but I was on the ipad this morning & somehow don't trust it to do certain things
I love Carlos Santana!!!

Well, I'll be back tomorrow on the real Hump Day :H

[blondie]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Hi

Been reading here for a little while and just wanted to wish Lav a Happy and relaxing Birthday today/tomorrow; you exhaust me just reading about your baby-sitting escapades!!

It's like the MWO Zen corner here; all calmness, serenity and wisdom!

[Catbuddy]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Hi Lav (and all here, but she needs a special shout out):

Lav, the holiday grumpies keep at all of us. You need some special cheer, and I hope your family rises to the occassion. But if not,

Lavande, you are absolutely wonderful. You have faced many painful days in your life. You have survived a divorce and disappointing marriage, and you keep it together for yourself and the next generation. You are giving your grandsons more than they can possibly know, but we see it here and honor you for it. You come to this site everyday, and visit your communities, much like you keep Stella and the other chicks fed when you scatter grain. You leave your well wishes for a great AF day, and let everyone know you are still here, still AF, still chugging along. You are ready to chide or advise as needed, keeping folks in line but with a soft hand. You remind us that AL in the house grows heads and starts to speak to us. You ask us for our plans. You keep us honest with ourselves and each other. Kuya is the bouncer. Byrdie is the sweet sister. You, you are the grandma, who tells us to keep our elbows off the table and finish our dinner, because there are good cookies to eat after we have earned them.

You are loved. Please have some peace and contentment in that knowledge. Happy Birthday.

Cat

[ThreeDogNight]

December Determination ~ Week 3

I want to echo Cat's thoughts, Lav. You have been such a positive force in my recovery and are always there with whatever needs to be said to everyone here--on all the threads! You give unselfishly to everyone, and wish we could all do something to pay that back. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and hope the family does something really special for such a special lady.
:thanks: for everything, and :l

TDN (one of your biggest fans!)

[Rusty]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Happy Birthday, Lav!!!

:bday7::bday3:HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAV!!! Thank you for looking out for all of us, in all the communities here! Definitely you are the glue that keeps our thread together. Indulge yourself in something wonderful today, Lav, and watch for that sleigh today!:h

TDN!!:l It is sooooo good to see you here! You were on our thread and then you disappeared. How are you doing?

Catbuddy-that was an absolutely perfect post to Lav on her f-f-f-fifty-ninth b-day. She doesn't look like she's 59, though. She's in really good shape, and she's still hot!

Dill, thank you for getting us started on week 3. I loved your quote from Carlos Santana. I have "Hold On" on my Itunes.

Ok, busy day today, and must run. Shoutouts to Rustop, Chill, LBH, Star, Pmom, Jolie, have a fabulous AF hump day!

[Stargazerlily]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Good morning to all...

Catbuddy, lovely tribute to Lav. I second it.

Lav, do something good for yourself today, go out to lunch, get a massage, buy yourself a pretty Christmas scarf...I did and it really perked up my mood. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Lav, Happy Birthday to You, and many more......

Rusty, good you are busy and at home. I too have to do things at home,for free, but it just goes with the territory, and only once a day at a certain time. I really set boundaries as I do not want to always feel like I am working.

Cyn, good to know you get to be at home for a time.

Busy today, have to make a Christmas fudge for tomorrows potluck, then off to work.

Just wanted to say there are alot of people struggling with the holidays, I think we all get unrealistic expectations. Others miss their loved ones who have passed, no one to spend the holidays with, trying to fill the bottomless pit of greed, money stress...
So I have been thinking about what my best Christmas is and it is through my senses: smells, sights, sounds, with the decorations, music and cooking and baking. Of course seeing my family and celebrating life.

I understand that the murderer in Connecticut had Asperger's Syndrome, and know that obsessions are part of the symptoms. However, diagnoses, especially with Autism, can be more or less severe. For his mother to keep guns in the house was high risk, for anyone to keep guns in their house is a risk, but for this to happen, a tragedy. I too am tired of it on the TV, but since I don't watch alot, I am able to control what I am exposed to. Some people are protecting their kids from it, which is probably a good idea.

To all, have a great hump day.

[dill]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Pmom, I clicked on the link to Halleluia but it would not play. Would really have liked to have heard it.

Cyn, thanks for taking the time to retrace your steps. I found the article helpful. The bit about the best antidote to the angst and violence being ‘embracing the opposite’ (feelings of calmness, empathy, mercy, hope, and openness) seems so true to me; so Christian and so enlightened.

Rusty and Star, I turn off most of the coverage of the massacre. I have true empathy for the people there but I cannot participate in the grief non-stop. As far as schools being gun-free zones, I am one who believes that is actually part of the problem. Have you ever noticed that these events invariably take place in gun-free zones? It’s like an invitation to these poor sick people to play out their fantasies on a safe stage. Who’s going to stop them? I realize my views are probably in the minority here, but I hope we can disagree and stay threadmates. Rusty, As far as your question about feeling queasy going to work, no, I don’t really. I am more aware though of the level of angst and anger all around me at work and I am consciously trying to turn that around as mentioned in the CSM article Cyn linked.

Lav, it is hard for me to understand keeping those weapons in a home with a child so obviously mentally/emotionally disturbed. Denial is an amazing thing, isn’t it? It's what kept us all drinking like sailors for all those years!:H Happy be-lated birthday, Sis!!

Hi nurdle, Catbuddy, and :welcome:blondie, I’m running out of time here now.

To put this recent violence and massacre in a larger perspective, it is less severe than the event (not involving guns) that took place in 1927(from Widipedia):

The Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 38 elementary school children, two teachers, and four other adults; at least 58 people were injured. The perpetrator first killed his wife, and committed suicide with his last explosion. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth grades (7–14 years of age[1]) attending the Bath Consolidated School. Their deaths constitute the deadliest mass murder in a school in United States history.

Let's all try to shine the light of peace...AF peace!

[Lavande]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Good morning friends

Thanks for the BD wishes but I'm not 59 today ~ more like 112 :H :H

I pushed myself last weekend to wrap all the gifts for the kids. Glad I did too, I think it helped lighten my mood a bit. But then I found a nastygram in my PM box. Honestly, AL creates hostility & snarkiness in some people. I am going to give myself the gift of peace today by avoiding that sort!

blondie, nice to see you here in zen-ville! A positive & grateful attitude will help you find success!

Greetings Catbuddy, TDN, Rusty, Star & Dill.
Glad everyone is well & keeping busy

I'm going to ease myself to Curves then back here for a bit of work as usual.
Wishing everyone a good AF Hump Day!

Lav

[cyntree]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaapy Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirthday Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaav!!! (that's the best I can do since I'm afraid of the emoticons...thanks Rusty for getting the party started)

Lav, you are the spry-est 112 year old I know! Seriously, I ditto Cat's tribute to you, and give you special thanks for your solid presence in all of our lives. (Some year we should all descend on you and make a party with you and the chickens!) I wish you grace today and all through your new year ---

Shout out to one and all - PMom, is today the day? Crossing fingers. Chill, are you there, are you OK? Dill, I continue to hold that quote close, it's really marvelous. Glad you found the commentary as helpful as I did. LBH, you are there and OK? Wishing all a happy Hump Day (it is Wednesday today, right?!)

[rustop59]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Hi everyone

Just a quick stop by, could not let the day go without wishing our Lav a happy, happy birthday. I echo what everyone has been saying. Have a wonderful day.

Big hello to one and all. Will be back when things settle down.

Rustop

[Chillgirl]

December Determination ~ Week 3

:hiya: everyone and a very Happy Birthday to our dear Lav :bday7:

I just put my Parents back on the plane after a lovely 4 day visit.

Dill I really loved your quote :h

Cold, grey and dark here but the good news is that the shortest day is Dec 21st and after that the daylight will start increasing again.

Busy few days coming up for me with maybe a business opportunity and I will tell all when I have more info. I also have a party to go to on Friday night :shocked: a change for the girl who never goes out!

[ladybirdheart]

December Determination ~ Week 3

Happy Birthday Nurse Lav. I am sure I join the others here who every day are glad that you were born. I hope the year to come finds you well and happy, and I thank you always for the wisdom and encouragement you have extended to me and countless others. I shall think of you as I have your nice mushroom soup in while. It is brutally windy right now, frigid and dry. I just got back from the post office, often a bit of a hoot as long as I am not in a hurry. I live almost equidistant between two of the city post offices. The somewhat closer one is at the University and often remarkably congested and hard to access except on foot or bicycle, not a good match for the bitter wind. I went to the one in the opposite direction, in the "International District", the neighborhood having been renamed a few years ago after somebody noticed that its former moniker, "The War Zone", might be less than inviting. For those of you who follow "Breaking Bad", a large number of the seediest spots are within steps of this post office. The lines tend to take forever as people have the most unusual problems imaginable and then strangers in line start offering ideas, stories, and opinions, once I counted five different languages in one line not counting the two or three people who didn't make sense in any of them. The staff is made up of the most senior workers, I have never seen such infinite and gentle patience. Today I didn't have to stand in the Big Line, I did that last week, but I did stay a few minutes just to listen as one tired looking Islamic man finally got his turn to produce an awkward box, a slip of paper, an official letter of some concern, and a woman's purse he found near the parking lot, all while holding a sleeping newborn wrapped in a cheerful fleece blanket with long pink fringe. If someone had told me it was a Nativity Scene I would not have been surprised. Love and peace in this odd and diverse season, I am off for Lav's soup, Ladybird.

[cyntree]

December Determination ~ Week 3

LBH - thank you...
..." such infinite and gentle patience"...

What a great reminder...