Day One: Pride

My friends Amy and Judi are doing this on there blog here... http://talesofablendedfamily.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/7-deadly-sins-tag-pride/



So, here I go, Day 1 is PRIDE ~ Seven Great things about yourself

~ I am a strong woman. I am told this often, I really don't believe it, but since I am told this so much we will put it here.

~ I have beautiful skin,eyes, and lips. I love myself...ha ha ha not! But these are three things people compliment me on more then anything...

~I am a funny person. I like to make people laugh. People seem to enjoy my humor.

~ I am pretty good cook. I am not an amazing chef. But I love food, and read cookbooks for fun. I have been told my food tastes good.

~ I am a coupon/freebie queen. I love being frugal. I love getting good deals, better yet FREE STUFF.

~I am creative,my hubby tells me this often.Sometimes I take some really good pictures.


~ I think I am pretty good mom and wife, sometimes. My husband says I am an amazing mom & wife, and so do the kids except when there in trouble. I try to be a good one anyways!

So Come on and join me in this tag! Have fun with it!

Day 1 – Pride. Seven great things about yourself.
Day 2 – Envy. Seven things you lack and covet.
Day 3 – Wrath. Seven things that piss you off.
Day 4 – Sloth. Seven things you neglect to do.
Day 5 – Greed. Seven worldly material desires.
Day 6 – Gluttony. Seven guilty pleasures.
Day 7 – Lust. Seven love secrets.

Deep Stuff/Part One: Forgiveness

"Our Saviour kneels down and gazes upon the darkest acts of our lives. But rather than recoil in horror, he reaches out in kindness and says, 'I can clean that if you want.' And from the basin of his grace, he scoops a palm full of mercy and washes our sin. "

Max Lucado


Jesus forgives you just like that, all you have to do is ask. It's not so easy with your family, friends and more. My biggest goal for myself this year was to forgive those I need to forgive, so they no longer have that hold on me, and so that I am no longer filled with anger, rage, bitterness. And (insert deep breath here) ask forgiveness from those who I have hurt, lied too, or done wrong. I am no angel, I am not perfect, and I am not so naive to think it's everyone else's fault if I fail at a relationship. I have many people I no longer associate with, some I am even related too, some is for the better and some hurt deep. Rejection hurts when you ask for forgiveness and it's not given. Asking for forgiveness is nothing anyone wants to do. It reminds me of my son, Aidan when he has to say he is sorry for something he has done. He always goes SOreeeeeeeeeeee, and you can tell it's not something he really means at the moment. If it's hard for a child to forgive, we should know it's harder as an adult. Who wants to be wrong?



" Forgiveness doesn't make the other person right, it makes you free."

Stormie Omartian

I know that I can not move forward in my life, and move on into a deeper relationship with my Jesus till I have done this. So I have started working on it. Bridges have been broken, and I am building some great new ones, like Brooklyn Bridge sized ones, but I still hurt for the hurt I have caused others.

The next big step is for me to forgive myself. That one will take some time. It's easier for me to ask for forgiveness and then it is for me to forgive the people I need to forgive. Some people feel I shouldn't even forgive these people, but I need too. I want too. Some are easier then others.

I do not want to be one of these bitter miserable cussing you out for anything people. I listened to many stories from women in my church today, woman who have been through many of the things I have, and how they have moved on and are so close to Jesus now. How God has blessed there life now, and the road there now on. I heard the stories of women in the bible, and the one that meant the most to me, was the woman at the well. I relate to her, I know her pain, and guess what Jesus LOVED her too!

Check out John 4 and read her story.

Well....

I am in my constant battle with being fat overweight. I have found I have serious issues with food. I either hate it, and don't eat it, or love it, and want to marry it. I need to lose all the weight I have put back on over the last year, or so. My body is starting to rebel again,to the fat. I go through periods where I eat a little more then normal but not much. I need to get on a regular eating schedule of sorts. One day I won't eat but dinner, or nothing, the next I eat enough for 3 days. Some days I am never hungry and others I am like a starving pig. I have a entire bottle of HCG pills I could take, but I have to do the diet part too for it to work. I am not so big on the diet part. Exercise BLAK.. I like it when I can go to a gym and work out, But at home it ain't happening, and my budget is to tight for a gym right now. So what is this fat girl to do? I need some motivation!!

Any ideas for motivation? I just can't find it.. I know how to lose weight, and I know what one has to do ..it's pretty simple.. eat less, eat well,drink water, and exercise... but I have no desire to do any of that..

SNOW DAY!!

Ok so I am not as excited as the kids are!! It's snow day which means I get to insane dealing with wild kids, good thing we can send them outside, hopefully we will find our sleds!!

I did enjoy sleeping late.... So haven't been around much and most of you noticed I have been having a hard time.

I suffer from something called SAD...

SAD:

With seasonal affective disorder, fall's short days and long nights may trigger feelings of depression, lethargy, fatigue and other problems. Don't brush this off as simply a case of the "winter blues" that you have to tough out on your own.

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression, and it can severely impair your daily life. That said, treatment — which may include light box therapy — can help you successfully manage seasonal affective disorder. You don't have to dread the dawning of each fall or winter.

Symptoms
Seasonal affective disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition. This means that signs and symptoms usually come back and go away at the same times every year. Usually, seasonal affective disorder symptoms appear during late fall or early winter and go away during the warmer, sunnier days of spring and summer. But some people have the opposite pattern, developing seasonal affective disorder with the onset of spring or summer. In either case, problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses.

Fall and winter SAD (winter depression)
Symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

Depression
Hopelessness
Anxiety
Loss of energy
Social withdrawal
Oversleeping
Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
Weight gain
Difficulty concentrating and processing information
Spring and summer SAD (summer depression)
Symptoms of summer-onset seasonal affective disorder include:

Anxiety
Insomnia
Irritability
Agitation
Weight loss
Poor appetite
Increased sex drive
Reverse SAD
In rare cases, people with seasonal affective disorder don't have depression-like symptoms. Instead, they have symptoms of mania or hypomania, a less intense form of mania, during the summer. This is sometimes called reverse SAD.

Symptoms of reverse SAD include:

Persistently elevated mood
Increased social activity
Hyperactivity
Unbridled enthusiasm out of proportion to the situation

This is all from the Mayo Clinic.... I am trying hard to pull myself out of this, but with the wonderful weather we are having here in the Cold mountains it's pretty hard to do!! ( And if you know how I am in the Summer months, you know I suffer from reverse SAD too!!)

A tale from a Super Mom!

My friend Dylett ( Mom of 5, 3 boys and twin girls) found a snake in the boys window. I am amazed at what she did! I would have freaked out and took the kids and left the house!

Here's the story!

http://momiof5.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-i-think-was-black-rat-snake-popped.html

Self Esteem and Women

Self esteem and Women


I enjoy reading this blog:

http://howtotellifaguyisajerk.blogspot.com/



This is proably one of my favorites, she has written, so great. I must share to all my sister’s out there.



Self Esteem and the Cycle of Being Used

Ladies....

If your self-esteem is strong and healthy, you are less likely to be used by men.

Contrariwise, women with low self-esteem and feeling of insecurity and worthlessness are often vulnerable to the use and degradation of not-so-great men.

Over and over I see young women with low self esteem who think that if a guy gives them attention it means they are valuable. Or if they have sex with a guy, then he will love them. Not so.

There is a big difference between a great man wanting to be with a woman, and a not-so-great guy wanting to use whomever they can find for an hour or so.

For thousands of years woman have lived in a world where their value is dependent on their sexual worth to men. We need to let this archaic idea go.

You are valuable because you are a human being. Your worth is dependent on your humanness. Regardless of the views of men, you are important and essential to our world. You have unique talents, traits, and ideas that have nothing to do with how not-so-great guys view you sexually. Your worth is not dependent on a bunch of guys who want nothing more than someone to take care of their needs.

Here is what often happens...

1. A woman lacks self-esteem, feels unattractive, worthless or unappealing to men.

2. She feels horrible about herself and thinks she is not worthy of a great guy.

3. She takes unhealthy attention from any guy who is in need of sexual pleasure.

4. After being taken advantage of, her self-esteem plummets. She feels sad, used, demeaned.

5. Her experience supports the idea that she is worth nothing so she becomes more vulnerable to not-so-great guys.

6. She really wants a guy to give her attention to help her feel valuable so she gives herself to whomever gives her a glance.

And so the cycle continues.

How does a woman break the cycle?

You strengthen your self-esteem. You decide that you will not be taken advantage of again. You become strong and secure. You let go of the idea that your value is dependent on your sexual appeal to guys. You take back your strength.

I’m not suggesting it is easy. In truth it is often most difficult. But, until a woman decides she is not going to be used, she will continue to be vulnerable... she will continue to get hurt.

Those men who use you are not the kind of guys you want to be with. They are not the type of men who make for a great husband or long term partner.

There are great men out there who want a healthy and happy relationship. There are great men who won’t take advantage of a vulnerable insecure woman.

Being a single mom

Being a single mom is tough when


~It’s 8pm and 3 children need a bath,

some cuddle time, a book read to them,homework done,....but

all at the same time, And I have no backup help!



~ It’s 10 pm and your going to bed

alone



~When you need that extra parent, to be at the other child’s football game

because the other child has a soccer game.



~ When your at a basketball game, and you can’t even watch your daughter playing, because your boys, are being unbelievably awful.



~ When you decide to start dating...because

a) There are sickos out there who want to hurt your kids

b) There are many a guy who has thought I am vulnerable

because I am a single mom

c)I have kids, and there a priority in my life. Some guys get jealous.

d) There are many a guy who has thought I am vulnerable

because I am a single mom.





~ When your sick, trying to take care of your kids

when your sick is about impossible. It seems that when Mom is sick,

children decide they must fight or wreck havoc on your home.



~ There is no one to fix the toilet,mow the yard,take out the trash,or open that

jar that I can’t get open.



~ When you need to take a shower, but your four year old autistic child is hell bent on escaping the safety of your home.



~ When you go downstairs to do laundry, and the same four year old locks you down there. Or you take the dog out, and he locks you outside on a cold winter morning, and thinks its funny.



~ There is no one else to help, support, care, or nurture your children. I must provide it all, while maintain my sanity, and some sort of life.



~ There is no one to talk to when you have that bad dream at night.



~There is no one to wake up when your scared

because some weirdo was yelling outside your house.



~ Helping your 10 year old buy a cup.



~ When your 10 year is playing football, and You have no idea

about the game, the equipment,or what he needs to do to play better( though I am learning!!)



~ When there deadbeat dads don’t pay child support or want to see them. Then

trying to explain to your 5 year old who is crying her eyes out, why

she can’t see her daddy or why the "package" he told her he mailed

has not come 2 weeks later. When your 10 year old does not understand

why his dad doe not want to be his dad, and cries about it.





Why being a single parent can be a good thing:

~ There is no man leaving his dirty clothes,towels

for me to pick up and clean

~ There is no man smoking cigarettes outside my house and leaving them in my yard.

~ There is no man trying to lie, steal, or cheat on me.

~ There is no man wanting this or that, done this way.

~ There is no arguing .

~ I can’t blame anyone else for how the kids turn out, ha ha.

I hate PMS

Seriously, it sucks.. One week out of the month, I eat and act like crazy hormomonal pregnant woman.. and then I go Oh yeah, its that time again. I still get zits like a teenager, I am almost THIRTY for pete's sake!!

My friend Brandi says I should try the pill, but I keep putting off, but it keeps up,I might just have too..before I go insane, from PMS...

Can't you see the news?!?....

Galax woman goes INSANE from PMS...