Spirit of Women

A Memorial

William Ury

The Power of a Positive No

Just say NO!  Can you?  Why not?  Think about how crazy our lives are getting...  We have access to the information highway every second of every day...  Is there ever a time when you are not connected to the internet?  Do you remember life before the internet?  What did you do just for fun?  Think about it...

Vitamin Sea

Beckons to Me

Dolly Parton

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

I was watching A Walk to Remember and heard this quote.  Each and every person on this earth has a purpose...  We may not always know what our purpose is but we each have one...  And no one can be the best you except yourself:  So embrace who you really are...  There is an internal feeling of satisfaction in your soul when you know who you are and are happy because you are comfortable in your own skin...

Kristin Billerbeck

“There are plenty of fish in the sea. But really, there's not. It's not just our imaginations. It would be great if decent men were as plentiful as jumping salmon in a rushing river, but they aren't. For every Mr. Darcy (and he's married, incidentally) there are a hundred Mr. Wickhams. Or in more contemporary terms, for ever one of Colin Firth, there are several thousand Hugh Grants. The odds are against us. But what can I say--I'm a romantic, and I can't abandon the fantasy of Prince Charming altogether. What girl with a heart can? I mean, I'm not asking to feed the five thousand; I just want one good fish!”

So many Cinderellas and only so many Prince Charmings...  Alas so many stepsisters...  So many desperate...  Don't live life quietly desperate...  Live a life that matters...  In God's will...  Because that is where I want to be...  Finding someone is icing but it is not the end all be all...  That you do on your own... 

Kristin Billerbeck

What a Girl Wants

I love reading and I read all sorts of books but every so often you just need some brain candy.  This book is about a single bachelorette who doesn't date anyone for a long time and then meets three guys all at once that want to go out with her.  It's an easy read.  And sometimes you just need something light to read. 

A Mother's Bouquet

Flowers for Mothers

A Poetic Memoir...

For WGF

A Scottish lad
begins his life
on a California coast
dreaming dreams
and living life
until he meets
the love of his life
spending
the majority
of his life with her.
The years they spent
together
loving and living
and raising kids.
A traveling
executive
leaving his mark
on the business world
reading his
Wall Street Journal
daily.
He will be missed
by family and friends
who knew him well:
His spark,
his personality,
his sense of humor...
His love of cooking.

@JoSH Poetic Popcorn Poetry

This poem is dedicated to the wife and family of a friend that I didn't know for very long but that I got to know before his recent passing.  My prayers and blessings go out to the family as they deal with his transition from this life to the next.

Colors of Kindness

Springtime Hues

Susan Spencer

When Action Follows Heart

They say that kindness is one of the most popular traits that a person can have.  Everyone needs kindness in their lives, don't we?  That's why it's so difficult dealing with petty people.  Unhappy people have a hard time seeing others be happy and so they try to make your life miserable.  However we all have had our good days and bad days, don't we?

What I have a hard time understanding is that when a petty person treats you badly not only do they still expect to be friends with you but they ask that you pretend to be friends with them in public.  I'm sorry, but if you are not a genuine friend then I don't believe in pretending something that we are not.  I have never said that I am perfect but at least I own what I do and admit when I do something wrong, however there are people that no matter what they always feel that they are in the right.

I once heard someone on the radio talk about how Jesus owned what he did but that he wouldn't take the blame for something that he didn't do.  Well...  I don't feel that I should be held accountable for something someone else does when I was not the one doing it.  Everyone should be able to speak up for themselves.  Don't take the blame for someone else.  Usually a guy always comes between two gal friends.  And that is when the cattiness and petty behavior comes in.  Of course it can be for other reasons but you know what I mean...   This usually doesn't happen if you pick friends of character.  After all there is such a thing as a girlfriend code... 

Since we know what goes around comes around then I can't imagine that the end result will be positive for the petty person.  Do you?  I truly hope that you can be kind and not petty when push comes to shove.  However don't feel like you have to be a doormat.  If someone doesn't treat you right then you have a right to walk away.  Set your boundaries and hope to forgive them for their bad behavior but you don't have to put up with it.  Just walk away...  How are they ever going to learn if you enable them for their bad behavior?

Dublin Nights

Stringing Lights

Shinta Cho

The Gas We Pass

I was at a friend's birthday dinner one night when one of the guests loudly said "someone farted" and ran out the door.  The rest of us are just looking at each other but then we smelled it...  So you know who the culprit was?  The one that said it and ran out the door...  Do you find that strange in any way?  Why not just go to the bathroom or something?  There are times you come across situations that just are unique...

Tara Gomi

Everyone Poops

I remember coming across this book at a nature store years ago and then again at a white elephant gift exchange...  Did you know that there is a fetish where some people like hearing people go?  I personally think you would have to live with your mind in the gutter to have a fascination for something like this but you will know if a person has this because they will talk about bathroom noises, etc. a lot and point out when other people go...

Most people in other cultures are not obsessed by this as it is something everyone does but for some reason our culture is in the United States.  Like the book says Everyone Poops but from how some people talk about others you would think they personally never did.  Usually the ones that talk about it are the ones that go the most I think.  And they usually go and blame you for it because they love using scapegoats for their pettiness.  The ultimate petty behavior is blaming someone else for something you do.  But petty behavior abounds all around...  How petty do you have to be to do something like this?  Petty, petty, petty...  So petty!

If I Were...

A Butterfly

If I were
a butterfly?
A sugar cube
or a melon?

If I were
a pizza slice
or a chewy
fudgy brownie...

Of a flower
in a field
or a bee buzzing
around a flower...

Or could I be
an allegory
or a metaphor
trying to
make a point
because that is what
writers do?

@JoSH Poetic Popcorn Poetry

It's always surprising to me how some people take things literally that are meant to be figurative if you get my drift...  Writers are prolific creatures in their use of allegory, metaphor, simile, and what not because that is what writers do.  If I said I were a butterfly do you expect me to be one?  Or do you get that I was trying to make a point?

There is a difference between a moron and an airhead...  Petty is as petty does...  Here's another petty one...

Shades of Citrus

Shine Bright