Random thoughts-May 28, 2014

photo by P.Lynne Designs-
New Courthouse, Downtown Columbus

These are my random thoughts for today.  This is actually the first time in a long time I have written this way.  My thought process is usually the following:

• Plan a topic for a blog (I STILL have 5 blogs)
• Write my thoughts in Ms Word.  although there are other softwares out there, I enjoy the ease of Microsoft products, even though I do not always agree with the way the company handles things, which is often cold and a little underhanded, like Google and a couple more companies I can think of in the technology world.
• Edit what I wrote and research to make sure my facts are straight.  This is a little backwards sometimes.  If I am writing for someone else, I will write and research at the same time, but for me, I kind of get it backwards.   This post is not one of those reseachy (is that a word, Google spell check hates it, I am leaving it), post.
• Finally, I place pictures and other things in it.   I learned a valuable lesson  last year.  Always, always, always (how many times I have to say "always") document where you found the image, even it if came from your own camera/phone you pushed the button type image.   Reason:  R-E-S-P-E-C-T and authenticity.  Respect for the person who took it (you may have to event ask permission to use said photo-more on that later), and you would want to someone to do the same for your images.  As I grow more and more as a business person and artist, the less and less I want to just look in Google's library.   I know this because of what the musician, Prince did for his own music.  There is a post waiting on another blog, so you will either have to Google it or wait until I post my thoughts on the subject on royalties.

I had a wonderful time at my aunt and uncle's house over the weekend.  I have not seen my cousin, who lives in Indianapolis, IN in years, nor the friends I made in Detroit.  Me and my parents went to help celebrate my uncle's 70th birthday.  I met a new cousin (well, she is not so new-11 months old).  I did fell a little left out for a moment.  If anyone has read my post on May 7, 2012 (Yikes that long ago), I talked about being single and childless on a Monday morning (see actual title and post Here ), well, I had one of those moments on Memorial Day, and I had to remove myself from everyone else.  So I went to the porch and prayed.  My mother decided (or God showed her) that I was gone for a bit, and came to the porch.   I did not want to talk about it, but found myself discussing it anyway, and before I knew it, she actually for a second, accused me for trying to ruin the last few moments of my little get-away.   I quickly corrected her, and said that it was nothing like that at all, and it wasn't.   I explained that I felt like that I was blessed with so many things, including having the children who are in my life, BUT they are not mine to tuck into bed each night, sing to them, hug them, and invoke my wisdom as a mom should.  I am doing from an aunt's or cousin's Point of View, and that never should take the place of what a mom gives her child, which was missing in my life.  I feel blessed to be a part of their lives and to be working on building my business.   In the state of Ohio, I have 4 more years to adopt (I will be 50 in July), and I have wanted to be a mom since I was in my 20's.  Mom, then informed me that I should never count out what else that God has in store for me, which may include being able to still get married and to adopt.  I hold on to that promise.  It gets a little lonely in this condo of mine.

Finally, I leave you with this note:  do not take your blessings for granted.  You may or may not get to the point, where you say that you have made it, and that you have arrived, because there is always room to grow.  Sure we all may want the latest and greatest gadgets, the best technology you can afford, but is it all worth it at the end of the day?  I think that I can truly say that I have a ways to go and grow.  I still need to do somethings that will mentally and physically prepare me for motherhood in her 50's. Most people tell me to stay where I am at, but they can only say it, because they have children, but I wish that they would for once see it from my point of view.  I don't have a fur baby, which to me is a lot less work (no talk back from the unhappy charges, or paying for college tuition), but to others, it yields the same results, which is I am taking care of someone in addition to myself.

Call of Jury Duty

We all had days where we don’t want to do things that dis-please us.  In America, we are a society of people, who take pleasure in doing things with passion. It doesn’t if it our favorite hobbies, a career we have always dreamed of doing, or even robbing a bank, we take pride in doing it.  That does not mean that others enjoy watching the criminal.

So, what does that have to do with jury duty?  I do not take pleasure in deciding the fate of another human being.  I realize it is my civil duty as a member and citizen of this country, but, the person in question has not done anything to me, nor my family and friends.  Call me a softy?  Hardly.  I am sure that whatever this person has done, God is not pleased, but on the other hand, this person could have been innocent, but society decided that he/she/it looks like somebody or something they have seen before. 

So what happen, and how did I get selected?

Unless you are a criminal, non-citizen, or a child, you may have already been selected, your name just has not come up.   My pastor has been three times.  If your name does come up, you have a choice to make.  If you have a problem, such as your employee not paying you for serving your civil duty, you may be able to get out of it.  There are excuses you can come up with.  I will explain later. 

Back in March, I received a green piece of paper with instructions on how to park, where to park at the county courthouse, and so forth.  I thought I was being sued, because I never received the first piece of paper, the official piece of paper.  I ignored it, and decided to tackle it after I got back from San Antonio, TX.  When I checked my mail, I was told that either go, reschedule, or pay a fine (yes, boys and girls, they fine you if you do not acknowledge that you have received the OFFICIAL piece of paper.)

So I sent an OFFICIAL piece of email stating that I have not received it, and to reschedule, and I gave the dates that I will be available.  (After all, I am a business person).  They gave me May 19 to reappear (as if I was a criminal), and I was allowed to reschedule one time.  So I started rearranging my schedule so I would not have any excuses to miss.

So here I am at the present time…

 ….and I am sitting at Scrambler Marie's.   Why?  I have excuse from the jury manager.   I got up, ran late, got lost in the county courthouse and their parking garage (who told Franklin county, Ohio to build this many courthouses?). The jury manager handed me the rules and regs paper of being a jury member, and I looked over it.  Even though it is your civil duty to be a member of the jury, they do not want to denial your right as a private citizen, and keep you from earning your keep as an entrepreneur.  Yes, my business got me out of jury duty.  I went back to the jury manager, told her that I owned a business that earned a commission based on sales, and she asked me for a business card.   I handed it to her, she stapled it to my OFFICIAL piece of paper, and I was on my way.

So what am I doing with the rest of my day?  Exercising my rights as a business owner, and working, like a BOSS!

Photo by Abovethelaw.com

All the world is a stage….

Where are the sensitive-acting people?   This is my question for this week.  I have said that after writing about Abby Lee Miller that I was done with writing about celebrities.  I leave it to the experts.   This one however, intrigued me.

By now, unless you are living under a rock, to which I wish I was on this story, have heard about the whole Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Solange elevator story.   But in case you have not, let me bore you a bit…

It seems that these three attended some after party for a mega-event.  You know the type, you go to be seen, take a few pictures, and hob-knob a bit; drink, and take a few

selfies alone the way.  Hey, if you are under 18, at least your parents know where you are or not supposed to be.  I am picturing Blue Ivy doing this in the future.

Anyway… the mega-couple and sis get into the elevator to go home, alone with Bey’s bodyguard, and Solange goes at it on Jay-Z like he just took that very last piece of chocolate on the whole planet.   Bey is just standing there, but soon steps in the middle.

My take on the situation…

What was going on in Solange’s head?  She should have taken that home.  I hope she realizes that every time Bey and Jay-Z breathe and make a move, the paparazzi are there to invade their world.

Who taught her those moves?  I wonder if she have any resentment towards her parents getting a divorce, having a baby brother who is not her mom’s, if that has to do with it.

I can understand Bey not wanting to get in the middle of the situation.  Solo (as some people like to call her) have some moves that can not only put an eye out, but can permanently paralyze a person, if you are not careful.  I can understand why she left with Solange as well.  She probably told Jay-Z that she will go to try to calm Solange down, then come home.

Folks, this is clearly a family squabble and all families go through it.  Please do not act like this is the first time you have seen this type of behavior.  Chuck up this behavior to

·         Too many drinks (possible)

·         Too high (also possible)

·         She saw Jay-Z hitting up on another woman (also still possible)

·         And bringing up old baggage that should have left a long time ago.

These are the things I heard…

·         Solange erased all references of Bey from Instagram, Facebook, and her phone except one photo.

·         Bey and Jay-Z were seen at a basketball game, smiling, laughing, and he even had his hand on her knee (Awww)

·         Someone took a photo at that same B-ball game, and noticed that a certain tat (tattoo) was missing from Bey’s finger where Jay-Z used to be (Wendy Williams reference)

·         The media keeps making a big deal out of it.

So boys and girls, I am going to leave it at that, and I will go back to my original question:  Where are all the sensitive-acting people?   They are NOT in Hollywood I can tell you that much right now. 

PHOTO BY POPDUST.COM

It’s never been about the Easter Bunny…

Google Image

Happy Easter.  I know you are reading it late, but I have been busy today.  My schedule went like this:

12 Mid:  going with my mom to hunt for the nephew (18), who did not show up at the place of meeting. He called while we were in route to my house, and said come get him or he will walk.   Not good at midnight, when you are an African American young male, who is wonderful, but to the cops, you spell bad news when you are out this late.

1 am:  took bath, very relaxing, and very soothing.

2 am:  played Candy Crush.

3 am:  bed

7:30 am- Mom called to wake me up (I cannot never remember to get a new alarm clock)

9:30 am – enjoying breakfast at church

10 am:  Services.  Three people joined the family of Clair UMC (United Methodist Church), including a visitor from last Sunday.  The pastor preached a good sermon about what happened after Jesus rose.  Sermon text Matthew 28:1-10; 16-20.  Her title:  Because He lives.

1 pm: meeting with youth/young adult leader.  We are planning a youth rally for next weekend.  Wish that more people would have stayed for the meeting.   At least they know when to be present next weekend.

2 pm:  at the parent’s home eating dinner.  I never cook on Sunday, so Easter Sunday is just ordinary eat at the parent’s house for me. 

I can go on, and on about my day, such as we went to see my brother and his family after dinner,   gave youngest nephew (3) his Easter Basket, which was a cute, light blue, Longaberger Spring Basket sold as this year’s Easter basket (great call to the Longaberger decision team, love selling for this company).  Mommy filled it full of goodies:  Chocolate bunny and cross, lollipops (his favorite), an ambulance, two books, and two outfits.   His cousin got the same thing, except she got a pink basket, and some socks in the place of the outfits (I do not think that you can fit a 5 year old’s dress in an Easter basket.)

Yesterday, there were egg hunts throughout the city, and just like Christmas, it is not about the candy, the eggs, the gifts in the baskets, although nice, the holiday is about family and the one who rose from the dead to save us from our sins…Jesus.  I know there are believers who will be reading this, as well as non-believers, but I am speaking to everyone, and I am glad that there is one who saved me from my sins.  There is no other to me.

That shows me how much Jesus cares for me.  Yes, he could have come down from the cross to save himself, but he did not, and that to me is a great Easter present.     

Keep Good Going: Inspire someone today

You are probably wondering what the title means by keep a good thing going.   Part of it means you have a dream, like the example in the above video tells of a man who always wanted a son to play ball,  He probably saw little league, trophies, and maybe even a scholarship or two being offer from colleges across the country, and this son of his would end in the big leagues.   He got his wish...with his daughter.  He and his wife took her to practices of throwing a ball, not ballet, tap, or piano.   He even explains that he and his wife got her the pitching coaches and she in turn got them the championship.

This story is not about his dream but the daughter's dream.  It probably started out with the man talking to his daughter, explaining to her that she can be whatever she wanted to be, if she put her mind to it, and practice at it.

I felt the same way about my eldest nephew.  I do not have kids of my own, but I have 3 nephews and 1 niece.  I treat each one of them like my own, especially the oldest.    My dream for him was the same as the man in the video, my nephew Mike to do what ever he has the heart and soul to do what makes him happy.  He was an excellent pitcher (dropped out of baseball a couple years ago due to his age), he draws, and he is great at the computer and skateboarding.  I suspect that one day, he may become an engineer or a web designer, because he has helped me out of many a jam with this computer I am typing on.  In turn , I am giving my nephew something to practice on and perfect.   I try to inspire any young person who have dreams and to go after them ,  This is what is means to have a good thing going.

So I am asking all of you out there to do something for someone that helps them get motivated to go after their dream, rather it is to be the best doctor, lawyer, web designer or sports person.  everyone deserves a chance.

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My Ambiance Life: It’s our anniversary….

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It’s our anniversary….

Photo by Google Images

Today, I share in an anniversary like know other.   I celebrated my 97^th anniversary today.   OK, for those who have been following my blog posts on My Ambiance Life (formally known as My Blessed life) know that I was born in 1964, so how is it possible for me to celebrate a 97^th anniversary, unless it has been 97 months since something in my life happened, or 97 days.  But 97 years?   How could that be possible?   Well let me explain…

It has been 97 years since a woman named Grace E. Steward gathered a group of children from the neighborhood for bible study, which eventually became Clair United Methodist Church, a church that I proudly attend and an active member of.  Most churches cannot say that, in fact many are closing.  I will not dwell on that fact, but it is true. My family has been a member of this church since my father retired from the Air Force in 1979.  

The service was wonderful.  Each year, a committee is formed, plans are made, the church put on its most festive dress (meaning we decorate it), an anniversary choir is formed, dinner is catered and food is served, and a guest preacher comes to speak.  This year, a former pastor of ours came to give the sermon, and it was beautifully done.  He and his family were there when my family joined the church some 37 years ago.  I withheld their names, because I did not get permission to publish the family name ahead of time.  I am like that.

There was another day celebrated in the life of the church.  It was one week, so long ago, that Jesus rode in on a donkey, people spread coats and palm branches on the road, and people waved palm branches in the air and shouted, “Hosanna”, “Hosanna” to him.  It had to have been a wonderful time.  What my church did today was the choir walked in with palm leaves, singing, formed a cross, and our pastor blessed the leaves.   It was time of a day of celebration.

Since the choir I sing in normally sings on the 2^nd Sunday of each month, we elected to be the anniversary choir as well.  We invited the other choirs to have members sing in the anniversary choir as well.  What sadden me is that no one from the children’s choir sung in the choir.  Children are a vital part of the church, because it is sign that the church will continue on after the adults die.  Another thing that had me upset yesterday, was my choir president got upset and walked out before I got there.  The reason was that no one was there on time to rehearse, so she took it as a sign that no one was serious enough to practice.  In my personal defense, I was on the freeway going towards the church.  I am sorry that she had to get upset about it.  

In spite of the problems, we had a good day, today, and I would not trade it in for all the jelly beans in the world.  The lesson here it to celebrate the good times, muddle through the bad times, and celebrate some more.  It is a lesson, no matter what your age, gender, and race, sexually orientation, lifestyle, or belief can do, and take stock in.  No matter what you go through celebrate the life of a person, place, or idea.  I also had a chance of  attending the rededication/open house of my high school a few weeks ago, signed up to be part of alumni boosters club, and now I am preparing for a craft bazaar in a couple of weeks.   Nervous?  You bet but it will all be worth it, I am glad to help if it means a future doctor is in the works.