Tell us how you feel about endings

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Hello, I took a little break for Thanksgiving. I went to my relatives in Indiana, and I had a ball. Well, today was the last day of the series and I am not sure what I am going to do next. I have not looked at Blogher to see if there is a December one yet. If I do it, it will not be everyday, I will have my own prompts on some days.
My feelings about endings. I do not adapt much to change. I do not think most people do. We,as humans, always deal with an ending of something, and it is a change. It may be a change in your routine, a change in in the family, your situation, anything that is something different. What's worse is I do not like doing the same thing over and over again, unless I start it.
When I first started blogging in 2009, I was not sure if I liked the idea of tying myself to something that the world will be looking at. There is judgement when someone reads something you wrote, be it personal or something informative.  It has to be something that will get a person to come back again and again. Sure, I had a journal which I wrote in the MS Word, but it was just me and the computer at the time, and I was not sure how anyone would perceive me. and as this blogging atmosphere grew, I started liking it, and in some ways I never want it to end. I guess that is what I hate about endings.
I have revealed that I love the blog like a half of a zillion times over the course of the series, but I have other things to do. I just figured out that my phone can be the perfect place to just talk into the microphone and just talk. So that is a change for me. So it is the ending of an old way of being tied to my desktop as I blog, and attach myself to the phone. Just what I need something else to attach myself to,LOL.  In this case, an ending can be a new beginning. I am also learning how to Vlog which is video blogging and will be starting that in 2014. I just need to find a way to mount my camera on things such as my car's dashboard in my head over my desk. So stay tuned. I also need a new stand alone, flash video, and a tripod. At this time I'm not sure if my dads tripod will work. Oh, I need so many things for that. Okay I am rambling.
So my conclusion, I need a lot of things in order to make this work to increase my blogging. In things are not my enemy, but a new beginning. I hate change, but welcome it as a new beginning. I think I will sign up for December thingy Ford block her. I love it so much, & I think I will register too. To block this time. Please comment below.

What R U Thankful 4?

Photo by http://www.squawkfox.com

You are not see a typo in the title.  I intentionally typed it that way.  The reason? None, except I am tired of see all the typos in Facebook posts, tweets, you name it.   People, especially people of color should happy and proud that there is an education system that is free to all, at least in America.   I understand the occasional missteps of the "I" before "e" problem, because I do it too.  No one is a perfect speller (is that right?) (Oops, forgot to capitalize that sentence.)  I am talking about spelling "da" for "the.”  Really?  Your mama taught you better than dat (oops, I meant "that").  
For those of you who think that talking and spelling this way is "so white,” ask yourself this question: why does it seem like I am not getting ahead?   Then again, maybe you are as far as school is concern, what about getting a job and communicating with customers?  The rest of the world does not talk or write that way.

I just found out some disturbing news (and I am not trying to be funny at this moment because I am quite upset about it):  According to a recent reading practice report (as of today), 58% of third graders in my city's largest school district (Columbus City) will not pass to the fourth grade.  This is based on practice test scores.  They take the real thing in March, and I am afraid that if half of these kids do not step up and master passing this test, they will not graduate with their class years from now.  This is a test that the State of Ohio decided they needed in order to see how well they are being taught how to read in the first place.   Now here is the real kicker.   I have a friend who happens to teach third graders.   The district wants her to teach them how to read, but according to my friend, they want her to focus more on helping them to pass the third grade reading test and less about the curriculum they gave her in the first place to teach them how to get to that reading level.   So now she has to devote extra hours to tutor them after school until 6 pm for the stuff she should have taught them during regular school hours.  Then she has to go home and do lesson prep instead of attending to her own family.  Luckily and thankfully, she currently has a husband and a 2 year old child, but what if she was along with her 2 year old and did not have any help?  Where are the parents in all of this?    They should spend as much time if not more teaching their children how to read.   Why are they spending so much time on social media or any other device instead of trying to sound out words?   I have thousands of questions, and no answers.

Parents, please do not depend on your child’s teachers to teach them everything.  I know you are busy providing for your child, such as clothing, food, and entertainment.  This leads to the question:  Why does your child have to be entertained all the time?   Think about that.  Education should be one of them, and it does not have to be private.  Your teacher is also busy.  He/she has to provide lessons that will motivate and help your child to learn.   In other words, take time out to teach your child basic K-8^th grade stuff.

I was a Pre-K teacher at one time.  This meant providing a lesson plan that will stimulate the child into learning something as simple as spelling their name, tying their shoes, counting and early math (1+1=2), learning the days of the week, and so forth.   Oh how I sometimes I wished that the parents who I interacted with would have taken an interest in what their child was learning, instead of saying “hi” and “bye” to the child.   I know there are demands at work, but I was mostly talking to moms who stayed at home.  Did they really had to get rid of their child that fast?  Oh how I wished that I could have a conference with them about their child.

So, getting back to the beginning of this post with the Facebook comments.  Please use spell check, ask a friend, an elder, dictionary, or just get a clue.  Go back to school or if you are in school please ask your teacher how to spell “the”, “that,” and a whole host of often phonetically spelled words, which should be memorized by the 8^th grade.   Learn how to read, learn how to spell, and learn how to write.  A note to any parent in the Columbus, Ohio area:  please help your 3^rd grade child to reach the potential so that they can pass this reading test.  It is mandatory, and it can be the ticket to your child reaching they dreams.

So, what do you think?  Where has our education system gone?

My week and the art of being Grateful

Hello-

I have been so busy the last couple of days, including some things that threw me for a loop.  Yes, I am still on BlogHer’s posting challenge, but for some reason, I did not do the one that asks you about a favorite outfit, and I will post something about selecting a book to read.   Maybe.  It will be alright, I do hope that Blogher will account for busy lives.  

photo by google

To make up for Thursday’s missed blog post, I would love to give you a synapsis of my week, which was the worst week to date in 2013.

Sunday was typical Sunday for me.  A friend of mine decided to provide lunch at church and today he will be providing dinner.  After lunch, I decided to go home instead of going to my parent’s. (After all, I had seen them at church.)  I decided to go and get sushi to go and added on Sweet and Sour Pork to the mix.

Monday was my Oops day and I will tell you why?   I had forgot that I had scheduled shopping time with one of my women’s groups.   I asked mom if she would like to go Sunday evening, but she later called that day and said Chacha, the cleaning lady was supposed to help her with the silver, so I said I will not go.   My sister called a short time later and needed a ride to work.   At the time that she called, I had told her that me and mom was going out, but seeing that the store was near her workplace, I asked her if she mind going with me, and she didn’t as long as we get to her job by 8 pm.   Done deal.  

At the store, I found a pair of PJ bottoms to wear when I go out of town, but I had good tops.  Besides that, I did not like the tops they had.  I also found a pair of footy socks and bought my sister a pair, since it was two for one.   I also purchased a jacket for the spring going into early summer to wear next year.   Total amount:  $87.50 after all the discounts were taken off.  Score!

We were running late, and we quickly dashed to the car, and when we were about ready to turn, a Ford truck ran into me.   Oh great!   On top of everything that was recently renovated in the house due to the sewage being backed up by a tree root, and new carpet, painting , revamping of both the security system and heater in the house, and a new valve being put on the engine of the car, now it needs a new hood and grill/bumper replacement.   That’s just wonderful.   On top of that, my sister was upset, and the police was behind the man who hit me.   So they asked us to pull into the parking lot of a store, and took the information.   No citation on my part, but a warning about being in the middle of turning lane on a yellow light.

I was trying to soften the blow to my dad, by calling my mom’s cell, who had gone to pick up my nephew at a friend’s house.   I finally texted my nephew to tell mom that we had been in an accident and no one was hurt.

Tuesday morning I looked at my damaged car.  I was able to drive it home Monday night after the accident report was taken, and now it was sitting in my garage waiting on the insurance people to say something.   I had some work to do, which kept my mind off of the damage.  Wednesday was another shopping day, and this time with my mom to a nearby mall.  I spent $77 on 2 sweaters, an infinity scarf, blanket for my couch (I love to snuggle under blankets), and a box of Moose Munch from Harry and David (my fav).   My dad had taken the car for an estimate, so before I drove it back home, I stopped by Starbucks for my annual Eggnog Latte.  (It was sooo good) I went to bible study that night and I usually ride with mom.

Here is a service announcement….Folks, in case you do not know, when you are in an accident, there are companies out there who will hunt down your accident report and call you so that you can total your car.   I received 4 solicited phone calls from mechanics who purposely looked up my accident report and asked me if I need a repair or to total my car.  “Well, if I needed one, I would have called you, so please talk to my father!”   This is what I wanted to tell each one of them as I answered the phone calls.  Talk about your intensiveness.  I was so mad Wednesday and Thursday, until I could just spit.   At least they could have asked was if I and my sister was alright.  Cars can be replaced, but we can’t.

Thursday was also the day that dad took the car in to be fixed.  So I was without a car.  I also was emotional.   Nope, it wasn’t that time of the month.  I was so over that at age 29.  I wrote a post about my first friend, and took it a little further and talked about my friend Lonnie.  You can read it here if you have not read it. 

Friday, still without a car, I did some business stuff.   Crazy stuff was going throughout the city of Columbus, including a man going on a shooting rampage.

Saturday, I got my car back, and it was bitterly cold outside.  Almost too cold for my new jacket, but dad asked me to take a look at my car, and it is beautiful.   The only thing that needs replacing is the emblem in front of the car.  It is still a reminder that I had the accident.  I finally got a chance to list some items for sale on my Etsy shop.

Now you see why I am grateful this week.  I am also thankful that my dad does not have a temper like I thought he did.  I am thankful that I, my sister, nor the guy was not taken by ambulance, I am thankful that the car nor the man truck was not totaled.   I am thankful for friends, family, and for a God I serve.   I have tons of blessings.

OK this at over 1000 words, so be blessed, and thankful my friend.

Tell us about your first friend.

Hugging Friends   By
Doug Mataconis

I had to think about this for a while.  After careful consideration, I want to explain this:   when I think about a person’s first friend, I can think about my cousins.   Yes, they are your relatives, but they act as your first friends and here is why.  They are the first people you are introduced to after your parents.   These are the people who can hold all your secrets from your parents.  You can laugh with them, play with them, and even hate them for a minute, jump back in as if you never had a hash word to say.

So without a doubt, my first friend was my cousin, Tammy.  She lives 4 hours away from me, and I do not see her much, because we are busy.   Tammy is only 6 months younger than me, and when we were little, she was my ying to her yang.   Total opposites.   I was military raised, while she was raised in Detroit.  She’s bossy while I was the quit one.

Our mothers are 7 years apart, separated by a sister and a brother who died at the age of 7.   My mother is older, while her mother was always accused of borrowing and never returning clothes.  I am in a lot of ways like my mother, while Tammy is defiantly like Aunt Liz. 

In a lot of ways, even though Tammy is younger than me.   I love her like a sister, even though we were not raised in the same area, we could always pick up where we left off.

I want to tell you about my second friend.   I met her when we lived in Southern California.  I was 3 and she was 4 and bossy as well (how did I end up with 2 bossy friends?)  Anyway, her name was Elondrea, Lonnie for short.  Our parents were friends, so that should make us automatic friends, right?  Right.   We lived in San Bernardino and she and her parents lived in Rialto.  I had fun spending the night at her house, because we did activities (not that we did not do activities at my house).  At one time, we both had the same type doll, but my doll had two names:  when she was at home, her name was Carol, but when I carried her over to Lonnie’s house, her name was Billy Jo (to Lonnie’s doll’s name of Bobby Jo).

We moved to McGuire AFB when I was 9, but Lonnie and her mother came to see us twice during that time.  That was the last time Lonnie seemed truly happy.   When we moved to Columbus in 1977, Lonnie came out to stay with us for a year, and she was a changed person.  We were getting into arguments, like any sister would, and while she was staying with us, she started experimenting with drugs, and became pregnant with her first and only child, Sequelia Olivet, Vet for short.   I was one her godmothers.  By then, Lonnie had moved back home, because mom and dad could not handle her.

In 1989 or 1990, Lonnie had taken to the streets of LA and started doing drugs very heavily.  After all, her mom took custody of Vet, so Lonnie felt that she did not have any responsibility.   She was also going with this guy during the time.  One night, Lonnie felt the need to steal some drugs off of him, and he killed her.  To this day, even though I live here in Columbus, it is still one of the things I have a hard time dealing with, and I am crying as I write this part of my post for Wednesday. 

I still miss my friend, Lonnie, but I know why.   Part of it had to with when she was 8, there were family members who started molesting her.  This was when I was 7, and that is something that no kid should ever have to go through.  I thank God that none of them touched me, and I think if they did, my father probably would be in prison and out of the Air Force, because no one messes with his little girl.  I guess when she started using, it was her way to numb the pain that she was felling.  I cannot relate to this. 

This is why I urge all parents to please talk to your children daily.  Make sure you listen to all the clue of a drug problem, bullying, or even that they are being sexual, emotional, or mentally abused. Maybe they cannot talk about it, but be there for them, tell them that you love them, and get them help before it is too late.  Keep them from not ending up like Lonnie.  May 15, 2014 would have been her 51^st birthday.   I wonder what her life would have been if that family member would have kept their hands off of her at age 8.  Her daughter is in her thirties and probably would not have been born.  My parents have not heard from Miss Olivet, Lonnie’s mom in 5 years.   I know this post is long, but Miss Olivet, if you happen to read this post, my parents would love to hear from you.  Please contact them, their number is the same.

Be blessed my friend.  Same to you, Miss Olivet.  Patti.

PS:  Tell me about your first friend.   Comment below.

How much of the day are you plugged in? Do you consciously set aside offline time, or does it happen whenever it happens?

(c) 2015 by P. Lynne Designs

Ok, I must admit something….When this thing called the internet first came into the scene, I was not too thrilled at the thought of it.   Something changed to make me think otherwise and that was my job at CompuServe.   I was at the job for about a year in a half when it was all the rage in Columbus, Ohio.  People do not know that CompuServe was the first Facebook.  OK, I am going to stop right there, because I am aging myself.

Since I left that job in 1995, I have been trying to stay connected.  After I got rid of my free accounts for being an employee at CompuServe, I got an AOL account.   I still have it, but my father uses it.   I wanted more out of just being able to do a few select things.  It wasn’t until I got my account with Time Warner Cable’s Roadrunner that really made me take off in the internet world.   After that, I wanted to blog, sell items, and communicate more.  

2009 was a big year for me.  I started MDN Creates, the blog, I came face to face with Facebook, I opened a Twitter account, and a LinkedIn account.  I love it.  Add in a Pinterest account, a You Tube account that I actually started in 2007 with just viewing videos, and finally an Instagram account, you would wonder if I ever see anyone from the outside world.   As a matter of fact, I do. 

I do things with my family, with my church, and I take long baths (not too long).  I do sleep.   Most of my online presence in comparison to my off-line presence is about 50-50.  I work at home now.  My choice.  Some people still think it is an abomination to work at home while others say they wish they could.    My secret to being present to others is to set aside time for everything.   Sometimes I write it down and sometimes I do not.  My schedule is supposed to be:

• Business 9-5 (M-F)
• Home life (after 6)
• Family (after 6)
• Spiritual time (anytime of the day, because I need those pray moments, and God says not to put him on the backburner)

My schedule has been lately:

• Home life all day! I recently did some major renovations to the house and now I need to fix the car.  I had an accident last night with my sister in the car.  We are alright, but the hood needs replacing.  So there goes the 9-5 aspect, because mechanics are not going to see you after 5 (at least no body shops).  
• Business:  If I can sneak in a blog post or two, a writing assignment, or an ad campaign during 9-5, I am golden.   I would love to be able to contact a sponsor during the day.
• Family:  24/7  I have people who for the life of me cannot understand that if I was at an out of the home job, I would not be able to take you to appointments, go shopping, or have the repair person come into my home.  My purpose for working at home is to start a business, nurture it, and later on, if it gets too much to have it at home, I can buy a building and work from there. 
• Spiritual time:  I attend my church’s bible study on Wednesday nights, church on Sundays, and I try to sneak in a bible study reading or two.  Unfortunately I do not read the Bible in print anymore.  I have it on my Ipad and my phone.  It is more convenient.
• Sleep:  What’s that?   I am kidding.  I do get my sleep, including a power nap in my chair at the computer desk.   I do eat.  In fact, I am thawing out some chicken wings and tomatoes for my first “Everything but the kitchen sink” soup of the season.   It is basically a soup base, plus anything you have in your refrigerator and simmer.   Depending on your combo, it can be very delicious.  It is cold out there, and I need warmth.

Well I am at 730 words, so be blessed, my friend, and comment below your answer to this question about unplugging from your online friends.  

Tell us about a blog post that you didn't publish.

photo from Pinterest.com

Today, Blogher wants to know basically my failed attempt of a blog post that I should have published.    I do not think I have any.  They are one or two of them that are a work in progress, and I am in no hurry to publish them.   The reason are because they are a series of blog posts.  I am regretting that I am not publishing them fast enough.

I have a post that I did regret posting from the very beginning, until I saw how others felt about the same topic.   It was about Abby Lee Miller and Dance Moms on this blog (at the time it was called My Blessed Life.)   The only reason why I felt the way I did was because I did not think other people felt the way I do about the show.  I thing that Abby Lee is an over the top dance teacher, who is abusive towards her students except one, who is her prize student, named Maddie.  She hates the moms even worst.   You will have to read my review to see.  It has received 1112 pageviews to date, when means someone is reading it.  

On my other blogs, it is not as easy to say what not to publish, because I try to stick with the main topic, rather it is paper crafting (P.Lynne Designs), decorating and organization (Simply Organized Crafts), Disney (Traveling to the Mouse’s House), or talking about other products I sell with two direct selling companies (Tricia’s Baskets), there are plenty of posts that I did not publish, based on those blogs.   The blog that you are reading this post on, is sort of my let loose, no holds barred blog, with inspiration tied in, because everyone needs a little encouragement.  

Have I thought about consolidating my blogs?  Yes, because I have a blog coach who thought that I needed to have only one.   I asked myself if it would benefit to let go of 4 blogs, and the answer was no.   I started with one blog, I kept adding on to it, and then I decided to split it.  I just never though that I would split it 5 ways.  

So, this is a short post, so on that note, be blessed my friend.

November 16, 2013: a clean house is a happy house

No Blog prompt tonight.

Photo by P.Lynne Designs

I want to talk to you for a minute about my house.   My house was not a happy house a month ago.  It was very unhappy.  Why?  Well let me tell you.

My house was a prime example of mildly-looking hoarder house.  I am really too embarrassed to say this.  In fact, you may see a snippet of what it looked like 4 weeks ago.  I am calling myself out.   This is what happens when you let something go for what you thought was the good of something else.  In this case, it was my business.   I came up with every excuse in the book for not cleaning.  I did clean around the mess that I had.   What changed my ways?   

The first thing was a friend asked me to type something for her at the last minute.   I thought I was going over there to pick it up.  Not so fast, she came over to my home.   I had to run and hide the laundry, but it was still unbearable for her to see.  So I just grinned, bared it, and let it go.   The second thing was my sister and children came over.  The next day, I thought my niece stopped up the downstairs toilet.  It turned out that the main pipe to all four units was stopped up.  The result was a tree root growing inside, and the half bath, as well as another neighbor’s bathtub stopped up.  My father decided to get in all new carpet and paint the walls, and everything had to leave the house.  So while that was going on, I started weeding things, and now I have a clean downstairs, not messy clean.  I mean clean.

After the walls were painted, the carpet was put down, and the downstairs was organized, one of the carpet installers cut one of the wires to the security system, so a new panel had to be installed, because the old one was super old, and they told me that motion detectors are less efficient.   I thought I was done.

The next to go was the heater.   It quit on me Monday.   How did I know?  I smelled smoke, and it tripped the fire detector.   The heater repair person said that wires that helped the Frankenstein heater (that is a new technical word, folks) had burned out.   So my father decided to Frankenstein it back to health. 

One thing that I did not mentioned is I have been without a dishwasher for two months, You see this whole string of DIY projects really started with the garbage disposer.  I must have dropped a spoon or something in there that cause to reset button to not reset the disposer.   Before that was my computer, and in January, it was my upstairs toilet and stopped up bathtub.  This house has gone through a major transformation, and I have not tackle the issue of wanting to fix up my second bedroom into a craft room.  This is a want, not a “need to hurry up and fix this” job.   My stuff does not come in “3’s” as they say problems comes, they come in “5’s” and “6’s”, but I am glad that the money was available when I needed it.  Thank God for that.

So are you tackling a DIY project right now?   If not, what do you want to do in your home?  It does not have to be a single family home, nor you do not have to own it (just get the landlord’s permission first.)

Have a blessed evening my friend, and sorry the video is too embarrassing to show.  Maybe one day.