12 years ago....where were u?

We all know what today is, unless you grew up under a rock. Today is the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon. Each year, I think back on that day and I remember it clearly.

Every generation seems to have an event like this. It's just like my parents...they remember exactly where they were when JFK was shot.

I remember where I was when the Challenger shuttle exploded in 1986. I was 13 years old then and in about the 7th grade. We were watching it on TV because it was the first schoolteacher going up into space. No one understood what was happening at first, but then it became abundantly clear what had happened.

As for 9/11, I was at work. I was working for a publishing company at the time, on one of the in-flight magazines for one of the major airlines. I had barely gotten into the office when I got a phone call from my then boyfriend and future husband about a plane hitting one of the buildings of the World Trade Center. I went on CNN.com and indeed there was a breaking story about it.

About that time, there started to be a lot of buzzing around the office as word started to spread quickly. We didn't know what it was, we thought perhaps an accident, no one knew what kind of plane it was or anything. There was so much speculation. I got off the phone and a bunch of us went up to the conference room where someone had turned on the television so we could see what was going on.

I don't remember how much time there was between the first and second plane, but I remember seeing the second plane hit. Once that happened, all of us knew what this was...we were being attacked. I just remember looks of horror around the room but none of us could comprehend the scope of the events that would continue to unfold that day.

A little while after the 2nd plane hit, we were hearing about a low flying plane close to the Pentagon. I knew deep down already what was going to happen, and about 20 minutes later it was confirmed that plane did hit the Pentagon.

At this point we were all terrified, what the hell was going on? What was coming next? Some of us thought we might be bombed somewhere, that this was a declaration of war, we had no idea.

Then we hear about a 4th plane heading to Washington. We knew it was either heading for the White House or the Capitol Building, those were the 2 logical targets there that would strike the most fear, but then the plane crashed into a field. We were confused by this at the time, but later were filled in by what really happened on that flight. (Flight 93)

All this time the news was going from scene to scene to scene, trying to cover everything - it was madness. We went from seeing people jump out of their office windows of the World Trade Center buildings to seeing the Pentagon burning and people running out of there, back to the Trade Center.

I must say, seeing people jump from those buildings to their death is something that is forever burned into my brain. The fire was below them, they knew they had no way out and they chose to jump. It makes my heart ache even thinking of it now, 12 years later.

The only thing worse, was when those towers fell. We knew that there were still thousands of people in those buildings, and there was nothing to be done for them. We stood in that conference room clinging to each other and crying for those people as one tower fell, then the other.

We all watched the coverage for days.  We were seeking answers, no one knew who did it, how many died, why that plane crashed in that field, there were so many questions everyone was glued to the TV.  For me, seeing New Yorkers walk the streets to get out of that area, covered in the dust from the towers just looking exhausted and disoriented at times just broke my heart.

I don't live in New York, I've never been to New York. I don't know anyone that was there that day or who died that day. I will say this, here in North Carolina it was as if I was there. I felt the same pain as if I were there.

All Americans did no matter where we lived or where we were that day.

Teach your kids about what this day means to us lest we forget the sacrifices made by those on Flight 93, the firefighters and police that were caught in the towers when it went down, and everyone else who died that day.

You're in time out buster!!!

I'm taking some inspiration from Mama Kat's Writing Workshop again, and this week I have chosen her topic of:

6 people or things that deserve to take a time out!

#1.  The whole YOLO thing.  I am so sick of hearing "Yolo!" and seeing it on Facebook, Twitter, and every other source of social media I could scream.  The number one offenders are those damned Kardashians.  Every other minute somebody's yelling "YOLO!" on that stupid show. 
       
You want to know what YOLO is?  It's Carpe Diem for stupid people.  By the way, Carpe Diem means "Sieze the Day".  Carpe Diem was the whole meaning behind Dead Poets Society, the most awesome movie ever.  Don't be a yolo stupid person.  You need a time out to get some perspective.  Have some intelligence and carpe diem!

#2    "Gluten-free" diet this and "organic" that and "GMO" this and food allergy that, and "dairy free diets".  Now I do my best to eat healthy foods, and I did have to go dairy free due to the fact that I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). 

However, there are so many people that are going all militant with all of this stuff it's unbelievable!  I cannot imagine what their grocery bill is like, buying all gluten free, organic, GMO and dairy free stuff.  To me, that is going WAAAAAAYYYY too far with it.  I mean come on people, really?  Is it absolutely necessary?  I grew up eating mud pies and drinking water out of the water hose.  I suffered no ill effects as a child, so I see no need to go all militant about my food.  I go to the freakin Food Lion most of the time.  I get my veggies and salad stuff and everything I need there.  Gluten-free, Organic militant crazy people - YOU NEED A TIME OUT!

#3     The whole "Grumpy Cat" meme thing.  You guys all know what I'm talking about.  I guess somebody came out with grumpy cat as an antithesis to all the cutsie kitty memes that were floating around on facebook and other social media outlets.  I now see a new grumpy cat meme at least twice a day on my facebook page and while I appreciate the dark humor, enough of the damned grumpy cat!  Grumpy cat, you're in time out indefinitely!

#4     These next 2 things shouldn't just take a time out, they need to out and out RETIRE!  The "selfie" and the all-annoying "duck-face" photographs.  OH EM GEE!  (oh, that needs a time out too)  People have gone a little over the top with the selfies and in most of them, they do not look attractive at all, and we see WAAAAAYYY too much of their bathroom.  Can anyone say TMI?  As for the damned "Duckface" pictures, they are just stupid.  It is not an attractive look at all, and all you "Duckfacers," you look dumb as hell.  I don't know what you're going for with that look, but you need to STOP IT right now.  You are all in time out!

#5    Okay, some of you are going to want to take away my blogging license for this one (but too bad, there's no such thing, ha ha!) but we need to take a time out already from freakin TEXTING!  Everybody that has a damned cell phone just has to text EVERYTHING!  I get it if it's a quick note to someone, that's totally fine.  But most of you idiots, and you know who you are, have full on conversations via text!  That's not what it's for, brainiac.  If you have that much to say to somebody, dial their freakin number and HAVE A CONVERSATION LIKE REAL PEOPLE!  Your cell phone does make and receive calls you know, it isn't just a text machine. 

Also, you don't have to have it with you 24/7.  If you're in church or a meeting or somewhere you should be paying attention or participating in something, it's not going to kill you to turn your phone off for an hour.  Nothing bugs me more than seeing somebody texting in church.  I just want God to strike you down with a bolt of lightning.  Have some restraint for goodness sake.  Better yet, take a time out!

#6    Lastly, movie reboots desperately need to take a time out.  Movie execs haven't had an original idea in at least 15 years.  First off, they did this Spiderman reboot, when they just finished a reboot with Toby McGuire just a few years ago!  Huh?  We just had a couple of Fantastic Four movies several years ago right?  Well guess what....they are rebooting that too.  We all know about the Superman reboot, Man of Steel they just did after they just had one of those as well.  Also how many Batman reboots have there been now?

Do not get me started on the 80's movies that they destroyed by rebooting them:  Footloose - that will never work for me without Kevin Bacon people, Red Dawn - a sacrilege without Patrick Swayze.  I also hear they are re-making Poltergeist! 

Movie people, get your shit together already.  Come up with some original ideas instead of recycling other people's.  Take a time out, maybe a nice nap and come up with an original thought of your own.

So that's it folks!  My list of things that need to take a time out.  Agree?  Disagree?  What do you think needs to take a time out?

Mama Kat's Writing Workshop

Hi there!  It's been awhile, I know and I have been so neglectful of my blog in 2013 it's disgraceful.  I do hope to change that, starting now with a prompt from Mama Kat.

I've chosen to write about my top 6 favorite summer moments so far.  I don't know if I'll have 6 exactly, but I'll tell you about the ones I have...fair enough?

Alright, let's try this thing.....

1.  It was back in the spring, but I'll make it count anyway.  I love when it gets warm and all of my flowers start blooming and I can go out with my camera and take photos of everything coming to life.  I have this great big tree that blooms these gorgeous light pink flowers and I go in all different angles and even get underneath and shoot up at the sky through the blooms.  It's so fun, I just love it.

2.  Starting my herb garden.  I've been a little neglectful of it, and it looks a big pitiful, but I have basil, two types of mint, rosemary, oregano, and lavender this year.  I love the smell of my herbs and the heat, with the excess rain have really been making it difficult on a few of them but I still enjoy my plants.  I'll be drying them soon to preserve for the winter.

3.  Taking Sunshine to the dog park with my sweetie.  I thought I was going to die hiking up there, it was freakin hot as Hades, but once we got to the dog park it was great.  I let Sunshine off the leash, and with the exception of a much younger dog trying to sniff her booty, she really loved it.  It tuckered her out though.  I didn't think she'd make it all the way back.  My poor baby is getting old and her hips and back legs really give out from under her when she's tired.  Chris had to pick her up and put her in the car.  I think she enjoyed it though - we'll just have to go on cooler days.

4.  Going to the park in the mountains with Chris.  We went up the Blue Ridge Parkway with a group from church and since I'm not a hiker, we stayed behind and just hung out.  There was a creek nearby that we went to check out and there was a group of about a dozen butterflies hanging on the bank.  They would scatter and then there were butterflies flying all around you....it was just amazing!

I'm going to leave it at 4 for now.  The summer is far from over, and we have plans to do lots of fun things before it ends.  I don't want to end my countdown quite yet.

Hope you enjoyed my list, what have you been up to this summer?

Fibro Friday - "A Love Letter to 'Normals'"

I hope everyone has had a great week.  I have had a rough few weeks with some major fibro issues, and remembered this "Love Letter to Normals" that I posted for a Fibro Friday last year sometime. "A Love Letter to Normals"  was written by Claudia Marek.  The letter is reproduced from her book, "Fibromyalgia: The First Year" where the proceeds go to a fibromyalgia treatment center.  This letter is a great reminder to our "normal" friends as to what we with chronic pain issues go through on any given day.  I hope you enjoy the letter and perhaps gives you a better understanding.

XOXO

Fibromyalgia isn't all in my head, and it isn't contagious. It doesn't turn into anything serious and nobody ever died from fibromyalgia (thought they might have wished they could on really awful days!!)  If you want to read articles or books about fibromyalgia I can show you some that I think are good. If you just want to learn as we go along, that's fine too. This is definitely going to be a process. The first step is for you to believe that there is an illness called fibromyalgia and that I have it. This may sound simple, but when you hear about my symptoms I don't want you to think I'm making this all up as I go along.

Fibromyalgia is a high maintenance condition with lots and lots of different kinds of symptoms. There's no way to just take a pill to make it go away, even for a little while. Sometimes a certain medication can make some of my symptoms more bearable. That's about the best I can hope for. Other times I may take a lot of medication and still won't feel any better. That's just the way it goes. I can't control how often I feel good or when I'm going to feel terrible. Lots of people have been cutting new drugs advertisements out of magazines for me and I appreciate the thought, but I've seen them too.  Look at the list of side effects and the few symptoms they help in return.  Even in the best studies those expensive compounds didn't help over half the people who tried them.  No matter how happy the people in the pictures look, there's still no miracle drug available.

There's no cure for fibromyalgia and it won't go away. If I am functioning normally, I am having a good day. This doesn't mean I'm getting better -- I suffer from chronic pain and fatigue for which there is no cure. I can have good days, several good weeks or even months. But a good morning can suddenly turn into a terrible afternoon. I get a feeling like someone has pulled out a plug and all my energy has just run out of my body. I might get more irritable before these flares, and suddenly get more sensitive to noise or just collapse from deadening fatigue. Weather changes can have a big effect on how I feel.  Other times there may be no warning, I may just suddenly feel awful. I can't warn you when this is likely to happen because there isn't any way for me to know. Sometimes this is a real spoiler and I'm sorry. The sadness I feel for what my illness does to those around me is more than I can easily describe.  You may remember me as a light-hearted fun loving person -- and it hurts me that I am no longer what I was.

Fibromyalgics have a different kind of pain that is hard to treat. It is not caused by inflammation like an injury. It is not a constant ache in one place like a broken bone. It moves around my body daily and hourly and changes in severity and type. Sometimes it is dull and sometimes it is cramping or prickly. Sometimes it's jabbing and excruciating. If Eskimos have a hundred words for snow, fibromyalgics should have a hundred words for pain. Sometimes I just hurt all over like I've been beaten up or run over by a truck.  Sometimes I feel too tired to lift up my arm.

Besides pain, I have muscle stiffness which is worse in the morning and evenings. Sometimes when I get up out of a chair I feel like I am ninety years old. I may have to ask you to help me up. I'm creaky and I'm klutzy. I trip over things no one can see, and I bump into the person I am walking with and I drop things and spill things because my fingers are stiff and my coordination is off. I just don't seem to connect the way I should. Hand-eye, foot-eye coordination, it's all off. I walk slowly up and down stairs because I'm stiff and I'm afraid I might fall. When there's no railing to hold on to, it's terrifying.

Because I feel bad most of the time, I am always pushing myself, and sometimes I just push myself too hard. When I do this, I pay the price. Sometimes I can summon the strength to do something special but I will usually have to rest for a few days afterwards because my body can only make so much energy. I pay a big price for overdoing it, but sometimes I have to. I know it's hard for you to understand why I can do one thing and not another. It's important for you to believe me, and trust me about this. My limitations, like my pain and my other symptoms are invisible, but they are real.

Another symptom I have is problems with memory and concentration which is called fibrofog. Short-term memory is the worst! I am constantly looking for things. I have no idea where I put down my purse, and I walk into rooms and have no idea why. Casualties are my keys which are always lost, my list of errands, which I write up and leave on the counter when I go out. Even if I put notes around to remind myself of important things, I'm still liable to forget them. Don't worry, this is normal for fibromyalgics. Most of us are frightened that we are getting Alzheimer's. New kinds of brain scans have actually documented differences in our brains.

I mentioned my sensitivities earlier and I need to talk about them again. It's more like an intolerance to everything. Noise, especially certain noises like the television or shrill noises can make me jittery and anxious. Smells like fish or some chemicals, or fragrances or perfume can give me headaches and nausea. I also have a problem with heat and cold. It sounds like I'm never happy but that isn't it. These things make me physically ill. They stress me out and make my pain worse and I get exhausted. Sometimes I just need to get away from something, I just don't know how else to say it. I know sometimes this means I will have to go outside, or out to the car, or go home to sit alone and that's really all right. I don't want or need you to give up doing what's important to you. That would only make me feel worse.  Sometimes when I feel lousy I just want to be by myself. When I'm like this there's nothing you can do to make me feel better, so it's just better to let me be.

I have problems sleeping. Sometimes I get really restless and wake up and can't get back to sleep. Other times I fall into bed and sleep for fourteen hours and still be tired. Some nights I'll toss and turn and not be able to sleep at all. Every little thing will keep me awake.  I'm sure that's confusing to be around, and I know there are times when my tossing and turning and getting up and down to go to the bathroom disturbs you. We can talk about solutions to this.

All these symptoms and the chemical changes in my brain from pain and fatigue can make me depressed as you'd imagine. I get angry and frustrated and I have mood swings. Sometimes I know I'm being unreasonable but I can't admit it. Sometimes I just want to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed. These emotions are all very strong and powerful. I know this is a very hard thing about being with me. Every time you put up with me when I'm in one of my moods, secretly I'm grateful. I can't always admit it at the time, but I'm admitting it now. One thing I can tell you is it won't help to tell me I'm irrational.  I know I am, but I can't help it when it's happening.

I have other symptoms like irritable bowel, muscle spasms and pelvic pain that will take their toll on our intimacies. Some of these symptoms are embarrassing and hard to talk about but I promise to try. I hope that you will have the patience to see me through these things. It's very hard for me too because I love you and I want to be with you, and it makes everything worse when you are upset and tired of dealing with all my problems. I have made a promise to myself and now I am making it to you: I will set aside time for us to be close. During that time we will not talk about my illness. We both need time to get away from its demands. Though I may not always show it I love you a million times more for standing by me. Having to slow down physically and having to get rid of unnecessary stresses will make our relationship stronger.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm resurrecting Wordless Wednesday, just because it's so much damned fun!

This week's theme is in honor of my favorite show ever, The Walking Dead which we only have 2 more weeks of! *SOBS*

I have a Pinterest board just for The Walking Dead (Yeah I do, what of it?) and it has some new cool shit on it since I last did a Walking Dead Wordless Wednesday, so here we go!

 

Celebrating the death of Lori this season

 

 

 

 

Totally love this Calvin and Hobbes mashup!

 

 

 

 

Love me some Darryl and that commercial rocks!

 

 

Love that Carl is a total badass this Season instead of a pain in the ass

 

This is just cool!

 

 

 

Another awesome mashup!

 

 

Um, my birthday is in October so you have plenty of time to shop for this for me.

 

 

 

So, how do you think this season is going to end?  Will the Governor get what's coming to him?  A major character usually dies...who will it be?



 



Hey It's Okay Tuesday!

I'm linking up today with the blog "Airing My Dirty Laundry One Sock at a Time" for her weekly posting: "Hey, It's Okay Tuesday"

Here's my list...

Hey it's okay.... That I didn't watch or really give a crap about the Oscars this year. I didn't go see any of the movies (although I do really want to see Les Mis and Lincoln as well as Life of Pi). Plus, they had it on opposite The Walking Dead. Really? Which one did you think was going to win in Karen's house? Zombies of course!

Hey it's okay.... That I have not and am not buying ANY easter candy whatsoever! I'm trying to stay away from that stuff (PMS time does not count).

Hey it's okay.... That I want to crawl into a ball in the corner today...having a bad fibromyalgia flareup and I just want to go home and lay on my heating pad. As a matter of fact, I really need like a full body heating pad if anybody can hook me up.

Hey it's okay.... That I have to figure out how to reconfigure my Nook to my wireless connection somehow. I don't want to call "he who shall not be named" for help, so I've got to figure this out on my own. Wish me luck!


That's pretty much all I've got! Link up if you want with your list!

I once was a Muppet....

I'm hooking up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop once again, this time taking on the topic of telling the story of a talent or hobby that I tried to learn that I pursued only briefly.

Well, if you must know, I once was a Muppet. 

I was a McLeansville Muppet - I was a 6 year old soccer player for a team called.....and say it with me, the McLeansville Muppets. 

Now, you guys have no idea about this little secret about me but I'll share this with you - I have absolutely no athletic prowess whatsoever, and I have 2 left feet which are useless in the sport of soccer.  I was the little girl in the long pigtails running away from the ball.  In addition, even with shin-guards, getting kicked in the shins hurt like freakin hell and I was highly averse to pain even in sacrifice to the Soccer Gods. 

I played 2 years as a Muppet, then was old enough to be a Blue Devil.  (yes, I realize they named us after Duke and as a UNC fan that irks me to this day).  I was slightly older, but in a ponytail and still running away from the ball....and begging my parents to let me quit because I FREAKING HATED IT!!!!  I played one year as a Devil, and my parents finally put me out of my misery and allowed my soccer career to come to an end.  I burned my shin guards, chucked my cleats out forever and NEVER PLAYED AGAIN. 

I felt so badly for my teammates to have such a sucky player like me.  They were so frustrated with me, but when you suck as bad as I did....it's really not my fault!  It's like  a deficiency or something with me, lol! 

A huge shoutout tho to we former Muppets:  Tiffany, Mechelle "Howdie", Joanna, Laura Jo (aka, "Red"), Allison, Julie, JJ, Shannon, Tonya, Mandy, Karen, and Alecia.  I know I'm leaving some out....going by an old picture (and no you guys are not seeing it)!  I love my Muppeteers, we were all in school together until the end for the most part so you guys are special ladies!