Pay it Forward

Class photos

"Go Johnny go, go, go..."

Well, it's funny to see the media spin on the freshman quarterback for Texas A&M. Johnny Manziel, is the first freshman to be up for the Heisman, so there are all sorts of media types coming to the town I work in, which is where Johnny was quarterback in high school two years ago. (He was red-shirted last year.) And yes, while here, he was the most amazing quarterback to watch ever, so I will give him that. But today's story reads, "I don't see myself as Johnny Football, I see myself as Jonathan Manziel, small-town guy who's just extremely fortunate and extremely blessed to be playing football at A&M."
Hmmmm... that's great and all, it just doesn't jive with the guy who was here. Johnny is known all over town for being extremely cocky and arrogant, and everyone has their stories they tell. He got busted for stealing at Wal-Mart so my small town was their rival, and when we played them, our fans all had t-shirts made up making fun of that. I think it said "sticky fingers" or something like that... And just last summer, he made news in College Station (where A&M is) and got into a fight outside a bar. But you're not hearing any of those stories... No, there is always a media template, and this time it's small town boy hits the jackpot. Granted, you HAVE to be super confident to play awesome college quarterbacking, so  it's understandable. But the other point I have to make is that Johnny wasn't even from here. His dad moved him here (from Waco I think?) so he could play the last couple of years at this high school and shine. As a matter of fact, Johnny graduated early (at semester after football season) and they left town. My point is that it was calculating, not an accident. The dad had a plan and executed it, like almost all kids who uber excel sports these days. I don't want to take away from his skill and ability. And maybe this new found fame IS making him a better person.
I hope so anyway...

"Sometimes you have to give up on people - not because you don't care, but because they don't."

Ughhhh... this has been the longest five days I've had in a LONG time.... Were there good moments? Of course, but when DD's boyfriend broke up with her on Monday night, well, she has been crying ever since. It was so abrupt. It was her first love. He was affectionate up until Monday night. But evidently the rumors she heard are true. He's already moved on. And in this small town, you run into everyone all the time and you know everybody's business. And I mean EVERYBODY. Even the parents all know who has broken up and why, partly because we are all on Facebook with our children, and partly because the second largest employer in the town is the public school system, so the teachers (who also have children at the school) know what's going on. Clearly her boyfriend had already moved on over a month ago, but didn't have the decency to finish my daughter's relationship before starting a new one. So, not only does she have a broken heart to lose her first love, but has to deal with the fact that he feels no remorse, and is already seeing someone new in less than a week. That's a lot to deal with on your first boyfriend. And (sigh) I'm hoping it doesn't set up trust issues for the future.
I'm completely mad at myself for not seeing this boy for who he is. I'm usually a very good judge of character and I'm in sales, so can always read someone pretty well. The only 'red flag' I knew of in the beginning, was that his previous girlfriend was/is very wild, and they broke up 2 weeks before he started texting DD. I should have seen it coming. Meanwhile my daughter was blindsighted and is devastated. You can't ever let your guard down.
Ever....

Picture Perfect

It was a "chamber of commerce" day in Austin today - perfect weather !

Happy Thanksgiving

Life as we know it...

Well, tomorrow is the day before Black Friday. Notice I didn't say it is Thanksgiving because now it is just about Black Friday and the silly sales. In the (fairly recent) past, department stores opened on Friday with sales.  Then it was Big Sales. Then, they started opening at 6:00 am. Later as stores competed to one-up each other, it became 5:00 am, then 3:00 am, then 1:00, and then last year it was midnight. So this year Wal-Mart announces that it will open at 8:00 pm on THANKSGIVING. (That's tomorrow...) Ughhhhh!! My boss informed us that she would be one of the people in line for Wal-Mart to open to get her husband an iPad. They are selling old ones, I think she said $399? But whatever. Last year at the Wal-Mart in the small town I work in, there was a fist fight when a guy took something out of the hands of a woman, and her husband stepped in. It got ugly.
Ridiculous.
Whatever happened to family getting together for turkey, football, catching up on family updates and lying around "full as a tick" (as my grandmother used to say) after Thanksgiving dinner??  Have we sunk so low that we have been reduced to this??  Don't answer that. I'm guessing it will be 98% Obama voters in these lines in the middle of the night. And those of us who choose NOT to wait in line for $20 off will provide the sanity in this country.
Or what's left of it...

The first cut is the deepest...

What is it about the first love for a woman that you give your heart away in a way that you never do again? Most women (and some men) decide no one will ever hurt them like that ever again, so they never allow all of them to be revealed - to anyone. They just cannot go out on that limb. Getting sawed off was so painful that we never venture that far again. This was certainly true for me.
I just didn't want DD to suffer the same pain - or the same plight...

In everything, give thanks...

Well, it's a week until Thanksgiving and I'm already feeling blue. It's been this way my entire life. Thanksgiving was just never a good holiday with my very dysfunctional family. My very difficult father had "86'd" grandparents on both sides so it was really just us, having turkey with each other. Where's the fun in that?? All the movies, television, and commercials show extended families having a delightful dinner or at least a family arguing, but rarely just the immediate family. Too, my breakups were always around Thanksgiving. There's something about going into the holidays, that if you're in a bad relationship, then somehow you decide to end it before the chestnuts roast on the open fire...
I really can't remember a good Thanksgiving. When I close my eyes, I just see lots of crying, and I'm not even much of a crier. Well, truth be told, I DO cry, it's just by myself. And when I do, I swell up like a blowfish, and look very unattractive for 4-5 hours. Too, when I cry, I can't seem to stop, so I avoid it whenever possible. My older daughter is going to Houston with her husband's family, and my son is going to Dallas with his girlfriend's family, so DD, my ex and myself will be going to my brother's house where my sister and family will be also. We always have a nice time so I don't know why I always feel doom this time of year - maybe just ghosts of Thanksgiving pasts. Too, being in the newspaper business, I always have to work the next day on Black Friday so I've never been able to hit those sales - ever. Maybe that's a blessing - I'm not sure.  And this year, for the first time in my life, the University of Texas Longhorns will not be playing the Texas Aggies over Thanksgiving.
I guess the world really IS off of it's axis...

"He's Just Not that into you..."

I have the ever-so-fun duty of telling my 15 year old daughter that her first boyfriend/love-of-her-life is just not that into her... I just bought her the book of the same title, so she can hear it from a guy from a guy's point of view. I've tried telling her until I'm blue in the face that the fact that he's not asking her out any more, he's not calling any more, he's not even texting any more, he's not spending a dime on her ever, he's not dropping by any more are big red flags... His excuses of always being tired, always being busy and preparing for college are just that - excuses. His being on Facebook and messaging other girls is another big red flag, and when she asks how he can be talking to a girl at school who has it all over Facebook and Instagram that she has the hots for him, he says they are just friends in band and that she's "kinda cool" and that he's going to keep talking to her...
It makes me want to throw up. Their relationship was so cute to watch in the beginning, but since he is very "hot" (as they call it) all the girls throw themselves at him, and it is clear to me that he is enjoying that. And that he wants to see what else is out there. He seems bored and ready for a new girl, not knowing that he has the coolest girl he'll ever find. But it's making her become insecure, and she cries more nights than is happy, so it's time for the "mom talk."  Or sister talk. Or whoever she'll listen to talk.
He seemed so nice in the beginning....

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

I am trying SO hard to lift myself from things... I am listening to all of my favorite Christmas songs on iTunes, I am buying more lattes from Starbucks, I am watching sappy Christmas chic flicks on the Hallmark channel. I am trying to self-soothe in positive ways as much as I can, all the while my boss is grilling me to sell more, sell more or I'm in danger of losing my job. We are hearing our health insurance cost to us (because bosses will always pass that along) will increase terribly (again, thank you idiot Obama voters) and people around here are furious and talk of secession is no longer a joke. As a matter of fact, that's one of the few things that's keeping me going, that there are so many people around here with common sense, who can see that this country just made the biggest mistake in it's history with this election. Half of this country is receiving government money and half of this country voted in those that are giving it to them. I talk about this to business owners all day long. As one of my accounts said this week, "we lost a generation." He is my age, and it is the twenty and thirty somethings that don't follow politics, yet voted in Obama.
One of my pet peeves is people who say, "I don't follow politics." Really?!? These are the rules that govern YOUR LIFE and you don't give a #@%&*????  SERIOUSLY??? You get your news from Jon Stewart and David Letterman and The View??? You get snippets from Yahoo news and think you know it all?? Well, guess who runs Yahoo and Google?? The sixties hippies and their children. The people who are out to change the world, and not in the good way. Communism has failed in every country it's been tried in, so we want it here?? We want to take away incentives to be successful and just steal from the "evil" rich guy and give to the lazy jerks that want everything given to them?? This lost generation doesn't remember the Soviet Union or the stories coming out of there, and they have been taught by "academia" who envision a world of peace like John Lennon used to sing about that WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
How stupid IS everyone?? How lazy is everyone?? How blinded is everyone?? This is so ridiculously frustrating!! If schools would even teach the truth, the actual truth, maybe history wouldn't repeat itself. The Soviet Union failed. Cuba is failing. Communist countries are soul-sucking. They steal all hope. Listen to those that are in the United States who escaped from these countries. If anyone else had been listening at the Republican convention this summer, they could have heard really honest people like Marco Rubio, who understand this loss of freedom and why the USA doesn't want to go this route. But nobody's listening. Or not enough people are. Does it take 9-11 to knock us to our knees? We have the biggest scandal with Benghazi going on that has happened in years, but only the intelligent are paying attention. They don't think it affects them, BUT IT DOES.
My God, this has gotten frustrating....

"Make Hay while the sun shines..."

It was good to go to church this morning with like-minded people. Everyone at my church was in mourning over the election and still well, sort of in shock. Most of us thought that our guy was going to win, and really, he should have. Everyone was thinking the same thing... four more years of this? How will we do it?? It was at least refreshing to see so many people that thought the exact same thing. A few people got up to say that God had told them to stop being in mourning and get out there and tell people about Him. Then my pastor relayed that he too had been down, and God told him that it's "harvest time." That we are indeed in the end times, and it's time to get busy. God is still in control and He's on the throne and He's still the King of Kings. 

It might be worth repeating that this past summer Hal Lindsay (has written many Christian books like, "Satan is Alive and well on Planet Earth" and can be seen often on Christian television) was in my biggest advertising account, a car dealership here in the Texas hill country. The salesman (who I know) asked him what brought him to visit this area. He said the Lord directed him that there will be a financial collapse in the United States but that "this area would be okay." He sold his house in California and has a television studio in San Antonio, and evidently lives in this area. 

I mention this because our only chance at avoiding a collapse was a fiscally conservative president and Congress. But with the re-election of this socialist administration, it will keep descending until we collapse. All economists concur - it will happen. It's just a question of when. 

As a born-again Christian, I know that God will be true to His word and meet His children's needs. "For my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." And that's a good thing because I don't even know how to prepare for a collapse. I know I am supposed to live by faith and not fear. And life isn't like it was when I was growing up, and I guess never will be again, in my lifetime anyway. I'm hoping this will encourage you and not depress you. I am an honest person, and try to tell it like it is. I don't tell people what they want to hear, I tell them the truth so they won't be shocked later when it happens. They will be prepared, at least mentally anyway. So to recap, don't be in mourning - get out there and "make hay while the sun shines." 

Tell people that Jesus saves because He does...

When in Rome...

‎"Do not blame Caesar, blame the people of Rome who have so enthusiastically acclaimed and adored him and rejoiced in their loss of freedom and danced in his path and gave him triumphal processions. Blame the people who hail him when he speaks in the Forum of the 'new, wonderful, good society' which shall now be Rome's, interpreted to mean: more money, more ease more security, more living fatly at the expense of the industrious." Marcus Tullius Cicero (2,000 years ago)

Yesterday as I made my sales calls, every business owner and I were lamenting on the re-election that seemed so crystal clear. I also noticed that the employees of 'color' sat in silence. You can certainly tell which ones voted Obama, and it did seem to follow the usual stereotypes. What is the most irritating is that these people do not follow politics - they even TELL me that they get their 'news,' their REAL news, from Jon Stewart (and they say it with a straight face.) I guess it's why Obama went on all the talk shows like Letterman, Leno and The View because that's all the younger people watch. I actually think Republicans lost with the twenty and thirty-somethings. 
My grown daughter in Austin works at a small business of women employees in their thirties, and my daughter is the only one that voted Romney. Granted it IS Austin, the bastion of liberals in Texas, but her co-workers also don't follow the news and thought that Romney would take away their 'women's rights.' WTH is THAT?!? Those of us in the know, know that Romney never could have stopped abortion (or birth control pills) BY LAW - it would have to go to the supreme court again. But it always goes back to educating the masses and who does that?!? Why the mainstream media of course. And they pick the topics, they omit important information, and they lie.  Too schools are failing at getting the truth out, or should I just say failing in general, so you can see we are screwed. 
My grown son, also in Austin, voted for Obama... I just can't believe that 'the hand that rocked the cradle' has a son, a very intelligent son, who voted for him. When I bring up abortion, he says he personally is against abortion. I bring up that the Democrats wanted God out of their platform and actually boo'd God and he responds with silence. He, like most Obama voters, was a one-issue voter. For him, he has bought the BS about healthcare that the Dems are selling. Since he has been unemployed for over a year and is not insured, he thinks that the Dems will get him wonderful healthcare for free. Yeah, it will be like the DMV when you wait 3 hours to get your drivers license...
Evidently Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett said 2 things that should haunt us all - one, that after they were re-elected, that they would punish those that disagree with them and two, that this was the last election the United States would have...

Going to hell in a handbasket...

Sigh.... I'm wearing black today in mourning. I'm not kidding. I really am grieving. I can't imagine that we have another four long years under this same administration. It really IS a referendum. Just not for my team. Even Allen West and Mia Love lost... Two African-Americans that are on the right track. And marijuana legalization passed. And same-sex marriage in two areas.
At my office, and even in this town, it is predominantly conservative, so most people here in Texas are just shaking their heads. Some like me are saying to secede. I'm a fifth generation Texan on both sides. And my mother's side fought for the Republic of Texas in the early 1800's. And we're a hearty group of people that are fighters. The current president has made it clear he hates Texas or helping us in any way. That's okay, we don't want his help. We want him to get out of the way. I can't believe there are so many stupid people in America. I guess the dumbing down and the amnesty and the union 'marriage' and the worshipping of Hollywood/media has all worked. Guess they will continue to do what they've been doing, just on a much larger scale. That's what worries me.
Is it time to leave the country? Aren't we heading for a huge collapse? How does a middle class person who is paycheck to paycheck supposed to survive? We've been given lots of warnings. If God judged Sodom and Gomorrah, He will certainly judge the United States of America.
WTH are we supposed to do?!?

The Day the Music Died

Mark it on your calendars. November 6, 2012.
The Day the Music Died...

"Vote like you're stranded in Benghazi and Obama is your lifeline..." - Pat Dollard

2nd place isn't worth it...

It's been a long several days... I'm a single mother, a baby boomer, with 3 children - 2 are grown and 1 is a 15 year old. Here are my random thoughts...
Evidently the media is really whitewashing the Hurricane Sandy aftermath. So I admit it - I was wrong. I thought they would report on it incessantly since they live there, but no... they are in the bag for Obama and don't want it to look like he's not taking care of things. So it's MUCH, MUCH worse than we are hearing. Oddly, I am seeing this on Instagram since I 'follow' several photographers in NYC, and their photos and comments are so sad. It's terribly worse than Katrina - all that flooding and wind and then fire. What a mess. And then you add ALL those people... And you add that it's starting to get cold up there. At least in the South, it's warm and you don't have to deal with that. It's always gorgeous after the hurricane leaves. Now they have a Nor-easter coming. I wish I had money to send to them...
Next random thought: today is Election day. Finally... My prayer is that Romney will win in a landslide so that we won't be like the election in 2000 and hang in the balance for weeks (or longer) with lawsuits and bickering and stress. And we ALL know there is much less civility than there was 12 years ago, so there's that... This election has the same feel as 2000, in that it feels like a spiritual battle in the heavenlies of good vs. evil. And if Obama is elected, then it's a quick descent into complete loss of freedom as we know it.
And finally,  yesterday DD went to watch our high school band compete for State. I let her go and miss school, since it was such a 'red letter day' for her boyfriend, who is captain of the drumline. She left on the bus at 6:30 am and returned at midnight. Everyone was sure they would win first since they are that good, so DD wanted to be there for the huge celebration. But alas, they were named 2nd by ONE POINT. And even that was because one judge gave them the lowest score you can get, which averaged all their high scores down. Evidently the band that got #1 wasn't even good, and DIDN'T EVEN PLAY while they marched?! Aaahh, politics. Hard lesson. Lots of crying. I told DD it's harder to win second place than third because you're like Miss America runner up - so close...
Anyway.
She came home and sobbed for hours because her boyfriend acted as though he really didn't want her there. It embarressed her and she felt pathetic. Feelings no one ever wants to feel, much less a high schooler.
I'm tired...

Friday Night Lights

Sure Happy It's Thursday...

Well, it's late, so here's my random thoughts... It is hard to watch the coverage of Hurricane Sandy's aftermath. It's always the poor that suffer the most, and this is no different. Those without insurance are wailing and it's so disturbing. It is reminscent of Katrina and will be much, much more expensive. And why is no one asking the elephant in the room question?? How will all of this be paid for? This country is broke, so where in the WORLD will these BILLIONS of dollars come from?? Our insurance companies won't have enough to pay for all of this and you can be dang sure that all of our insurance rates will go WAY up to compensate.
Maybe..... we shouldn't send the billions we have been sending to Egypt and Middle Eastern countries that hate us, and keep it for our own citizens? Or maybe we should start drilling for oil, both inland and in the ocean, which will create jobs AND money.
Sigh.
We're becoming like third-world countries like Africa, where money is sent to save the poor but the dictators keep it for themselves (well, close enough for analogy anyway.)
My next random thought is that I cannot STAND another word on the election. I've known all along who I was going to vote for, and I've already early voted, and I don't want to hear ANOTHER WORD. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!
And finally I took the day off today.  I only have 5 days a year, and I spent 4 of them moving this past summer. My last day I took off was today to help the Cheerleader mom's host the football team dinner tonight. Each week in football season, the football mom's each take a Thursday night to feed the team, and the Cheer mom's volunteered for this week. It took most of the day to prepare to feed over  60 people, but it turned out well, so it was worth it. DD doesn't really like the football players too much, but they seemed okay to me. There's a lot of bravado and testosterone going around and they certainly eat a lot. But they are good guys for the most part. Boys in high school are 2 years behind girls in maturity and it definitely showed.
Kind of funny to watch actually...