30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 20

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense :)

Day 20 Question #20: Besides something directly related to the family (i.e., the birth of a child), what has been the most exciting day of your life?

Answer: It’s Sunday so I looked for an easy question! The day I received the first copy of my first self-published book came to mind right away when I read this question.  I began  writing the book in 2007 and it was the most amazing journey I have ever under taken.  Writing your own life story is very difficult; I had to fight the nagging inner voices that whispered things like: You aren’t famous, who’d want to read about your life when you haven’t gone to the moon or stood on the red carpet? Everyday I had to keep believing in myself and fight all the negative voices of the past as well. Having the support of my husband and kids helped me out tremendously.

Since I was self-publishing, I had to save up my own money to meet my publishing goals. One night after my kids had received their allowance from their dad, one by one they  gave me their allowance and told me that they wish they could help me more. I was dumbfounded and as I’m recalling this right now, I’m getting a little choked up all over again. And so they continued, every time they got money from their dad, they immediately put it in my hand for my book.

I wrote my book for several reasons but the most important ones were: For my own personal healing and closure to my trauma filled past. Secondly, I wrote it in the hopes that others would be helped.  Lastly, I wrote AS CLEAR AS CLAIRE GETS,   A CONVERSATION WITH THE PAST, as part of the legacy I want to leave my kids and my future ancestors.

I compare the writing and birthing of my book to a type of birthing of  a new baby. The pain was there for sure as I revisited some of the most painful memories of my childhood; once I wrote about it though I would feel free.  As I continued to bury those things that tormented me in the pages of my book, I was giving birth to a new, more empowered version of myself. The day the UPS truck delivered my first author copy, I liken that to the same profound joy I felt every time after I had labored for a while only to end up holding a beautiful baby in my arms.

I urge you, whoever you are reading this, whatever you dream of doing, don’t put it off anymore. Fight past the nay sayers and the self doubt and take it step by step. Making your dream a reality is the one and only path  to your destiny. Go and fear no more because the only thing we really fear, is fear itself.  The definition of fear is this: False Evidence Appearing Real. Go make it happen!!

William Shakespeare from Julius Caesar

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 19

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense 🙂

Day 19 Question #19: What is one of the super unique aspects of your own family today?

Answer: I had to think hard on this one because there are several dynamics that make my family stand out in a crowd. I believe a key aspect though is the fact that my husband is twenty years my senior. That has played a major role in our evolving as a family unit. I have been told by close friends that the way we are rasing our kids, resembles something more out of the 1950’s  landscape than 2011. We are one of those rare modern families that with God‘s favor and grace, can live on a single income which allows me to stay home so I can educate our kids. Yes, it’s tough at times going without some of the extra things we THINK might make us happy. But in the end stuff has to take a back seat to nurturing and educating our future. 

Another interesting side note is that my husband’s “old school” morals and mine came from two different places. His came from the era he was raised in . Mine came from having been born in another country and having been raised by two people who kept the traditions of our country of origin and instilled them in me  in a new culture and society.

Secondly the 20 year difference in our marriage enhances our kid’s education in ways I’d never imagine. They are exposed to several very different time periods; being that my husband is a baby boomer, our kids are more  familiar with  the culture that he grew up in than  their peers. Just for an example, ask my kids  about Red Skelton,  Nat King Cole, I Love Lucy, and a lot of the music and pop culture of the ’60’s and they can tell you in detail.Most kids their age, draw a complete blank. I was a product of the 1980’s culture so they are thoroughly familiar with a lot of the fashions, music and pop culture of that era too.

So the bridging the gap between two very different and unique eras has helped to shape and mold our family into who we are today.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 18

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense. :)

Day 18 Question # 18: What is the earliest lesson you can remember learning as a child that you have followed throughout your life?

Answer: I just had a talk with my kids about embracing their Latin roots and  my answer comes from this talk. I was explaining to my kids that I love the Latin culture because we always seem to find the positive in the negative. That way of thinking permeates everything including our music. One day when my second daughter was younger I was listening to a ” EL NIAGARA EN BICICLETA“, a merengue by Dominican born star Juan Luis Guerra. She asked me to translate the words for her and when I did she was amazed and she said, ” Wow! Such happy music but the words are so sad.” I told her that our Latin music is a lot like that because we stay joyful even when things aren’t all that hot.

When I was in the 4th grade Sister Mary Valentine, my teacher was reading to us about some of the miracles of Jesus. One day she read to us how Jesus healed 10 lepers and out of the 10 only one came back to thank Him for his miracle. I remember thinking.’ WOW! I want to be like that guy! I want to say thank you all the time.’ And that’s what I’ve done my whole life. I go out of my way to say thank you to God, family, even the cashier at the grocery store who rang up my groceries.

I believe that when you have a thankful attitude, it shows up in all you do. That is what I wanted to impress upon my kids the other day regarding their Latin roots. Latin music is happy because no matter what the lyrics say, no matter what you’re going through in life, we always find something to be thankful for and we sing and dance about it!

IT’S A MAD,MAD,MAD WORLD!

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A girl at school was just kicked off the soccer team because another class mate complained to the school officials that said girl would not be friends with her. Now the school officials are accusing the swimmer for being a bully. Who is the real bully here?

I just recently was kicked out of a church. Yes, you are reading correctly! My family and I are not allowed to come back to a certain church because I refused the pastoral counseling being offered to me. That was the main reason for our having been banned from this church. The other reasons are of no lesser significance: I was also told that the pastor did not like some of my views on this blog. Hello! The 1st Amendment guaranteeing my rights to freedom of speech were infringed upon. Lastly I was  told by this same man that my husband and I had to meet up with some key people he had already designated for us because we needed to learn from these people how to be “Godly parents”. Apparently this pastor is under the impression, that after  raising 4 great kids together for the past 22 years that we’ve been married, we haven’t a clue as to what we’re doing. 

Folks, when your kids were younger did you ever try to pick out their friends for them? That’s crazy right? So how can a school and a pastor even think that they have any say in whom a child or two adults choose to associate with? It’s a MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and that madness has creeped into some churches.

Perhaps the best thing this pastor did by banning us from attending his church was to spare us any further hurt by him. Now THAT’S a silver lining on my cloud!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 17

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense. :)

Day 17 Question #17:  What is the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you?

Answer:  I read this and my mind immediately went to when I was in Bible College. I had come up with the tuition money for that semester but I was having a hard time coming up with the money for the required books. I went to the registrar to see what I could do about it and she said that my books were paid for. I was thrilled! I asked her how and she said that someone had paid for my books earlier that week. When I asked her who because I wanted to thank them personally, she said she had promised this individual complete anonymity.  My eyes got a little misty and I thanked God for coming through for me through the kindness of a stranger.

What is Sacred?

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This video doesn’t need any extra explanation. Please watch it and share with the young people in your home. We are in an age where our young people need our guidance and wisdom more than ever before. They are crying out for help. Are you listening?

 

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 16

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense. :)

Day 16 Question 16: What were the big events going on in the world the year you were born? Who was the president?

Answer: 1970 was my birth year so here are a few high lights of what took place . Doing this was interesting  because I learned a lot about what happened that year.

1970

January 5

February 13 – Black Sabbath‘s debut album, Black Sabbath released; often regarded as the first true heavy metal album.
United States Postal Service workers in New York City go on strike; the strike spreads to the state of California and the cities of Akron, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chicago,Boston, and Denver, Colorado; 210,000 out of 750,000 U.S. postal employees walk out. President Nixon assigns military units to New York City post offices. The strike lasts 2 weeks.
May 4 – Kent State shootings: Four students at Kent State University in Ohio are killed and 9 wounded by Ohio National Guardsmen, at a protest against the incursion into Cambodia. 
June 21

July 4

August 26–August 30 – The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 takes place on East Afton Farm off the coast of England. Some 600,000 people attend the largest rock festival of all time. Artists include Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Chicago,Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Ten Years After, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Jethro Tull.
September 18

  • Jimi Hendrix dies in London of drug related complications.
October 5

November 3

  • Democrats sweep the U.S. Congressional midterm elections; Ronald Reagan is reelected governor of California; Jimmy Carter is elected governor of Georgia.
December 12 – A landslide in western Colombia leaves 200 dead.

I’m a Firm Believer of the 2nd Amendment

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I’m in the 1% that will send on things like this.

 

This says it.

 

1. Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.

2. I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy.

3. When seconds count, the cops are just minutes away.

4. A reporter did a human-interest piece on the  Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him ‘Why do you carry a 45?’ The Ranger responded, ‘Because they don’t make a 46.’

5.  The old sheriff was attending an awards dinner when a lady commented on his wearing his sidearm ‘Sheriff, I see you have your pistol. Are you expecting trouble?”No Ma’am. If I were expecting trouble, I would have brought my shotgun.’

6 Beware the man who only carries one gun. HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT!!!

But wait, there’s more!

I was once asked by a lady visiting if I had a gun in the house.  I said I did. She said ‘Well I certainly hope it isn’t loaded!’  To which I said, of course it is loaded, it can’t work without bullets!’ She then asked, ‘Are you that afraid of someone evil coming into your house?’ My reply was, “No not at all.  I am not afraid of the house catching fire either, but I have fire extinguishers around, and they are all loaded too”.

HAVE A NICE DAY But don’t Monkey with Me…

And Remember:

I’m a firm believer of the 2nd Amendment!
If you are too, please forward..
WHERE ELSE BUT AMERICA

ONLY IN AMERICA
We are the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment – yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents, clothes, bedding, doctors and medical supplies. Imagine if we gave ourselves the same support that we give other countries. I feel bad for them, but I wonder who cares about America .

99% of people  won’t have the guts to forward this.


—
Kamel Shehata
Silver State Patriots

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 15

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense. :)

Day 15 Question # 15:  What would you list as the three most memorable TV moments you’ve ever seen?

Answer: I grew up not watching a whole lot of TV. So I had to really think hard about this one. These are the 3 I came up with. I was in the 8th grade and living in Germany when I watched the royal wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles. I was so amazed by how magical the whole event seemed to be. What I couldn’t get out of my mind was that she looked so young and pretty and he looked so old and boring. They seemed so mismatched for each other.

The second most memorable TV moment was 9-11. I had just woken up by a phone call from my friend back east telling me to turn on my TV. As I watched, still half asleep I had to ask her what was going on; when she told me I was in disbelief for a few seconds. Then I kept watching, mesmerized by it all.

The 3rd most memorable TV moment was this past summer. My kids and I watched the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I loved the part where the newly weds drove off in their own private car just so that their adoring fans could catch a glimpse of them. That was a very nice, personal touch I thought.

30 Day Blog Challenge : Day 14

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Please refer back to my earlier posts and read what this challenge is about so that the later posts make sense. 🙂

Day 14 Question #14: If you were making a list of your 3 favorite childhood memories, what would the entries be?

Answer: I thought of  this a  little while and here are my answers.The first one was when a poem of mine won an honorable mention in a local library contest. My 6th grade teacher, Mrs Gillard sent the poems in without my knowing it and then one afternoon she handed me a white piece of paper with the directions to go to the library and pick up my certificate. I never forgot that feeling that came with knowing that someone had read my work titled, ” The Fat Cat” and liked it enough to give me an honorable mention.

My second memory was when I was 13 and I received my fist pay check for baby sitting. I baby sat a 6 month old baby boy for the whole summer and the parent would pay me by check every Friday. I felt really grown up when I took the money and opened my first bank account.

My 3rd memory was my prom. I had worked hard that year to save my money so I could buy a dress, pay for the tickets and have a nice dinner. I learned that if I wanted anything in this life I didn’t mind working hard to get it.