Positivity, Kindness and Love

I've lived a long time and yet never thought I'd see a new era of being without.  For years my family struggled but we always could find work. 

When all this about the economy hit about 2 years ago I didn't believe it.  I was still working and we had what we needed.  We did have to go through a lot of struggles over the past thirty two years to hold on to our home but we made it.  Now I look at my family and my children and everyone is having trouble.

I can't figure out what went wrong.  Oh I know the talking heads point fingers.  Lets face it there are lots of problems and places to point to.  President Bush, the war, giving too much abroad and not enough here at home, many crisis natural and otherwise.  What really caused all of this?

I feel like it's negativity.  I know it sounds crazy.  However, I know the thoughts we think have an energy attached to it.  When people get into trouble with money they generally worry.  They don't really sit and think of how great it is.  Is it possible that we are all making things worse simply by the power of our minds and our thoughts.  Add into that what we do after worry.  The deeds we do.  Do we respond to stress by spending more, buying more?  All of this is worth thinking about.  With things so bad this year I was beside myself with worry.

Today it hit me.  Be happy no matter what the world brings to us.  Remember to be grateful for what you have and what you see and feel everyday.  Try to help others with a smile and a kind word if that is all you have and learn to accept a outstretched hand when it's given.

Sometimes the worst times end up being blessings in disguise.  So I am going to find ways to make this Christmas the best ever and I have a strong feeling that Love and Kindness will make everyone much happier than a board game that gets dusty in the closet.

Enjoy the good and the bad and become the change we wish to see in everyone.

I know there are great things coming for me and my family.

Much love

Sharon

Great Free E-Book

Happy Turkey Week

Like many of you it's the Monday before Thanksgiving and I'm surfing the internet looking to find some great recipes for the holiday.  While on my hunt I uncovered a treasure!  Thanks to the Mr. Food site I uncovered 4 free e-books.  To obtain then click on this link.  All you have to do is give them your email address and name.  I've used the Mr. Food site before and have had no problems with it.   The e-books are all pdf format and can be saved easily to your computer.


They offer the following recipes:

Thanksgiving Feast 
Fall Favorites
Let's Get Grilling
Decadent Desserts

I love free things.  I hope you find these e-books a treasure.  Make sure you look over the entire site he has many more recipes and tips.  Check out the Mr. Food Blog at http://www.mrfoodblog.com/.

Make sure you love your family and hold them close and please add the troops to your thoughts and prayers as you are getting ready for this holiday.

Much Love
Sharon

Twitter

Ok shocking I'm sitting here all alone playing my games and thought hey Joy and Sherrie are on Twitter why not me.  So I'm off to figure out Twitter which is relatively simple.

I'm not sure how long I'll tweet but as a webmaster working or not it's my calling to figure out social marketing.

I hope this is not going to drive me crazy.

I loved the way I can follow stars and look up interests.  I'll keep you posted on how I like it.

Tweet Tweet

Oh in case you feel the need to Tweet I'm Shazo329.  I really like that name.

Happy Friday everyone.

Sharon aka Shazo329

Bristol Palin DWTS Is It Fair?

I have always tried to be fair and see only the good in everyone.  When I think of Bristol Palin minus her mother I see a young courageous woman who has faced any adversity she may have and trying to do the right thing.  I have only kudos for any young person who see's that a unwanted pregnancy can turn into a miracle in your life.  From what I see she seems to love her child very much.

So who can blame her for going on Dancing With The Stars.  You can make really good money and get exposure.  She came on with almost no dancing experience and has gotten better.  There were times watching that I really thought she was pretty good.

Having said all that do I believe she should be in the finals.   No, no and uh no.  Yes she improved but not enough to see Brandy get kicked off over Bristol.  Alaska is a huge place so I suppose it could be that her state is rallying behind her.  I would hate to see this is political.  I hope that it's not the Tea Party and Republicans trying to show their strength.  This girl is a human being and she deserves to win or lose on her own merit.  If she wins cause she's so darn good as her mother likes to say well then I applaud it.  I just don't want to see reality TV turned into a joke.  Yeah Yeah I know in some cases it already is a joke. 

People could start to tune in other channels all because people like to cheat.  Now you may say they aren't cheating.  I disagree you should vote on the best dancer not put in bogus votes just to further her mother or a particular political group.

Bristol keep your head up and know that the things being said by the pundits are to keep the talking heads talking.  That's how they get paid.

I will continue to watch every week no matter what happens because the music and dancing is awesome and this is one show that turns a bad day into something a little better.

Have a great Thursday.

Sharon

What's Important In Life

If something is right you won’t lose anything in trying to obtain it.
Nothing worth having should take away from your life.
People are more important than things or ego.
Loyalty is everything.
Honesty is more important than money.
Life is to be lived and love should come easy.
To find the purpose of your life just look inside your heart.
Every person has a purpose.
Kindness is kind for kindness sake not to manipulate.
Love is everything to me
Find your passion and pursue it.  I don’t mean sex
Home is where your heart is....................................
Unconditional love is given freely and without reservation.
Believe that whatever happens is supposed to happen.
To be used is the worse feeling in this world.
If you feel something then tell the other person you may not always get the chance.
Communication is the key to understanding on both sides
Just a few thoughts that have taken up a lot of my time lately.

All this is important to make a happy fulfilled life !

Sharon

Me & Oprah

Oprah Winfrey has meant a lot of things to me.  Over the past 25 years I've been confused, amazed, enthralled, jealous and in a worship state over Oprah.  Through it all,  it has been a wonderful ride watching this lady become a fixture in the lives of the people of the world.  Oprah has been in so many homes and reached so many people.  I'm sure that when she started her show it did not hit her what the first show all those years would lead to.  Heck seeing black people on TV was rare.  Oh we had actors and actresses but no one that could become part of your life and affect people the way Oprah has.

What has she done for me well it's huge.  She taught a girl from the suburbs of Chicago how to feel.  When I watched Oprah's show's I felt empathy for others and a whole lot of other emotions.  When she did that show about bigotry in that hateful town who disliked gay people.  She did that show at a time where I knew nothing about being gay.  Seeing how hateful some of those people were to that man was horrible and I was never the same again.  Years after that my own son came out to me and the family and I feel my acceptance of him and his lifestyle started when I watched that show.

Over 20 years ago I was spanking my kids.  It was how I was raised and all I knew.  I can't remember the guests but I remember sitting in my living room crying watching a show on why you should not spank your children.  It touched me and made me feel.  It was and has been a life changing show for me.  I stopped spanking after that.  Oh I had my moments when my son's (I have 4) got to me but overall I tried to change and I believe I became a better mother that day.  Spanking was far and few after that show.

Watching how Oprah approached the OJ Simpson trial.  She was amazing, just and fair.  She gave the facts tinged with her own disgust and feelings of disbelief.  Again I looked at her differently.

I am a very large woman so I sat for years watching Oprah's size go up and down and feeling her pain when the weight creeped back on.  I wanted my own chef and personal trainer like Oprah has.  I wanted to be Oprah.  For years I have wanted to be on that show of her favorite things.  I tried a few times to get on that show.  Now it's the end of the ride and I am actually dreading her last favorite things show cause I won't be on it.  Life isn't always fair.

Right after the Oklahoma City Bombings I did get on the show.  I was there when  Phylicia Rashad was on and I was struck at how beautiful she was in person.  I couldn't believe how she looked it was my first up close but not personal time I was in a room with a famous person.  That day my Oprah adoration took a turn.  For years I had seen Oprah shake hands with the audience and she was always so kind.  Sitting in the audience she didn't seem nice and by the way she did not shake my hand which was a huge blow to me.  I stopped watching the show for a while after that.  I guess I thought what I saw on TV was real I didn't realize it was produced and designed to look a certain way.  

Yes it's true I did stay away for awhile but eventually I came to realize that she is human and she's Oprah a person.  I had idolized her and forgot that she feels and has bad days just like me.

This season I've watched in amazement at the how great all the shows have been.  I am saddened that Oprah is not going to do the show anymore but totally understand how at over 50 she needs to move on.

My dreams of working for Oprah has also come to an end but I feel that this is one show that has affected my life more than any other.  The stories I've hit on above are just a couple there are so many more.

Thanks Oprah for being there when I was at my lowest.  Thanks for helping to make me a better mother.  Thanks for showing the world how to give.  Thanks for giving me laughter watching you and Gayle camping was a highlight for me.  It made me laugh so hard.

Oprah you made a difference and I will miss you.

Much Love
Sharon

Veterans Day - Dedicated To All That Serve

I am a mother who knows what it's like to have not one son in the military but two sons.  Both of my boys are now in the reserves but I was struck on this Veterans Day of how much I've changed.

In the past I never thought much about the actual soldier and their families until I became a mom of a soldier.  I appreciate the sacrifices that they make and know how hard this life is that they chose.

Serving your country is a huge sacrifice and I now know it's not just to the soldier but to the families too.  The person that leaves for the military is a young man who wants to have a better life and see's the military as that life.  He wants to defend his country and protect his family and friends.

What they don't tell you at the recruiting station is how much time away from your family you will spend.  They don't tell the soldier that they will come to believe that working 24 hours on holiday's is normal.  The soldier really does stand on that wall for hours with no thank you in rain, snow and dust storms with temps over 100 degrees.  He does it for his country.

The mothers are not prepared to be away from their son and daughter for over 1 year at a stretch.  Mothers don't get flack jackets we don't get head gear.  We go through our day with one eye on the day to day things and the other eye on that son or daughter fighting so far away.  No sleep for most mothers in war zones.  You're afraid that if you sleep something bad will happen.  As if you sitting concentrating on them can keep them alive.  The doorbell turns into the enemy.  The ring sending shock waves through your body hoping its some kid selling candy at the door and not the military.

The day he comes back to the US is the best day in your life.  Over time though you start to notice all the changes.  The hardness you never saw before.  The ability to push bad things away as if they don't exist but you know it's always there.  The inability to smile as readily as your little man used to.  The laughter is more forced and the bad dreams much more often.

I'm a realist and know that all this is necessary for our freedoms but sometimes I wish I could take an etch a sketch eraser to him and get the boy back.  I love the man and the boy the same but I worry about his future, because he carries so many burdens in his memory.

We need to remember these men and women don't get to just come home and get back into the groove so easily.  They have so much conditioning to get through in order to get back into the real civilian world we all take for granted.

The heroes are the Navy personnel in stations like Guam so far from home and yet doing serious dangerous work aboard our ships in the ocean.  Watching our waters so that we can feel safe.  The heroes are those soldiers who are getting pelted by dust storms, hit by bombs everyday sometimes more often only to sleep a few hours to do it again.

The heroes are the wives and mothers who sit home trying to live up to the soldiers expectations of bravery but yearning to hear that laughter we took for granted.  To see that boy run up with excitement over something trivial.  That beautiful spirit that we love so much.

The heroes are those soldiers who came back with limbs missing and in pain.  Trying to make a life from what is left.

The American Soldier is a wonder to me and I as a citizen thank them all.  Thank you to the mothers like me who just want those men and woman to be safe and come back alive.

God Bless The USA Soldiers and Their Families.

I wrote this on Veterans Day but it took me a bit to publish this wasn't an easy one for me.

Much Love
Sharon

Welcome and Thanks

This is the start of my new life at 54.  Yes 54 not 53 as I always try to convince myself.  What is one year?  Well I guess it's not as close to 60.  My motto in life is be direct and keep it real.  I've wanted to start a blog for years but for some reason could not quite bring myself to put to paper all my Interesting Bits.

I have 4 sons who are all grown up and now I find myself at a cross roads.  If I was a very very rich woman I might go out with a hot 30 yr. old and buy him a corvette.  Since I'm not that woman I'll pick up a corvette at the toy store and visualize my dream life.

I have worked for more than 30 years and find I no longer want to do that.  I built over 13 sites and want more.  More as in simple, peaceful and happy.  Doing something I enjoy for me not my kids just little ole me.

So I will start posting my Interesting Bits.  My Philosophy, My Attitude, My Beliefs and My Silliness at times.  All of this in the hopes that someone will find this useful and I will reach others with the same beliefs etc.

So hold on it won't all be sage advise but it will be true and direct to who I am.

Enjoy and tell someone you can never have too few readers.

Happy Thursday and Veterans Day

Much Love

Sharon