This Quote

I'm just having another one of those day's where I can't seem to come up with something to write about, no matter how hard I rack my brain. So instead of just sitting here and writing nothingness I've decided to take the day off. The quote below explains it all. Hope everyone has a good day and try to stay dry out there with all this rain!

We all get stuck. We all lose ourselves a little bit in a fantasy or in our jobs and forget how we feel about other things. It's really important to check yourself, to spend some time alone.

-Amanda Seyfried-

 

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/amandaseyf462348.html

 

 

Learning From The Past

I'm sure everyone is curious about their past. Not just what's gone on in their own life, but what kind of family history they have. When I say the world 'family history' I'm not just referring to your mom, dad, grandparents, and a distant cousin or two. I'm talking about going back much, much farther.

http://www.ancestry.com/

 

I joined Ancestry.com a little over a year ago. Like many of you I was curious about where I came from and who I might be related to. But never in a million years did I imagine all of the information I would uncover when I did this.

 

Take for example that after searching my first day for a few minutes, I was able to find a picture of my great-grandmother from her passport paperwork. My mother never met her grandmother and never saw a picture of her, so it was very exciting to say the least when we found it.

 

My great-grandmother Dorothy and daughter Mildred.

 

After that great find I just wanted to dig even deeper and that's exactly what I did. Currently I have now found over 2,000 relatives! Using this website has certainly opened up my eyes to my history. And in retrospect it's even caused me to look up a lot of events I should have remembered from history class, but I guess it's more interesting when you find out you had relatives in the War of 1812.

 

Some of you may be wondering if maybe you should join Ancestry.com. Is it worth it? Well, if you click on the link in the last sentence it brings you to the web page that will allow you to have a FREE 14-day trial! If you even have the slightest bit of curiosity I urge you to try it out. And for those of you who are still on the fence take a peek at the picture below.

 

My great, great great grandfather (Philip) and great, great, great grandmother (Mary).

 

Yes you did read that above caption correctly. It does say GREAT 3 TIMES!!! I'll never forget the day I found this picture and showed it to my Dad when he was still here with us. Such a smile came over his face and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. So take advantage of that FREE 14-day trial and get searching. You'll never know what you'll find until you start looking!

Take A Guess

So I thought instead of telling you what tomorrow's blog would be about I'd let you try and figure it out (kind of like 21 questions).

Look at the above picture and tell me what you see. Then try and figure out how that image play's a role in everyone's life in the world today.

Leave comments below and you'll discover tomorrow what the world has to do with that tree up top. Have a great day!

A Scratch Behind The Ear

As I stated yesterday my pet's mean everything to me. Yes, I love my husband and my family, but when it comes to my cats there's a different level of love there. I treat them as if they were my children (I don't have any and do not plan on ever having any). There's just no better way to describe them, they are my life.

Some of you may be reading this post and thinking "Okay, psycho cat-lady at ten o'clock", but you'd be wrong about me. I'm content and happy with my two cats, Hemi and Belle. I love my cat's like their my kids, but I know when the lines between being loving and obsessive become extreme.

Hemi (left) and Belle, completely caught off guard.

I know some of my readers are probably pet owners and I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about with the above statements. But for those of you who aren't pet owners, but love animals, here are a few good reasons you should own a pet:

1. It's good for your heart (all the love and compassion you show them).
2. Petting an animal can help fight depression.
3. They can teach us new skills (new life lessons from animals).
4. Owning a pet can help lower your cholesterol and stress levels.
5. Can improve you're fitness (specifically for dog owners).
6. Having a pet can reduce your risk for asthma and allergies.
7. Animals are just so damn cute! Who can resist right?

If you're thinking of adopting a cat, or any other animal for that matter, turn to your local shelter to do so. June is National Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month. So get on out there and save an animal's life. Below is the link to my local shelter, but you can find the shelter nearest you and see what pet's are waiting to be loved.

http://susquehannaspca.org/

Hemi and Belle were both rescues that I adopted when they were just a few months old. I'm very thankful to have them in my life and my family's life because they make it much more interesting and fun every single day. Remember, pets are family too, so treat them with the same love and respect they give to you.

Thank God For Fuzziness

My pets mean the world to me. They're my kids (well the furry kind anyway). But still they're a member of this family and I'd take a bullet for them if need be. Hemi and Belle (they're cats) always seem to know when I'm in a sad or bad mood and try to do their best to make me feel better.

Tomorrow's blog will cover why having a pet can improve you're life, whether it be a cat, dog, bird, fish, guinea pig, mouse, snake, turtle, or even a ferret (I know I left out a lot - too many to list). So if you have a pet leave a comment (can be one word or more) about how you're pets make your life better for you and your family.

I've done this. Have you?

Rewind

I laid in bed last night and started crying. I let the tears fall and allowed my pillow to become soaked with my tears. I didn't answer my husband at first when he asked what was wrong. No one will ever understand how hard the month of June is for me.

The month of June should be a celebratory time for me because it is my birthday month. But that means nothing to me in comparison to these events. June 9th, 2010 my world crashed down around me and I lost the only person who cared with such a passion it hurt. My Poppy.

Not only do I have to deal with that "lovely" reminder, I also have to sit here this Father's Day and not have my Dad here to celebrate it with. While others get to give gifts and take their dad out to breakfast I get to sit next to my Dad's urn and cry. I feel like I've lost so much and I don't know what else can be taken from me anymore.

At this point I think I've grown numb to it all, but then those damn tears start to fall and it brings up all the memories again. Saying goodbye, asking God to bring them back repeatedly, asking Him to take me instead of them, and feeling the tears run down my hot face.

It's just as vivid as the day's that it happened. I just want to stop hurting already. I don't see that happening anytime soon. And the tears start again...

Deceitful (But It’s Tasty!)

After realizing I was dehydrated I tried to think of what could have caused this. Being out in the sun and heat too long? Not getting enough rest? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I had been drinking more soda than water recently! I’m sure you’re wondering just like I was “How can soda be bad?”

 I “normally” consume on a good day 3 or 4 cans of soda. On a bad day it can reach up to 6 or 7. I hear from my Mom all the time that I need to drink more water and even my husband chimes in on my bad days. But in my mind it’s like I need to have it. It’s almost like being an addict; an addict to caffeine.
 

 It’s been proven that caffeine is mildly addictive (just ask any person that needs to have their coffee in the morning). But unlike coffee, which is loaded with antioxidants, soda has no nutritional benefits in it whatsoever. Soda consists of filtered water and refined sugars; not to mention diet sodas contain a poison called Aspartame.

Some of you might be sitting here reading this and say big deal, who cares? Well to be honest I thought the same thing as I was researching the harmful effects of soda, but the list goes on: 

 

1. Drinking a single can of soda a day means more than 1lb of weight gain in a month.

2. An increase in blood pressure (like I don’t have enough to stress about)

3. D E H Y D R A T I O N

4. More likely to cause heartburn (so that’s why I’m always eating Tums!)

5. Also been show that soda can weaken your bones (Osteoporosis anyone?)

When I finished reading these facts I almost dropped the soda I was drinking. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that such a little can could cause so much damage to my body.

 

So I decided to make a promise to myself that I would start to treat my body better. The best way for me to do this is to start drinking more of these beverages:

1. W A T E R (it flushes your system out)

2. Tea (plentiful with antioxidants that can combat health problems)

3. 100% Juice; not the sugar filled crap either!

 

4. Milk (make those bones stronger)

 

I’m hoping that these facts help other soda drinkers out there like me. This isn’t meant to scare people, but just to open their eyes to the actual harm their doing to their body. So before you go to grab that soda for lunch or feel thirsty and need a drink, think back to these facts. Hopefully over time I’ll be able to heal what damage soda has done to me.