Author Archives: Andrea

I got blessed by an angel today

A surprise angel today

I was in WalMart this morning when I encountered an angel in the checkout line ahead of me.  She appeared my age and was in one of those electric shopping carts.  I could tell by her size and body  movements that she had a condition that limited her mobility.  She was using WIC for her food items and also buying bleach, roach killer and insect bombs.  She appeared tired and older than her age.  As her grocery total grew, she had the cashier suddenly stop.  She had several essential food items not yet paid for.  I quickly saw the dilemma, her WIC paid for food but she right now needed some pest control, paid for out of her own money.  Which it was evident she did not have much of.  I told her it would be my honor to pay the $4.90 for her additional items.  She was surprised and grateful and said a little prayer for me. She reached into her wallet to pay the cashier and she’s $5.75 short.  That’s my house number, so I knew it was a signal.  “If I may,” I said as I handed the cashier $6.  “Yay, I get an extra blessing today.”

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Sheldon, Amy, don’t think you’re fooling Mom

[Amy and Sheldon are speaking to Amy’s mother (in somewhat robotic voices) over a video computer connection on a laptop]
Mrs. Fowler: It’s nice to meet you too, Sheldon. I honestly didn’t believe Amy when she told me she had a boyfriend.
Sheldon Cooper: I assure you I am quite real. And I’m having regular intercourse with your daughter.
Mrs. Fowler: [in a surprised tone] What?
Sheldon Cooper: Oh, yes. We’re like wild animals in heat. It’s a wonder that neither of us has been hurt.
Mrs. Fowler: [scared] Amy, what is he saying? Continue reading →

Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world

“Is it your face that adorns this garden? Is it your fragrance that intoxicates this garden? Is it your Spirit that has made this brook a river of wine? Hundreds have looked for You, and died searching in this garden, where You hide behind the scenes. But this pain is not for those who come as lovers. You are easy to find here. You are in the breeze and in this river of wine.”
Rumi

“Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world.” Rumi

In the “Never select ALL” Department

A former best buddy who stopped talking to me several years ago, completely cut me off and refuses to tell me why, sent me an email just now asking me to pass on to my email list a petition to get someone on the ballot for a county position. I know she did not mean to send it to me. At the end of her email, she paraphrases the Helen Walton quote with “It is not what you gather, it is what you scatter that matters.”   So her first email to me in years is political spam?   Indeed.

Out of loss comes more freedom and joy

I got an email the other day from a new friend who wrote: “I am amazed at your story, and all the loss of family you’ve experienced. Your pictures convey a real sense of joy.” Reflecting on that, had I not lost so many family members so soon, I would not have been compelled to go inside and find the good stuff, do the soul work to find the lasting stuff, the important stuff.  Being connected to my soul is what brings me joy.

The day I left my parent’s home

I left home when I was 18, like lots of kids do.  I didn’t wait until after I graduated.  I didn’t even wait until the end of the day.  Rather I skipped school that morning and Kris Krehmeyer skipped also.  As soon as my mom left for work, Kris and I piled my clothes into his little chartreuse Karmann Ghia and we dropped them off at Terry N’s house and went back to school.  Terry’s mom had agreed to let me live with them while I finished up high school, and she’d gotten us jobs with her at Sears, in the catalog phone sales center. Continue reading →

Why does one school of thought always endeavor to invalidate another?

On Facebook, I just saw a pic of a Bible with the caption “Sin is an imaginary disease to sell you a imaginary cure.”  Facebook friend Vanessa Wells wrote “Love the quote. Even A Course In Miracles says this is true. But why does one school of thought always endeavor to invalidate another school of thought, i.e., Humanism vs. Faith and Mysticism? Why do we insist on living in an “either-or” type of reality. What’s the drive behind our need to be “Right”, and therefore, logically, that means that you are “Wrong”. It’s has to be that sacred belief in scarcity, that there’s not enough world for everybody to be right. Crazy.”

Hereinafter “Ab Day” will be Core Strengthening Day instead

Side plank

I’d posted on Facebook a friend’s link to some cool ab exercises.  I got a great schooling and hereinafter Ab Day will be CORE STRENGTHENING day.  Jaymz Lockwood illuminated us:   “Ok just got back from the gym and I’m tired of hearing people ramble on with false information. Here is the truth about Abs, they are just glamor muscles that’s it. With or without exercising (Diet alone) get under 10% body fat and you will see your abs. The muscles you need to concentrate on and are 1000x more important are you’re core muscles (the Psoas and Iliacus muscles). Those are the muscles connected to your skeletal system and provide support for your lower back. Continue reading →

Worst Valentine’s Day Ever

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Go on a cruise, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

Go on a cruise, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

True Valentine’s Day story.  I had a 3 day weekend one President’s Day in the early 80’s and decided to go on a cruise out of Miami to Nassau.  I didn’t even consider that it was also Valentine’s Day weekend.  The entire cruise was couples, with very few solo.  The Greek crew members all paid special attention to the single women and it was quite a fiasco, since I like hanging out alone.  It wasn’t a great experience and I learned I don’t care for cruises. I got seasick for the first time ever, after having been on small boats my whole life.  I don’t drink or gamble but wanted something different to do and cruises out of Miami, where I lived, were so cheap. The sleeping rooms were very small.  The food was good, it wasn’t heavy, the dining times staggered to accommodate so many people.  Walking on deck I was aware we were all bound to a small piece of plastic in a gigantic ocean miles deep. I couldn’t just jump in my car and drive back home if I didn’t like it. I learned cruises are not for me. The highlight of the weekend was when I went into Nassau and I saw my father and his wife on the cover of The Sunday Miami Herald when I’d not been prepared for the story. It was quite the memorable Valentine Day weekend. Here’s a pdf of the article I saw –> Hermits Face Disruptions in Big Cypress Hideaway.