Letter to my aunt...(if you're religious- dont read this)

Dear Aunt Clara,

Thank you for your letter, it was good to see you also while I was in Missouri.

I appreciate the concern about my "personal relationship with God". Perhaps there is some need for that concern, as I have changed my views on religion in the past 10 years. Unlike you, I do not believe that Christians are the only people who will get into Heaven. And I especially dont believe as you apparently do, that one religion is better or more likely to get into heaven than another.I do believe, unlike you, that God or whoever...looks at how we have lived our lives, the good things we have done, how we treated others, etc. If we were basically a good person...we are fine. I do not believe that we have to be "fully immersed" in baptismal waters to be assured of going to Heaven. Where in the Bible does it say that? And where does it say that Methodists "arent scripturally based" so they arent worthy of Heaven? Do you really believe that God or St Peter or whoever...is standing at the Pearly Gates with a list, saying "Oh, youre a Baptist? Well,C'MON in!" and "Oh, youre a Methodist? Hmmm,sorry, but you are not allowed into Heaven...going down..."

It also says in the Bible that dogs cant go to heaven.( I know- I should get over this...lol) so, that would mean you wont be able to see your precious Sarah or Happy.

And, Im sorry (not really) but I cannot accept a God who doesnt let such wonderful creatures into his kingdom.

You have a daughter who is gay. Is she going to Heaven? Oh, the fact that she was raised a Baptist guarantees it??Ok. But Im a bicurious heathen Methodist so Im going to hell??

I respect your views on religion. I am glad that your God gives you blessings and comfort.

Please respect my views...which arent very tangible at the moment, as Im in a questioning everything time in my life.

And do NOT send me anymore religious propaganda if you wish to ever hear from me again.

Love,

Christine

CUTENESS OVERLOAD WARNING!!!

These are some pics my niece sent me today of her little boy, Hunter Morgan Napier...hes 10 months old- another October baby...I really *do* think October babies are the cutest...dont you?

Luv the fauxhawk...lol.Is that pure orneriness(sp?) or what?? LOL





Not sure if hes yawning or crying here...maybe both. LOL Or maybe he doesnt care for whatever he is eating.




He luuuuvvvvsss the doggie in the background here she says. He naps on it, bites its ears, rides it...plays with it all the time.




SEE MY NEW TOOFIES!!??!!

61 more days...

Don't worry, I will not be blogging the Daily Jackson Browne Countdown every day. LOL

On October 27th...2 days after my 41st b-day...I will have the pleasure, thanks to some wonderful friends...of seeing Mr Browne in concert..at the Tabernacle.

I have never seen him live. I have always loved his music...from "Somebodys Baby" to "The Pretender" to "Lives In the Balance" to "For a Rocker"...to my latest love- which always makes me cry..."For a Dancer" which has these lines, which are what make me cry every time...

Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But youll never know
*************************************************************************************


Here's the whole song...look it up online, its a beautiful song. Hope he plays it.


Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I dont remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought youd always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now youre nowhere to be found

I dont know what happens when people die
Cant seem to grasp it as hard as I try
Its like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I cant sing
I cant help listening
And I cant help feeling stupid standing round
Crying as they ease you down
cause I know that youd rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(theres nothing you can do about it anyway)

Just do the steps that youve been shown
By everyone youve ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Anothers steps have grown
In the end there is one dance youll do alone

Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Dont let the uncertainty turn you around
(the world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound

Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But youll never know

Last nights pet sitting blog

Dogs. Ya just gotta luv 'em.

And wish that some came without their owners. *sighs*

Tonight has been a heck of a night...started off good...but when I got to a new clients house Id done 2 visits with...one of the dogs was missing. After searching frantically for 30 minutes for a black lab in his backyard and on his street...I called my boss. Got her voicemail. I called her again...got her this time. Told her what had happened...oh yeah, and I had locked myself out of the house too...lol. Their backdoor locks behind you, and the key I have doesnt go to that lock. And, I had locked the front door when I came in...and left the key on the counter in the kitchen, next to everyones phone numbers. Im batting 1000 now...lol.

OK..so I calm down a bit after she tells me she will go get the key at the office and come let me in and help me look for the dog.OK..I calmed down after sobbing for about 10 minutes...not knowing how to tell someone who has trusted you with their babies that you have lost one. I make the call..get hisvoicemail. Leave a message...and then go to a couple neighbors houses and tell them Clifford has escaped. I learn from one that Clifford is an escape artist and that I am not the first who has had to search for him. And hes hard to catch once you do find him. Oh wunnerful.

My boss gets there, lets me in..I get the key and info sheet, and she and I split up and go looking. Theres a golf course across the road from them ,so thats where I head...hmmm..hes a black lab, theres water and ducks to chase..yep good place to start.I drive all around it looking for a way in, and for him...finally get all the way around the opther side and theres an entrance. The secuirty guard wont let me come in and look...hes a foreign man...and assures me that no dogs have come onto the golf course. OK..whatever, heres my number, call me. Thanks buh-bye. I drive around some more and my boss calls. Shes headed towards me, so we stop, she says weve done all we can do, after 2 hours of looking, its time to go. The neighbor across the street had notified everyone he knew that knows Clifford and had looked for him himself, so we had quite a search party going. So, I remember that Id forgotten to feed the dogs...so I head back to the house...open the back door.

Clifford walks right in like nothing has happened...and starts eating. ROFLMAO!!

I hug his scruffy neck ask him where the hell hes been and and tell him hes not going out in the backyard ever again. He licks my nose. LOL.

I call everyone and let them know the prodigal lab has returned and is now and forevermore shall be inside his house safe and sound.

As Im driving...oh, yeah..I was supposed to be at an overnight with the beagles whose owners drive me crazy, Id called them while waiting for my boss to see if they had someone to come let the girls out till I got there. They said okay and said theyd find someone. (They had told me their in laws would be in and out of the house all weekend so I hoped theyd be able to just come let them out) So..I get a call from their owner, who says that her dogs are freaking out about having been inside for so long and theyve peed all over her house and that she will be compensated for the carpet cleaning and that she doesnt know how to assure this doesnt happen again but we need to do something, and that she *WILL* be compensated for the carpet. I had told her when I called from the dogs house that I was looking for a lost dog...tehy seemed understanding. She however didnt have an ounce of understanding, she was upset and demanded that we would pay for her carpets to be cleaned. I apologized and said she needed to speak with my boss either tomorrow or Monday about that and that I was on my way to their house. She said her in laws were there and they would point out the spots to me.

So. I get there. Her sister in law welcomes me in, asks about the lost dog...tells me yeah, theres some spots in the dining room (not all over the house-hmm) I look at them...they are not fresh, and were there last night when I got to their home, 2 hours after theyd left. (Things that make ya go hmmm) Then they leave.

I look around some more...no other spots, the girls are fine, happy to see me..tails wagging...licks being given.

I will not be sitting anymore for these people. When I came to get the key and see the house...she was telling me stuff, hed interrupt and correct her, or more like say the exact same thing she had just differently...I just do not like them. The dogs are obnoxious...but it isnt their fault, they do respond well to commands and can obey. They told me I had to eat on paper plates and cups because theyre kosher...which is more of an inconveneince to me...because I now have to eat at my house as oppsoed to bringing stuff here to cook..because you cant cook eggs and meat in the same pans..I have no idea what pans are for what...it is just easier in a way to eat at my house.

Im just tired..and frustrated..and wish everyone would just RELAX.

Im off to do that now as its late.

Goodnight.

Here's what eating 2 eggs almost every day will get ya...

My results What they recommend


Total cholesterol 195 (below 200 is optimal)

LDL 159 ( Below 129)

HDL 25 (Less than 50 for women)

Triglycerides 52 (Less than 150)

TC/HDL Ratio 7.7 (Less than 5)


So...ok..I need to cut back on the eggs....and increase my exercise.

I eat the eggs because they stick with me and I dont get hungry after 2 hours like I do with cereal or even yogurt. Maybe I need to eat every 2 hours, small things.

Is there a healthy type of butter?? I hate to use margarine (its artifical and most are loaded with saturated fats)to cook things...and love the taste that butter gives foods. I dont use as much as I use to..but I do use it to cook many things, including those eggs.

All in all...maybe Im in denial...but I dont see these numbers as being all that horrible.

I have lost over 50 pounds since moving here in 2006. I eat veggies every day, fruit every day, I get some exercise every day (walking dogs and just got a twice a week dog walk with 2 dogs that walk fast and hard - so theres that!)

I just need to up the ante, I guess...do a little more than what Im doing.

If I can lose that weight by doing just a little...making a few changes...imagine what I could do if I **really** worked at it.

I am at 216 right now. I have weighed over 200 since 1988. 20 years. I would love to get below 200.

Observations from my trip

People want to help...and will, if you just ask.

If youre scared and dont know what to do..ask someone.

TSA agents give great hugs. No, really, they do. (Thank you,Ethel)

It is perfectly fine to have a minor meltdown in the middle of the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport because youre grieving your sister and are freaking out about the long line. No, Im not proud of breaking down...but...it was a minor meltdown...and *did* get them to move the people who were on 11 am flights to the front of the line.

It is okay and even feels good..to let someone else's grandma take care of you at St Louis Airport. Thank you Mae at the airport information desk, for not letting me hop on Metrolink and go downtown to the Greyhound station...and for the hugs and love. You are a blessing to all who travel thru there and meet you.

The bus *will* eventually get there.

Charlotte airport is nice..and has some healthy food choices. Yay!

My parents *can* drive to and from the St Louis Airport.

My dad *can* be nice to me. Shocking...I know.

Dogs know when you need comfort. Thank you Rusty in Missouri and Sweetpea and Angus and Crusoe here in GA. Love you guys!

You *can* find healthy food at a small town grocery store.No Kashi though... :(

It is okay to not be able to remember peoples names that you havent seen for at least 7 years. They will understand. And tell you their name.

Airplanes can fly through thunderstorms and be just fine.

They dont easily fall out of the sky either.

I *can* speak up to my dad. And feel good about it.

My dad will always have issues with eggs. Doesnt mean *I* have to. (The cycle has been broken ! LOL)

I need (and want :P ) to plan my own funeral. Cause my parents sure wont do it.

I am stronger than I thought I was.

Sister I see you...dancin' on the stage of memory

BELT Teresa Ann (Peck) Belt, 30, Holts Summit, passed away Sunday, August 10, 2008, at St Mary's Health Center, Jefferson City. She was born September 2, 1977, a daughter of Johnnie and Linda (Gilpin) Reed.

In 1985, she became the adopted daughter of Richard and Alberta Peck of Tipton.

She is survived by her partner, Donald Philbert, her ex-husband, Gary Belt, her children, Dennis, Brenda, Travis, Nathaniel, Ashley, Alexis, Desiree, and Brice; one natural brother, David Reed; one adopted brother, Michael Peck; one adopted sister, Christine Peck; and many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by an infant son, Michael.

Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 14, 2008, at First Assembly of God, Eldon. Visitation will be from 6-7 p.m. prior to service time at the church. Memorials may be sent to Hedges-Scott Funeral Home P.O. Box 49 Camdenton, Mo. 65020 to help with expenses.