Justice for Ozzi

I write this post with a heavy heart and tear filled eyes.

Justice for Ozzi
https://www.facebook.com/Justice4Ozzi

Photo from Justice4ozzi facebook page.

On June 2, 2014, an African gray parrot was stolen from the front porch of her own home. Her owner found her the next day in the woods behind their home covered in cuts and blood. For those of us blessed with the love of a bird know that we do not own them, they own us. Did you know that birds are capable of loving and enjoy being loved? I am fortunate to be able to tell you that they are.  I am currently owned by a handsome jenday conure whom I call Rico.

My heart goes out to Ozzi and her owner. I pray that your heart is healed by all the wonderful times you had with Ozzi. I am truly sorry for your loss.

I cannot bring Ozzi back but I can help spread awareness. Animal cruelty is not acceptable. Please help me spread awareness and let’s fight animal cruelty together.

You can find the full story here.

Please take a moment to help, sign the petition: Justice for Ozzi!

Follow the Justice for Ozzi FaceBook Page.

 

 

Wipe your feet here

Last night I had no choice but to go to bed early. My body gave out. I wasn’t feeling well and the mouth battle I had with my teenager took everything I had left in me. What that usually looks like is her running her mouth non stop and me using my anger management skills. The skill is that I find the control to not take my hand and instinctively use the back of it to stop her lips from flailing about. I guess you could say that I won because I didn’t give her lips the whack that they most certainly deserve. Some might say that I lost. We will save that for another post.

I worked yesterday. In fact, I work everyday. Monday through Friday at my corporate job and when that job ends for the day, I immediately walk out of my office and start my other jobs. You might know these jobs. They consist of; being a mother, a wife, a maid, a zoo keeper, a laundry mat attendant, a business assistant, and a chef. I’m sure I missed something. I prefer my corporate job hours as opposed to my other job hours. The other job hours are usually long, consist of no breaks,  and a lot of stress. At least I get paid at my corporate job.

I woke up this morning for work only to find that last nights dinner still sat, stinking, on the stove. Last nights dishes remain on the counter. Our pug was ready to explode because he needed to go outside. I can only assume that someone forgot to let him out before bed last night. I felt my blood starting to boil. I wanted nothing more than to call my husband at work and fill his ears with a few choice words. I wanted to go rip my teenage daughter out of her bed and tell her a thing or two. I didn’t, I chose to save my breath. I chose silence. Not to mention, I’ve been here on more than one occasion. I ask for help, no wait, I plead for help. It never comes. The response that I hear most often is that because I am the mom, it is expected of me. Sometimes they use words like, you are the glue, you keep this house running, or my favorite, you are super mom.

I’m not sure that I can keep up with all of this for much longer. I’m aging fast and my heart empty. I’m feeling angry and unappreciated. I’d like to have a clean, smooth running house and enjoy my family but it seems that without help I will have to sacrifice one or the other. I cannot even seem to find 30 minutes for myself, for the things I enjoy, or for the things that make me happy. If I do, I am interrupted and someone elses job then becomes mine. I realize that I signed up for this job but I think I misunderstood the job functions.

I realize that this sounds terrible. I do love being a wife and mother but what good will I be to them when I die from exhaustion or just give up all together.

I feel like I am ready to turn my dirty foot stained cape in for some happiness.

 

If you have some words of wisdom, advice, or something to slap me with. Please feel free to share.

May always was her favorite month

In May, I always feel my best, inside and out.  I believed that everything in the universe would align accordingly during the month of May. It is possible that I foolishly convinced myself of the universal alignment as a defense mechanism to life’s ups and downs.  May is my birth month. I’ve never found myself with the worry of growing older. As far back as I could recall,  I felt that May was a personal time of rejuvenation regardless of my aging body. The ability to share the emotions of others and the willingness to often carry burdens that are not my own, have the tendency drain me.  My understanding of the art in life makes me more than willing to accept the draining. The knowledge of the art of life also gives me the strength to carry those burdens while also carrying my own. Knowing that I usually have the entire month to be refreshed and cleansed made the sucking and draining, from the teeth of the beast, that much easier to bare.

I had no reason to think that this May would be any different from May’s of the past. It was. I was overwhelmed by emotion and drained of enough tears to last a lifetime last month.  I found myself being pulled into the past. I don’t mind visiting the goodness of the past. At times, I am even willing to visit the dark places, even the disturbingly unpleasant ones. I am intelligent enough to know that I have become the person I am today as a result of both but I will only visit by choice.  I will no longer live there, the maintenance involved can decompose ones soul. I don’t take strongly to those that try to drag me back to those dark places, simply because they have been unable to pack their own suitcase and move on.

I didn’t realize that the unexpected visit to those dark places would be strong enough to steal my smile. Everything I tried to do to regain my smile, would fail. The weight of the frown was like a heavy brick. I can recall looking at myself in the mirror, trying to pretend to smile. My smile was clearly broken. I was looking at my very own reflection standing there and it was feeling sorry for me. It was then that I pulled myself back from the darkness. I am clearly not immune to the past but I have learned that forgiveness is the inexpensive antidote.

Here we are in June and I made it through May. I am happy to say that my smile is no longer broken.

I hope that you will remember that everyone has a past, a present, and a the ability to be hopeful for the future. Save yourself!

Nominated for a Liebster Award, I’m honored!

Marci from http://fuzzyundertones.com  nominated me for a Liebster Award and I am thrilled. Marci and I met through the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Her amazing post kept me coming back for more. I am ecstatic that she chose me as one of her award nominees. I NEVER win anything.  I’d like to take  this moment (clears throat) to extend a special thanks to Marcie at Fuzzy Undertones for this special nomination, for reading my post, and for the friendship we found here in blogland. Thank you kindly, Marci. (crowd claps)

The Liebster Award is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The award was given to Marci and she then selected me (see her post here). I am more than thrilled to be a part of this tradition.

The Rules:

1. Link back and thank the blogger who nominated you in your post.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
4. Pick 5 – 10 new bloggers (must have less than 300 followers) to nominate.
5. Ask them 11 new questions. Do not re-nominate the blogger who nominated you.
6. Go to each blogger’s site and inform them of their nomination.

 

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I am such an animal lover. It is a good thing that I have some self-control or I could easily become that dog, cat, ferret, bird hoarding  (or any other animal for that matter) woman. The love I receive from my animals amazes me so much that I cannot help but wonder about their souls.  I believe there is clearly more to it than what we understand.
2. I started playing softball when I was eight years old and played on two traveling select softball teams in my teen years. I played every position except first base and I can still pitch underhanded around 55 mph. Softball (I prefer fast pitch) is my favorite sport.
3. I draw and paint. I really enjoy using charcoal and acrylic is my favorite paint medium.
4. I sucked my thumb until I was eleven years old. Sometimes, I wish that I could do it now, it provided me an unbelievable sense of security.
5. I often experience insomnia. I used to watch the clock and toss and turn. Now, I get up, read a book, or even watch television. I do better when I don’t lay there and count the minutes. You know, the “If I go to bed by two-thirty, I will still get four hours of sleep” thing.
6. I started a website a couple of years ago with the intent to sell my paintings. It was more pressure than enjoyment. I never sold a painting, I gave some away.
7. I am a bit of a clean freak. I cannot function when things are too messy. There is just something wonderful about a clean house.
8. I cannot sing but I still do it loudly and proudly.
9. I’m allergic to a medicine called compozine. It was given to me one time in the emergency room for nausea. It actually changed my mental state. Still to this day it seems rather odd that a nausea medicine could do that. It had to be counter-acted by another medication and immediately my state of mind changed back to ‘normal’.
10. I have a secret time capsule (short book) hidden inside of a structure that was at one time open and then sealed up. The only way that anyone will ever see it is if that structure is destroyed.
11. I love to eat lemons with salt. As I sit typing this my mouth has begun to water.

11 Questions asked by my nominator:

1. Why did you decide to start writing your blog? My middle sister actually opened me up to blogging. She blogged about home schooling, her husband being a truck driver, and her being a stay at home mom with two (now three) kids while he was on the road. It was her outlet for everything, including helping others coupon. I needed a way to express myself and to get rid of those  creatively nagging inner demons. although that sounds terrible to say ‘inner demons’, I think many of you know exactly what I mean. Not to mention it really helps an insomniac relax a little and stop chasing around thoughts. Well, sometimes.
2. In one sentence, describe what your blog is about. There’s a twist, though: don’t use any personal or possessive pronouns! (Muah ha haaaa!) Marci, that was a good twist and yes it took me a bit. I think I have it. Here goes….  This blog is about the art of everyday living.
3. What is your earliest memory? Riding a tricycle down the sidewalk of one of my childhood homes. I believe that I was 2-3. I cannot recall the home I lived in or the neighborhood, only the riding the tricycle down the sidewalk. In the memory I can see myself smiling so I must have been enjoying myself.
4. Do you dream? If so, do you dream in color or black and white? I do dream and I dream often.  I dream in color.
5. If you could only make one journey during your lifetime, but it could be to anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why? I honestly do not know where I would go. I’m content taking a drive just outside of town to view what I consider to be the country.
6. What is one of your guilty pleasures (and this had better be good…I want something really embarrassing!)? Sitting on the heat vent in winter. I cannot say that it is a guilty pleasure but I do enjoy it and therefore, I am guilty. I have done this since I was young and still sometimes do this as an adult. As a child I was able to enjoy the ten or fifteen minutes that the heat was on and for whatever reason I found that I could really create so much in my mind during these times. I can only assume that the comfort of the noise of the air blowing was the reason I could expand on whatever I was imagining in my head. I do it as an adult because I’m freezing , I want to get warm quickly, and oddly it is still very comforting. Should I be embarrassed by this?
7. Pick one: the Harry Potter series or the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Follow-up to what you picked: books or movies? There is no way for me to only pick one of these. I love them both. I always prefer a book to a movie and although I wish I had,  I have not read these.
8. What is your favorite holiday, and if it’s NOT Halloween, why? I’m not big on any holiday but Halloween is not my favorite. I have a small fear of people in mask.
9. List three words that describe your personality.  I have a hard time with things like this so I had to poll my friends who warmed my heart with their responses.  The three words they used most are kind, loyal, and intelligent.
10. What is your favorite thing about how you earn a living? The people.
11. If you could live in any time period (past, present or future), when and where would you be? Although I sometimes long for simpler times, I think I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

I nominate the following for the Liebster Award:

• Chrystal from Housewives of Blogdom because she is a professional panty un-buncher. Life is short eat dessert first,  is just a small taste of of what her blog holds.
• Colorful pen from My Dear Muse , and it is not just that she has great taste in music but because why not chase dragonfly dreams and pass notes.
• Willy Nilly from Willy Nilly To and Fro because it is all about the Willy Nilly life where anything can happen.
• Joanne from My Life Lived Full because she has taken me on many many adventures from the comforts of my office chair.
• Uniqusatya from Simply Poetry because her poetry is beautiful and I simply enjoy it.

Remember to check out their blogs because what I have listed here are pieces of what their blogs hold for me. Who knows what you will find for you.

Eleven Questions for my nominees:

1. Do you blog by day or burn the midnight oil?
2. What inspires you?
3. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
4. What do you fear the most?
5. What is the scariest dream that you can remember?
6. If you could have any superpower (even if you make up your own) what would it be?
7. What book are you reading or what was the last book that you read? Please follow-up with why you liked or disliked it.
8. If you were told that you could go back in time and change one thing, what would you change?
9. What is your most essential appliance?
10. A movie is being made about your life, who would play you?
11. What is one thing that you could not live without?

I appreciate the nomination for the Liebster Award, and I hope that the people I nominated for the award have fun answering these questions and participating in the Liebster Award tradition!

Thank you to everyone that reads Dancing in the weeds.

 

It is Z end

We did it! Here we are at letter Z.

As I mentioned in previous post, this was my first challenge. I had no idea what to expect from this challenge. What I came away with was more than I ever expected.

The challenge was a wonderful experience. I have met the most wonderful people. Thanks to all of  you, I have traveled many places. I’ve shared emotions, fantasies, dreams, nightmares, and desires. I’ve laughed and cried with both you and the characters in your stories. I’ve have felt much passion when reading poetry and have been amazed by the emotions in your paintings and the details in your drawings. The inspiration, it was spectacular.

I really thought that I would make it through more blogs than I did. I’m a bit disappointed because I know there are so many more of you that I would love to meet. I do hope that the A to Z Challenge list will remain up so that I can refer back to it. I do plan to get through all of the participants on the list. Did you make it through the list?

I’m honored to say that I was a participant in this challenge and I look forward to participating next year.  I would like to thank each of  you that stopped by and a special thanks to those of you who found me interesting enough to follow. It means a lot.

I’m excited to see what other challenges I can get myself into now. If you know of any on the rise, I would love for you to share.

What did you get out of the challenge? Any words of wisdom?

It is Z end my friends. Z end.