BURNING BRIDGES

I awoke this morning with this on my heart.  I have burnt my bridges and moved on.  To often we burn our bridges and like most fire bugs keep returning to the scene of the crime.

I don't know who you are or what your need is, but this message IS for you! 
MOVE ON!

Burning Bridges is an expression synonymous to the "Point of no return", typically used when a relationship becomes irreparable.

YOUR BRIDGES
HAVE ALL
BEEN BURNT

IT'S TIME
TO MOVE
ON

DON'T STOP
TO LOOK
BACK

EMBRACE THE
NEW DAY
MOVE ON

WHO KNOWS
WHAT JOY
AWAITS

JUST
AROUND THE
NEXT BEND

YOUR BRIDGES
HAVE ALL
BEEN BURNT

IT'S TIME
TO
LIVE
ON

George Jones
"Burning Bridges"

Found some letters that you wrote me this mornin'
And they told of a love we once knew
Now they're gone, I burned them to ashes
Don't want nothin' to remind me of you.

Burning bridges behind me
It's to late to turn back now
Burning bridges behind me
All I want is to forget you somehow.

Sold the house we once planned together
I said goodbye to the friends we once knew
Then I moved to a faraway city
Trying hard to forget about you.

Burning bridges behind me
It's to late to turn back now
Burning bridges behind me

All I want is to forget you somehow.

All I want is to forget you somehow...

STAINS

Stain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon. Stains are caused by the chemical or physical interaction of two dissimilar materials. Stains are used intentionally in a variety of fields, including in research (biochemical staining), technology (metal staining), and art (wood staining, stained glass.)

 Formation

There can be intentional stains (such as wood stains or paint)[1], indicative stains (like food coloring or adding a substance to make bacteria visible under a microscope)[2], natural stains (such as rust on iron or a patina on bronze)[3], and accidental stains (like spilling ketchup or wine [4] on your shirt.) While the types of stains are very different in application, they all form in the same basic ways:

The primary method of stain formation is surface stains, where the staining substance is spilled out onto the surface or material and is trapped in the fibers, pores, indentations or other capillary structure of that surface.[1] The material that is trapped coats the underlying material, and the stain reflects back light according to its own color. Applying paint, spilled food, and wood stains are of this nature.[5]

A secondary method of stain involves a chemical or molecular reaction between the material and the staining material. Many types of natural stains fall into this category. Finally, there can also be molecular attraction between the material and the staining material, involving being held in a covalent bond and showing the color of the bound substance.[6]

Different types of material can be stained by different substances, and stain resistance is an important characteristic in modern textile engineering.

In many cases, stains can be affected by heat , and may become reactive enough to bond with the underlying material. Extreme heat, such as from ironing or dry cleaning, can cause a chemical reaction on an otherwise removable stain, turning it into a chemical compound that is impossible to remove.

One of my favorite poets, Merritt Malloy, once wrote "Arguments stain me".  I have always found this to be such a simple but profound truth.  People also stain us and sometimes it is a lot like the definitions given above.

You have intentional stains where someone has decided you have to believe or feel the way they do and when you refuse they try to stain you through what ever method has been used on them, for we are a product of the people and ideas that have touched our lives.  Which is why we have to be so careful of stains, aware of them and how they can slowly creep into our lives to poison us with, their truths.

Surface stains are the product of intentional stains.  When we hold onto others issues and problems, instead of turning them over to God the evidence will eventually show in our lives, on our faces and in our actions.  Though it often involves letting go of people you love, sometimes it is a choice we have to make so we do not carry their stains and become like them.

Chemical or reactive stains occur when through the heat of our anger and hurt we hold onto others words or deeds.  We seal these stains into our hearts allowing them a place they have no right to and we should cast them out before we are permanently scarred by these stains.

RULES vs EXCEPTIONS

People tend to make rules for others and exceptions for themselves.

As a parent and an older hopefully wiser (than when I was young) person

I am unsure of where I stand on this and find that fascinating!

I love puzzles espeially mind puzzles.

I have often made rules as a parent, that I had no intention of keeping as a person.

Eat your vegatables, I dislike vegatables

Try one bite you might like it. I would not put that in my mouth for all the tea in China (are we allowed to say that anymore, I have not got the hang of pc yet)

So yeah, sometimes we can make rules for others and not follow them ourselves.

Sadly, I can see myself on the exceptions side more than the rules side.

But, I have always disliked rules for myself and therein lies the problem.

For society to function we must have rules, but must they be written in stone?

No you have to have exceptions, you cannot have true fairness in this world of people with different personalities, levels of intellegence, knowledge and all the other variables that sometimes cause us to make exceptions. I would not want to live in a world without exceptions. It would be a much crueller place.

I think the rub comes when it is others making rules for us as adults, rules that they should have to follow also. But still I find myself cheering for the exceptions, I am just a hopeless cause.

I keep trying to find a reason to follow rules without exceptions (I am sure there is at least one out there) but I am coming up blank.

Ok let me try a different approach:

I believe that the speed limits are set based on information that has shown that a certain speed is safe on that stretch of road. Oh, for crying out loud would you exceptions just shut up and let me have one rule!

Okay, I surrender, what it boils down to for me, which is all I can make rules for at this phase of my life (tried with the dog, she has issue with rules also) is that I have decided that no one is going to steal my joy through my allowing their, thoughts, actions or rules to rule the direction of my life.

I am in charge of me! It is my choice to follow rules or not, my consequences for the choices I make, just as it is others choices. Of course, others choices affect me and my life, a drunk driver could forever change my life. But it is still my choice how I deal with it and where I go from there.

Which brings me to the 3 choices I have chosen to live by.

Do I choose to:

• Live with it
• Try to change it
• leave it

Whichever choice I make, is mine, and I take responsibility for the consequences.

Lifes a trip!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I am now trying to learn how to "Grab the button" LOL I must be to old to learn new things....please..................

Well!!! That did not work, quit laughing.. I don't seem to understand what the heck the button is and how to grab it eeeeeeeeek!

Back to the drawing board. Well the drawing board moved or I put it in that special place you put things, you know the one you are sure you will remember and never see again.

There was a question of the week on the "button place" above I found interesting but mostly amusing. It was How well do you know yourself, you were suppose to take several different steps and then come back and do something else, who knows?

But what caught my eye was what you were suppose to do was list 10 surprising things about you. Now with my memory issues I am always surprising myself so I thought this should be easy to do, but with my (self diagnosed ADD) I got distracted by something else. To top all that off I am unsure of who is suppose to be surprised me or you? So I am going with me!

Number One on my list has to be that every now and then I can remember my name. Now you may find that strange if you don't have a child or grandchild or son-in-law, but if you have any of these you will say "I understand that".

I will give you a recent example: I went to my Nanababies first soccer game and as our children are want to do my daughter failed to introduce me to the coach. Now this is where I ran into problems, Sam is the assistant coach, so am I Sam's Mom, my Nanababies are on his team so am I their grandmother. I was just grateful Chris and Nate had not made it there yet! So I finally settled on "Hi I am Sam's Mom" then I had to stop and search again for that name you know, the one people call me who are not related.

I thought that I finally got to be me again when my daughter reached a certain age but find instead of less names I now have more. To make matters worse my daughter, poor delusioned one, now wants me to always refer to myself as Nana in front of the children, so they don't start calling her Sam or is it start calling me Mom (who can remember all these rules). Urrrrg!

Number Two: Very appropriate numbering for this! I was in the grocery store the other day looking for something when this sweet elderly man mentioned out of the blue to me that he was looking for something, which brings me to number two, Chatty Cathy! I just don't get out enough because when he shared what he always forgets at the store my wild tongue just took off without my brain and I found myself explaining to him my issues with remembering to buy toilet paper and yes Sam if you ever read this "I did go there" telling him that it was not until I ran out sitting on the toilet that I remembered I forgot toilet paper "AGAIN".

Perhaps, not so strangely as I continued to shop behind him he started the skipping isles dance, you know what I mean, and glancing furtively behind him. I guess he was afraid I might share more...........

Number Three: How accidentally creative I am. Example: I once (I think Sam still has it for those who do not believe me) sewed a skating outfit, I took drama in school, not home EC. I sewed BOTH arms on upside down and the skirt on sideways, you would not believe the number of people who asked me where I got the outfit/pattern from. I was confused until someone who could really sew and did not just buy their outfits explained to me where I had gone wrong. It was a hoot!

I started crocheting a winter cap for myself the other day and became intrigued by different ideas that were popping into my head and am now about half way through a truly gorgeous hooded shaw. I can't read patterns, because you have to be able to pay attention and I get bored and decide to try something different and then loose the pattern, my place in the pattern or usually I have gone on to a completely different thing than what I started to make.

Number Four: How someone as good with computers as I am can get so confused on the social networking sites. It is either the rules or the ADD problem but they just stump me, I have to crawl my way through to figure them out. I once posted a picture on someone else's site, no clue how that happened.

Number Five: That people with actual brains that work will sometimes ask me for advice. Which of course always ends up back at number two. You would think they knew better.

Number(s) Six and Seven: Since they are related I will lump them together. 6-That I have such a semi-normal daughter and 7-well behaved dog. Seriously I don't have a clue how my daughter survived me and my poor dog. I was talking with someone one day and forgot that I was holding my dogs leash in my hand, thankfully she did not do what is standard for a Husky and take off, but instead just patiently sat there until I realized there was something I forgot. My poor daughter used to have to remind me it was time to feed her and I was always grateful that babies are born knowing how to cry when they needed something.

Number Eight: That I have never burned my house down. You would think that would take some doing, but you might be surprised at the number of times I have suddenly screamed into the phone "I forgot I had food cooking" and made a mad dash for the kitchen. I would not dare use candles and make sure I have battery operated lanterns for emergencies. If I could only find that special place I put everything......

Number Nine: That I managed to hold the same job for 20 years and could remember permits I issued and to who the first year. This coming from someone who has to look to see what color or if I am wearing underwear. Who can't remember what they had for dinner or if they had dinner.

Number Ten: Don't any of you try to pretend you have not had this issue! I am surprised I have never lost a cell phone and how many times I have been talking to someone on the cell phone and gone into panic mode because I could not figure out where my cell phone was (yes the one I forgot I was talking on.)

Sadly, I could probably go on for days (see #2) but I just saw a butterfly (see 2nd paragraph #3) it gave me an idea. Bye!

THE MOUSE AND I

I was sitting in my outside area today, happily crocheting away, when I had that feeling you get when someone or something is watching you. Thinking my dog Prissy had come up for some Mommy time I glanced down and there was a huge gray mouse (OK it was tiny) sitting on the arm of my chair watching me crochet. It looked rather surprised when I screamed and I guess when I jumped out of my chair it decided that anything that could scare something as big as me, it did not want any part of, so it scurried away.

I finally convinced Prissy that she should come to my rescue by telling her the mouse was after her water (she does not like for anything/one to mess with HER things). She sniffed my chair then tried to put her 60 pounds in my lap for protection, she is a Husky after all.

For those who are not familiar with Huskies, if you are looking for a dog that will scare people who judge by appearances a Husky might work, if you are looking for a dog that will love someone to death while they are robbing your house a Husky is the dog for you. They only look like mean dogs, they are the biggest babies in the canine kingdom.

I finally convinced her that her water was in imminent danger of the mouse drinking it so she searched all under my chair but failed to scare the mouse out of there. I think I need a cat!

Always Dream In Vivid Color: Preschool Madness#links

Always Dream In Vivid Color: Preschool Madness#links

WHAT A WEEK!

It has really been a great week for me, I have been busy with my crocheting. I learned a new stitch (new to me that is) the Afghan stitch. I am in love with this stitch and can't wait to buy some Afghan needles. It works great with the slippers I am making for my granddaughters.

It's funny there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all that I want to do, somehow I thought that when I wasn't working I would have more time.

I guess it's like when you buy a giant purse thinking you will never use that much space and then after a few weeks find you need a bigger purse. I threw away all my large purses and refuse to ever buy another for that reason. But unlike my purse issue the clutter in my life is things I enjoy and throwing any away would be hard. So, I guess that I will just be grateful that my life is so full and enjoy all the wonderful blessings God places in my life.