Thanksgiving....

Hello people! How are you all doing? I hope this blog finds you well and that you are looking forward to the up coming holidays....especially these last two Thanksgiving and Christmas! They truly saved the best for last!

SO I am sitting in Barnes & Noble enjoying their free Wi-Fi and a cappuccino! I probably should have skipped the cappuccino since the caffeine mixed with the sugar sprinkled on the scone has me wired for sound! I can't do sugar like use to when I was little...apparently I can't do caffeine either! Anyway...the holidays are here there are only two days until Thanksgiving and 32 days until Christmas. Do me a favor when you greet someone during the Christmas holiday say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and not happy holidays...sometimes being politically correct is just not worth it!

I had lunch the other day with some friends of mine, the ladies I use to go kick-boxing with. We don't kick-box anymore but we do share a meal with each other now and then... we went from sparring with each other to sharing meals and conversations. The exercising was a good thing but the conversations I find are better. I on occasion find myself attempting to feel sorry for myself and then I will talk to someone and find out that my life is GOLDEN! One of the ladies I had lunch with was talking about the current situation with her mother-in-law who is suffering from Alzheimer disease. I gather from the conversation that the mother-in-law only has sons as I have never heard my friend mention a sister-in-law. With her husband's mother's dementia she does on occasion have "accidents" which apparently leaves at least one of her sons at loss on what to do. She said that her husband came in and said his mom was naked from the waist down in the hall and he didn't know what to do. She said did you ask her where her clothes were or what happened? Apparently the shock of seeing his mom in that condition struck him DUMB! She helped her mother-in-law clean herself up and get her clothes on and took care of the soiled underwear and bedding. My friend was telling us that the other son is attempting to make waves and wants to take "his" mom to live with him...good luck with that she said saying "I wonder who is going to help her when she soils herself or is standing in the hall without clothes...." The conversation struck me as funny cause I was sitting there thinking my life sucks...then as she talked I thought OH I AM SORRY! MY LIFE IS GOLDEN! Don't get me wrong her mother-in-laws condition is no laughing matter it is no doubt sad. What stuck me as funny is that everyone thinks they have it bad but if you just look around, stop and listen, you will find out that it is not as bad as you think. Every time I want to feel sorry for myself I find that somebody else has something worst happening so instead of feeling bad or sorry for myself...all I can do is laugh and smile!

It occurs to me this time of year when Thanksgiving rolls around everybody starts talking about what they are thankful for and they even have to stop and think about it... I say we should be thankful that our lives are such that we don't have to 'stand naked' in the hallway not knowing where we had our accident that caused us to remove our underwear.... that we have all our faculties about us and we are able to move our limbs and still have our limbs to move! I have a friend that says any day 6 feet above ground is a good day! That is true, 6 feet above ground, in our right mind and mobile. That is something to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my friends and family...when I spend time with my friends I find that they have hidden strengths that I was not aware of. The friend who is taking care of her husband's mother, she is a black belt in Tae Kwon Doe or Super Feet or something... anyway she could take you out if she had too... BUT what makes her strong to me is the fact that when faced with a situation where she could say, "not my problem or she is not my mom" she instead fights to make sure that no matter whose mom she is...she is safe, well fed, taken care of and loved! Isn't that what we all want? I take care of my sister and in some respects have to deal with the same things my friend is dealing as far as accidents go...but she is my sister, would I do the same for if she were not.. hhhhmmmm...would you? Who says blood is thicker than water?! Be BLESSED my friends and family this holiday season and all year through!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and let me be the first to say MERRY CHRISTMAS!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Okay its OFFICIAL!!!!

Hello everybody how are you doing? I hope you all are fine and dandy SWEET as candy! It is almost Thanksgiving a time to be thankful and to reflect on the many BLESSINGS that have been given to you! SO what are you thankful for?

Speaking of BLESSINGS I met with a man a week ago who is a "published" author, his name is Gary McCarthy he does fiction and he writes novels, documentaries if I am not mistaken. Pick up a book or two of his if you are into that kind of thing! We met for at the coffee shop that has wifi access and I pulled up my blog so that he could take a look. He read a couple of paragraphs or so of one the blogs and then he said, "what do you want me to do for you?" WELL the possibilities are endless with that question. Anyway I said I just wanted someone who writes to look at my writing and tell me what they think. He said he could not critique my work as that is not what he does (well what the $%^&!). BUT he said from the few paragraphs he read he could see that I did have a good writing style, it was humorous and my grammar was good! Well isn't that special! So we sat and talked and as we talked he pulled out three books. One of them was ONE of the many he has published and the other two were called the "writers Bibles". These books show you how to get your work published, they tell you who the editors are and what they are looking for and how to submit it to them. They tell you about the magazines that will pay you for articles that you submit that they publish. They tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about being a PUBLISHED writer. It even tells you how to publish your own writings! COOL! I am excited he was a nice man...I appreciated his time.

SO I ordered my copies of the books, oh sorry bibles and I guess what I am going to do. It appears that by the GRACE of God I was removed from a hostile situation and put into a position to do what I want to do...so since I have the time and now I have the books AND access to a an author who is published....you might check the bookstores you never know when you will see me on the shelf!

Until then....

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Words of Wisdom....

Hello People! I hope this blog finds you all doing well.... Here is another oldie but goodie...I sent this email to my friends back in February of this year 2009...it goes a little something like this:

Okay its been awhile how are you people doing? I am just dandy...fine and dandy, sweet as candy to be exact! Now what has everyone been up to? Working? I am still unencumbered by the stress of earned income(is that the way you say it???)...but the stress of being unencumbered is starting to stress me out!

I went to the grocery store the other day and my cashier's name was Abram...now normally I wouldn't pay attention to the cashier or their name unless they are rude in which case I make it a point to not only pay attention to the name but I draw attention to their rudeness... BUT I digress... Abram was a chatty fellow I mean the whole time I was unloading my cart he was chatting away to the people ahead of me and then when I got up there he just kept the chatter going...."How are you today?" Fine thank you. "It is a lovely day isn't it?" Well yes it is..."Oh my bagger just left so now I guess I will have to bag these myself...." Well he left to help someone carry their bags to their car so he didn't really leave you he is just temporarily unavailable. "Yeah that is true. A lot of people don't like to use the baggers but I do! They are so helpful and they make my job so much easier all I have to do is scan the items and keep moving...but now I have to stop and bag them as well...Oh I guess I should stop now." Insert the sound of my potato chips being crushed at the end of the conveyor belt as the 64 ounce bottle of juice and other items I have purchased crash into them! "SORRY!" Insert the obligatory fake smile on my face that says "that's okay". "Well I am not suppose to even be here yet my shift doesn't start until 15 minutes from now...but we are short handed and more hours just means more money right?!" Right. "I am sorry I have just been talking away this whole time did you have anything you wanted to say...." No you're fine you just go right ahead and keep talking.... that is what I said but what I was thinking was...Could you just SHUT UP! Seriously!!!! Who can talk that much to perfect strangers? Most people say little or nothing to me because they think I'm mean...at least that is the lie they tell "You look so mean so I didn't want to say anything to you..." OH BITE ME! ANYWAY back to Abram "My that is a pretty bracelet you have on...." Actually it is a watch...see. I then turn the face of the watch up so that it is visible. "OH! It is still pretty I love that color..." (Now my watch is a metallic black or black it is pretty cool if I do say so myself!) I said Thank you to Abram who finally finished my groceries and said THANK GOD to myself that I was leaving because he obviously did not know when to shut up! Now I am sure that you all are thinking well that's not very nice he was just being polite and trying to make conversation to pass the time. AND he was nice and polite but Abram's voice was annoying! It sounded like someone who was waiting for his "sack" to drop and hopefully along with the dropping of the sack his voice would then drop an octave or two as well! It was either that or FLAME ON! Sorry not trying to offend but....

NOW onto the nut(s)... I took my sister to the doctor on Friday and she will be wheelchair, walker and brace free come the end of the month. YAY!!!!! Go Stinky...Go Stinky!!!! Now my mom meets me and my sister at the Orthopedics office and we all go back into the room to wait for the doctor...

I know you all know that this is Black History month and as such they have a lot of shows on the history channel, etc. regarding Black History. NOW my mom apparently doesn't sleep at night so she has seen some of these documentaries, movies, etc. NOT to mention she lived through most of it and has first hand knowledge. I don't have a problem with Black History...I LOVE Black History I would choose Black any day of the week and twice on Sunday... I am really irritated that they have chosen not to teach more of it in school...as a matter of fact I've heard the page and a half that we had in the history books has been removed and they are not teaching it at all...but that is another story... where was I.... Oh yeah we are in the room waiting for the doctor...

My mom, Stinky and I are waiting for the doctor to come in and exam Stinky's knee... as we wait my mom tells me about watching a program on Black History...judging by what she said it perhaps had something to do with the underground railroad...there was also some mention of picking cotton and she recalled when she use to pick it and how hard it was to make a hundred pounds because cotton is so light... "It takes 6 rows and 10 pulls...to make a hundred pounds" I put the ... in there because she said 10 pulls at something I couldn't understand what it was she said though... THEN she went on to talk about "mass'ah" and how he would kick those women even when they were pregnant and down on the ground he would just keep kicking them... I am ASSUMING this was on the program she was watching and not something she had first hand knowledge of... I said what you are talking about THAT did not happen they don't teach that in the schools so it didn't happen and neither did the Holocaust so stop making stuff up! Now believe me I know slavery happened and the Holocaust almost extinguished the entire Jewish race....but again my understanding is that they are not teaching these truths to our youth so....my mom says IT DID HAPPEN! I said okay if YOU say so... just pissing her off and/or egging her on whichever... I guess I should have just said nothing because as she continued her tale of what she had seen on TV she apparently was moved by the images or was just having flashbacks because the next thing I knew she was singing..."Go down Moses way down in Egypt land tell Ol' Pharaoh LET MY PEOPLE GO!" HELP ME! Then she was explaining how in the field they would be singing and you would have the men (altos) singing over there and then the women (sopranos) over here and then the bass singers would come in with the LET MY PEOPLE GO!!! And she was singing LOUD and I just thought "GOD kill me now!" Seriously! If the doctor comes into this room while she is asking Moses to go tell Pharaoh to LET MY PEOPLE GO.... I am going to knock myself unconscious banging my head against this wall!!! That or I am going to just throw myself on the floor like I am having a fit! I was wondering why is she singing this song...loud! I know the song I know the history what is she doing?! Then she says "The master would think because we were singing we were happy but we weren't happy we wanted out of there!!" Then she started talking about Harriet Tubman... but she couldn't think of her name... I was still saying to myself KILL ME NOW!

FINALLY the doctor came in... THANK GOD she wasn't singing then... the doctor said Stinky's leg had "calloused over" so once she hits the 90 days or 3 months since the break....she can take off the brace, give back the wheelchair and no need for a walker....

Zippity do dah... Zippity de aye my oh my what a wonderful day!

NOW here are your words of wisdom...if you have bubble guts or an upset tummy.... DO NOT get in your car and drive 45 miles to Flagstaff in white out conditions and icy roads... you will be tense which will make your bubble guts bubblier and your vision blurred! That is all!!!!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Sitting in the library....

Hello People! How is every little thing...

I am sitting in the library an interesting place to be and people watching and listening....

There is a lady in here who is sitting with a tutor I believe who is teaching her to speak English. She is Asian or Philippine and although I am sure he is a nice man he seems to be condescending to her... that is really sad! He tells her she is needs to learn to pronounce the English language better and work on her speech...hhhmmm isn't that what he is suppose to be helping her with? I then hear him say that he is going to find someone who can help her with chemistry instead of teaching her English "that seems to interest you more". I am not sure of the relationship but it seems as though if they were married it would be more like a love hate thing....

A mother and daughter are in here sharing their love of books and authors the daughter brings over a book to her mom and ask if she has read any of them before... the mother replies "I gave these to you to read a long time ago...." Mother daughter relationship are always interesting. I was reading a book by T.D. Jakes entitled "Momma Made The Difference". I didn't get very far in the reading because it appeared to be a read for people who get along with or have a relationship with their momma. My mom was not a really nice person BUT most people don't know that. I am sure you have heard of the "Three Faces of Eve".... yeah well you get the point. Anyway, I find it hard to sit idly by when I see people mistreating their mothers, ESPECIALLY, if their mother is a nice a person. I also find myself envious of people who have good relationships with their mom, which is something I never had. Too much water under the bridge and too many hard feelings to forget but I attempt to let it go whenever I can...

I have a friend who lost her grandmother it appears from the way she speaks about her that her grandmother was an important part of her life. My grandmother lived 24 hours away...I use time because we would always drive to see her and it took 24 hours and we usually would drive straight through. It was ugly! My grandmother was a nice person, she always would be glad to see us when we came and always wanted a hug and a kiss... the kissing part was weird cause grandma always had a "dip of snuff" in her mouth and it was GROSS! AND if you knocked over the spit can...ugh my stomach just turned.... But she was my grandma and I always felt welcome in her home and loved! Grandma has been gone awhile now, I only had the one because my mom's mom had passed away WAY before I was born. I wonder what she was like? Was she nice? What did she look like? I am told all the time I look like her, which means she was obviously gorgeous....but what did she look like really? Would she have made us feel welcome in her home? Would there have been love there?

In these times when things are so uncertain it seems that we should make an effort to be kinder to one another than is necessary and show those we care about how much we do care. The holidays are approaching and another year is about to come to an end....what kind of impact have you made on someone's life this year? I was looking at my one of my other Internet accounts... there was a quote on there from Rev Run....RevRunWisdom "You don't need to a reason to get up in the morning. You should be the reason someone gets up!" Think about that... we should all work on that...

I am not sure where this blog came from but....it obviously needed to be said.

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Random things....

Hello People! I hope this week finds you well...it is almost over anyway if it is not...see you have to find the bright side of things! Anyway....here are some random things that have happened to me lately....

I went to the nuthouse (my mom's house) the other day and my sister was making her favorite...CHICKEN...the people at Kentucky Fried Chicken don't even have to see her face they can just hear her voice through the drive thru speaker and they already know what she wants. Can you say you have been there WAY TOO MUCH! She told me she saw one of the workers at the mall once and he pointed at her and said, "Hey you are the chicken lady!" That is my new name for her... I told her she was going to be coughing up feathers one day because she eats so much chicken not all parts of the chicken just the 'wings'. Weird! Unfortunately she doesn't go to KFC anymore she said while waiting in the drive thru she saw a mouse or some mice run out the back door of the KFC on 66 and I believe she said the one on Milton Road has roaches...now she makes her own chicken at the nuthouse... rotisserie or fried? Pick one she can do both... she has a rotisserie and she can fry up some bird! ANYWAY....one day when she was doing her usual...chicken I decided I would have a piece, I usually don't because the chicken lady can get an attitude sometimes...but I digress. SO I have a piece and she says, "I had to buy that chicken because I didn't have time to wait for any to thaw up so I got some cheap stuff... it tastes cheap." I figured she was just saying that so I wouldn't have any... WRONG! I should have listened... so I am eating the chicken and I get this tickle in my throat...so I cough...nothing I cough HARDER...a feather comes out of my mouth! Can you say NASTY! Yeah that is what it was...I still feel like something is stuck in my throat... hopefully I don't start clucking!!!! HELP ME!

I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. LOVELY! SO I am laying back in the chair and I really think the hygienist has it in for me...SERIOUSLY! I was in her chair for less than 10 minutes and I was soaking wet and BLIND! Why? Because she sprayed the COLD water directly on my teeth which in turn sprayed and splashed all over my face and shirt. THEN she proceeded to clean my teeth do the whole procedure and not once did she suction or rinse my mouth during that time. She went the entire cleaning without giving me a suction or rinse...all the while she is commenting on the plaque she is finding! (When I know I am getting my teeth cleaned I usually will eat anything that sticks to your teeth or in your teeth...she has to work for the $80.00 bucks they charge.) "Do you floss your teeth? Are you brushing back here in the back?" Meanwhile the plaque and crap is falling down my throat and I am gagging! My stomach is turning. BUT her stomach is ANGRY it is doing a little more than growling it is roaring! Now we all know that when we don't eat especially in the morning EVEN after brushing your teeth your breath is going to be a little....TART! Hers was screaming! I just saw this video and this girl was singing "is that your breath or did you just fart?" She had a line in the song that said something like..."I thought it was demonic you could use a colonic" that would apply to the lady cleaning my teeth! AND she was wearing a mask... Anyway... when I told her I was having trouble getting the floss between some of my teeth....her response was "I did it". Well pardon me! I think when you do it I am leaned back in a chair with my mouth WIDE open and you are leaning in....I bet that makes a BIG difference from standing in front of the mirror and trying to reach in there yourself! BITCH! Anyway....

It is getting cold now a days here in the high country but since I have hot flashes now I really can't feel it much...I spend most of my days now fanning my head. Why do I have to sweat in my head? Is that normal? I bet it is because there is so much brain power going on up there that it just gets overloaded! Smoke starts coming out and you can see the steam...oh sorry that happens when I try to think or concentrate! Just kidding...but I do sweat in my head pretty bad...I can sweat out a perm in a week...that should give those of you who know what a perm is a clue how bad it is.

Until the next time something occurs to me that I find interesting or I just have something to say I will....

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie