Last week, I finished my last course in the Master’s of Science in Management Program at Colorado Technical University Online. After three years of online college from the Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice Program to the Master’s program, it feels like the end of an era. I still have a lot to do in my life, but I have to admit that I do feel a bit out of sorts since I finished college.

I was helped so much during my college experience with grants, scholarships, loans, having wonderful instructors, and great peers (some of them who are now my good friends). My husband was also very supportive of my education. My goal now is to take what I have learned and help my community, city, country, and maybe even the world as much as I can, just like I have been helped. I can not the wonderful people who helped me enough and I would love to spread that help around for the rest of my life.

Many times as a kid, I played Candy Land mainly with my sister. Now, the tradition continues that Hannah and I play it. She got it for her birthday last year, but if she hadn’t, my husband and I would have bought it for her. We have a lot of fun playing it and it is one of the things that she and I do when we spend some time together. She usually wins, but that is not the important thing, it is just important that she and I are spending time together.

I am including some pictures of her playing Candy Land with me tonight.

As most of my friends and family know, I recently finished the Master’s of Science in Management at Colorado Technical University Online. I am very glad to have made this accomplishment in my life.  I have also made another decision in my life. No matter whether or not in the future I decide to continue my education by getting another Master’s Degree or by getting a Phd, I have decided that I am not going to stop learning. I got many years ahead of me in my life and plenty of opportunities for learning. There are a lot of people in my life now and that will be in my life in the future that I will have the opportunity to learn from. My husband, my kids, my family, and my friends have taught me a lot and I know they will continue to in the future. I know I will also learn a lot from the people I will work with in the future. There are also people I have not even thought about that I will learn about live and other things from. I truly believe learning should be a lifelong experience and that each and every one of us should continue learning during our whole lives.

I am going to close this post with these quotes:

Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you’ll ever have is your mind and what you put into it.–Brian Tracy

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young, but becomes constantly more valuable regardless of physical capacity.–Harvey Ullman

 Anything, everything, can be learned if you can just get yourself in a little patch of real ground, real nature, real wood, real anything … and just sit still and watch.–Lauren Hutton

I’m learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.– Eartha Kitt

On  Sunday morning, Billy Mays, the infomercial pitchman passed away. He pitched many items from OxiClean to Mighty Putty with a booming voice and a lot of energy. His cause of death is unknown, but he  an object did hit him on the head during a bumpy landing on Saturday.

He was in a line of work that had a lot of competition, but his deep, booming voice and his obvious love for his work took him far above his competitors. He was often emulated by comedians and rap stars.

Every time, I see Billy Mays on television saying “This is Billy Mays for..”, I will think of him and the products he sold. In his death, I found that he started by selling Ginsu knives after following a Ginsu knife salesman to Atlantic City. He left behind his mother, wife, an adult son, and a toddler daughter. I know they will miss him greatly.

I will also miss any new products he may have been  a spokesman for in the future. The true Pitchman has passed on, may you rest in peace.

 

Article Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-billy-mays29-2009jun29,0,6116879.story

This just in….

 

Last night, June 29, 2009, as Hannah M. was brushing her teeth, she lost her first tooth. The tooth popped out in her hand. I was the investigating reporter who had the opportunity to be on the scene as this event unfolded. Though, that is all to the event, it is a milestone in a child’s life, and a realization to her mother, that her “baby” is not so much of a baby anymore. She will always be my baby though.

This reporter happened to get some pictures to record the event.  Hannah will be visited by the Tooth Fairy tonight. More pictures to come….

 

Our world lost another celebrity last week, Farrah Fawcett. Farrah Fawcett died last Thursday morning at the age of sixty-two. She had had cancer for a long time. Ryan O’Neal said at her memorial service that he loved her with all of his heart and that he will miss her very much.  Her friends and family  said that she fought her battle with cancer with courage and very valiantly. I have always been a fan of hers as long as I can remember, but what I did not know about her was that she is a native Texan, having grown up in Corpus Christi, Texas (I am a Texan, just not a native one).

I watched Charlie’s Angels (I thought it was the original show at first, but most have been reruns) a lot as I was growing up and Farrah made that show.  She also played a great villain, as she could do play a variety of roles very well. I will never forget her as the villainess Diane Downs who killed one of her children, handicapped one of them for life, and emotionally scarred one of them also purposely in her car because the man in her life did not want children. She was a wonderful actress whether she was playing a crime fighter or a villainess.

Farrah, you will never be forgotten as a great actress and someone who was brave and strong during her fight with cancer.

One of the Charlie’s Angels is now with the angels.

 

Article Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20240288,00.html

is now among the stars.  Ed McMahon died early last Tuesday morning at the age of eighty-six.  I will never forget him on Star Search as the host. Star search had amateur artists (such as comedians and singers) and helped them get noticed. It was like the American Idol of my generation. Ed McMahon had a spokesmodel that was on his show though and people did not call in and vote for people, the audience voted for their favorite and that who won that round and the other person went home. Ed added a lot to the show and I could not imagine anyone else hosting the show. In one of the articles I read, I read that his publicist said that he had a multitude of health problems over the past few months. Another article I read said he had bone cancer. No matter what his cause of death, he was an icon in the entertainment world. He hosted Star Search, was well known for his Publisher’s Clearing House commercials, and was on the Johnny Carson show for thirty years as his sidekick with his favorite “Here’s Johnny………….” famous statement.

Ed Mcmahon, you will never be forgotten. I have many memories of my sister and I watching Star Search as we grew up. We loved Star Search and did  not like when we had to miss it. Thank you for all you did during your life and rest in peace.

The Star of Star Search is truly a star now as he is among the stars in the sky.

Article Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=7905781

Five years ago (this week, 3 days ago to be exact) my father-in-law passed away. He had a sudden heart attack and collapsed to the ground when he was walking back to the car after getting the mail. It was believed that he was dead before he hit the ground, which in a way is a relief, because his wrist was broken when he hit the ground.

I will never forget the day he died. It was June 24, 2004. My brother-in-law H called when we were about to pay bills. I remember my husband saying what and repeatedly saying no way. He then told me that his father had died of a heart attack. I was shocked to say the least. He went and told his work what happened and I had one hour to pack clothes for four people and for us to get on the road.

We stayed with my brother and sister-in-law A and B, but of course, we spent most of our time with my mother-in-law. We tried to do all we can to lighten the load for her while we were there for that week. Thankfully, he was able to be buried in a veteran’s ceremony which helped lighten the load for my mother-in-law and also one of my brother-in-laws helped pay for what was not covered because my father-in-law was a veteran.

A lot of people came to his viewing. People he used to work with, family, and friends. He looked so peaceful, almost like he was sleeping. He really did look he was sleeping and that he would would wake up when he was done sleeping, even though I knew better.

The day of his funeral it rained, especially after we got to Grand Prairie for his service. Therefore, we could not have the service graveside. It was a nice but short service and was a perfect way to honor my father-in-law. Taps was played, and my mother-in-law was given a folded up American flag. My sister-in-law M had written a poem about my father-in-law and she read it.

We then went to her house for dinner. It was a good brisket dinner and there was a lot of people there. After the dinner and the house had cleared out, we went back to my mother-in-laws house. It was a sad time, but we pulled together as a family and did the best we could.

It is now five years and three days later. He has not been forgotten and never will. I called my mother-in-law on that day to tell her that I remembered what day it is and that he would never be forgotten. She later told my husband that she was glad that I called that day and that she cried that day also.

Being that he died only about a year and a half after my husband and I got married, I did not get to know him very well. I will never forget one conversation we had about a movie. He knew every fact about that movie from the director to everything about every actor and actress that was in it. Though I did not get to know him well, I am very grateful to him for my husband because if it were not for him (and my mother-in-law of course), he would not be here today and we would have never met and 3 and 1/2 years later, got married. Hannah would not be here also.

Thank you father-in-law, thank you for everything. Thank you for my husband and for the man he is today. You will always be loved and missed and never forgotten.

As a lot of my friends and family know, my Grandma Ginny passed away on February 10th of this year. It was devastating to me and I am still grieving the loss of my wonderful grandma and I miss her a lot. She was a wonderful grandma with a lot of love in her heart for her family and friends and a love for life as well. From the first memory of her to the last, she was always enjoying life. She loved to travel, help people, and serve her Lord and Savior. She loved her children and grandchildren very much.

My family and I did not get to see her as much as we would like because for many years she lived in Pennsylvania, but I always loved when she came to visit us or we got to go to her house. She had toys we did not have and could not find. She lived in a nice quiet neighborhood and had a cat named Morris and had neighbors that had peacocks.

A few years ago, she found out that she had cancer. She may have had cancer, but it did not have her. She fought it with all that she had. She traveled to New York and Germany for treatment. She had a healthy diet, exercised, and took vitamins. She was a member of the Red Hat Club and a church. She traveled a lot with friends and family. She took great care of her home. The one time I got to see it, it was beautiful and well cared for.

The last time I saw her was in October of 2004 when my family and I and my sister and her family met up with the rest of our family in Florida for my grandpa’s (my dad’s father) 80th birthday. She took my family and I to a picnic at a public beach, came to my grandpa’s 80th birthday party, and had my family over for lunch so we could spend time with her and my sister and her family (I had not seen my sister since 1998 except for a few minutes). She was a great cook and made the best banana pudding I have ever had.

As I mentioned, that was the last time I saw her in person. We did talk on the phone when I could find her at home and we sent letters and cards to each other. I truly wish I could have seen her again in person, but it just did not get to happen.

I got the news that she died the afternoon in the afternoon of February 10th. She died early that morning. My sister called me and told me. I will never forget that phone call. My husband and I had gone to Target to get him a keyboard for his computer. As soon as we walked in, we saw my mother-in-law was on  the telephone and told me to sit down right away. I sat and she  handed me the telephone. My sister was on the other end and she was in tears. I asked her what what was wrong and she told me the only two words she could get out “Grandma Ginny” and I said “When?” She told me what time she died and that she was in the hospice center. After sharing some tears, I got many telephone calls and a few emails with my grandma (my dad’s mom) and my aunt K, it had been set up  for my sister and I to fly up the next morning and stay with my grandparent’s (my dad’s parents). It would be a whirlwind trip, but one I am very glad that I made.

The morning I flew from Dallas to Florida there were two plane crashes. That may not be a big deal to some, but I already have a big fear of flying and did not want to hear about plane crashes. The flight from Dallas to Atlanta was uneventful as far as any chaos. I will never forget a lady I met on the plane that was sitting right next to me. She told me she was traveling to visit her daughter before she went to Iraq to serve our country. I told her to tell her daughter thank you for serving our country. I told her why I was traveling and showed her pictures of Grandma Ginny. She told me something I will never forget. She told me that “That is just a longer distance to go to get a hug.”  I will get my hug from my Grandma when I get to Heaven and she will get her hug from her daughter after she gets back from Iraq. It is just a longer time and a longer wait for us to get a hug from our loved ones. I will never forget that lady and her wisdom and good nature. There was also a couple also the aisle from me  who asked to see Grandma Ginny’s picture and asked me if she had accepted Jesus Christ as her savior and had I and I told them that yes we both did and they were so great to reassure me that she is in Heaven and that I will see her again. I will probably never see them again on this earth, but I will never ever forget them. The rest of the flight was nice and smooth and not dramatic, at least until I got to Atlanta.

Once I got to Atlanta, I quickly got on a train and went to my gate. I find out that my plane was having maintenance issues (this happening on a day when two planes had already crashed) so I was more than glad that they did not have myself and my fellow passengers board a plane that had maintenance issues. They finally got us another plane and we were on our way to Florida. Once I landed in Florida, I was on my way to baggage claim and before I got there, I found my sister and my grandma (my dad’s mom) and they told me my aunt and uncle, another one of my uncles, and one of my cousins and their wife was waiting for us at my grandmas house. We had a good dinner of KFC chicken, biscuits, sides, and key lime pie for dessert.  I had not seen them since 1999 and my other uncle I had not seen for many years before that. I was so glad to see all of them again, especially my sister who is my best friend in the whole world. I was so glad that I got to see her last year for my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary in Indiana. We had a nice dinner and a nice visit.

Saturday morning my grandma went to mass while my sister and I were having breakfast. That afternoon, our uncle M and aunt R came for lunch. We had a good lunch and took pictures outside in my grandparent’s backyard. After lunch and after aunt R and Uncle M left, we played Euchre (a card game) and my sister and grandma beat my grandpa and I. Then we changed for the memorial service and we got there early. We met in a room at the church as a family so we could walk in together. It was a beautiful service and  a great way to honor my grandma.

My cousin C spoke of when he went to visit her in New York. He said they went to Central Park and she knew all the bus routes, probably because she had traveled along of them. He said she was always on the go.  My cousins C and M also read these poems about her:

 I Do Not Go Alone

If death should beckon me with outstretched hand
And whisper softly of “An Unknown Land.”
I shall not be afraid to go,
For though the path I do not know,
I take Death’s Hand without a fear
For He who safely brought me here
Will also take me safely back
And though in many things I lack
He will not let me go alone
Into the “Valley That’s Unknown.”
So I reach out and take Death’s hand
And journey to the “Promised Land.”

–Helen Steiner Rice

 This Day is Mine to Mar or Make

 This day is mine to mar or make,

God keep me strong and true;

Let me no erring by path take,

No doubtful action do.

Grant me when the setting sun

This fleeting day shall end,

I may rejoice o’er something done,

Be richer by a friend.

Let all I meet along the way,

Speak well of me to-night.

I would not have the humblest say,

I hurt him by the slight.

Let there be something true and fine

When not slips down to tell

That I lived this day of mine

Not selfishly, but well.

 Anonymous

Her pastor also told of how much they love her and how she always had a smile on her face. He told of how involved she was in her church and loved to help and serve people.  Amazing Grace was sung as a group and How Great Thou Art was sung as a solo.

These verses were also read:

John 14: 1-10

 

 

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

 ¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

 ⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

 ⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 ⁸Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

 ⁹Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

 Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=31&search=John%2014:1-10

Proverbs 31 was also used to describe her

¹ The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle ^[a] his mother taught him:

 ² “O my son, O son of my womb,
       O son of my vows, ^[b]

 ³ do not spend your strength on women,
       your vigor on those who ruin kings.

 ⁴ “It is not for kings, O Lemuel—
       not for kings to drink wine,
       not for rulers to crave beer,

 ⁵ lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
       and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

 ⁶ Give beer to those who are perishing,
       wine to those who are in anguish;

 ⁷ let them drink and forget their poverty
       and remember their misery no more.

 ⁸ “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
       for the rights of all who are destitute.

 ⁹ Speak up and judge fairly;
       defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
       Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

 ^{10 [c]} A wife of noble character who can find?
       She is worth far more than rubies.

 ¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
       and lacks nothing of value.

 ¹² She brings him good, not harm,
       all the days of her life.

 ¹³ She selects wool and flax
       and works with eager hands.

 ¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
       bringing her food from afar.

 ¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
       she provides food for her family
       and portions for her servant girls.

 ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
       out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

 ¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
       her arms are strong for her tasks.

 ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
       and her lamp does not go out at night.

 ¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
       and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

 ²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
       and extends her hands to the needy.

 ²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
       for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

 ²² She makes coverings for her bed;
       she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

 ²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
       where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

 ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
       and supplies the merchants with sashes.

 ²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
       she can laugh at the days to come.

 ²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
       and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

 ²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
       and does not eat the bread of idleness.

 ²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
       her husband also, and he praises her:

 ²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
       but you surpass them all.”

 ³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
       but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

 ³¹ Give her the reward she has earned,
       and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031;&version=31;

That night, my aunt and uncle, my uncle and his girlfriend, C and his wife L, my cousin M, and my sister and I went to my grandmas favorite restaurant, an Italian restaurant named Primo’s to honor my grandma. We went back to my grandma’s house after that and took pictures and my aunt gave my sister and I pictures of my grandma and we both got to choose two of her purses and we split up the toys my grandma had. It was too quickly time to because my grandparents wanted us to go to their home so they could go to bed. I cried when I left my cousins and aunt and uncles behind. I did not want to leave them yet, but on  a positive note, we are planning a family reunion for next year. I had to fly home in the morning, but my sister had an evening flight so she got to go out with my family for brunch.

Grandma Ginny, I love you and I will never forget you. You were a great example of love for your family and friends. You loved life and people, and they like myself, still love you. When the day is rough and long, I look at the picture of you on my dresser and remember that you smiled and remained tough even when life was very hard for you. You fought a good fight against cancer, and as I mentioned, you had cancer, cancer did not have you. I will never ever forget and I love and miss you so very much. On tough days, I will do my best to keep moving on with a smile on my face just like you did. I love you grandma and I know I will see you in  Heaven again.

A lot of people say that there is nothing but bad stuff on television today. I saw a rerun of Family Matters tonight and it is one of my favorite episodes of Family Matters, along with the one where Steve stays up all night in a landfill on Christmas Eve looking for Laura’s doll that she has had since she was a little girl that accidently got thrown away. On this episode tonight, Steve Erkel is tortured by a young man and his friends. He doesn’t see the young man for a while and finds out that he has leukemia. He then gets a blood marrow drive going, a donor is found for the young man, and that the end of the show the young man asks Erkel why he did it after how he treated him. Erkel told him it was about more than pranks, it was about saving his life. At the end of the show, the young man takes Erkel to the table he eats at and is going to buy him lunch.

On the show, Steve Erkel is often annoying and clumsy. He breaks things at the Winslow’s house on a regular basis and says his famous line “Did I do that?” No matter how irritating he can be, he is always there for his peers and the Winslow family.  He drove Laura cross country when she missed the bus to her cheerleading competition. He saved Carl’s life by giving him CPR when he became unconscious. He loaned Eddie money. Despite his annoyance, he had a good heart. We all could learn a lot from him and the way he treated people. If there were more people like him on this earth, the world would be a better place.