Category Archives: old Jill

Daily Prompt: Wall to Wall

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What do you display on the walls of your home — photos, posters, artwork, nothing? How do you choose what to display? What mood are you trying to create?

We love antiques, flowers, pictures and signs. Each wall is different. We have tried to give each room its own personality, but coordinate wall color and house style; where our budget will allow. We want our home to feel lived in. Every room in the house is well used and comfortable.

Putting a name to what we tried to create, would be comical comfort. Our signs make you giggle, the atmosphere and furniture make it comfortable.

Our pooch,Maggie, agrees with the comfortable part. She sleeps wherever she sits down.wait…..she is a dog, they are good at that.

Of course there is my step-father James, he falls asleep the minute he sits down when getting to our house.

Check the pictures out tomorrow. Had plans to take new pictures today, but my body wouldn’t cooperate this afternoon. Run a few errands, I have to sleep. I’ll update post in the morning. Show off my miss-matched wall decor. We may not be for a Southern Living Magazine write-up, but we like it!

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Daily Prompt: Second Time Around

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Tell us about a book you can read again and again without getting bored — what is it that speaks to you?

I would love to say the Bible (by many strong people many years ago, Jesus), but the good Lord knows better and I would like to keep my reputation of being an honest woman. I can always do better with Bible Study. The Bible is a wonderful book, full of magnificent stories of long ago. Every time you pick it up to read, you learn something different. It is the perfect response to this daily prompt.

Other than the Bible, I am a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. At any time of day or night, I could pick any of his books and read for hours. If I have to mention a favorite, it would be “The Notebook” (by Nicholas Sparks). “Dear John“(by Nicholas Sparks) really hits home with the world today. Every time I pick one up, I find something different. Boredom never enters my mind.

I usually wind up thinking of my lack of sleep after a good book. Once I pick anything readable up, it is hard to put it down.

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Daily Prompt:

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If you could clone yourself, how would you split up your responsibilities?

Cloning is an interesting topic. The medical profession has come so far in the past 20 years, I wouldn’t be surprised if cloning were not around the corner.

I thought and thought about this prompt, but couldn’t come up with a thing to write. Now, as I go to sleep, it hits me. I hope you enjoy.

If it were possible to clone myself, who would I assign my daily responsibilities? Well, after getting my mother’s medication ready and calling my sisters; I’d pack bags for Barry and myself, get Maggie‘s dog food bag, medication and leash, and we would disappear.

I wouldn’t look back or think twice, but we would disappear to a deserted island and live our lives out. Of course, Barry would have his camera, I’d have my sketch pad and Maggie would have her flashlight. We would be set.

We have been through so much in the past few years, we need a break. It may be a good idea to clone our family to take our place, so no one comes looking for us.

Mom would water the plants. Oops, I would have to see my sweet daddy one last time.Just for spite, if my step-son were around, I’d give him a tooth-brush and assign him bathroom duty.

Running away would be better than having a clone!

 

UPDATE…UPDATE…UPDATE…UPDATE…UPDATE…UPDATE…

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It is with since pleasure that I post the facts I received today at my doctor’s visit. They caught my breast cancer early, Stage 1 Invasive (Hormonal) Ductal Carcinoma. It is definitely cancer, but it was caught early enough to not be a big deal to deal with. I’m having surgery on the 30th to remove the lump. Once the lump is out, she can tell me what type of treatment I need.  I told myself, I wouldn’t spend the weekend worrying myself sick about the diagnosis, but I apparently did subconsciously. When we arrived home after the appointment, I slept for six straight hours. Me thinks I was stressing a little more than I realized.

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Continuation of the week of April 21, 2013, The Healing Power of Forgiveness

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A friend pointed out to me, that I may need to forgive myself to truly feel free and get rid of the feeling in my stomach.

If I can say anything about myself, I can truly say I am my own worst critic. Most of us are, but I am extremely hard on myself, always have been.

My third grade teacher wrote “Jill needs to learn that it is OK to be wrong and make mistakes” on the back of one of my report cards.

That was many years ago and you would think I had changed a little. Apparently not! I may have lightened up a little on myself, but not enough.

Working on apologizing to everyone I feel had to deal with my mess, I think I’ll add myself to the list. Surely I can figure out how to forgive and apologize to myself.

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For the week of April 21, 2013: The Healing Power of Forgiveness

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The Healing Power of Forgiveness

The morning of April 18, 2013, I received a call from my physician specializing in breast health. She called to let me know my biopsy results did show cancer. Some called Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

She informed my husband we need to schedule an appointment to discuss options and she asked if we had thought of what to do if this matter came up.

Barry and I had not expected this matter to seem so quickly, so our answer was of course, No! Maybe we were a little naïve, but we were trying to work on the “positive thinking” option I guess we need to work on that a bit more.

I have always been vigilant with scheduling my physical and mammograms.In 2009, the brain tumor appeared and threw us for a loop.

After the brain tumor the weird symptoms appeared and I was diagnosed with; Cowden’s Syndrome, Lhermitte Duclos Disease, Thyroid Cancer, my gallbladder was removed, my tonsils were removed a second time, my mammograms started showing suspicious areas that needed to be rechecked and then biopsied.

During all of this hoopla, I felt the incredible urge to seek forgiveness from my God, my family and friends. When the possibility of death smacks you in the face, it makes you take a step back and look at our life. I felt silly apologizing to some of my friends, but the Lord and my is a different story.

My husband Barry was the toughest, but I could tell he was confused. But we talked it out. One of my desires, was to find and get involved in a good church. I wanted Barry and I to go together. I missed attending church.

We have since found as wonderful church and have become active members. Mom is going with us. It is a pleasure to see her enjoying herself and flourishing in the church community. She is about to be baptized.

I continue to ask God for forgiveness daily and to grant me the Grace, Strength and Mercy to help me settle the uneasiness that remains in the pit of my stomach today; I believe I know what I need to do to settle my stomach, but I am scared.

In the next month, I think I’d like to apologize to my ex-husband. He feels like my missing link. The problem I need to solve.

My family is extremely supportive and I love them each and everyone. They seem to have accepted my apology without fail. I hope this brings the closeness we once had back into our lives.

I didn’t leave my first marriage as I should have. I left my sister, Sandy and her family in town to deal with my mess. I was a mess at that time and truly did not know how to handle the situation. To put it plain and simple, I was young, stupid and scared. I got a new career and threw myself into work.

Seeking forgiveness from everyone involved, has started to ease my mind. I still need to follow through with talking to my ex-husband. We will see if it helps.

DAIlY PROMPT FROM

http://writingthroughcancer.com

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Daily Prompt: Earworm

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What song is stuck in your head (or on permanent rotation in your CD  or MP3 player) these days? Why does it speak to you?

My favorite Christmas Song has been in my head all morning. I guess I can understand the reasoning going on inside my lopsided brain.

My life is in God’s hands. He has a plan for all of us and it is not ours to question. There is a reason He has me enduring these medical issues. I’ll never know why, I’ll just be myself and fight!

The lyrics to the song from the “Sound of Music” are cheery and have a peppy little tune. The song lyrics are about going from sad to glad and I really need to keep my attitude in the glad place for the next few days.

The urologist will be going over my MRI he ordered after his incidental findings during my kidney ultrasound. So you can see why a glad attitude could be a huge benefit over the next few days. 

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My Favorite Things by Maria
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudel
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

[Repeat all verses]

 

Personal Prayer Request

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I’ve known this possibility exist for some time, but I was busy being positive this wouldn’t happen that it snuck up on me.

I found out I have breast cancer this morning. I can’t decide how I feel at the moment other than a little mad. I haven’t been able to do more than shed a tear or two, but when I feel the crying coming on, I’ll lock myself in my bedroom and let it fly.

The past few years, dealing with Cowden’s Syndrome and all the health issues it entails, I’ve felt like there is no way I can get cancer. Now I have to change my attitude to there is no way this cancer is going to get me! I’m actually angry. I guess that is where my fighting spirit comes from.

I’m worried about Barry and the stress he is putting himself through.This could have waited another year. He’d at least be two weeks post-stroke. I’m trying to be strong in front of him. He doesn’t need the worry. But I need him too!

Well, I need to write my usual weekend posts, so I’ll stop babbling.

If you are a praying person, please add me to your list. I need as many prayers as I can get. Thanks for your support!

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Daily Prompt: Million Dollar Question

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Why do I blog?

We could go into detail about our blogging, but if you frequent our blog you know our story and why we blog. So, we decided to come up with a fictional response to this daily prompt.

Why do we blog?

We were sitting around the house one day, when we had an epiphany. “Why don’t we start an online blog to tell the world our deepest, darkest secrets?”

We can discuss our private lives and let our secrets out of the closet. We can finally talk about our real lives and stop hiding. We can finally let the world know who we really are.

In our real world, I am known as the “Wonder Woman” and Barry is known as “Hercules“. We met at superhero church party, many years ago, and fell in love. Batman and Robin introduced us. We were married three years later.

We continued to fight crime and keep the world safe from evil for 10 more years.

As the years went by, we both became weaker from injuries and life as superheros became harder to deal with.

We made the roughest decision of our lives. We decided to retire and lead normal lives. Our faithful friend, “Wonder Dog” decided to join us. 

Under superhero code, you may choose normal life over a superhero life. The one condition in the “Superhero Contract” is you have that choice one time.

Once you choose the path you are taking, there is no going back. Once you are normal, you’re normal. No special powers or super strength, just plain old Jane and John Doe.

We chose our place in the world (rural middle Georgia) and started our lives together as Mr. and Mrs. Barry Baynes with their faithful companion, Maggie.

 

Daily Prompt: History of Language

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Write a piece of fiction describing the incident that gave rise to the phrase, “third time’s the charm.”

Barry and I sat attempting to put a table together, we had purchased. The directions appeared to be useless and there were a million parts to organize into one table. We were starting to have regrets.

He got a bit angry with me for making a suggestion, so I got up and left it for him. Before leaving, I handed him the directions and strongly suggested that he read them, from cover to cover.

After a while, Barry called me back to help. I  went willingly. He may be grumpy teddy bear when being told how to do something, but he really just wants a little help and doesn’t know how to ask for it.

I like to think God was working on his heart when he got grumpy and then called me back for help.

The first thing I did was ask if he had read the directions, yet! When he giggled and took the book from me, was God whispering in his ear to listen to his wife?

We worked together for an hour and the table turned out perfect.

Is this where the saying, “third time’s the charm” came from?

First, we tried together.

Second, he got angry and I ran off.

Third, he asked for my help, read the directions and the table is perfect.

God works in mysterious ways! Was He telling Barry to ask his wife for help?