Happy New Year Entry 1

   First I would like everyone that has taken the time to read my journal, those that left comments and to those that have e-mailed me.  Everyone's kind words have brightened my life a bit.  I have gotten many questions about where I find the quotes and poems I enclude in this journal.  I love reading, so when I am scouring book stores (new and used) I also keep an eye out for poerty books, or ones that have quotes.  I have also found some quote sites on-line, and I steal from the occasional catalog  or thinking of you cards.   

 Secondly, I want to wish everyone a very Happy & Safe New Year!  Entry 2 will give you some ideas on what to do if you are not going out this New Years Eve.

 

Happy New Year! Entry 2

What to do for New Year's Eve if you aren't going out?  You can always celebrate in your own little way.  Many cable channels are having marathons (my personal favorite is the Sci-Fi channel's of Twilight Zone), and you have the old internet.  Search for unsual ways people celebrate.  Check out the Possum Drop in the mountains of NC. See this site for background information on this unusal event.   If it is too late for you to make it you can always buy some souvenirs on line at Clay's Corner.

 

For other things to do while surfing the net see my Christmas entry.

received this in an e-mail part 1

Friend: calls your parents by mr. and mrs.
Best friend: calls your parents dad and mom.

Friend: has never seen you cry
Best friend: has always had the best shoulder to cry on

Friend: never asks for anything to eat or drink
Best friend: opens the fridge and makes herself at home

Friend: asks you to write down your number.
Best friend: they ask you for their number
(cuz they can't remember it)

received this in an e-mail from a friend part 2

Friend: borrows your stuff for a few days then gives it back.
Best friend: has a closet full of your stuff

Friend: only knows a few things about you
Best friend: could write a biography on your life story

Friend: will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing
Best friend: will always go with you


Friend: would delete this letter
Best friend: will send this back to me and all of their online buddies

random sayings

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? 

Follow your heart --  to wherever it leads.

Practice kindness.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Life is a journey --  not a destination.  Enjoy the moments.

Every time a smile is given, a heart is healed.

Dwell in possibility.               

Friends  --  so much cheaper than a shrink. 

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

Dance as if no one were watching, Sing as if no one were listening, Live every day as if it were your last.

An unkept house is better than a life unlived!

If you are going to pray, don't worry.  If you are going to worry, don't pray.

Relax and Breathe

Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss you'll land among the stars.

One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.   

A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it back to me when my memory fails.

 

Powerful Words

listen   joy    beauty    teach    truth    mend    believe    become    live    learn    try    act   remember    promise    wonder   hope    inspire    harmony    trust    courage    create    friends    grace    honor    knowledge    information   sensitivity   connect    tolerance    passion    welcome    think   

Quotes on Friendship

Quarrel with a friend -- and you both are wrong.  --  Lao-tse

Friendship is a horizon -- which expands whenever we approach it.  --  E R Hazlip

True friendship brings sunshine to the shade, and shade to the sunshine.  --  Thomas Burke

I do not give lectures or a little charity.  When I give, I give myself.  --  Walt Whitman

Friendship bridges the gap between what things are and what they could be.  --  Roger Holmes

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.  --  Joseph Newton

True friendship exhibits itself more in solitude than in the presence of others.  --  Rousseau

Let the soul be assured that somewhere in the universe, it should rejoin its friend.  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friendship needs care.  --  Richard Nixon

Friendship needs feeding.  --  John Nance Garner

All we need to make the day to better is to remember our friends, or maybe one friend's face.  --  Bessie Lorraine Boles

True friendship is a plant of slow growth.  --  George Washington

Friendship is not made by a crisis -- it is only revealed by it.  --  Mark Adams

 

Sibling

I want to understand you,

but I want you to understand me, too.

I want to listen,

but I also want to be heard.

I want to love you,

but please love me back.

I want to give to you,

no matter what,

but I'm tired.

My heart hurts.

I need you

To need me.

Night

Stars over snow,

And in the west a planet

Swinging below a star--

Look for a lovely thing and you will

find it,

It is not far--

It never will be far.

life is good

 We are here to help each other, to try to make each other happy.

 Next to acquiring good friends, the best acquisition is that of a good book.  -  Colton 

Behave toward every one as if receiving a great guest.  --  Confucius 

I have never had a policy.  I have simply tried to do what seemed best each day, as each day came.  --  Lincoln

 Our todays and yesterdays are the blocks with which we build.  --  Longfellow 

Remember this, and also be persuaded of its truth--the future is not in the hands of fate, but in ourselves.  --  Jules Jusserand 

Age appears to be best in four things, --old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.  --  Bacon 

I love tranquil solitude and such society as is quiet, wise, and good.  -- Shelley

quotes from the book I'm Ok -- Your Ok

Giving and sharing are spontaneous expressions of joy.

Slums and ghettos are not going to disappear in society unless slums and ghettos disappear from the hearts of people.

If we do not respond to reason, our responses will more and more be dominated by fear.

We can hate evil so much that we forget to love good.  And there is much that is good.

I am important and you are important.  If I devalue you, I devalue myself.

"I am like that" does not help anything.  "I can be different" does.

The problems of the world essentially are the problems of individuals.  If individuals can change, then the course of the world can change.  This is a hope worth sustaining.

This place made the Editor's top 5 pick of the week!

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacle which he has overcome while trying to succeed.  --  Booker T Washington

Constant success shows up but one side of the world; adversity brings out the reverse of the picture.  --  Colton

Often times the test of courage becomes to live, than to die.  --  Alfieri

What good thing have I done this day?  The setting sun will carry with it a portionof my life.  --  Hindi Proverb

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.  --  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body.  --  Oliver Wendell Holmes

The pain of the mind is worse than the pain of the body.  --  Syrus

Sooner or later you act out what you really think.  --  Japanese Proverb

It is Christmas! Rejoice!

           

find journals to visit: AOL Journal Directory

 quizzes to take:  Quizilla! 

strange but true stuff:  Strange but True 

games to play:  AOL Games

more games:  Orisinal : Morning Sunshine 

Bored.com - Links to the most interesting sites on the internet

        

Bedtime

          BEDTIME

 

How come when I, exhausted, lay in bed,

Dozens of things undone run through my head?

It seems to me so wrong, unfair, not right,

That sins of the day thus visit the night!

 

A Wise Old Owl

A wise old owl lived in an oak;

The more he was the less he spoke;

The less he spoke the more he heard:

Why can't we all be like that bird?

                        

 

 

 

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

"Oh, I do think it the plesantest thing

Ever a child can do!"

 

"Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wid,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside-

 

"Till I look down on the garden green

Down on the roof so brown-

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!"

Roses

It never will rain roses:

 When we want 

To have more roses we 

Must plant more trees.  

    George Eliot 

 

If the rose puzzled its mind over the question how it grew, it would not have been the miracle that it is.  --  J. B. Yeats 

 

 Lilies are white,

Rosemary's green; 

When you are king I will be queen. 

Roses are red, Lavender's blue; 

If you will have me, I will have you.  

   -- Anonymous 

quotes by Anonymous

Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."
- Anonymous 

Don't waste a $1000.00 worth of emotion over a 5 cent triviality."
- Anonymous 

Focus, and the finish line is yours."
- Anonymous

"If you don't have the best of everything, make the best of everything that you have."
- Anonymous

Keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
- Anonymous

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
- Anonymous

No one can go back and make a brand new start, my friend, but anyone can start from here and make a brand new end."
- Carl Bard Thanks dkpk1986 for the help!

True Love is a friendship set on fire."
- Anonymous

When I find myself fading, I close my eyes and realize my friends are my energy."
- Anonymous

"Years may wrinkle the skin. Lack of enthusiasm will wrinkle the soul."
- Anonymous

 

 

 

If you have a cat......

If you have a cat you MUST check out the cat at this site:

Lap Dance

The Creation of Pets

THE CREATION OF PETS

Where do pets come from?A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to"Where do pets come from?" Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you any more. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us."And God said, "No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves." And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged histail.And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdomand I cannot think of a name for this new animal." And God said, "No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail. After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well." And God said, "No problem! I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration." And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

 And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings. And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved. And God was pleased. And Dog was happy. And Cat didn't give a crap one way or the other.

The early bird (chicken) gets the worm?

watch the "mini movie"

stupid riddles

What can be caught and heard but never seen?  a remark

What can be measured but has no length, width or thickness?  the temperature

What is harder to catch the faster you run?  your breath

A frog fell into a well 12 feet deep.  He could jump 3 feet, but every time he jumped 3 feet, he fell back 2 feet.  How many times did he have to jump to get out of the well?  to get this answer you'll have to e-mail me!

What has 6 legs, but walks with only 4?  a horse with a rider.

When is your mind like a rumpled bed?  when it isn't made up yet

What nationality is Santa Claus?  North Polish

What travels around the world but stays in a corner?  a stamp

What occurs one in every minute twice in every moment, but not once in a thousand years?  sorry you'll have to e-mail me for the answer to this one also!

Rudolph on the sun?

Dear Santa,

What is going on?  Has Rudolph ran away?  

Can you tell me how he got to the sun? 

Is this where he recharges that red nose?

Sincerely,

    Just wondering.

 

                                                     

Across Nevada: 5 A.M.

Chandeliers

of cold stars illuminate

the night, where a train whistle

moans hollowly.

Quietness settles across the mesa

and barren land, horizons

withdrawing under a scattering

of lesser stars.

Cheap Christmas Present Ideas

First,no, I'm not kidding, some of us must look for the least expensive way to give presents.  For these ideas you need to think of family or close friends that understand about not being able to spend alot of money at Christmas.  Here are a few of my ideas, for a few more check out  maf74dance's journal.

1.)Dollar stores.  Know someone that likes candles/candle holders?  Trust me, they will never know the difference between a candle that cost $1 over one that costs $5 or up.  Teen girls like fragrant hand lotions.  You can find them there also.  Little kids?  No problem, Dollar stores have tons of coloring books (though I would skip on the $1 crayons, hate those, try to spring for Crayola brand or go for colored pencils), and reading and puzzel books for younger kids.  Know someone that likes to work puzzels?  They got those to!  You may be surprised at what you can find at the Dollar stores that really don't appear to be "cheap."

  2.) Next, do you know someone that LOVES to read?  Find a used book store and get them a gift certificate!  (If the store says we don't have those, we only give credit on trade in's ask if you can just give them the money and they give you a "credit slip" for that amount.  I am sure they will.)  Before you dismiss this idea, know that people who love to read know that books cost a small fortune these days.  Ten dollars at a used bookstore will get you 3 or 4 books, at a "real" bookstore you will be lucky to get one.  And, after they finish the books they can trade them back in for more books!  I don't know a book lover that would not go for this. 

Cheap Christmas Present Ideas

 

3.) Movies.  We all love them, and like books they ain't cheap.  Now you may feel self consious about this one, so save it for close family if you do.  Go to any place that sells used movies,(Blockbuster is good for this, they have sales from time to time where you can buy 2 get 1 free) and get a few.  For the price of a new movie you probably can get at least 2 used ones maybe more depending on prices and any sales going on.  Or, you could get a gift certificate and suggest to your "givee" use it to get some used movies  -- more bang for the buck!

4.)Food.  Amost everyone loves to eat out.  Forget certificates to high price places, go for the fast food places. At some point most everyone will hit a McDonalds or Burger King, during a lunch hour or while out shopping.   Five or ten bucks here can go a long way (depending on what they buy.)  Got some teens on your list?  Get gift certificates to fast food places in the mall.  When they go to the mall to spend their Christmas money, they won't have to use it to buy that burger!  You will have it covered for them! 

 

 

I Shall Not Pass This Way Again

Through this toilsome world, alas!

Once and only once I pass;

If a kindness I may show,

If a good deed I may do

To a suffering fellow man,

Let me do it while I can.

No delay, for it is plain

I shall not pass this way again.

Happiness

Happiness is like a crystal,

Fair and exquisite and clear,

Broken in a million pieces,

Shattered, scattered far and near.

Now and then along life's pathway,

Lo! some shining fragments fall;

but there are so many pieces

No one ever finds them all.

 

 You may find a bit of beauty,

Or an honest share of wealth,

While another just beside you

Gathers honor, love or health.

Vain to choose or grasp unduly,

Broken is the perfect ball;

And there are so many pieces

No one ever finds them all.

 

 Yet the wise as on they journey

Treasure every fragment clear,

Fit them as they may together,

Imaging the shattered sphere,

Learning ever to be thankful,

Though their share of it is small;

For it has so many pieces

No one ever finds them all.

 

Best things to Give

The best thing to give your enemy is forgiveness

To an opponent, tolerance

To a friend, your heart

To a child, a good example

To a father, deference

To your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you

To yourself, respect

To all men, charity

Flu season is here! Be careful not to get sick!

Each moment of the year has its own beauty....a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again.  --  Ralph Waldo Emerson

If I had known what trouble you were bearing; What griefs were in the silence of your face; I would have been more gentle and more caring, And tried to give you gladness for a space.  --  Mary Carolyn Davies

Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul; we may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain if our will remain firm and submissive.  Peace in this life springs from acquiescence, not in an exemption from suffering.  --  Francois Fenelon

The ideal of friendship is to feel as one, while remaining two.  --  Madame Swetchine

Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.  --  Charlotte Bronte

May the hinges of friendship never rust, Nor the wings of love lose a feather.  --  Edward Bannerman Ramsey

Practice the art of aloneness and you will discover the treasure of tranquility.  Develop the art of solitude and you will unearth the gift of serenity.  --  William Arthur Ward

The capacity to care gives life its deepest significance.  --  Pablo Casals

Go oft to the house of thy friend, for weeds choke the unused path.  --  Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

purple clothes and red hats

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and suprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

 

Friends

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.  --  Garrison Keillar

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  --  Charles Dickens

Love is not just looking at each other, It's looking in the same direction.  --  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.  What is essential is invisible to the eye.  --  Saint Exuprey

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.  --  Booker T Washington

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.  --  Elanor Roosevelt

What comes from the heart, goes to the heart.  --  Coleridge

Dreams are....illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.  -- Marsha Norman

 

 

 

 

 

Invictus

 Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods my be

 For my unconquerable soul.

 

 In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud

.Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

 And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

 

 It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.