I always write serious blogs that either make you wanna cry or make you wanna run for political office to change the world. haha..So, I thought I would write a happy blog.
Of course, as I start everything, I have to start my happy blog praising the good Lord. Everyday, I feel closer and closer to HIM. Most days, on my way to work, I have a talk with God. I thank HIM for the day and allowing me to spend another day with the ones I cherish the most. I thank HIM for many, many things, and I say a prayer for everyone. That is just a perfect start to my day. :o) So, it had to be a perfect start to my blog.
First thing I want to talk about are my cousins, Crystal and Michael. They are currently in Hawaii about to adopt a beautiful 4 year old little girl. That will make their 3rd adopted child. Their first little boy was also adopted from Hawaii. As another gift from God, their second child was given to them my a lady that knew she couldnt give him the love and care that he needed. The lady from Hawaii that is giving them her daughter is also pregnant with another baby. She will be giving them him/her as well. To the ones that dont know Crystal and Michael, there are not any better people in the world. Their faith guides their lives and they have reaped all the benefits of living their life for the Lord. They are wonderful parents and I couldnt ask for better cousins. Michael married into the family and I couldnt love him any more if he was "blood." I just wanted to share that with everyone b/c you see things like this in movies and tv, but it happens in real life as well. :o)
Now, on to a more Hollie oriented discussion. DESIGN! I am redecorating my living room and having so much fun in the process! I have had the same decor and color scheme since Junior year! I thought I need a more contemporary look and feel! I decided to go with black furniture. I am using olive green with red accents as my color scheme. Im not sure how I am going to paint the walls yet. Any suggestions? I love to decorate! I wish I had a lot of money to do it right! Last year I decorated my bedroom with a Marilyn Monroe theme. I used white and pink color accents. When I finish my living room I will put up pictures!
Another "project/hobby" I am starting is guitar lessons! I am so excited! I am musically inclined anyway and thought guitar would be fun to learn. I may put together an all girl punk rock group. hahahaha... Applications and auditions will be available shortly. lol
Well, thats all for now! Until next time, God Bless! :o)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
~Socialism?~
This new health bill is leaving me with steam coming out of my ears and my heart racing, so I figured it would be a good blog discussion. lol ...
I will start off on the positive things about the Bill, b/c there are some good things about it. I am looking at this from a citizen's non-partisanship view. I think it is good that children can stay on their parent's insurance until age 26. Children can currently stay on it during college, I think it is good that they can now stay on a few years after college during their job transition.
I like that insurance companies can no longer turn down someone due to a current illness. It is the ones that are sick that need the benefits of a good health plan. I also believe that if someone gets laid off from a job at no fault of there own and are actively seeking employment, they should receive insurance benefits during that transition phase.
Now, after stating the positives, on to the negatives. First off, an estimated 400 billion is going to be used in this endeavour. Yes, that adds to the already HUGE deficit we already have. We already added a huge amount to the deficit by bailing out huge corporations. With this added to it, the deficit is more than tripled. It took Bush 8 years to double the deficit. It only took Obama a year to more than triple it. To help with this added spending, citizens will have a large increase in taxes and fees starting in 2014. The economy is bad enough as it is. By forcing citizens and small businesses to shell out even more money, it will not help at all!
A second concern of mine is that I will have my hard earned money taken away from me to benefit someone that doesnt work at all. I already stated what I thought about someone that is actively seeking work, but this concern stems from those that just flat out dont want to work. That percentage is a lot higher than those who are looking for work. There are jobs out there. Sure, it may not be one that you want, but the jobs are there. It could be working for McDonalds or Walmart, or even being a waiter at a restaurant. Those are jobs you can have until something better comes along. So, there is NO excuse for receiving a hand out. I will use myself as an example. I currently work for a business that has been hit hard by the economy. I was laid off at one point and had to receive unemployment. Unemplyment is not a hand out b/c it is paid my mine and the business I worked for's taxes. In Alabama, you can receive unemployment benefits for up to 18 months. That is MORE than enough time to find employment. While on unemployment I was still given enough to pay my mortage, household bills, cell phone, and INSURANCE. Yes, I had to sacrifice some things. I had my home phone and internet cut off. I have no garbage pick up at my house. Those were easy sacrifices. It allowed me to still have health insurance. I pay $90 a month. It is not hard to save that much a month. There are no excuses for not having it. Make other sacrifices. So, for everyone that is saying that they cant afford insurance..I call BS. I already pay for illegal immigrants to have healthcare, I dont want to have to pay for everyone else's as well. Especially, when I make sacrifices and take action to pay for my own.
Now, on to the most important point. People are not seeing the big picture. Our personal health and freedom of choice has now been taken away from us! We are now required to buy insurance that is "acceptable" to the IRS. To the people that work and dont take hand outs, that is an added expense that we may have chosen not to have. We are now being forced and if we dont comply we will have huge penalties thrown at us. That goes against what this nation stands for. It defys the US Constitution. That will only be the beginning. If we allow this freedom to be taken away, it wont be long until others will follow.
Socialism- a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.
Our healthcare is now being controlled by the government. It is complete socialism.
Communism- a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
Communism is usually considered to be a branch of socialism. Socialism and redistribution is not American. We are intended to be a free nation. That is referring to FREE from government. You can't be free from a government that involuntarily takes your money and redistributes it.
SO, this healthcare bill is clearly defying the US Constitution. Hopefully, that will be reason enough to do away with the bill. I am sure some will disagree with me. That is your FREEDOM. What will you do when that is taken away from you?
Until next time, GOD BLESS.
I will start off on the positive things about the Bill, b/c there are some good things about it. I am looking at this from a citizen's non-partisanship view. I think it is good that children can stay on their parent's insurance until age 26. Children can currently stay on it during college, I think it is good that they can now stay on a few years after college during their job transition.
I like that insurance companies can no longer turn down someone due to a current illness. It is the ones that are sick that need the benefits of a good health plan. I also believe that if someone gets laid off from a job at no fault of there own and are actively seeking employment, they should receive insurance benefits during that transition phase.
Now, after stating the positives, on to the negatives. First off, an estimated 400 billion is going to be used in this endeavour. Yes, that adds to the already HUGE deficit we already have. We already added a huge amount to the deficit by bailing out huge corporations. With this added to it, the deficit is more than tripled. It took Bush 8 years to double the deficit. It only took Obama a year to more than triple it. To help with this added spending, citizens will have a large increase in taxes and fees starting in 2014. The economy is bad enough as it is. By forcing citizens and small businesses to shell out even more money, it will not help at all!
A second concern of mine is that I will have my hard earned money taken away from me to benefit someone that doesnt work at all. I already stated what I thought about someone that is actively seeking work, but this concern stems from those that just flat out dont want to work. That percentage is a lot higher than those who are looking for work. There are jobs out there. Sure, it may not be one that you want, but the jobs are there. It could be working for McDonalds or Walmart, or even being a waiter at a restaurant. Those are jobs you can have until something better comes along. So, there is NO excuse for receiving a hand out. I will use myself as an example. I currently work for a business that has been hit hard by the economy. I was laid off at one point and had to receive unemployment. Unemplyment is not a hand out b/c it is paid my mine and the business I worked for's taxes. In Alabama, you can receive unemployment benefits for up to 18 months. That is MORE than enough time to find employment. While on unemployment I was still given enough to pay my mortage, household bills, cell phone, and INSURANCE. Yes, I had to sacrifice some things. I had my home phone and internet cut off. I have no garbage pick up at my house. Those were easy sacrifices. It allowed me to still have health insurance. I pay $90 a month. It is not hard to save that much a month. There are no excuses for not having it. Make other sacrifices. So, for everyone that is saying that they cant afford insurance..I call BS. I already pay for illegal immigrants to have healthcare, I dont want to have to pay for everyone else's as well. Especially, when I make sacrifices and take action to pay for my own.
Now, on to the most important point. People are not seeing the big picture. Our personal health and freedom of choice has now been taken away from us! We are now required to buy insurance that is "acceptable" to the IRS. To the people that work and dont take hand outs, that is an added expense that we may have chosen not to have. We are now being forced and if we dont comply we will have huge penalties thrown at us. That goes against what this nation stands for. It defys the US Constitution. That will only be the beginning. If we allow this freedom to be taken away, it wont be long until others will follow.
Socialism- a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.
Our healthcare is now being controlled by the government. It is complete socialism.
Communism- a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
Communism is usually considered to be a branch of socialism. Socialism and redistribution is not American. We are intended to be a free nation. That is referring to FREE from government. You can't be free from a government that involuntarily takes your money and redistributes it.
SO, this healthcare bill is clearly defying the US Constitution. Hopefully, that will be reason enough to do away with the bill. I am sure some will disagree with me. That is your FREEDOM. What will you do when that is taken away from you?
Until next time, GOD BLESS.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Letting go...and letting GOD.
It has been a while since my last post, and today I felt compelled to share with everyone a little something. If you have read any of my last posts it is no surprise that I have had a journey finding my way. I have dealt with many demons in the past and I still fight them daily. That is something we all fight, whether it is anxiety and stress from work, temptations from friends, or the devil putting many doubts in your head telling you that your life is just not good enough.
For years I have dreamed about achieving bigger and better things. I always wanted to be a successful lawyer and live in LA or New York. I always dreamed about the day I would achieve "greatness." I would have never guessed that dream would be taken away from me so fast. After my wreck it was hard enough getting through my Bachelors course work. The smallest things that were always so easy for me ended up being a challenge. I chose marketing as my major solely b/c I had to pick something, anything that would give me a bachelor’s degree so I could go to law school. I thought marketing would be fun, and my best friend was going to major in marketing, so I thought I would do the same. I look back now and try and think about what major I would have chosen if I knew that my law school dream would be taken away.
For years I have just been depressed at the what ifs. I would always feel like my dreams would never be fulfilled b/c it was taken away from me so early in life. I graduated college in 2007. I interviewed with a great company prior to graduation. The interview went well and I was asked to come in for a 2nd interview. During this, I was going through a LOT of emotional issues. Since my wreck, I never actually had time off to fully get better. It was a nonstop process that started with therapy and them me moving to Tuscaloosa to finish school. I didn’t realize the effect it all had on me. My mom convinced me to take a little time off before I stepped into the real world. So, I canceled my interview and moved back home for the summer. The end of the summer I started interviewing and got a job with a marketing firm in Atlanta. Within just a week I had to uproot my life. My first week on the job was fun and challenging. I was staying with a friend until my apartment was ready and I really enjoyed it...that is, until I am standing in Wal-Mart buying groceries and my mom calls me crying her eyes out begging me to move back home. She was convinced something terrible would happen to me. My mom had never cried like that to me. So, yep, I did as she said and moved back home. I was back maybe a month and I convinced my mom to "let" me move back to Tuscaloosa and find a job there. For some reason she felt better about that idea. I moved back to Tuscaloosa and started interviewing for jobs. I ended up getting a job with a photography company. It paid well enough and the opportunities for advancement were endless. I was set to spend a week in North Carolina to train at their headquarters. The week before I was supposed to go, I went home to see my niece, Mckenzi. She had leukemia and it was getting worse. In my heart I felt that I couldn’t leave my family during such a bad time. I declined the job offer and stayed home the week I was suppose to start training. I didn’t know it at the time, but if I would have decided to go to NC, I would have never seen my niece before she died. Afterwards, things in our family were not good. We all had to deal with losing a sweet angel. I told my dad that I wanted to move back home and asked him if I could work for him. That was October of 2007. It has been a little over 2 years and the grieving has passed, even though McKenzi stays in out thoughts and our hearts. I am still working for my dad. I pretty much have spent 3 years of my life in a state of depression. I worked so very hard to get my degree and I haven’t used it. I keep thinking that there is something out there for me, something that will finally make me happy and successful. I have had so many aspirations and I have yet to concur any of them.
I would pray for the Lord to help me get a great job in a city, and help me finally be happy. I would continue to ask for the things that I thought would finally bring me peace and happiness. I prayed every night for God to please help me fulfill my dreams. Nothing ever happened! I was still depressed and felt like my life was meaningless. Well, the past few months my relationship with God has grown so much. It is like I am a new person and it feels so wonderful. All of a sudden it hit me...I need to stop asking God for things I think I need and have FAITH that he will guide me to the things I really need. It is all about having faith. You can pray and love God and believe in him, but you have not truly let God in your heart until you give him 100% faith. When you do, you will find such a great peace. Sure, we may have moments where we start to wonder why our life isn’t where we think it should be. That is natural. It is when we realize that out life is what God makes of it, that we can truly be happy and at peace. I am excited at what God has planned for me. I just finally had to let go, and let God.
For years I have dreamed about achieving bigger and better things. I always wanted to be a successful lawyer and live in LA or New York. I always dreamed about the day I would achieve "greatness." I would have never guessed that dream would be taken away from me so fast. After my wreck it was hard enough getting through my Bachelors course work. The smallest things that were always so easy for me ended up being a challenge. I chose marketing as my major solely b/c I had to pick something, anything that would give me a bachelor’s degree so I could go to law school. I thought marketing would be fun, and my best friend was going to major in marketing, so I thought I would do the same. I look back now and try and think about what major I would have chosen if I knew that my law school dream would be taken away.
For years I have just been depressed at the what ifs. I would always feel like my dreams would never be fulfilled b/c it was taken away from me so early in life. I graduated college in 2007. I interviewed with a great company prior to graduation. The interview went well and I was asked to come in for a 2nd interview. During this, I was going through a LOT of emotional issues. Since my wreck, I never actually had time off to fully get better. It was a nonstop process that started with therapy and them me moving to Tuscaloosa to finish school. I didn’t realize the effect it all had on me. My mom convinced me to take a little time off before I stepped into the real world. So, I canceled my interview and moved back home for the summer. The end of the summer I started interviewing and got a job with a marketing firm in Atlanta. Within just a week I had to uproot my life. My first week on the job was fun and challenging. I was staying with a friend until my apartment was ready and I really enjoyed it...that is, until I am standing in Wal-Mart buying groceries and my mom calls me crying her eyes out begging me to move back home. She was convinced something terrible would happen to me. My mom had never cried like that to me. So, yep, I did as she said and moved back home. I was back maybe a month and I convinced my mom to "let" me move back to Tuscaloosa and find a job there. For some reason she felt better about that idea. I moved back to Tuscaloosa and started interviewing for jobs. I ended up getting a job with a photography company. It paid well enough and the opportunities for advancement were endless. I was set to spend a week in North Carolina to train at their headquarters. The week before I was supposed to go, I went home to see my niece, Mckenzi. She had leukemia and it was getting worse. In my heart I felt that I couldn’t leave my family during such a bad time. I declined the job offer and stayed home the week I was suppose to start training. I didn’t know it at the time, but if I would have decided to go to NC, I would have never seen my niece before she died. Afterwards, things in our family were not good. We all had to deal with losing a sweet angel. I told my dad that I wanted to move back home and asked him if I could work for him. That was October of 2007. It has been a little over 2 years and the grieving has passed, even though McKenzi stays in out thoughts and our hearts. I am still working for my dad. I pretty much have spent 3 years of my life in a state of depression. I worked so very hard to get my degree and I haven’t used it. I keep thinking that there is something out there for me, something that will finally make me happy and successful. I have had so many aspirations and I have yet to concur any of them.
I would pray for the Lord to help me get a great job in a city, and help me finally be happy. I would continue to ask for the things that I thought would finally bring me peace and happiness. I prayed every night for God to please help me fulfill my dreams. Nothing ever happened! I was still depressed and felt like my life was meaningless. Well, the past few months my relationship with God has grown so much. It is like I am a new person and it feels so wonderful. All of a sudden it hit me...I need to stop asking God for things I think I need and have FAITH that he will guide me to the things I really need. It is all about having faith. You can pray and love God and believe in him, but you have not truly let God in your heart until you give him 100% faith. When you do, you will find such a great peace. Sure, we may have moments where we start to wonder why our life isn’t where we think it should be. That is natural. It is when we realize that out life is what God makes of it, that we can truly be happy and at peace. I am excited at what God has planned for me. I just finally had to let go, and let God.
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