My MRI Fiasco

I left work early today because I had to go for an MRI.  When the technician came out for me, her first words after "How are you?" were "I'm sure you heard about the horror stories with MRIs."

I said, "No, I haven't, and I don't want to."  What a greeting!

Then when she was trying to give me the injection, she couldn't find a vein big enough.  She tried about five different places before she finally gave up and said she couldn't do it. 

She tried calling my surgeon who ordered the MRI to let him know and see what he wanted to do, such as maybe an ultrasound, but his office closed early today.  She'll call him in the morning.

I'm not sure what to think about this except that I'm in God's hands and He is in control.  At least I saved my insurance company some money.  They should thank me for my tiny veins.  Too bad I wasted 3.5 hours of my personal time off though; not the way I would choose to use it but at least I didn't take off the whole day.

Does anyone else have small veins like me? 

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So Long Old Linoleum!

Later this week we are finally having Sue's Helping Hands lay down tile in our kitchen, dining room and bathroom.  Although it will take 3-4 days since Sue is working alone (so far her helpers are all busy), it will be worth it.  The linoleum is so old, Gerard can't get it clean anymore which is extremely frustrating for "Mr. Clean."  I never did like the kitchen linoleum but chose to live with it for 17 years.  We will be using the same color tile in all three rooms to provide some continuity.  In the meantime though, our living room will be loaded with all our dining room furniture and perhaps the kitchen table as well. Since we won't be able to walk on the new tile for 8 hours, the kitchen and dining room have to be done in sections so we can get to our front door.  At least one of the days, we will have to go out the front door and in the side door to get to the basement (Gerard's bathroom is down there).  Not looking forward to the obstacle course part.

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What! Can't See The Browns Game? (UPDATED)

I never heard of Raycom Media until this week when they pulled Channel 19 from DirecTV so I can't watch the Browns/Steelers game tomorrow at home.  Now they also pulled it from Dish and Cox!  This is really mean and greedy of Raycom Media, owner of Channel 19.  Boo on Raycom Media!

I am upset about this but I guess I won't be watching many Browns games this season unless DirecTV can come to some sort of agreement.  Maybe one of my friends will be able to get the game, and invite me over to watch with them.  I can only hope!  Hint!  Hint!

As of Sept. 1 when this article was posted, Raycom is supposedly trying to reach an agreement with DirecTV but it doesn't look good:  Raycom Media Continues Negotiating With DirecTV.


UPDATE:  They reached an agreement the day of the game!  I was able to watch the Browns come from 27-3 at half time to tie the game and lose it in the last 10 seconds with a field goal by the Steelers.  Too bad they didn't start playing until the second half. 

There were some bright spots though:

1)  They actually had a running game going even with the first string running back hurt and out of the game early.

2)  QB Hoyer played very well the second half (except for that last series when they went 3 and out.)

3)  They did much better than I expected.  I thought they would get blown away.



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Decluttering Means Getting Rid of Things I Like! by Spunky Doodle

Mom is busy these days washing walls and decluttering rooms to get ready for painting but why oh why did she have to get rid of one of my favorite places to lay?

I like laying up here while she showers and dries her hair, but she is throwing this nice tall shelf away!

Mom:  It's all rusty looking and not necessary.  The only reason I would keep it is because Spunky likes to lay on it sometimes, but she hasn't been using it lately so out it goes. 

Spunky Doodle:  MEOW!

Joining up with Awww Mondays.

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Choosing Paint Colors

After almost 17 years in our home, we are FINALLY going to redecorate the living room, dining room, kitchen and main bathroom!  I got my wish of finding a way to preview how different colors would look in our rooms when I went to Lowe's and looked at a brochure titled "Be a Color Genius."  at Lowes.Olympic.com, you can actually do this!  I was SO excited to find this that I spent three hours playing around with this on Saturday night! 

Right now our living room is blah white with white wallpaper with a light flower print in it on two walls in our living room and one in our dining room.  Our kitchen is a pastel yellow and our bathroom is a very light pink! 

I'm tired of the blah look and old outdated wallpaper.  It's was fun trying different colors and we are narrowing it down and have pretty much decided what we want to go with. You can see our "before" pics and the new looks that we are planning to do here.  If you have any color suggestions you think we should try, let us know in the comments.
I encourage you to give this cool feature a try!

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3 Good Things

As of yesterday, I am staring a new habit of listing three good things that happened during the day.  According to "The Amazing Five-Minute Trick That Improves Your Mood and Builds Your Bones" doing this will help me feel better and help my bones.  I don't know about that, but what have I got to lose?  It suggests that at the end of every day, you evaluate your day and list three good things that happened.  It's so easy to let the bad things that happen get our attention and steel our joy wiping out the good things.  Like yesterday, for example, lots of good things happened:

1. Got a free bus ride to work because the ticket gadget wasn't working.
2. Got Christmas presents from all four of my bosses!
3. Even one of my former bosses visited and brought me some candy!
4. The garage guy called to say he could fix our garage door tomorrow morning.
5. Had an easy work day.
6. Hubby got paid today.
7. I gave away four more of our extra 2014 calendars today.

What about you?  What good things happened to you yesterday or today?

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Monday Mischief: Abby's Fun Adventure

This is Snow Road Park  where I ran.

Hearing about the lost doggie in our neighborhood saddened me very much, but also reminded me of a very fun adventure I had on August 8 of 2009, shortly after moving in with Karen and Gerard  which I thought I would tell you all about today for Monday Mischief.

Saturdays are always good for me.  I was up early with Gerard and went on two walks in the neighborhood even before Karen had breakfast!  Then, we all went to the Metropark nearby.  I recognized the trees along the park road and got very excited!  At first, things started out a bit slow because Karen kept making me wait so I would not pull on the leash, but then I got the hang of it and since I was doing so well, we crossed the main road and continued on the next section.  Now here comes the best part of all!

We went over to a bench to take a little rest and everything was very nice.  Karen was holding the leash, but all of a sudden, like magic, it just came off so off I went!  Can you really blame me?  After all, I never get to run free in the city and the park was so big and beautiful, so much to explore!  I ran and ran and ran down the road and out into the wide open grass.  It was so much fun!!!!

I heard Karen and Gerard calling me to come, but I was having way too much fun and they sounded kind of upset too.  I took off around the bend and had ran free like a wolf!  After a little while, I turned around and headed back to a nice guy who was working on the shelter.  I stayed with him until Karen and Gerard caught up to me.  Then I stayed with Gerard while Karen went back to get the car because they did not trust my leash anymore.

Before my training class at PetSmart, the trainer helped us pick out a brand new red collar and a new red leash that is thicker than my old one.  In our class that day, we worked on the "come" command.  I did really good in class with it!  I even won the challenge against Odot because I came and sat before she did.  I love competition and getting those treats!  Killer and Chewy were both friendlier to me.  We got to walk a lot and I ate some of Killer's treats that were just laying on the stool.  I am a treat thief--ha ha!  Everyone thought it was funny except Killer who was a very small scared dog with lots of issues.  I was not afraid of him at all.

This was the biggest mischief day I ever had in my life and will never forget how much fun it was!   

(This story is on page 32 of the book Karen helped me write using Blurb as a surprise for my dad on Father's Day:  Abby Finds A Good Home!  From Death Row to Adoption.

Joining up with Monday Mischief.

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Stress Stats For Your Information

What stresses you out?

According to USA TODAY last week, the issues people are most stressed about are:

(76%) work
(73%) Money
(59%) Relationships
(56%) Family Responsibilities
(55%) Economy

Work is definitely the biggest cause of stress for my hubby, but for me, can you guess what it is? Well, I'd say it's family responsibilities and money such as the doctor and vet appointments. Having to schedule them all the time and taking days off work for them gets to me, plus preparing our tax forms for our accountant, UGH! 

On my day off last week, we spent $1,670 which didn't even involve travel! (Had the Naturestone floor in our laundry room cleaned ($165), finally got our doorknob replaced ($40), picked up my Femara prescription for one month ($531) and Abby had her teeth cleaned and one extracted ($934)).  Manny Boy is due for a teeth cleaning next month! Times sure have changed. When I was a kid, I can't remember my parents ever taking our dog to the vet. This was by in the 60s. Pet insurance back then was unheard of. Today, I actually went online to www.embraceyourpet.com and got a quote. I'm still thinking about it.

Who is more depressed and anxious? Young adults or Older adults? Below is what was reported in USA TODAY:

Ages 48-60:
(12% depression & 7% Anxiety)

Ages 18-33:
(19% depression & 12% Anxiety)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:6-7  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. --I Peter 5:7

Young adults are more depressed and anxious than older ones. I am not surprised at this, are you? I think older people are more used to dealing with problems and have their past experience to learn from and know they can get through stuff. Also, for Christians, our faith in God gets stronger over the years so we know how to turn our cares and worries over to God better than when we were younger.

Fortunately, the expenses were all anticipated and that's what our savings is for.  What stresses you out most?

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Voting Is Hard Work!

I don't listen much to the news or read the newspaper, especially no political articles because I just do not like politics. However, when I saw how many choices are on the ballot for the upcoming primary election, I felt it only right to try to find out about the candidates to vote responsibly. I actually went through the whole ballot and either googled the names or looked them up on Wikipedia. I also searched for voters guide and found some information about the candidates that way. (We vote by mail so get our ballot ahead).

I was glad I did because several of my initial choices I ended up changing. There was even one presidential candidate that I really liked! Usually, it's just voting for a lesser of two evils. Now, I imagine you are wondering who it is that I am so excited about voting for. I'll give you a hint: he's a republican and his first name is Rick.

I am not posting this to influence your vote one way or the other though. My intent is simply to encourage you to seriously check out the candidates before you vote for them. Don't just assume that a male judge would be better than a female judge so vote for the male. Another word of caution, don't just automatically vote for a familiar name--please look into the other choices as well so you can be an informed voter. Voting is certainly a privilege but also a responsibility that we have as citizens of the United States.

 (50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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3 Strange Sights That Made My Jaw Drop and Eyes Pop

Saturday Grocery Shopping

One Saturday while shopping at Giant Eagle, we saw a young, skinny woman grocery shopping in her white sports bra with sweat pants! Yes, I stared at her. She must have thought she looked good and wanted to show off her bones or she wouldn’t go out in just a bra. I couldn’t believe she came to the store dressed like that. I expect to see women in sports bras if they are working out at a gym on a hot day, but not to shop. What do you think?


At Work

One of my co-workers was showing me the different nail polish her daughter put on for her. The littlest finger looked really ugly, like it was all chipped and she said “that’s the Crackle nail polish that is the latest trend.” I quit wearing nail polish because it always chipped and I would be embarrassed. Now they actually make nail polish to look chipped; can you believe it? What do you think of that?


Waiting at the bus stop during rush hour

Didn't get a picture of the guy, but that is the corner where he was.

This is the strangest sight yet! On a main street in downtown Cleveland, while waiting at my bus stop to go home from work one day, I saw a man across the street change his shirt and then his pants! He did not have any underwear on and I could see his butt crack plain as day! What is wrong with people??? I would think even a homeless person would have the decency to at least go into a public restroom to change clothes or at the very least, pick an alley somewhere. Have you ever seen anyone do this on a main street?

What strange things have you seen? I’d love to hear about them.

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We Go To Different Gyms Now

Downtown Fitworks

Convenience! We used to both have gym memberships at Fitworks. There is one very close to our church and only about 10 minutes from our house by car. We went every weekend and Gerard went through the week a couple times. I used to go with him on weekends (before we had a dog) and sometimes for an evening class during the week but would go to the downtown location almost every day at lunch time during fall and winter because it is in walking distance from my office.

Fitness 19

When Fitness 19 opened even closer to our home, we switched there instead because it was also somewhat cheaper. I found myself not going nearly as often and had to really push myself to go. It just wasn’t convenient for me. When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I had to stop working out for about a year. I actually missed it then and when I got the green light from my surgeon that I could go ahead and do weight lifting again as much as I wanted, I rejoined at Fitworks.

Parma location

Now, Gerard is still at Fitness 19 and I go to Fitworks either before work or during my lunch hour. On Sundays I will go to Fitworks near home sometimes after church while Gerard goes to Fitness 19. The key to choosing a gym is location . . . if it is not convenient; you probably won’t go very often. At least that has been my experience.

Fitworks is on Facebook. There are discussions and tips from their trainers there. What is most important to you when choosing a gym?

Aliens Might Make Us Move! (writer's workshop)

I think the only way we would move would be if our house got destroyed or if aliens came from space and picked us up and moved us somewhere else. We are very happy with our neighborhood and with our house. Although we would love to live in a climate that is warm year round without snow, the thought of moving is just too overwhelming. Moving is just a huge hassle, lots of stress and very tiring. I was never so exhausted in my life as I was when we moved into our house.

Perhaps one day if we become too feeble to live on our own, then we may move into some kind of assisted living place. That is the only way I see us moving. We are right where we belong!

What about you?

This is in response to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt: What would it take for you to pick up and move?

We Joined The Jitterbug Network--Hope It's For The Best

We got Sprint cell phones for Christmas of 2007 and had a two-year contract. $70 a month seemed like a lot to me for the little bit we use it. We do not text or use the Internet access on it. All we use it for is phone calls, mostly to each other and our pizza place on a regular basis. Gerard found an ad for a Jitterbug phone that sounded perfect for us and would be cheaper, so Saturday I took the plunge and called. I don't like change or doing anything that rocks the boat; however, I figured if we could save some money switching over it would be worth the little inconvenience of doing so.

We got our new phones last night and I spent two hours fussing around with them, calling Sprint to get my PIN which was necessary to keep our same numbers. After three attempts, I got it right. Our new phones don't have anything to flip up like our old ones did. The buttons are actually smaller than what we had before. There are several options to choose and I was asked when I signed up what features were important to us. The cost and reliable service is what was most important. They did ask about the size of buttons and I said it didn't matter. I hope I made the right choice.

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Who Has Significantly Impacted The Course Of Your Life Other Than Family?

Here are the six people who have significantly impacted the course of my life:

Michelle (left front), Pam (back right) and John (right front), the three foster kids that my parents took in and raised as their own. Because they came, my life was enriched. Because of them, I became compassionate and developed empathy. They showed me not everyone was as fortunate as I and they caused me to appreciate my parents even more. Had I been an only child, I would have been more sheltered and missed out on having our house being the neighborhood meeting place. Had they not joined our family, I probably would have had way more stuff than I needed but no one to share it with. We had a lot of fun together and without them in my life, I would have been very lonely, I’m sure. They helped me relax and have fun and not be so serious all the time. (Technically, they may be considered family, but they weren’t when they first came, so I’m counting them here.)

 Here we are all grown up:  Michelle (Cancer survivor), me, Pam, and John

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One Simple Act Made Quite An Impact

 (Me at Beulah Beach-1964, age 10)

On Facebook this week, Ryan M. said I am one of six people other than family who significantly impacted his life. It made me feel so good when I read this. I remember the very nice thank-you note he sent to me when he returned from a week at Beulah Beach Camp. I have personally been involved both as a camper and as a counselor at Beulah Beach in the past and know what a tremendous impact it can have so like to sponsor kids to go there. Ryan was in high school at the time and was very brave to go alone. Here is what he wrote about it on Facebook:

Karen: We don't even really know each other, but she single handedly changed the entire course of my life. One random act of kindness to sponsor me to go on a simple trip set off a chain of events that continue to impact me. Because of the people I met on that trip - which I never would have taken had she not randomly and anonymously sponsored - resulted in me meeting friends for life, finding the school I would attend (which would allow me to meet Tom, see above), and my potential mate. Quite an impact."

This got me thinking of the people other than family who have significantly impacted my life and I thought I would write about them in another post. Although some have gone to be with the Lord, others are still living and it may make them feel good to know they have made a significant impact on my life.

You don't always get to know what God will do with one simple act of kindness shown someone or what it will mean to them. It sure is nice though when you do get to know about it.  Thanks, Ryan, for letting me know! Keep showing kindness to others. I try to do a kind deed for someone every day, some days, even more than one!  I like to surprise people.

Debbie Mecomber's book, One Simple Act--Discovering The Power Of Generosity is all about impacting others through generosity.  (click the link to se my review of it.)  It's a great book!  I highly recommend it!

For best posts of the week, check out Saturday Samplings.

Can't Let That Pool Go To Waste

Last summer when it got really hot, we bought a little pool for Abby Dabby Doo, our dog. She wouldn't go in it so Gerard finally picked her up and put her in to cool her off. After all, she has such thick fur, we thought she would like it. We were disappointed when she didn't so just gave it up and put it away.  Here is a video of Abby trying it out for the first time:




At the end of a very long hot spell last week, Gerard decided to make use of it:

 

Even I came out and after taking his picture, and sat on the ground next to the pool dangling my feet in and splashing some.  The water was cold at first, but it really felt good on such a HOT day.  Thought this would give you a mid-week laugh.

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For A Work Day, It Was A Good Day

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. --Psalm 118:24

I am still having "vacation lag." You know, wishing I did not have to go to work because I'd rather still be on vacation. Yesterday morning, I tried singing "This is The Day" to get me in a better frame of mind, and it helped. It seems as though some days are filled with hassles and a bunch of little things to do that sort of pile up. Yesterday was sort of like that, but at the end of the day, I felt good about how it went.

Taking care of business, paying my sales tax. Whenever I sell any of my author copies of my book, I have to go online and pay sales tax to the State of Ohio. It's kind of a pain and I usually put it off until the last few days. It seems like such a hassle for such a small amount. I owed a big $3.10 this time plus $1.00 for paying with a credit card. Anyhow, when I went to file, it said I had to call them to get a new password. Naturally, it was after business hours when I tried doing this so had to wait until the next day. Yesterday, I got my new password and was able to get this tedious task completed!

Making an impulse buy less damaging. This month for some unknown reason when I saw the email to upgrade my "My Life" membership to actually see the results for people I was looking for, a whole two, I did it. I really don't know what I was thinking other than I thought perhaps I might use my old high school contacts to promote my book. When I realized it cost $83 for the year, I was very angry with myself for getting sucked into this. I noticed in the very small print that if I canceled, any unused portion would not be refunded. After sending a couple emails with no response, I finally decided to give them a call yesterday and beg to at least change it to only three months which they did. The customer rep was very nice and understanding and said they would put through a refund of the difference in cost. I was relieved and happy about this!

Good news from the doctor. Then when I called my doctor's office for the results of my Ecko and blood tests, I got good news--"Normal" on the Ecko test and "Perfect" on the blood test. That's what I wanted to hear!

Surprise in the mail and reading enjoyment. It was a beautiful day and so that's always a good thing! I'm currently reading Echo Park by Michael Connelly and I got to a good part in it yesterday so read quite a bit. I also got a nice surprise when Gerard met me on the way home from the bus stop. He said I got a book but I didn't remember ordering any book. Then when I saw it was The Language God Talks I remembered that I had won that in a giveaway on someone's blog. I had to go back through my emails to find out who to let know it arrived.

Spunky Doodle quality time. I also got a new VISA credit card in the mail from Chase that I had no recollection of requesting and promptly called to cancel it. Spunky Doodle helped me make the call and laid next to the phone letting me pet her real nice. It helped keep me calm and I just love it when my cats come around letting me pet them like that.

In reflecting on my day, it was a very good day, especially for a work day! I got a lot accomplished, some good news and had nice relaxing time. What about you? Have you had a good day lately?  Do you have any tasks that you have been procrastinating on--get to them and you'll feel better!


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I Even Multi-Task When I Relax

After a computer war with trying to get my Firefox browser to open with no success after 45 minutes, I decided it was time for a break. Even when I relax, I find myself sometimes do several things at once. Can you find the three things I'm doing at once in this picture?

I'm watching a show I taped with Gerard, reading Deeper Than The Dead, and petting Manny who joined me on the couch and layed on my legs. I love when he does this! I also went with Gerard to walk Abby.

I am just so frustrated with not being able to open my Firefox browser. It finally did open and I was organizing Feedley, the add-on I recently added. Maybe that's the problem? I really don't know. It sure would be great if it didn't make Firefox take forever to open. I'm wondering if it ever opens again, if I should delete Feedley. Sunday I tried for two hours to open Firefox with no success. I am SO frustrated with this. Good thing I still have my IE browser to fall back on. At least it opens. Anyone have any suggestions?

How do you relax? Do you find yourself multi-tasking when relaxing too?

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Having Breast Cancer Wasn't All Bad (Writer's Workshop 10-14-10)

We never know what will happen each year. At the beginning of 2009, having Breast Cancer was certainly not expected. As it turned out, the second half of 2009 I found myself facing Breast Cancer and fighting it off.

The Lord spared me from pain and Chemo. When I found out I had Breast Cancer last summer, I immediately asked to be anointed for healing at church as instructed in James 5:13-16.

My biggest fear of possibly dying was leaving Gerard alone so I wrote a list of instructions to help him out "just in case." As things turned out, he didn't need it because I had a successful lumpectomy in which the Cancer was removed and I woke up.

For me, dealing with Cancer was a little inconvenient with all the doctor trips and follow-up appointments but that was the only bad thing about it. Fortunately, the Cancer was detected early on thanks to getting my mammograms and had not spread to the lymphnodes. I had no pain at all before surgery or after other than when they prepped me for surgery and mapped where to cut but that was it for pain--a grand total of 20-30 minutes, if that, of actual pain.

I praise the Lord that Chemo was not necessary and the radiation treatments were quick and painless. Also, that my doctor was really on the ball, getting me in contact with a very good surgeon so quickly when he got the results back from my mammogram.

I was able to go braless for several months which was wonderful to me. I don't like those things. The straps are a nuisance because they fall down a lot!

I was able to be off from work with full pay thanks to FMLA and I felt fine. My job was very slow so it really was a good time for me to be off. I felt good and a bit guilty but when I tried returning to work early, I became exhausted so didn't feel guilty staying home after that, just enjoyed my time off. About mid November, I started back to work for just the mornings so still had the afternoons to do errands, blog hop, play with my pets and do the grocery shopping. It was nice! I loved getting home while it was still light.

I revised some of my eating habits and now eat vegetables, much less chocolate, V8 juice, and cut out the Friday donuts which was the hardest thing to do. Thanks to the Breast Cancer, I'm eating healthier.

So, beginning January 1, I started taking another pill, Femara, for five years that is supposed to help keep the Cancer from returning.

I write this to encourage others to get those mammograms each year, don't fret about Cancer but trust the Lord and don't let it control your thoughts. Go on about your life, enjoy living, hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Also, I encourage you to eat those vegetables instead of donuts and other things high in sugar. Sugar is not your friend!  I must remember that!  (Not doing so good at passing up those donuts since I moved to a new floor at work in March of 2010--instead of eating three once a week, I only eat one some weeks.)

Related posts:
How One Phone Call Ruined My Day--Blindsided
My New Pink Hat--What A Nice Surprise!
What We Eat Really Can Make A Difference

I linked this post up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop in response to her prompt to write about your fight against breast cancer or someone else's since it is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  (This was one of last week's prompts)

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Do You Live In The Past, Present or Future?

Growing up, most kids want to be older than they are. When they are 7, they want to be 13! They get to 13 and they want to be 18! They reach 18 and want to be 21! Not me. I had a wonderful childhood and wanted it to last as long as possible. My advice is to enjoy every age you are. I always thought Peter Pan had the right idea--never grow up. Although I did get older and turned into an adult, I still try to make the most of each year God gives me. After all, life is short and we can never go back. Even now, as I anticipate retiring one day in about seven years, I still want to enjoy the time I am in now. Psalms 118:24 says, This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
I took this little test and here's my results:

You Live in the Present

You take things one day at a time. And it turns out, that's a pretty great way to live. You aren't consumed by the past, and you're aren't obsessed with the future. You live in the now, and you enjoy each moment. While most people don't live in the present enough, make sure you don't live in it too much. It would be a mistake to forget your past or neglect to plan for the future.

Do You Live in the Past, Present, or Future?