It's Time for a Domain Clearance Sale!

Why can't I just be an ordinary lady with a shoe collection, dress collection, jewelry collection, coin collection, or stamp collection?  No my passion is being online and one thing I like to do is coin domain names of interest to me. 

So much so that I am now up to over 50 domain names.  Good grief!  Unlike with other collections I can't just go and drop them off as a charitable donation.  If I wanted to give the domain names away to someone else I would incur a transfer fee.  It is almost cheaper to keep them until they just expire.

Oh and I have let some expire over the last few years.  I was shocked when I looked at my life across different registrars including my own and saw I was up to over 50. 

It wouldn't be so bad if they were set to automatically renew.  They are just like falling in love over and over again, the feeling of thinking it is going to be something big and it is going to last forever.  If I choose to not automatically renew I may really stand the chance of losing it.  How do you keep up with the registration on over 50 domains?  Not very good.  Some of the domains I would have like to have kept over the past year expired.  What was I thinking?  Set the ones I buy on a fluke to auto-renew and not keep alert on the ones I may have really kept. 

Now trust and believe the ones I really want I keep check on.  I normally set them to renew more than for just a year.  Some of them could have just been one night wonders.  After the next day I thought about them no more.

Of course I have most of them being forwarded to other places because there is no way I have time to maintain all those domains just for myself.  I have tried to sell off a few.  The ones I think are worth the most don't show up as being worth the most when I do an online valuation.

I checked my list of domains and I need to check it twice, unloading at least half of them would be oh so nice.

HUDHOMESVIRGINIA.COM
HOMESFORSALENORFOLK.COM
HOMESPORTSMOUTHVA.COM
OPENHOUSESVA.COM
VAHOMESVA.COM
VABEACHVAHOMES.COM
BLACKBOOKNOOK.COM
LYNNE.CO (if the offering price is really right)
LOCALHAMPTONROADS.COM
HOMEFINANCEVA.COM
DUPLEXSUFFOLK.COM
BUYHOMESNCHESAPEAKE.COM
THALIASHORES.COM
RENTALSVA.COM (this one is really increasing my rank in the SEO world, content is queen!)
HASHTAGHOWTO.COM
LYNNEHOMES.COM
BUYHAMPTONVA.COM
HOMESNEWPORTNEWSVA.COM
YES2COPY.COM

BUYHOTELVA.COM
FORSALEHUD.COM
HOMENORFOLKVA.COM
NEWHOMECONSTRUCTIONVA.COM
FACEBOOKFOOLS.CO
FSBOHR.COM
WEBS2013.COM
NORFOLKVAHOMES4SALE.COM
COUPLECORNER.COM
LOVE1ACCORD.COM
BUYHOMEAUCTIONS.COM
BUYHOMEAUCTIONS.INFO
BUYHOMEAUCTIONS.NET
BUYHOMEAUCTIONS.ORG
HOUSEVA.COM

Help a sister out!  Make me an offer for one, two, or the whole lot you see above.  

Lynne Ruffin
Web Styles
Norfolk Virginia Home Based Business

Senior Safety: When You Think You Know Your Strength - Beware!

Oh it could have been a disaster.  I was out with my Mother the other day.  I was happy she was feeling up to going out.  The past month has really been a time of tribulation.  Her health has hit rock bottom and I was just thankful it was a nice day and she was incredulously feeling up to going out.

Incredibly, she even had the strength to get herself together for the day.  Her skin looked great.  Her hair looked great.  She told me she just wanted to get out the house to go anywhere she just wanted to get out. 

Her medical caregiver was able to help get her completely together and assist her with getting in the car.  She let her roll out to my car in her wheel chair.  And then she helped her get in the car from there.  My mother was able to assist with getting herself in the car just find by using the strength in her arms.

I first took her to go visit my brothers. She is wheel chair bound and not able to walk at all anymore.  She sat in the car while I went inside and let them know there was someone outside to see the both of them. 

They came out to the car and when they saw it was her they were just as happily surprised as I was that she felt up to being out and about.  It's been tough this past month and it was good to see a smile on both their faces.  I think one of my brothers leaped into the air as he walked away. 

Well from there I had to complete a couple of errands and she went along and sat in the car for a brief moment while I got all done what I needed to do.  My taking her out for the afternoon completely caught me off guard.  She didn't care what I had to do she was ready to go out and I was going to be the one taking her.

After I finished my errands she reminded me she wanted to go to a credit union for an account she had opened back during her working days.  I knew she was having a senior moment but to appease her I did exactly as she instructed me to do. 

Well we had her walker in the trunk because her riding wheel chair that she rolled out to my car in earlier was definitely not fitting in my car.  Her wheel chair we normally travel with was locked up in my brother's SUV. 

When we got to the credit union I pulled the walker with the seat that we had brought along out the trunk.  Mind you she cannot walk at all.  I have taken her other places with her wheel chair but this was the first time ever I had to try and sit her on her walker to roll her around. 

Well after I opened the car door and rolled the walker with the seat apparatus on it up to position to get ready to lift her, oh my goodness.  Normally when I lift her she is light as a feather weighing less than 100 pounds.  This particular day when I went to lift her she was so heavy we both ended up bent down to our knees.  I went to lift her from the car and the weight overcame me.  I looked up and by the grace of God there was a young man there who helped me keep her from falling and avoid the potential disaster of us both really splattering on the concrete pavement. 

I say by the grace of God because I was attempting this on my own and as we were falling I was praying and this man literally out of nowhere and totally unexpected help lift her to the seat.  I was so overwhelmed by the vision of how tragically that event was about to end up I don't even think I said thank you until a man in the parking lot hollered to tell the guy it was great what he did.  Thankfully, if I hadn't said it before I said thank you then. 

Well I was trying to convince my mother that maybe we should just call the credit union or go online and attempt to do what she was trying to transact.  She was very adamant that no she wanted to go inside the credit union.  I rolled her over to one of the columns.  She wanted me to roll her right in.  I told her I needed to park the car and then I would roll her inside so I could be with her.

I am realizing no matter how small in size someone is, it pays to be extra careful when handling people when they are ill.  As the old saying goes "dead weight is heavy weight".  When someone is really ill it seems like they are ten times heavier than what you expected if you're used to assisting them.  You can help them position their limbs and all but be really careful when handling lifting their body from one location to another.

I haven't been able to rest peacefully the last two nights now due to the pain in my upper arm.  My gut reaction for the pending fall was to cover her. 

Well, the incident didn't end our day.  We were out late into the night.  She wanted to go out to eat which we did and my oldest two granddaughters went along with us.  We were a lot more cautious with the ins and outs and ups and downs after the incident earlier in the day which could have ended very badly.  I do give praise to Almighty God that it didn't.  I truly thank the man who reached in and helped.

Outsmarting Someone Can Be a Self-Destructing Force

Earlier today when I went out to run some errands on the way back home I was mindful of how when I was younger and I would do things to outsmart my parents what I was really do was taking another notch out of my own future.  Things like having children and you see some of the things they do to self-destruct will make one mindful of that.

It brought to mind that all three of my children are really smart.  They always made it their mission to outsmart me even if they had to form an alliance to do so.  I do wonder why they are not that close nowadays.  Anyways, I realized the one who did the most outsmarting is the one who has suffered the most unbeknownst.  As a young person I'm sure it is easy to feel like every time we outsmart our parents for whatever reason we've really done something.  Another whew moment, got that one over on them.

However, now that I have my grown girl pants on I realize every time I outsmarted my parents or grandparents what I was really doing was adding fuel to my own demise.  I remember when I was able to figure out a way to be able to go to the football games, basketball games, dances (for a few minutes) when I in high school.  My first big step of accomplishment so I felt so I could get to see the guy I worshiped the ground for play ball.  I would not have been able to go out any other way because my grandmother was just too strict.  I became a cheerleader so I could spend more time with the one person who she didn't want me to spend any time with at all.

In retrospect, I look at my GPA from prior to then versus during that time until when I was prepared to accept the challenge academically and my grades really reflect it.  My grandmother had told me to wait another year until I got used to being in high school.  But I pushed until she was okay with me doing it right then and now.

I remember when my parents wanted me to go overseas to go to college and I did everything I could think of to stay state bound.  My final attempt worked staying and going to the same college my brother was attending.  Other than that I assuredly would have been sailing the seven seas.  There mission was I could go anywhere to college I wanted as long as it wasn't at home.  They knew the deal and I was wet behind the ears.  I'm thankful now they were as persistent as they were.  If I would have stayed at home I probably would have got loss in the sauce.  I guess they never figured my high school sweetheart would travel to come and be with me.  Not the first year because I was all the way in Mississippi but the next couple of years because I was closer to home.

They pushed for me to push myself because they felt he was winning my ear.  So I did push myself and take enough course hours to finish up my studies a year early.

Why did I fight?  I thought I knew more than them apparently.  Life has showed me I really didn't know "diddly squat" as my grandmother would often tell me.  She would challenge me to live long enough and I would know exactly what she meant.

Well I think I have finally lived long enough.  Having gone through the same things with the bright minds who think they are outsmarting me when it actually shouldn't be about outsmarting me.  It should be about looking at the big picture and seeing the pieces actually fit together rather than trying to fit stuff that don't go easy.  How smart is it really when you end up with the raw end of the stick?  How smart is it really when everything you felt you were working for goes up in smoke?  How smart is it really when the people you were listening to voices really weren't worth listening to and those voices are no longer there?  How smart is it really when you realize after the person you should have been listening to all along is covered in dirt and all you have is the memories of what they did say?

As a mother, the biggest hurts I've suffered is when my children feel they have outsmarted me.  My soul is crying for them because deep down inside I know they are not hurting me they are too young to realize it but they are really hurting themselves.

Life has a way to show you how smart you really are when it is too late to change what happened in the past. You can just swallow the pill, deal with it and move on.  As a mother, I hope just that they learn before its too late to move on from the things that bind.

I thank God every day for allowing me to move forward from things that have been a hindrance or bound me in my life.  I thank God every day because some of the things I thought I needed to let go of I didn't.  I think God for the times I was on such a heavy roll I was priding myself for outsmarting anything I had ever done.  One day you realize smarts are based in humility.

I think back to my experiences in the work a day world.  There are always people forming cliches.  They bind together to usually outsmart someone else to make the other person's work experience full of trials and tribulations.  They think they are being so smart.  Then one day when the person is gone they realize they really weren't so smart at all.  All the name calling, the watching, the back biting, the pressure, the need to make someone feel uncomfortable was distorting their view of the big picture.  They weren't the major contributor the person they slung out the door was.  They hadn't come up with a good idea in thirteen years and here someone comes and presents thirteen great ideas in the course of a little over a year who they treat like crap.  The game was to outsmart the person and belittle them and their accomplishments and achievements all along.

Smart people have it tough in the work a day world.  They are normally honest, trustworthy, hard-working people who get the raw end of the deal due to other folk incompetence.  The only way the playing field came seem level for insecure people is to make personal attacks to make the person seem incompetent based on trivial personal attacks that they escalate out of proportion.

Once the smart person leaves who is really smart?  The one who left or the one who stayed?  The one who was outsmarted and outwitted to leave normally can take their skills and abilities elsewhere.  They yes are missing out on making money.  But God provides very well for his children.  I've seen folk outcast and outlast their circumstances.

Be humble, for tomorrow is only a day away, there is no way you can outsmart it coming.  Live your life like your tomorrow depends on the wise decisions you make today.  The next time you think you're outsmarting someone stop for a second to see how you personally and maybe even professionally and spiritually will be impacted.  Short term gain can lead to long term everlasting pain.

A Heavy Hitter: Swinging the Bat At Life, My Arms Got Tired!

“I could never imagine you not on the top of your game!” Those words always cause a moment for the pause when I reflect back on my life. During the years I was raising my children the alarm clock didn’t have to go off I had an internal clock which operated on motherly instinct. I can pride myself in that out of my three children when they were attending school they may have been late a few minutes sometimes but they hardly ever missed a day, maybe once or twice in all their years of schooling.

During the times they were on top of their game my adrenaline was overflowing and I was on a higher level as well. The Lord knows I spent more time on bended knees when I was rearing them than I ever have in my life. I spent more time in Church when I was rearing them than I ever had in my life. I spent more time on the pulpit reading scripture and chanting praises every Sunday than I ever have in my life. I was not absent from my children, I was present in life because of them. They were everything I lived for, I breathed for, got up for. They were the three things in the superficial life prior to them which made me realize I could call mine. The folks who can’t stand me now because of my persona really wouldn’t have been able to tolerate me had it not been for my having them. My children: they changed my whole nature, my whole outlook on life.

We did a lot of activities together. The activities were the up moments. They were the reward moments when being a parent was all worth it. When we would drive up to Maryland to go to Ocean City to go on the carnival rides, sit on the beach, go to the shops, go visit friends or family in DC, Maryland, North Carolina, or New York. The events like the ice shows, the circus, the games, the concerts, the school functions, the band performances, the orchestra performances, our family group musical performances, everything was all worth it from our humble beginnings and beyond. The holidays were always joyful we celebrated at home and went visiting many other homes during the holidays. Birthdays were off the chain. I was happy they were here and I was even more excited by the fact they were mine. I genuinely wanted my children to be happy and share with them openly how much happiness they brought to my life.

As they grew older we seemed to have grown apart. They had their lives to live. They had their own children to be concerned about. I felt like I became a player confined to the dugout. I recall the emptiest five years of my life was when I was an empty nester the first time around. It was a hit I didn’t see as a hit until years later. It was a hit I brought on all myself. Sometimes it is not such a good thing to be an enabler. I had to let go and let God. I prayed long and hard they would be successful. They took it as me letting go of them when I asked them all to move out in thirty days. I saw it as something I had to do to get them to realize life was real. I wasn’t going to be able to be able to hold them in my grasps like they were young innocent children all their lives. I didn’t want to let go of them but I had to let them go. There is a difference. They feel like I put them out and I feel like I put them up to realizing the full potential they had within that they were not putting to its optimal use. They were smarter than me, they had more common sense than me, they looked better than me, had more energy than me. I just couldn’t put my finger on anything else than the issue with them was actually me. I had to let go, either they would sink or swim. Now I’m wondering why that saying is reversed. Why couldn’t it be swim or sink?

Anyways, it is when the real hits started coming at me like fast balls. I kept paying their cell phone plans because I wanted to be able to reach them. They stopped taking my calls. I left their phones on for years anyways. I figured they would call once they realized I was doing what I did more so for them than for me. I was hurting. They didn’t know it because they were hurting too. I was hurting so much there would be many days I wouldn’t make it to work until 10 a.m. I figure the only reason I wasn’t fired is because without them my work became my refuge. I was excellent at reconciling accounts. I became better at automating processes. My work became my escape. I was selling more houses than I ever sold so I quit my job. I always wanted the freedom to go it alone. I literally stepped out the bed one morning and wondered why am I doing all this? I really felt like I had nothing to work for anymore. I wasn’t married, my kids were gone. I think a lot had to do with how hard I was working to get ahead and it was the office politics which I felt were an unnecessary evil which ended up being the most decisive factor in my stepping out of the work-a-day world. The thing that should be separated from work is politics they really should have let faith stay. I would prefer to know someone’s religious aptitude rather than their political aptitude.

Getting back on the topic of my children, I didn’t realize how much of an enabler I was becoming. It was like I was out in left field with the bases loaded chasing down a fly away ball hit way above my head too high to think about catching. The only thing I could do was turn around and chase the ball down once it landed and rolled. I was running my fastest to get to the ball, pick it up, and then turning back around running close enough into the field to throw it at someone to throw it into the catcher before everyone on the opposing team ran into home plate and scored. I stand there on the field panting and out of breath with my head bent over, my hands on my knees gasping for air and feeling the defeat. There have been moments in my life when I felt everyone on the opposing team had made a home run before I could get the ball to the catcher to end the reign of terror. It really makes me wonder about those folks who look at me and dislike me right off because they feel like I’m the type of woman who gets everything I want in life. Really, and is that really a real reason to dislike someone? Let them keep thinking it day end and day out because sometimes as a person thinks it comes to pass.

Okay after a loss I practiced (prayed) things would get better. As my adult children got older, the hits began coming too fast for me to keep up. It reminded me of when my children and I would go to a batting cage and as the time progressed the speed of the balls coming at them revved up. I remember standing behind them individually as their turn to bat came up and holding them in my arms and helping to guide their arms to try and help them with swinging faster to hit the balls. I let go as their confidence in their own abilities set it in which I could normally tell when they began saying “yay” and smiling. The internal instinct in me took over to guide them to be their best and letting go once they had reached their plateau.

One thing that resonates loudly in my mind is when someone said to me one day “they couldn’t ever imagine me being off my game.” Needless to say hits kept coming so fast one day I dropped the bat. My arms were sore from swinging. It got to the point it felt like I was the only one going up to bat. Everyone else was sitting on the bench talking like she is crazy because the game has been lost.

I am here today to save I serve a risen savior. People can practice discrimination, they can practice religious persecution, they can practice not liking me, they can black list me, they can black ball me, they can despitefully use me, but I have a heavy hitter who is always on my side and I call him a friend and his name is Jesus. We have the same Father and his name is God. They have been in my court, in my corner at the times in my life when I have been forsaken by others the most.

When I look like I’m off my game and I’m down I’m still swinging by the grace and mercy of King Jesus. During those times when I am panting for my last breath I take comfort in knowing the breath of life comes from God Almighty.

I stopped swinging, and dropped the bat and it felt like the balls kept coming at me and just hitting me as an open target. Prayer changes things. The one word of hope comes from places sometimes we don’t even know they’re coming. Sometimes it is not what we go through but what others go through which renews the hope in us. God has a way of delivering a message that will soothe those tired arms, make you pick up that bat and cause you literally cause you to be a heavy hitter again.

Today I it is weighing heavy on my soul one of my babies need me for moral support and Lord up in heaven above know I’m on my way. Sometimes just seeing my face gives them the “ I got this all by myself” attitude they need to succeed.

Whether it is here in the U.S. or abroad God is omnipresent for wherever I go I hope it is God will which sends me to keep batting for my soul is worth the redemption. It’s not a global thing it is a noble thing, he is “King of Kings, Lord of Lords”- Revelation 19:9. I am not perfect and don’t even come close but in all things good and righteous: “To God Be the Glory”.

I’m going to keep swinging to hear those words “well done my good and faithful servant.” I know there are still going to be some fast balls, some curve balls, and some balls to come right at me and hit me in the gut I’m just asking and praying for the strength to handle them all and hit a home run a time or two in Jesus name, Amen.

When God calls your number what will your response be?

Now I have come across a lot of planners in my lifetime.  One of the best planners I know is my mother.  She has never been the type of person to leave things to chance.  She has always did what needs to be done to make things happen.

My mother finished high school, she has some college under her belt.  However, I think the attribute which has done her well is her ability to make sure things were in place to happen.  During her career she escalated to be a supervisor of a medical component which now requires the individual to be a licensed RN.

She is very well versed on medical terms, medicines, and medical conditions.  She started off from the bottom as a telephone operator taking incoming calls for medical appointments.  When she left government service she was Supervisor of the Tumor Registry.  It was no easy climb.  She often had to fight to get the respect she deserved.  And believe you and me she had no issue with fighting.  To meet her you would never know it.

Her favorite all-time endearing name for me is not favorable at all.  It is the same name you would call a four-legged female dog.  My mother used to call me that name so much one day as a child I looked it up to see what it meant.

Even at fifty she's called me that name.  She says that's who I am and if you don't know you better ask somebody.  For the record, I don't look at myself the same.  I contribute the name of endearment she has for me as a result of the Freudian philosophy.

She always considered herself as the Queen B.  And from men during her heyday she commanded her respect as well.  She never wanted for anything and she lived by her mantra that her children would never want for anything either.

One thing I can say about my mother is that she has that tenacity to get things done.  Definitely not the type to leave things to chance and think they might get done.

Well, in another sense she is an extremist.  She has her life so far planned out she even planned her after life.  She has owned her burial plot since probably I was in grade school.  I remember when she was first diagnosed with MS she cried.  I think more so because it was one thing she hadn't planned on.  Life will at times overwhelm us.

I would have you to know that she planned her life out so far as much as she can that the only thing we are to do is call and let them know she is ready whenever the day comes.  She is a strong lady.  She was diagnosed with MS over thirty years ago and by the way the diseased had already metastasized when she was diagnosed they estimated she had it ten years prior to the diagnosis. 

I have to give it to old girl.  I was in the critical care unit with her the other day after the emergency response vehicles had taken her to the hospital.  They had taken her out and brought her back in the room after performing a cat scan then later did x-rays.  I don't remember the exact point but she was talking as if she was having a conversation with God and she "God no, call Lisa".  Lisa is my eldest child and she has been the caretaker for her children.  Needless to say my mother she never ceases to amaze me.

I truly believe when our number is called a timeline of our life, our decisions, our choices is going to be brought to light.  We are going to be able to read what is on the mind of the people right there in the room with us.   I think it is going to be a time when God will reveal to us things we may have seen differently.  We will be vulnerable to God's actions like we really are every day.  If you really want to see who is in control go sit by the bed side of someone who is hanging on for dear life with a strong will and not ready to move on.  God is in control.

One thing I've learned this week.  God is with us and will walk with us and talk with us until we take our last breath and beyond.  I feel I'm covered.  And all I can say is thank you Jesus for all you do and all you provide.  Some times the best things via lessons we receive in life have been paid in full.  When the master planner calls to talk to you he doesn't have to have any phone plan.  He doesn't have to worry about getting a busy signal.  He doesn't have to worry about anyone intercepting the line, he doesn't have to worry about someone tracking or tracing the phone call.  When the Master calls you won't even need to be able to move a muscle, he'll be all inside your head.  He'll go over the communication line to your heart, he'll answer up where you are weak in answering.  He'll take you through the good times, he'll take you through the bad times.  He'll recount the times of indifference.  When God calls all we can do is listen.

My mother was telling me Lynne don't jump, don't jump off the block.  Trust and believe "On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand...", I know that, it was one of my grandmother's favorite hymns.  To God be the glory for letting me bask in the presence of two great women.

The last deed I performed with my mother of great significance is taking her to vote in the last election in November 2013.  I was so thankful she had the strength for me to carry her to the polls.  I proudly walked inside and asked for assistance with someone bringing out a ballot for her to cast her vote.  It has happened that way for the last few elections.  It reinforces in me how good God is and how important it is to exercise our rights to be heard, to be respected, to count and make a difference.

When God calls your number will you be able to say Lord I did all I could with all I had. I never would have never envisioned asking God to call someone else.  Now I'm wondering if that is what you would call having a competitive spirit, arrogance, or what?  When God calls your number will you ask him to call someone else or had you even thought that far out?

One Pen Stroke Won't Change the Mindset of a Nation

We all get so excited cheering on our candidate in different elections.  Then once they get in office "wham" there goes an agenda we didn't really see coming.  We had our mind stayed on the one thing they promised they would do once they got in office that we were personally passionate about.

Then once the citizens don't agree with their stance they start screaming "hate".  No people aren't really hating.  They are really just standing firm on what they believe in.

From my perspective it has a lot to do with generational pain.  As I think about what year my great-grandparents were born who were still alive when I was born.  The people who had an impact on their lives.  They at least knew who their grandparents were.  You are looking at a lot of years of living and a lot of years being influenced by how the generations before you lived.

Some change is easy.  There will hardly ever be a change that will unilaterally benefit everyone. 

This is not a cloned society.  We are all unique, we are all different.  We have to throw culture, beliefs, traditions, heritages, and a whole lot of other things into the mix for each and every person. 

What happened in one household didn't happen in another household. What was tolerated in one household wasn't tolerated in another household.  I look even at my grandchildren.  One set when they come over my house looks like a tornado happened when they leave.  The set that has a habit of spilling their drink all over the place normally always wants something red in color to drink, then I have the set who has a compulsive cleaning disorder and I don't have to spend but a few minutes cleaning if at all once they leave.  The latter set be like Grandma Lynne do you want me to clean your house for you if they come over right after the tornado group.

The key thing is I love them all one and the same.  I feel my house is there house.  I don't exclude one because they go and help themselves to my clothes.  They get that from home.  I don't exclude another set because they have too much energy and tire me out.  I don't exclude the one who jumps on my back playfully I kneel down on the floor to lace up his sneakers. 

I don't shun one over the other because the older set likes to take over my laptop and desktop to play some music naming game against each other.  They been lost the devices that connect them to the internet what were those things called they at one time all had them now none of them come with them expensive gadgets anymore.  The middle set doesn't even need the Internet.  The oldest likes writing letters to her friends in MS Word.  She can start, set up, write, and design a document better than a paid professional at a very young age.  Then there are the two who share.  They have to be fussing over the same computer.  One is playing games while the other is shouting no don't select that, select that and I offer another device and they both look at me like I have horns on my head.  They are used to doing everything together, they are a team.  Just ask and they'll they will let you know.

I wish I could write up an affidavit and with one pen stroke it would immediately provide full action these are the rules and this is how things are going to be at Grandma's house.  The "G" in grandma would then stand for "get a life" if I think that is going to happen.  I can see them laughing hysterically now even it would be under their breath.

Laws can change to be all-inclusive, however, changing the mindset of a nation will not happen as quickly.  I think as long as it is viewed at as folks "hating" the change it incites bitterness.  Some changes are harder to embrace than others.  Acceptance I feel is a better approach.  Who is receptive and who is not as receptive because as we have seen with recent laws change has happened.  Change is inevitable.  I just pray we survive it on the merits on civility.

Now I'm going to get back to cleaning up from the tornado that touched down on my place yesterday. 

Not Only Do You Think You're Better than Others You Flex As Well

My road warriors had been on punishment.  They were grounded for not keeping their place as tidy as they should.  It was reminiscent of when I was a child and I would go to one of my friends homes for them to come out to play and they couldn't come out because they were grounded. 

Now me personally, I was normally given an option to get a spanking or be grounded for a week or two.  Well for me there is nothing worse than being trapped.  I had to get out so I always took the beating.  See with my mouth as a child I would have ended up with more down time.  My grandmother had a really strong personality that clashed very badly with my personality and we seemed to not see eye to eye on anything.  Of course she would win on everything, I was a child and was to stay in a child's place. 

Well, getting back to my post, my granddaughters were grounded.  I was more hurt than they were.  I tried to plea their case to no avail.  Got all indignant and outside myself.  They got grounded anyways.   I received a plea not to take them anywhere while they were grounded.  I agreed.  When what I felt like doing was dropping to the floor and crying like a baby.  Yes, a grown woman who is definitely a child at heart. I like getting out and having fun.  Heck I just like getting out.  I don't like drama and I don't like to gossip and with them I don't have to worry about either of the two.

They were finally off punishment after about a week.  I felt like we had been let out of solitary confinement.

I picked them up from their school football game, it was the middle of the week.  It was late but it was earlier than they normally finish up.  I said let's go get something to eat.  My youngest of the two asked if she could keep her cheerleader uniform on.  I said yes.  It was already after 8 p.m. 

We were headed to get something to eat and I told them to get it together so they won't be put on punishment again.  We were having a conversation and I relayed to them how I shy away from spending time with too many different folk because they always get the wrong impression that I think I'm better than others. 

Well, don't you know my little cheer leading granddaughter had the audacity to wholeheartedly agree that I not only think I am better than other people but I flex as well.  To my dismay my baby (oldest granddaughter) chimed in agreement to her sister.

My little cheerleader girl went on to recant one incident between her mother (my daughter) and myself where she felt I was acting as if I was better than my own birth given child and said I flexed on her by saying I have two degrees.

Really???

They say out of the mouth of babes come volumes.  "Not Only Do You Think You're Better than Others You Flex As Well". 

Do tell. 

Well then.  I told them I feel I am a very grounded person but apparently I have some work to do.  Their reply "Yes, you do!"

By the way, we went to eat and they fell asleep in the booth we were sitting in.  The waitress brought them to go boxes when she saw they had nodded off. 

Then I flexed and told them they can't hang. 

Are We All Getting Back to Work now that the Shutdown is Over?

Whew!  Did you think it would ever end?  Well I was on pins and needles because the guys were behaving badly.

Hopefully this will be a lesson learned and our country will never suffer such an atrocity again.  Haven't we dealt with enough individually and collectively over the past several years already?  Just when we think things can't get any worse then we create stuff.   We create our own problems.  Who does that?

Now that we can breathe a sigh of relief until mid-January is it just me or does everyone want to try and get any and everything they can possibly get done done by mid-January.  We may see this fiasco brew up again.

We can definitely remember this October as one of the most scary times ever.  For years to come we will be able to recall the October the Government Shutdown.

The biggest lesson I hope every one takes away from this Government Shutdown is that voting is crucial.  I am so thankful that I have been voting for the past few years.  Now I did miss the polls one time that I can recall.  I was a few minutes late for a local election.  Trust and believe from now on the plan will be to go to the polls before heading anywhere else for the day.

If you feel some kind of way about how things have been playing out in politics over the past few years do your part and get out and vote.  The recent turn of events more so than anything else should send a message loud and clear for us to vote no matter how little or no voice we feel we have.

I am so wound up I am thinking of ideas about how I can get my family, friends, enemies, acquaintances, and every one that breathes with a voting card to the polls.  What about a voting tailgate party, what about a breakfast get together, what about a walk to the polls, what about a election day marathon and the start and end point is the local polling booth, what about getting a celebrity or entertainer to perform all day with I VOTED sticker required for entrance.

We have to get creative with getting people out to vote.  All the photos and videos from the shutdown should make great poster images on billboards promoting elections.

We all matter, we all count, and nothing like the recent change of events helps to reinforce it.

Are we ready to get back to work now?  Yes.  Maybe sometimes we just need a reality check to see just how bad things really can get if we don't do anything to try and make a difference.

My personal goal and challenge is to go into overdrive.  You never really know how vulnerable you are until you are placed in a state of vulnerability.  A Government Shutdown impacts all markets.  Now that the market is back I'm back to making the best out of things and move towards being better prepared if some of this nature has the unfortunate opportunity to happen again, not.   I just don't care to believe anyone, especially a group of people would let it happen again.  I'm thinking pretty please with sugar on top don't let it happen again. 

I'm voting, local elections coming up soon, I'm voting!

I've been Unfaithful Too Long it has got to End!

I think I first got to know you back in 2002 or 2003.  You were the total package.  So for me, moving away from anyone or anything I love that I've had a good time with is hard.  The long days and endless nights I spent getting to know you better I thought would never end.  But end it must.

Yes I have enjoyed every moment and I've grown in so many ways because of the difference you've made in my life.  I ranted and raved about how good you were to my family, friends, colleagues, and just about anyone who would listen.  You are truly great.  Don't take my moving on as a dent in your quality at all.  It is that sometimes we realize it is a time to move forward.  Let's face it, sometimes, change is inevitable.  Yes times have changed, loyalty is out the window.  People compete for all types of affection nowadays.  Some of it is not healthy and who stops to really care how their actions and reactions are going to impact how others feel.  They don't care about our history together.  They just care about what is good for them.

I've been dabbling in the grass on the other side of the fence knowing deep down inside I really don't want to let go. It has been years and I'm really getting too old to keep up.  You may be better off connecting with someone ten years your junior so you can reinvent yourself and be adorned with the feelings of being young again.  Go back to your developing stages you have had enough years in the limelight to see what has gone wrong and what has gone right and what will never happen with you again.

However, change sometimes is not wanted but necessary to move forward.  This is not a break up which will end badly this is a cease and desist giving you the opportunity to retire if you'd like.  I've held on too long.  I'm going to finally give it up today and try and completely move forward.  It's not going to be easy I'll probably want to come back and dibble and dabble at times.  You definitely have that comeback attraction.  Who knows, things may not work out and I may comeback permanently.  Right now it is best to move on.  I'm going to try hard and be good and keep looking forward.

Undoubtedly, you will always be my first love.  I was able to accomplish so much over the years with you.  I made so much money just from using you.  There are opportunities which would have never come available to me if I hadn't been trained how to work it with you.

Tears, tears, tears, I have to stop this and just move on.  But all in all I have had a ball.

Again, letting go of something I love so much is hard.  You're the only thing I ever wanted to know.  Let me stop.  Enough is enough.  But the bottom line is for so many reasons outside of my control I now have to let go.

See this big computer software company stopped supporting you.  I hung in there hoping they would realize the error of their ways and pick you back up.  They're not.  You've been out of the mix for too long.

MS FrontPage today is the day I officially retire you from my life as my main website development tool.  I am moving on to other pastures.  I am going to make SharePoint sites and InfoPath Forms my main web tools, yes they will be my new main squeeze.

I've always been a FrontPage girl but since Microsoft stopped supporting it years ago I really need to go ahead and move on too.  We were a match made in computer heaven.  You made me whole.

I wrote this for all the FrontPage enthusiasts as me who wish Microsoft would have never let this one go.  I've always been deemed a catalyst by others but this is one change I've found hard to incorporate.  As a consumer I know I have to just deal with it.  I wish software had a more democratic life cycle.  Let us as end users and consumers decide what we want to see enhanced in lieu of being canned completely.  I often wonder how much more money companies can keep if they keep what they have rather than start a whole new product development.

Granted, I already have one obstacle to overcome when seeking employment, now being in the over 50 age group.   We also have an issue with keeping up with the latest and the greatest of the technologies to be employable.  Just maybe because I am getting older and getting a little more set in my ways I don't want to see software change so often.   I used to love Lotus and WordPerfect.  When I was learning that software and perfecting it and becoming a guru in it I never foresaw either of them going away or becoming less popular either.

FrontPage in my personal opinion you were one of the most versatile all around software applications I had ever had the opportunity to know.  You will truly be missed.

When I miss a person or group of people where the relationship wasn't good I miss them pleasantly.  I'm still dealing with how I miss FrontPage.  There is neither bitterness nor bad feelings because FrontPage was so good, however, the miss I miss in you is what I will say is laid to rest for the peace I need to move on.  Thanks for the memories!

I'm So Not Up For It Right Now!

I'm trying to get ready for an Open House.  Too bad someone hacked my website (lynneruffin.net).  Whoever it is that felt the need to install Mal-ware on my site thank you.  The only reason why I am not going to bring it back up is because I have to rinse the conditioner out of my hair and dry and style it and get dressed.  Otherwise, we would be still competing the rest of the day to see who can do more the fastest.  The internet can be a blessing and a curse.  Apparently the person types just as fast as me and I type about 100 words a minute.  The quicker I'm going to change up stuff to keep them from doing more damage to my other accounts and sites the faster they are working.  So I got to give them big ups for that.  I'm just thankful that even though I have the skills I would never use them maliciously.  And I'll say again like I have said time and time before if you would expend the same efforts helping someone the world would be a better place.


One error message has turned into another all day today.  As I was looking up why I was getting the different error messages it pointed to conversations on Mal-ware and some type of Trojan.  Ain't nobody got time for that.  For another time, if you have enough free time on your hands to create problems or issues then by golly you have enough time to do something that will help the masses.  

Websites is what I do. Can you say R-E-S-T-O-R-E-D!  There is more than one way to skin a cap but you best bring your biggest dog for this one.