Dressed To Kill

Here is my entry for week 17 of Blogophilia







Week 17 Topic: Dressed To Kill
bonus points
(hard, 2 points): incorporate a power failure
(easy, 1 point): mention one of the planets

Final day to post: June 30, midnight GMT.

She started getting ready early Saturday morning. It was to be a very special night. Her husband would be home early, and they would be going to a very important social event with her colleagues. He’d never attended anything with her before, and he had promised this night would be special. She had picked up the sexiest of all black dresses earlier that week, and it was hanging in her dressing room waiting to be put on.

She awoke early, and began the long process of getting ready, wanting everything to be perfect for this long anticipated night. She hoped to capture his attention, because lately she had begun suspecting that there was someone else in the picture, and she feared that this other woman would win his heart if she didn’t do something. First thing she did was go to her very reliable hairdresser. Her hair was almost to her waist, and she insisted it be cut off very short. After much arguing and pleading, her hairdresser agreed. The cut came out looking fabulous, very short and chic. She then went for her manicure and pedicure at the local spa. After 2 hours of relaxation, she met a close friend for lunch.

As they sat and ate, she talked about her nervousness about the upcoming night. Her friend insisted it would go well. She’d seen the dress on her, and insisted it was VERY sexy. She loved the new hairdo. He would be smitten. She certainly hoped so, because she felt this might be her last chance to get this marriage turned around in the right direction.

After returning back home, she bathed and put her robe on. She sat looking at the dress, and wondering if it would be the miracle worker that she hoped. She knew it looked good on her. Soon she began carefully applying her makeup. Everything had to be perfect. Makeup in place, she pulled on one long stocking, and then the other. Then the slip. Next, the beautiful dress went over her head and fell perfectly into place. She slipped the black stiletto heels on and turned to face the mirror. She hardly recognized herself, such a dramatic transformation had taken place. She was a Venus, and he would not be able to resist her. Looking at her watch, she knew her husband would be coming through the door any moment now. It was almost 5:00 p.m. and they were due to leave at 6:00 p.m. in order to arrive at the gathering by 7:00 p.m.

She sat carefully on the couch to wait. It was so very hard to be patient. She felt like she was 16 and waiting for a date to pick her up. The clock was moving so slowly. But it really wasn’t, because here it was already 6:00 and he still wasn’t home! Suddenly, the lights went out. There must be some kind of power failure, because all the neighbor’s lights were out too. She hoped he would arrive soon. It seemed that his work ALWAYS came before their relationship. She often told him he was married to his job. Where was he? What if he didn’t show up? After all the work she put into getting herself ready!

She sat in the dark and waited. When the clock finally neared 7:00 p.m. she knew he wasn’t coming. What good would it do now? After all, it started at 7:00 p.m. and they would be so late if they left even now. Where could he be? What if he was with her? She began to get angry, thinking about how important this night was to her, and how inconsiderate he was being. He could have at least called if he knew he was going to run late! Wasn’t it always this way though? The longer she sat, the more she convinced herself that he was somewhere with her, because there was certainly no one at his place of employment this time of night. She wasn’t important to him! How dare he stand her up when he promised! And how could he be so heartless as to stand her up in order to be with that other woman! She didn’t deserve that!

Here she sat, dressed to kill, with no place to go. But then again…. She walked into the bedroom and opened the drawer of her nightstand. Very carefully she lifted out the gift that her husband had given her a couple of years ago. It was a Colt Detective Special, and it fit so nicely in her hand. Yes, this would do perfectly. She was dressed to kill, so that is exactly what she planned to do…

The Stranger

THE STRANGER

I feel like I don't even know myself anymore.
A stranger is all I see.
I don't recognize the person I've become.
Someone that I don't want to be.

My emotions so unpredictable,
They change so rapidly.
Up and down, left and right,
I don't know who to be.

I lash out at the ones I love,
I yell and scream and rage.
At time I feel I'm going crazy,
Just lock me in a cage.

I know I push you away from me,
I really don't know why.
So now I am so afraid that
Your love for me will die.

This anger has overtaken me,
It spirals out of control,
I feel it's force within me,
As it envelops and takes hold.

How do I break free,
From these chains that hold me tight.
I feel that I am drowning,
How do I make it right.

I don't want to be held hostage,
By the emotions that I feel.
I want to taste the joy of life,
I want it to seem real.

Please help me to feel normal,
To have control over my life.
I can't go on like this,
I have to end this strife.

Copyright June 2008 Patti Phillips

Blessed

A few years ago a good friend of mine brought this song to my attention, and explained why it was important to her. The song is called “Blessed” by Elton John. Read the lyrics and then I’ll explain some stuff.

Blessed

Hey you, you're a child in my head
You haven't walked yet
Your first words have yet to be said
But I swear you'll be blessed

I know you're still just a dream
your eyes might be green
Or the bluest that I've ever seen
Anyway you'll be blessed

And you, you'll be blessed
You'll have the best
I promise you that
I'll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you that, promise you that
You'll be blessed

I need you before I'm too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you're blessed


Now this song was written from the point of view of a father about his unborn child. My friend loved this song because she thought of her daughter who was born with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. She would never, walk, talk, or learn. She would never be able to hug her mother. However, she was capable of love. She could feel love for her mother, and she could feel her mother’s love for her. It was her mother’s dream that she could someday see her child walk and talk and be able to have a conversation with her. To see her grow up and marry and have children. But yet she knew that would never be. Her daughter lived on this earth for 14 years, and I believe that her life, to her, was blessed. She is undoubtedly blessed now, in heaven, with her Creator.


After my friend explained why she loved this song, I have not been able to listen to it without getting tears in my eyes as I think of all that we are blessed with, yet we fail to see it. Life gets us down, and all we can think of is “poor me“. Just as Elton John sings of the love that a parent has for his unborn child, we should remember that we have a God who loves us unconditionally, and he truly wants the best for us. We fail to see the blessings that are before us every day.

Sometimes it seems that we are dealing with our every-day battles all by ourselves. It seems that no one cares about us, and that God is far away from us. But He isn’t. His blessings are still there upon our lives, we just fail to see them. He still has His hand on our lives, and on our future. His plan for our lives goes back to before we were ever born, and He will not release us from His hands. Whatever happens in our lives, it happens because it is what we need, even if it’s something we do not want. God planned every detail of our lives, our bodies, our words. He knew us before we were born! How can we not see just how incredibly blessed we are? Just as God has promised us, we will be blessed - we are blessed!

Dreamer

I love this quote from the movie "Dreamer" spoken by Cale of her race horse:

"You are a great champion. When you ran the ground shook. The sky opened and mere mortals parted. Parted the way to victory. Where you will meet me in the winner's circle. Where I will lay a blanket of flowers on your back."

Brianna's Donation to Locks of Love

Brianna has been nagging me for a couple of years to let her  get her hair cut shorter.  We’ve been growing her hair out since she was a toddler, and she is now 10 years old.   I was so proud of her long hair, so I kept telling her no.  After listening to her cry and yell every time I brushed her hair out, I decided it was time to let her do what she wanted with her hair.  She told me she wanted to donate the hair to Locks of Love.   We had been looking at the website that showed picture of the kids with no hair wearing their new wigs that were made from donations.  She was intrigued, and wanted to help. So I reluctantly made a hair appointment for her.   She had no second thoughts at all. 

Here, the ponytail is getting cut off.


Holding up her cut off ponytail that will be donated. (before the hair is cut and styled)  See how crooked her hair looks?  That’s because she tipped her head to the side when Liz cut the ponytail off.



I can’t believe I’m doing this! (as Mom wipes a tear)



I think I’m gonna like this!



Putting on the final touches.  She wanted Liz to style her hair with a flip.



The hairstylist Liz, and Brianna, holding her donation to Locks of Love.  I told Brianna "Maybe I can just take the ponytail home and put it in the memory box."  She told me "No,  there are kids that need it.  You can’t take it."



Before the haircut - my beautiful girl.



After the haircut - stylin’!!!!






If you are interested in donating to Locks of Love, visit this website:

This Is How It Is

I'm finally back in WC, and I do not want to leave here again. I've moved away from WC 2 or 3 times, and I missed my family and friends so darn much. I know that some people dream of growing up and leaving their hometown, never to return again. I've never been that way. It about killed me to leave home and go to college. I've been through alot of difficult times in my adult life, and I've learned to value the relationships that I have with those that I care about. They hold me up when I am weak; they cheer me up when I am sad; they encourage me when I am discouraged; they give me strength when I am afraid. Someone is always there for me, in one way or another. I love all of you. I hope that I can be for you, whatever it is you need from me.

Decisions

Sometimes life's decisions are so hard to make.  How do you know whether or not you're making the right one?  You weigh all the options, and think you have the answer, and then all these other doubts come into play.  Your heart is telling you one thing, but then your mind starts going and you're all confused again. 

Whether the choice is the right one or the wrong one, there's always something to be learned from it.  Even when it is painful.  Live and learn!  No regrets!

Blessings

This is a most powerful presentation.  Please take time to click on the following link and view it.  You will be truly blessed.

We Send You Our Blessings

Favorite Holiday Candy

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE HOLIDAY CANDY?

You know those yummy candies that you can only get on certain holidays? What are your favorites?

Mine are:

Valentines:
sweet hearts


St Patrick’s Day:
gold chocolate coins


Easter:
reeses’s peanut butter eggs

sugar eggs


Halloween:
candy corn/pumpkins



Christmas:
ribbon candy

big peppermint sticks

White-chocolate dipped oreos

chewy peppermints

When I Reach the Place I'm Going

by Wynonna

When I reach the place I'm goin'
I will surely know my way
And I will turn and look inside me
And bid farewell to one more day

Every light begins with darkness
Every flower is once a seed
And with the sun and wind to test us
We are bound to be released

I will fly beyond this valley
I will open up the gate
And when I reach the place I'm goin'
I will surely know my way

We have hands to hold our sorrow
We have tears to heal the pain
And though your eyes ask many questions
On your lips I hear my name

I was born without a whisper
I was born beneath the rain
But when I reach the place I'm goin'
I will surely know my way
I will surely know my way

Behind Closed Doors

(repost)

This is my entry for week 6 of Blogophilia



Blogophilia Week 6:
Topic:  Clairvoyance Experiment
Bonus points (hard, 2 points):  Include a commode planter in the front yard.
Bonus points (easy, 1 point): Reference a hockey movie.

It was late in the evening, and I really wasn't expecting any visitors when I heard something in the yard.  I went to the front window and looked out.  There was a little girl in a long flowing gown sitting on the commode planter in the front yard.  I went out the front door to investigate.

As I approached her, she stood up and asked if she could play with "that little girl who lives here."  She appeared to be around 4 years old, and was wearing some sort of costume.  She looked like a little princess with her gown,  long curls hanging down her back, a tiara perched on her head.  'It's kind of late for you to be out playing alone.  Where are your parents?"  She just looked at the ground.  "What is your name?"  Nothing.   "Are you lost?"  Again, nothing.

Becoming increasingly concerned, I asked her to come inside.  She stood up, clutching a video tape titled "Miracle" in her hand, and a teddy bear to her chest.  "I've seen the little girl who lives here.   I just wanted to play with her."  "Well that's my daughter,  but she is already in bed.  I would think you would be in bed by now.  Where do you live?"  "Not far," she replied.        I continued to try to get some kind of information out of her as to who she was or where her parents were.  She didn't want to tell me anything.  She looked like she hadn't had a bath in a while, and acted nervous, or afraid of something.  I wondered what had happened to her.

"Let's go for a ride, ok?"  She took my hand and followed me to the car.  I'd already decided I didn't want to be accused of kidnapping or anything like that, so I  headed straight for the hospital, calling to ask a police officer to meet me there.  Once we arrived, she was reluctant to go in, but I assured her I would stay with her the whole time.   As they were taking blood samples for various tests, and taking x-rays, a police officer talked with me outside the door of her exam room.  I explained how she turned up at my house.   It seemed the hospital personnel were acquainted with her, as they had quite a long record of previous visits.  Child protective services had already been called in, because the parents were under suspicion of child abuse and negligence.  At the time, they were nowhere to be found, so I agreed to stay with her.  After the first round of bloodwork failed to show anything abnormal, another set of tests were run.  It seemed that a hospital employee with a quick, intuitive knowledge of things and people (clairvoyance), had uncovered an interesting piece of information in questioning the girl.  She told them that her mother gave her shots that would make her be a good girl.  ?????   WTF?  

It seemed that the mother had been injecting her with human feces.  The mother  had a disease called Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. People with this syndrome often injure their children in order to gain attention and sympathy.  They will create  symptoms of medical illness in the child, and then seek medical attention.  This is a character-disordered parent who finds the drama of the "illness" and support of the hospital staff so gratifying, that keeping her child in the "sick role" is more important than realizing the danger and sickness of what she is doing.  Sadly, many of these children die before any real proof is gathered.

In this case, the morbid act was discovered before it was too late.    It turned out this family lived just around the corner from our house.  You can never tell by looking at someone what really goes on in their home.  They appeared to be a normal, happy family to all of the neighbors.  The little girl was removed from the home, and charges were filed on the parents.    She is now living a happy, healthy life with a loving family.  Her body has healed, but the emotional trauma she has been through will always be with her. 

How to Score Points With Your Girlfriend's Mom

(repost)




Blogophilia Week 4
Topic:  You Scored Three Points With That Bullet
Bonus points (hard, 2 points):  Reference Occam’s Razor.
Bonus points (easy, 1 point): Incorporate a line from your favorite song.

How To Score Points With Your Girlfriend’s Mom

Michael had never had a girlfriend whose mother liked him.  He’d recently begun dating Amanda, and he really, really liked her.  It was really important to him to impress her mother, because he thinks he just may marry this girl some day.  He came to me asking me for advice on how to score points with Amanda’s mom.  He wanted to come up with a list of things he could do to slowly win her over.  First, he was going to invite her to go to dinner with he and Amanda.  When he arrived to pick them up, he planned to bring her a bouquet of flowers.  Once they arrived at the restaurant, he would begin to compliment her looks, telling her how beautiful she looked.  Then, he figured he could offer to fix things around the house.  The most important thing he felt he could do to impress her would be to stay out of jail.  He’d surely score 3 points with that bullet.  I told him that Occam’s razor would give him the answer he needed.  I explained the definition of Occam’s razor:  all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.  Therefore, he just needed to be respectful and appreciative towards her and her daughter, but not just to score points.    Like the Sawyer Brown song says:  If you treat her right, show her you care,  when you need her she’ll be there.  Life is not about tallying up points.  It’s about loving others with sincerity and honesty.