A life without trees

Imagine a life without trees. I know, it's too sad to think about it, but imagining something is gone will only make us appreciate it more. We wouldn't be able to sit in the shade. We couldn't climb them to pick the perfect apple. We could no longer take a walk in the woods. No more bonfires to sit around. No more watching the leaves change color. No more listening to the branches blowing in the wind. No more maple syrup for our pancakes. No more pine scent from a real pine tree. No place for birds to perch. landscapes would look bare. No more fruit or nuts to eat. How would we ever know what season it is? The water and air we breathe would be polluted. They provide oxygen...

Wood you believe we get so much from trees?

dye, piano keys, rayon, books, fishing floats, inks, telephone books, varnish, atlases and maps, price tags, ping pong balls, tires, umbrella handles, walking sticks, signs, automobile instrument panels, space craft reentry shields, newspapers, photographic film, posters, football helmets, toilet seats, guitars, road building materials, insulation, shatterproof glass, artificial vanilla flavoring, cork, vacuum bags, movies, stadium seats, adhesive, decorations, turpentine, camphor, waxes, fireworks, crayons, tannin, charcoal, pine oil, pitch, musical instruments, toilet paper, milk cartons, flooring, bark for landscaping, cardboard, grocery bags, furniture, chewing gum, paper towel, oil spill control agents, christmas trees, hockey sticks, wildlife habitat, cosmetics, roofs, baby food, cider, vitamins, cooking utensils, lacquer, pallets, rubber gloves, mulch, clean water, golf tees, egg cartons, nail polish, fence post, toys, toothpaste, eyeglass frames, shampoo, menthol, electrical outlets, plates and bowls, sausage casing, rulers, wooden blocks, houses, medicine, notebook paper, oars, plywood, paper plates, computer casing, stain remover, coffee filters, toothpicks, diapers, particle board, sponge, bowing ally lanes, fruit pie filling, golf balls, pencils, drywall, baseball bats, lumber, railroad ties, stamps, stairways, axe handles, barrels, cutting boards, church pews, totem poles, desks, fishing boats, window frames, food labels, step ladders...    


                                                  How many tree products can you list?

                                                               
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Dreams

I often have very vivid dreams, so vivid at times I wake up in a panic. It makes me wonder if our dreams are really trying to tell us something. I have two dream books that I use to try an analyze my dreams. I use two because I don't want any contradictions. I know most people think they are just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, but I don't think the messages in our dreams are sent to us from a higher power or some spiritual place. I believe it's our own subconscious mind trying to tell us something. Most of the time these messages don't become clear to me until months later. That's why when people tell me not to over think things, I usually do the opposite because the messages become clear to me over time. I guess you could compare it to a person of faith that prays about things to get the answers they need.

Most of the dreams really have the opposite meaning of what I originally think they mean. For example, having a dream you are pregnant doesn't mean you will be expecting a baby soon. It means your life will be starting a new beginning, or you should start thinking about starting over in some area in your life that isn't working out for you. A chance to start over with a new partner, a new job, or maybe moving to a new location. But what about those people that don't remember their dreams? Well, I think that most of us have daydreams or premonitions that we out right ignore because we are so caught up in the hustle and bustle of day to day life. I think of it as my problem solving time, and I often get caught zoning out to think about things during my day.

I had this reoccurring dream for the past 20 years that I was back in High School, and I was wandering the hallways looking for my classes. I was walking in circles, and always ended up at my locker. I never could find any of my classes every time I had that dream. Not much different from when I was in school only I was ditching those classes. When I looked it up in my dream book it said; " I have a thirst for knowledge." Maybe my subconscious mind was trying to tell me I should have taken school more seriously. I haven't had that dream in a long time. Do you think I finally earned that High School diploma?

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The single life

I have been single for almost 4 years now for the first time in my adult life. Have I attempted to date much since then? No, not really. You would think I have some fatal disease that everyone is trying to cure me of when I tell them this. Then they usually reply with "You really need to put yourself out there" or "that's okay, you'll find someone soon enough." What? I didn't really give it too much thought until you just now mentioned it to me. I don't wake up planning my day around meeting someone, and I'm not really too sure it works that way anyhow. It's almost as if people feel sorry for me, and constantly want to reassure me that there is someone out there for me. I guess I never really noticed the stigma people put on being single until I became single.

 When I was married I often envied single people, and never spent my time feeling sorry for them. I definitely didn't feel a need to fix them up, or give them advice on how to meet someone. They had so much more freedom to do whatever they wanted. They made all of their own decisions. They got to come and go as they please. There was something so liberating about that to me. I already lived the married life, raised a family, and devoted my life to others. Now I get a chance to live a life I've never lived before, and focus on me. Well, at least until the grandchildren come. So don't feel sorry for me, be excited for me because whether I find someone or not, the best is yet to come.

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Fake

I was siting in the break room the other day at work eating my lunch, and two of my coworkers were talking when I realized I knew one of them from somewhere, but couldn't place her. As she continued to talk I figured out this was the same woman I was talking to a week before about our children. I almost did not recognize her. The last time we had spoken she had short hair, and now it was long with extensions. Her hair was a much lighter color than before. She was wearing very heavy makeup with faux eyelashes. She didn't look like the same person at all. Yes, she looked great, but it got me thinking about the things us woman do to look good. It costs a lot of money to keep our hair, nails, and face to look it's best, but who's to say this is the only way we can look good?

When I was raising my daughter I always taught her less is best. You only want to enhance your beauty, and that pretty much stuck with her as an adult. Why does society put so much pressure on us to look like someone other than ourselves? Why do we give in to that pressure? The average woman spends $520 a year on haircuts, $160 on shampoo and conditioners, $120 for styling products, and if you color your hair add an additional $330 a year. Then if you get manicures, pedicures, a waxing, you may have to take out a small loan. I'm convinced I'm either really hideous, or I'm not your average woman because I definitely don't spend near to this amount.

 Doesn't beauty come from within? Well, maybe not anymore because with social media that can be fake as well. Just like in the real world, people want to be perceived as something they believe society values, and they’ll post things that project that image using photo shop to enhance their looks. Does this make us fake, or a shallow person to want to look good? Some people would argue that if you look better, and it makes you happy, why not? But if you are going to spend all that money on how you look on the outside just make sure you've spent a little time working on the inside too. 

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Ballcock

Have you ever wondered where things get their names from? I was trying to figure out why my toilet made a loud noise every time I flushed it, so I did what I normally do, went on to google and typed in my problem. Lo and behold a few youtube videos popped up with a solution to my problem. The ballcock needed replacing. The what? Yeah, you heard me right, the ballcock needed to be replaced. So after I watched the video a couple of times I went to the hardware store talking like a pro, and asked for the parts I needed and replaced them successfully. I also replaced the wax seal on the bottom of the toilet in my second bathroom all in the same weekend. I can be pretty handy when need be thanks to youtube.

After I completed my project it got me thinking about who names these odd things, like the ballcock, and why was it given such a name? It was Thomas Crapper of course. Thomas Crapper (born September 28,1836 in Thorne, Yorkshire, England; died January 27, 1910) was a plumper who founded Thomas Crapper & Co in London. Contrary to widespread misconception, Crapper did not invent the flush toilet. He did, however, do much to increase the popularity of the toilet, and developed some important related inventions, such as the ballcock. A ballcock (also balltap or float valve) is a mechanism or machine for filling water tanks, such as those found in flush toilets, while avoiding overflow and (in the event of low water pressure) backflow. He was noted for the quality of his products and received several royal warrants.

                So the next time someone tells you they need to use the crapper, they aren't kidding.

Are you dependable?

One of my biggest pet peeve's in life is people who are not dependable, especially in the work place. I work at a hospital, and most of my coworkers are hard working people who are there to make an honest living, but there are a few that always have to make everyone's job harder than it already is. You know the type. The ones that are always calling in sick, always complaining, always have more personal problems than the rest of us. These people do not know the concept of team work, and how much easier it would make their lives if they actually participated in it. They basically come to work when they feel like it just to collect a pay check for doing as little work as possible, while the rest of us pick up their slack.

I can't blame it on a generation of people because I work with a wide range of ages. I can only blame it on having bad work ethics, and only caring about themselves. You should have good work ethics and be dependable no matter what it is you do for a living. But when you are a caregiver for the sick, elderly, or a child care provider, I personally think you should be held accountable if you can't show up at your job on a regular basis. If you can not live up to this standard then find another line of work.

Remember the old saying "It takes a village"? This is so true when it comes to the weakest and most vulnerable people in our society. They depend on us for their every day needs in life that most of us take for granted. Let me put it to you this way. Do you want these people caring for your parents, or children? I didn't think so. My job may not be the most glamorous one, but it's a very important one, and I take pride in it everyday.


                                                                 

Thank you!

I have this coworker who is always willing to help you out when needed. Well, mostly when it's not needed. I think she has this nervous energy and doesn't like to sit around doing nothing, and is trying to buy time between her tasks. This can be a wonderful attribute in any person, and I can't say enough on how much I appreciate her, but....yes, there is a but. She is so helpful sometimes it becomes an annoyance. Being helpful is an annoyance, you say? What I mean by this is she doesn't ask you if you would like her help, she just basically starts doing my job for me. Not only does she start doing my job without asking me, she will point out to me that she has done my job as if I owe her something. Well, of course I say "thank you" because if I don't she will point out over and over again that she has done one of my tasks for me, and stands there waiting for me to thank her.  

This can be exhausting! It's almost as if the only reason she does it is to get a "thank you" from me. I have even spoke up and told her many times to please ask me if I could use some help before taking it upon herself to start doing my job tasks, and her only reply is "I'm just trying to be helpful" then of course I feel bad for saying something. It doesn't always look good for me if someone else is doing my job, and I need work to pass my day as well. When I turn the tables on her and start helping her with her tasks she will thank me at least 5 times for the one task that I have done for her before the day is done. This is good manners, but once is enough. She doesn't stop because I think she likes to hear "you're welcome" over and over again.

Do some people need to be appreciated more than others? Do they feel that if they don't go out and seek appreciation they will never get it? I guess if I had to choose the type of coworker I wanted to work with this type would sure beat out the coworker that does little or nothing, and is always making me pick up the slack.
      


                                                   Thank you! No, thank you!

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Do I intimidate you?

Do men get intimidated by self sufficient woman or are they more attracted to the damsel in distress type? This was a question I had asked recently on one of my facebook statuses, and surprisingly all of the men that had commented said they were attracted to a strong independent woman. Why did this surprise me? Well, because most of the men I have encountered, including my ex, feel their self worth depends on having a woman that needs them. One of the comments that had been posted said, "Nothing is sexier than knowing that she wants to be with you, instead of her needing to be with you." I think most of us want to be needed, but can you need someone and also be self sufficient? 

 Needing someones love and support for the decisions we make for ourselves is very different than needing someone to make those decisions for us, or rescue us from them. In other words we can still need someone without needing them to do everything for us. From my own experience depending on a man to rescue me only hurt me in the long run. I was totally financially dependent on him for 24 years, and he needed that for our relationship to work. Once I became independent that's when the relationship fell apart because he no longer felt needed when in fact that wasn't the case at all.

Someone else that commented used the expression "dumbing down" to make the other person feel needed. This would definitely be selling yourself short, and would really get old in any relationship. Do some men feel like they have to rescue a woman to feel good about themselves? Maybe, but If you think of it this way, is that the kind of message we want to send to our children? I think that everyone should be taught to be self sufficient, and to want nothing less for the person they care about. I need his unconditional love, I need his emotional support, and I need him to open the pickle jar....

Risky Business

I was recently told by my mentor that I need to take more risks in life. I know he is right, but risk taking has always been hard for me because risk is change, and I've always had a hard time with change. Some people thrive off taking risks, but it almost has to be a sure thing before I'll do it, and doesn't that take the risk away? There are several types of risk taking, and depending on the risk I need to weigh out the pros and cons of it. How it will effect me, the people around me, and how much am I willing to lose?

#1 Money Risk Taker: We all have to take a risk when we invest, pay for our education, buying a home, starting a business, or a new job. This is a risk that most of us are willing to take.

#2 Life Risk Taker: Otherwise known as the thrill seeker. Skydiving, rock climbing, cliff jumping... Our interest on the dangerous side of things.

#3 Risky Behavior Risk Taker: Drugs, gambling, unprotected sex, cheating. This risk taker doesn't think about the consequences of their actions.

#4 Love Risk Taker: Willing to do anything for love. Move across country, marrying someone after only knowing them for a short period of time, No prenuptial agreement. Love is always a risk, there are no guarantees.

#4 Health Risk Taker: Smokers, drinkers, unhealthy diet, never exercises. Although most of us know these risks can be deadly, we can't seem to give up our guilty pleasures.


I know my mentor meant for me to take the kind risks that could only move me forward in life, but these are some of the risks that people take everyday. I think the biggest risk I have ever taken would probably be leaving my 24 year marriage with no plan, no steady income, or having a permanent place to live. Who knows if staying would have been even riskier. Are you a risk taker, and if so, how has that worked out for you?

                                               

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