Actions speak louder than Words

It's that age old "saying" that we have all heard a million times.
Think about it....
Actions DO speak louder than words!!!

And no matter how many times we hear it, we still.... or at least I do - WANT to believe and see the best in people and their words.  Maybe it gives me hope for humanity... who knows?!!
But I have always found myself to be a pretty trusting person.

When someone gives me their word or promises to be there or do something - I guess I put stock in that and trust them. 
I TRUST their words.

And sometimes, the actions to follow don't coincide with those words.

Yet still........ I keep the faith and see the best in people.
Whether it be the same person over and over again.... or someone I just met
I just try to believe that there is good in everyone.

At least I always have....
And I guess I do still HOPE.
But then I ran across this quote and I got to thinking.......
YEP
yep.... how very VERY true.

And it doesn't pertain to just men in the literal sense (although all the man-haters out there can definitely take this and run with it!  ha)   Hey I just speak the truth  ;-)
Anywho....
THIS quote pertains more to life and what we see in people (mankind) as a whole....
Here it is .....
the profound quote to leave with you today!!!

 As I grow older I pay less attention to what men say.  

I just watch what they do.  

~Andrew Carnegie~

There are so many men people out there that profess over and over "I am this" or "I am that" or "I want this" or "I want that"

and I am learning........ NOT to put stock in that.

Sure I am still somewhat trusting and hopeful.  Yeah - I will still see the best in people.... I am filled with love and hope and optimism.  But it doesn't mean that I'm a pushover.

(and you are sorely mistaken if you thought I was!)

It also means that the actions that I SEE now and pay MORE attention to, mean so much more to me than the 10,000 words and empty promises you can spill.

Words can temporarily fill you with love and make you feel sooooo special.  

And words can temporarily break you into tiny tiny pieces in an instant (I have a teenager at home.. I KNOW!)

BUT there is nothing in the world better than someone actually SHOWING you every day that you mean the world....  not just saying it - but showing you.... actions.... over and over again.

Even if the words hurt sometimes... the actions have shown you otherwise.

And THAT is so much more comforting than just empty words.

That is what I watch.

That is what matters.

And when I focus on THAT........ I have never felt so positive and hopeful regarding everyone and everything in my life!!  I am blessed  :-)

And so are you.  

You just have to choose to see the actions that count and refuse to listen to the words that don't!

This. IS. War!

And I'm not playing NICE anymore!!!!!!

I am a softie.
I am.
I get it from my daddy.

.... when it comes to animals
.... all things living
.... I'm just a big softie.
I could NEVER work at an animal shelter or anywhere where animals are abused.
I would take them ALL home with me.
My heart couldn't take it.

I can watch war and killing and maliciously EVIL horrific HORROR stories all day long and maybe cry. 
But throw in an animal being harmed... throw in a "Marley and Me" and I'm TOAST.
I'm DONE.
I'm a sack of weeping mush.   Really.

I refer to my dad as ... not the DOG whisperer, but the "ANIMAL" whisperer.
I swear.  His heart is soooooo big - I honestly believe a grizzly bear would crawl up in his lap and purr.
I'm that kind of soft.

But tonight.....
I'm over it.
I put that away.

THIS.  IS.  WAR!!!!!!!!

My house is clean...... I'm one of the most OCD people out there. Ask anyone that I work with - OR anyone who's been to my "house where everything has a place"   OR ask my son!  :-/
 (PLUS I got my new Norwex cleaning supplies now!!  duhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

On the flip side-  MICE have to be the nastiest dirtiest little GRODY rodents out there!!!

SOOOOOOOO   WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY are they invading my house?!!!   WHY!!!
They don't belong here!!!!!!

Last week, I found a few little mouse "drippings" (as they were referred to today at work - ha!) in my kitchen drawers.  Two drawers in particular.   So I cleaned them out and purchased some glue traps over the weekend.   Shortly after I placed the traps, we had mouse #1 and mouse #2.

Mouse #1

Mouse #2

I mean..... yeah - they are MICE and they POOP everywhere.... and yes - when I found them I screamed like a little girl....  But they are tiny.  And they looked so sad and pitiful all stuck in the glue... and panting...  STUCK there.  Couldn't move.   (and believe me - Mouse #2 was trying..  his whole head was stuck in the glue, so when he bucked, the whole trap lifted up!)  Those sad little beady eyes.... My poor soft heart broke.   So my sweet boyfriend, nurturing my soft little heart, took them outside and peeled them away from the glue and let them go.  (Away from my house of course... so that they would hopefully run away and find some abandoned building to stow away in for the winter!)

And at this point I'm thinking we are GOOD!  TWO drawers with poop.   Two mice!  DONE.

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where there are two - there are apparently FIFTY!!!!!!

I put more traps where the other two were... in the same drawers.... and then again, last night......  I opened the drawer and there it was.

Mouse #3!!!!

He's barely in that glue trap.  His tail is in the peanut butter and he's wrapped up in some gauze.   But while stuck there he managed to chew on some more of my tissue paper and my gift bags!!  GRRRRRRRRRRRR
Once again, my sweet boyfriend took out the glue trap and mouse (this time, not quite so cheerfully)...

So - after ripping mouse 3 from the trap and tossing it - I put my 4th and final glue trap back in this same drawer.   This time, I cleaned out everything else in the drawer... leaving only the trap and some flea medicine and some medical tape.   Hoping there would be nothing there for nesting...

Well - this morning - I got up to this.......

Little PUNK!!!

The little PUNK ate ALL the peanut butter from the trap and dragged it to the back of the drawer.  All the while leaving plenty of his "drippings" in my dang drawer.

So I'm over it.

My soft heart has had enough.

Tonight - I bought THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

No VIEW, No TOUCH traps!!!

See the BIG BOLD letters............... KILLS MICE!!!!!
while in fine print.... no view, no touch traps!
 
PERFECT for my war!!!
I don't have to see them.  I don't have to touch them.  And my poor boyfriend doesn't have to hold my heart while he rips them from that glue and sets them free!  Perfect!!
I'm over the mice.  Whether it be an all new mouse each time, coming from a pack of 50 perched up in my house - OR whether it might be the same dang mouse coming back every time.....
At least one or two have been caught - and it couldn't have been pleasant for them - right?!!
So some dumb mouse should have either known better for themselves - OR gone out and warned all their dumb little friends about the "House of Pain"

Because now.... they have started a war.

And I'm KILLING mice and taking names......

 Even if it IS with a trap that I don't have to touch them... or look into those sad little eyes after they are dead....
let the killing begin!!!


I'm done playing nice.  I gotta box up my soft heart for a minute!  (and give my bf a break from mouse rescuing!)  

Motivational Monday - new week... new LOOK!

Good Monday Morning all!!!!
Here we go again....
start of another week!!!

((only 11 more days till we leave for FALL BREAK vacation!!!))

I'm starting my new week with a new look!
Got my new "do" done!
Wanna see??  huh? huh?  Do ya??!
(if you're on FB - you already have!!! )

I  L.O.V.E. it!!!
it's short and sassy and my color is so fun!!!
I think I may need to go back and get just a little more trimmed off... not quite short enough - but I LOVE the style.... love the color... love the LOOK!
It's much more fun than the ol' pony tail I was sporting!

Here's the new "do" to start my week!!!

Side view - look at that ANGLE!

The BACK!

The front - hard to see the RED!

  Hope everyone have a GREAT Monday and a fantastic week!!!









Also - don't know what you did this weekend, but it was like Jack Hanna's wildlife at my house!!!

Caught this little guy and his buddy Saturday night.  I screamed like a little girl - thank goodness my big strong man was there to pull them from their sticky glue traps and release them back into the world.  (yes - I know they might come back - but I'm hoping the trauma of being stuck to a glue trap and ripped off of it will be memory enough to keep them away from the "House of Pain"!!)

BLEEEECHHHHHHH!!!!!

To cut or not to cut??!

Sooooo......
I know EVERY girl has gone through this...
well MOST of you probably have....

I'm debating.....

to cut or NOT to cut.....

Here is my hair now.....  (it's a hot mess in this pic - but you can see the length)
I've been growing and growing.... and this MIGHT be the longest it's ever been......

I work in a medical facility and wear scrubs to work every day.  It literally takes 5 min to brush and throw my hair in a pony tail before work every morning...  It's quick.  It's easy.
And I go to the GYM, and SWEAT....  It's easy to throw up my "pebbles" do on top of my head and keep my hair up and out of the way and off my neck.....

My problem with my long hair.....
It's LAZY!
and it has no STYLE!!
And I mean really - my style is nothing more than "Pony Tail"  
Blahhhhhhhhh
Don't get me wrong - I can flat iron the crap out of it and make it look all sleek and shiny and pretty  (CHEEEEEESE!)
But it NEVER....... NEVER stays that way for long.
it's up before the day is over...
on my nerves!

and I have WAY more pizazz than that!!!  HA!

I'm SASSY yo!!!!!!

So I'm contemplating the cut!!!

Here is what I'm looking at.......

It's a big cut!
I've had my hair this short before.
It's so much quicker to blow dry... but then I HAVE to style....  (my hair is not straight - it has a natural wave that is NOT pretty to be seen in public!)

No more pony tail

No wash n' go

I  have  to  STYLE!

But it's oh soooo SASSY!
and my Red will be POPPIN!!!

Whatcha think????

Cut or NO cut?????!!!

Motivational Monday.... Let your Light shine!!

Happy Monday peeps!!!


It's that day we all dread... the start of another work week...
Please allow me to shine a little light to get this started!!

What did you do this weekend??

Wanna know what I did???

I spent Friday night at the gym!!!
 Check my CHUCKS!!!    ------->>>>>>>

AND I got up Saturday morning when it was gray and rainy and yucky and would have been a perfect day to lay around on the couch and eat and watch movies all day.. and I took my butt to the gym!!  And commenced to working it off!!
Then Sunday - I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned...  (cleaned out the scary closet where Freddy Kruger lives at my house... THAT was a BIG chore!!)

My lower back HURTS.  My shoulders are sore.  My butt is sore.  My hamstrings are DYING.  And I have a bruise on the back of my neck where the bar sat while I did "good mornings"  (those consist of holding a bar behind your neck, standing straight up with it and bending forward till your back is straight - and then raising back up!!)
I'm walking funny, I hurt, I'm sore.....

And I've never felt BETTER!!!

People complain on a daily basis about how they look and how much weight they have/are gaining.... but then don't do anything about it!  Just complain that there is no time.... and I admit - I've been just as bad as the next...
but (with my GREAT motivation and pushing) I'm finally working out on a regular basis... every week, multiple times a week - and others may not be able to see it - but I CAN SEE IT!!!  I can feel it!!!  My muscles are stronger and tighter... and believe it or not - even when I hurt, it feels good!
Because I KNOW I'm making changes!
I know because I can FEEL my body changing.
The pain is proof that I am working!
And it's actually rewarding.

So on this Monday morning -  Keep trying.  Each day you get better.  Each day STRIVE to be better.  Set a goal and brag on yourself as you take steps in the direction that you WANT to go.  It isn't just self gratification - it serves as encouragement and motivation for all of those around you. 
Be proud
Stand tall
Encourage each other
Support each other
Grow TOGETHER

I heard the following on a movie (Coach Carter) and I thought what better way to start the week....

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.   

We were all meant to shine as children do.  

It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Help me to pour out encouragement to everyone around me.... even myself!!

I hope everyone has a GREAT week!!!
Be GREAT today!  :)

Don't live your life in FEAR!

I have no fear

I KNOW no fear

I don't know how to be afraid.

I don't WANT to be afraid.

I don't know if it's because I'm naive (a little..)
or because I have been through so much already that nothing scares me anymore! (probably....)
OR because my Faith in God is bigger than ANY fear here on Earth!!!  (yes!)

After my most recent sky dive, someone asked me if I had any fear??  If there is ANYTHING that scares me???
....and it made me think.

I jumped from a plane - TWICE!
I have a weird "fear" of drowning - but I went snorkeling and loved it!
so....
No - no I really don't
(ok - wait - other than public speaking..... which is rather ironic since my degree has an emphasis in communication, so really... conquered that too!  kind of.....)

NO - I've never been held at gunpoint.  NO - I've never been beaten to a pulp.
NO - I've never experienced anything horrifying out of my control.
And in those cases.... I'm sure I would be scared.  More of the pain I think than fear for my life.

But as a general rule, I try to live life to the fullest.  Not thinking about what horrible horrible things could "potentially" happen.  I see the bright side.  I try to live and have fun and make the best out of what little time we are given here.
And be adventurous!

But I'm a mom - I should fear for my son....right??
But I don't.
I worry and pray.... and pray.... and pray....
but I don't FEAR in the way that I consider it to be a "fear"

It's not that I DON'T want to fear for my son.... but I guess I know the world can be cruel and tough, but I know that God instills into us all a faith and a resilience to know that he is bigger than anything else.   I've taught my son that.  And I hope I have instilled within my son a confidence of knowing that he has a mother and a family that will be behind him.   We love and support him - and knowing that he knows that, gives me a peace greater than any fear I could have for him.
So no - I don't FEAR for him..... I root him on.  I encourage him.  I fight for him.  I teach him right from wrong.  I teach him to treat others as you would want to be treated.
I worry when he drives.  I worry about his future.
And I pray.... A LOT.
But I don't fear - I trust that he is in God's hands.
And I know when he makes mistakes, they are to LEARN from - and GROW from.... not to be afraid and lay down and die and DEFINITELY not to turn around and make the same mistakes over and over again...
I teach him to be strong.
not fear!

As for me......
I live my life one day at a time.
I believe that God puts me where he puts me for a reason.
I believe he puts people into my life and takes them out of my life for a reason.
I believe that he has a plan for me.
I get up every day and do the best I can...

and if I jump from a plane... it's for fun.
Sure it's a bit scary when you back away and think too much about it.
So don't think about it.

But just the same as getting in a car every day....
just the same as taking a breath every day....
God has his hand on me.  And if he's ready for me to come home - I'll go home.   Out of plane, or asleep in my bed, or in a car accident on the Interstate.
He will take me no matter where I am
No matter what my plans.
And he will use it - to his Glory.

So no - I have no fear.
I believe just about anything is possible as long as God has his hand in it  :))

That gives me PEACE beyond all fear!

PS - I squatted my own body weight last night!!!  How many people (girls) do you know that can do THAT?!!
NO FEAR!!!!   hee hee

J -O -B !!!

My word for the day...
...along with a big big wake up call!

And not how you might think
So many people, what with the upcoming election and all, are talking talking talking about jobs, and the economy and the election on and on and on.....

Don't get me wrong, that is important - but I have something MORE important to talk about today.

J - O - B   JOB in a word.
PASSION in a feeling.
Mine - in particular.
(and in turn - yours too!)

I am an Ultrasound Technologist.

I have been a waitress, a bank teller, an admin assistant, a sales associate, a bartender....
In a nutshell  -I have always had a job!  A "show up, do your job, go through the motions, go home and pay your bills" kind of JOB.  No real passion
For anyone following my blog, you will remember that only a few short years ago - I left my full time job at the time, to go back to attend full time Ultrasound school!  This was a huge decision.  And a life altering one no matter what the turn out from school might be.
But nonetheless, I felt that I was in a position at my current job of going nowhere and my passion was lying somewhere else.  {it HAD to be!!}

As I went through school,   I - as does everyone else   - thought
"OOOOHHHHHHH babies!!!  I'm gonna ultrasound BABIES!!!  I'm gonna show people their babies and smile and oooohhh and ahhhhhhh!!!"

And I do!!!    But.....

Even after I learned QUICKLY that was not ALL I was gonna do....

Even after I learned there are OTHER things we look at....

Even after I learned (shortly after working) that there would be happy oooohhh ahhhhh days - and definitely NOT so happy, cry days....

Even after all of that
I vowed to NEVER be cold and heartless
to NEVER be that tech that doesn't shed a tear and turns a shoulder at sad news.
I vowed that EVEN when looking and scanning and "showing pictures" became so routine that I could do it in my sleep ( for anyone that does ultrasound - you KNOW that should never happen!)  even then - I vow to be PASSIONATE about what I do.

And for the most part - that is still true!

Now - don't get me wrong.... for those of you that work in health care - you know there are some crazies out there.  Heck - for those of you that leave your house EVER, you KNOW there are some crazies out there!!!!

But my favorite (shhhhhhh) moments are when I'm doing a boring arterial and I'm describing what I'm about to do to the patient and she smiles and looks up and says "You love your job don't you??  I can tell!!"   Yeah - I'm that bubbly on your nerves tech that you wanna smack when your having a bad day....
BUT I'm also that "love my job and will hold your hand and cry with you" tech when your having a sad day.

Sometimes I'm afraid I lose that.  Some days I feel cold and heartless
And then I read a story like the one I'm about to share with you.
And it REJUVENATES my passion for what I do working in healthcare.   It rejuvenates my faith in doctors and nurses and ultrasound techs and everyone involved in a person's healthcare needs.

It REJUVENATES my passion and keeps me strong
and it makes me keep my heart and it LET'S me cry with the mommy that gets bad news.... and also cry with the mommy who gets good news.

Some days are fun and some days are not.
What we have to remember is - the patient is just that - a patient.  A PERSON.  And they have a story too.  And the cold bitter shoulder - or the warm tender compassion you show them can make all the difference.

I am blessed to have a job that I truly LOVE.
I am blessed to have the interaction with people that I have EVERY day.  (crazy and all!!)

I believe I am where I am for a reason......
God placed that passion in my heart and God put me where he could use that passion to glorify him.  I believe that.

Please read the link I have posted below.
What a tragic sad story with such an uplifting, passionate and GOD GLORIFYING family.  Grab your Kleenex, you will need it.
And when you're done reading - say a prayer for that family - and then THANK GOD for all the blessings that he has given you.
and for those sad days.... Thank him for those too - because they can somehow be used for blessings.

It is Well with my Soul

My favorite quote from this particular blog -

"I am convinced His ways are not our ways. They are far better."

 

Linking up with SHELL!!!!!!!!