I Hate the News!

I hate watching it on TV.
I hate listening to it on the Radio.
I hate reading it in the Newspaper.
I hate seeing the pictures and headlines on my Internet Home page.

I Hate the News. 

The News makes me Angry
The News makes me Sad
It makes me Disgusted, Repulsed, Disappointed and Depressed.
The News makes me wonder how we got here.
The News makes me feel like locking myself in my room and never, ever coming out again. 

I Hate the News.

All the News does is remind me that there are angry, evil, sick, power hungry, greedy and immoral people in the world. 
All the News does is give me reasons to believe the worst in people. 
All the News does is make me afraid to trust anyone. 
All the News does is annoy and irritate me. 

I Hate the News.

I don't watch the News anymore and I don't listen to it on the Radio. 
Some people might think that I am choosing to be ignorant when I should be grateful for the technological advancements which allow news to be heard around the world with such speed. 
Those people can watch the news and get over it.  There are enough reasons for me to be sad, angry, disappointed, annoyed and afraid.  There are enough reasons for me to be weary of everyone around me and not trust anyone.  I don't need to watch the news. 

Rant Over.

Goal Setting for 2017

There are lots and lots of websites, blogs, articles and even organisations out in the world that tell you about goal setting.  Everyone is on the 'goal setting kick' when the New Year rolls around.  I think I have already told you about my initial planning activities. 

Today, I went a step further.  I feel like there is a lot of space on my schedule now that Dad has decided to vacate it.  I feel bad for filling it up so quickly.  I wonder if he minds?  On the other hand, I almost feel like I can't face the idea of doing anything new or real.  I know I need to take it slowly.  So, I will. But, I think it's important to be ambitious in the early stages of planning otherwise it is hard to get oneself excited. 

Anyway, here is step 2... I used a printable from A Camera and A Cookbook, edited it to suit me, then filled in the spaces.  Lysha from A Camera and A Cookbook uses the printable as a brainstorming prompt for goal setting and then narrows things down from there.  She has other resources included in the post so it's worth checking it out. 

I deleted some of the verb starters as I didn't want to overwhelm myself and while I wanted to be ambitious I also wanted to make things easier.  All of these could fit under some broader goals that I had in mind for this year, however I have tried to make all of them SMART goals so I am more likely to achieve them.  This is also a better way to set goals so one doesn't feel quite so overwhelmed.  It's important not to let yourself get too carried away when goal setting, keep your goals simple and few!!

This Year, 2017, I will…

Quit… eating because I’m bored, sad, angry, frustrated or confused.

Eat…   three balanced meals and two snacks at least 6 days a week. 

Start… exercising for 30 minutes, at least 4 times a week.

Visit… family and/or friends once a month.

Accept… that I cannot fix everything. 

See…    Melbourne in real life.

Learn… at least 12 scripture passages by heart. 

Give… to Christian Missions overseas and in Australia (12 times or once a month).

Be…   Quiet.

Grow… spiritually by reading my Bible 5-7 times a week and attending church at least 3 times each month.

Invest… in reaching these goals.

We will see what happens next.

Very Few Words About My Dad

Dad went to Heaven on Sunday 8 January, 2017 at 11:15am.  He was surrounded by his loving family, including me. I could write a very VERY long post about him.  I could say a lot about him.  I could tell you some funny stories.  For now, I will just say this....

I learned more from my Dad than I ever could from school or books.  He introduced me to my personal Saviour, Jesus! He taught me about life, music, true love, service, determination, teaching, family, leadership and so much more.  I will miss him very much.  I will cherish the time we spent together in my adult years.  I thank God for my Dad.  I rejoice in the knowledge that Dad’s suffering is finally over and he is now at peace. 

 Love you, Daddy!

A Tribute to My Dad:Double Down

I first wrote this short story for a creative writing class I took at university.  The tutor had encouraged us to take from our personal experiences and write about what we know.  I poached stories from everyone in my family and embellished/ polished/ extended them.  Dad told me a shorter version of this particular story and it's one of my favourites.  It first appeared on A Great Title on 22 January 2011 and I have revised and edited it since then. 

It is not surprising that Dad's adult life was spent selling anything and everything from musical instruments to houses, cars and insurance. 

DOUBLE DOWN

Dedicated to My Dad
7 December 1953 - 8 January 2017

The year was 1966, the year the Australian Monetary system "changed over."  No more pennies and pounds, just dollars and cents.  I was about 12 and worked a paper run for the local newsagent.  My mother insisted that I learn the value of a pound.  I certainly made a lot of money that year...

Every morning I woke up at the crack of dawn and rode my bicycle to the local newsagent's.  Mr Jones, would give us our papers and off we'd go.  On Pay Day all the customers would give us sixpence in pennies and Mr Jones would pay us for our work.  When we heard that the money was changing over, I devised a plan.  I decided that I would collect as many pennies as I could and start a coin collection.  I figured that in a few years time, I could sell them as collectors' items and make a fortune.  But a lucky break and a true stroke of genius came just a week before the historic change over occurred.

It was pay day, and I was collecting my pennies just as I had done for the last few months.  When we arrived back at the newsagency, Mr Jones ushered us boys into the shop as he always did.  He had a huge grin on his face and with a scratch of his whiskers he said, "now boys, don't tell anyone about this, I have a surprise for you."  We all looked at each other, if he didn't get it over with and pay us soon, we were going to be late for school.  "You see boys, being a shop keeper," Mr Jones continued, retrieving two cash bags from under the counter.  "I have acquired some bags of one and two cent pieces in readiness for the change over next week."  We froze in anticipation. 

Mr Jones took a handful of each coin from the bags.  Six little eyes widened and three little jaws almost dropped to the floor.  "Wow, Mr Jones!" Jack murmured in amazement.  "Yeah" replied Mr Jones, "Quite exciting isn't it boys?" My mouth began to water, if only he would give us one, we would be the most envied kids in school.  "Here's the thing boys, I don't need this many one and two cent pieces.  So this is what I'll do..."  He paused, and reached into the bags.  We all leaned over and held our breath.  The time was forgotten, breakfast- and school for that matter- could wait.  "You kids can have a handful from each bag as well as your pay this week."

Joy of Joys, Mr Jones was the best boss ever!  We thanked him over and over as we left that morning and hurried home.  

Later that day, at school, I showed my classmates my treasure and quickly became very popular!  "Can I have one?" asked Harry.  "Yeah, me too!" exclaimed Tom.  I paused for a moment, looked into their eager faces and thought it over.  Finally, I sighed "sure," then with a smile, "you can have one of each for sixpence."

Bio Poems

Poetry can take many forms and there are various structures that we can use to pen our poems.  Bio Poems are written about a person and are often a personal description of the poet themselves. There are several Bio Poem structures and at the end of the day, a free form poem about yourself could be a Bio Poem too.   If you are looking for the specifics of Bio Poetry and how to write Bio Poems, I recommend the following links. 
Can Teach
Bio Poems Made Easy
Poetry Soup

Here is an example of a Bio Poem I wrote about myself. 

M

Creative, Intelligent, Silly, Thoughtful

The second and youngest daughter

Loving Family, Friends, Shelly

Feeling peaceful, loved, sleepy and hopeful

Afraid of a worldwide shortage of chocolate

Wanting to see my family,

 H

Here is a Bio Poem by Shelly (I helped). 

Shelly

Beautiful, Feline, Playful, Quiet,

The one and only in this house!

Loving tuna!

Feeling hungry and sleepy

Afraid of running out of tuna!

Wanting to see some tuna in my bowl.

The Cat