Telling It Like It Is

Are you stuck in a rut in your relationship with your husband or wife? Are you ready to get out of the rut you’re in and put some fire back into your marriage? Is your marriage lacking emotional intimacy, where you feel like your marriage to your spouse has become routine and boring? Are you in a sex starved marriage? Do you ever ask yourself “how do I get out of a rut in my relationship with my partner or spouse?”

If you’ve been feeling sad or depressed that your marriage seems to have become a boring, monotonous routine lifestyle that never changes, it probably means you are stuck in a rut. A relationship rut. It’s time you get out of the rut you’re in, spice things up a bit and reestablish intimacy, friendship, fun and sex in your marriage.
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Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers! Gobble Gobble! As you celebrate Thanksgiving Day with your family and close friends, be sure to say a prayer for those less fortunate than yourselves, for our military and their families, and those who have recently lost a loved one in death. Here are a few Thanksgiving Prayers and poems collected from the net for your consideration. If you have a Thanksgiving prayer you wish to share, please leave a comment below. Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to all of you as you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day meal celebration with loved ones. Bring on the football game (and then a well deserved nap!)

Thanksgiving Prayer

“Loving Merciful God, We give You thanks for the creation of this world; it is a wonder and a blessing which should give us pause to offer You thanks. Creator, we are blessed by such little-big things as the air we breathe and the water we drink, these little-big things that fill our lives with the elements of living, but are commonly overlooked for we do not always stop to think about the wonders of the world which are working. We know that in Your time and space all will been done to fulfill Your glory, Your plans for us. We are reminded by Your Word in the Scripture 1Thessalonians 5:18 to be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things for this was Your will for us in Christ Jesus.
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I’ve been tagged with the “I’ve Come To Realize” meme on Facebook, which originated as the I’ve Come Realize MySpace Survey from bzoink.com. Colloquium and Ukok’s Place have already done their “I’ve Come To Realize” meme posts, and Judd has a weekly Sunday Stealing series where he “steals” memes from around the blogosphere, including the ‘come to realize’ MySpace survey.

RULES: “Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note completing the 36 “I’ve come to realize” statements. At the end, choose the friends you want to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you or I knew you way back when and am interested in what life has taught you!”

1. I’ve come to realize that my chest-size. . . is a gift bestowed upon me by my mother, although less would have been fine too.

2. I’ve come to realize that my job. . . is a field I got into quite by accident nearly twenty years ago and it pays the bills. I like it most days, but other days…not so much.

3. I’ve come to realize that when I’m driving. . . is a time for peace and quiet as I listen to my favorite music cd’s or radio stations, blocking out the usual stresses and problems I have no control over.

4. I’ve come to realize that I need. . . peace, quiet, love, acceptance, family, friends, structure, cleanliness, order, organization and my adoring husband to flourish in life. He recently told some people that I’m the best thing that has ever happened to him and that he couldn’t imagine life without me. Awww, he’s so sweet and I feel the same way about him.

5. I’ve come to realize that I have lost. . . the ability to accept or tolerate any “B.S.” involvement with my father and one of my grown sons, who were the basis for my article about toxic family members. I haven’t seen, spoken to, or heard from my father for fourteen years now, nor my son for three or four years, and I’m all the better for it.
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Another year has rolled around and today is my Birthday once again. Happy Birthday to Me! Is it just me or does it seem that Birthdays seem to come a lot faster the older we get? Hmm

Anyway, since I’ll be out of the office and not spending much time online today, but basking in the sun of doing absolutely nothing but fun things with my husband and family, I want to share some articles from other blogs for your reading pleasure.

I also want to welcome new subscribed readers from the DFW area, especially those living in and around Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney TX and surrounding suburbs. Thank you and welcome to Telling It Like It Is!

How to Take Fireworks Pictures – by my friend Todd Morris. I’m not much of a photographer myself, so I appreciate the tips and advice offered on taking good fireworks pictures. Now, if I could just manage to keep my thumb from appearing in photos I take with my digital camera, I’d be a happy camper.

How to Get More Time to Blog – by another friend Michael Martine. Finding the time to blog and post articles used to stress me out, but I’ve come to the personal decision that I write as often as I possibly can and when I have something to say. If I don’t post an article for a week or two, so be it. Readers that are truly interested in what I have to say are very understanding and patient, and don’t mind a brief lull in postings.

Living Your Passion: What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur – by Jeff Nickles. I thoroughly enjoyed Jeff’s article on being an entrepreneur and the “grit” and determination needed to achieve our goals, ignoring the self-doubt or fear of success and just going for it! We really are our own worst enemies when it comes to creating and building our own success stories.

Enjoy your day! I know I will! See you soon!

“Deaths occur in threes. If one person in your family dies, two more will within a short period of time.” Do deaths come in threes or is it just an old wives tale? There’s been a lot of discussion in the last few days that deaths always happen in threes or celebrity deaths come in threes, and questions about where the “deaths come in 3” tale came from.

My understanding is that the origin of the old wives tale or legend about deaths occurring in threes came from the first world war. When the men would light their cigarettes they knew not to use 3 on a match because the enemy could pinpoint them and shoot them from the light of the match being lit so long.

The myth about deaths in threes is often used as proof regarding “notable”, famous celebrities, but people tend to forget about the deaths of celebrities who may not be quite as famous and well known around the world as others who have died.

Some people also claim that the deaths in threes rule applies to deaths occurring within 3 days of each other, while others claim the myth applies to deaths happening “within a short period of time” according to the legend.

The Wall Street Journal listed some “deaths in threes” examples like this:

• Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the “Big Bopper” all died together in a plane crash in 1959
• Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison all died in close succession in 1970-71
• In 2003, Johnny Cash, John Ritter, and Warren Zevon all died within the same week
• In 2005, King Fahd, Peter Jennings and Robin Cook died within a week of each other
• The following year brought the closely timed deaths of Don Knotts, Darren McGavin and Dennis Weaver
• Heath Ledger, Suzanne Pleshette and Brad Renfro all died within a week of each other in January 2008

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Barbie alternative? Appropriate dolls? Parents are looking for an age-appropriate alternative doll for their little girls to enjoy, especially since Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls, Dora the Explorer (amongst others), have been “updating” the clothes these dolls are now wearing to include inappropriate, racy, “sexy” outfits on dolls for young kids. Meet the Only Hearts Girls by Only Hearts Club, a great alternative to Barbie dolls and Bratz girls. Not only are the Only Hearts Club girls baby dolls that look real, but the Only Hearts girls are appropriate toys for young kids to play with.

What is Only Hearts Club? Only Hearts Club (OHC) is a family owned and operated company dedicated to creating a positive message to children through its line of realistic baby dolls and toys, and have been making dolls for 5+ years. Only Hearts Club Dolls are 9-inch dolls that look and dress like real little girls from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Realistic Baby Dolls That Look Real

Len Simonian, toy and lifestyle expert and president of Only Hearts Club said, “Dolls influence the image and behavior of young girls. From Bratz to Barbie, to Hannah Montana these companies each portray vastly different images through the marketing and ‘lifestyles’ of their dolls.” Simonian added, “Parents and grandparents can play a big hand in determining what dolls their kids buy. It’s up to us as parents of young girls to do our own due diligence about each brand’s messaging.”
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Mom Song Kid’s Response to the Mom Song. The “Mom Song” to William Tell’s Overture YouTube video by Patti Hershey is one of the best mom songs I’ve heard, and several moms have asked me when I was going to post the kids response to the mom song by Vanessa Van Petten. Well, hear ya go! For all you Mom Song fans, here’s the YouTube video of the Mom Song Kid’s Response with lyrics! Enjoy!

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High school and college graduation is coming up quick, and graduates should be congratulated and rewarded with graduation gifts for all their hard work leading up to graduation day. Graduation parties are being planned, and high school graduates are excited about attending prom as well as the before-and-after parties, while college graduates have their own college graduation party to attend in celebration of their achievements.

Parents, family and friends of graduating students are busy shopping for graduation gifts that express how proud they are of their graduate, which can make searching for grad gifts seem rather daunting, as they try and decide what to buy a graduating high school or college student.

Coming up with graduation gift ideas is easier if you keep in mind the graduates future plans after they walk across the stage and receive their high school diploma or college degree on graduation day.

High school graduation and college graduation is an unforgettable occasion that graduates will remember and cherish as one of the best days of their lives. Graduation gifts for him or her that are unique, creative and personalized are at the top of the list of favorite graduation presents for high school or college graduates.
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I’ve been tagged with the 7 Things Meme by Todd Morris from Success With Todd, so I thought I’d participate in this meme since I forgot to do the 25 Random Things Meme that circulated Facebook pages not too long ago that I was also tagged with.

The 7 Things Meme Rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Okay, here goes. 7 things about me you may not know, or maybe don’t care to know.

1. The first record I ever owned was Mony Mony by Tommy James & The Shondells. I’m aging myself here, since the record was a Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single of the hit song. For the “last day of school party” in the 7th grade, my image of being a “cool kid” took a serious hit when students were told to bring in their favorite record to play during the party, and Mony Mony was the only record I owned at that time.
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UPDATED: Who pays for what? Who decides the wedding budget when planning a wedding? Who pays the wedding costs and expenses according to traditional wedding etiquette vs. modern etiquette? Who pays for the honeymoon? How do you go about planning a wedding when you have Cinderella wedding dreams dancing in your head?

Who pays for what is a common question for brides, grooms, and their families when it comes time to begin planning a wedding. If you do an online search for “wedding who pays”, “who pays for wedding” or even “who pays for what wedding”, you’ll find a lot of old-fashioned, archaic nonsense akin to the 18th or 19th century.

It’s about time that brides, grooms and parents begin to pay attention and accept the changes taking place in American wedding customs about who pays for weddings, receptions and honeymoons with open arms, not an open bank account, Credit Cards or loans.

Planning a Wedding On a Budget

According to The Knot Wedding Shop, a popular wedding planning website, the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is expected to drop at least 10% in 2009 from the average price of $21,814 for a wedding in 2008. Due to the economy, personal financial circumstances and just plain common sense, engaged couples and families are having to find ways to cut wedding costs while still planning a beautiful, affordable, spectacular wedding that won’t create a financial burden for whoever ultimately pays for the wedding.
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