Hero of the Day

There are people who are far stronger and braver than I am. When faced with impossible circumstances, they prevail. One of those people is Sgt. T. J. Edwards, USMC. He was wounded in Iraq on December 9, 2006. Despite being burned on over 45% of his body, he recovered and is running marathons. He states,

"If I can be burned over nearly 50% of my body and complete three marathons and one triathlon, along with overcoming the mental anguish of losing six of my brothers in combat, then anybody can overcome their tragic circumstances, and come out a winner on the other side.

It just takes time and effort and the will power to never quit."

He is my Hero of the Day. Thank you Sgt. Edwards for your duty, courage and sacrifices.

Run4Chance

Today two great things happened. My official Run4Chance Shirt arrived and I officially registered for the Marine Corps Half-Marathon being held in Jacksonville on Oct. 3. I have 45 days to hit the training hard. I have been training but not as diligently as I should be. This race is important to me. First, because of the cause I am representing. Run4Chance. I am running this event independently. This is not one of their official races but I am still raising money for their cause. The money raised goes to the Injured Marines Fund and the Fisher House which gives the families of the injured service people a place to stay.

So, far you wonderful people have donated $265.00 to Run4Chance.

Mrs. Who of House of Zathras.
VWBug of One Happy Dog.
Writers Block of Pereiraville
and my blogless friend, Linnaya.

The men and women of our military put their lives on the line for all the liberties we have. The more I read about how women are still treated in other countries, the more I truly appreciate the sacrifices others have made for me. Recently, I read about a woman being caned for wearing pants. Pants. I can't imagine not wearing pants. Hell, I work in a man's world. I run a 35 ton tractor. Another woman is being caned for drinking beer. I would have been caned to death by the time I was old enough to drive. That would have been more beatings. While I have done a lot of things I probably shouldn't have, it is up to me to choose my how I live my life. I have to figure out what I believe is right and wrong. I don't think that should be done for me. Here in America we have the freedom to make wrong choices and the freedom to make right choices. And to decide if they are right or wrong.

I am truly an American Woman. I used to drink. I cuss. I wear pants. I drive a car. I travel by myself. I am going to college. I have married and divorced. More than once. More than twice. Stupid maybe. But, it is my life. I have to find what I think is beyond this life. I am discovering what my purpose in life is. I love the freedoms I have. It pains my soul to know that women are still treated so disrespectfully in other countries.

I am extremely proud of all of our servicemen and woman, past and present, who sacrificed so much including their lives so that I am free to make decisions for myself. I love being an American.

Focusing

I am alive with creative energy, awake to prospering ideas, and open to unlimited goodness.

I am focused and handle distractions quickly and with ease.

______________________________________________________

I have two things at work at which have been procrastinating. Today I will tackle these.

Conquoring Adult ADD

I took an ADD quiz and scored an 82. Anything above a 70 is considered Serious. I have often mentioned to people that I have ADD. They laugh and usually joke that they do too. But, I am serious. This is something that holds me back. I need to make some changes in my habits to help me overcome this.

Just the thought of trying to get organized enough and stay that way to accomplish this almost brings me to tears. I know that I am an intelligent person and that I could be doing so much more in my life if I could only control this more. I love when I am organized. I feel better. But, it takes so much energy and is draining.

I am determine to finish projects that I start and start projects that I keep postponing.

A suggestion from one website says:

This is a different take on dealing with procrastination. Instead of trying to overcome procrastination by fear “get organized, try harder”, they suggest overcoming it by getting around fear through creativity and making “a small, imperfect start ” Here’s one of the steps.

How to talk to yourself:

– Replace “I have to” — which promotes victimhood and resentment — with “I choose to.”

– Replace “I must finish” with “When can I start again?”

– Replace “This is so big/difficult/complex” with “I can take one small step: one rough, rough draft, one imperfect sketch.”

– Replace “I must do this right (i.e., perfectly)” with “I can be human.” Accept “mistakes” as feedback, and part of the natural learning process. In fact, try to be imperfect. Intentionally do the first part of your project sloppily: rough draft in crayon, or on a coffee-stained old envelope.

My fear of making mistakes is huge. I am a perfectionist and analyze things to death. I don't "see" things like other people do. Solutions are not obvious. But, most of the time, I find that my ideas are right on. It's just that I have difficulty bringing them to life or finishing them.

I must conquer this. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Pirohy and learning my Slovak side

My trip to PA was fantastic. I learned more about my grandmother and my heritage than I ever knew. I love tracing my roots and learning about my family. A lot of people don't seem to understand why I enjoy countless hours of research, visiting cemeteries and libraries and places where my ancestors once stood. I guess I do it for a sense of belonging. To understand the influences that have shaped my life.

My grandparents on my mom's dad's side of the family were Slovak immigrants. I was always told that I was Russian and Polish. But, the more I learn about the family, the area and the history, I'm am finding out that is not exactly right.

My great grandmother came from Mergeska (Nova Polianka). It is a small village in the Eastern Carpathian Mountain region in Slovakia. In 1896 when she left to come to America it was part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Anna or Bubba as she was known (I'm sure the spelling is Americanized, but, that is how it was pronounced. I was told it meant mother in her native tongue) was a kindhearted but stern woman. Although, she spent over 60 years in America, she never learned the English language. My mother interjected, "except for when you were talking about something you shouldn't have done. Then she understood English perfectly and would knock you upside your head." So, as I am learning about her I am being introduced to her language and her cooking. She loved to feed people. There was always something cooking on the stove. I have been told she would feed everyone especially the other immigrants that were passing through. Her home was open and she made everyone feel welcome.

The day after I arrived in PA, there was the huge annual picnic at the church. Unfortunately, I didn't find out about it until too late to attend but I did get to benefit from it. The next day, my grandmother and I ran into some of my mom's cousins and they gave us some Pirohy (there a numerous spellings, In English, the word pierogi and its variants (perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, pierogy, pirohy, pyrohy) are pronounced with a stress on the letter "o") . They are basically potato ravioli smothered in butter and onions. Everyone had been raving about Pirohy. Which by the way I had a very difficult time pronouncing until I saw it spelled out on the Church website. This church was established in 1904. My great grandfather was one of the original members.



This is the stained glass window with his name on it.

In my search for a recipe, I found a slovac cookbook that I will be ordering. I want to learn and pass this heritage on.

Update

I'm crawling out from underneath my rock to let everyone know I am alive and well. I checked my last post and was shocked that two months have passed. I'll blame it on being newly married. I have better things to do than spend all my time on the computer telling my secrets.

First, I want to thank everyone who has donated to Run4Chance. Bless each and every one of you. This is a cause that is very personal to me as you all well know. I love my boys dearly and with all of them in the Military right now, I draw a deep breath with each phone call. Presently, they are all state side and doing well but that can change at a moment's notice. Again, thank you for your donations. They are going to be very worthy cause. While I am still collecting for Run4Chance, my plans have changed slightly. I will not be going to VA to participate in the half marathon. Instead I will be doing the Marine Corps Half Marathon here in Jacksonville on Oct. 3. The main reason for this is that my youngest son, Chowhound, is no longer stationed in Virginia Beach. He has been transferred to Twenty-nine Palms, CA (only 3 hours away from one of his brothers). He was my main reason for wanting to do that particular run. We were going to run it together. But, that's military life.

Anyway, I used my travel money to go visit my 95 year old grandmother in PA. It was the best trip ever. That woman is my hero. I will be posting stories and pictures soon. I learned so much from her and met family for the first time. It was incredible.

There have been other things going on health wise, but they have resolved themselves and I am back to training for the half-marathon.

I finished my summer class, Industrial Electronics, with an A and the next semester starts Sept. 2 for me. I will be starting with one class, Basic Instrumentation, and adding Advanced Instrumentation in October.

My company did away with my position at work but fortunately they needed someone to do one of my previous jobs so I am still employed and back to work in a physically demanding job.

Well, that's it in a nutshell.

I promise to visit more sites, comment more often and post here too.