The pecking order

    The pecking order is a term you associate animals like chickens. What some people don’t realize is that humans have a pecking order too. Unconsciously or consciously we as humans establish a pecking order. It doesn't matter what you like, what you do, or anything. It simply is. There are those that peck and those that are pecked.

   I came to this realization when I was sixteen. I was born with a severe over bite. I was short. I had a learning disability, I struggled with motor skills and eye hand coordination because I needed glasses. In the late 70s and early 80s children weren't put in glasses early unless they had a severe eye sight problem. I presented an easy target. I was easy peck at. At sixteen I was finally given the okay to have surgery on my jaw. Even though it was scare facing surgery I was also excited. I thought "Now I will be pretty! Now I will fit in! Now I am going to be popular!" I was in for a rude awakening.  After I recovered from surgery and scars healed I returned to school with high hopes. I found that nothing had changed. I was still unpopular,  average, and just me. My place in the pecking order had not changed. I was still the one pecked at. That's when I realized that our place in that order never changes. Once it's established it is what is and there's nothing you can do about it. 

   Later, as a young adult, I found that I could hold my head high and walk on. I could get deal with being pecked. I also knew I couldn't do it alone. I struggled in college because I had no goals, no confidence,  and almost no self image. Later I came to see that I likely suffered from clinical depression.  This something little was known about in the late 80s and 90s. Medications hadn't really been developed for it yet unless they were powerful drugs like lithium.  For years I dealt with depression without medication.  Later I would learn that it was a very physical disease. I was and am literally brain damaged.  My brain uses serotonin to quickly. Not enough of it stays in my brain to do its job. I am on Effexor now. This drug slows this process down so the serotonin stays in my brain long enough to what it needs to do make me feel good. Without this medication I cannot function. 

Coming home from a failed stint at college I was in the lowest place I'd ever been in. I even considered taking my own life. Thank goodness I'm too much of a coward to do it. Through the love and caring hand of a dear friend I began to attend church, help with the youth,  and sing with the choir. I have always been at my most joyous when I am singing. One night at the church, I was alone in the sanctuary,  I cried out to the Lord. I completely bared my lost and broken soul to God. He filled a hole that I'd been desperately trying to fill my whole life. Never have I ever felt such love, comfort,  safety,  and peace. He put me back on the right path that night. Since then I've known that I am not alone. I am loved and accepted. God has no pecking order. He loves all. He uses all! 

Bible Verse of the Day
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares theLord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

God created us. He is the author of our lives. He has laid the plan out for our lives. We can trust that God will never give us more than we can bear and that he knows us better than we know ourselves. We can lean on him to see us through and know that he is in control.

I get the biggest kick out of remembering toys and games I played with as a child.


This was many a child first record player.



I had this classic Fisher-Price phone. In the good old days it was partly made of wood with a plastic earpiece. The string was much longer. It has been shortened for safety reasons.



Ahh Mrs. Beasley. She was the doll that Buffy carried around on the television show "Family Affair".  She is highly collectible now. A doll that is in good condition, voice box working, and still has her wire framed glasses goes for around $200 on ebay. Wow! Makes me wish I still had mine.



Vintage Star Wars Action figures - This little guy is called FX-7. He was droid who appeared in The Empire Strikes back. Recently one of his figures was sold on Ebay for thousands of dollars. He is one of the rarer pieces in the Star Wars collection.  Han Solo is another vintage figure. Here, he has his gun and is in pretty good condition. He could sell fairly well on Ebay.  Figures sell best when they are in good condition, still have their capes or clothing, and have any weapons or extra pieces that came with them.

If you grew up in the 70s you properly watched Romper Room and you probably had a set of these things. We nearly killed ourselves trying to walk on them but we loved them! Good old Romper Stompers.



Fisher-Price Doctor's Kit.  It included all the necessary tools for the budding child doctor. A syringe and vial, stethoscope, eye checker, thermometer, reflex hammer, and blood pressure cuff rounded out the ensemble.
They don't make them like this anymore.



Colorforms bring back great memories.  This was the seventies version of simulation games. They came in many themes and varieties.  Basically it was a collection vinyl characters, objects, and accessories and you stuck them to a cardboard background and made your own world and stories. I had a Charlie Brown set that I can remember.


Perfection! You loved it even though it scared the pants off you when time ran out and the board popped up at you.   It was a great learning game but you'd think that when the time ran out it could have been a bit less frightening.



I tried to collect everyone of these magazines when I was a tween. Each one had a popular star on the front. I had quite a collection at one time. Sadly, they are long gone!


Update on Uncle Gary

He remains in the hospital. At this time he is suffering from belly pain and the doctors are unsure about its cause.  He also has swollen feet (this is not excess fluid). He continues to be dehydrated even though he is taking in plenty of liquid. Finally, his blood pressure is continuing to be too low. They are attempting to do ct scans and other types of scans but right now my uncle is too sick to take the contrast solution. This means it is difficult to get a very clear scan.  They will continue to monitor him, run tests, and try to figure out what is going on with his body. I think part of the problem is that he is unable to eat much, leading to low levels of nutrients and vitamins that he needs.  He is due for a second round of chemotherapy this week but they may hold off until they figure out the reason for his current symptoms.

It is 38 degrees here and partly sunny.  Not much has come through the freelance writing website today. It is a quiet day. Dad is bringing Mom back from Kansas City. She has been with my aunt as she holds vigil at my uncle's bedside. She has been up there for almost two weeks now. It is time for her to come home and rest and build herself back up. My cousin will take over for my Mom. The two trade off in order to keep up strength.

May God Bless you and keep you!

Scarlet

Hello everyone!

Bible verse of the Day

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:9-10 NIV

Nostalgia of the Day

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?

 
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE THIS ?

 
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO OBJECTS?

 
DID YOU EVER RIDE ONE OF THESE???

 
DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THESE?

 
 
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?

 
HAVE YOU EVER SHOPPED AT THIS STORE?

 
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY WITH THESE?

 
DO YOU RECOGNIZE WHO THIS IS?

 
DO YOU KNOW THEIR NAMES?

 
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A GLASS OF THIS?

 

 
DID YOU, OR ANYONE YOU KNOW, EVER TAKE THIS CLASS IN SCHOOL?

 
DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S HANGING FROM THE CHAIN OR RUNNING UP THE POLE?

 
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN OR USED ONE OF THESE?

 
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THESE ARE?

 
HAVE YOU EVER USED THIS?

 
HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED THIS?

 
 

WAS THERE EVER A TIME IN YOUR LIFE THAT THIS WAS THE ONLY OPTION TO DRY YOUR CLOTHES?

 
WHAT'S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE  TWO OBJECTS?

 
IS THIS A FAMILIAR SCENE?

 
DOES THIS BRING BACK GOOD MEMORIES?

 
DID HE EVER COME TO YOUR HOUSE?

 
DID YOU EVER HAVE TO SAY "HELLO" BEFORE YOU KNEW WHO WAS CALLING?

 
DID YOU EVER LAUGH OUT LOUD WATCHING THIS?

 
DID YOU KNOW...
Those who were born in the 30’s to the 60’s are the last generations who played in the street.  During our childhood we “walked” over a mile a day when we played & played “hide & seek” outside at night with no worries or fear of anything bad happening to us.
 
We are the first generation who played video games and the last to record songs off the radio onto a cassette tape.  We learned how to program a VCR before anyone else, we were the first to play from Atari to Nintendo…We are the generation of Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons, & Captain Kangaroo. We traveled in cars without seat belts or air bags, lived without cell phones and caller ID.  We did not have fax machines, flat screens, surround sound,  I pods, Facebook, Twitter, computers or the internet, and through it all we had a great time.
  

It amazed me how many of those things I remembered or had growing up. Ah the good ol' days!
Each day or each time I post I will leave a bible verse and something nostalgic to ponder.

Here is an update on my uncle.  After a bad week last week he is in much less pain this week. He was having severe headaches due to a spinal fluid leak. After receiving a blood patch his headaches are gone. Now the concern moves to his kidneys. He passing urine every hour and his blood pressure is low again. He is seeing the kidney specialist this afternoon and hopes to come home this weekend.  It seems like one thing leads to another but through it all he remains positive.

My brother and his family are visiting for the weekend. We are going to try to celebrate his birthday which was a month ago. Things have been so crazy we didn't have a chance to celebrate it then. I baked two batches of brownie bites. One batch is for my brother's birthday and the second batch is for a funeral dessert. I am going to help a funeral dinner this evening. Sadly a young woman lost her battle with cancer. This morning I found out another young man lost his battle with this deadly disease as well.  As time goes on cancer seems to touch us all in one way or another.

It is a balmy 53 degrees outside and sunny. It makes me long for spring but I know that we have a least another month left before spring is officially here.

Stay safe, warm, and may God bless you all!

Scarlet

As I write this post, it is snowing to beat the band outside.  There is probably about 3 or 4 feet of snow on the ground now and more to come. The weatherman predicts 8 to 12 inches before it is all said and one. Everyone, it seems, is home work or school today and off the roads.

Both cats are inside at the moment and napping. They had an enjoyable morning watching the birds eat at the bird feeder.  It is was funny, they couldn't figure out why they couldn't get to them and would meow and twitch their tails.

I have hard no news on my Uncle. My mother and her twin sister are with him and supporting him. We continue to pray each day for him and the family.

I have written a couple of articles this morning and continue to watch the website for more assignments. One article was over professional carpet cleaning and the other was on aromatherapy. One thing is for sure, I learn a lot from this career. I have always loved to find out about things so this career fits me well. I just hope it gets to the point to where I can support myself.

Stay safe and warm!

Scarlet

February 2, 2014

I realize that it has been a quite a while since I last posted. It has been an eventful start to the new year.

I remain busy establishing myself as a freelance writer. It is a slow and tedious process.  Each day I write as much as I can. It all depends upon the jobs that are available. Some jobs pay well and others do not. The important thing is that I continue to write and to put myself out there.

Just after Christmas my Uncle underwent a kidney transplant. My uncle is my Mom's twin sister's husband. I was raised very close to this family and my cousins are more like brother and sister to me. My Aunt and Uncle are more like a second set of parents. He had been waiting on a kidney for over a year and it was a real blessing that one was finally available. As always it has a sad side because someone had to lose their life to make that possible.  During the transplant doctors discovered that there were tumors on the adrenal glands. After lab work, these tumors were found to be cancerous. As my Uncle recovered from the surgery, tests were done to see if there was any more cancer in his body. Sadly, more cancer was discovered. It is basically all over his body. He was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Before they could start treatment, they needed to let his body recover from the surgery and to make sure that the kidney continued to function properly. For a while after the surgery his new kidney did well and he was able to undergo one treatment of chemotherapy.

For several months leading up to the surgery, my uncle experienced severe pain in his legs and hips. It is now clear why he was in such pain. The cancer is in his hips and he has a grapefruit size tumor in his lower leg. Recently the doctors have discovered that this tumor is eating away at the bone. Orthopedic doctors want to insert a plate into his leg. Some of his cancer doctors want to treat it with radiation, while others want to continue his chemotherapy. Right now, because his creatines remain high and he continues to be dehydrated he cannot withstand any sort of aggressive therapy.

Doctors now fear that his body is rejecting the kidney.  If this is the case, he cannot be treated aggressively for his cancer. We are awaiting news about the kidney at this time.

In the mean time, he is resting and trying to stay positive. He has two children and eight grandchildren whom he loves dearly. He wants to continue to be able to enjoy them and love on them. He has a loving wife and a loving extended family. He has every reason in the world to fight this and I know he will. He always stays positive. He is a brave soul. I love him very much and I pray for him every day. I think that right now we have to place it in the hands of God. God created him and he knows the plans he has for my uncle. I pray for God's will in this whole situation.

I will keep you updated and will try to keep this updated more regularly.

Bless you all!

Scarlet

     As we approach a new year, I have decided to begin a blog.  I hope to be able to utilize this blog to record events and life and general. It will be interesting to look back at it in December 2014 and see where I've come.
     My name is Amy. I work from home as a freelance writer and it is my hope that this blog will help me stay in writing practice.  I just got started in the freelance writing career. In September I finally finished college after twenty-five years of working towards that goal. I am proud to say that I graduated with a 3.96 G.P.A.  It wasn't an easy road but I made it. Now I find myself starting down a new road as I embark on a writing career. Why did I choose writing? I have always loved to write and it seems to come easy to me. I truly believe that God gave me the gift of writing and it is time I began to use that gift that He gave me.  Freelance writing is not an easy career to make money in and it takes time to establish one's reputation. At this time I work through a website called textbroker.com. I write small articles for websites, blogs, and other online resources. I write on many types of topics. So far I've tackled topics like online gaming websites, health care information technology, boutique hotels, fantasy sports, and more.
     I would like to find a part-time job to supplement my writing income. This is because I am not making enough to pay bills.  To make enough money to pay bills I figure I need to write 6 to 8 articles a day and often there aren't enough assignments to fullfill that at this time. As I write more my reputation will grow, I will earn more stars, and open up more writing opportunities for more money.
    You are probably wondering why I chose a cat theme for my blog.  Two cats have chosen me as their human and I have come to love them very much. One is a male orange mackerel tabby and the other is a female black cat with a white bib. The orange cat is named Slugger and the black one is Inkspot.

Slugger came into my life first. Two years ago he began coming around in the summer. He would always show up in the evenings and visit me while I sat outside listening to the Royals baseball game. I decided to call him Slugger in honor of the Kansas City mascot. Their mascot is a lion named Slugger.

Inkspot began to show up this past summer. She was a timid thing and it quickly became obvious that she had been abused by her past owners. It took time for me to earn her trust. Once I gained her trust, I found that she is a sweet loving cat. She is still a pretty spooky cat and only trusts certain people. I cherish the trust that she has given me.  They are both outdoor cats. I don't try to tie them down or coop them up. They chose me and not the other way around. They also do an amazing job of keeping the mice and rats at bay.
      Today, two days after Christmas, I helped my mother vaccuum and dust her house. She and my Dad are making the trek back to Arizona for the winter. I then took a quick trip to the local dollar store for cat food. When I got home I unloaded the car. As I was coming into the house I took a nasty fall. As I stepped on the doorjamb my wet foot slipped off and got stuck between the door and the jamb. I scraped my leg up pretty badly. It looks nasty but I think I will live. I will keep it clean and put antibiotic salve on it.
    We have had two lovely mild days but the weatherman says that winter will return on Saturday night and get cold  and sleet on Sunday. Yuck. But we need the precipitation.  Until tomorrow, my readers, take care and stay warm!