What You Don't Know About Me....

What you don't know about me? Let's see.....

-- I love speed! I love to drive fast in my car & on my motorcycle. I didn't get the nickname "Ledfoot Louie"
for nothing.

-- I went skydiving in 2011 and loved it! I would do it again.

-- In 2012, I traveled on the back of my husband's motorcycle across the USA from MD to CA & back to MD.
It was the best road trip ever! It was 8,000+ miles.

-- In 2013, my Mom and I travel to Oahu and Kauai & stayed with my cousin. We traveled the entire Kauai island by car
using an off the beaten path travel book. Both places are gorgeous and I would love to live there!

-- My first cruise was in 2010 for 9 days in the Caribbean to Puerto Rico, Haiti, St Thomas & the Dominican Republic.

-- Parasailed in St Thomas.

-- Zip lined in Haiti in the longest zip line over water (Dragon's Breath Flight Line).

-- I love to travel. I am planning a trip to Alaska. Brrrrr.

-- I am a beach person. I could and have stayed on the beach all day for days.

-- Celebrity gossip is my guilty pleasure.

-- I love to read books on my Kindle. My genre is historical romance, romance and biographical novels.

-- I never leave home without my iPhone or my iPod. My Kindle travels with me on extended trips also.

-- I am addicted to House Hunters on HGTV. I could and have watched it for hours---another guilty pleasure!

-- I want to write a novel. Still deciding if it will be biographical with bits and pieces of my life. I aspire to be.

-- I absolutely do not enjoy shopping. I am a go in, get what I need and leave the store type of person.

-- I do love to window shop in historical places and I enjoy picking up unique tokens from my travels.

-- One of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been on was Magen's Bay in St Thomas VI. I went there alone by bus from
the cruise ship. It was peaceful and gorgeous.

-- I met my future husband at age 16 in Ocean City, MD.

-- I lived in TX for 4 years with my military husband. I love TX.

-- My husband & I have been married for 30 years.

-- My greatest gift is my son. He is the light of my life and the heartbeat that keeps me in check.

-- I work in IT even though I despised anything computer related in high school. I had a 'D' in Data Processing.

-- My curiosity got me my job in IT. I was always curious about gadgets, software & computer related. I was the 'fixer'.






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The Road Ahead

The road ahead is looking mighty interesting!

My son, Daniel, turned 21 today. I am extremely proud of the man he has become. He IS an amazing person! I cherish all my memories from infancies until today. Time has flown by!

This year promises lots of adventures, changes is attitude and growing in my faith.
Unfortunately, this past week had been horrendous. I was full of fear, doubt and worry. Ugh.



And then I wondered why am I feeling all this fear, doubt and worry. Suddenly and suprisingly a beautiful song popped in my head "Lose My Soul". I knew I did not want to gain the whole world, just to lose my soul. I decided to finally turn it over to God. I know that people say that (as I have done) but don't really do it. I actually did it and I am a better person because of it. I've decided to accept the coming changes in my work with gratitude. I am grateful to have a job that yes, is going to change, but I still love those that I work with and I enjoy my line of work.

My dream is to retire @55 and that is something I am still looking forward to. For now though, I have so much I want to do .....I want to mentor other women riders and I want to go on a mission trip with my church. But I am not at the confidence level I need to be at to full mentor and I am still early in my journey of faith that I am not yet ready for a mission trip. This will change though as I build my confidence and grow in my faith. Life is a joy! I geniunely feel extremely blessed! See, turning your worry, fear and doubt truly does change your attitude and raises your altitude.

Hoarding is More Than Collecting Things::

Approximately 9+ years ago, my sisters and I got together to do what we thought would be 'good thing' for my parents for Valentine's Day. We decided that we would clean up our parent's home and organize it a bit. Dad had suffered a stroke and Mom was caring for Dad a lot, we thought it would help. Little did we know that Mom had no intention of parting with anything in the home, including magazines from the early 90's and damaged items. That day, what we saw was a different side of our mother, that for me, terrified me and still haunts me today.

The woman I had cherished, respected and loved no longer existed on that day. And my relationship with my mother continues to decline every day. After the Valentine's Day incident, my mother said she disowned me and did not speak to me for 6+ months; all because I wanted her live in a clean, safe home.

At that point, I went to the internet to seek help to find out why she would be like that with her stuff. There was not much information back then. My sisters and I talked about it, emailed about it and just tried to determine what we could do. There was nothing. And then Oprah came along with a show about hoarding and the floodgates opened. I told my Mom I was going to have Oprah's experts come in and help and she told me she would never speak to me again. We even considered therapy--but Mom would not go.

Fast forward many years and the home continued to swell. It was a 2500 sq ft home with 6000 sq foot of stuff in it. My family & I stopped visiting altogether. The only person it hurt was me though as my mother did not want visitors. There was no place to sit nor to cook or eat a meal.

Dad was too ashamed to have visitors. My Dad was a social person....that is when you saw his personality the most...when he was around others. He never knew a stranger--he could talk to anyone. I truly believe that the stroke and hoarding was the beginning of the end for my father. It is also why when he died in his bed, why they had to remove him through his bedroom window instead of through the front door. The medics could not get the gurney through the house due to the hoarding. You would think that would wake a person up to their hoarding habits, but it didn't.

The divorce. My sister and her husband are going through a bitter divorce. They lived next door to my parents. Because my sister no longer lives next door, she talks Mom into selling her home and moving into something smaller. This really is a great plan that we all loved. Except Mom wanted to take her 6000 sq ft of stuff with her. She found a 817 sq ft home and started packing. Unfortunately she packed junk & trash too. Now some stuff did make it to the trash---but not easily. 1 Pod and 6 storage units later....my mother has a 817 sq ft home packed to the gills of items not needed to live. And now she wants a shed built just to store her Christmas items. Unbelivable. She needs help. I feel like I am watching an alcoholic drink themselves to death. I just watch and wait. To fix a problem, don't you have to get to the root of why it is a problem so you will stop? No one wants to help her because she won't help herself. I feel helpless. I pray for her. Pray. Pray.Pray.

Just One More Day

It just dawned on me the other day that we have had a death in our family every year since 2009 when my father died. Keith Thomas died in 2010. Debbie Oldland passed in 2011. No wonder I get so depressed. Don't get me wrong, I am happy, healthy and humbled. But death of a loved one brings me down. Death can be a relief. It can be a shock and sometimes it can be expected. But it does not make it any easier to accept it and to move forward. Our family continues to get smaller year by year. People hurt. Is this what we have to look forward to? Anticipating the next death? Sheesh, I hope not. Each and every person that has died was a significant human being and in my life for a reason. They each made a difference. Whether they realized that is subjective. There are those still grieving families and friends left behind to look at another empty chair at the dinner table. Another robust giggle to miss and all the memories. Those memories are especially vivid @Christmastime. I want each and every person back on earth for just one more day. What would you do with one more day?


Rest In Peace Deb xxxooo

Blessings, Faith & Joy!

December 12th marks my one year since my baptism and practically turning my life over to God. It has been a year marked by highs and lows (see prior post). I have to say that without a doubt my faith has carried me through the highs and lows and even the medicracy. The stressors: I've been re-assigned at work. Important people and my dog have gone to heaven. My husband nearly managing to join them in heaven. In retrospect though, it's all been good only by the grace of God. Even through the emotional changes at work, at home and in life in general--HE has carried me through.



If it's this good--WHY doesn't everyone trust in God and turn over their problems to God? I don't have an answer but I will continue to be joyful in my relationship with Him and hopefully, possibly and just maybe--THEY will see the changes in me. And they too will want to know HIM.
God Bless Each and Everyone of You.

2011: Rewind Through Memories

2011 has been an up & down year. It started with a Vegas trip to see Jo Ann and we surprised her by bringing her sister, Grace, who by the way does not travel often. It was a fun trip full of a lot of laughter. One the greatest joys I have in my life are hanging out with Grace and or Jo Ann. They make me laugh and I am pretty certain they laugh at me often (hence the Old Bay incident). It was a great trip!





In March, I purchased my very own Harley Davidson motorcycle. It is an 883 Super Low. Leonard surprised me with extra luxaries loaded on the bike. I was and am so excited to have it. It was my reward for paying off my 2006 Ford Five Hundred.
After my family, friends and pictures...it is one of my most prized possession.

Fast forward to May and it was time to end our dog, Blackie's suffering. It was a tough decision but a necessary one. We buried him @ the Cline farm. R.I.P. Blackie. We still miss you 6+ months later.

In June, I surprised our mutual friend Lisa with a visit bringing our friend Robin. It was a great trip! I recall great shopping, tantalizing cupcakes and a tick infested hike. But all in all, it was a fantastic trip that concluded with a trip to Martha's Vineyard. It was beautiful! Love Lisa & Robin. They have been my saving grace!

In August, the family was dealt a sad blow with the sudden death of Alex Elste. Alex lived with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. And oh how he lived. He was in Boy Scouts and he met dignataries throughout his life....he traveled and he loved. He had loyal friends and an amazing family that cared for him on a daily basis. I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for him and his family at his service. R.I.P. Alex Elste.


In October, me, Ally & Bri finally jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. From the moment that it was a thought to yes, we are going to do this to actually doing it spanned several weeks of bad weather and lots of patience. Finally on October 8th--we did it. We have pictures for proof! We all loved it!! It was an amazing experience!!



Near the end of October, me, Leonard & Daniel prepared for our annual trip to West Virginia that was apparently not meant to be. Instead, Leonard was involved in a motorcycle accident on October 20th & airlifted to University of MD shock trauma. It was a shock and Leonard suffered much trauma. Leonard spent a week there with Daniel & I taking turns staying with him overnight. He suffered 10 broke ribs, cracked vertabrae and some optical nerve damage. But all in all, 6 weeks later he is making his way back to work. God was his first responder and I truly believe it was not yet his time to leave this earth. Thank you God.

In December, our family was devastated to lose our little Debbie (as she was known). She has been ill for quite some time and her fight was finally over. She is at peace. I know she is no longer in pain, nor is she fighting and I know she has the peace she wanted, but damn, my heart aches for her return. I miss you Deb. I miss our talks, our wine drinking days and your smile. The angels truly sang with her arrival in heaven, no doubt. R.I.P. Deb. I love you.

As Time Goes By....

My mother in law has been in heaven since October 2005. My Dad joined her in November 2009. I miss them both so much. I feel lost without them, I really do. I am now in the stage of going through the firsts for the first year of my Dad being gone. It's tough. His birthday was April 26th and I fondly recalled the many happy memories. Some memories are recent and not very good....seeing him unhealthy, sad and in pain. That is not how I wish to remember him but that is how I last saw him. Comparing the two deaths of my mother in law & my Dad, what I recall was that both of them expressed a desire to live. Neither wanted to die. I always wish I had spent more time with them. Today, I know that every moment of every day they are both with me, guiding me, helping me and continue to love me spiritually. It doesn't make the hurt go away, but it certainly brings me a level of peace. I love you Daddy. I miss you horribly.