Trina's Blog

Top Sites Tuesday #51 – St. Patrick’s Day

Trina — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:32:18 +0000

Every year St. Patty's day rolls by and I mark the occasion by simply wearing green and enjoying pinching my family members that forgot

Last year I bought a St. Patty's day shirt I totally love - it says "I'm not Irish, Kiss me Anyway" It's silly, but it's comfortable so I wear it all year. It's really faded out now, so I'll have to get another silly shirt for this St. Patty's day.

This year instead of letting the day simply go by and just wearing green, we're having a party. Lots of green and Guiness! LOL Any suggestions for some Irish style Appetizers or Drinks?

OH! I almost forgot I wanted to share something with you! A dear friend actually read this to me some years back, It's a poem written by St. Patrick in 377 A.D. it's really beautiful:

Lorica

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

Told you it was beautiful

Happy St. Patricks Day Tomorrow and have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

--Trina

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Top Sites Tuesday #50 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday

Trina — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:07:41 +0000

Thought #1:

SBD - It's NOT cool. We've got a serial bomb dropper on the job this week and OMG!

Thought#2:

Thanks to our recent snowfalls which collapsed three chicken houses at the end of our street - my neighborhood stinks. At first I was like "aww bummer" then the dead chicken smell came. It lasted a few days and you had to drive past it to actually smell anything (not like I was sniffing for it, but I had to drive by a few times to go to the store) Once the snow started to melt the farmer decided to scrap the metal and burn the remaining stuff (Thanks to a decision to save the farmers money)... Imagine 600 feet stretches of mess that's about 30 feet wide and full of chicken poo and dead chickens. Now imagine it all pushed into piles (and the dead chickens into a separate pile) on a slow, low wind day, lit and smoldering and you are downwind. Now imagine the trees around you seem to have captured the smokey, stinky fog and trapped it around your house and there is no escape.

I really think this week stinks

HAHA

--Trina

Top Sites Tuesday #49 – Tag Your Favorite Blogger or Bloggers

Trina — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:33:06 +0000

This week theme is to tag your favorite blog with two random thoughts!

First I just have two thoughts of my own:

#1 - Why don't I have my camera when something cool happens?? On the way to work this morning I drove under three low flying Ospreys (I think that's what those two propped helicopters are called) After discovering that I had no camera, I saw a Buck chasing a doe through the field and for a short distance they ran along-side the road not 20 feet from my truck - I was frustrated with myself to say the least!

#2 - I've got to get up early for work tomorrow and I can't sleep. I can't seem to sleep-in on the weekends and I can't seem to pass out early during the week... days must be getting longer, time's changing.

So I've decided to tag a few of my favorite blogs to tell us two of their thoughts! I chose these blog because, well, I like them! Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I Eat Snowman Poop
Victoria North's Red Chair Blog
X-posed - Secrets of the Sexes
PurpleFrogCat

Can't wait to see everyone's thoughts this week!

--Trina

Top Sites Tuesday #48 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday!

Trina — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:28:36 +0000

I'm sitting here after a long day at work. We're remodeling a bathroom and creating a "Home and Garden" style bathroom complete with a jacuzzi tub, full tiled shower, and granite counter-tops. We are at the demo stage of the job right now. It's looking a mess, I know, but we've done so many of these I can see the end picture. Here are a few pictures from today:

I'm sitting here enjoying a Latte with a splash of amaretto for extra warmth... oh so good! I've got my IPOD playing - I got it second hand and preloaded with a ton of songs I really like. It's kinda full of an eclectic mix - Brooks and Dunn, Flo Rida, Metallica, Gorrillaz, Tantric, Beatles, Led Zepplin, Ra... things I love and many songs I've never heard before. I really must recommend that if you don't have an IPOD, get one and load it with everything you listen to. Before I got one I didn't understand it much, but now I always seem to have it handy.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

--Trina

op Sites Tuesday #47 – What Do You Like Most About Where You Live?

Trina — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:39:37 +0000

I can think of many reasons not to like where I live right now... topping the list is the weather. The snow/sleet/rain/ice stuff that's falling right now is really crappy. I, like many other people, feel trapped in my house when I'm not running from warm spot to warm spot LOL

To look at the bright side of things though, I'm going to give you a top ten list of things I like about where I live:

1) I like the slower paced atmosphere - I am in Lower, Slower Delaware after all - until tourists and imports show up everything seems more relaxed and smoothly traveling along. No reasons to rush anywhere, it's going to take an hour to get there and back minimum anyway...

2) I like the changing farm lands - the farm lands around here are consistently changing - being planted, harvested, growing different crops... it's a change without much change.

3) I like that my nearest neighbor is 5 acres away. Nee I say more - I like my space LOL

4) I like that if I go a few hours in any direction I can see something completely different - Washington DC, Gettysburg, Virginia Beach, Ocean City, Assateaque Island, Ski Mountains, Amish Country, big cities - It makes for perfect day trips

5) I love the weather - I know, after my opening statement you are probably chuckling, but we get all the extremes here for short periods of time and the rest of the time the weather is perfect. It seems that spring and fall last a long time while the extremes of summer and winter are brief (albeit very extreme)

6) I like that many people who live here have lived here all their lives. They can tell you stories of their families and show you pictures of when main street wasn't paved or laugh about what they did before Wal*mart came to town. Everyone seems to know everyone and is somehow related to everyone (by marriage of course!)

7) I like my friends. There are few people that I would actually call friends, but they are the best friends I could ask for. People that I know I could call on for help and that know they could call on me for help... People that I could say anything to and they would take my statements for what they really are - truth or BS

I like that I have been here long enough to understand directions given by locals - "Take a left at the farm that's a subdivision now and a right at the funny cows... go until you see the farm house that burned down last year and isn't there anymore then take a left at the leaning pine tree" Yeah, I may not be from here, but I get it!

9) I like that every Christmas there is a chance that I'll have a white Christmas - no matter how remote that chance might be, I still have a chance.

10) I guess I like that we are in the migratory bird path... my car doesn't like it much, before all the snow came she looked like I parked her under a flock of sea gulls and left french fries on the roof!

Wow! I actually thought of 10 things! I surprised myself! I really thought I wouldn't be able to complete the list without have an "Um" and a "Well...." next to a number. But in spite of being able to finish this list, I can't help but wonder if it's time to move. I like the idea of staying put, but I want a change in scenery... I've been here 13 years and I'm ready for something different. Maybe a devastatingly beautiful sunset or some rolling hills... definitely not a desert I think I'm too white for that, I'd fry! LOL

Happy Tuesday!

--Trina

Top Sites Tuesday Meme #46 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday

Trina — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:59:03 +0000

Well, the snow finally stopped, but there's another storm coming! I can't say I'm sick of the snow yet, we were prepared - Food, Fuel, and booze. I do have one complaint, during this first storm I was bookless. Yep. After not reading for so long I found myself miserable and bored out of my mind because I didn't have anything other than my computer.

I know it sounds silly. We were really lucky - no loss of power or internet. But I was thoroughly disappointed when my favorite radio station went off the air at the beginning of the storm and didn't come back on the air until today. I kept wishing I could hook my computer to my Bose... I suppose I should invest in one of those IPOD thingys so I'm not stranded listening to Lady Gaga and the top 40 again. LOL

Wolfbernz spent a good deal of time clearing the driveway and the lane. I don't think it's ever snowed this much in one shot.. let alone snow this much and have another storm or two coming right behind it!

You really would think it's the end of the world around here - people are driving manickly and not paying attention. You almost have to be aggressive on the road to stay safe! Our normally slow area has been invaded by mindless drivers and morons... IT'S JUST SNOW PEOPLE!!

I do have to tell you though that Walmart has been closed and remains closed because the snow-load on the roof is too much and they are afraid that it's going to cave in. That sucks for people who work there. This weather is bad enough keeping people out of work, but to not have a job to go back to would be really hard... especially in this area, Walmart employs a ton of people.

So I suppose my two thoughts have merged into one giant rambling... SNOW!

Happy Tuesday!
--Trina

Top Sites Tuesday #45 – Story Time

Trina — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:40:08 +0000

What is your favorite Childhood Story? Maybe it’s a story you were told when you were little or maybe it’s a story you tell the kids now. Either way, this week it’s Story Time on Top Sites Tuesday!

My favorite childhood story would be from middle school.

There was the girl Shirley. She was big... not fat, just tall and muscular, not someone to mess with. Shirley had it out for me from the get-go.

She was consistently picking on me about my clothes or shoes. She wanted me to be miserable. She intimidated me something terrible.

At recess I loved playing tether-ball, but Shirley would always butt in line ahead of me and sometimes I never got to play. Other times, I would have to play against her and loose - facing further bullying from her.

Then one day she started heckling me in the cafeteria in front of my friends at lunch. I was at the breaking point. All I could think of was telling her off or throwing my tray at her. I thought terrible things toward her. She was so bad my friends were uncomfortable and feeling sorry for me. They were all significantly smaller than her (like me) and none of us stood up.

For some reason, I turned to her and simply said "I have no idea why you hate me so much, but I've always just wanted to be your friend. I would never treat you so bad!" I got up and my friends and I walked away. She looked dumb-founded.

That was my first lesson of peace over war. As much as I wanted nothing more that to harm her in some awful way, I made a simple statement, full of compassion - and she became a friend. There was no hiding from her in the hallways, no dreading playing tether-ball or lunch. We simply moved on and forgot everything mean that was passed from her to me.

Peace,
Trina

Top Sites Tuesday Meme #44 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday

Trina — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:53:40 +0000

While my head is reeling from the Monday Madness around here it's hard to grasp onto two singular thoughts. This week, though, I do have 2 thoughts really swimming around in my head.

Thought #1: I haven't read a book since I closed the coffee shop. I know it sounds hard to believe, but I think the last book I read was the DaVinci Code. I suppose the only read I read it was because I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. I was very happy about both (that rarely happens BTW) Last week I started reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I finished books one and two by Tuesday. While I wait for books three and four to be borrowable, I found that I was so interested in the series that I actually read books 1 and 2 again.

I've never done that - read a book twice? Me? Totally out of character. I can't explain why I read them twice, but the second time around they were as good as the first time. Then, to my surprise, the Twilight movie played last night on Showtime... the movie sucked. I've heard that the second movie is much better, something about a new producer or director or something... Gosh I hope books 3 and 4 are good.

Thought #2: Why? Oh! Why? Can't Spring be here already? I want to start my garden, plant my flower beds, and bask in the warm glow of the sun. I'm ready to watch the daffodils and crocuses bloom. Today was a real teaser here. It started out gloomy - high winds and heavy rain - then the sun came out and I loved every brilliant minute of it. I think it got into the high sixty's or low seventies today -Truly gorgeous.

Happy Tuesday!

--Trina

Top Sites Tuesday #43 – Helping Others

Trina — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:19:01 +0000

This week on BlogDumps Top Sites Tuesday:

Do we do enough? Should we do more?

With natural Disasters like the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the hurricane in Louisiana, and the earthquake Haiti, are we doing enough to help other people? In our daily lives we all seem to have our own natural disasters – does that prevent for helping others?

I can totally understand natural disasters in our own lives. Everyday we seem to have our own natural disasters and it seems that it takes something ad huge as the Earthquake in Haiti to remind us that we are not the only people on this planet. Unfortunately too, it reminds us that we are much more fortunate and that our silly little daily disasters are nothing more than trivial.

I shudder to think about putting myself in their shoes for even a second. To know that everything I once knew to be constant, friends, family, buildings, was now missing and lost - how could I possibly handle such a dreadful thing?

People are resilient. Through the worst of circumstances, they seem to find their way. New homes will be built. New Families will be made. New friendships will develop. Though everything in life is hard right now, it will get better.

Now back to our topic this week, Helping Others. I find that some people seem to be born to help others, rushing at the drop of a pin to a disaster zone where hundreds of thousands of people need. I am almost embarrassed to think think that I am not one of those people. I do admire the effort these amazing helpers are able to make. I am awed by their commitment and determination and by their ability to go to those disaster zones without a second thought to their safety.

I, on the other hand, can hardly cross a tall bridge, let alone face helpless people in a foreign country or state. I do what I can to help others - friends and family especially. Not that they all need my help, but I like to think that I am helping even when they don't know it.

To answer the questions Do we do enough? Should we do more? We do what we can and always strive to do more.

Trina

Top Sites Tuesday #42 – Two Thoughts on Tuesday

Trina — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:20:45 +0000

So many thoughts so little time... well, yea, so there's plenty of time just maybe not enough time for me to write it all down.

My biggest thought of the day... I spent a good deal of time today observing a courtroom in action. I saw so many young men and women who made stupid mistakes that have huge consequences. I wonder if they even realized the consequences of their actions. I saw these kids - I call them kids, but they're probably in their 20's - do things like drive on a suspended license and get 50 days in prison. I saw one guy in his late forties who had apparently been in and out of prison his whole life (and seemed destined to spend the rest of his life there) get ten years in prison - granted he had a long record, drug problem, and burglarized a small company. Watching this my heart sank a little more with every sentence - how could these people just throw everything away? Does freedom mean nothing? Was that little trip to the store worth spending that much time in prison?

Is society so collapsed that spending the rest of your life in prison better than being free to come and go and make your own choices? I actually heard the forty year old man say (as he was about to be sentenced) "I did the crime and I should be punished" While the statement was true, is was hard to hear it from a condemned criminal.

I could not believe how some of these people dressed either! C'mon! Sweat pants and t-shirts... saggy jeans and hoodies with skulls... tongue rings and odd piercings (even some of the innocent looked like hardened criminals) What happened to respect for the law? When you go to court you should be dressed nicely IE suit and tie, dress shirt and slacks, dresses... I only saw one young man dressed appropriately (well, beside the lawyers anyway) and apparently the judge was thinking the same thing because he thanked the young man (and his Mama) for showing the court respect by dressing nicely.

I suppose I may be thinking "old school" but is it too much to ask someone to remove their tongue ring before they talk to a judge?

On a more pleasant note, I'm writing this post while watching "Big Bang Theory" on CBS - it's a hoot! If you haven't watched it before, you should look it up! LOL

Ok, so that's my thought(s) for today - what do you think? Oh, and while you're thinking, please click my button and make me Number One!

--Trina