Sunday, January 30, 2011

I can show you better than I can tell you ;-)


It seems like the thing to do these days....telling people who you are. I'm not really a fan of it. I'm not knocking anybody who does...or maybe I am. I just feel like as women, we shouldn't have to tell anybody everything about ourselves. People should see and know it. For instance, Phylicia Rashad and Michelle Obama strike me as two women that do not have to tell you anything about themselves. They already know who they are, and they don't need any one's confirmation or approval. They are confident, beautiful (try to say differently), classy, strong....so many things, and you can SEE it. They don't have to tell you. When did we lose that as women? When did we start going around telling people everything we want them to believe? I think everybody pats themselves on the back every now and then. There's nothing wrong with a little "I'm fly" once in a while, but it seems like that has become the popular thing to just announce to the world all of your qualities. Most of the time I wonder if people are convincing themselves of these things when I see it repeatedly.

 You're confident...what are you telling me for? I should be able to already see it. You're gorgeous and can't nobody tell you nothing? *clapping hands* Wonderful. Why are you telling me constantly? And really...does beauty define you? You got major swagger? Yea, me too. People are not paying attention to what you tell them, though. They're more interested in what you show them. In my opinion, my mother is beautiful. I never heard her talk about it either. My best friend is gorgeous, and I never hear her go on and on about herself. 

If we must profess all these things for men to see, I feel like we're missing the mark in some kind of way. A man with enough sense is aware of a woman with good character and great qualities, and he won't let that pass. Or maybe these qualities that some of us feel the need to tell everyone about need work....I'm just sayin'.

All I'm saying is I am tired of hearing women brag on themselves about things that you shouldn't have to brag about. You should be confident in yourself. You should be proud of who are. You should have some standards about yourself aka class. You should make yourself attractive. BUT you shouldn't have to tell anybody anything. They should already know.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I don't feel creative enough to give this a title

What the heck am I supposed to do with this mood I have been in? I am trying so hard not to slip into a negative funk, but it's not working out. The end of the deployment is indeed drawing near, but it feels so far away. This has definitely been one of my better deployments, but shoot....all good things must come to an end, right? I'm ready for this "good thing" to end already. lol.

Just venting....

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Top Ten Things

It's always the little things that I miss when I'm deployed. I miss my family the most, but here's just a few things that I think of all the time that I'll be so glad to get back to:

1. Texting! Yes, I have my Droid here...but I soooo turned the service off. I am missing my phone. lol. Unlimited texting is a must for me, and my little fingers are getting antsy. Plus, facebooking from my phone keeps me from being bored at the many briefings that I am forced to go to. Right now my phone is my trusty alarm clock and camera. That's it.

2. Library. I love my Kindle, but I still have the biggest crush on the library. We have a small one here, but it just doesn't compare.

3. Driving BY MYSELF to work. Riding the bus with all my co-workers is not the most fun thing everyday. Blah, blah, blah is all I hear on the bus, and at 7 a.m. I don't want to always hear all that blahing. My Beats by Dre headphones were a good investment. I'm able to drown out most of the nonsense, but some still finds its way in my ears. Can't wait to turn the key in my own ignition, turn on my music, and enjoy the peaceful ride.

4. My couch! Lol...who misses their couch? lol. ME! My couch and my blankie (yes, I said blankie) is calling me. I don't know how much longer I can resist. ;-)

5. SJ running trails. We have two running trails on base back home, and I love those trails. You can find me on those trails 3-6 times a week. It's my time to take in the pretty scenery and clear my head. Lord willing, the day after I get back I will reunite with one of the trails.

6. Privacy. I consider myself to be a pretty private person, and it is really hard to get any kind of privacy here. I am super excited when I go in my dorm room, and no one is in there. It's rare, but I enjoy every minute. Sometimes I get so frustrated because every conversation I have with my husband is usually in the presence of someone else. I just do not always feel like having someone hear everything that I talk about with him. Plus, there are sides of me that I only reveal to him, and it feels like I am being robbed of that here. There's nothing like a co-worker chiming in or commenting on your conversation to your spouse. Do you know how many times I wanted to get my "Deebo Punch" on?

7. Cooking. I truly miss cooking. I didn't think I would, but I do.

8. Sunday naps. After church if my meal is pretty much preped, it's on like donkey kong with me and my pillow. Haven't had a Sunday nap since August. lol. Sundays are a work day...so I guess I'll catch up on those naps when I bring my behind home.

9. My Shower. Every morning here, I get out of my bed and walk down a cold hallway with my shower caddy. After I pick my stall, I have to get about four paper towels to get someone's hair out of the drain. MAYBE the water will be warm. Now...I am extremely happy that we have water here with no shortage, but I am definitely missing my CLEAN, hot shower. I can't wait to hop out of my bed in the morning, walk three steps, turn on the shower and step into my own shower with NO shower shoes! I miss my CLEAN house in general. Folks are triflin' around here. lol. I have stories for days, but I'll spare you.

10. Movie Nights! I miss chillin' in the house with my husband watching movies until we're delirious. I still watch a lot of movies over here, but it's just not the same without enjoying each other's reactions to all the movies we watch.

I'm sure there's more, but these are the few that were at the front of my mind. Surprisingly, I don't miss wearing my heels. Whaaaaaat?! I miss my shoes, but I don't miss wearing them. My feet never hurt here. lol. My uniform is very comfortable. I'm allowing my feet to enjoy this rest! ;-)

No Title...just my words....

I have been involved in a few conversations lately that have really bothered me. At the end of the conversation, and even during, one scripture often comes to mind.

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

As Christians, we must be careful to not think of ourselves to be without fault. Over the last few days, I have heard many things said that I feel could be damaging to a non-believer. We have to be mindful of our actions around unbelievers sometimes. If we as Christians treat our own Christian brothers and sisters as if we are better than them because we may think we're stronger in faith or "more of a Christian" than the next, how will that bring others to the Kingdom?

Quite frankly, no one is better than the next. We all have our struggles. Some of the things we struggle with are very visible while other are hidden. Sometimes we're even blind to our own struggles that EVERYONE else sees. Before we declare ourselves more righteous than the next person, we have to think about how that behavior may push others (including other Christians) away.

All I want to say is that we need to be mindful of our attitude. We have no reason to boast unless we're boasting in the Lord. The only one without sin was Jesus.

We just don't know how good we have it....



School work and other studying has kept me from reading at the pace that I would like this deployment. I just had a week off in-between my last class and my present class, so I was able to push through a book that I was curious about. I recently finished a non-fiction novel called A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Wow. Wow is what I can say to this book. I saw one of my co-workers reading it, and I am glad I asked to borrow it. Sometimes we need to see the world from another person's view to realize that life truly is a gift. I can not imagine having to fight to live every single day.

      The story is basically about a young boy from Sierra Leone who is forced to make some hard decisions. After his village is destroyed by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) army, he is forced to flee for safety while looking for his family. Facing starvation and no home, he is later has little choice but to join the Sierra Leone Armed Forces and fight as a child soldier. He became a very violent, drugged addicted young boy who lost all sense of morality until he was released into a rehabilitation center.  


 
While I was reading the book, I was pretty much sad the whole time. The story was harsh, but I think it's worth reading. I appreciate where I grew up so much more when I read books like this. I definitely think it's a must-read.

The next two books I plan to read are Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Like Sheep Gone Astray by Leslie J. Sherrod. Water for Elephants has sparked my interest because I have seen a lot of good reviews on the book, and I have also ran across of the book plenty of times. The last time I saw it one of the many bookshelves with free books here, I grabbed it. I'm going to attempt to enjoy this little free book. Hopefully both both books will be worth a read.