More about me...

I did this 25 random things post once .... it was to give a bit more info about myself that not everybody knew about me.... this is it ...

25 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME

RULES: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you... or you tagged me... i think you might get bored enough to do this... or because harassing you amuses me. :)

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs (+) on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1) This is the FIRST note ever put on my profile....LOL with the new found love of far away friends like Kryn and Faith, who for some crazy reason, love me as much as I love them, I hope to make this a new habit

2) I am the youngest of three children. I have a sister that is three years older than me and a brother who died when he was 10 months old, sadly, I never got to meet him.

3) I've been to prison for leaving the scene of an accident, out of a 3 year sentence I did 18 months. I would have gotten out sooner, but I got in a fight and it cost me 6 extra months, THAT BITCH HAD IT COMING, so for me it was worth it! ROTFLMAO I know that sounds harsh, but if it was you or them what would you do?

4) I'm not as mean as I sound sometimes, life has been a bit hard and I know the choices I made made it worse for myself, but I am who I am because of it, and now I'm a very happy person.

5) I am married to a wonderful man, Wayne, who I love more that my own life. I never knew that I would have a love like his, and each day I try to show him that he is everything to me. Lucky me, he does the same for me. LIFE IS FINALLY GREAT!!!

6) We have a beautiful cat. Her name is Valentine Rascle Dodge. She is a tortoise shell calico, known as a torte..she will be 4 years old in November. Wayne bought her for me as a Valentine's Day gift, that's how she got her name...LOL

7) I LOVE TO WRITE!!! The written word is so great in my eyes, that I cant wait each day to write more, even if its just to say hello. That's one of the many reasons I PROMPT others to write too...Its so cool to see the response to a prompt...I really like to see how people think . I'm a poet in my heart, although there are times I have thoughts that I'm a terrible writer..go figure!

8) I hold a lot of blue ribbons and trophies for horse shows. Although my sister took it a lot farther than I ever did, we rode horses everyday in my childhood, and rode in our hometown and neighboring parades. My mom made all of our costumes by hand every year. That is one of my fondest memories of my Mom,sister and I doing things together.

9) I am a Taurus, in every way. My Mom, Sister and Father are as well....our birthdays are all within a 3 week period of each other.

10) I have no political views...

11) I have no use for Church, although I do believe in God. To me , its all too commercial.

120 Christmas is my favorite holiday, but Summer is my favorite time of year.

13) I like the snow, but I cant stand to be cold...EVER!!!

14) All of my immediate family's first name start with the letter J

15) I have never had a child come to full term, at 13 I lost my only child when I was 5 months along, because its father beat me until I miscarried. I was never able to have children after that.

16) Wayne is my second husband, I am his only wife. My first marriage lasted 7 years, it was a terrible time in my life and I never thought I would ever marry again....then Wayne came along!!!!

!7) Two weeks ago I broke a customers window while I was weed whacking her yard.... That was the first time ever, and Ive done my job for over 25 years... it cost me 300 dollars, we get 160 a month from her yard... you do the math! I hung my head for days over that one...ARRRGH!

18) Wayne is the ONLY man in my life that I don't fear in any way, all the others have given me reason to fear them, in one way or another, but Wayne has all my trust, something no one else in my life has ever had. NO ONE!!!

19) My favorite flower is Freesia, although Iris is grown most in my garden. I am a bulb fan, I love the surprise that they bring each season, so that is what is in my garden.

20) I do not like to be called by my first name, ever since I was very young I went by my middle name, I do however like to be called by Jlynne,JL, or Lynne...I answer my Mom when she calls me by my first name, only because she refuses to allow otherwise and in that my other family members follow her lead...there is our Taurus nature... LOL. If you know me well enough though you would never EVER even think about calling me by my first name.

21) If I have it, and you NEED it , its yours...that's just how I am.

22) If I have it , and you WANT it, again, its yours.... but just because I would give it to you doesn't always mean Wayne will...he has final say.

23) I really feel that we as a nation should do more for our own people,( homeless, hungry, ill ...etc) BEFORE we help others, but that's just me.

24) If you find a place in my heart, it will always be yours. NOBODY ELSE will ever take that place but you, even if you find that you no longer feel the same, move on , or move out of my life, my heart will never forget.

25) Not a day goes bye that I don't live with regrets, but everyday I find a reason to forgive myself for all those regrets, and the terrible things that I allowed others to do to me. I honestly wanted to die for so long that I forgot how good it is to live, now all I want to do is the best I can for as long as I have left in this beautiful world, and to share as much love with my friends and family as I possibly can.

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My best friend Lynn was a bit upset with me on this one, because I failed to mention her and all of our times together.  She and Richie were the reason I made it through the incarceration, they helped me so much 'thank you' will never fill the gratitude I have for them both. 

Lynn and I met many years ago in a trailer park we both lived in. We ended up trading trailers one day in a ball field, I forget the whole story really, but it was the start of a friendship that has lasted through a lot of  heartache, happiness and years. I love Lynn more than any other woman I have met. She is a true friend and I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Richie is another person in my life that means the world to me. He is such a great friend ! He always has a compliment or a bright side to look at. Even in my darkest hours he has been there to give me a smile and help me through.  He is the kindest person you will ever meet, willing to do with out himself so that his friends can have it a bit easier.  I have been blessed with his friendship, in more ways than words can express, I love this man !!

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Now I feel I need to say that there are so many people that have made my out look on life better, and I am truly grateful that each of them have touched my life. I have been broken in ways that may have been hard to come back from without the love and support from them.  It would have been easy for me to be a lost soul wallowing in self pity but because of these unnamed people I was able to overcome many obstacles that were at the time insurmountable. Please know that I remember each of you... and Thank you for all the ways you have made me whole again...

JLynne

Helping a friend

I do a few things for my friends, because I can. I'm a pay it forward kind of girl, feeling that I owe a lot to the world for just being alive.  Today I helped start a retaining wall. I say start because it is a JOB that will take a few days to finish and we are expecting a few inches of rain over the next few days, which means we wont be able to finish it until after the rain.

This is a six pallet, fifty-five pound block, forty-eight to a pallet wall.  All in all though it will be  really nice when it is completed.  I have posted the pictures for you so you get an idea of what we are doing. We hope the weather will not take too long to pass so that we can finish it next week.

Oh and don't think for one minute that I'm all so nice, I'm doing my part, its not too much to do.

Today's tease is a three parter...
you can join in @ http://dodgewrites.blogspot.com/
ENJOY
JL&B

Sticks and Stones

Do you remember that saying from childhood ? I do, I used to say it to myself every morning before I went to school.

You see, I came of poor stock, the kind that dressed in second hand that was handed down third hand. The kind that had a torn family view that clouded everything. The kind that flinched at loud noises and anger of any kind.  Yeah that kind...

Others in my school seemed privileged to my kind, dressed in cute, clean, new clothes. Not afraid of any thing in life and the world was theirs for the taking. So why do they seek out those like me? To flaunt their happiness? Did it really make their lives better to point out that I always wore long sleeves in the heat? While they wore shorts and tee-shirts, I was hiding the bruises and shame.

Calling me names hurt me more than they could know, my self esteem was already in jeopardy from my home life. All through my time in school I remember feeling like an outcast, but I kept at it and received an A/B average in most of my classes.  The mantra, said daily, didn't help me much, but I knew there was a better life ahead. At least I thought there had to be.

Of course the more time that went by the less I believed it.  There were more times in my life then, when I thought dying would be better than the hurts I was going through.  Taking my life, over and over, played in my young brain. I looked for poisons that would allow me to fall asleep and never wake up again.  At seven years old I swallowed a whole bottle of spray and wash because it said harmful if swallowed, induce vomiting , call a doctor. That was enough for me to believe that I would die, but it didn't do anything to me, except make me sick to my stomach for a week. My mom thought I had the flu. To this day I can't stand the smell of spray and wash.

I ran away that year, for two days my mom had no idea where I was. I walked down the roads in my home town, I thought of walking to the ocean, swimming into the waves and never looking back.  The night time was scary though and I came to the conclusion that being beaten and called names wasn't so bad after all, so I went back home. When my mom came home from work she told me if I didn't want to be there I shouldn't have come back, then sent me to bed with new whip marks on my butt, legs and back. That was the start of my running.

It's funny the things one remembers from the trauma in our lives. It would be hard for me to recall the good times, not that they were so few, more like they were not that memorable. The pain in my life made me grow and overcome, forgive and move on. Gave me a look at what I didn't want in my life when I got old enough to be on my own.

In the year I turned thirteen every thing in my life became as frightening as I could imagine. After a very bad beating from my mom, I ran away, yet again, only to end up in a receiving home for abused or unwanted children. There were so many of us it was like a dairy farm full of milking cows. All of us coming from dysfunctional homes, to end up in limbo, waiting for a home that could accept our backgrounds and love us anyway.
I was taken into the receiving area where they stripped me, washed me and looked at me like I was from a third world. When they were done documenting the two week old bruises on my body they had four pieces of paper with marks and writing on them, two for the front and two for the back.  The ladies made lots of little remarks to one another and kept asking more than I was willing to tell them. Then they sent me to the common room where the others like me were.

We were the nameless few that were forgotten by our families when our ties were broken with our parents.  Personally I never understood why I was the one put away when the authorities say it was my mom who was at fault, but have come to the conclusion that money was the major factor there too.  We were poor, no money meant ,once again, no one had time to care.

For a moment today I was taken back to that time in my life. The mantra that I said was echoing in my memory and it led me to wonder what would my life would have been like if just one of those that taunted me had enough heart to reach out and be nice. Maybe then someone would have seen what I was going through and I wouldn't have made so many harmful mistakes. Like maybe I would have never picked up a cigarette, or swallowed spray and wash...


Today is Valentines Day, write the love you feel for someone, it may just save their life.
ENJOY
JL&B

What a day ...

It was a great day by any standards... sweet husband, coffee, breakfast. Then I spent most of the rest of it with my very good friend Karen,we had a great time together.
so forgive me for not writing a bunch today, my head is swimming for all the fun I had today.
Today is One Stop's Photo Challenge, which we highly recommend. You can find our poem and the link to onestop on our poetry blog http://dodgewrites.blogspot.com/
Be good to one another !

ENJOY
JL&B

BOOK OF LOVE

I started a little book of love prompt on my other blog, sharing it all over the places I haunt. Yesterday I went to Shutterfly and put my own photographs  in an album and put all of the Book of Love poems in it. What a joy it is !! I have had a blast doing it and recommend it to everyone !
You can see all of our poems and the book of love on display (shamelessly !) on our poetry blog http://dodgewrites.blogspot.com/

Today is CHAPTER SIX
Hope to see you joining in too
ENJOY
JL&B

Feeling much better today !!

Thank God, I woke without my head aching today, maybe the aneurysm popped ! Not funny, I know, but I got a laugh out of it !
Most of my followers are new to my writings, so today I want to share another one of my prose  stories. I hope you enjoy it...This is from FanStory, a place of wonderful Prompts and contests... This prompt was a Sentence starts the story, it had to be aat least 500 words but no more than 1000, ours is 821.. The sentence was THE BED WAS EMPTY....

FOR THE LOVE OF JILLIAN

The bed was empty. For the first time in thirty-eight years of their time together, he was absolutely alone. He felt a sickness in his stomach, one that Jillian would have had a cure for, the thought brought a smile to him. Marc was a stern man usually, rarely allowing his feelings to show. Only Jillian knew how warm and loving he truly was. They had no children, Jillian was unable to conceive, but Marc didn't care, he loved her with every fiber in his soul.

He started to look back on their time together, coming once again to the day they met, a fond memory for both of them. It wasn't like a story book where boy meets girl and they fall in love, in fact it was more like a comedy.

Jillian was in her twenties, she never told anyone her exact age, to her it was just another number. Her hair was a million shades of browns, reds and gold's and each time the sunbeams touched her head another color would shine in brilliance. She had the eyes of a doe and a tiger all mixed up into one, and when Marc saw them he felt himself being pulled into her, like a force of nature he could not resist. He was stricken at that moment and from that point on there was nothing he wouldn't do for the love of Jillian.

That wasn't the way it was for her though, all she saw at first was a thin man in the road, hair all tousled, glasses a bit askew, gawking at her like he was a bit off. Marc's mouth was a bit open, but when she smiled at him, he felt as if the world had opened up into a new dimension and his jaw actually dropped. Jillian laughed aloud when she saw this and as she walked toward him he did his best to compose himself. She extended her hand to Marc, sure that he was in need of medical attention and asked him his name.

Marc took her hand and felt the warmth of her flow through him. He was surprised how when she spoke Jillian's voice stirred thoughts of music. Like his favorite song sprung from her lips and danced in his head.

Jillian was amazed at the softness and strength she felt when Marc took her hand. He was a lot taller than he looked at first glance, his six foot three inch frame surprised her as she gave him a better looking over. Then she saw his smile. It was never known to Marc back then, but Jillian knew from that moment they belonged together.

From that day forward he was a new man. Marc had a mission to give Jillian the life he felt she deserved, bound to be the one to give it to her. He worked hard and together they built the home of their dreams. Each day he felt so blessed to be by her side, knowing there was nothing he wouldn't do , for the love of Jillian.

The sickness came in waves. When there was nothing more that could be done to save her ability to have the kids she dreamt of, Marc held her in his arms and openly wept with her. It was not for the loss of her desire of children that he wept, but for the helplessness of not being able to cure her. As long as they had one another, he told her, they would make it through.

Many years passed and that hurt finally healed, only to be replaced by another. When Jillian was diagnosed with breast cancer, Marc was her strength, never wavering for a moment. Even after she lost all her hair and her weight dwindled down to nothing, he always kept both of their faith strong. He helped her through it once again and soon things were going well once more.

It was just last year when Marc saw her in the garden, softly crying into her hands. Jillian tried hard to not give into the pain she was in, keeping the news from Marc as long as possible, so that the last moments wouldn't be filled with grief. Knowing the six tumors in her head were at stage four filled her with sorrow for what was to come. Marc once again held her in his arms knowing this time she would slip away forever.

Looking at their empty bed now he wondered how he would go on without her. As she slipped away from him she made him vow to go on, but now it seemed a task too large to complete. He sat on the empty bed remembering that vow as the tears welled up in his eyes and spilt to the bed. He prayed for the strength to keep that vow and the will to go on with out the love of Jillian.


Today is Chapter 5 in the Book of love
Hope to see you joining in too
http://dodgewrites.blogspot.com/

ENJOY
JL&B

Found something

More like I read something, a form I haven't done yet... Have to remember it, so here it is ... try it and tell me what you think ...

Write a Pleaides poem.
Pleaides poems are seven lines long.
They have a one-word title.
Each line in the poem begins with the same letter that is the first letter in your title.
Any subject