USA VETERANS - THANK YOU

If it weren't for our service men and women, our nation wouldn't even exist today.  Thank you to all of you who have serve and currently serve us!

 

 

June Bug

Last week, my mom had a dream about her mom. Earlier that day, I had a feeling that she (my grandmother) was in the room with me, as if she was watching over me. It was the same week Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast. Hard. Thankfully we all survived without a hitch and part of me wonders if it's because we had her watching over us. I think about our wonderful Junebug everyday, partly because I own a set of her dishes. Thanks to her, I was able to make burritos, a favorite dish.

I miss you Grandma and I can't believe it's been 4 years since you've been gone. You live on through us in many ways. Even on the worst days, your memory makes me smile.

Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)

GOD BLESS AMERICA!! This song by Toby Keith 

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts...

What I love about Coach Taylor on the tv show Friday Night Lights is that he is a great example of the greatest coach every athlete should have. His lessons on the field are transferable to life as well. I've been playing and/or coaching softball for the past 20 years and it's one of the greatest parts of my life. It's all about teamwork and how much effort you put into it. You may be fictional Coach Taylor, but thanks for the motivation!

CLEAR EYES. FULL HEARTS. CAN'T LOSE.

Smash Bros. Fight Club Trailer

A few of my friends put together this trailer.  Pretty awesome, eh?

Vermont Photos

Since I recently moved to Vermont, I thought I'd share some photos of the area.  These were taken on one of the few beautiful days we've had since I've been here.  Most days it's been rainy and overcast so as soon as we had sun after a few days of rain, I took pictures!

Inspirational Quote of the Week

This is one of my favorite quotes and it applies to so many aspects of life, especially now that I’ll be moving to Vermont in about 9 days.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets
So love the people who treat you right
Love the ones who don’t just because you can
Believe everything happens for a reason
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands
If it changes your life, let it
Kiss slowly
Forgive quickly
God never said life would be easy
He just promised it would be worth it.

Suite 101

In December I started writing for this website called Suite 101. It's an online magazine with published articles from contributing writers from all over the country and a variety of topics. I love the website and it's such a great idea for readers to get all kinds of information. The Internet is the most popular place for most people (with access) to get their information.

It also a great idea for writers to make some extra money - that's assuming they have enough articles published to make any sort of income. Writers make money from the readers clicking on advertisements that are associated with their published articles - pay per click.

Please visit my page by clicking on this link: http://laura-napolitano.suite101.com

Who Says You Can't Go Home

This song says so much!! The music video, Who Says You Can't Go Home by Bon Jovi & Jennifer Nettles, shows and tells the story of Habitat For Humanity and the Soul Foundation working together to build homes for those in need. I listen to this song when I build with Habitat, and it's unofficially the "Habitat Song."

This song will always hold a special place in my heart. They produced it around the time I was building with Habitat for Humanity on the Spring Break Collegiate Challenge in 2006 and 2007. I always seem to tear up when I hear it because it brings back so many good memories and reminders of making a difference in people's lives. This song exemplifies the compassion that still exists in this world. To read more about my work with Habitat for Humanity, visit this page. 

Richard Castle of all things

Only 9 posts so far in March? I better get busy here if I want to make any sort of progress. I am looking through my pictures for some inspiration and I came across these. Some of these are promo’s and others are shots from different episodes.  Those who follow Castle know how much meaning the episodes shots mean.

I'm sharing the promotional shots because I love the artistic feel and look to them. The first one plays into the writer aspect of Castle. As a viewer, I sometimes forget that he's a writer because he's so busy falling for that hot detective (what's her name again? ...beckett) and getting himself into some trouble helping on cases.

 This one is just HOT.

And this one is even hotter!! So playing into that sexual tension we know (at least, think we know) is going to break soon! Such a teaser at the beginning of the 4th season (2011-2012).

Now this one is an even bigger tease. It was only done as a distraction to someone to break a case & it was all Beckett’s idea! She either didn’t know it’s Castle’s dream come true or she hid it very well!

Anyone who knows anything about Nathan Fillion understands the significance behind this cowboy outfit – done as a test run for a Halloween outfit.  It’s a “shout out” of sorts to ye Browncoats!  Or those who don’t know – remember that little sci-fi western/outer space TV show called Firefly that aired for all of 14 episodes back in 2002-2003 on FOX? Probably not.  It was created & directed by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. Oh yea, he also directed that movie called Serenity in 2005 as a follow-up to Firefly.  For more info visit here: IMDB

Self Images

This picture points out a message that many women don't think about unless it's pointed out to us.  These fairy tales are something we watch and/or hear about from an early age and are essentially "trained" to believe, unless we are told specifically by our parents (or other important figures) that we are not to behave like these princesses to get the guy.  The following picture sums it up just right:

Warehouse 13

I am currently watching Warehouse 13 – so far so good!! So many of my friends, even my sister have been talking about how great of a show it is. I’ve watched some episodes here and there but it never made any sense to me until I watched the first episode. It’s a very cool show – the warehouse stores artifacts “of the strange and unexplained” as Artie (played by Saul Rubinek) explains it. Secret Service agents are based out of some location in South Dakota where the Warehouse is and travel to wherever unexplained events keep happening. They are trained to find who and what are involved, neutralize the artifacts and bring them back to the Warehouse to be stored. These artifacts are from all aspects of history, appealing to my interest in the past!! J I’m a geek, I know.

If you're interested, it's available via streaming or DVD on Netflix. For more information on the show you can go to the Warehouse 13 Wiki page.

Pope Says Couples Who Conceive Through In-Vitro Fertilization Are Guilty Of Arrogance

As if I didn't already have enough reasons to not like the Catholic church and teachings. To someone who will most likely eventually use IVF in order to have a biological child, the Pope's comments about IVF are taken personally. I already have a metaphorical bone to pick with the Church about a variety of issues & this time it's personal.

Thank you to the article's author who writes supporting those who chose IVF and also parents in general. He writes, "This attack on reproductive technologies is yet another display of the Vatican's lack of empathy and understanding and a vain attempt to hold back scientific development as well as impede access to reproductive technologies for couples around the world."

He continues later on, "When the pope calls unmarried women and nontraditional couples 'unworthy' or 'arrogant' for wanting to share the gift of life with a new generation, the spiritual leader of the Catholic faith does a disservice to the entire church."

Read the article here:

Pope Says Couples Who Conceive Through In-Vitro Fertilization Are Guilty Of Arrogance | RH Reality Check

All I have to say is that I'm glad I'm not the only Catholic who has an issue with the church. Don't get me wrong, this is not an issue of my faith in God - it's an issue with the Catholic church itself. One would think that the Catholic church's ultimate goal is to eventually alienate all of their followers by attempting to preserve ideologies from the Dark Ages.

The Right to An Education

I have received this story several times via email and decided that I should post it here so it can be more widely spread.

The Right to An Education

taught by Martha Cothren

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk less classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Teacher of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 2006.

Please consider passing this along so others won't forget either that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans. Always remember them and the rights they have won for us. Blessings abound in the USA!

Quote/Poem of the Day

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

So love the people who treat you right,

Love the ones who don’t just because you can.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Kiss slowly.

Forgive quickly.

God never said life would be easy,

He just promised it would be worth it.

If Twitter, Facebook And Google Were The News, What Stuff REALLY Mattered In 2011? [INFOGRAPHIC] - AllTwitter

If Twitter, Facebook And Google Were The News, What Stuff REALLY Mattered In 2011? [INFOGRAPHIC] - AllTwitter

The last sentence of the article definitely says it all. It's interesting how our society's interests are balanced.