History

Seasons change. People change. I was never interested in history until fairly recently. For me, my passion is local history. Local meaning anywhere in MI, not just in my backyard. It started a few years ago. In Shelby Township there is an intersection where 24 Mile Road and Van Dyke cross. Before it became part of Shelby Township, the area used to be called Disco. Before Emily was born in 1999, I remember reading about the Hope Baptist Church. The church was an original structure still standing where it was built. The members of the church wanted to move it to the Shelby Township municipal grounds to be kept as a historical building. After this was accomplished in 2001, they built a new church on the property.

Another area that I have discovered is the town of Davis which is sort of between Ray Township and Washington Township at 27 Mile road and Romeo Plank Roads.


The Prestonville Cemetery is very intriguing to me as well. It rests on 25 Mile Road, west of Schoenherr. The headstones in this cemetery are so old, they are almost ineligible.


One of the links above will take you to many of the places I have discussed. When looking at photos I saw a photo of an old farmhouse in Prestonville. Not long ago, that house also sat at the corner of 25 mile and Schoenherr. I always dreamed of bringing it back to it's original glory. The house sat on the corner of the intersection with a very large yard, where the chicken coop still stands proud. There was a creek on the north side of the house, and the entire lot was shaded by tall trees. The house is no longer there, and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to admire it before it was taken down.


I am most intrigued by the fact that people walked this same area so many years before us. We live in a world where every family has 2+ cars, a TV in every room of the house, mp3 players, cable, electricity, city services, a mall within a few miles and god knows other countless amenities, and yet the people before us, lived such a simple life. They had it hard and worked hard, but they simply... lived. They made it work with what they had and they were proud. I sometimes think I could have lived in this time period. Free from the distractions that we have brought on ourselves.


It almost makes me feel bad that we have so much, even though we worked for what we have. Why does it take so much to make people happy? They say money can't buy happiness, however look how much crap we have laying around our homes. Crap. That's all it is. Are you happy? Cause I'm not. I could easily get rid of half the stuff in this house and be completely content.

Believe it or not, I actually had not planned on telling you this much. Something I did last night brought all of this on. My next post will be what I intended it to be. This just took on a life of its own, and I needed to put it out there.

Sorry dear readers. I am the person that will bring the car to a screeching halt just to go wander through an old cemetery dreaming of the life these people lived.

Insert Photos Here

I have so much to tell you, but really wanted to post with photos. You see... I am a technical anomaly. I have no idea what I am doing, but can usually figure it out. Except when it comes to taking photos off my camera and putting them on here were you can see them. Which reminds me... put photos on pc - onto CD's.

Moving along.

The dog.

Mollie is a GREAT dog. She is a Shih Tzu Yorkie mix. A designer dog if you will. Long story short... Neighbor and his sister bought Mollie for their mom Christmas 2008. Mollie was an unwelcomed gift. Mollie ended up at sisters house where she was never house trained, and yelled at a lot. Fast forward. Christmas 2009. Mollie ends up back with neighbor. During the week, I let neighbors dog out 2x daily to potty. Mollie was crated for 10 hours per day, and only out those two times to potty. Insert my broken heart here.

We gave Mollie a trial. Brought her to our house to see how the cats would handle her. No problem what so ever. Decided to take her. Still working on house breaking but all in all, she is one great dog. Love her, Love her, Love her. Had her spayed this week. Emily was a disaster saying they wrecked her dog. Let's just say Mollie was higher than a kite, and I too was a bit worried, but knew she would snap out of it. Mollie is recovering well.

The room.

2 years ago when I left my job, I had full intentions to paint Emily's room. 2 years later it wasn't done. We even went so far as to sell her bunk beds to prepare for it. The poor child has been sleeping on mattresses on the floor ever since. This week is midwinter break for the kids. Luckily, Dennis's time off stretch fell this week too. Since we are so broke we can't even pay attention, we decided to get the damn room done! Monday we stripped everything out of the room. Picked the color, headed off to Lowes and bought everything we needed. Fast forward to Thursday (today). Room is painted. Mouldings are redone. New closet doors. Carpeting cleaned. Furniture cleaned. Waiting on lady on Craigslist to decide if our offer is good for a new bed (like new - which matches her pricey dresser & hope chest), and a desk.

CraZinEss!! I am worn out, but am super happy to report... the birds are building a nest in the bird house on our patio. You know what that means... spring is right around the corner my friends. Enjoy.

Question

Did you ever walk into someone's house and it was such a dump that it actually made you mad? Like you are stunned that they could actually live like that, let alone let other people see the chaos?

I never thought something like that would bother me, but obviously it did. I'll leave it at that.

The first of many...

My Uncle Jerry died last Sunday. This week we buried him in the most beautiful and serene cemetary I have ever seen. It sits up on a hill and is filled with trees.

Saturday was my birthday. I feel bad that so soon after losing her husband, lover and best friend, my aunt sent me the first birthday card I have ever gotten, without my Uncle's name on it.

I am so sad for her although we all know his passing was the best thing for him. Yet she still sent me a card. It's bittersweet.

The 8 lb. Wedding Ring

After battling a contact dermatitis on my left ring finger since last fall, I finally made the appointment and went to the Doctor yesterday. After being weighed and checking my chart we have found that I have also lost 8 pounds since December! NOW... we are talking.

One look and the doc determined I now have an allergy to nickel which is many times mixed with gold. I told him it felt like my ring was trying to weld itself to my finger, lol. Regardless, I am on the mend, and need to get with our jeweler to see what they can do to fix my ring. I HATE not wearing my wedding ring. I feel like it is a part of who I am, and should sit on my finger where he placed it almost 13 years ago.

Who would have thought that ring would weigh 8 pounds! ;)

It's all about me

Late last week, I had a breakdown. The minutes during which I cried my heart out were preceded by weeks of feeling so terrible, I could vomit. I am so ashamed of myself. This is where you just read and do not reply with your pity on me.

I have let myself become more than 50 pounds overweight. I... let this happen. I have been so busy putting irons into the fire, rather than taking care of myself. I used this as a smoke screen so that I could just... be. I am so ashamed of myself.

I have had enough. I am sick and tired... of feeling sick and tired. I am sick and tired of how my clothes feel like sausage wrap. I am sick and tired of wearing the SAME WARDROBE day in and day out, because I am not putting more money into dressing THIS frame. I am sick and tired.

AND I AM DONE.

I guess you need to hit rock bottom and become so pissed at yourself that you end up where I am now. I AM DONE.

Starting immediately, I am working out 3-4 times per week. I am eating healthier, smaller, more frequent meals. I am done.

I am done being the "yes" girl that volunteers to do everything for everyone else. I am done.
I am done being everything to everyone else, while letting my health slide. I am done.
I am done being everyone's fat friend. I am done. Shut it and let me vent.
I am done being out of breath after doing simple housework. I AM DONE.
I am on a mission. A mission to get rid of this 50 extra pounds of shit that I have been carrying around. I AM DONE.

I have a goal. I want to walk. I want to work towards a goal of walking in a 5K marathon and I need a friend to do it with me. THIS... is just the beginning of the rest of my life.

This month, I will turn 38. I vow to shed this 50 pounds before my 39th birthday.