This post is probably going to be short, I'm just giving my readers a warning- but please don't criticize. I have 3 more posts to write tonight; and this one actually required a LOT more thought than you'd assume. For those who don't know, I am SUCH an open book so it was extremely hard for me to come up with a list of 10 things people (mostly) don't know. I challenge all of you to do this in the comments. Leave me some entertaining stuff, guys.
God, this took so long. Ah well, I wanted to post it and contrast my dad's post- so here you go. Leave me some comments. Gnight folks. - Maddie
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Rainbow is my favorite toy. She has Rainbow fur and she has pink eyes. She also has a pink smile and a sparkly pink nose too. Today is her birthday. She is 4 years old. Happy birthday Rainbow.
Ashleigh Once again, short lazy post... but with some depth. In spare time, I find reading about serial killers to be rather fascinating. While reading earlier today, I noticed some of them were quoted and decided to go through their quotes. Some of them were quite profound- particularly considering how horrible the people they were coming from were known to be. It put serial killers into an entirely new light for me- how normal they can seem and such. I don't know. See if the effect hits you too.
*I couldn't find as many quotes as I wanted, so I included some people who were responsible for many deaths as well- not necessarily serial killers, but certainly people you wouldn't expect these quotes from. "Serial killers do, on a small scale, what governments do on a larger one. They are products of our times, and these are bloodthirsty times." - Richard Ramirez "The real strong have no need to prove it to the phonies." - Charles Manson "The dead won't bother you, it's the living that you have to worry about." - John Wayne Gacy "Society wants to believe that it can identify evil people, or bad or harmful people, but it's not practical. There are no stereotypes." - Ted Bundy "An action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure." - Genghis Khan "If we knew the meaning to everything that is happening to us, there would be no meaning." - Idi Amin "Impossible is a word to only be found in the dictionary of fools." - Napoleon Bonaparte "It takes less courage to criticize the decisions of others, than to stand by your own." - Attila the Hun "I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well." - Alexander the Great "And I can fight only for what I love, love only what I respect, and respect only what I at least know." - Adolf Hitler Over the weekend, my dad brought me and my sister to Cathedral of the Pines. It serves as a bit of a nature walk and a tribute to fallen soldiers, as well as being a place of prayer accepting of all religions. It's beautiful, and it's one of my favorite places to go to catch a good sunset. You have a clear view of the mountain from almost everywhere; and it usually isn't too crowded. Unfortunately, we didn't get sunset photos on our last trip due to some unforseen turmoil- but I managed to take a good photo of the mountain and a couple of photos of my sister. I'll post them below.
Finally, here's another photo of my sister that I took while she was sitting on the stairs of one of the rock sculptures. I really like it a lot.
In any case- if you ever happen to be in Rindge, NH, I'd definitely recommend taking the time to make a stop at Cathedral of the Pines. It's calm and beautiful, and well worth your time. - maddie "Don't fear the enemy that attacks you, but the fake friend that hugs you." I could not find who said this little gem, but it is kind of true. I have had more grief thrown my way from a fake friend than I have ever had from an enemy.
In my entire life, I think I have had only one or two fake friends. Oddly enough, one was enough to break up friendships with true friends due to the lies he told. One guy I ran into was being very distant when I ran into him, and when I asked why, he said that the other had said I had been saying bad things about him (I won't go into detail here). So I asked him did he believe that? He said that he did. I said, "well I didn't say that, and I am not going to try and dissuade you since you seem to believe it, but you do realize that I haven't talked to that guy in over a decade?" He got a look of surprise on his face and said really? I said yeah and told him why I never hung out with the other guy anymore. The funny thing was that the guy had told him I said that only a couple of years ago, and only said that he did not hang out with me any more. He didn't say it had been over ten years since he last saw me, and he didn't tell him the real reason on why we no longer hung out. I said, well now you know and walked away. That old memory came to me when I saw that quote. You see, it didn't really matter to me that the guy really didn't want to hang out. I didn't either! I just saw him and said hello. I live in New Hampshire now, and the fact of the matter is I rarely go back to New Jersey. What did bother me was that this other guy, after about a decade, still went out of his way to tell lies about me. I have not thought of that guy in years at that point, even though we had been good friends. And yet, there he was spreading ill will all those years later. My advice: Treat everyone as you would want to be treated. If they don't treat you that way in return, then avoid them. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up with a fake friend. And with a fake friend, you are never sure when they are going to plot against you. The safest thing you can do is keep your private thoughts about others private and not share them with your other friends, unless they are positive comments. By doing this, then people will only have heard you saying positive things about others and they will be less likely to believe something concocted by a fake friend. I have a surprise for you. I saw my first Garter Snake. But it was dead when I saw it. Daddy thinks it is about 18 inches long. I saw it on our drive way. It is one of our most common snakes. It is harmless and it has 3 yellow stripes along it's body. It can grow to 4 feet long.
Ashleigh Over the week, I've been doing a lot of homework- and in between homework, I've been watching YouTube videos here and there to entertain myself. My usual range of videos are cooking tutorials, makeup hauls, and on occasion a game montage. However, in this week's browsing I came across a comedy sketch about religion. The guy started out by saying that he was raised and practiced Christianity, and was a believer who tried to spread the word of God and defend Jesus- BUT that he disagreed with the ways some of his fellow "brothers and sisters" went about doing so.
This is what I'd like to talk about. His point was; it's okay to be Christian and it's okay to be proud of your religion- as long as you don't allow it to constantly impose on the lives of others and as long as you don't let your belief control you to the point of thinking that you're better than everyone else simply for your beliefs. I agree with this 100% and I just wanted to extend his brief sketch out a bit. While I couldn't find the exact video again; I did find a quote that I see as fitting: "The purpose of religion is to control yourself, not to criticize others." Personally, I have no problem with other religions. I may not completely agree with their beliefs, but hey. Who am I to tell other people that their beliefs are wrong? In this day and age there are SO many different religions where I don't even think it's possible to distinguish which one is correct anymore. Personally, I don't think there IS a correct one. But that's me. The only time I begin to have a problem with religion is when people use their religion, as this guy was saying... to discriminate against others and make themselves seem better because of their beliefs. Unfortunately, I've encountered this before and it really sucks. They'll stuff their beliefs in your face and if you tell them that that's not your belief, you're likely to get a lecture about how you're blind and need to start following THEIR belief. I hate it. Live and let live, man. And that's across the board- from atheism all the way up to Christianity. No matter what your belief is, it doesn't give you the right EVER to start belittling and lecturing others for not sharing it. That's not your business, it's theirs. Keep your belief to yourself and let others make the choices that they see as best for them. - Maddie Our second hike this week took us along the Contoocook River in Jaffrey, and eventually into the Children's Woods, which can be reach at a trail head along the Rails to Trails route. We had a beautiful day for a hike and we took advantage of it. We likely did about four mile round trip, and we timed our return with the onset of dusk. Below, are some of the pictures I took along our route. Note that most of these are along the river since it starts to get darker earlier in the woods, where the trees do a good job of blocking out a lot of the sunlight. Water shots are the best shots along this portion of rails to trails. You can really see the effects of the drought along the river. Water levels are just not as high as they usually are. I tried to catch the sunset as we were leaving, but I wasn't that successful. While the pictures are nice, they are not as dramatic as some of the ones we have caught in the past.
I like to take my daughters hiking when we have the time. Over the past week. I have taken them on Rails to Trails twice. Our first trip was in Rindge, on the part of the trail that runs from Rindge to the Massachusetts border. There was heavy tree cover on this trail and there were all types of mushrooms growing along the trail. I have tried to identify some of them, but so far I have not made much headway. The problem is that so many of the mushrooms look alike. Below, are some of the picture I took on that hike. My next post will have pictures about our second hike. The woods were dark as we entered the trail head. The ground was damp, even though it hadn't rained in quite a few days. Mushrooms. mushrooms, everywhere! Although some of them may look the same, these all seem to be different types of mushrooms. If any of you know what type of mushrooms these are, leave a comment. I'd love to know what they are! Aside from the mushrooms, there wasn't too much else that I found interesting on this hike. The scenery was a little bit lacking considering how dark it was along the trail. There were some flowers, though, in the areas where the sun was allowed to peak through.
Today I read a new book called ''Cork & Fuzz''. One day a Muskrat named Cork was looking for a friend. He found a log and he yelled into in ''Nothing to do! Boring Boring echo called back. He said to the echo I have to go now!'' The echo called back ''Can I come with you?'' Cork said ''Well okay'', and then he rolled the log down a hill towards his home.The log hit a rock. And the echo said ''OW!'' At the bottom of the hill, a possum named Fuzz fell out of the log. They became friends and played games together. While talking they found out that they both liked to collect stones.
Ashleigh "We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell." That's a quote by Oscar Wilde. Meanwhile Buddha states "We create our own Heaven. We create our own Hell. We are the architects of our own fate." And finally, Peter Ustinov states "Since we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our minds, our one duty is to furnish it well."
There are other quotes I could have used here, but these seemed to really catch my attention. None of these people seem to believe in the Christian version of hell. With Buddha, it's really not surprising since he wasn't Christian. As for the other two, I really don't know what religions they followed. It doesn't matter really. When I think about those quotes, I don't think about where we go after we die. I think about my current circumstances here on earth. Truly, what we think is what we make. If our thoughts are constantly negative, then that is what we get. It is hard to appreciate beauty, if we surround ourselves with ugliness. It is hard to be happy if we surround ourselves with strife. The more I think about it, the more I believe that we really do have a choice while we are here on earth. Sure some things will happen that are really horrific and outside of our control... earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, etc. But for the most part, we do not live those things every day. What we live every day can be our heaven or our hell. It really depends how we view it. While I know that no one is absolutely happy all of the time, I honestly believe we can be happier most of the time. It really depends on how we view what is around us. Furnish your prison well, that way what could be a hell instead turns more heavenly. Let your actions guide you to your promised land. Surrounding yourself with negativity will make it very hard for you to find Nirvana. Meanwhile, surrounding yourself with happy people and actively trying to make others happy as well, should help to ease your burdens. I know that each day I look for little things to find pleasure in. A moment with my daughters... a hike on a cool fall day. A hard work out at the dojo. All these things make me happy. And, while I am looking for these little gems of happiness, if I can also help to make someone else happy, then all the better. I don't know about you, but I will leave all thoughts of the biblical heaven and hell for after I die. In the meantime, I will try my best to live a good, honorable life. Find little islands of happiness in my day to day living, and try to share my small pleasures with others so that they too can experience happiness... even if it is only for a moment. This is our life people. Nothing is guaranteed. Try to be happy now. Do no harm to others and find happiness for yourself and others if you can. Isn't that what a loving God would want you to do? I think so. Live your faith, and live in happiness. I color a lot in my coloring books. I just finished a picture. Want to have a guess about which picture I just finished? I finished a puppy called ''Cinnapup''. It is found in my ''Strawberry Shortcake'' coloring book. I placed a picture of Cinnapup below.
Ashleigh Today I read new book called ''Young cam Jansen and the Missing cookie.'' In class at lunch Cam was eating her food. She had a very good memory. Jason din't know Cam had a good memory and tested her. Cam closed her eyes and told Jason about his shirt. Jason wrote on a piece of paper ''SAY YES IF YOU WANT A CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE''. Eric did. But Cam's eyes where closed so she could not see But when they opened the lunch box the cookie was gone. So they looked in susie's lunch box they looked in Annie's and they looked in Jason's. Cam thought could it be your dog ''Of course'', he said! I might have been my dog Emily. Jason said I really miss that cookie though.
Ashleigh This post is going to be short; as it's covering one of the Aesop quotes my dad posted earlier in the week. I stick by this quote- as it has proven itself true countless times in my life. I'm sure most people have heard the quote "fake friends are like shadows- following you in the sun and abandoning you in the dark". It's quite true, and this quote just ties on to it. Hard times in your own life will not only show you who your fake friends are; but they will show you some (sometimes unexpected) true friends, as well.
Speaking from personal experience, I have gone through a few rough patches in my life- some involving personal family matters, and some involving friends and drama. In these times, I have seen people who I thought would be there for me completely shy away from me, and lose contact with me completely... and I've also seen a few people I would never have expected to step forward come out and offer me support. Life works in a funny way when it comes to situations like that. I've come to find that in the end, those who abandoned me never deserved my friendship to begin with. When they removed themselves from my life, they only did me a favor... and allowed me to make further room in my life for those who actually care about me. It's always quite noticeable when a negative leaves your life; and it is often times followed by an increase in positivity... sometimes coming in the form of a new-found friend. - Maddie The following post isn't written by me. In fact, I've found it on Tumblr before- and over the course of the past two weeks it has crossed my dashboard 6 times. Due to this factor, I've decided to post it below... along with the fact that I happen to agree with its message very strongly and it's something I'm very passionate about spreading awareness to.
"I hate alcohol. I hate that it takes control away from those who choose to drink it. I hate that it makes people lose their inhibitions and do things that they never would have done otherwise, go places they never would have gone otherwise, and let people do things to them that will scar them for the rest of their lives. I hate that everyone assumes that if they only drink in moderation it will not affect them. I hate that they don’t realize that it will affect them. Can’t they see that ninety percent of alcoholics started by “drinking in moderation”. I hate that so many of these people never realized that they were no longer drinking in moderation until they ruined their lives, or until they ruined somebody else’s life. I hate that you think that you are only drinking in moderation and that everything will be okay. I hate that those who make the well-thought-out and wise decision to stay away from alcohol are ridiculed and scorned by those who don’t understand that life can be even more fun, relationships more rewarding, and intelligence better fostered without the false promises that alcohol offers. I hate that it has cost us as a society untold billions and trillions in lost wages, and productivity and lives. I hate that it has cost untold millions of lost relationships and lost innocence. I hate that people end up in the Emergency Room because they were driving home to their families and singing along to the radio when out of nowhere somebody locked in the trance of alcohol runs into their car. I hate that wives and even husbands end up in the Emergency Room because they have been abused by spouses who have been drinking again. I hate that children end up in the Emergency Room because they have been abused by parents who have been drinking again. I hate that most of the people who will read this post will be trying to come up with reasons why I am wrong and why alcohol isn’t that bad. I hope that someday we will be able to be honest as a society and let go of the crutch that is alcohol. I hope that someday we will embrace life and learn to love it as it comes to us, without the mind-deadening effects of alcohol, without the body-rotting diseases that come along for the ride, and without the fear and pain and embarrassment that follow behind. I hope that maybe one person who reads this post will stop long enough to truly ponder what I am saying and give up alcohol for a better life." I love this post so much. It contains so much wisdom that so few people understand... and I wish that more did. I lost my mom to alcoholism 3 years ago; and for the 4 years leading up to her death I stood witness to the effects of alcohol. I watched it not only destroy my mom, but I watched it destroy my family. I watched it rip apart trust and to some extent; love. Alcohol terrifies me for how much it can manipulate and control the mind... how harmful it is, and how it's disguised and sold as a social lubricant. I don't know who is responsible for the post above, but if by chance they ever read this post- thank you so much for putting into words what I cannot express. - Maddie I found this quote on tumblr, and I chose to write about it because last night I actually did remember someone's random act of kindness towards me. When people say that there is never an act of kindness too small; they aren't kidding- sometimes all it takes is a small compliment to turn someone's day around. And that's all this little memory was- a simple compliment given to me by my friend's cousin about a month ago. It was nothing overly significant, yet I still remember (and appreciate) it.
It is because of the honesty of this quote that I constantly try to compliment people. If we're out at a store and we're checking out, I always try to find something I can compliment the cashier on- be it her makeup, her jewelry, or her hair. I'll never lie about something, but I enjoy making people smile and feel good about themselves.. and knowing that it could be the push they need to get their mood feeling better makes it even better. I'll say it again- there's no act of kindness too small. And I really think that people tend to forget that, too. They feel that if they can't be over-the-top with their kindness, it won't be appreciated- but it will be. A simple compliment, taking the time to talk to someone, remembering the little things about people- that's what people will like, perhaps even more than over-the-top try-hard gestures. I always prefer the little things. I guess it matches up with my policy in life, of always finding the little things to make myself happy. I guess it carries over, since I feel the need to point out the little things to other people who I encounter in my life, too. - Maddie My sister and I play a lot. We play Wizard 101, I make parties and she comes to them. Not all the time though. Daddy comes to them all, if he is not eating hot dogs.
I talk to my sister's friends a lot. And I have pillow fights with my sister We like to wrestle too. Daddy takes us for little hikes, but I haven't gone up Mt. Monadnock yet. I am just too young. Maybe when I'm eight or nine Daddy will let me. Last night, we were playing with my hoola-hoop and we had so much fun! One day, on my birthday, my sister gave me a toy owl and when I pressed a button and said something, it would repeat what I said. It was a great present that my sister gave me. Ashleigh I chose this quote from my dad's previous post about Aesop's Fables. I was reading through them, and while I loved a lot of them... I just wasn't inspired to write about them. Truth be told, it's taken me some time to get inspired to write this, too, but I chose this quote because of how literally I took it. I took the term 'little' as height, and you know what? That may not be what the quote is implying, but that's how my mind took it so I'm going to roll with it.
Plain and simple, I completely agree with this quote. Little people DO make great friends. In fact, some of the nicest people I've met are short. One of my best friends is only 5"2, and another is only 4"11. Both I could trust with my life and they've supported me and helped me through a lot. I'm not going to carry on about how small people are the best things out, however. I don't speak for all people when I say that we tend to be very nice and understanding. Some people are just plain mean, regardless of size. However, I'd like to state that no one should be judged off of their size. Never judge someone for their appearance; at least not to the degree where it'll determine your opinion of them. Personality should decide what you think of someone, not how they look. I've had friends be turned down in the realm of dating because of their height/weight, and honestly it's depressing. I hate that appearance matters so much to some people, to the point where they let it decide who's good enough for them or not. At this rate, you may be thinking that these people don't have dates because of their personality, or because of how they treated the other person- and I can tell you, that's not the case. The person they tried to ask out came right out and told them they wouldn't date them for no other reason than their height/weight. That's disgusting. I don't think you can get any more shallow. I used to have a friend who wouldn't date a guy unless they met her physical standards- how you judge others says a lot about your personality, let me tell you. She and I are no longer friends; for reasons closely related to her being shallow and conceited. It all ties together. That's enough rambling for today, I think... I don't know, I just wanted to let that out. - maddie "Failure is not the falling down, but the staying down." This is a quote by America's Sweetheart, Mary Pickford. Mary was an actress during the heyday of film. In fact, she was awarded the second Academy Award ever back in 1929. She was more than just an actress though. She was a producer and a business woman as well. In fact, she was the co-founder of United Artists and she was also one of the original founding members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.
Mary was never one for failures... and you shouldn't be either! Setbacks are NOT failures. They are setbacks. They can become failures, though, if you allow them to be. Set your mind to a task and get to work! Here is a personal example. When I first started karate, I was 43 years old and out of shape. In fact, I could barely do 10 push ups without having to stop. I stuck with it though, and practiced. Not just karate, either. At one point I did 100 push ups a day to get better at them and to increase the number I could do in one sitting. My record for a day is 1,250 push ups. Not bad for a 50-year-old guy! I have a knee injury now, but I try not to let that stop me. Remember, it's okay to fall down, just keep getting up. Since getting my knee injury I have worked on my kicks constantly. I can do multiple kicks without putting my foot back on the ground, and I have developed enough power to knock a 100-pound upright bag to the ground with my roundhouse kick. The flexibility of my kicks is also improving. I can kick to head level with nearly every type of kick now... including spinning back kicks and spinning hook kicks. Remember, as long as you keep on trying, you haven't failed. You may not have succeeded, but you haven't failed. The moment you give up, then you have failed. I kick a bag two to three times a week outside of class. If you include the work I do in class, then I kick the bag four or five times a week. While it may not be success, it certainly isn't failure! No matter what you want to do in life, you CAN do it. It can't be done without work, however. Everything in life has a cost. What are you willing to spend to get what you want? Remember, not all things are bought with gold. Most times, the payment is made with time and effort (kung fu). Most people think that kung fu is just a martial art. And it is a type of martial art. What it really means though is time and energy. Use your kung fu to achieve your goals. Just remember, for every goal there is a cost. Try to know the cost of your goal before you set out on your journey. If you consciously have an idea of what a goal will cost you before you set out, you are more likely to finish it. Remember, like anything else, success and failure are habits. Practice the success habit! One day, at the mall I saw one of my friends. She said ''Hi'' want to have a sleep over tonight?'' I said'' okay.'' She said ''is seven-o-clock okay?'' I said ''yes''. So I packed some toys and my pajamas, my tooth brush, and coloring books. So at seven-o-clock my Daddy drove me to my friend's house. She was walking on her drive way waiting for me. Before Daddy left, he said ''good night, I love you! See you tomorrow!'' I said,'' I love you too, Daddy!'' I gave him a hug, and I said ''good night.'' Then I ran into the house to play some games. Daddy smiled, and went home very happy.
Ashleigh |
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