Day 114 ~ Letting Them Fall (Once In A While)

As a parent, when you see your little boy or little girl fall your first instinct is to run to save them.  As you watch your baby grow, although your first instinct is to keep them from harm's way, you sometimes just have to sit back and restrain yourself, while telling them how brave they are to survive their fall and the pain that followed.

There may have been a time or two in your life that you may have witnessed a friend or possibly a stranger fall... 

Isn't it strange that the more removed a person is from your life, the easier it is to laugh at their mishap... and the louder your laugh gets!  ;)  Then the older a person might be, you find yourself thinking, "oh they're not that old, they'll be okay."  or  "poor thing, look they are so old... hurry get over there and help!"

Then there's a time where you find yourself witnessing the demise of a love one's life... 

You've tried helping, but no matter what you say or do...

Your love one is just barreling down into a fast forward spin...  as if they were a character in "Alice In Wonderland."  

Their behavior isn't at all to what you are used to.  They have compromised who they are.  Making decisions that are so out of character, going against what once was their core "being."

If your love one was drinking or on drugs, you would at least have that to blame...

How do you blame something that is suppose to be so tender, so trusting, so embracing, so happy... ???

How do you stand up against what they call "love"?  

How do you explain to them that it's not?

How do you tell them that it's bad for them and destroying who they are and what they stand for?

Sometimes, for as difficult as it may be, you have to sit back, watch them fall and be there to catch them.

Sometimes the cards we are dealt are not always fair. However you must keep smiling & moving on.     ~  Tom Jackson

You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.   ~  Oprah Winfrey

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.      ~  Lucille Ball

Blessings to all!!

251 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.

Day 113 ~ Fall... One of My Favorite Things

Saugus, California October, 2007

When I came across this picture tonight, my breath was suddenly taken away with the reminder of a few of my favorite things I love about [my] life, this time of the year, and the season itself...

One of my obvious favorites is this picture... Calley had just recently turned one; Dino, Calley, and I had a little "family time."  We took a little drive (which ended up being an adventure in itself since we had ran into an unexpected road closure- bottom line it took us three times as long to get there...) and took a drive to the local pumpkin farm in Saugus, California and soaked in a little bit of Fall.  After all, the season was in the air, a slight crispness to the air... a chill if you will...  yet warm enough not to have a jacket... all the signs were there and very clear, it was fall and time to bring pumpkins home.  Which takes me into...   

Another favorite...  the time of the year ~ September, into October, and nowhere near Halloween... All we have to focus on is the season approaching.  I love fall.  Fall is in a category all in itself... there's a certain charm to fall... the leaves falling off of some trees, then turning colors on others.  All the while the summer's harvests are being put to delicious use, the lawns are turning and needing less care.  

My other favorite is the smell of love in the oven! ...  pumpkin pies, apple pies, and so much more.    The smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe a little butter linger out the door, all the while hypnotizing you with the sweet memories of home.

Call me crazy, if you haven't already - lol hehehe  but I love wearing fall colors in the fall.  Go ahead, I give you permission to laugh... there's something about September ending, and Fall starting, that I stop wearing black and vivid colors ... and gradually switch over to wearing brown, greens and oranges.

There's something about Fall that brings a family together... whether it is because of all the love coming out of the kitchen or the warmth opening the hot oven leaves behind, one thing is for sure...  

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year!

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.
Stanley Horowitz

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

-  Albert Camus 

Blessings to all!!

252 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.  

Day 112 ~ Through This Journey...

Sixteen weeks ago tonight I decided to finally put pen to paper, sort of speak.  

If I've said it once, I will say it a million more...  This has been an amazing journey for me thus far.  I personally feel that I have grown so much as a person, including my faith in God... all knowing that I have barely scratched the surface and all in the same, I am so excited to be where I am.

Through this journey, I have learned that the amazing group of people I happen care about also happen to have my back.   

Through this journey I have met some amazing new friends...  This is where God comes in... I have crossed paths with people, and have since become a part of my life in one way or another... It was all about being at the right place at the right time... Thank you God for everything... my every day... my every breath.

Through this journey, not only have I been blessed with having shoulders available to cry on, but my shoulders also have been blessed with a few tear stains on them too.

Through this journey I have realized that all of 'this" is not in vain... including those experiences behind my words... especially since I know in my heart that I am reaching out to people by sharing a part of myself.    

Through this journey I have found that my friends too have their situations to deal with... life happens to everyone.  Always know my friends and family, that my "shoulders" are always available.

Through this journey I have learned that I have so much more to explore and learn from.  Including all the bumps and curves in the road, as well as the straight ways!

Through this journey I have become more appreciative of my family and friends.  I could not be more thankful!  Well... maybe just a little...  (wink, wink)

I sincerely hope that if you are not able to go on this journey with me, that I in some way have been able to connect with you on some level.


Thank you God for everything... my every day... my every breath.

There is great meaning in life for those who are willing to journey.
~  Jim England

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.~  Arthur Ashe

The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.~  Teresa of Avila 

Blessings to all!!

253 days / 36 weeks to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.  

Day 111 ~ Was it "Dallas" or "All My Children" Ending?

I finally watched the final three episodes of All My Children* [late last night when I couldn't sleep and this morning when I couldn't get up.]   (LOL) hahaha  There I go thinking I am funny again!  (I have no clue as to why I think that is funny.)

Okay... my mouth still hasn't closed.

You are kidding me... right?!

Couldn't the writers be a little less predictable?  Did they have to take the infamous "Who killed JR Ewing approach?" by ending it the way the did, with the gunshot?   I mean... really!

Can you tell that I am a little disappointed in the ending.  How can the writers expect us, the viewer, long standing and new, to accept that ending... including not knowing who the other person David saved is.  

Who could it possibly be?  Now... what we do know is that it is a she, and she was wearing a bracelet with the letter "B" dangling off of it.  Do you think it could be Babe?  

Talk about a never-ending cliffhanger!!

Actually, it will only be a three month cliffhanger.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, All My Children and One Life to Live will start on the new up and coming The Online Network in January of 2012... 

All My Children won't be back until then and will do so without Susan Lucci [as it stands at this moment.]

I do want to finally say that I really did enjoy the way Jackson took the "Gone with the Wind" approach and told Erica he did not give a damn, as Rex once upon a time did to Scarlet.  

As much as I love Erica in all her glory, it is nice to finally see someone tell her that the world does not revolve around her!  Not to mention the way she ran after him begging... wow...  oh and then the finale... WOW!!  

So was she or wasn't?  Or was it Adam?   Marissa or Bianca... Brooke? ... so many more possibilities... but more importantly... I want to know ...

who was shot?!

Opal: [As they entered the Chandler's Homecoming party and see Jackson talking to Krystal] O.. Oh... Now, don't blow a gasket. 

Erica: Oh, Krystal, please.  I'm Erica Kane.

[O]ur lives are like soap operas. We can go for months and not tune into them, then six months later we look in and the same stuff is going on.

- Jane Wagner

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.   Philippians 4:13   (NKJV) 

Blessings to all!!


254 days to go...

*For those of you that do not know, All My Children is as american as apple pies and baseball, and was (sad face) a long running soap opera on our ABC television network that started in 1970 and ended last Friday.

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.  

Day 110 ~ Finding Inspiration In My Funnybone :)

I sit here once again, as I have sat before speechless or rather thoughtless... trying to get inspired to write my post.  After all, it's not like I have a writer or someone telling me what to write.  LOL!!  I crack myself up! ~ and I am still giggling!!

I decided that maybe I should look up some quotes online... then maybe something would inspire me.  

I found one!!

As simple as it may sound, this quote really has me in thought!!  Good, happy thoughts!  

So, tonight's post will be short and sweet, so that I may be able to find my funnybone... only temporarily had misplaced it!  Found It!!

To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.
Reba McEntire

By the way... still laughing!   And, I love Reba!

Blessings to all!!


255 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.  

Day 109 ~ Stepping Back In Time

I love the fact that by simply putting in a DVD into the player, or even watching an era based series on t.v., one can go back in time and relive an era from long ago.  I especially enjoy the "history"  it all ~  the end of the 1950s through the first half of the 1960s was an amazing time not only for the United States, but to Americans themselves.


From the time Elvis and the Beatles first showed their faces on the Ed Sullivan Show, to the assassination of who some may consider one our nation's greatest presidents, John F. Kennedy,  This was an innocent era which not only ended on a sad note, who's soldiers were for the most part "stoned" for their participation in the war in Viet Nam...


Just as they say life changes us, well The United States has never been the same since.


There are so many things I like about that era, however I am happy to say that I was merely three years old by the time all of this was going on... but not to say that it would have been cool to have experienced some of the era as an adult... instead through the eyes of a just.  Just to have been able to seen the Rat Pack... wow!!  the history behind this era is amazing!!    

“Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do ‘em all together, I guess.”
-Elvis in 1956, talking about his way of moving on stage.

“Life goes on within you and without you”   ~  The Beatles 1960 

  

“If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure. It transcends all barriers.” ~ Ed Sullivan 

The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity.  ~ John F Kennedy Speech in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959

“I seriously doubt if we will ever have another war. This is probably the very last one.”  ~ Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War

So, the world is drunk and we're just the cocktail of the moment pally. One of these days everybody's gonna wake up with a heck of a hangover, down two aspirin and a glass of tomato juice and wonder what the hell all the fuss was about.    ~ Dean Martin 

Blessings to all!!


256 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.  

Day 108 ~ Food for Thought...

Hunger is not only a feeling in your stomach...

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.         ~  Henry Ford

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.                    ~  Albert Einstein 

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.  Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong.

~  Ella Fitzgerald 

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves.  We must learn to respect them.  We must learn to listen.  

~  Sarah Ban Breathnach

I could not, at any age,  be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on.  Life was meant to be lived.  Curiosity must be kept alive.  One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

~  Eleanor Roosevelt

The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present.   ~  Barbara De Angelis 

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.   ~  Maureen Dowd 

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. 

 ~  Eleanor Roosevelt

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.   

~  Maya Angelou 

If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain.  

~ Dolly Parton

Success is getting what you want;  happiness is wanting what you get.   ~  Ingrid Bergman

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.  Don't make money your goal.  Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.   

~  Maya Angelou 

Sometimes a different point of view, whether you stumble upon it, or have been searching for the words all your life... can light a light in your soul that satisfies a hunger for loving life that you never thought possible.   
~ Carla Barilá Karam

I sincerely hope that your hunger was satisfied as well!

Mine certainly was!

Blessings to all!!


257 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.      

Day 107 ~ Editor's Pick of the Day!!

When I woke up this morning I knew immediately that I had to continue on course... Sooo when Calley woke me up at "o-dark-thirty", all I could do was whisper to her to get under the covers with me and snuggle with mommy until it was time to wake up.  After all it still was dark out!!  

Finally after the sun rose, business was as usual... and the second thing I do before rolling out of bed is to check email.  YES from bed!!  lol!  I know I am a crazy techie!!  First thing I do... I smother Calley with kisses!

However I did not have a clue what was about to happen or what was in store for me until I opened my email.  I started seeing emails from other bloggers from bloggers.com... not that I normally don't get any, but I was a little surprised when I saw an email from bloggers.com themselves with "Congratulations..." in the subject box.  I didn't even finish reading the word "congratulations", let alone the entire sentence, and I was opening the email from them.  I felt a little excitement growing, just like the kind you feel when you are opening up a present.  Then I read the following:

Hello Carla:

Congratulation!

You have been featured on BLOGGERS as one of the Bloggers of the day. Your profile and Blog "Taking Back My Life ~ Making It My Own!" has been showcased in Bloggers Home page (http://bloggers.com). In addition to that you are awarded with Featured bloggers badge on your profile.

Thank you again for your brilliant work. Enjoy the latest features and tell your friends to join this wonderful community.

regards

Thank you
The Bloggers Team 

Editor's Pick of the Day!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! I could not believe what I was reading, and then the next thing I knew I was overwhelmed with joy and started to cry.  I could not believe that my blog had been chosen... and then I started reading all these comments from fellow bloggers... 

As simple as it may sound, all that comes to mind is .... THANK YOU!!!  You all made my day!!! my week! my month!! my year!!!

Who'd a thunk?!

First thing I did was call my hubby :)  I love that man so much!!!  After all, he is putting up with my writing every evening before I go to bed, which at times makes it difficult for him to go to sleep.  Does he complain... NO! he does not... He encourages me to continue writing.

Dean, I love you so much!  You mean the world to me... I look forward to continue to grow old with you!! and raise our daughter together!!!  YOU are my knight in shinning armor!!  

At day's end I received nearly a hundred emails, and I continue to receive them as I am writing tonight's post.

And If I have not responded back to any of your questions or emails yet, please rest assure that I will!!   and...

Once again.... a sincere, heartfelt Thank You!!

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.  ~ Cicero

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.    ~ Author Unknown

Every time we remember to say "thank you", we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.   ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach 

Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name.   2 Samuel 22:50

Blessings to all!!


258 days to go...

All contents herein are protected under Copyright laws and can not be used, altered or copied. All accounts herein are written by Cali-Gal/Carla B Karam and are true accounts of her life. Some names may be changed to protect the innocent.