Day 163 ~ A Thankful Heart

Yesterday I woke up in a great mood enjoying everything the morning had to offer.  Then in a matter of one phone call everything went south!  

In a matter of minutes I went from happy to angry and cynical.  Most of my day was spent upset and angry at all the obstacles in my life, and the shortcomings that I have been faced with.  

My car situation, my sons, Calley, bills, money, the future, work and lack of, my mother, my sister...  AAAHHH!!

Now, all the while I am fighting these aggressive thoughts... WHY ME? etc... (I'm sure everyone of you has experienced something similar at some point in your lives)...  I am having an argument with my sister (rightfully so,) getting phone calls from Dino (my husband,) [where I basically told him that it would be better for him to leave me alone so I don't bite his head off,] and my mother in law is calling me ... reminding me of the strength that I possess.  

As soon as I opened my eyes this morning I had already decided that I was not going to allow life to get to me as it did yesterday.  Before my feet hit the floor I had prayed over and over for  God please see me through this, God please see me through this ... Please let some good come out of all of this, .Please let some good come out of all of this ...  over and over again.

Before my morning went on, I decided to take a few moments to shake off any bad feelings that may have stuck around from yesterday's "negative" ordeal.  I reminded myself of what I needed to be thankful for, the priorities of my life, as well as all the loving people in my life.

2002 Ford Explorer on loan from
Preowned Motorcars of Dallas

Then, what at first I was afraid to accept, was in all actuality a pretty great thing that was being offered to me...  a wonderful family friend, member of my Dream Team and my "li'l sister," Nicole, (her mother Yvonne and father Masoud included), has given me the use of her extra car!  A great running, dependable vehicle!  

Even though this is Nicole's car, it was a gift made possible by her father.  Therefore, my thankfulness goes out to her parents as well.  Through the years that my family and I have known Nicole and her family, I have gotten to know a family who is caring, loving, respectful, full of good principles and values, true believers of their faith in God, a true blessing in our lives.  

So here's my plug...  (one way I am able to show my gratitude ;)  )


Furthermore, if anyone in the Dallas area needs a great, dependable car... go see Masoud at Preowned Motorcars of Dallas.  I will never make the mistake of not purchasing my next family cars from him!  I am forever grateful to you and your family!

I can not find the words to express my gratitude, other than to simply say thank you!         

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

I am thankful because I am surrounded by such wonderful, positive, supportive, and loving people on a daily basis. 

Blessings to all!!

202 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 162 ~ Avoiding the Dark Side

ENOUGH!!  Do I have a huge BULLS-EYE on me or what!!  When is it going to stop?  

(courtesy of Bing Images)

This has truly been a dark day for me.  I have literally sat here with tears just rolling out of my eyes all day.  I have not been crying per say.  The tears are just making their way out on their own.  One rolling out after another.  

I tell you, I wish I could scream so loud for the entire world to hear!  AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

On Day 160 I shared with all of you that I had possession of my car, which lasted a total of ten days, of which once again on day one I discovered immediately that it had not been fixed.  Now, It has been sitting at the local Toyota dealership.

Through Toyota's inspection, I found out that the ECM was not replaced with a the new improved one (what we helped pay for,) instead an old one was in its place.  Our mechanic has never brought it in for programming since we have owned the vehicle, when he said he had.  The transmission, well, all they could tell was that it had been taken out of the vehicle.  No way of knowing if it had been replaced or not.

At the suggestion of the assistant service manager, I called Toyota Customer Care.  He said that I would have a better chance of getting them to take care of the KNOWN ISSUE and that  it should have been a RECALL, instead of the SERVICE BULLETIN they had issued.  

Unlike by CBK

Well... Toyota will not cover my car because it is 9,000 miles over the enhanced warranty and that the warranty had already been extended.  I expressed to the man that I had bought the car at 154,000 miles without hesitation knowing that Toyotas run nearly forever.  All he kept responding to me was, I AM SORRY TOYOTA HAS ALREADY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY over and over again.  

I WANTED TO REACH THROUGH THE PHONE AND STRANGLE HIM!!

SO my hands are tied.  No telling if they will honor the class action law suit for me or if the place we bought it from, Master Auto Sales in association with ALLTech Auto will honor their warranty.

The assistant service manager told me that he called my mechanic and let him know that my car needed the new ECM.  My mechanic (and I will use the term loosely!) responded to him that he would have one of his guys pick up the old part within the half hour and return with the new one. 

That was at 10:30 this morning and now it is almost 6:00 in the evening... CAN YOU GUESS?  YUP!! You were right!  HE DID NOT PICK UP THE PART.

Yesterday, one of my dear friends had the following in their facebook status...

Patience, Strength, Courage...

I have truly thought about this since I first read it, as well as every other quote I have posted and what I am trying to accomplish here in efforts to pick myself up off the ground.  I never said or thought it would be easy being positive.  It is taking every fiber of my being to not fall into the deep dark hole, especially when every single time I turn around something or someone is disappointing me.  

We are each on our own journey.  Each of us are on our very own adventure, encountering all kinds of challenges and the choices we make on that adventure will shape us as we go.. Those choices will stretch us and test us, and push us to our limit. And our adventure will make us stronger than we ever knew we could be.    ~  Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds 11/16/11

Find a place inside where there is joy and the joy will bring out the pain.    ~  Joseph Campbell 

I am thankful for having a (sleep comfort) bed to lay in and pillow to place my head upon each night. 

Blessings to all!!

203 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 161 ~ Fighting Fair

Love & Hate by Luigi Diamanti 

I would be very surprised to hear that a person has never been involved in a complete "blowout" (verbal fight).  Well, needless to say that I have.


More than likely if you have had a "blow out", it has been with someone close to you, someone that you love.  These "blow outs" are very close to the heart, and the exchange of words can be passionate and can become hostile quickly.  Ugly things are said, and more than likely are said not because they are true, but more so because it will hurt the other person.


Words can be very powerful if used properly, and on the other hand can also be poison.  I wrote of this on Day 23.  Words can not be taken back, even if you did not mean them.  They will remain in that other persons being forever.  Solution: never hit below the belt.


When having a "blowout" there are rules, unspoken rules per say.  Remember you love this person.  And the first rule is fight fair.  Challenge yourself to express yourself without attacking the other person.  Get to the root of the problem and stick to it.


Talk about how a situation made YOU, yourself feel... "when thing A happens it makes me feel..."  As opposed to going on the attack... "YOU are such a jerk... YOU always do A... YOU won't B..."  I can almost guarantee you that if you go on the attack that your argument is and will END UGLY! 


There is no healthy or good reason to attack the other person.  You have obviously come to a disagreement of sorts, and that is okay.  Furthermore, it is okay to agree to disagree, but before that happens, one needs to hash things out.  In doing so, stick to the subject at hand.  This is the bottom line.

Now, another rule that should be followed is that if you are getting extremely "HOT" under the collar, TAKE A BREAK!!  Go for a walk.  The other person may not want to, but it will be up to you at this point to keep the fight fair and walk away for a bit.  In doing so let them know that it is time for a break so things do not get ugly.  Agree to take off the gloves for ten minutes, but also agree to finish and come to a resolution or conclusion.  If you do not finish the "blow out," it becomes unresolved which then builds resentment.  More importantly if you can not come to a resolution, at least agree to disagree and then PUT IT IN A BALLOON!! and let it go!


Oh you do not have to tell me, this is hard!  But as we all know that it takes two to fight and one of you has to keep it cool.  Ultimately it would be wonderful for both parties to remain calm and cool.  But at least try.


I was told once to choose my battles.  I said, huh?  Well... what this means is you do not always have to fight.  In other words, fight about what really matters and let the little things go by.  This is a great rule.  It's like they say...don't sweat the small stuff.


Please, please do not bring up the past.  That is why they say "water under the bridge" and there is no good reason to rehash old fights.  It the past and there's nothing you can do about it.


Another rule to think about is that crying is okay.  Don't make fun or belittle.. Something was said or done that made he or she cry.  It is valid.  Switch sides for a moment and see it from their perspective.


Finally, if you are going to remember anything from this post, please remember that your "fighting partner" is more than likely someone you love.  It's true if they do something that hurts you, it hurts more than if a stranger was to do so... and this is where the passion lives.  The key here is to remember that you love this person and when you love a person you are to take care of them, love and nurture them.  Especially if it is your spouse... remember the words you both stated on that very special day for better or for worse.  


Now... let's Play Nice and Fight Fair!!

“Nobody can hurt me without my permission.”   ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Sometimes two people need to step apart and make a space between that each might see the other anew, in a glance across a room or silhouetted against the moon.    ~  Robert Brault

In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.  ~  Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV) 

I am thankful for all the times my family and friends have forgiven me. 

Blessings to all!!

204 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.