JavaJane

Thank you all for your replies! Keep them coming! I'm still not sure how I got to thinking that "do all things heartily as unto the Lord" somehow got turned into "work until you you can't." Oh well... Gotta go to work . I have something like 3 1/2 weeks paid time off but for some reason I can't bring myself to call in for a "mental health day."

Here are my volunteer marigolds - the monster and the dwarf.

I hear ya, sister!

Maybe we should ask those guys on the evolution thread? Seriously, I think it has to do with natural selection... something about the best seeds making it to the next year. The funny thing is with that marigold plant - I have a second volunteer marigold from the same orginal plant from last year - and it came out dwarfed! Weirdest thing I have ever seen.... When it's light again I'll get some pictures posted of both plants.

Perfectionist? Who, me??

Ok, I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with my husband... If you have seen the movie, or read the book, you may understand what I am about to say... Dolores Umbridge = Rosalie. Seriously. Both are nice, smiling, sweet little old ladies on the surface. Both want to ignore any bad things that might be happening within their respective ministries (Ministry of Magic or twi.) Both have forbidden the mentioning of "HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED" (LCM or Voldemort). Both are ultra controlling of ridiculous details of people's lives. AND both really want to focus on the basics - no depth needed to fight off the evil... just pass the blue book. Might belong on the silly thread... we'll see.

technically, it's a metaphor. Similes have to involve "like" or "as" in the comparison, hence, they are "similar" while metaphor says that something IS something else. (sorry, dooj, my English training came out and possessed me. Forgive the interruption.)

Anybody else have problems with this? I have been examining some of my thinking processed lately, and I have come to the realization that I am a perfectionist and an overachiever... That I have a really hard time leaving something undone, or not perfect. I will do anything and everything to meet deadlines. I go over and above at any job I have had, working myself nearly to death. Why? Because I was taught to work heartily as unto the Lord. Now I don't know when to stop. I have also realized that I am a people pleaser to the nth degree. I have a major problem with standing up to my bosses, or anyone in an authority position... Why? I think it is a deep seated problem that has roots in my twi indoctrination from an early age - that I need to have the approval of the MOG, that I need to do what I am told without question. I even realized that most (not all) of my decisions in life were based on what would be best for twi, what was suggested (or ordered) by leadership. That is terrifying. I am not saying that every decision I have made is because of this, but a LOT of them (career changes, moves, education, etc.) were based in twi. Anybody else out there have/had this problem? How do you get out of it?

If you have some completely composted compost (like my alliteration?) mix that in with the topsoil - works wonders!! I now have 9 green tomatoes on my 4 plants, and my okra bloomed today - very pretty flowers, I was impressed. My volunteer marigold has grown into a BUSH! I have never seen a marigold quite this large. I think I'll save the seeds from the plant and see if I can breed a monster marigold plant next year.

I, for one, never went into the Corpse. I never really had the desire... I think this was God's protection on my life. I saw too many people go into the Corpse - people who were fun, people who were smart, and people who had great strengths who all came out devoid of personality and any spark of life. Good friends became people who looked down at me because I hadn't had the training they had... But from what I saw, their "in depth spiritual understanding" only seemed to consist of being better able to belittle others. I never felt like I could truly be myself in front of someone who was active WC (WC alum - a little different, but they were kicked out for their faults and were therefore still human.) I thank God every day that I never went in, despite the pressure to do so. I even remember telling one overly zealous Corpse that God hadn't told me to go into the Corpse, and as PFAL taught, God would always tell me first, right? Since Corpse was a "spiritual" decision, I felt that I needed to have that understanding in my spirit to go in... if I went in because someone else told me to, I would be breaking fellowship and that was wrong. It was hard when I became involved with my husband because he was gung-ho go in the Corpse - THAT IS THE THING TO DO!! But he changed his mind after seeing how the WC we knew were miserable. They were OWNED by the ministry and had no choice in anything. By signing up, we would also be subjecting ourselves totally to their control. We had no desire to do anything of the sort. If neither one of us wanted to sign up for the military because of how we would be told to live our lives, why would we want to be Corpse - a LIFETIME committment. HAY-ELL NO!!! My life is my life. I will live it before God as I choose to. He is the only One Who can judge my "level of committment," not some "program" that would cause me to be uncomfortable, spend less time with my family and husband, work long hours, and learn basically that VPW = God. No thank you. I would rather have more than two beers, not submit a schedule to anyone, and know I can move where I want when I want... while having as many children as I care to. Thank God I at least made that decision right.

Glad you liked it, ex!!

I really just kinds feel bad for the younger two... I bet this isn't what they signed up for... I mean, who in their right mind would dress a 20 something in a "mother of the bride" dress? Makes me want to get up and dance, for sure!!! :wacko: The sad thing is that I know the artists could do much much much more with their talents, which are being micromanaged to death by an old woman.... and forced to dress like her, too!

Thanks for the tip! The plant is doing pretty well out there, but no okra yet... I have one green tomato and a BUNCH of peppers I'm letting ripen. I did my own compost pile this year, but didn't get a chance to really work with it in the garden - I used quite a bit in my containers, though, and the plant with the most compost in the pot is 2-3 times the size of the other ones! It's amazing how nature recycles itself.

Hubby's keeps bringing this up to me, too. But here's my concern: Zombie apocolypse. I took the test - I only have a 52% chance of surviving. http://mingle2.com/zombie-quiz

I forgot one... Gambling. Especially with someone else's money.

Good FRACKING GRIEF!!!

Polar bear - try the container garden when you don't have your yard anymore! You will be suprised how well it works!

...Lord, how I wish I never ate that cod. And now for another couple of weird recipes (these are from The Hungry Man's Outdoor Grill Cookbook copyright 1953 by the Staff Home Economists Culinary Arts Institute p 30-31) Outdoor menu: Barbequed Bologna Roll Oranges and Sweet Potatoes Green Onions Radishes Banana Boats Barbequed Bologna Roll Score with 1/2 to 1 inch cuts, 1 inch apart, side of 4 lb roll of bologna. Secure on a shish kebab skewer. Spread with a mixture of: 1 1/2 tbsp prepared mustard 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar 1 tsp prepared horseradish Place directly on grill about 3 inches from coals. Baste well with a mixture of: 1 c chili sauce 3 tbsp vineager Turn frequently. grill 15-20 minutes, or until roll is thoughouhly heated and browned. Remove skewer and slice. Oranges and Sweet Potatoes Thinly slice one orange and arrange on bottom of buttered casserole. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp brown sugar. Slice 8 cooked or canned sweet potatoes into 1 1/2 in rounds and place on orange slices. Stud with whole cloves. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix in a skillet 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and 1/3 cup orange juice; bring to boiling and boil 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 c butter and pour over baked sweet potatoes and oranges. Banana Boats (the proof of their goodness is in th eating) Place on the flatest side... green tipped or all yellow bananas, 1 for each guest Pull back part of upper section of banana peel (do not pull off.) Cut a trench the full length of the banana. (You can eat the cut out banana. It really says this in the cookbook - I did not make it up!) Poke into trench, along the length of the banana... 1 cut up marshmallow Along side the marshmallow place... Small milk chocolate peices Pull banana peel back into place over filling. Place banana on the grill, flat side down. Roast until the skin is black. Pull skin back as you eat banana.

Not sure what the song is - but my husband is playing VERY loudly with his new amp. The floor is vibrating.

I think I need more of all of the above! I've been trying to think of stress releivers for myself... got so in the habit of thinking all the time that I "just need to control my thinking and renew my mind" that I sorta forgot HOW to destress. (that, and I used to just grab a cigarette - too bad a quit) I do garden, and it helps. I also like to watch the weather - storms especially - love to see the clouds coming together and the lightning. Nothing like a good storm to relax me. I think we may get one tonight.

I, too, am a gardener... Since things have been crazy busy for me with my job, I got started later this year than last, and they are all on containers on my deck. I have four tomato plants, an okra (yes, only 1, it's an experiment) plant, a pepper plant, lettuce, and some flowers - petunias and geraniums (which I planted) and a couple of volunteer marigolds that sprouted with my other plants. I like container gardening a lot. Less weeds to pull, and since it's up off the ground, I don't have to worry about the deer that live in town eating my garden... (or the monster groundhog that lives in my backyard). A couple of people at my job have tried putting down gardens in the past couple of years only to have them munched by the local deer population. I have never seen so many deer INSIDE the city limits before. Anyway - although this year I have been unable to - I love to grow heirloom plants from seed and get unusual (an usually more flavorful) vegetables. Some of the tomatoes I have grown in years past looked postively monstrous, but tasted out of this world good. I think it's important to try and keep these old varieties alive for future generations. Gardening helps me to feel closer to God and to the earth. It helps me to realize that there is something much greater than my day to day cubicle enclosed job out there - that LIFE springs from a little seed - and there is something truly magical in that life.

I was just going to post the exact same thing, Twinky. You took the words right out of my mouth. I think an APOLOGY and an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of wrongdoing plus some safeguuards put into place to make sure it never happened again would be a good start. And then they should scrap the Way Corps program completely.

That about sums it up my entire experience with twi in one sentence. Thanks, dmiller!

Ok, so I actually pulled out Life Lines and took a look... and found some stuff that is pretty contradictory to the way twi is working now... Maybe I don't have the Prevailing Word edition of the book.... p 100 "Spontaneity - you have to have this in your Twig if you want to be a hot Twig" (SNORT!! HAHAHAHA!!!) p 96 "In the household, God plays no favorites and neither should you." (twi must not mean the household then, huh?) p 95 "The door to the household is always open" (However, HQ might be locked down, and you will have to sign in and out at the door.) And this one makes no sense at all P 19 "The believer's fear binds the omnipotence of God." So much for being all powerful if my stupid little pea brain could stop Him from doing ANYTHING!!