It's the little things.  Today while walking the beach I found an intact conch shell.  Usually I find clam shells, oyster shells, capiz (spelling?) and assorted broken shells.  So this one shell stands out and it is a new treasure in my collection of sea stuff to use for crafts.  The incident made my day because sometimes it's the little things that happen that adjust your attitude for the rest of the day.  Finding this was sort of a needle in a haystack.  But it's a reminder that sometimes it happens, sometimes you get the needle that is hidden.  Today was my turn!

Garden Variety Coward(s)

At this point in time my thoughts on the Boston terror attack are quite simple.  Whoever did this, whatever their cause, they are simply garden variety cowards and that's all they amount to.  I am not ignoring the impact of what they have done.  But whatever they are 'fighting' for they have simply missed the mark.  They hide like cowards and hurt the innocent.  Not daring to fight a true war and bear the consequences of their attacks.  They live among us using American freedom to purchase the goods they use to hurt and maim and then they hide in the crowd and watch as people suffer.  They pretend to be our friends and good neighbors only to stab us in the back because they do not have the courage to show their faces and to be recognized for what they are.  I have no respect or empathy for them.  I can only hope and pray that the suffering they caused comes back to them many, many times over. 

HAPPY EASTER ALL

I hope your Easter is blessed and filled with Joy as we remember this most high of all Christian Holidays!  And may the coming year be more blessed and prosperous than the last!

Finally made 250

Finally hit the 250 pound point in late December but did not put out a new pic until now.  I am wearing the same shirt I was in the last pic and you can see it is no longer stretched tight over my stomach.  I had to get rid of those pants and my belt because they would not hold any longer and would literally fall off without me holding them up.  I have lost three pant sizes and I have three more to go just to get to my weight range.  But I am not giving up!  I have since lost a few more pounds, but I will not be publishing another picture until I hit my next goal, hopefully it will be published soon.  Here I am at 250:

One guys weight loss journey

Me at 300 pounds
 

Here I am at 275 pounds

This picture was taken when I reached 265 pounds
 

A few months back I launched a weight loss journey.  I had reached over 300 pounds, 307 at my doctors office to be exact (and that is subtracting 5 pounds for the clothes I was wearing).  The truth is I was miserable.  And to make matters worse unthinking and uncaring people would make me feel defeated.  My own mother looked at me on several occasions and said 'Oh my God, look at that, I have never seen anything like that'.  As if I could not hear her speak or could not feel what it is like to have your own mother refer to you as some sort of side show freak.  Over a period of several months, I lost a few pounds and went from 307 down to 300, but that was hardly enough weight to show any serious commitment to losing the fat.  Around the June/July time frame my son told me that he was doing a low carb diet and proudly reported how much he had lost.  I had done low carbs before many years ago when I went on the original Atkins diet.  At the time the original diet was very strict and allowed nothing but meats and cheese for the first several weeks.  I had very adverse body responses to it and became nauseated every time I even smelled meat cooking.  So I was reluctant to try it again.  However my son assured me that low carb diets are not the way they used to be and I should give it another shot.  He suggested a book he had read and even bought me a copy for fathers day.  I decided to give it a try.  I was a bit scared at first, but I tried and the effects were tremendous!  I was able to lose weight quickly and effectively without feeling like I was starving or depriving myself of anything.  Yes, there is still lots of meat and cheese, but I also get a nice variety of green veggies and I don't go without sweet treats!  I am not craving anything and I feel so much better.  I have gone from 300 to 257.5 in just under 4 months and I have been eating good healthy amounts.  A total loss of 42.5 pounds!  Woo Hoo!  While it was not effortless it was fairly easy and some might expect me to gain on the amount that I am able to eat.  My next goal is to make it to the 50 pound loss mark by Christmas of this year!  I intend to post the next pic of me after having lost 50 pounds soon, so stand by!  I invite you to share my experience, I need you to cheer me on and I hope you will be encouraged to go forward with whatever adjustment you are wanting to make in your life!

Mickey

My Friend Henry

A few days back my son graduated from Christopher Newport University.  While the ceremony was going on I had one of my grand son's on my lap.  Aiden is 2 1/2 and he was enjoying playing games on my phone.  When we had the opportunity to chat, I told him about my lizard friend who visits my porch daily.  I told him how Henry (my lizard friend) likes to climb up on the porch and crawl into my plants so he can eat all of the bugs in them.  He did not seem particularly interested but was as charming and sweet as ever.  I don't get to see my grand children as often as I would like because we live in different states.  As the day went on, we had a dinner celebration for my son, then we hung out at his home with some of his friends, then Aiden's mom had an allergic reaction to something and we needed to take her to the hospital to get checked out.  At the end of the day after so many hours of visiting and chat it was time to say good bye.  I was leaving for my home the next day and it was the last time I would see Aiden before I went home.  Out of nowhere he said to me.  "Pepere, when I come to visit, can I see your lizard friend on your porch and will he hide in the plants and eat bugs?"  I was just amazed that he remembered and it was important to him.  So I took a couple of pictures of Henry (It could even be Henrietta, I don't know how to tell for sure, lol) for my little sweetheart.  I thought I would share them here for anyone who might enjoy meeting Henry!







Today is a sad day in North Carolina

Last night, the bigots in our state won a legal battle to ensure that gay marriage is not allowed by enshrining their doctrine in out state constitution.  I read an article first thing this morning with a quote from Tony Perkins, he is a gay hater who has been very active in ensuring that gays are marginalized and have fewer rights than he and his right wing cronies have.  The quote begins with "Despite the relentless lawsuits and attempts to marginalize supporters of traditional marriage, a clear majority of the American people have not given up on standing in support of marriage".  http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/politics/north-carolina-marriage/index.html?hpt=hp_c1  I would like to offer a challenge to Mr Perkins, and a simple challenge at that.  Please tell me what efforts have been made to 'marginalize'.  The invitation is plain and simple.  Am I marginalizing you to ask that I be treated equally?  Am I marginalizing you to ask that the lgbt community is allowed to have equal rights?  How are you marginalized by others having equal rights?  Has the black community caused you to feel marginalized since they dropped the Jim Crow laws and established equal footing?  Have women caused you to feel marginalized since they now enjoy the vote and equal pay for equal performance?  Does being mainstream mean that your opinions in society are always recognized first and foremost regardless of their effect on others? 

The fact is Mr Perkins (and all the others like you) that you have not been marginalized at all.  You have used your power and influence to ensure that another American group is denied equality.  Hardly a sign of a person or group who has been marginalized.  You cry that you have been marginalized, how Mr Perkins?  What has been taken from you?  How have you been made to suffer?  Where is the cross of inequality that you bear? 

The truth is that you have not been marginalized at all.  Now let's talk about how the 'clear majority' of the people of North Carolina has marginalized the lgbt community.  Bigot adults (in case I am unclear using the words bigot adults, I am referencing you and those like you Mr Perkins) are allowed to marry and have families, the lgbt can not.  Bigot adults get tax breaks as families and benefits such as medical insurance, the lgbt does not.  Bigot adults can make decisions regarding the status of their spouse if they are terminally ill and hospitalized, the lgbt can not even ensure they will be allowed to visit their spouse in the hospital no matter how long they have been together.  Bigot adults can make funeral arrangements for their loved ones, they can also make final arrangements for their gay family members, even if the gay person did not want what they decide on and without the consent of the gay person's spouse.  And bigot adults can even walk in and take away homes, savings and assets earned by gay partners should one die, while only recognizing the surviving partner as a long time room mate.  And after death, bigot spouses can claim benefits such as survivor pension benefits for their partners, the lgbt can not.  And these are only a few of the rights denied to the lgbt. 

You see Mr Perkins, there is a marginalization of Americans going on.  But you are not the victim, you are the perpetrator.  You want to ensure that people like myself are not able to be treated as human beings, you want us kept locked away  in a corner and you want us living in fear of your power.  But I can assure you that you do not scare us, you and those like you will not keep us quiet.  You will not rob this gay man of his dignity and you will not stop my community from coming forward and being recognized. 

And on a final note, please don't tell me how intolerant I am because I don't agree with you.  The difference between you and I is simple.  I am perfectly willing to live side by side with the heterosexual community, even side by side with bigots like yourself in peace and harmony.  You on the other hand want to do everything in your power to eradicate people like me and to ensure that we are never treated equally as Americans.  The fact is that if I am living with the man next door to you or married to the man next door to you there is no effect whatsoever on your life.  The lack of tolerance here is squarely placed on your side of that political fence.