http://greasy.com/donnamarie/index.html donnamarie's Blog en-us © 2008 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:35:36 GMT 30 http://greasy.com/donnamarie/going_un_blur_little_time.html I've come to the conclusion that I am not going to solve all my problems, do every task and chore, do everything I want to do, and get all the rest and/or fun I want all at once. So, I took a seat, did a lot of deep in-and-out breathing, thought things out, and have set out on another task, the task of un-blurring everything. That "to-do" list I make every day? Well, I'm still making it, but in a different way. One column on the list is devoted only to things required by my jobs, such as t ... Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:19:24 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/blur_lately.html Wow! Things have been a blur lately. It's as if time is speeding by (so I'm viewing life like I'm on one of those twister rides at an amusement park) and I'm doing a million little bits of things (like I'm trying to work on 25 jigsaw puzzles at the same time), but there's a mountain of things to finish and another mountain of things waiting to be started (like a messy haystack in one corner and a growing, drifting sand dune in another corner). And, it's like I'm dealing with it all with th ... Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:59:13 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/graduation_party.html My best friend, Debbie, and her husband, Jim, recently held a neat little graduation party for their daughter, Erin, who graduated from high school in June. Edie and I both attended the Sunday afternoon party and we really had a nice time. The party was held at a country club's function room in North Kingstown, RI. I consider this to be a "comfy, for the Average Joe (and Jane)" type of country club, for it doesn't cater exclusively to the elite, if you know what I mean. So, parties here ar ... Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:28:38 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/4th_july_celebration.html Well, all the excitement of the Bristol 4th of July season is over. All the preparations, concerts, and holiday-related events came to an end with the annual fireworks display and parade. The 2+ hour parade was full of exciting participants. Here is just a small representation of what the parade included... The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps The Clydesdales The US Navy A participant in the Clown Division The Kentish Guards Colonial Militia Band A South Korean Delegation paid tribute to the USA ... Tue, 8 Jul 2008 16:42:55 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/allow_inner_light_guide.html Allow Your Own Inner Light to Guide You There comes a time when you must stand alone. You must feel confident enough within yourself to follow your own dreams. You must be willing to make sacrifices. You must be capable of changing and rearranging your priorities so that your final goal can be achieved. Sometimes, familiarity and comfort need to be challenged. There are times when you must take a few extra chances and create your own realities. Be strong enough to at least try to make your ... Sun, 6 Jul 2008 11:46:54 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/happy_4th.html This is a very special holiday for Americans and we celebrate it big! After being at the Bristol 4th of July Parade for hours, Edie and I hope to just chill out for the rest of the day. But, I didn'r want the rest of the day to go by without wishing you a Happy 4th of July! Whether it's a BBQ, parade, carnival, fireworks, a blueberry pie eating contest, or whatever, enjoy it to it's fullest for today marks the birthday of our independence! Fri, 4 Jul 2008 22:44:34 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/50_things.html If you opened this, copy and paste to a new page. Then change the answers to your own, and send it to your friends! Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you! 1. What do you add to your coffee? At home I add milk and 1/2 a Splenda. Outside of home, cream (or half and half) and 1/2 an artificial sweetener. Occasionally in a nice restaurant after a rich, filling meal I'll drink it black. 2. What are you reading now? Yikes, nothing! I need to get a book. 3. Do ... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:42:11 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/walking_think.html I recently had a need for one of my "thinking" walks lately. A thinking walk is when I leave routine behind and go out on my own to ponder over things and, hopefully, work through whatever has been on my mind. No deliberate path is planned, although a general area for walking may be pre-selected, for I do want to enjoy my surroundings and draw from them if needed, but I do not want to knowingly encounter major distractions or disruptions to the flow of my walking or thinking. Unless weathe ... Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:19:14 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/know.html You people are pretty smart, right? Well, I'd like to try something here just to see how smart you really are. I'm going to state some facts that you ALREADY know (yeah, right) and I want to see if you can come up with some smart come-back lines (smart-aleck comments, if you will), for each one. Ok, let's go... 1. Rats can last longer without water than camels. 2. Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself. 3. The dot over the letter "i" is ca ... Sun, 1 Jun 2008 21:04:03 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/wacky_warning_labels.html There have been a number of posts made about the type of warning labels that most people of intelligence regard as ridiculous. (That would be you and me, folks!) Well, I just came upon a few more. Maybe you've seen some of these before, but I thought I would share them with you anyway. On bundled fireplace logs (firestarters)-- Caution: Risk of Fire On a sign advertising blankets on sale in a mid-west department store-- Note: Blankets are not intended to be used as protection from a tornad ... Sun, 1 Jun 2008 17:38:27 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/safe_leaning.html One of the world's greatest tourist attractions has been stabilized to prevent it from toppling over and it has been declared safe for the next three centuries or so. By 1990, the Leaning Tower of Pisa had tilted more than four meters off it's true vertical. Conservationists estimated that the 14, 500-ton structure would completely collapse between the years 2030 and 2040. It was decided at that point to close the tower to tourists and it remained closed while major work was being done on ... Thu, 29 May 2008 19:39:58 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/dad_turned_77.html May 22 was my dad's birthday. He turned 77 years old. This may not seem so uncommon in today's day and age, but this is an amazing feat when you consider my father's medical history. My father was born at home in Warren, RI. It wasn't long after that it was determined he had a hole in his heart and my grandparents were faced with the devastating news that their first-born child may only live a few years. It was the kind of hole that would get bigger and bigger as he grew, and what that mea ... Mon, 26 May 2008 12:43:52 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/surprise_break_day.html Yesterday, Thursday, seemed to be going by rather slowly. I had been doing some chores on and off in between answering the phone and taking care of some emails and faxes I had to send out. When I thought it had to be around 11:00, it was only 10:00. And, when I figured it was noontime, it was only 10:30! I seemed oblivious to the music playing in the background, although a few tunes caught my ear and I hummed or sang along, but the day just wouldn't move along! I really had no idea what ti ... Sat, 24 May 2008 05:06:12 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/edie_graduated.html Edie stopped to pose while everyone was waiting to go inside the Providence Performing Arts Center, where the Johnson & Wales University's masters and doctorates ceremonies were taking place. The marquis announced the event and it was time to go in. Students from all over the world attend the university. A flag representing each nation of which there was a student graduating was carried by a graduating representative of that nation in a Parade of Flags. Each flag was then placed on stage. ... Sun, 18 May 2008 18:54:33 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/moms_day.html You Know You're A Mom When... Your feet stick to grape jelly on the kitchen floor..... and you don't care. You Know You're A Mom When... When the kids are fighting, you threaten to lock them in a room together and not let them out until someone's bleeding. You Know You're A Mom When... You can't find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to call you, and you run around the house madly, following the sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket. You Know You're A Mom ... Sun, 11 May 2008 15:16:04 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/snitched_gapeach.html What is your name....................... Donna 4 Letter Word............................Darn Vehicle.......................................Dodge City...........................................Detroit Boy Name...................................David Girl Name....................................Debbie Alcoholic drink...........................Daiquiri Occupation...................................Doctor Something you wear.....................Dress Celebrity...................................D ... Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:28:40 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/think.html This is a very long post, but I'm asking you to please read it all the way through. Picture a young girl, maybe somewhere between 8 and 12 years old. Now, you let the image grow and develop... The girl had two loving parents, four loving grandparents, a number of aunts, uncles and cousins that she genuinely liked, friends in school and from her neighborhood. She was always treated warmly by adults, including all of the adult friends of her family members and the parents of her friends. She ... Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:04:52 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/spring_others_words_pictures.html Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain The naked earth is warm with Spring, And with green grass and bursting trees Leans to the s ... Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:52:39 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/little_rhody_real_natives.html Continuing on with the series on Rhode Island, that tiny New England state, I'd like to talk a little about the the REAL natives of the land before it RI long before RI became a state. Long before any visitors or settlers came to Rhode Island, the area was already inhabited by Native Americans. And, as we all know, these natives were called Indians because that is what Christopher Columbus thought all natives to be while he believed he was en route to the Orient. The ironic thing is that T ... Sun, 9 Mar 2008 17:29:16 GMT http://greasy.com/donnamarie/plot_lessons.html Okay, here's what happened this past week: 1. Edie went back to work and school after a week's vacation leaving me, once again, without a car most of the time. 2. Mom had knee replacement surgery on Monday. 3. My dad needed the help of others because Mom was away from home. 4. My dad's sister came up from Florida to be his personal assistant. 5. Mom's surgery went well, she's doing fine, she's out of the hospital and in a local rehabilitation center. Okay, here's what I learned this week: ... Fri, 7 Mar 2008 22:16:45 GMT