"An open mind leaves a chance for someone to drop a worthwhile thought in it."
  
"Envy slays itself by its own arrows."

"Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak;
sometimes it means that you are  strong enough to let go."  

"Lifes Tough, get a helmet!" 

"Breakdowns can create breakthroughs.
Things fall apart so things can fall together."

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."
 
 "Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be."

"The difference between stumbling blocks and
stepping stones is how you use them."

"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples
don't count on harvesting golden delicious."

"There is no right way to do something wrong."

"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps
if you are not willing to move your feet."

"Among life's precious jewels, genuine and rare,
the one that we call friendship has worth beyond compare."

"Many of us don't have to turn out the lights to be in the dark." 

"Be kind to unkind people; they need it the most."

"Communication is depositing a part of yourself in another person." 

"Don't struggle so much, best things happen when not expected."
       "If it's meant to be, it will!"  ~nr lenz

"Where words fail, music speaks." 
      "Let the music begin, maestro!"  ~nr lenz

"I get the best feeling in the world when you say hi to me, or just smile
because I know that just for a second ... I've crossed your mind."
       "... as you did mine!"  ~nr lenz

"Don't spend time with someone who doesn't care about spending it with you ..."
       "Why bother?  Waste not, want not ... quality, not quantity ..."  ~nr lenz

“Experiment! Meet new people. That’s better than any college education . . . By adventuring; about, you become accustomed to the unexpected. The unexpected then becomes what it really is . . . the inevitable.”  ~Amelia Earhart 

      Last night was something out of the ordinary, for me.  I had the privilege of meeting "new" family.  Through my genealogy pursuit, and www.findagrave.com, I have connected with distant relatives (both sides) on line.  One of them, a third cousin and his lovely wife were passing through and made a stop here for the night.  I met them at the hotel.  We sat down in the breakfast area for a nice visit ... them with their laptop, and notebooks, and me with my notebook, with family photos and documents to share.
      Thanks, again, Gary and Paula ... so nice to have met you.  Gary's and my great grandfathers were brothers.  I'm a bit envious of how organized they are with their genealogy.  And I loved the stories of family history.  What a way to spend a Thursday evening; it was great!
      Unlike me, they still have quite a large family.  I enjoyed being able to "connect" through our bloodlines and also to learn about them, as a couple, and a bit about their families.  They are such a cute couple, so sweet.
      It was enriching, heart-felt, and enlightening.

"God made us cousins, chance made us friends."  ~Anonymous

"Cousins are different, beautiful flowers - in the same garden."  ~Anonymous

"Our pictures may fade, but our memories won't."  ~Anonymous

     In the past few months I've tried looking into a few "get rich quick" or "work at home" opportunities (yeah, right).  I've gone far enough to actually PAY for the "opportunity" TO GET BURNED!!!  I'm not going to name names, or even the websites) as I did retrieve my initial monetary investment (and "opportunity", yeah, right).    
     The first one:  after finding out that what I read initially was full of false promises and I did not get what they "advertised" ... it's all in the reading, wording, and small print - like 6 pt. type ...  they initially refused ANY refund at all.   It was website that was supposed to have a lot of "free" ways to do genealogy.  Lies, all lies. once I got there.   I promptly went to my FB account, posted information about them, their scam, their link, and my opinion of why I felt it was a rip off.  Then I sent them the link, and called them a scond time.  After some insistence, persistence, and their inability to DENY my charges against them, they gladly gave me a FULL refund, back on to my credit card!
      This time ... not quite the same scenario, but still avoidance, and unwillingingnes to "immediately" give me a refund.  This was one of those "make money on line", with possibility of BIG dollars quickly.  After I had given credit card information, THEN more offers which, of course, will help to make BIG money, FASTER!  I did not accept either of those offers.  They willingingly took my money and displayed a message that a user name and password to MY personal WEBSITE  for this TERRIFIC (yeah, right) opportunity would be emailed to me.  I received the email, congratulating me on my WISE decision to join them.  Yes, it had a user name and password.  Just one small catch ... it didn't work.  It even said there was no such email in their system.  Talk about being a bit IRATE ... especially since they boasted about being able to BEGIN RIGHT AWAY, as soon as I logged in.
      You can imagine my disappointment.  I waited, and tried again ... to no avail.  So I decided I would wait a couple of days before calling their "CUSTOMER SUPPORT" number.  Well, guess what?  That was on SUNDAY ... hmmm, of course, they don't work on SUNDAY!!!
      First thing this morning I called ... again ... the person on the other end of the line was a foreigner I could barely understand - that began my frustration, all over again.  Speaking VERY broken English, he did the best he knew how to inform me that without trying the system for 30 days first, I would be losing 50% of my money.   That didn't sit well with me, at all.  So he informed me that if I would be willing to do that, he would issue me a new user name and password, use the system for 30 days, then could request a FULL refund at the end of that time.  I agreed.  He told me it would take about 20 minutes to be changed.  I waited, then attempted to log into this WONDERFUL new website that I was going to start making BOO KOO bucks with ... what next?
      Oh, my ... yes, the user name and password worked fine - let me past the homepage.  What's the first thing I see?  A disclaimer box that I have to "Agree" to before I could SEE or DO ANYTHING in MY website.  With limited time before leaving for work, I made another phone call.  A woman answered, and spoke in ENGLISH.  Well, that was a good beginning.  I went over the disclaimer, sentence by sentence, explaining why I would not sign it.  I also explained my frustration of things that had happened even before I got a user name and password that WORKED.  She assured me a FULL refund on my credit card and informed me she would send me a confirmation email that my account has been closed and that I would receive my FULL refund in 3-5 days, which I received within just a few hours!
      I was a bit later than normal getting to work.  But ... mission accomplished!!!

Congratulations to Robin Roberts, who was recognized this morning for ten years of being host and news anchor on Good Morning Ameria!  They had a touching tribute to her, recapping many of their favorite memories of her, and with her.  I, along with her, did shed a few "happy" tears ... quite an accomplishment!  Again ... Congratulations, Robin!! 

      This week will be one of anticipation, on a personal level.  Later this week, I will be meeting  a cousin and his lovely wife.  I connected with her on line  through www.findagrave.com, during my genealogy journey.  We have shared much family information.  I'm learning a lot about generations past, and, being the "pup" of the group, I have been able to help them by updating with new information and corrections. 
      I don't like to "wish away" time, however, I am so looking forward to this opportunity ... meeting new family members, and the sharing of more information.  These people are on my mother's side of the family.

I've been thinking about a few "tion" words today - inspira(tion), dedica(tion), and procrastina(tion).  Perhaps I should have listed procrastination first as I feel it is the worst distrac(tion) for being dedicated to something, or being inspired to be dedicated.  Are you a person who has so many interests that it's difficult to hone in on one particular thing?  Unfortunately, I am that type of person.

inspiration:  stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity; a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation

dedication:  a devoting or setting aside for a particular purpose  

procrastination:  postpone something; to hold off on doing something; to wait till later to do something.  Psychologically speaking, it is the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority; doing something from which one derives enjoyment, thus putting off important tasks to a later time

In mid-life, edging close to retirement here I sit -  still wondering what I want to be, "when I grow up"!  And, at this stage of the game, my biggest desire is to find more hours in a day.  Is that wise?  If I had more hours in a day, that would leave more time to use and abuse "procrastina(tion)".  Is it an excuse?  Is it laziness?  Is it a feeling of inadequacy?  Is it fear of failure and/or rejection?  Is it a lack of inspira(tion) and/or dedica(tion)?  Or simply my self-induced excuses for distrac(tion)?  Hmmm ... and I end this chatter with another good (tion) word ... contempla(tion)!!!
 
contemplation:  thoughtful observation; full or deep consideration; reflection: religious contemplation; purpose or intention; prospect or expectation

I hope you enjoy a day of  contempla(tion), inspira(tion), and dedica(tion), and earmark distrac(tion) and procrastina(tion) ... for another day!!  ~nr lenz

http://www.thissideofsunday.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/thissideofsunday
I love these guys ... and they're from my hometown ... yay!!!  There are also a couple of videos on my You Tube page you can see from when they performed here.  Click the You Tube tab above.  There is also photoshow (click on the photoshow tab) with a mix of still photos, including a few of these guys!

I have posted my own personal memorial to Dick Clark on my homepage.  I have highlighted my feelings about how he affected my life, and his impact on the musical industry.  He was so much more than a legend in music. It just so happens that what he did in his early years had the most influence on me.  Many of us began our love of music listening to music on "tube" radios, and began our "visual" rock 'n roll relationship with Dick Clark on a black and white "tube" televisions.  Color televisions had been out only a few years, however, only the elite and wealthy had those!

What will you miss about him?  How did Dick Clark affect your life?  What are your favorite memories of this mega pop culture icon?