Drizzling Cold Weather

Good evening! It's Tuesday and I was off work today, I did some house work, but I mostly read and watched tv because I've not felt the best today. Hopefully, I can accomplish more tomorrow because I am off then, too. It's drizzled and been cold all day, the sun never once showed it's pretty face. While I've not accomplished much today, my dear husband has been working his buns off. Sometimes, his job is like running in circles, no matter how much or how perfectly he does his job, they always find more for him to add to it. And when you're a perfectionist like him, it makes for a frustrated husband. I wish there was something I could do to help him, but quite unfortunately there isn't. All I can offer is my support and love and my ears when he needs to vent. 

Yesterday, I vaguely answered the question, "Who am I?" I'll go deeper into that question later this week, but today I will answer another question. 

What do I stand for? I stand for many things. I believe that before we go send food and money to other countries we should put food into the mouths of the children of our country. You should sweep by your own front door before you move onto others. I believe that every pet needs to be loved and cherished. Not locked in a cage, tied up, or not socialized. For your pet, they may only be in your life for a short time, but for them you are their life. I believe in equal opportunity for everyone, especially including those with special needs. You are a blessed person if you have even just one person with special needs in your life. If you have the time, you can learn so much from them. They have the most beautiful souls, you just have to see it for yourself. I stand for love. I believe everyone should experience the all-consuming love you think only exists in books until it happens to you. I have this love every day and I don't know what I would do if I never knew this all-consuming, powerful love.

I stand for acceptance. Just because people sin differently doesn't mean you should treat them like lepers. The Bible says, "Hate the sin, Love the sinner." It also says, "No sin is worse than any other, except blasphemy." I am paraphrasing here, but I know that no one is perfect. The one perfect person to have ever walked this earth, we killed, so unless He has came back, you're not any better than anyone else; so don't you dare cast that stone at anyone else. I get sick with anger when I see people judging those who are different in any way, shape, fashion, or form. There is not any excuse for it. Ever. Bullying, judging, casting off, treating someone unfairly, these all belong in this category. I am extremely passionate about this topic because I was bullied on and off my entire life and it took me forever to get over it. Even now at almost 25 years old, the insecurities the cruel children placed in my head still haunts me. 

I stand for respecting your family. You only get one, so even if you are completely different and you think there's no way you share DNA, even if they go about something completely different than you would there's no reason to ever talk down or treat them as if they are below you. Sure, some situations call for different actions, but at the end of the day your family is still your family. For better or worse there's no getting rid of them; however, I will say this, family isn't limited to those you share DNA with. Family is who is there with you when everything seems to be falling apart. When that happens, who is there helping pick up the pieces? That's your family. 

I could write so much more, but then what would I write about tomorrow? Goodnight, y'all. 

XoXo,
Tia

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There's one more picture of my family that I didn't get at my wedding, and now I never can get the whole family in one picture because he is now living beyond the Golden Gates. 

Monday, We Meet Again

Hey everyone! Today has been an off day. My alarm didn't go off this morning, the fog was so thick on my way to work that everyone was driving extra slow, and when I got to work two of my bigger bosses were there. Yay, Monday, right? Wrong. I got settled in and I waited and waited and waited some more until my computer finally decided to load up. Okay, so now the day will get better. Nope. Two hours into work and I finally shake off my Morning Blues and then bam! The craziest situation occurred. I can't go into specifics, but it resulted in that client spending more than 30 minutes at my window while we figured out what we could do. Luckily, she was a good sport, and never once got upset or mad. Yay! So, then I had to do a report on this situation and what do you know, my computer freezes in the middle of the report. Awesome. So I call our sister branch and they dutifully walk me through the situation step by step. Yes! Now, it's time to balance and call it a day. (I only worked  3 hours today.) balancing was a cinch, and I'm out the door! Hooray! On to the grocery store, so I can get the ingredients to make my first ever lasagna. I know, I know. I went to culinary school and I've never made lasagna before. Shame on me. Since I've been home, the day is much better. Chris had a trying day at work, but hopefully homemade lasagna and tv with coffee will help his mood. This has been a funky Monday here at our house. The lasagna is in the oven, he's looking on the Internet, and I'm writing to you all. :-)

Today, I've been thinking a lot about myself. Who I am, what do I stand for, what do I support? I don't think anyone can answer these questions definitively because we as humans are always changing. I don't think our souls change though, I think you're either good or bad, but I don't think someone is inherently bad. I think they may have had something in their life make them that way. Little kids don't think when I grow up, I want to commit armed robbery and murder people. If they do, well, you may want to get their little heads checked out. 

I guess, I'll answer one question today. Who am I? I'll answer with what I have decided so far.

I am Tia.

I am a wife.

I am a daughter.

I am a sister/sister in law.

I am an aunt.

I am a granddaughter.

I am a niece.

I am a cousin.

I am a daughter in law.

I am a bank teller.

I am an animal activist.

I am beautiful.

I am worthy.

I am forgiven.

I am a Christian.

I am a lover.

I am an eternal optimist.

I am a little lazy.

I am a book nerd.

I am a friend.

I am a helper.

I am a leader.

I am a follower.

I am quiet.

I am a listener.

I am a problem solver.

I am loved.

I am loyal.

I am a romantic.

I am an Aquarius.

I am not a judge.

I am an equal opportunity supporter.

I am a student.

I am flawed.

I am strong.

I am mended.

I am Tia.

XoXo,

Tia

Saving dinero

Good afternoon! I apologize that it's been a few days since I have written, but I've been busy, and when I have been getting home, I've been exhausted. Thankfully, I was off yesterday and I could sleep in. We slept until 12 yesterday, went to bed at 4:45 this morning, and we slept until 1 today. I don't  remember the last time I slept that late. I got up and cooked sausage and waffles, and since then I've been sitting on the couch except for when I put a load of clothes in the washer. It's in the low 40s today, and I just don't feel like doing anything. While I cooked, Chris gave  both dogs a bath. They look, feel, and smell so much better! 

This year Chris and I are attempting to put $24,000 in savings. It's going to make some months tighter than others, but by the end of the year all of our debt, including Chris's car payment, should be paid off completely. Right now, we have $800 in savings, and this week we both get paid. We have to pay our phone bill, his car payment, and our rent this week, that'll cost exactly $740 for all three of those bills. Just thinking of all that money coming out at one time makes my heart rate speed up. We should be able to put about $500 or so in savings this week. January and February are always the two months where money is the tightest for us. By March we'll be caught up and be able to start putting a lot more into savings. Initially, we wanted to save $2000 a month, and come March, we'll probably be able to do that, and any extra money we come into will go into savings. Once we do our taxes, hopefully we'll get money back, and we'll be able to put that into savings, too. The first couple of months are the hardest when it comes to saving, but once you get into a pattern, it becomes a lot easier. 

I guess I wanted to share this with you all, so now you all can help keep us accountable. Of course, should an emergency come up, we'll be able to tap into what we've saved. I think what helps with my mindset is not keeping our savings in our account. It would be too easy to spend that, so we keep it in a special, safe place. When I look into the account I see one number, and I freak out, until I remember that that number isn't accurate. Then I also took additional money out so we wouldn't use the account, so it's a lot less that what we actually have. This helps my mindset though because I see what's in the account and I say to myself, okay, we're not spending any extra money. I think we'll meet our goal this year, but even if we come a little shy of it, it'll still be more in savings then we had last year.

XoXo,

Tia

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Whipping Wind and Freezing Temps

Good evening! Today has been so cold, but at least it was above freezing. (It's 14 degrees right now.) Tomorrow won't be so lucky, it's going to have a wind chill of -3! I think the weather forgot this is Georgia, it's not supposed to be that cold here. I will take it and not complain though because it just gives me more of a reason to cuddle with my husband on the couch while we watch Netflix on our Google Chrome Cast. It's been a pretty good day off of work, and tomorrow I only work 4 hours. Yeah, sometimes part-time totally sucks, but on a day where the high is 31, I'll take 4 hours! 

With the weather being so cold, my heart hurts for all the animals stuck out in these freezing temps. Shelters and churches and schools open their doors for the homeless or those without heat during nights this cold, but the poor helpless animals don't have that. They're left to freeze, with no one to help them. I know I've been guilty of this in the past before I understood that if it's too cold for me, it's too cold for them. The wild/feral animals have a better knack at knowing how to keep warm than the animals who are lost, are tied up, or have owners who let them live outside. 

We have an outdoor cat named Kirby, he's really sick, and nearing the end of his life. He lives outside, but we bring him inside the house regularly and give him extra food during nights like this. If we had a litter box, he would be inside with us, but as it stands, we don't, so we have a huge, fluffy comforter on our glider on our porch that he wraps himself in. He lets us know when he wants to come in, and if we're not asleep yet, he comes in and stays with us for a long while. 

My heart just goes out to all animals, but especially those who don't have anyone looking out for their best interest, the ones tied up without even a doghouse to hide from the wind in. My parents have an outside dog, she's a pit bull, she stays tied up, but she can go 30 feet in any direction. Then she has a dog house with a heating light and bedding that keeps her body heat in it. As far as outside dogs go, she has it made. I can't imagine living outdoors in the freezing cold, with your body constantly shivering to try to keep you warm. It seems unbearable. The animals who are lost or abandoned don't stand much of a chance at surviving outdoors when the weather gets bad. 

If you see a stray and you know the weather is bad or about to get bad, then call the animal control or take them in yourself. I know taking one in is a lot to ask, but at least they won't get put to sleep, at
least you're giving them a fighting chance. You don't have to take them in permanently, post them on the Internet "Found dog/cat on such and such road." Someone will either claim them or want to take them in themselves. I know this is common sense, but sometimes a nice little reminder is necessary, especially during bad weather. 

So many animals don't have someone speaking up for them, so just consider me their spokesperson or guardian angel.

XoXo,

Tia

These are 3'of my 9 animals. The other 6 are 5 fish and a hamster. :-)

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What do you work for?

Good evening! It's almost midnight and I'm just starting today's blog. I had to be at work early this morning, but I got off early, too, so I felt it was a nice trade. When I got home around 1:30 I cleaned a little bit then ate lunch and read. Once Chris finished work for the day we had to clean out our flower beds out front. There was so many fallen leaves, and we didn't want them to kill our plants. Today was the only day we could do it this week because we're getting an arctic blast overnight that's going to last until this weekend. While Chris collected pine straw from the land I raked off all of the old pine straw and leaves, and let me tell you, when leaves and pine straw are wet, they're a lot heavier than you anticipate. I suspect I'll be feeling the yard work tomorrow, luckily for me, I'm off (tomorrow). I'll probably work in the house all day, there's always work to be done.

Today's blog is more or less focused on independent adults, whether that's single, married, widowed, or divorced. We as adults have to work to pay bills, put food on the table, keep your children in clothes, etc... Well, what do you spend your left over money on? Accessories? Shoes? Purses? Shells? Lures? Line? Going out to eat? All of these things are fine, but for some there's one thing that doesn't get the attention it deserves...the house. (Please note I said some and not all or majority.) Why do you buy a $100,000+ house and not take care of it? Why let mildew build on the siding? It washes off. Why let the paint chip all over, when you can paint it? Why let briars take over your yard where your dog lives and children play? In one afternoon you could clear up the briars. Why let junk pile up all around your house and let it ruin your yard, and make your entire house seem nasty? Your house could be impeccable, but if you leave junk everywhere, it will hide your house's beauty.

I feel if you're going to be paying on your house for the next 30 years of your life, then you should keep it looking good. My husband always says, "you work for what's at home." That includes taking care of the house. Don't let animal feces pile up and not clean it up. That's gross for one, but also, it will ruin your floors. Take pride in what is yours. Keep the grass cut, the garbage taken off, the walkway/driveway clear of leaves and pine straw. Be proud for what you have. You could live in an itty bitty house or apartment, but as long as it is taken care of, you won't even be able to tell. Give your house personality, make it your own, but don't let it waste down to crap because you'd rather spend your money on something other than taking care of your house. A lot of taking care of your house doesn't even involve money, just time and sweat. Quite unfortunately people are becoming lazier and lazier (thank you generation of technology) to where they'd rather watch the latest reality show then keep up their house. 

I honestly don't get some people's way of thinking. I'm not trying to bash anyone or put anyone down, I'm just trying to understand. 

XoXo,
Tia

Mayhem and Maniacs...It must be a Monday

Good evening! Boy, was I glad to see 5 o'clock roll around today, I don't know if it was the full moon or what, but the bank was crazy today! When I got home Chris said he would cook dinner, so I settled in on the couch with my kindle. What a relaxing way to end the work day. Chris cooked chicken and dumplings with the most amazing homemade biscuits! Now we're watching Criminal Minds for one hour so we can fast forward through all the commercials on the season premier of The Bachelor! Yay!

Lately, I've been thinking about my grandpa. He passed away this past November 21, so we had to go through Thanksgiving and Christmas without him. It wasn't easy. My grandpa was my first ever best friend. We spoke our own language. Growing up I wanted to do everything Grandpa did. He took me on "dates" when I was little. We would go to Baskin Robbins and share a banana split, then we would go to the Dollar Tree next door and he would give me $1 to spend. We would walk up and down every aisle, and I would look at everything. I think he taught me at an early age the value of a dollar. I still take careful consideration before I spend any money. 

My grandparent's took us on vacations to the beach twice, and one year I spent all summer with my grandparents at a lake house. That was probably one of my favorite summer's growing up. Their friend's were there too, and there was so many kids close to my age there. That summer we stayed up late, woke up early, went fishing, swimming; we went on boat rides, walked on lake islands. By the end of the summer my pale, porcelain skin was a nice bronze color. But, what made that summer the best one was that I was with my grandparents. They made my summer amazing!

My grandfather was 90 when he passed away, he had 90 wonderful years on this earth. He taught me about hard work and to stand up for what I believe. He taught me that blood doesn't make you family because family is who is there for you when you need them. He was always there for me. He loved me unconditionally and he always reminded me of that. He was my hero, and now I'm lucky because my hero is my guardian angel. Not everyone can say that. I was blessed to have grandpa in my life for 23 years. He began dating my grandmother in 1991 and they married in 1995. I was one when he entered my life. He made such an impact to me and my whole family. He was never afraid to tell anyone he spoke with exactly what he thought, he didn't care if it offended them or not. If he did offend you, he would say something like "I still love you though, but..." 

Earl Caldwell Maple was my best friend, my partner in crime, my grandpa. He lived in so many places and saw so many things with the military, so I can only imagine the surprises God has in store for Grandpa and all that he is seeing already. 

I love you, Grandpa, and until we see each other again, keep an eye on me!

XoXo,
Tia

Earl Caldwell Maple

May 02, 1924

-

November 21, 2014

P.S. I apologize if this entry isn't as composed and hard hitting as the 365 Days of Learning, Growing, and Being Thankful, but I wanted everyone to know my Grandpa.

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I am Tia, Hear me ROAR

Today is Sunday, and the sun is finally shining! Chris and I thought we were going to need a boat to get around town. It rained really hard for a long time, but now the sun is shining it's 60 degrees outside. The ground is drying up and the birds are flying high. It's a wonderful Georgia winter day, and it would be even better if the floors didn't need scrubbing, clothes didn't need washing, and dogs didn't need baths. However, I cooked a huge breakfast of corned beef and hash, homemade hash browns, scrambled eggs, and biscuits, and dinner is in the crock pot- or at least the roast is. We're having pork roast, pinto beans, cabbage, mashed potatoes, and corn bread. I wanted to have a nice dinner before the work week begins. I'm learning that if I cook a lot over the weekends then I can almost make left overs last until the next weekend. Although, if I am off on weekday I will cook a good, hearty dinner. We'll eat good today.

I'm thankful for my culinary background, it taught me so much life experience. I am grateful that Chris helped pay for my dreams when my scholarship ran it's course. I am grateful I was able to go to college and follow my dreams, even if I am not using my college education as a career now. I know not everyone can go to college because of money or other reasons, and I was lucky enough to complete my education and not have any student loans lingering over my head. It wasn't easy, but I did it. I finished what I started, and that was what I intended to. I understand how blessed I am to have people in my life who love and support me and my dreams. I wish everyone in the world could experience the support that I do. It's all encompassing,

I used to feel all alone, even when I was in a sea of people. I didn't feel like I was good enough to have friends or to accept love from family and friends. I was in a dark place and I didn't think I would ever feel good enough for anyone. Little by little I began seeing that I was good enough, I was worthy of love and acceptance, and if someone didn't like me or accept me than screw them. I am a wonderful person, and if someone can't see it then they don't deserve to be in my life. I was taking my life by the reigns, I was going to be in control. I had finally found my voice, and I was going to let everyone know. I no longer feel inferior, or not good enough. Sure, I am still self-conscious, but I feel so much better about myself because I believe in myself. I had a true Katy Perry moment "You're gonna hear me ROAR." I wanted to share with everyone that I had finally found my self-worth. It is almost entirely because Chris has never ending love and faith in me. He believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. He showed me how to realize how much I was worth. He never once gave up on me, and I felt like I was a lost cause at first.

So, I guess this is me letting everyone know that I know I am worth something. I am worth love. I am a genuinely good person, sure this could sound as being arrogant, but I see it as finally embracing myself.

XoXo,
Tia

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