Christianity is not a mask for stupidity

Recently, someone got into a discussion with me about gays. Yes, I will listen to you and support your right to have an opinion, but I will not agree with you. Don’t enter a conversation with me and think that because I’m Christian, I will support you on this issue. Christianity does not mean excluding or hating other people. Yes, I am aware of what my church and other ministries are saying about homosexuality. I don’t agree or support it.

Would God exclude or cause someone to be humiliated because of their actions? Nope. Not my God – hopefully not yours. I am a sinner and I know that God forgives and welcomes me into his home again and again.

If someone is doing something you disapprove of and they are an adult, they don’t need you or I professing Christianity at them. Christianity is not pointing a finger, hating, judging, etc.  God is the only judge of people and each person has to go to God in their own time. He is the redeemer of all and if someone is doing something wrong, then He will deal with them.  If you are a Christian, keep your mind and your heart clear as we have plenty to think about without worrying about anyone else’s life, problems or wrongdoings.

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Pottery Barn – Huge Sales – 70% off

We drove to Pottery Barn in the Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, NY. Many NY’ers go to new outlets in Deep Park so I guess I got all of the great deals for them. I bought 12 items – over $543 worth of stuff for $112. Usually I am scouring the web looking for discount codes to use to get 20% off Pottery Barn items. The sales at this outlet were definately worth the drive. It was such a beautiful day too!

I can’t say everything that I got because some friends read my blog. There was large bins in the midde of the room which contained the well known light yellow Pottery Barn Boxes. I think these items were the only left of their type. I got 4 frames – 3 black 5×7’s and 1 8×10 wooden frame. All in perfect condition and their boxes in perfect condition. I bought reindeer dishes for a friend who loves reindeers. Original price – $49.00 – now $7.00. Score. There are eight plates, each with the name and picture of one of Santa’s eight reindeers. I got a Thanksgiving runner and a runner for the summer. Each $6.0. The rest of the items have to remain a secret at they are for a Brooklyn chica who reads my blog regularly.

Karen bought a $200 jewelery box for $40 – it’s stunning. Again, it was the only one and it was in perfect condition.

We got home around 6:00 pm tonight and I saw that President Bush got shoes thrown at him from an Iraqui journalist. Throwing shoes is a sign of contempt.

Topics: Pottery Barn | 7 Comments »

Bay Ridge Home Prices Down

The economy keeps plummeting and now Brooklyn home prices are finally falling! Our Bay Ridge homeowners can no longer call for the $750,000 single family or $900,000+ multi family homes. We’re in a recession and no one is buying! I go to a lot of Bay Ridge & Dyker Heights Open Houses and it’s nice to see the same home MONTHS later for a lower price on Craigslist. That means an agent wasn’t able to sell and now the buyer is attempting to sell the home.

Do you think an obnoxious real estate agent would dare say to me, “Location, location, location” this weekend. Nope. I don’t think so either!

It’s about time that the market corrects itself and for those of us Brooklynites who have held on to our wallets in hopes of getting a good price, the time is coming. It’s going to be a cold winter and home prices will continue to fall through the Spring. Obama will come in office in January, but he will not be able to  change the economy for over a year.

Bay Ridge, Park Slope, Dyker Heights and Downtown Brooklyn will see some fair home prices coming.

If you happen to have a BayRidge or Dyker Heights home with a driveway for sale, let me know. I’ll come and take a look!

Topics: Brooklyn | 8 Comments »

Blessed!

I sat and cried this afternoon…..not because I was sad. I don’t even have a tiny thing to be sad about.

I sat and thanked God for all of the blessing He has given me. I thanked God for making such loud statements in my life. Maybe the Lord doesn’t think I listen to Him because his messages are loud and frequent.

Something happened over the weekend that was truly miraculous. May you all feel the power, love and excitement of this beautiful season of the Lord!

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Jesse Tree

When I was a kid, I remember building a Jesse Tree at school. It was one of the most interesting aspects to the Advent season. I remember looking forward to the Jesse tree being put up because I really loved making the ornaments for the tree. There was just so much meaning behind the tree.

As I look back on that time, the Jesse Tree was part of that magical time. I know many children get excited about Santa, but I knew there wasn’t a Santa since my second grade teacher had revealed it in a story.

So the magic of the season was really focused on Jesus. Somehow over the years, I lost that and now I feel like I am moving back into that magic. So I asked Lee if he would help me build a Jesse tree and he thought it would be fun. *Just as a side note, the Lord sent me Lee so I knew he would be excited to build a Jesse tree. Lee is so incredible and is always delighted to participate in any of my little adventures. Thanks God!

So if you are interested in making your own Jesse Tree here’s some links to get you started:

History of the Jesse Tree

The Jesse Tree ornament templates are here

Catholic Mom

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Are Your Children Proud to Be Americans?

I felt so differently about this when I wrote it years ago.

Now I feel that this is America and we are all lucky to choose if we want to stand or not for the pledge….I still hope that young people want to stand, but there are so many reasons they don’t and we need to hear them and allow them to express themselves.

We are America because people can chose to do that here.

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Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving celebrating with their family and friends. I had the best Thanksgiving of my life!

The day was absolutely perfect. I woke up and prayed. Then I put on the Macy’s Day parade and stuffed the turkey.  Everything about the day went smooth. Lee is a saint sent by God because he was so wonderful. He also did ALL of the dishes and cleaned the stove. Yep, he’s a good man.

The food was wonderful! I love when I cook great food. Everything was served hot and everyone had a great time. I still have guests here, but I wanted to take a break and just thank God for an awesome day.

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Prepping for T-Day

So Thanksgiving is two days away and I am very excited! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love prepping for the day, prepping the food and cooking. One of the things I am most excited about it making my Grandmother’s Famous Stuffing.  I love making this stuffing because not only because my Grandmother an incredible human being , but this is the most amazing stuffing EVER.

But the stuffing recipe has never been written down so I can’t share it here yet because I don’t know the measurements. When I was taught to make the stuffing, my mother said that you can tell what it needs by the way it looks. I wanted her to write down the recipe so I had it, but she wasn’t able to. When I made the stuffing by myself the first year, I understood what she meant by looking at the mix and being able to tell what it needs. I’ve made this stuffing for over 10 years now and I never thought to write it down, but I will this year!

Anyway, the stuffing contains the following ingredients (but I don’t know the measurements) – Several loaves of day old bread cut into squares, several onions diced,  several stalks of celery diced, salt, pepper and the best ingredient – chopped up turkey liver. Yup, the livers go right into the stuffing mix. I know most people don’t use the livers in the stuffing, but I swear it is what makes this stuffing taste good. I’ll have to take some exact measurements.

I love Thanksgiving!

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Thankful

I’ve spent the last few days thinking about who I am to different people. The people that matter to me the most, don’t need or want me to be any more than I am everyday.

And then there are people who need, want and take from me because they need, want and take from everyone. They aren’t just selecting me, it’s just that they are in a habit of asking people for things and people doing things for them.

A hard lesson was learned as my health really suffered. This has never happened to me before as I am usually bouncy and full of energy. But it was like the air and all my energy was sucked from me.  I even spent time thinking an praying over this. So some of those people will be hearing “No” from me. If you are reading this, you definately aren’t one of those people. Because they don’t read my thoughts…..which is fine with me.

So to you (YES YOU) I’m thankful for your friendship….even to those of you who I have never met in person. Your kind words and support are just what I need. Thank you!

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Overdoing Life

 Sometimes life is more demanding and we deal with it and sometimes we don’t deal with it so well. Work has become a bit much for me lately. I don’t mean to complain about it because I love my boss and because it’s partly my fault. Teaching isn’t hard, but the extra projects have overtaken me.

A huge project came up and I overextended myself. I should have spoken up but I didn’t. I have to next time because my health was affected by it.

On Friday, I came home and I was shaking. I went to bed, but I couldn’t stop shaking.  I slept most of Saturday. I woke up to shop online and read twitter. I’m sorry I didn’t call or return calls to anyone.

I barely ate anything all weekend. A good friend bought me a chocolate cake (thank God for good friends) because she wanted me to eat. Even eating the cake was hard.  The cake was hard to chew, even though it was soft and moist And it was hard to enjoy. I really overdid it. Even today, I stayed in pajamas, while a friend came over and did my laundry. Did I say how lucky I am to have such good friends?  Today, I ate 1/2 bagel at breakfast and mashed potatoes for dinner so at least I am eating. I took vitamins (extra vitamin B & C too) , did yoga and prayed.

I’m okay,  but it may be a few days until I return all of the calls. I am just going to chill out for the next few days. And I need to speak up about what I can and can not do.

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Justice for Nixzmary Brown in Brooklyn

The mother of Nixzmary Brown was sentenced to 40 1/3 years to 43 years. Nixzaliz Santiago claimed that she was an abused woman and tried to get off from this sentencing. Yet, the court found that she should have protected Nixzmary and could have prevented her death.

Tears flow down my cheeks – sadness because  I am reminded of the awful life and death of a sweet little girl. I’m relieved that Nixzaliz Santiago was sentenced to the maximum. I am glad that this neglectful and abusive mother will spend decades in jail.  Defense attorney, Sammy Sanchez needs to get a life instead of appealing a case inwhich he knows the defendant is guilty. Find another case you can milk for money Sanchez.

Kudos to Nixzmary’s Soldiers for being there to hear the sentencing. Thank you for fighting the battle and speaking up for what is right and just. Thank you for reminding people that children matter.  I look forward to the future where  you help shape laws which protect children.

REST IN PEACE NIXZMARY!

Topics: Brooklyn | 1 Comment »

Obama Shines Hope in NYC

My best friend, Karen looked around on the subway and was disappointed that everything looked and felt the same. She thought people would dress up (or at least shower) and that people would be happier today, but she didn’t see or feel anything different.

I asked her if she felt different and she said no.

So I told her about my day and conversations with students. I don’t talk politics with students because that isn’t my place, but I will listen to them and ask them questions about what they say. I don’t need to share my opinion because they hear adults opinions all of the time and they basically just want me to listen. Listening to them talk today was so exhilarating! I loved that many of my Asian students felt the same hope that many other black students in the US felt – the door is open and anyone can be president.

May Obama be one of the most successful presidents ever.

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