the end is the beginning

It seems that the pandemic narrative is not exactly slowing down, but potentially taking a backseat. Now that humanity is greatly confused, thinking that the unvaccinated are those to fear (when numbers just don't add up. How can we have 300x more cases this year now that vaccines are available?) Anyway, what comes next? I'm thinking major shortages. All the container ships just floating off the coast of California, filled with plastic crap from China that we don't even need. I'm seeing news stories telling everyone to stock up on their favorite junk foods because shortages are headed our way. They are preparing us for the next step in Agenda 2030. Oh, how we've changed in just less than two years. I just do not understand how people cannot see that. People in America can't seem to acknowledge that life exists outside of America. If they would just take a moment and see what is already going on in other countries, but we are blinded with "American pride....

Since coming back from our trip I've regressed a little with my brain fog. I don't know if maybe it was the over exerting my body (even though I walk an hour a day and hulu hoop 30 minutes almost every day) or maybe too much stimuli, but my brain seems to have broken again. I think it was probably too much stimuli though, because I have read three books over the past two weeks as well. Sometimes it's like I can literally feel my brain stretching from overuse.  I can put together sentences in a blog post, but I'm back to stumbling over my words again when I talk out loud. I own it now though. What else can I do? If I'm talking and can't think of a word, I just admit to it. Or I acknowledge when I lose a thought. Owsley joins me on my daily walks and I've also noticed he's had a harder time with losing his train of thought since we've gotten back home.  Monday night I was sitting on the couch, completely out of it. Peppy was grilling kabobs and I was j...

Ah, another early morning rambling post. These tend to be all over the place, but some mornings it feels like it helps kickstart my brain before I read the bible.  I've seen lots of little news stories about random violent acts. Ten fires were started in a neighboring city this past weekend. I've seen a news article about a machete fight in Walmart, fist fight in Ihop, and shooting in Kroger. Multiple fights break out at a Six Flags. Otters are even abnormally attacking people and animals in Alaska. Are these typical acts of angst, or is something more sinister at play here?  I just don't know. I do know that children often act out when they aren't getting enough attention. Could these be acts of lost and confused people, responding in the only way they know that makes sense to them? When people are scared, or feel backed into a corner, they will act out of anger and violence, like a frightened animal. I mean, humans are animals after all.  I know that after 18 months o...

I've talked with other people my age before and we've concluded that older millennials are the last group that really remember life pre-internet. We even remember the time of the baby internet, back before everything was censored and the internet was a free-for-all wild west. I'm sure the dark web had early beginnings, but for most people the world wide web was geocities and angelfire pages filled with free expression.  In 1993, the internet was released to the public. I was nine years old. I don't think I gave it much thought then. I think it really got a boost in popularity in 1997 when aol instant messenger was released. Then I had a real reason to be online....talking to strangers. A/S/L anyone? You'd get this mini high hearing the little doors open and wondering which of your friends or crushes had just logged on. And those grey squares to accept messages from unknown users could open doors to anywhere. We were given talks on not giving our information to stran...

*Opinion piece on how the  simulation theory   is being pushed in order for humanity to reject spirituality and embrace technological gods.  *Reddit user puts together a list of all the young athletes that have recently  collapsed or had heart attacks . That's a big list..... *Scientists are studying whether or not we can  grow our own mRNA vaccines  in food form.  *Biden administration makes  vaccines mandatory   for foreign travelers coming into the United States.  *A list of  40 bizarre home remedies   that some of our grandparents might have used.  *A swarm of bees kills dozens of  endangered penguins . *Italian  priest   arrested for stealing church money to fund his drug and sex parties.  *The kids are not all right. A brawl of over  one hundred students   broke out at an Ohio high school. *Missouri deer hunting season arrives right as USDA announces that deer can get  coronavirus ....

Toon Lagoon brought me so much nostalgia. I wasn't expecting to be transported back to my childhood Sunday afternoons. We would go to my Memaw and Papa's house every Sunday and have burgers. While we were waiting I would always grab 'the funnies' from my grandparent's Sunday paper. Sometimes they were over my head, but my Papa often explained some of the harder concepts to me.  Some valuable lessons I learned were: Cathy is a self-absorbed and manic self-deprecating individual, who is never satisfied. Beetle Bailey is lazy, but I think he has a good heart. Dagwood is always hungry, and Blondie is the dutiful wife, ready to feed him at any moment, even if he often disappears. Peanuts showed me to never trust Lucy. And Family Circus taught me not to want children.  I remember reading them in a particular order. I'd start with the ones I didn't enjoy, and save Garfield, B.C., Calvin and Hobbs, Hi and Lois, and Hagar the Horrible for last.  Toon Lagoon went over...

  First time turning on the fireplace in a long time. It has been awesome coming back from Orlando to some chillier morning air. I love it!  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. -James 4:7-10 I've often heard "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you," but sometimes the beginning of that verse is omitted. However, the beginning is the most important part. We must be in submission to the Lord first. How can we expect to fight against the devil and his schemes if we haven't surrendered ourselves over to God? If you try to fight the devil on your own, it is all in vain. He won't flee. He might hide behind a corner for a bit, but he's always lurking in the shadows. ...

I'm following this volcano in La Palma and if it does continue to erupt it will be a big deal, and it might be something that people don't know about very far in advance. They wouldn't have much time to really prepare. Here is a good link for  up-to-date   information on the volcanic eruption so far. If this were to trigger a landslide in the Atlantic, many US eastern coast cities could be underwater within a matter of hours. And obviously not just the US either.  This video is from years ago, but it shows a simulation of what might occur during a tsunami caused by the volcano. I think this is something worth paying attention to, especially considering the irrational behavior of the weather over the last couple of years. 

Both the kids told my parents that the Universal trip was the best vacation they had ever been on, and I wondered if maybe it was perspective, and that they appreciated it more because we hadn't taken a vacation in two years. But then I saw a commercial for a Disney cruise last night and I really started reflecting. (I don't think the allure of a cruise will ever mesh with me again. Just thinking about those people who were stuck in their cabins for months at the beginning of the pandemic makes me feel very claustrophobic, and that's not even a normal phobia of mine.) So I was thinking about all the things that made this trip so special to me, and it might have been my favorite vacation we've been on too. It was just so....easy. Staying at the Portofino kept us away from the busier hotels and we legitimately never saw another person on our entire floor of the hotel. I occasionally heard a person when we were inside our room, but I never saw a single person. We did see p...

*More than a dozen gorillas in the Atlanta zoo have  covid . *A news outlet in Detroit requested testimonials from people who had lost an unvaccinated family member due to covid. Instead they were flooded with responses of people who had experienced the death of a  vaccinated family member . *Woman dies of rare  brain disease   three months after second Pfizer vaccine.  *Fauci warns (err...threatens?) of a  'monster' variant . *Red Rock Amphitheatre in Denver launched the  Amazon One   palm reading technology at their venue.  *This article is five years old, so imagine how far it has come since: A genetically engineered  Magento protein  that can remotely control your brain. *Kindergartener collapses of alcohol poisoning at school after drinking  hand sanitizer .  *Idaho doctor reports  20% increase   in cancer among vaccinated patients. *Psychedelic use is on the rise in Gen Z, as they seek to feel some sort of...

Another cellphone upload of pictures doing their own thing. That's ok. I'll explain what most of them are. We are headed home now and I can't even put into words how much this trip meant to all four of us, but especially the kids. I was texting my brother and sister-in-law all the Harry Potter pictures, because they are the ones that got the kids into it, and Jonathan said the real magic was getting so many pictures of Gage. But he's so right. Sometimes I forget just how much the last 18 months has psychologically affected us all, even my two introverts. So I'm incredibly grateful for this experience. And it was so nice to take a week off and not pay attention to what's going on in the world. I didn't experience one person arguing over masks or vaccines all week, and I am not looking forward to reentering that world again.  Gage spent his money on a robe and all week long guests and park employees kept calling him Ron Weasley, and even though he typically di...

Yesterday we walked around City Walk for a bit and had brunch at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, which is like steampunk meets Willy Wonka. We even got to meet Doctor Penelope Toothsome and Jaques the robot. It was very entertaining talking with them. Gage said it was the best place he's ever eaten, and that's impressive coming from him.  And here are some pictures from our beautiful hotel. Again, out of the order I chose, because my phone seems to think it knows me better than I know myself, but it doesn't.  There are three pools and this one has a little beach. This is the view from our room.  Maybe the coolest table I've ever seen.