Wow. That’s a lot of exclamation marks, huh?

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

In case you were wondering why I wrote TGIS instead of TGIF, well, here’s the deal (deep breath): because my week starts on a Sunday, I celebrate the Sabbath (Shabbat) on Saturday BUT it actually starts on Friday night and ends after sunset on Saturday.

Whoosh. That was a long sentence, wasn’t it?

Anyway, on the Sabbath, there’s no work. There’s no worry about what little thing slipped my mind, whether my class posts are substantial enough, or concern about my son OD’ing on one subject (science) while neglecting another (writing).

Shabbat is a day of remembering all the good things that happened during the week and giving thanks for all of our blessings. It’s a day to praise and glorify our Creator for His great majesty and kindnesses.

Although it may not seem like it, even Garth Brooks knows that the bad stuff can be a kindness. Yes, I’ve been through a lot this week but yes, I am thankful for the Silver Lining Moments.

#TGIS – Thank God It’s Shabbat!

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

This morning, I decided to straighten my hair. Not because I hate my curls or anything. I just don’t know how to make them look all bouncy and shiny. It’s so ironic that magazines have to do all kinds of crazy things to the models hair look like mine does naturally and here I am straightening it because I have no idea how to style it!

Anyway, back to my story …

As my favorite, big mirror was in use, I decided to use my webcam. I don’t know if it was the lighting or the big image I was seeing or what but yikes!

A couple of white hairs, some facial poofiness and ick. I wound up doing a total body scan and finding myself going “eww”.

Being a single, homeschooling, work-from-home, and study-from home mom who lives out in the sticks is NOT an excuse to let myself go.

Granted, the dirt and heat out here is not exactly kind to makeup, spritzed hair or cute shoes but come on. There’s got to be some kind of Citified Country Girl middle-ground, right?

That’s the old and fat beauty and fashion part.

The bored out of my gourd thing is more insidious because it comes under the mask of my perfectionist, workaholic tendencies. I find myself bored with everything I normally love doing and dreaming of all the vacations I have never taken.

Truly, I have never taken a vacation. Ever.

All the traveling I did was somehow part of my work duties. Any side trips for fun were stuffed in here and there. Saved for days when I either had the energy/desire to go do something or I’d promised my son and couldn’t back out.

Lately, I find myself cyber-stalking bloggers who seem to be living the life of their dreams. Either they found a way to get paid to have fun or they found a way to blog about what they love. I need that right now. That positive vibe.

Somewhere along the way, I lost myself. I lost my motivation. I lost my hopes and dreams. I lost the essence of who I am.

It seems that this year is going to be a year devoted to self-improvement. The year I fully step in to my YouTube channel name. I really am a citified country girl who returned to the country physically if not mentally. I’m a WordPress obsessed, knowledge seeking junkie, an amateur photog and yes, a mom. A fun loving, cheesy joke telling, silly dance dancing, proud to be homeschooling mom.

Somewhere inside, I know the woman – a happy individual – is there too.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

Although I started my higher education journey at Strayer, I am now a Phoenix in more ways than one.

The most obvious way, of course, is the transfer to the University of Phoenix. The not-so-obvious (unless you know me personally) is the sensation of rising from the ashes of my previous life, gratefully shedding all of that baggage and bravely charting a new course for my little family.

CJ, my son, just turned 10. Something that still gives me the freaked out deer feeling. His kitten, Shadow, is now bigger than mom, Stardust. Stardust herself is no longer a wild ranch cat. She’s spoiled and waits for us to pick her up! LOL

It seems like so much has changed since I last posted up a storm on here. Good things, bad things. Gaining something here, losing something there. Life and time have both marched on.

My life revolves around my son so my work and education get stuffed in wherever possible. Sometimes that means getting up earlier. Sometimes that means staying up late.

In many respects, the life of an older, non-traditional university student isn’t much different than a younger, first-timer.

Returning to school was a huge decision. In truth, the only way it is possible is because of the internet. Online education has lost it’s stigma as more and more students come to embrace the flexibility it offers.

The biggest difference for me this time around is the addition of a Learning Team component. I’m older. I come from a family of serial entrepreneurs. I am used to my routines. My habits. My ways.

No, I won’t lie. Sometimes I wake up and berate myself for my decision. When things aren’t going as well as I’d like, I often catch that mean, little inner voice saying, “I can’t believe I’m paying …”

• To be treated this way.
• To be put in this situation.
• To feel like an underling again.

That annoying little voice presents itself as self-righteous indignation and self-respect. Yet it is nothing but a dream killer. A form of ego popping up to make me wonder who the heck someone else thinks they are to say/do/treat me a certain way.

The hardest part about being an older student is feeling like you know yourself and finding out you don’t know squash from a turnip.

Yes, I am proud to say I really do have a 4.0 GPA. Will I be able to maintain it? Only time, my Learning Team and the battle with that damn little voice inside my head will tell.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

They are sickening.

Those videos made me want to vomit. Those videos make me wish I could be a grow-my-own, organic, vegan household. Those videos make me want to get in a farmer’s or rancher’s face and sucker punch them. To make them feel the way those poor animals felt.

Something I can’t – for several reasons (like jail) – do.

If you know me IRL, you know I’m a Citified Country Girl. Raised out in the South Texas sticks among the rattlesnakes, javalina, and illegal immigrants migrating to what they hope is a better life.

If you know me from Twitter or other social media outlets, you’ve probably seen my profile at least once, right?

Mother. Writer. Blogger. Homeschooler. Photography obsessed rural gal from generations of ranchers.

4 generations to be exact.

My family has never tolerated any mistreatment of any of our animals. It wasn’t just taking care of what we planned to eat. It was spiritual. It was respecting our Creator’s creations and being as kind and gentle as possible because we knew they would be laying their lives down so that we could live.

Sadly, by the time I came along, my family’s ranch was just a trophy. We still raised cattle, fish and crops but we weren’t raising beyond what we planned to eat.

Let me tell you though, if any of us kids had ever treated any of the animals in our care the way the videos depict, we would have felt the sting of my Grandpa’s favorite whip!

Granted, that was in the days before spanking was a crime and – although the family is huge (Mom is 1 of 11 siblings!) – I know I don’t know enough to be a reliable source of knowledge about agriculture for public consumption.

Carrie, on the other hand, does.

She recently wrote a post from the other side of the fence. She explained why certain things are done and why. The biggest takeaway for me was that most of the upsetting “information” and “secrets” being shared were coming from a place of dis- or misinformation.

How many of us have actually taken the time to understand our modern food chain? Do you know a farmer? Do you know a rancher? Have you spent time doing the work they do? Do you understand why the system works like it does?

If you are one of those “animals have rights too” people (like I am) who worries about what goes into our food, how our food is processed and how the animals we eat are treated, you’ve got to check out #AgChat and #FoodChat.

Don’t sit around accepting whatever mainstream or social media tells you. Take your questions to the source.

Let’s stop bashing the folks who help keep us fed and start trying to a) understand what they are dealing with and b) help them come up with solutions.

9 times out of ten, if it bothers us, it’s bothering them too!

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

The event is called, “Take Stock in Your Future: Your All-Access Pass to Financial Literacy” and the site describes it this way:

 
To register, head over to: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Live/nyse2012.cfm.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

As the only adult available, I had to pretend I wasn’t scared. Normally, I’m not scared but this time was different. It sounded like a machine gun was bombarding our house. The ground literally shook with each blast of thunder. We had 7 different warnings on the weather radar – including one for a tornado.

If you know me, you know I couldn’t leave our dog out there like that. I ran out into the rain, hail and the light show to grab our giant Lab by his collar and yank him inside. In about 5 seconds, I was soaked to the bone. I was so focused on doing that one task without dying that I honestly don’t remember being hit by the hail.

Now I’m sick.

Normally, that’s not a big deal. I mean, who doesn’t catch a cold now and then, right? I am sure there are other single parents out there who have caught a cold just as they went back to university, continue to homeschool, work from home, just started a new volunteer position and are scheduled to start a fitness challenge.

Seriously. I can’t be the only over-committer out there, can I?

The biggest issue for me is that I am terrified of catching pneumonia. My healthy grandmother died because of that. I can deal with the zombie-like brain state because I know it is temporary. The death part, well, that’s a little more permanent.

Irrational? Maybe. However, I still kicked my booty into gear and finally started my 30 Day Fitness Challenge thank you very much.

Are you crazy like me? Share your story below!

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC

 

This is the time when we have to be kinder to – and more accepting of – ourselves.

Don’t give up!

Have fun, stay safe and God bless,

We couldn’t either.

There was an area-wide service outage and we wound up having to record a giggle-filled Chatcast instead.

CJ started getting choked up as we reminisced about our belly bump misadventures, oversized yoga balls, indoor trains, our obsession with all things Scooby Doo and a lot more!

So, what did you think of our singing?

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl 'Penny' Lane, CPC