Seven Years

How did I love you?
There was no measuring
far above this dirty world
far above everything
in your tower over it
you were clean

So warm and insightful
were you in my eyes
I was sure...the rightful
guardian of my life
damn you betrayer
how you lied

But for seven years
you were loved
I laid golden orchid crowns
around your feet

For seven years
I bowed down
to touch the ground
so wholly your devotee

You were
all I could see

For seven yers
you were so revered
I made offerings
of anything and everything I had

You were
all I could see

A side note...this is a "mutilated" version of a song by Natalie Merchant. Please do not take any part of these lyrics and assign any meaning to them other than for which it is intended!

Book of Days...

1. Outside My Window... The wind is really picking up and I'm just waiting for the storm to arrive.


2. My Thoughts... I am so tired right now that I don't think I am having coherent thoughts! I've been up since 4am...cramming hard for a test in Civil Litigation tomorrow...and I am now just about ready to crash!


3. Today's Quote..."I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.


4. I Am Thankful For... Exavier and Savanna (my grandchildren). They came over this weekend and they seem to have this unbelievable ability to make me laugh and appreciate the innocence of the young. Savanna is a "mini-me"...she likes all things frilly and girly. Exavier is my "little-man"...he loves helping his Nana Nancy out, regardless of what it is. they are so very precious!


5. From My Kitchen... I cooked all weekend...hot dogs, corn dogs, fresh corn on the grill, home-made fruit salad, BBQ chicken on the grill, and home-made hot fudge cake for dessert (and this was just Saturday evening!). Today, the only thing I've made is a boneless, skinless chicken breast for my lunch when I got in from school...and I'm getting too tired to worry about supper


6. I Am Wearing... I am all cozy in my matching pj bottoms and top made out of t-shirt material...yet very feminine.


7. I Am Creating (crafts, sewing, etc)... I have designed a cross stitch pattern that I am working on.


8. My Adventures This Week... Every week seems to turn into some kind of adventure, whether I have it planned or not! The only thing that I really have on the calendar in the "personal" column is dinner and movie with Sarge this weekend. We are going to The Penguin in Charlotte for dinner (awesome place!) and to see "The Conspirator".


9. Becoming Well Read... I am still working on "Love Wins" by Rob Bell and " Infinite Quest" by John Edwards .


10. I Manifest and Co-create (what are my hopes, dreams, prayers)... Sarge is helping me plan a memorial garden for Craig and for his brother Jonathan. I have a place picked out that has 2 enormous trees...and I want to have the following quote put on a plaque to place on the tree in their honor: ""Let us cross the river, and rest under the trees." by General Stonewall Jackson


11. Today's Melody..."Drink a little drink, Smoke a little smoke" by Eric Church


12. One Of My Favorite Things... My oversize chair and ottoman in the den! I like pulling the ottoman all the way up to the chair, sit crossed leg in the chair, and spread my homework out on the ottoman (and do it! lol)


13. Still Life...My new business cards came today...and I am rather pleased! It's a 2-sided card...with the card stock being Pearl...

This Is My South

*My South is full of honest, hard-working people. *My South is colorblind. In my South, we don't put a premium on pigment. No one cares whether you are black, white, red or green with orange polka dots. *My South is the birthplace of blues and jazz, and rock n' roll. It has banjo pickers and fiddle players, but it also has BB King, Mussy Waters, the Allman Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Elvis. *My South is hot. *My South smells of newly mowed grass. *My South was the South of The Partridge Family, Hawaii 5-0 and kick the can. *My South was creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird hunting. *My South is home to the most beautiful women on the planet. *In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern Conference is the kingdom. *In my South, soul food and country cooking are the same thing. *My South is full of fig preserves, cornbread, butter beans, fried chicken, grits and catfish. *In my South we eat foie gras, caviar and truffles. *In my South, out transistor radios introduced us to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the same time they were introduced to the rest of the country. *In my South, grandmothers cook a big lunch every Sunday. *In my South, family matters, deeply. *My south is boiled shrimp, blackberry cobbler, peach ice cream, banana pudding and oatmeal cream pies. *In my South people put peanuts in bottles of Coca Cola and hot sauce on almost everything. *In my South the tea is iced and almost as sweet as the women. *My South has air-conditioning. *My South is camellias, azaleas, wisteria and hydrangeas. *In my South, the only person that has to sit on the back of the bus is the last person that got on the bus. *In my South, people still say "yes ma'am", "no ma'am", "please" and "thank you". *In my South, Sunday is for church. The Ten Commandments mean something. In my south, we all wear shoes & clothes...some of the time. My South is the best-kept secret in the country. Please continue to keep the secret...it keeps the idiots away! (written by Robert St. John)

Understanding my attraction to White Tigers...

I get it now! I finally understand my "draw" toward the White Tiger...and it was the memory of Craig that led me to it.

See, Craig was into personal totems and ideas along that line. He always believed that his totem was the Wolf. Well, while shopping the other day, I found this gorgeous t-shirt with a tribal design of a wolf and thought it would make a great tattoo (I've been looking for a tattoo design to put on my back...and no, there will be NO TRAMP STAMP!) In talking with the Sarge, he was supportive, yet, a little concerned. Unfortunately, he knows that Nancy is going to do whatever Nance wants...the heck with everyone else's thoughts and opinions. But out of respect for Sarge I came to the realization that maybe...just maybe...I need to search out my own totem and design a tattoo from that. And that's exactly what I did!

I have always had this draw toward the White Tiger. The Power. The Strength. The Beauty. It called to me...I just never listened "wholly". Until the other day. Below is just a little of the information I found out about the White Tiger as a totem:

"One who is blessed to have White Tiger walk beside them, is here with the role to seek personal truth. Yet in order to thoroughly understand and absorb the lessons and responsibilities of this role, White Tiger Soul need first acknowledge the shadows that exist 'within'.

The shadows that are represented by the dark stripes of the White Tiger, may be in the form of beliefs or behaviors which bring pain either to the Self or others. Fear turned inward, which ultimately manifests as hatred or anger. Yet the challenge here is acknowledgement and the facing of personal truths free of judgment, self retribution or placing the responsibility onto another.

White Tiger is drawn to a soul that has a powerful sense of conviction and inner strength. Therefore, on who is blessed with power totem will have strong ideas of what is "right" and "wrong" and will stand by this personal belief system, even of that means leaping in the face of popular opinion. Naturally, the may feel compelled to be a champion for the 'under-dogs' of life.Much like their power totem, White Tigers are individuals in every sense of the word and pride themselves upon standing apart from the group. It is this inner drive to be recognized for their unique contributions, that will often propel he/she into positions of public attention and recognition. The resulting manifestation is as a brilliant star in a night sky beckoning all to partake in the beauty and fire of life."

This is my next tattoo! I want in to go completely across my upper back, with the face dead center! I can't wait to get it! :-)