Stuart Air Show – The Air Force Brat!

I woke up this past Saturday, thinking of work and what errands I had to run.  I’m constantly battling my “Need To Do’s” and my “Want To Do’s” inside my head!  This time, I decided to relax the congested highway in my brain (ha ha!), so that I can enjoy some time with great people.  I called a few friends that had children to go to the Stuart Air Show.  Only one had responded and said “that’s a great idea!”  I thought I had no chance of anyone wanting to go last minute, but this was a blessing for the both of us.  My friend and his daughter usually just spend their time together watching television the majority of the day, and I don’t get much time to socialize and catch up with friends going to events like this….so I think we helped each other out.

It was a beautiful day, mid-temp and the skies were completely blue.  No better day than this to go to the Air Show.  I didn’t expect much out of it, but to my surprise, it was quite large – we didn’t even get to see everything out of the 5 hours we were there!  I felt like I was back at home, b/c of my father being an Air Force veteran, I saw quite a bit that I remembered.  I was teaching my friend and his daughter a few things about certain aircrafts like the C-17.  My father was a Master Sargeant when he retired back in 1997 and flew the infamous C-141 until it was taken over by the C-17 a year later.  Both planes are similar in size and what they do, but some aspects from hand grip to joystick and all around cockpit was larger.  I took some photos with some of the squadrants to reminisce time that has changed.  I also commended them during this time of crisis for the entire nation.

From small naval aircrafts, to simulators, to rides, it was a great day with great people.  To enjoy a time like this that comes once in awhile and to gather knowledge in the midst of it all, is to me, a great opportunity to cherish.  View some of the photos below!

Are Sexual Predators In Your Neighborhood? How To Be Aware and Keep Your Family Safe

Port St. Lucie was a small town and still growing in the mid 1980’s.  As a child I’d ride my bike for blocks to go to a friend’s house, go down by myself to the St. Lucie River to fish and often explore the woods for imaginary treasure.  I remember neighbors being very close with one another and we all didn’t worry about keeping our doors unlocked while we slept at night.  However, times were beginning to change.

One evening when I was about five years old, I encountered a peeping tom entering through my window.  I was asleep at first, until I felt his foot land on my bed, which was directly against the window.  Seconds later, without having time to scream, my daddy (then a police officer) came in with a shotgun and pointed it directly at the man.  Now, I don’t recall what words were exchanged, or how my father heard the ‘peeper’ coming in.  All I knew was that the man had been arrested and it was the talk of the town.  With word being spread and the news covering what happened, that’s when Port St. Lucie residents really started to understand the safety in securing their home to protect their family.

Today, we are all too familiar with these similar occurrences.  Day in and day out we hear of another abduction, kidnap, molestation, or other kind of abuse.  It isn’t just happening across the country to another suburban town, more and more it’s becoming local.  So, how do we protect our spouse, our children and ourselves?  What characteristics does a predator have?  And how do we know if a sexual predator or offender is in our neighborhood?

Surrounding us is an abundance of resources at our fingertips and we should use it in gathering important information such as this.  Florida Derpartment of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has what is called the Florida Sexual Offenders and Predators database.  It can be found online at http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us.  This database can be useful if you are relocating or to simply find out what offenders are in close proximity of your residency and your children’s schools.  You can never be too careful, so protect your family by keeping an open line of communication of your whereabouts between each other.  Lock doors when leaving and as soon as entering the home or vehicle.  Tell your children not to park beside or get near vans if a suspicious person is inside or loitering around it.  Make sure your children have phones with emergency phone numbers on speed dial.  Find out more information how to protect your children from predators at http://www.registeredoffenderslist.org.  The characteristics of a child predator varies, which may include the following:  Child predators are typically afraid of adult intimacy, seek out children who are easily manipulated and has a low self-esteem.  As always, you may contact your local law enforcement agency to get a list of safety tips.

Soulmate

Do soulmates exist?  I’d like to believe so.  Some of my research, however, is not everything as we’d like to think the word ‘soulmate’ is cracked up to be.

Scientists say that we each have a soulmate – one that will surpass the love we have for someone and visa versa.  A soulmate is someone that we may not know yet that we’ve encountered in our dreams throughout the years.  It is someone we catch ourselves daydreaming about, who we often imagine is our ideal mate, when in fact, it isn’t just our imagination, it is as real as our counterpart in us, hence, our soulmate.  It is someone who somehow makes us drawn to them in everything we do without them.  Those are just a few of the positive sides to look forward right up until meeting your soulmate.

The negative side to a soulmate is a harsh reality, but quite possible.  As mentioned before we all have a soulmate.  But whether we choose to pursue it, is a main ingredient to sharing our life with that person or letting it pass us by.  Some of us never get to meet, or get to know our soulmate.  On the other hand, there is a good chance we have faced our perfect partner and turned away without a second glance.  Many reasons can constitute for that, such as being too occupied with work, or life changing events that prevent us to focus on another entity in our lives, or we are already in a relationship with whom we love that isn’t our soulmate.  These very things tend to haunt us down the road.  And if you don’t believe me, than you have to ask yourself this question: Has there ever been a time that you have looked back, but didn’t consider then, that a person has made themselves available to you and you’ve declined?  Did that certain someone for some unexplained reason just makes sense to be in your life?  That could have very well been your soulmate!  I will neither agree nor disagree, and the debate if a soulmate exists will continue.

I would like to believe, b/c I hope to have the explanation of the dreams I have about a guy since I was a teenager.   It’s always been the same.  Light brown hair, hazel eyes, as tall as I or a little taller, and not such masculine features.  Although, these are the things I can point out, I still don’t see a vivid face.  I often see this person in my dreams while I’m doing activities, like weight training, or doing water sports.  Is this my soulmate communicating through my dreams?  I wonder, do I enter his?

Outside Weekend

This weekend I spent the majority of my time outside and out of the house.  Of course I worked during the day on Friday, but I also was a vendor at Port St. Lucie’s West Fest in Traditions.  My company and I partnered up with the American Cancer Society for Breast Cancer Awareness month.  ACS received generous donations, more than the expected goal, while my company received exposure and offered $20 off a meal when donating $10 or more to ACS.  What a deal!  West Fest was hopping, and I enjoyed seeing quite a few people I knew.  This also helped raise more money!  And one particular person I stumbled across there, just so happens to be the person in my poem “He Taught Me How To Love”.   Even times in passing, those fleeting moments, are like chicken soup for the soul for me, ha ha!  Like a reminder, he is still here and in my heart.

The next day, I woke up to cool brisk air.  Finally, it was feeling like fall!  It was overcast, but I sat by the pool to steal some wi-fi.  Later in that evening, I accompanied a friend for a house-warming party.  As soon as I walked into the house, there lied a Foosball table.  I couldn’t pass it up without playing.  Before we all knew it, everyone is drinking, doing shots, gathering around the table to see the champion….and that, I gloat in victory!!!  All b/c I’m not a mastermind of the game, but b/c I’m not and kicked some serious ass, ha ha!

Sunday, I lay around, and was just too tired to go to church.  I didn’t want to miss church, but I had so much to do that day.  I was back and forth running errands, but I was able to find time to go with my friend and his dog to the beach.  It was the dogs first time at the beach, and boy, did she take to the water.  She gnawed on a few surfboards as the surfers waded in the water as if a chew toy, but besides that, she was having the time of her life!  It was also finally great to see some surf out there reasonable enough to surf!  With that comes some hot surfers….nice eye candy, LOL.  A few held waves for quite a few seconds.  It wasn’t bathing suite weather, that’s for sure, but it was definitely a nice day to spend outside, picnicking on the beach, and throwing a ball for the dog to fetch.  Nothing to top off the night with a great movie like “I Love You, Man!”  Can’t wait until I get another day like that again.

Is God All Around Us? The Sign of the Cross

One Friday, I woke up in the middle of the night unable to sleep.  Again, another restless night…another night with troubling thoughts that won’t detach.  My cat nudges my hand to give me comfort, but then begins to chatter and stare at the ceiling as if to see something.  I saw nothing.  She continues to chatter and look up.  Moments later, as I start to stare upward with my eyes wide with alertness…there It appeared on my ceiling; a bright shape that began to form into a cross.

At first when I saw it, I was startled, I do admit…and I even tried to debunk the formation to prove to myself it was nothing more than a light shining through my blinds.  But, the cross still remained after a few different attempts to expose what many would influence – is that scientifically it’s resolvable.  Afterwards, instead of fighting to prove it was something else, I laid back, and enjoyed the calmness that came over me.  And that is when I realized that I am not alone.  I’ve been going through a difficult time, a rather challenging time, and some great times too…but nevertheless, I’ve been going through some changes.

A few minutes went by, and the bright cross slowly started to dissipate.  And as it did, I questioned a few things.  Was this a sign, almost as if speaking through me to get me to understand a little bit more of His ways?  That He is always there for me?  That I have nothing to fear?  That God is all around us?  One thing that I certainly did not question, however, is that although I may at times feel alone and sometimes physically alone, that I truly am not, and that He walks beside me in life no matter what I go through.

Written by:  Angela J. Thomas

Poolside Laundry

It’s been almost a month and I am still not settled into my new place…well, at least completely.  My delay was because I injured my knee the week after moving.  Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know!  I know that sounds ridiculous, right?  Ha ha!  I just woke up on Labor Day and it was swollen and I could not walk on it without excruciating pain.  Quite possibly it was my dancing the night before….you know I had some killer moves, ha ha (literally)!  I had to go to the ER and I was in a brace for almost 2 weeks.  Luckily I’m getting around now with only minor aches.  The other reason I haven’t settled into my place is because I’ve been working hard and the only one in my department now.  Sadly, but truthful enough, I almost work around the clock, at the office and at home, leaving me no time for myself.  And you better believe it when I get that time, I relax and lay around as much as possible instead of “working” around the house putting up things.  It’s so unlike me to be…..let’s say it gently….lazy, and I’m disappointed that I have been.  But I know when my mind and body needs to rest to be rejuvenated for the following day.

But I did find time this evening to bring my laptop poolside at my humbly abode and do some laundry while I’m at it.  So, I am trying to get some things done, but at a slower pace than normal.  I keep saying I’m going to get use to this work “schedule” and start time managing better as I often learn to do, but it’s been a few months now and I still don’t have it down.  Perhaps it’s the dogma of it all, and the restless nights and skipped lunches.  Sounds hardly an environment to work at just knowing that alone, huh?  But, I put my best foot forward because I am an optimist and I know how I perform.  The thing is if they confide in me to do my work, they should not question every little thing (and sometimes, I will tell you, it’s childish things they bring about too).

After my laundry is done in about 25 minutes, I’m going to first pull them out of the dryer and smell the freshness (awe) and make me some oriental noodles with fresh market vegetables…mmm…mmm!  But cooking isn’t the same when I can’t cook for someone else and see them smile because I took the time out to do it for them.

A new weekend approaches, and perhaps, I can finally ride the bike trails over in Savannah State Park.

New Poetry Pages

Okay, I was able to finally post new poetry up. Please go to the right side bar and scroll down to the name. One is called “Hear Me”. I wrote it to reflect something with my life, but I left it sort of like an ‘open format’, not going into too much detail so that readers can maybe identify with it in their own journey. The second is called “He Taught Me How To Love” This poem basically identifies my personal experience and goes into detail about one specific area – love and how we can identify it in one than another, and also within ourselves. Please take a look and tell me what you think. Thank you!!

Busy, but Productive Week

I’ve had a busy last week.  So busy, I haven’t had time to write.  So, busy I can’t break each story into it’s own blog!

Last week on Thursday, August 27, I was co-hosting on Florida’s Space Coast and Treasure Coast radio station called 93.7 The Breeze with the “Wake Up Team”.  I had to wake up around 3am to be ready and at the station at 5am before going on at six.  It was an incredible experience!  To my benefit, I’ve been in broadcasting studios before and have a background in how to range my voice to ‘listeners’ instead of ‘viewers’.  I only had a few minutes to be briefed on the topics we were going to talk about, which is a self-test to me to see if I can run with it.  I prepared myself and brought news topics with me to the station, however, it was topics that have already been gossiped about during the week.  I caught myself a few times saying ‘exactly’ a lot in response to host’s thoughts, and I didn’t want to get too obnoxious on the radio since it is a family station, but I think all in all, I did a wonderful job!   When 9am hit, I was off air and on my way back to my main job until that evening, so I was pretty tired by that night.

I was in a middle of moving, so when Saturday came around, I went to finish signing the lease, get my keys and start moving stuff over.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have a truck or men that could help me out with the larger things that day, so for 12 hours straight, with only a smoothie in my stomach, I packed and packed and shuffled some boxes over to my new place.  Woke up early again on Sunday, and did it all over again.  Went over to this ladies house over in the Cascades (nice community by the way), to take a look at the couch she advertised on Craigslist.com for a reasonable price.  It was only a year old and never really used since it was an extra den she placed it in.  I saw how tidy she was with her house that I knew this couch was a steal!  And sure enough it was!  I purchased the fold out couch, but the lady insisted to give me two extra throw pillows, a blanket and a fake plant.  I couldn’t resist since she was practically giving everything up anyway to move in with her boyfriend.  Then I met up with the friends who would help me move my larger stuff.  Finally, I was out of the house that constantly made me sick, and I can really justify it now b/c I feel so much better where I’m at.

Last but not least, the company I work for had their grand opening this weekend.  As being in the marketing department, I contacted the City of Port St. Lucie to try and get the mayor and other politicians to be there for our ribbon cutting, along with the media.  I worked really hard on getting their attention for months and it finally paid off when I was able to meet and greet with every single one of them personally.  Mostly on the first night, I was with a production company we hired most of the time because they wanted my input a lot on things and interviewed me with Natalie Nicole who was previously a host on E! Entertainment.  Later that evening, both Deb, in sales advertising, and Rachel Leigh the host of “Hot Ticket” with Fox 29 showed.  Ironically, I never knew the same Rachel Leigh on “Hot Ticket” was the same one I knew with another friend of mine who works at Fox 29.  So, having that personal connection, definitely makes things much better.  While waiting for interviews, they started to take video and pictures of me holding the Fox 29 microphone pretending to host.  I had fun, but probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do because it doesn’t make me look like I want to be in marketing as much as in entertainment.  But, should I make it known so I’m not lying to myself?  I just gravitate to doing media stuff and I cannot deny that – and I’ve made it clear to my boss that I have that background.

Saturday night was pretty much the same with the same entertainment, media, dancers, oriental dragon and lion dancing, sword show and stiltwalkers.  The crowd was pumping.  Sunday wasn’t our grand opening, but Baby Anne and DJ Infinity was playing so we had a pretty good turn out then.  This time I was programming the lighting show and was up there doing it with DJ Baby Anne.  I got great compliments on my work – and they never knew it was my first time doing it!  If you don’t know how to do it, you got to act like you know what you’re doing…that’s all I have to say!

Oooh Spider!

It was a little after 6pm and I decided to grab my camera b/c of a raccoon in my backyard. But as soon as I walked out onto the porch, I saw this big black figure to my right. I turned my head and it was the largest spider I had ever seen in the wild! So I took a couple minutes worth of video by narrating to the audience and taunting the large bugger. Probably not the brightest of ideas, but then again, what naturist filmmaker just stands there without provoking? =)

By researching through Google on the latest specie reports inhabiting Florida, it appears that the 4″ x 4″ spider that I’ve seen today might very well be the Huntsman Spider. According to these reports, the Huntsman spider is relatively new to Florida in comparison of the timeline other arachnids have been discovered. It is to be believed that the Huntsman spider has been a great traveler. Originating in Australia, they have quickly spread, mostly by the help of ships, to different regions of the world, including Africa, China, Florida and even Hawaii.

I have lived in Florida my ENTIRE life, and have NEVER stumbled across this type of spider….or at least in this magnitude! So, in the absence of viewing this spider all these years, I would suggest that it only has been recently introduced to Florida in the past 10 or 20 years. The only other conclusion to why I’ve seen them more often (the smaller version than the one I saw today), is that their habitat is being minimized for structural development, therefore, appearing in or nearby the home.

To see the two short videos that I recorded, you may do so by clicking HERE to see “Wild Kingdom” and by clicking HERE to see “Huge Creepy Spider”. I have also taken a couple of photos that you will see below. However, both the videos and photos don’t do it justice as it appears to be smaller than what it really was. Also, the photos came out darker, but to my present eye it looked as though it was holding hundreds of eggs on its abdomen.

**For your assurance, the spider was not harmed during or after filming **

Calvary Chapel

I did it! I finally did it! I went to Calvary Chapel today. I’ve been having a hard time finding a place of worship here in Port St. Lucie, and went to a couple that didn’t seem to fit me. I’ve been procrastinating to go b/c I never have anybody that would like to go with me. I certainly don’t need someone to go with me, but it helps with the first time jitters. The jitters that are often felt when doing something new and by myself at a new place, and the thought of running into someone I might know. But, I went! I finally went on my own! At last relieving me of my anxiety when I challenge myself in the times I get nervous.

I put God forth and have known for awhile that I’ve been away from my “House of God”. I felt incomplete every time I told myself to go and didn’t, and praying at home wasn’t as fulfilling. When I got there, and as soon as I walked in I got a very warm welcome by a nice lady. She introduced herself and gave me a hug right off the bat! I told her it was my first time attending, and she smiled and said “I know.” She introduced me to a few people, which unfortunately I couldn’t remember who they were b/c I was so overwhelmed by their kindness, and by the mass of people surrounding me. One of the ushers brought me to sit toward the left-side front. The band was playing, the singer was praising the Lord in song – it was like a free small concert! I started to move in rhythm with the music, swaying my hips ever so slightly, and clapping my hands with everyone else. Another lady was ushered beside me and I leaned over and asked, “Is this your first time?” She replied that is was. I already knew it was, that is why I asked in way to comfort her and also told her it was my first time too.

When they sang one of the first songs, quite a few people were crying from it. I tried to hold mine in b/c even before hearing that song I was quivering at the fact I made it there and that made me so happy! Now, being emotional from that, I didn’t want to cry over every song or sermon, however, it was hard not to cry out for joy, forgiveness and thankfulness. When Pastor Mike spoke of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38, he dived right into it bringing everyone back to that day. He made me understand it better by using us as subjects and current things in our lives today. A lot of what he said spoke right to my heart. Some of what he said was funny, too! I really wish I had a pen to take down notes today as a lot of what he said was encouraging and I’d like to post on my mirror or somewhere I can see it daily.

Overall, Calvary Chapel of Port St. Lucie is not as large as the one I have attended in Pompano Beach, which is televised, but it had the same concept and hospitality. I really enjoyed myself there today and I see myself going back and perhaps attending some groups in the future. And of course, now since I’ve went and had nothing but good things to say about it, my sister and mother said they’d like to go with someday, ha ha!