Choices (Poem)

How do we decide?
Are we in it just for the ride?
Life is about the choices we make
Are we thinking for Christ’s sake?
If we choose not to grow
Then it it’s the bad seeds we sow
Many circumstances can affect outward
But how we respond reflects inward
Think on what Jesus would do
Ignore the devil’s coo
Even then we may face many consequences
Because of our own busted fences
Yet when we fall
We can climb back up towards His call
It’s a decision made in His trust
For salvation, that decision is a must!

By Tamara Money
© TRM 2007

2 Year Anniversary

Ah, how quickly it seems time has passed! Honestly, Rodney and I can hardly believe it's been 2 years. For us, it seems like just yesterday! For others, they think we have been married forever!
I tell you what, I asked my hubby today what he thought about it having been 2 years and he said, "It's like the honeymoon!" AMEN!

I hope we never get past the honeymoon stage. I want to be a perpetual honeymooner!

Stealing the idea from a friend of mine (Jessica), I think I will write down a few titles of the chapters of our marriage book (should we ever write one based on our experiences):

The Marriage is more important than the Wedding
The Wedding Day... thank goodness it's over!
Honeymooners... Honk at them
Holding hands is not taboo
"Oops" and "Sorry" are ok in Bed!
Feeling fulfilled
Understanding the Husband/Wife Role
God-centered Marriage
Finances are up and down... just push through the down
Finding happiness together
Compromising
Together, but independent too
Find common ground
Be Bird Brained (Sometimes)
Unconditional Love
Inside Jokes

Well, that's all I can think of now.
I am grateful to God for 2 wonderful years of memories and love!

I love you, Rodney!

Pigwidgeon's Prognosis

It saddens me to tell you this, but my baby Pigwidgeon definitely has cancer. It is testicular cancer, and while he has no swelling in his abdomen as of yet, Dr. Burkett said that the prognosis is not good. He's giving Piggy 3-6 months. So, we have definitely entered into a "budgie hospice care" stage with him.

I am upset even though I knew it was coming. I really do love him, even though he's only been in our lives about a month now (rescued!). There were some good things that came from the vet visit today. Pigwidgeon has gained weight (yay for not being underweight anymore!) and his beak has stopped growing as fast (perhaps his liver is doing much better now!).

Testicular cancer is typically seen in budgies that are inbred. This is a huge problem in pet stores. Many of the breeders they get these birds from allow inbreeding to happen. Little Pigwidgeon is only three years old! He's at the end of his life even though he should've/could've lived another 10-15 years! The biggest indication is his cere. It should be a beautiful blue color, but it is a dark brown. Later on down the line, Pigwidgeon will have trouble breathing and his tail bob will be the indication that it is getting hard for him.

Piggy is my first ever budgie. I love talking to him. He makes cute sounds back at me. He also sings in the mornings. Otherwise he is very quiet, unless the lovebirds are annoying him! He rides on my shoulder and sometimes will even let me get in there and preen his head good!

I will cry when he goes to heaven. Losing a pet is never easy. It makes me happy to imagine him in heaven with my Grandma though. She passed away last September, and in the last months of her struggle with ALS, one thing that always perked her up was when we brought over our birds!

Dr. B says this is a typical case and that there is nothing we can do but make him comfortable and give him the best months of his life. That, I know, we can do!

A good picture....

At least I think so!
This is a portrait we got done when the whole Money clan got portraits done!

What is that shiny thing??

Haha!!!! I love it! Check the video out:

Gizmo: "I have to protect Kiwi from the shiny thing!"

Kiwi: "There's a shiny thing? LOOK AT THIS BALL!"

Took the plunge.....

So, I did it. I took the plunge. I sent in the letter! Yes, that letter. The one.

There's a real sense of peace in it all. I also felt very much in control and like I was the one with the power. Not that I want to be like some of those medical schools who send rejection letters, but I essentially rejected medical school itself.

Why? Oh, why, Tamara?
Well, let's just say it isn't for me. Especially not right this moment. It seems that there are more important things in life than a career. Family, friends, life, freedom. All these things appeal to me way more than medical school.

I just don't want to sacrifice my life for a career that would rule my life. It would take away all freedom. Seriously. Imagine: I would be studying 24/7 and really have no life. I desire to live life to it's fullest, and that includes being with my husband, loving on my nephew, spending time with my Mom & Dad, visiting my family, and being with my friends.

Frankly, I am happy with the job I have right now. It works out in the number of hours and pay (recently asked for a raise and got it) and fulfills my desire to help people. Ultimately, that's what I want to do in life: help people. I can do that without being a doctor. This has been divinely revealed to me.

Perhaps medicine will be something I pursue down the line. Had I been accepted right out of college, I wouldn't have known any better and gone. But, since entering the "real world" per se, I have determined that jobs are not life. We shouldn't have to work to live or even live to work! Work does not = life!!!!

Medicine is stressful. I have seen it, read it, heard it, felt it. I desire less stress in life as it is!

I know some of you are thinking that I am crazy! Well, you could say that. I am "crazy" in love, "crazy" in life, "crazy" involved with God! It is awesome! Thank the Lord and Jesus I can be fulfilled in something other than a job!

Ok... whew. That felt good.

On another note, I am making someone on the alternate list very happy! I know how I would've felt had I gotten in off the alternate list originally. Also, I received the "summer reading" book in the mail before I "rejected" them, and it sure feels good to be reading it because I want to (looked interesting). Haha!

Amen.

High School Yearbook

Trying to swart a case of slight insomnia and also looking up pictures of some people I was trying to remember how they looked in high school, I spent some time reading some of the "autographs" I got in my Senior Yearbook.

Let me tell you something.... the people I went to high school with who signed my yearbook my Senior year were so amazingly nice. So nice, in fact, that I started to cry. Yes, cry.

I totally recommend that if you need a lifter upper, that you read your high school yearbook signatures. I was amazed at how many people believed in me, said nice things about me, and just were friends to me.

Now, I don't believe that a person should live in regret, but I do believe you should take a trip down nostalgia lane and help yourself remember to be a better person to those around you.

I wish I had kept in touch with more people. Especially those who I could've.

One of the most wonderful friendships that I neglected was my friendship with Dinara Turabekova from Kyrgyzstan. Somehow, her address got misplaced, and with good intentions I had planned on getting her address from her host family, but never got the guts to "re-ask" them for it. I read the entry in my yearbook tonight and flat out cried. Every time we sing "Shine Jesus Shine" at church I think of her. She really did touch me with her life and heart while she was here, and I often reflect on how I wish I had kept in touch.

Many others tugged at my heart with their entries into my yearbook. I thank you for being so kind and encouraging in your words. I also thank you for the memories. Sometimes we reflect back and wonder what happened to "so and so." Well, you do have that chance to reconnect. And, I would do it.

Thank goodness for things like Facebook.

Also, can you believe I have been out of high school for 7 years? Whoa.

Dinara- I googled your name tonight and found it but with no contact info. I would love to reconnect! Remember Volleyball? That night on the bus? Yeah, I'm that lost friend.

You think you know me?

Take My Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com Can you Ace my quiz? Yes! No Let's Find Out!

Contemplation

Lately, I have been contemplating where I am right now in life. It actually amazes me to think that I'm not in life where I expected to be just a few short years ago. If you had asked me when I was college where would I be when I was at the verge of turning 25, I would have told you I would be in Medical School, in my third year, and living in Greenville, NC. Pets? Probably a parrot of some type, being that I married a parrot-guy. What would Rodney (my husband) be doing? Writing music full time and teaching music part-time. Kids? Probably after medical school.

Where am I now? Well...... Let's just say, not quite what I pictured, but probably happier now than if I had been where I thought I would've been.

I am a Mommy to 4 wonderful pet parrots for one (+ 2 breeders/pets). I am an Aunt on MY side of the family (WOW! who would've thought that???). I am fulfilled taking care of my home (that one has got to be the craziest of all). I turned down medical school for the fall (holy moley!). We don't want kids (hey, I got a baby nephew... I'm all good in the diaper dept there). I am coming up on 2 YEARS (yes, unbelievable!) of marriage. I feel like a newly wed still even though I am a bit of a veteran now (when your single friends come to you for "marriage bed" info, you know you've been married a little while longer!). I own 2 businesses (me, business owner? who would've thought.... not me!)!

Why is all this relevant? Well, I am turning 25 years old in August and I am still learning that there is no real way to "plan" your life. See, we all end up with unexpected obstacles in our lives. The decisions you make surrounding those circumstances truly make you who you are. That is a pretty cool thing too because, then, at least you can try and make the right decisions in your life.

Hindsight can be depressing at times, but then again, it can also give you insight to why certain things didn't go as "planned." That is when you can see the directions God led you to get you where you are now.

I love the motto, "Who you are is God's gift to you, and who you become is your gift to God." It is so true. God doesn't force you to make certain decisions. He opens doors and closes doors for a reason. It's trusting Him and knowing that He has 20/20 foresight! Man, sometimes I wish we had that so that then we could "plan" our lives. But then there would be no surprises!

Congrats Class of '07!

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Oh, the places you'll go!!!!

Vanessa- You amaze me! I know you are going to do awesome things in your life. You certainly teach me what's important in life. I just wish you the best in all and for God to truly help you touch your kids' lives as a teacher!

Marty- You are a doll! I always enjoy being around you. I am so glad you are sticking around here. I love your joy in life!

Andy- What can I say? You are awesome. You make me laugh. I know I am going to miss your funny comments and hilarious antics. I am so sad for all those folks who will never get to ride your Wolfline bus!

Brent- I pray that you will bless many people with your life. You definitely have been a blessing to me. My life certainly wouldn't be very interesting without you! Thanks for your hugs (& kisses... haha!), your happiness, and for always being a great friend/brother to me!

My Nephew Andrew (Video)

A short of my nephew Andrew "talking" and then giving us a surprise fart!! He is 2 and a half months old!

Haha!!!!!!!

My New Baby

Introducing.... Pigwidgeon!He's an American Normal Green Budgie (Parakeet). His is hand-tame and sweet. He is a little shy right now as we have only had him for 48 hours! But he will step up and cuddle our necks. He is also a good forager!

He is a rescue from our downstairs neighbors who were moving out and couldn't take him.

Unfortunately, he won't be able to play with our lovebirds (lovebirds can be aggressive to smaller birds).

We took him to the vet yesterday and he definitely has some health issues. He was underweight, had an overgrown beak (due to Fatty Liver Disease from an all-seed diet), and possibly may have a testicular tumor (not sure about this one; his cere has a small brown spot where it should be blue. We will do another vet check next month to see if it is worse or better and maybe then know for sure).

Normally, we don't take in birds as we are definitely crowded enough around here, but we made a special case for Pigwidgeon.

Celebrity Look-Alikes

Me:

My Hubby:

North Carolina Girls

Three men were sitting together bragging about how they had given their new wives duties. The first man had married a woman from Alabama and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning. He said it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were done.

The second man had married a woman from Florida . He bragged that he had given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. On the first day he didn't see any results, but the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the dishes were done and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married a North Carolina girl. He boasted that he told her that her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye. Enough to fix himself a bite to eat, load the dishwasher and telephone a landscaper.

Got to love them North Carolina Girls. Yee-haa!

Babies!

I am having so much fun with and love all the babies in my life right now!

Sweet little ones!

Cuddle monkies!

Weeeeee!!! Just having fun!

Healing

Deep down I hurt
Yet with sin, I flirt
I know He’s my Provider
But in His arms, I am no rider
He calls me to His rest
It is all a big healing fest
You see, Jesus was there for me
He plucked me from the raging sea
He showed me how to love
To others, I could be as sweet as a dove
It’s all about relationships
He doesn’t want us to be a sinking ship
He is our salvation and rock
In our hearts, we only need put the key in the lock
So that when comes the knock
We won’t waste anymore of our life’s clock.

By Tamara Money
© 2007 TRM

It's the Simple Things

Have you ever just sat down and thought about the little things you like or don't like?

I was driving home from my business meeting tonight thinking about them, so I thought I'd share.

You know, I will slow down (safely) driving on Aviation/Airport Dr in Raleigh to allow a plane to fly over top of my car? Yes, I have even come to a complete stop between the two lakes, waiting for that glorious roar. At first, I wasn't sure why I liked it so much. As I thought about it some more, I realized it was the memories it invoked. I remember when Grandma and I would go to a park near Pope Air Force Base and just watch the planes fly over while playing on the swings. I just think planes are cool.

I like to look at deer (live) on the side of the road. My deer goggles are quite keen and I see A LOT of deer on the side of the road at night all over the place, but mainly on Aviation Dr and I-40. They are cool to look at, as long as they aren't running in front of my car, into my car, etc. I still get that tense feeling like they might, and on occasion, while passing by, have beeped my horn so they will look up at me (hopefully they weren't alarmed and ran in front of the next car). I have seen/heard of many a deer accident, but that doesn't deter me from liking to see a pack of deer on the side of the road.

I like it when the temperature is 68 degrees. It's just perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. Perfect. Plus, I can just open the windows and turn off the heat/AC.

I hate being late. I just do.

I like classical music on when I read. There's just something about music without words that keeps my mind attuned to what I am reading and makes it more enjoyable.

In fact, I really only like Classical and Contemporary Christian music. On occasion, I will listen to some good new rock songs (aka Daughtry), but my radio is rarely on any other stations other than WCPE, His Radio, and KLOVE.

I hate the news. So negative.

I like Survivor. I know. Pathetic. I also like Ellen. Yeah, she's a lesbian. But, she's funny too. I like the Price is Right. Yay for Bob. I would love to go see him before he retires. It's doubtful though.

I like the Weather Channel. Or Weather.com. Weather is fascinating to me. Plus, I want to know what tomorrow will be like. Rodney just thinks I should go outside the day of to figure it out. I just want to be prepared.

I like a good artistic/symbolic film. Even ones with subtitles. I like good puzzle films or films that tie back in with the clues already presented. Ooooo, I like it!

I like it when my birds snuggle with me. It's the softness of their feathers on my cheek or neck.

I like to take pictures. Lots of them. It's fun. Plus, the feeling of accomplishment after taking a good shot, finishing a scrapbook, etc is awesome.

I like lightning, but not thunder. Thunder is scary. Lightning is beautiful and edgy.

I hate early mornings. I would rather just wake up when my body is fully rested and not to an ALARM clock (they named that right).

I hate it when my pillow falls on the ground, a bird poops on it, a dog sits on it, or an authorized person puts their hands, face, butt on it. Dude, that's where my face lays at night. Gross. I will change my pillowcase in any of those cases. I also like the smell of my pillow. Yeah, it's weird because no one else smells what I do.

I like to get into a made-bed at night. I like the look of a made-bed. It just feels better.

I hate taking showers in the morning. It draws my routine and schedule out too long. I am not a morning person as it is.

I like to eat breakfast. I love breakfast food. Not always healthy but good and tasty! I could eat breakfast food for lunch and dinner as well. So many options!

I like happy, positive people. That's probably why I am in the business I am in. They fill my happy tank up.

I like babies. Not babies of my own. Other people's babies when they are sweet and not screaming. I like it when a baby falls asleep in my arms or on my chest. It just feels right. (still do not want one from my womb though)

I get fulfilled taking care of my home. Yep, never thought I'd say that, but I would love to be a housewife. No, I wouldn't get stir crazy. There are many things I could do if I were job-free. It's coming soon....

Cute Updated Pics of Andrew

TLC

Baby-Daddy time!

Aww... sickeningly cute!

Cry Babies! (I love this shot of my Dad!)

Plus Size Models

I was watching Tyra on America's Next Top Model (yeah, I know....) and it actually irritated me. They have two models on there that they are calling "Plus Size." In fact, they were saying that models are plus size when they are size 12 or 14. I, personally, have always thought that plus sizes were 14W+. When I saw those two gals, I thought they were beautiful and definitely not Plus Size. They looked great in their swim suits and would never even consider calling them plus sized.

America's view of being skinny has always bothered me. Did you know that Size 12 is not fat? In fact, it is the size of an average American woman. I just read the book by Meg Cabot, Size 12 is Not Fat. It wasn't what I expected, but quite enjoyable. Heather, the main character, kept getting called fat and finally got her revenge at the end. Even still, I totally agree with that title.

I think that it is good for a woman to have a little bit of "meat" on her. It makes her look healthy and besides, God made us a certain way and for certain purposes anyways. Now, I don't hate skinny girls, and I do wish I weighed less (I am working on it), but I do believe that you can be healthy even at a heavier weight or larger size.

Beyond everything, I think that our country should promote being healthy rather than skinny. This is especially needed in the entertainment industry.

Oh, and SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT!

Lovebird's Concerto

Check this out! A professional painter, Jamie Grossman in New York, painted our BeBe! If you are interested in checking out her work, this is a link to the original post and her blog! She sells her paintings, so you will have an opportunity to purchase the painting of BeBe if you so desire!

This is the original shot!