Sometimes You Just Have to Get Some Perspective

It is January 2015. I'm sitting in my room with the lights off, surfing the internet and I come across this blog. I look at the date and realized that I've been away for two years and five months. And you know what, I did not miss it at all. Not one bit.

Sometimes, you have step back and get some perspective.

Since my last post, I was diagnosed with diabetes (yikes I know), I started a new job (holy sh*t), worked on a political campaign, I've given a speech to members of Congress at Capitol Hill and survived what feels like a million dates with the weirdest guys ever. Eck. I went natural and chopped all my hair off. I entered my late twenties AND I finally moved into the city. Yes, I was an imposter. I was working in the city, but not quite living in it. Now, I can finally say I'm a real city girl. Go ahead - give me a slow clap.

Anyway, you're probably wondering, "why would you come back now?"

Well, when you gain perspective on your life and begin to set priorities - things become clear. I didn't miss the blog, but I did miss writing. I also missed expressing my feelings and being creative about it. I can't lie, I read my last post and said, "oh snap, that was good!" No sh*t Sarah, you were in pain - of course it was good.

Little did I know, that it would be a part of the catalyst that would set off a chain of events leading me to this very moment, right now, blogging as a WHOLE person. Not just free from heartache (which I honestly wasn't when I wrote my last post in 2012 - it wasn't until December of that year where I really started to heal lol), but also free from brokenness and fear.

I've put myself out there a lot in the past two years and five months and most of the time I ended up with my face on the floor. I'm sure my close friends saw it coming, but I silently thank them for not wagging their fingers and saying, "I told you so."

I still walked away from every experience with a new perspective of who I am and what I want out of life. I've even put my big girl panties on and joined a new church. I'm involved in a ministry and a bible study group. I guess there's truth to "train up a child..." and there's also truth to the fact that there is absolute freedom in Christ.

But, do you know what I want? No? Of course you don't. I'll tell you though. Why? Because, I can.

I want to write more and I want to get my hands on the latest Ben and Jerry's ice cream lol. So, here I am...wondering what to do with this blog and with the limited amount of time that I do have each day.

I'll keep thinking about it. But, in the meantime, I'm back. So let's take on the world together, just me, you and the keyboard.

MB

How to Catch a Predator: iPhone Edition

People are hungry for money these days and after the statistics about the poverty rate going up in America, I'm not surprised that theft is increasingly becoming an issue.

This Friday, my iPhone was stolen. The last time I remembered seeing it, I put it in my bag. Whether it fell out or it was taken out of my bag isn't the issue at this point. The fact that someone found it on metro and took it home with them is what baffles me. In 2011, you must be a flaming idiot to think phones don't have GPS on them.

Find My iPhone App searching for a location

Which brings me to the post. Folks, protect your stuff. Why? Because other people want what you have and they are willing to take it and make a profit off of it. In my case I had a pass lock on my phone. Not because I thought anyone would steal it, but because people are nosy as hell and I'd prefer to give people access to my phone than have them all up in my business. I also had Apple's Mobile Me- Find My iPhone app.

Find My iPhone App finds the location of my iPhone 4

If you own an iPhone and you don't have a pass lock or the Find My iPhone app installed, you're a flaming idiot. Those two things will protect your phone from losers who like to steal iPhone 4's and sell them for $400-500 on Craigslist. Not to mention, it protects any sensitive information you may have on the phone. In the event that the phone is stolen, you can get the phone's location whenever it's turned on, send a message (usually prompting the thief to call a number and return the phone), it sets off an alarm for 2 minutes and you can remotely lock and/or wipe the phone. Now if you wipe your phone, it will disable the app and you'll be unable to locate it, so only do that if you're 100% positive that you're not getting the phone back.

The Craigslist posting that the kid had up (found it doing some personal detective work)

In my case, I was lucky. Blessed really. Some kid was planning on selling my phone and luckily his mom found out about the phone, told him he would not be selling it and she saw my message which had her name on it (after I did some detective work online). She ended up calling my dad and he went over there to retrieve the phone and gave her $40 as a gift ($40 that I now owe him which is WAY better than $500, I'll drink to that).

Police need to do their jobs. 

Needless to say, the app got my phone back with no help from the stupid police. I'm sorry if your friends or family are in the police force anywhere, but those bastards don't do anything. It was an open and shut case and no one wanted to deal with it. Not only did people give us the run around, they sent us to different police forces and no one was of any help. The thing that pissed me off the most was the fact that they basically said, yea if you don't see someone take something from you it's not theft. What the hell is wrong with this freaking country????

The only people that saved my phone were APPLE (thank you, I'm officially your customer for LIFE) and that lady who was probably told by God to give the phone back to me (thank you for having a conscience). It was my first experience really trying to use government services and they failed us. No wonder republicans are over "big government" and don't want to pay taxes. Y'ALL DON'T DO ANYTHING. They wasted our entire Saturday honestly.

Needless to say, I got my phone back within 48 hrs. I hope the devil is keeping score because every weekend God keeps showing off with touchdowns and field goals. I'm just saying...

MB

PS: I definitely appreciate my phone now more than ever. Don't ask to touch it for awhile, I'm bonding with it again. LOL. (not kidding)

Guess Who's Home For Winter...Stink Bugs?!

Now that fall has arrived, it’s important that homeowners and businesses understand that the Mid-Atlantic is suffering from a rise in stink bugs.

Now, I’ve seen these bugs all my life. But today when I opened the front door to the house to let the maids in (yes, we have maids come in once or twice a year) a massive swarm of stink bugs came in the house. Of course anyone who knows about these pests understands that squashing them is NOT IN YOUR BEST INTEREST. They’re called stink bugs because of the nasty odor that comes from them when you squish them. It’s best to vacuum them or maybe even spray them with bug spray if that even works.

This is what a typical stinkbug looks like.

Stink bugs look for shelter during the fall season to prepare for winter. Obviously, if they stay outside, they will die. So of course it makes sense for them to look for cracks and holes in buildings to stay warm. The good side is that they’re not going to mate once in the building. That would be like having an infestation of roaches, yuck!

In the meantime, get ready for the fall/winter season because it looks like we won’t be bracing ourselves for the cold weather alone. Here's some more info on stink bugs. Enjoy! Ha Ha.