A Week of Thankfulness :)

Today is a special day... all of the things that I have said that I am thankful for, I will experience today. I am on my way back to Columbus, Ohio to hang out with my family and friends. Along the way I am listening to some awesome music (yay! Car concert in full effect) and when I am back in town I will see the last thing that I am grateful for-- Ohio State football!!



Today the Buckeyes play their conference rivals (crappy michigan) and after a year of talking all kinds of smack (yep- year round job!) we will see what happens at noon EST. I love the rivalry weekend scenario. It seems like for a split second, the whole town comes together, wearing scarlet and gray (obviously) and cheer for the same thing- a victory over that team from up north. There is crap talk and real statistics thrown around. In the end, however, there can only be one winner and as I hit the road, I hope and pray that my Buckeyes come out on top!



**UPDATE** My Buckeyes did, in fact, win-- convincingly. I love that I have another year to rub it in peoples faces!! Woo hoo!!

A week of Thankfulness- Haters

This seems weird, huh? To be thankful for someone not liking you? It seems weird to take joy in the fact that someone can dislike you so much that they think of things to make your day hard. I have to say, it seems odd, but I love it.

For me the biggest and best form of flattery comes from a person that is trying to drag my name through the mud. Because EVERY chance I get, I will prove them wrong. Tell me I can't be successful and I will make you EAT.THOSE.WORDS. Tell me I can't do something and I WILL do it...well. Better than you... and your friends. And then I will smile in your face. See, I love to be right and I love to make people question their perceptions of me. So you can talk trash all day. And guess what? I will be on your mind-- ALL day.

You remember that song Conceited by Remy Ma? Yeah, that was my theme song for a while. I am not phased by women who think that I want their boyfriends, or by men who are insecure. It makes me smile and it should be a clue that they need to get themselves together. I don't have time to be everyones cheerleader, so if you are feeling like you aren't up to par, more than likely, you aren't.

I am, by no means, where I aspire to be... but I am on my way. And no Debbie Downer is going to make me feel bad about who I am or what I do. There have been some who have caught me off guard, but trust and believe this: No one will put me on a higher pedestal than I have placed myself on. And I am not giving anyone permission to take my pedestal away.. SO hate on, my friends. In the end, I will be victorious. Below, Remy Ma and Katt Williams illustrate my point.

A week of Thankfulness- Music

Today- and at least twice a day, every day- I an thankful for good music!! As seen during times when I have been having a rough time, I often will not write, I'll put up a video. Trust me, the videos that have made it to the blog have represented exactly how I felt at the time it was posted.

I have "f*ck it" days... and I post "f*ck it" music. I have days when I am reflective and that is the type of music that is posted, or that I am listening to. I cannot remember the last day that I didn't listen to music, and whenever it was- it probably wasn't a good day! I have so many memories tied to fantastic music from my youth and I can easily recall times with my family when certain songs play.

I express myself through music and the sappy Moximillion sends her special guy music through email to let him know that I am thinking of him... even if we aren't in the best place all the time. Music brightens my mood, or allows me to be angry, or shouts my thoughts in ways that I can't. I'm not talking about today's ridiculous crap either. I am talking about soul searching, pour your heart into a glass music. Nothing about poppin' bottles or making it rain in a club (yuck), but about love, life, struggles and triumphs. Music makes me go. It lets me breathe. It gets me through. It shouts politics and describes wearing your heart on your sleeve. It colors my world and I LOVE it!

A Week of Thankfulness- Faith

Today, I am thankful for my faith. During rough times like these, I am glad that I have a refuge where I can turn when I feel like nothing is going my way. I am glad that my parents introduced me to a calm that is like no other; a source of amazing relief; a deep love and compassion that is all encompassing. I am glad that I have God to turn to in my times of trouble.

I generally don't talk about God on this blog. But I believe that He is present in my underlying principles. I think that even though it is a struggle for me, my light shines through my actions and my words. I hope that through some of my words, readers are able to receive some of the comfort that I felt when I needed them. I am not a bible thumper and I don't think that I ever will be- I find them disturbing... I guess that it is ok to preach to people, but when you do, it is a tight line to walk. You (I) don't ever want to come off as holier-than-thou, or like you don't struggle every day to maintain your relationship. For that reason, I am not one to tell people that they need to redeem themselves. I have entertained many conversations about my Christianity, and I am not adverse to it... but I am never going to be that chick that says: "OMG, you do (whatever)? You're going to hell."

I am more likely to see that one of my friends is struggling and ask them if they want to come to church with me. If not, I hit up my mother to pray for them (I am convinced that her prayers are heard before mine!!), and I call and check up on them a little more often. It is because of my faith, I care about not mistreating others because of who they love, what religion they practice, what life struggles they have, etc. So you will see me stand up for the little guy- in almost every situation. I am not down for persecuting people because they are different, and I firmly believe that is because of my upbringing in a church-going family.

Completely thankful for being an OPEN minded, liberal Christian, fighting for my rights and the rights of others... through faith AND works!

A Week of Thankfulness- Dogs

Today (and most days) I am thankful for my dogs.

It takes a true crazy dog lady to say that... and write it for everyone to see it! LOL Whatever!! I am comfortable with that. For anyone who doesn't know, my life is pretty much run by dogs. They control what time I get up, my cooking schedule, the vast majority of my free time... Who would have thought? Certainly not me!! I did not have dogs growing up and I never really figured myself for a dog person, honestly. That all changed when I met the sweetest, loveliest pooch to grace the Earth.

Picture this, Columbus, Ohio, 1997 (that was my Sophia moment of the day- I love the Golden Girls!) OK, seriously 1997- I was dating this young man from my home town and we were home for the weekend. I went over to his mom's house and was greeted by a medium sized dog with a GIANT bark. That was the first and only time Lady barked at me. Ooh, she was beautiful and SO nice. Granted, she was just as spoiled as my dogs are now! She totally got treats and special (people) food, but she deserved it! Amazing temperament, cutest little face. It was love at first sight.

Fast forward to New Year's Eve 2000. I was living in Nashville, Tennessee and had asked my parents for a dog for Christmas. In true Moximillion family style, my parents bought me a robot dog (remember those?) Yeah, Momma Moximillion did not think that I was up to the challenge of being a dog owner. Now, I am *slightly* stubborn (shocker) so a robotic dog was NOT going to work out for me. I had absolutely NO plans to ring in 2001, so I answered an ad in a newspaper, grabbed my lovely neighbor Rob Cash to go along for the ride and headed into the depths of country land that surrounds Nashville. We drove for almost an hour (in the dark... in the south- I was scared) to this little country house. The lady of the house met us, took us in the backyard where I saw a dog that looked just like the Taco Bell dog and right behind her was the cutest little face I have ever seen. Needless to say, that night I bought a dog and it was the start of something wonderful.

There are hard days, (read: someone pees on the floor, eats my underwear, or pukes on a pile of clean clothes before I can put them away) but those a few and far between. I share my crazy life with five dogs right now, and they love me no matter who I vote for! :) I am no fan of 5 am potty breaks in the middle of the winter or long walks in the rain (truth be told, the dogs aren't crazy about those either) but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love those little puppy dog eyes and the way that they hog the covers. Every day they teach me a little more patience than I had the day before, and no matter how bad everyone thinks I am- they think I am pretty cool. I think they are all keepers! :)

A Week of Thankfulness- Friends

Today (and every day) I am thankful for my friends. My extended family of brothers and sisters! There are not enough words in use to describe the love that I have for my friends. I am a firm believer that friends are the family that you get to choose; and I have to say, I surround myself with some quality people. I am not talking about acquaintances. I have those and they can be easily dismissed. I have spent a lifetime learning the difference between a good time "buddy" and a friend I can call at three in the morning to pick me up from a police station (that hasn't ever happened, but it is nice to have a list of people to call).


Since they are family, the lessons from yesterdays post holds true. There is nothing above family. When one of us is poor, we all pull together and take care of it. When one of us is crying, we listen and plot revenge. When one of us needs help he or she gets it. When we have stress, get married, have babies, experience a death, it happens to us all and we go through it together. I have picked up more than a few friends at crazy times of night; driven to different states for last minute visits, been picked up for emergency runs back to Columbus, went to an event, volunteered for moving duty, and been taken care of when I was in need. Give and take is what we have built our lives together on. It is that give and take that allows for us to be so very different, yet, able to co-exist. Do I like all of the people my friends associate with? HELL NO. But, I love my friends and for them I make the small sacrifice of participating in their life events, no matter who is around.


I have friends that I have known since I started to walk and talk and friends that have become an integral part of my life, who I have know for a year. They all bring a certain something to my life. My friends know me, they accept me (and my crazy moods). Some can tell the kind of day I am having by the way I answer he phone. Some, I swear have ESP and call or text me just when I need it. Some (very few) have the ability to yell at me and snap my ass back into reality. All of them own a place in my heart. They make my days better and through their love and understanding, they make me better.

A Week of Thankfulness- Family

Here it is, Thanksgiving week. Through all the hustle and bustle of the beginning of the holiday season, the extended family time (OMG), the food (and the calories) we are supposed to take some time and reflect on the things in our lives that we are thankful for. During times like these, with the majority of us feeling the grip of a dying economy and mourning the loss of jobs and lifestyles that we have become accustomed to, it is hard to see, through the daily grips, what we have that makes waking up and getting out of bed every morning worth it. Well, it is hard for me sometimes. With the last two years of questionable employment, no health insurance and just plain doing shit that I was not interested in so that I could pay minimum amounts on bills, I can tell you- I have had several days when I did not want to get out of bed. Days when I didn't want to shower, cook or feed the dogs. I just wanted to... wallow.
There are very few things that have gotten me out of that self induced state of depression. I can tell you, blog readers, I have had my fair share of "debbie downer" days and there is a very short list of things that put me back into the right state of mind. Those are the things that I am SO thankful for. So for the next week, I will be posting what those things are- celebrating the theme for the season. There might be some other posts in there, but for sure, one per day, you will get something that I am grateful for. So here we go...

Today (and every day) I am thankful for: my family.

Everyone says that, huh? Well, let me tell you... the Moximillion clan is ever expanding and hard to get along with. There are days when I want to slap the shit out of my sister... oh, believe me, she feels the same about me. My brothers (three of whom are teenagers) do things that make me furrow my brows and give them a "what the hell is wrong with you?!?!" look... and the parents? Well, Momma Moximillion is a saint and usually knows the right thing to say (OR will repeat the right thing that I need her to say...with a little prodding)!! But Daddy Moximillion? He is a trip!! Just typing that, and remembering some of the arguments that we have had made me smile. We are a volatile bunch, to say the least.

HOWEVER, when times are tough and you need something, we are a group of loving people. Nothing and nobody is higher than family. We are each other's refuge. I can call my mom, crying (done it- several times... yes, I cry) and she will gently remind me that she can't understand me when I am sobbing and *maybe* I can call her back after I go splash some cold water on my face and calm down. See, how nice is that? I can call my sister and tell her about somebody who did something mean to me (this happens very infrequently...) and she will ALWAYS be down for calling them and giving them the most profanity-laced talk of their life! Dad is in a class all by himself! He is such a stand up guy (and because of that, I know my brothers will be too). No matter how many times we get into disagreements about life, politics, who I am dating, why I don't have a job, why I am not married, if college was worth it (I say YES), whatever it is, he is a great example of how a man should love and provide for his family. My future husband WILL have the characteristics of my father, no doubt.

Are we happily dysfunctional- yes. Whatever, it is our thing! But we love each other and you will probably not find a group of 13 (counting all the babies) people willing to put every thing on the line for one of another. So on this first day of my week of Thankfulness, I am eternally grateful for being a member of this ever growing, happily dysfunctional, crazy ball of familial energy. I was born lucky... some people only wish for a family like mine. :)