She did not expect to be alone so soon…or for so long a time.

Theirs was a love story.

She could not ever remember a time when she did not love him and only him.

It started simply enough on a warm Sunday morning in Texas. As early as it was, it was already hotter than blazes. Housed in the slot of the pew in front of her were little sturdy cardboard paper hand fans with pictures of Jesus on them. Many of the women, and, even a few of the men, would use them during the services to create a personal breeze. She used one now as she sat in the third pew with her Mother, Father and six other siblings; while, she sang hymns and tried to avoid the distraction of the heat by fanning herself.

But as much as she tried to focus on the pastors words, the distractors outnumbered them. People were repositioning and squirming from the heat as if their constant motion would somehow make them cooler.

For crying out loud!!!… It was August in Texas. And it was hotter than a firecracker on the Fourth of July.

In the distance she continually heard what sounded like an electric motorized buzz. Faint, but ever present, with a gunning sound attached to it and then for a few brief seconds just a quiet hum. Like a bee near your ear. It was just a little sound. More of an annoyance that continued to draw her attention away from the Pastor’s invoking message at the pulpit.

Eventually, the sound grew larger to the point that she could not concentrate on the Pastor’s words at all!

My Goodness! It was obnoxious!

It was loud!

The church windows were drawn up to their full mast post. The sound was now right outside the building. Like a swarm of bees in a hive warning you to turn back lest you endure their full wrath of vengeance. Deafening sounds of motors and throttles. And the fumes! Nasty. She covered her mouth and nose with her little purple flowered embroidered handkerchief she had tucked away in the pocket of her sweat soaked cotton dress.

Her little brother, Robert, 10 years old, could no longer sit still in the lineup. He hopped up and ran to the open window. “Look there!,” he shouted and pointed, “Its brother and that Key boy!”…

She was and still is in our hearts and on our minds. Rest In Peace sweet Mayda Elizabeth Key.

Yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

By definition a sanctuary is a special, holy, reserved place or shrine. Sanctuaries are generally set up for the specific purpose and intent of shelter, harbor or retreat. And sanctuaries as a rule, are usually very beautiful. Some may be almost grossly ornate; while, others exist in their pure simplicity. You probably have at least one sanctuary that immediately comes to mind.

Maybe it is your church or synagogue? Or one you have visited while vacationing? I have had the opportunity to visit a number of such Christian

places including the Holy Name Cathedral Catholic Church in downtown Chicago. An immediate sense of peace and wonder overcame me as I toured through the church. Art, carvings and architecture dating back to 1886.A relatively small place in relation to the city within which it resides. And just a stones throw away, a Great Lake, offering a different form of sanctuary.

I once had an opportunity to visit a non-Christian sanctuary in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It was the 8th largest mosque in the world! Massive. I did not feel a sense of sanctuary there; quite possibly because I am not Muslim. But it was not for a lack of trying. Dressed in a borrowed Burka, (no, I did not desecrate it by wearing a bikini underneath!), I walked through the massive space designed to house over 8,000 people in worship. And that was just the inside of the building! The decor was ornate and gold plated. No more or less overstated than any Catholic Church I have been in. But I just didn’t feel it. And that was ok. One man’s sanctuary is another man’s ‘meh.’

Evidence we can’t all feel the same vibe from the same place.

A sanctuary can be anywhere though can’t it?

There are the obvious places I have found sanctuary including: churches, the beach, riding solo through the Black Hills of South Dakota and skiing a deserted well worn mountain run.

Like you, I have also found sanctuary in some not so ordinary places throughout the world. Sometimes in places you never would think of looking. Like a stroll through the back alleys of Barcelona, a Mayan ruin, a night bar-b-que and sliding down a dessert dune in the Middle East and a sacred Lakota Indian burial site in the middle of a motorcycle rally in South Dakota.

My favorite local place is the Labrynthe at Moody Methodist Church just a few blocks down the road.

Wherever you find sanctuary is a good thing. The peace, safety, special or holy feeling is always welcome. I invite you to share that space with someone you know.

Sancturarily yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Monty Python has some amazing bits and skits. From the early years of PBS watching with my parents, who both love/loved British Comedy I have a great appreciation for all things British humor and satire.

One of my favorites is the classic piece from the Holy Grail in which the French soldier trades insults with King Arthur and the Crusaders. At the end, weary of his banter the King Arthur asks if there is someone else they can speak with.

https://youtu.be/QSo0duY7-9s

This assimilates into my everyday life and a phone exchange with the local water department over a bill received charging a late fee.

The exchange went something like this:

Ring…ring. Ring…ring.

Phone line is picked up but no one says anything.

Me:”Hello?”

Female voice: “Yeah, I told him he needed to get on over there.”

Dead air space for about 20-30 seconds.

Me: “Hello? Is this the City of Galveston water department?”

Female voice: “Yeah?” note, dripping with sarcasm.

Me: “I’m calling to discuss my bill.”

Female voice: “Yeah?” again, same tone.

Me: “I received a bill that shows last months payment has not been received and y’all charged us a late fee. My bank advises it was sent 5 days prior to the due date and it was received 3 days prior but y’all still have not cashed the check. I would like to get this resolved. Do you show receipt of their check?”

Female voice: “Hold on. Let me check.”…very long hold. “Yeah. We got it.”

Me: “Great! Cash the check!”

Female voice: “It’s late.”

Me:”It’s NOT late.”

Female voice: “It’s late. We just processed it.”

Me:”It’s NOT late.”

Female voice, mimicking the voice of a medieval French soldier: “ I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal-food-trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries.”

Very.Long.Pause.

Me: “Is there anyone else I can talk to?”

Ignoring me, the female voice began to talk with someone else while keeping the line open. Weary as Arthur, I just hung up.

We will be in touch.

Crusadely yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Nadine’s Free Advice Friday ~ 07/27/18

Here is this week’s Free Advice:

Trailer Park Birth Control ~ The Myth Busters

As a public service announcement the following myths about birth control in the trailer park need busting.

It has been assumed in the trailer park that birth control is not necessary if you are not in love with the person you are having relations with. This is a myth. Conception has no concept of love.

Additionally, if one is 21 years old and was told by a Doctor, a term used liberally here…(must have been a Witch Doctor!)…they cannot get pregnant then they cannot get pregnant. The advice here would be to seek a second opinion. Men!!! If a woman-child tells you this please do rethink the whole process and abort that mission!!! It could be trap! Or consider you are planning to have relations with the dumbest woman on the planet. Either way, it is likely to be a lose-lose situation. This is a myth. Conception has no concept of 21 year olds told by a Doctor they are an infertile myrtle.

If a person has not ever had sexual relations before in their entire life…i.e. it is their first time, they cannot get pregnant. Again, Myth. If anything, first timers are super fertile myrtles!

Likewise, if you yourself, are or if the female tells you she is menopausal/peri-menopausal and cannot get pregnant lest it be the ‘Second Coming’…don’t buy into that. Anything is possible. Protect your assets unless you want to be the ‘Grandpa Dad.’ Myth. Peri-menopausals/menopausals can be quite fertile and pose many more risks to both Mother and child. Myth.

And a quick word about drugs and alcohol! Just don’t. Not only does it impair your judgement and you wake up without your beer goggles…but you just might wake up pregnant or making someone pregnant! Conception loves it when you are drunk!

Before you take the plunge just ask yourself the following question: Do I really want to do this?…or do I want to NOT be responsible for a child for the next 18 years?

Knowing that getting pregnant is not the ‘worst’ thing that can happen to you, think Syphyllis, Claudia, Ghonorrhea and HIV, here in the trailer park we advocate for safe sex. And we bust those myths every day with education and common sense talk long before we get to the damage control stage. You are not special punkin…pregnancy happens to the best of us. And not only through planned parenthood.

Other ridiculous trailer park birth control practices include ‘pulling out of the trailer park before the fireworks show,’ telling the trailer park ‘you will change and love them forever’ and the ever popular ‘we are getting back together to try and make it work.’ All epic failures in trailer park birth control.

Included on this list is also ‘we are on vacation’ or ‘we have ordered a new double wide.’ Destined to result in an unwanted pregnancy.

So there it all is. Advice for the ‘Condomly Challenged.’ And if you remember nothing from this Free Advice Friday the take away is this…Double Glove BEFORE you love! ❤️

It’s FREE! As in No Charge. Nada. Doesn’t cost you one single thing. As head Queen of the Trailer Park and the Self-Appointed Life Coach to many, this is just another service I provide. A quick reminder last week’s advice was: USE YOUR GIFTS! 🎁 Do please go read, like and share as you see fit.

Advisingly yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Instead of Rose-Colored glasses…

Hello, my name is Nadine, and I was addicted to an unhealthy way of fueling my body for the last 26 years.

Today, I am a healthy member of two online women’s only Keto groups.

Each day I check in to read about a few success stories, marvel at the transformations and to find a new recipe or two. I just LOVE the way women talk to each other in these groups! #WomenOnKeto. #HealthySelfHealThySelf.

With a membership of over 10,000 in one of these groups, I can find thousands of positive reinforcements, kind interactions, pearls of wisdom, and honest remarks daily.

Accountability is King…but with a liberal sprinkling of grace.

One of the things I see is how people can look at the same situation through two different lenses. Not so different from any other topics such as politics or religion…which are NOT discussed in these groups. Refreshing! Completely Verboten!!! (heaves big sigh) There is also no marketing or selling other than a healthy personal choice alternative to the crap that the AMA has been force feeding us since 1992; adopted from Sweden, the originator of the food pyramid concept since the mid-seventies.

One of the lenses people see through about changing their eating habits is to say “I can NEVER eat this food again.” Their approach is the half-empty viewpoint. Telling oneself that there is a boundary. A limit. A line. And you had better not cross it or else. I call this the negative perspective. Looking through the negative lens.

The other lense is the, “I don’t WANT to eat that EVER again because I CHOOSE not to. It might make me feel sick.” This approach is the half-full view. Still has limits. Still has boundaries. Still has a line that YOU now control. From my perspective this is a much more positive approach. No Rose-Colored glasses here. I am still accountable to over 10,000 strangers who are my Keto online sisters.

We all came here looking for a better way and we have found it together. We are stronger together. Lives have been changed for the good. You can see it in their healthy bodies and their smiling faces! And I celebrate a few of them each and every day with positive reinforcement and encouraging words. Share the outcome of a recipe or two. And it doesn’t cost me a thing!

I am not selling nor buying one single thing. Just advocating for greater health for all people. One of the main reasons I became a nurse.

Let me advocate for you…If you are still looking through those Rose-Colored glasses about what is healthy and good for you I encourage you to lay them down and take a look through a different lense. There might be a better way for you to consider? This lifestyle, or WOE (Way Of Eating) as the members call it, has had some amazing outcomes for me and Jose’ personally.

Of course the disclaimer to protect my license…I am not prescribing any specific diet or medications for you.

I am merely suggesting you remove your Rose-Colored glasses and look through a different lense at the options you have to change the way you live and eat; and, choose what is best for you.

Healthily (and 18 lbs down) yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Not so subtle messages at ‘THE george’

The grand hotel ‘THE george’ in College Station has a plethora of positive affirmations sprinkled throughout. It is a really beautiful and accommodating hotel strategically placed just to the north of the sprawling Texas A & M campus.

One of the first things you will encounter upon arrival is a flock of sheep that mysteriously wander throughout the hotel. Their significance, as explained by the front desk clerk, is a copy-cat from another hotel. The owner had traveled to a hotel with Penguins that randomly moved throughout. When he designed ‘THE George’ he thought it would be clever to copy that idea using sheep; since Texas A&M began as an agricultural college. I think it clever and amusing since they move throughout the hotel daily. You never know where you might have an encounter. I saw them in the lobby and bar area, in the hallway and surprisingly once on the elevator! Almost scared the crap out of me!

“My sheep know my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” ~ John 10:27

Additionally, the staff immediately points your attention to their 1917 Whiskey Bar where you can quench your thirst. Armed with a variety of 250 different brands of Whiskey you are sure to find your flavor. Each morning it duals as the continental breakfast bar. As I sip my coffee, I can hear Willie Nelson crooning from the nearby kitchen.

Mawdine and I discovered a unique and ‘modern’ approach to the water closet. No longer do the men and women have separate facilities but rather each bathroom is a separate room in and of itself complete with toilet and sink! Everybody uses the same hallway of facilities. No sharing! The tile floor has a larger than life message as seen below.

“Make Hay While The Sun Shines”

Also near the front desk is a massive art piece constructed by over 10,000 books carefully stacked to create a masterpiece of the Texas flag. With the exception of just a few, the artist insisted on using books only about Texas or written by Texans. How cool is that?!

Even the shower has a positive message…

“CLEANS UP REAL NICE”

It has been an awesome summer alternating with a LOT of professional training opportunities and relaxing at the beach. And my stay at ‘THE george’ was no less than a positive experience. Let your light shine!

I give ‘THE george’ 5 trailer houses! 🚋🚋🚋🚋🚋

Positively affirmingly yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Trailer Park Rocket Science featuring the launch of Free Advice Fridays

Trailer Park Rocket Science featuring the launch of Free Advice Fridays

“The American flag heralded the launch of Apollo 11, the first Lunar landing mission, on July 16, 1969. The massive Saturn V rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin at 9:32 a.m. EDT.” ~ NASA

It is no coincidence that July is the month for noteworthy rocket science news.

It is not rocket science that things here in the trailer park generally work out for the best given sound advice. Even the most arduous of consequences have a way of taking a turn from bad to good given enough time, distance and discussion.

Mawdine’s best advice EVER has been “Y’all don’t have to make a lifetime decision in the next five minutes.” A truer statement has never been stated. As one of my mentors she has taught me everything I need to know about taking and giving advice.

Spoken words can have great meaning. As the Self-Appointed Life Coach to Many the trick is knowing when to speak them, knowing when to hold them, knowing when to fold them. And never forgetting that timing is everything.

Have you ever been at church or in a meeting and the words fall upon your ears just for you? Just at the right time? That is my wish for this featured weekly exercise.

Over the next few weeks we will explore some of the most frequently flown ideas and concepts that, I, Nadine, as your Self-Appointed Life Coach, have had the opportunity to perfect and enhance. Consider it a FREE mini-course in some of the most basic of life skills. And since it is FREE you are welcome to take it or leave it at your discretion.

Announcing Free Advice Friday’s! Whoooo-hoo! In the next few weeks we will explore such topics as:

Trailer Park Raising Kids

Trailer Park Dog Training

Trailer park Dating 101

Trailer park Marriages

Trailer Park What NOT To Wear To Work

Trailer Park Job Seeking/Keeping Advice

Trailer Park Professional Development Class Behavior Part 2

And other noteworthy topics you WILL not want to miss! Right here! Every Friday.

Author’s note…with the exception of a few embellishments,

All of the stories and accounts to follow are ‘mostly’ true. Admittedly, some of the names ‘have’ been changed to protect the innocent. While others remain ‘unchanged’ to punish the guilty.

Please be sure to like, follow and share this blog as you see fit.

Advisingly yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Nadine on…Foundations

Today I received an email from the CEO of Third Love to come and join their team! As flattered as I was, I can say without any remorse that it just probably wouldn’t be a ‘good fit’.

You see Third Love is a foundations company based in San Francisco. For the layman… they make bras. Really comfortable and well fitting bras. As much as I love the California climate, demographically this definitely would not be a good idea since I currently love my island and would not want such a long commute.

I did respond with my regrets and promised to continue to purchase their product. I also offered my endorsements.

For one, this is the only online foundations company that will let you try it out for 30 days and return it for a full refund no questions asked! Who does that?!! Third Love does.

Sizing is a snap as long as you have a tape measure and can answer a few questions. They even have an Android App! How clever. And with sizes ranging from A-K, including half-cups, they truly are a one size fits all company!

I personally own three of them!

Integrity wise they are a really thoughtful company. Not only do they value their customers, they value their employees.

Marketing is done primarily through Facebook and Pinterest or you can just google their site http://www.thirdlove.com.

As a youngster in the early trailer park years, I grew up around women who wouldn’t dare leave their front porches without donning the proper foundations! It would have been considered ‘tacky’. A girl back then was brought up to know that the proper foundations make every outfit. “It all starts with the foundations,” my Gmaw would explain as I watched her hoist those buxom bosoms into her ‘over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder’.

Thank you for the interest, Third Love, but, I believe I will stick with teaching.

In closing, I will testify, these foundations are truly my third love. Guess what my first two are.

Supportingly yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Three cakes and two tricycles

A couple of years ago I still had birthdays that counted. As my Daddy would interject, this is the 39th anniversary of my 18th birthday! Yeah. Whatever Daddy.

Reading the Farmer’s Almanac, as I do each day, I discovered an awesome fact! I share a birthday with England’s Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge! He was born 07/22/2013. I might have a few years on him.

Dr. Google revealed I also share a birthday with Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the original Matriarch and Queen of the Kennedy family and Camelot; she was born in 1890.

His heiness, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai also shares my day; he was born in 1949. We lived there for about 1 year and he was a most generous and extraordinary man. He gave us tickets to the FIFA Youth U-20 World Cup!

Surrounded by royalty it is no wonder I feel like a Queen! 👸🏼

I have a vivid memory of my fourth birthday. As the only child and only grandchild I was a tad doted on. Not to be outdone…each of my grandmothers and my sweet Mother made me a cake! Three cakes! 🎂🎂🎂 And each of my grandparents bought me a brand new tricycle! Two tricycles!

I have had difficult birthdays in the past. This isn’t one of them. No kicking or screaming. I will accept it with grace and humor. In this season of life I will gladly take all of the birthdays He wants to give me. We’re just not counting them anymore. We can celebrate them…we just don’t count them. As the Queen of the trailer park, I proclaim that I am now and will forever be Ninety-nine.

You’re as old as you feel and as young as you act. Feel free to quote me.

Old is the New Young!

Happy Birthday to me. And to the Prince, our dear departed Rose and the Sheik!

Happily yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋

Nadine on Blended Families…How to succeed.

We all either have one or we know someone close to us that has a blended family.

My first exposure was when my parents divorced. I was twenty-one years old. And my Daddy took on a newborn. At the same time my Mother married into a family with 4 children, who felt like cousins, since I had known them all since birth.

So there I sat…in the middle. An only child to ‘my’ parents; and, all of a sudden I had 5 siblings! What?

At the time of the blendings, I felt more like a Cousin or an Aunt than a Sister to these kiddos! I was twenty-one. And we all adjusted pretty well to this new wave of blended families.

Even with the demographic change I never called them anything other than brother or sister. For me there was no ‘Step’ or ‘Half’.

A number of years later my Daddy added one more sister to the count. She was four at the time. I was twenty-seven. Bringing the count to 6.

And then a Really strange thing occurred when Mawdine’s husband found his long lost daughter from Pennsylvania. The count now was/is up to 7!!!

Seven siblings and only one that I actually share DNA with. But guess what?! They are all mine. Because I made them mine. Because I choose Not to differentiate between blood lines.

When we talk about each other or make introductions we don’t call each other ‘step’ or ‘half’. We are just brothers and sisters.

And I don’t make a differentiation between my Mother’s husband either. When we make introductions…he’s just my Dad. People who know me well know the truth of the relation. And people who don’t know us well, don’t care.

When Jose’ and I blended our families we had a fourteen year old, a sixteen year old and an eighteen year old. Yes! I would say we were very brave in that adventure. And we sat them all down in the beginning and told them up front, “You are all brothers and sisters.” The End. They refer to each other as brother and sister. We also told them it was us against them in any argument or battle. Don’t even think about asking Momma if Daddy said no.

It’s all how you set up the model.

You too can succeed at blending if you give your new spouse the authority that goes along with their position in your family. Or you can fail if you don’t. Their authority in the blend must be the same as any other parent the child may have. By handing your new spouse their Parent Card you will establish an order. You will set them up to succeed. This is probably the most important part of the blend. And it will prevent your blended children from dividing you.

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt…twice.

Blendedly yours,

Nadine Bodine

Your VERY Best friend in the whole wide world 🌎☮️❤️🚋