Author: Lisa -Southern Patches

Hello everyone, my name is Lisa I am a southern girl born and raised in East Tennessee. I love discovering new places and things to do. I have a lot of favorites, shopping, traveling, knitting and photography are all at the top of my list. I am married with my fur babies my only children. This blog is actually named after my beloved basset hound Patches. She passed away a few years ago but will always have a huge part of my heart. Come with me and we will explore some wonderful places and discover some really fun things. Are you ready?

5 Current Goals That I Have

I know that goals are important to have but I just hate them. I like to try and think of different words to use for goals, like challenge, opportunity, a new focal point, you get the idea. Every time I formulate a plan in my head, and it becomes a goal, for some reason it is doomed to failure. I think I probably put too much into it and when I haven’t achieved said goal in two or three days or seen the results I want to see then I give up.

Photos by dreamstime

While there are a lot of things I need to do in my life to help make my life better I don’t really want to think of them as goals. For instance I know:

I need to get more exercise. I am at an age where I am losing muscle mass by the second. I know how important it is to have more weight bearing exercise in my life.
I need to eat more vegetables I know that vegetables are great antioxidants and can ward off cancer and heart disease and bad things like that and are packed full of vitamins.
Better sleep is something I really need. I have terrible sleeping habits. I can tell such a huge difference when I don’t get good sleep.
Finish projects that I start. Stay focused.
Lose weight!! nuff said.

So with all of that said why can’t we set goals that are fun? I know what is good for me. I know that I need to get more exercise and lose weight etc etc. Most people do. We know what our bodies need. But having fun and living is just as important to our well being and our souls. One cannot exist without the other. So 5 things, remember I hate that G word, I need to do: (And these are just 5 of many)

Spend more time with family and friends
Get a manicure whenever I feel like it
Eat a salad and have a chocolate sundae for dessert
Start a million projects if it is something I want to do.
Enjoy Life to the fullest

Do you set a lot of goals? How does that work for you?

No matter what

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

My 5 Favorite Songs

Well it’s Saturday and a beautiful day here in East Tennessee. I still have a horrible cold and I am so stuffy, if I could remove my head temporarily I would probably do it. I caught sight of myself in the mirror when I was letting Scruffy out for his walk and almost screamed. Who was that pasty woman with the red swollen nose and puffy eyes. Yep you guessed it. Me. I have been in the recliner all day and Scruffy and Kitty Kitty have been fighting for a spot on my lap. I guess if you have to be sick this is the best place to be. I have been reading a couple of different books and working on some knitting. Just chilling out trying to get rest and fluids.

I did venture out for a walk with Scruffy for a bit this afternoon. The sunshine is so nice and the temps are in the 50’s so not too bad. Trees and bushes are blooming everywhere. I am so afraid a cold snap will kill what has bloomed out.

This is day 7 of the 30 day blog challenge and today is about my 5 Favorite songs, These are in no particular order I love them all. So here we go;

Proud Mary by Tina Turner. I love this song because I love Tina Turner and I love that this song offers a different way of life. Someone quits their job with the man and hitches a ride on a River Boat Queen and sees different cities in ways they never have. I guess I have always thought of ditching my job and taking a job somewhere and seeing things I never have before. I once told my husband I was going to quit working for the man every night and day and hitch a ride on a River Boat Queen. He said, well when you can make the same amount of money that the man pays you that might be an option. He is such a stick sometimes ha ha. Oh and also I do want some Tina hair I keep working on it I know it will happen.
We Are The Champions by Queen. This song was written by Freddie Mercury. I loved him. Even more so after he died. While he was popular and performing I was a little young to appreciate what talent he had. I especially loved the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, that was made about Freddie’s life and the band Queen. If you haven’t seen it please watch it now. It is the best movie I have seen in a long time. I loved Freddie because he didn’t care to be different and show people how different he was. The lyrics, But it’s been been no bed of roses no pleasure cruise I consider it a challenge before the whole human race and I ain’t gonna lose, speaks so much. He was a freaking musical genius. All of Queen were unbelievably talented. I listen to this song on my way to work everyday. It gets me inspired!!!!
Crazy Love by Poco. This is an oldie but I remember listening to it when I was a teenager and having first loves. I still know every word and will sing it at the top of my lungs if I hear it. I remember me and my girlfriends listening to this song over and over every time we went through a break up. It happens all the time this crazy love of mine, wraps around my heart refusing to unwind. I just love it.
I melt with you by Modern English. I am not sure why I love this song except that it reminds me of love. I’ll stop the world and melt with you. Isn’t that romantic? And the tune is so catchy you will want to dance your butt off every time you hear it. I never was a fan of this band otherwise but I love this song.
Circles by Post Malone. This has just recently become a favorite but I love it. I love several songs by Post Malone. This song is again one that I know every word to and sing it all the time. It is a little sad but it is about a love affair that can’t go anywhere but in circles: Seasons change and our love went cold. Feed the flame cause we can’t let it go. Run away, but we’re running in circles run away, run away.

Man after reading these and the lyrics I have to proclaim myself a true romantic ha ha. Oh well I am what I am.

What are some of your favorite songs? I really have many many more than this I didn’t even get into country music and gospel music which I love and have many many favorites. I will save those for another time.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!

What Are You Afraid Of?

What are you afraid of? I think that everyone fears certain things, like losing a loved one, health problems, war, loss of a job, the corona virus and yes I am afraid of all of those things as well.

But I think that something that I fear even more is not living. I don’t mean dying I mean not living while I am here on this earth.

What if you live your whole life without taking a chance and trying new things. I will have to admit I am the world’s worst about holding back and not doing things because I am not sure how they will turn out. I guess that is most people.

I love to have new experiences, travel, see new things and have adventures but I want the safety behind it too. And then there are some people who get their “living” from family and home and helping others and that is all they want and need. Can you have it all? How?

My daddy worked for more than 40 years in a local steel mill. Through his years he worked just about every job there. He never went on a vacation. Sure he took a week off here and there but he never went anywhere. We would go to the lake for a picnic and fishing or to the mountains but never overnight. His family meant everything to him and he felt like the best he could do for us was work and work hard. He worked hard every single day to provide for us. He had 7 kids and all he could think of I’m sure is providing for us. He never saw the ocean. He never flew in a plane. I think I remember in all my childhood he called in sick maybe once or twice from work. It was really something if he didn’t go to work. He retired when he was 65 and he loved it!!!! He worked in his garden and puttered around the house, and drove my mama crazy ha ha. But he loved being at home and he especially loved it whenever any of his kids or his grandkids came to hang out. He loved telling stories about his days at the foundry.

Sadly he passed away only a few years after retiring. I never felt like he had enough time to just enjoy life and all he could do without having to get up at 5:00 AM and go into that plant. Even if it was just working in his garden and his yard. The day before he died he told me that there was nothing in this world as important as his family. It doesn’t matter what you can buy or have, it all comes down to family. He was lying in his bed and I was sitting beside him. We both knew his time was near. He pointed into the kitchen where my mama was and he said ” we have been married for 52 years, Lisa always be good to people and love and take care of your family. There is nothing else that important”. He died the next day but I will never forget those words.

So with all that said I think I am afraid of not being the best person I can be, I am afraid of being lazy about certain things, I am afraid of not living every day to its fullest. I am afraid of not enjoying life while I can.

Oh!! One other thing I am deathly afraid of SPIDERS!!!!! I hate them!!!!!

What are you afraid of???

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

My Proudest Moment.

Hello friends,

This is day 5 of the blog post challenge. If you are following along I thank you and hope you are enjoying.

The sickness at my work place continues. Four people have had the flu, several have had colds, two have bronchitis and a couple of people have sinus infections. It’s not who will call out on any given day but more so who will be able to make it in. The whole flu thing scares the crap out of me because of Mark being on the immunosuppressants. I felt a little sick over the weekend. Mark had a terrible cold over the weekend but he is on the mend. Today I am feeling like crap. I hope it is only a cold. So far no temperature. I guess if I get a temp I will deal with it then. I headed home at 3:00 PM to put my jammies on and get in bed.

My most proudest moment is actually two moments. When I donated a kidney to my husband and when I witnessed the birth of my nephew Tyler and cut the umbilical cord.

I know that you have heard the kidney story a million times. If you haven’t you can check it out here and here. I think the reason I feel proud is that I know not everyone can donate a kidney even if they meet all the criteria. Some people just can’t do it. I guess more than proud though I actually felt grateful and blessed that I was a match and that my husband did not have to spend a minute on dialysis.

It was February 24th, 2011, the morning of the surgery, Mark and I were in the same hospital room and we were being prepped for the surgeries. I would be taken to the operating room first at 7:00 AM and the surgery for the removal of my kidney would begin. They would bring Mark down just a little while later and put him in an adjoining room. The doctor literally took the kidney from me and walked it over to Mark and they put it in him. I had never seen my father in law, cry he was so tough. He was a Korean War Veteran and very matter of fact about everything. The morning of the surgery we could have one person each go back to the prep area. Mark’s dad went with him and my Sister Sandy went with me. Just before they took me down to the operating room Poppy, Mark’s dad, came over and grabbed my hand. This is a man who never showed emotion of any kind. He had tears in his eyes while he squeezed my hand. At that moment I felt so proud to be able to do this for Mark. And I saw in his eyes what it meant to him for his son.

It was Dec 7th 2001 my niece was pregnant with her first child. It was a boy. It was a Friday night. It was cold rainy and foggy. My sister called to tell me my niece was in labor. The plan was for me and my sister to be in the delivery room with her. I would cut the umbilical cord. I was beyond excited. I have no children of my own and I had never seen a baby be born. Except on TV. I think my niece did this for me because she knew how special it would be for me. I was about an hour from the hospital so I took off. It was around 11:30 PM.

When I got to the hospital she was in labor. Me being me, I tried to tell her she wasn’t breathing correctly. FYI you should never tell a woman in labor this. Especially when you have never gone through it yourself. After I talked her into not throwing me out of the room, ha ha, we settled down to wait for the baby. Well I settled down in a chair and promised to keep my mouth shut. She continued having contractions.

Around 4:00 AM things started getting real. Baby Tyler was born at 5:32 AM on December 8th. Just as he was about to be pushed out I took one look at that tiny head appearing and promptly passed out. Luckily I regained consciousness in time to cut the umbilical cord. The nurse said all the excitement and standing for so long probably caused my knees to buckle. But let me tell you that precious boy being born is the best thing I have ever seen in my life. What a miracle!!! It changed my heart forever. I was so proud to be a part of him coming into the world. I think the doctors and nurses that get to see this every day have the best job in the world.

A picture of Tyler and his mom when he was just a few months old. I was spending the day with them and took this picture. It will always be a favorite of mine.
These older pics are not the best quality this is before the great cameras on cell phones.

This is at Tyler’s 18th Birthday party. This boy holds a huge piece of my heart. ♥️ ❤️

So I have a couple of proudest moments and hope to have many more through the years. What is your proudest moment?

Always remember

Love your day your way