Why I Refuse To Play Your Facebook Cancer Awareness Game

If you haven't seen this yet, it's just a matter of time. That is, unless you're wiser and a bit more sly than I am and don't like or comment on your friends' posts.

Here is how the game is played:

A friend posts an outlandish statement on Facebook.

Being the good, interacting and supportive friend that you are, you like or comment.

To which you receive an email through messenger that looks something like this:

I'm sorry! You shouldn't have commented or liked my last status. Ha, ha, ha! Now you have to pick from one of the below and post it as your status. This is the 2016 Breast Cancer Awareness game. Don't be a spoiled sport. Pick your poison from one of these and post it as your status. 1. Just found a squirrel in my car! 2. Just used my kids to get out of a speeding ticket. 3. How do you get rid of foot fungus? 4. All of my bras are missing! 5. I think I just accepted a marriage proposal online?! 6. I've decided to stop wearing underwear. 7. It's confirmed I'm going to be a mommy/daddy. 8. Just won a chance audition on America's got talent! 9. I've been accepted on master chef. 10. I'm getting a pet monkey! Post with no explanations. Sorry, I fell for it too. Looking forward to your post. And please don't ruin it. (Don't let the secret out). And remember it's all for the 2016 Breast Cancer Awareness!!

So, ugh! I fell for this one too many times.

You see it as a game - A good cause - to raise awareness and have some fun!

And, by the way - Now you have a heads up as to which posts you should ignore if you don't want to play the game either!

I see it differently!

First of all, I fail to see how fooling someone into playing a game raises any kind of awareness for a disease everyone is far too well aware of.

Second, it is not even raising money for the effort of solving the problem, or better yet, setting up a way to help those who suffer from the disease.

It is merely a stupid game!

Worse - To me - It messes with my trust!

See, when I see your posts on Facebook and I take the time to comment or like them, it means more to me than it must to you. It is my introverted effort of reaching out to you and keeping in touch with you and showing empathy and maintaining a relationship albeit online.

When you take this extended hand of friendship and throw it in my face with a laugh and a game, it does not only fail to raise awareness of breast cancer, but it sends up another notch in my heart that says - I've been made a fool of! I will not trust you again.

Too harsh!  Too sensitive?

Maybe so. I will not refuse to admit that I am sensitive by nature. I am a deep thinker, and I have a lot of empathy for others. Is it too much to ask that you don't take that trust and toss it back into my lap in a mocking manner all in the name of a "good" cause?

I will not play! Until your game does more to create real awareness, or better yet, to stop or ease the pain of this disease - I refuse to play your Facebook Cancer Awareness Game.

Bible Verse Linkup - Which Bible Verse Describes You?

OK, so there are these little quizzes on Facebook. Every so often, one of them will catch my attention and I can't resist. That was the case with the one that asked: "Which Bible Verse Describes You?"

This was my result, and the screenshot made it perfect to share on this Scripture Memory Verse Weekly Linkup.  The scripture couldn't have been more perfect. I remember a time in my 20's when I was wandering with a not-so-edifying crowd. My mom would pray for me constantly. She would pray a hedge of protection around me.

Well, I had never herd that phrase, "a hedge of protection", so in my 20-like rebellion stage, I resisted it and thought it sounded strange. Then, one night while I was out with "friends", a stranger came up to me and we were talking. Out of the blue, he said to me:

No one is going to harm you. It's like you have this hedge of light and protection all around you.

Out of the mouths of a stranger, I knew exactly where that hedge was coming from. It was my mom's prayers being answered. At the time, it made me angry, but as I matured and came back closer to God and His ways, I realized how precious the prayers of my mom were. They quite literally saved my life.

If you are a Facebook user, take the quiz for yourself at en.nametests.com.

The Facebook Number Game

It's Me!

More than a week ago, I liked a post of a friend.  I didn't realize at the time that by liking her post, it meant she would assign me a number and I would have to say that many things about me that others don't know.

It took me awhile to post it, mainly because I feel like I'm already an open book with nothing to hide and there couldn't possibly be anything else interesting to share.

But, I managed to come up with 7. So, since it came out to more than 500 words in the end, I decided to also turn it into a homeschool blog post.

Here ya go:


1. In high school, I Varsity lettered in and was part of the team of swimmers who got Synchronized Swimming recognized as a sport.
2. I learned to play the trumpet in 5th grade, not because I wanted to play, but because anyone who went out for band got to skip spelling class in the afternoon. I learned to play, made first chair and still am a pretty good speller. Guitar, on the other hand, try as I might I just can’t get it. So, instead, I married a great guitarist.
3. I always wanted to have 5 kids… Most people know this already, but I’ve been pregnant 6 times losing 3 to miscarriage. So, in essence, I guess I got my 5 kids plus 1. I just only get to raise 3 of them.
4. I was sick almost my entire babyhood and toddlerhood. I had my tonsils out when I was 13 months old (the only surgery I’ve ever had). Allergy tests when I was 4 revealed an allergy to almost everything except food-borne allergies. Still, for some reason, we still had a few cats as pets when I was growing up (something I never questioned till my kids asked me why I had a cat if I was allergic to them).
5. In college, I have a certificate of proficiency, an Associates Degree and a Bachelors. As part of my Human Services Degree, I interned at the suicide hot line, my first call after training was a suicide in progress. I also interned at Probation and Parole with sex offenders, agressive offenders and psychological caseload. I took a Myers Briggs personality test that showed I have an INFP personality, about 4% of the population if I remember right, it’s fairly rare personality. My dad came out the same…. But, please, you can call me an introvert (I), but please don’t mistake that for being shy. They are two very different things.
6. I did not go by Tere till high school, after a classmate in middle school made me come to hate the sound of my name: Teresa. I originally spelled it, “Terry”, but dropped the “sa” at the end when I started signing checks and legal documents for college, etc. because I would start to sign my name as “Terry” and forget my legal name was Teresa. I figured if I just dropped the “sa”, I could always simply add it if I forgot.
7. I am not a very picky eater at all. In fact, I often crave Brussels sprouts. Though, I’m not fond of some things that others absolutely love, like hot chocolate, soda, ice cream, lollipops or hard candy, and chicken with dumplings in it.

The Answer To The Giraffe Riddle on Facebook

If you don't know already, but you've avoided turning into a giraffe on Facebook, don't despair.

Find the answer to the riddle in this article.

Why a giraffe was chosen, I do not know.  Maybe it was because recently an adorable little giraffe was born in Japan at the Himeji Central Park. The tall little wonder is so adorable, perhaps someone wanted to spread the cuteness all around.  I do not know.

If you have already been successful in answering the riddle correctly and just want to turn the whole thing into a science lesson without planning a trip to the zoo, there's always a great homeschool lesson in there somewhere.

Here's a few tips about giraffes:

Giraffes have long necks.

Giraffes have black tongues

Giraffes have orange-tannish colored spots

Giraffes look curious

Giraffes have short tails

In the meantime, if you need a good picture for your profile, feel free to use one of these:

When I Was 17

This should have been posted over the weekend...  Better late than never - right?

A Facebook friend posted a really interesting review of her life at age 20 and her life now.  I liked it because, well, I really enjoyed reading about her life.  I didn't realize I was actually playing a game, and at the bottom of the post it had said "Like this post, and I will give you an age too".  Soon after liking her post, she gave me the age 17.

Turns out, it was part of a fun Facebook game intended to be a fun way to learn more about our friends.

I tried to post it to my Facebook page, but I guess I was too wordy or some other glitch popped up, as I tried a couple times and never could get Facebook to allow me to successfully hit that "Post" button.  So, here goes - I'm posting it as a blog entry instead:

OK - I was almost 17 in the pic (4 mos. shy of it)

At: 17 years old (an age I wanted to be ever since my older sister had turned 17, when I was like 8, and I looked wayyyyyy up to her).
I dated: a boy who, coincidentally, has the same first name as the man I married (but, don't confuse the two).  They are two very different people - THANKFULLY, I chose my lifelong partner to be the latter and not the boy I was dating when I was 17.
I worked: As a waitress in a little orange dress at West County Famous Barr's Coffee Shop.
I drove: My mom's (later became mine) 1977 red/white striped Camaro and/or my parent's 1976 blue Impala 4-door - whichever one was available when I needed it.
My fear: Rejection and making the wrong choices about my future (I was a senior ready to graduate high school).  I graduated at age 17.
I lived: with my parents in an upstairs bedroom near St. Louis.

I am now: Hanging onto my 40's with all my might.
I am: married (20 years - 21 in July).  We celebrated in Cinderella's Castle at Disney World last year.
I live in: Missouri, but dream of living in MI or WI on the lake.
I work: HARD at home.  For pay, I write for online sites and sell things on eBay.  For hugs & kisses and kind words, I homeschool 3 children and help run my hubby's music business.  Though, most days I feel like I'm doing a whole lot of everything with all the energy I have, yet doing nothing well.
I want: To be out of debt.
I drive: A Kia Sedona, which I am completely bummed that they are now downsizing, so when I'm ready to trade up to a new year, I hope they still have a full-sized van available.
I fear: Rejection and disapproval, though with age and many rejections later, I'm learning to care a whole lot less about what you think of me.


If you hit like or comment (say, I wanna play), I'll be happy to give you an age as well...

Do You Count Your Facebook Friends?

Maybe it's just my own obsessive compulsive tendency at work, but some days I find myself noticing that a friend or two of mine on Facebook has dropped off.  I never usually know who this friend is, but I notice the number of my friends went down by one or two.  But, then just as fast as they went away, they pop back up again and reappear as being counted in the number of my friends.

Why is that?  And, why do I care?

True, it's not as back as it was when I first signed up for Facebook as I only had a few friends who were easy to keep tabs of.  Now, because of my work, I have branched out to connect with more "friends" so it is more difficult to keep track.  Still, I notice when the number goes up or down.

Is it fallout from high school popularity contests?  Or, why does it matter to me?

I can answer that by saying that I hate conflict and never want to offend anyone.  If I have offended someone to the point of making them want to de-friend me or fade off of my friends list on Facebook, it concerns me.  I try hard not to step on toes or to share obnoxious comments.  I try not to be too personal or be too absent.  My comments on other's pages are usually encouraging.  I hate to debate or become involved in petty arguments that only leave other commenting friends feeling less than adequate.

So, why the up and down friends?

Maybe it's a Facebook alogrithm at work.  Maybe someone deletes their account and then comes back.  I don't think I'll ever know because while it concerns me, I don't really choose to spend my time investigating the matter....  Instead, I'll just blog about it here.