Why do I have a blog ??

I often wonder why I even have a blog?  I have not been writing as much as I would like.  And yet, writing is my passion!  Sigh...

So much has happened, once again...since my last entry.  Yes.  Yes, indeed!! 

My loving, adorable and amazing mother, Betty Tisdale, celebrated her 90th birthday on September 29th..one day before her actual birthday - September 30th.  It was a wonderful and quiet gathering of mostly her family (Tisdales...galore!) and a few good close friends at Canlis Restaurant, a nice posh restaurant, on the south side of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, Washington.

I am in awe of my mother...who is an inspiration to me when it comes to humanitarian efforts.  She has taught me about how wonderful and necessary it is to give back to this world.  My mother is more of a world humanitarian whereas I am a local Shoreline resident who is giving back to her own Shoreline community.  We have the same goal...to improve humankind by showing compassion by our simple random acts of kindness.  I love my mother for sharing that great quality and goal in life.  Thank you, Mom!

My parents adopted my one sister (not blood related) and me back in 1970...my sister was 6 months old and I was 4 years old.  My adopted father already had five sons (4  biological sons and an adopted son from Hawaii) from his first marriage.  Then when he met my adopted mother, Betty (Moul) Tisdale, they adopted my 3 other sisters over a 3 year period.  We became the 1/2 Vietnamese part of the 'Brady Bunch'...5 boys and 5 girls in the Tisdale Family!  Indeed that is what we were...the 'Brady Bunch' of Columbus, GA!

My mother's humanitarian efforts continued through the years when we were growing up with her working late at night and into the wee early morning hours.  She has worked tirelessly over the decades...since the mid 1960's when she met Dr. Tom Dooley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Anthony_Dooley_III).  When my mother retired in 2000, she started her wonderful humanitarian organization, HALO - Helping and Loving Orphans.  She currently has orphanages in Afghanistan, Bogota and Vietnam. 

My mother just got back from Afghanistan in April of this year...at the age of nearly 90 years old.  Is that amazing or what??  IF only I can do HALF what she has accomplished and still accomplishing even now.  It is my hopes to still get her on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show"...over a 2 year crusade.  I've contacted her show's website, Facebook page, Twitter and etc....sigh.  BUT, I will prevail and make this happen...get her a special appearance on Ellen's Show !  Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you in advance.  I really want her to be on there as I see how giving and compassionate Ellen DeGeneres is and would love to see HALO be a recipient of her kindness.

Here is the Facebook page I created to get my mother on the Ellen DeGeneres Show...https://www.facebook.com/pages/ELLENhave-Betty-TisdaleHelping-and-Loving-Orphans-on-YOUR-show/365603336314?ref=ts&fref=ts

Happy 90th Birthday...once again, Mom (Mum).  You're the best!

Now for my next sharing...it is a wonderful and exciting one!

I was able to finally get a hold of my 5th Grade English teacher, Ms. Gwen Hart...!!  Oh my gosh !  I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it was to finally talk to her and to truly thank her from the bottom of my heart for being such a great inspiration to my passion for writing.  She is still a 'teacher' at heart...excuse the pun there...'heart' for Ms. Hart !  ;-)

I explained to her that I had a difficult time to tracking her down until recently.  It is truly amazing how advanced and terrific technology is when there is a success story involved like this one.  I am still grinning ear to ear as I continue to write here. IT is just soooo wonderful.

When we spoke it was as if time had not changed much...as far as teacher/student relationship went.  We shared our life stories and did some catching up.  I thanked her profusely...couldn't have been said enough to be honest.  BUT, I think she got the message and sentiment.  Do you think?

Then, we got to talking about my personal blog here and the book I am writing about on my alcoholism.  Ms. Hart was so happy for me.  And she even told me how PROUD she was of me. I was just shaking like a young girl who had just met a celebrity...honestly, that was exactly how I felt.  IF you saw her back in the late 1970's, you'd understand.  Not only was Ms. Hart 'brainy' BUT she was a knockout!  A true Southern beauty.  All my male school mates from Brookstone School in Georgia where we all attended back then...would definitely AGREE !  Right, boys ??  ;-)

I read her my blog entry, "Thank you, Mrs. Gwen Hart, my Fifth Grade English Teacher...for my passion to write."  Oh dear...I could 'feel' her correcting my grammatical errors.  I seriously was sweating and nervous as I read aloud my entry to her.  I then asked if she would like me to send a copy of the blog entry.  "Of course!, she exclaimed.  AND then she added that she WAS indeed already visualizing in her head and writing down my grammatical errors with her 'RED' pen !  Sheeeeesh!  So now, Ms. Hart is really eager to get her hands on my blog entry....which she should have gotten yesterday (Friday) or she will get it today (Saturday).

I am just so happy that Ms. Hart and I have reconnected...and I enclosed a photo of my family and me together.  I will let you know what she says when we chat next after she has finally received it.  Ooooh....I am indeed shivering in my boots. Wait! I can't wear boots so soon after my foot surgery - ha ha!  Can you imagine a teacher still doing that to you - making you still shake...decades later ??  Oh...dear!

My last sharing here actually has to do with our Shoreline (Washington) community and me...giving a gorgeous Thanksgiving Dinner basket to a needy family here in Shoreline.  I was inspired by the Martial Arts Center where my son, Jack, was learning martial arts about 5 years ago (maybe less).  They were heading up a Thanksgiving Basket drive.  Since I had contacts within the deli department in the QFC-Richmond Beach store, I was able to get a discount on turkeys for the baskets.  It felt so good to be a part of a giving team that was helping needy families throughout the Shoreline area.

I have a Facebook page called "Secret Shoreline" where I promote all things going on in the Shoreline Community.  I started the page just over 2 years ago not knowing my own community here in Shoreline and I have been a resident here since 1997.  So, I decided what better way to get to know Shoreline by finding resources...via schools, colleges, businesses, restaurants and etc and start promoting events, plays, informational seminars, fun community festivals and the list goes on and on here.

Last month, I started thinking of ways to truly give back to the community and the idea of giving a Thanksgiving Dinner basket came to mind as soon as I remembered the Martial Arts' Thanksgiving basket drive we did back then.  When I introduced my Facebook Shoreline community page with this idea, I was surprisingly shocked with the donations and the money that came in...to make this happen for a family needing a meal at a special time of the year...Thanksgiving.  We filled the basket completely AND had 3-4 additional grocery bags of other goodies to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner and dessert as well!


I have been given so much and in light of the hard times my family has endured, there was always a part of me who knew that someone, some family was worse off than me.  I wanted to help them to celebrate with dignity and to have cherished memories like others who do not have it so hard...but just needed a helping hand...a loving and caring community hand.

Since that went so well, I thought there were others that needed help here in Shoreline.  So, the idea of helping out the Tent City 3 homeless residents living at a local church grounds...literally fell into my lap.  Someone mentioned that they needed some warm blankets, warm sleeping bags, warm hats and etc...as the weather is getting very cold here now.  The overwhelming amount of donations have made it clear how this Shoreline community really does come together to help our very own...in our own 'backyard'.  The messages of "Where can I take my donations, Lien?" are overflowing in my inbox on the Secret Shoreline Facebook page AND my personal Facebook page.

I THANK all my Shoreline community members on my Secret Shoreline Facebook page for making giving back look so easy and so humbling !  And to those who are not even living in the Shoreline area...a HUGE THANK YOU, too !  I am so blessed to live in such a wonderful and caring community. 

My next drive is the Secret Shoreline Community Food and Toy Drive on December 19th, 2012. 

When I think about the months of not wanting to write here and am now finding myself writing about the good things that are happening in my life rather than writing and focusing on the negatives...this is where I NOW know WHY I have this blog.  It is a place where I share my thoughts, feelings and etc...and to be truly myself and to share this all with you.

I am so grateful for everything I do have in my life and I am blessed to have so many wonderful family, friends and acquaintances who share this joy and positivity that I am right now feeling.  Was I feeling depressed when I started writing here?  Yes.  After writing this, am I?  Yes, alittle.  But, this is the start of releasing the sadness, anger and depression that I was feeling. 

Just breathe, Lien...and life will continue.  I just have to be the one to make something with this life that I was so freely given. 

I shall end this with a simple...THANK YOU for being in my life and in my heart.  AND I want to share with you a poem that I posted on my Secret Shoreline with great inspiration from everyone on my page who help to make a difference with me in showing compassion through caring and sharing...from the bottom of their hearts.  ♥

 SHARING...

When we share laughter,

 There's twice the fun;
When we share success,
We surpassed what we've done.

When we share problems,
There's half the pain;
When we share tears,
A rainbow follows rain.

When we share dreams,
They become more real;
When we share secrets,
Our hearts we reveal.

If we share a smile,
That's when our love shows;
If we share a hug,
It's when our love grows.

If we share with someone
On whom we depend,
That person is always
Our family or friend.

And what draws us closer
And makes us all care,
Is not what we have,
But the things that we share

- Author unknown

And...my blog continues after all.  Nice grin here... :-)