What I can do.

If there is a day to act on the Love in your soul it is today, it is this moment. ~Mike Dolan

The tragedy in Orlando has me and my husband shaking our heads. We have sat in this very office and talked all the way around the issue, over and over and over.

Why did he do it? Was he part of ISIS? Was this a hate crime? Or terrorism? Who was his intended target? Why was it so easy for him to get such a powerful weapon? Why does this keep happening?

I don't know all the details. And, frankly, I don't need to know ALL the details. Because what it comes down to is this. He was a hate-filled man. And he was able to hurt a lot of people with an easily obtained powerful weapon. That's it.

It doesn't matter what color his skin was. What religion he was. Where he was from. Who he claimed to be part of. What his motives were.

He was a man.

He killed a lot of people.

With an easily and legally obtained powerful killing machine.

So, of course, that leads us right into the never-ending "gun debate".

Why do people even need to own those kind of guns? Just because they want to? Because it's their "constitutional right"? Why can't the government find a way to make it a little harder for people to get those guns? Why does nothing ever change? Why do we keep allowing this to happen?

And that brings us to money. The government body will never move towards any type of bill/law that will hinder the NRA's ability to sell guns (any guns...all the guns). Because the NRA has lined enough pockets with enough money to make it so. As long as that type of bribery is allowed to happen in our government, nothing is ever going to change. And I don't see that happening any time soon.

So, after all of that discussion...when he and I have talked it all the way around..to realize that there is nothing we can do to fix this...I'm left feeling broken, sad, disappointed, angry, and useless.

I keep asking myself...what can I do? What more can I do than change my Facebook profile pic and post my thoughts and prayers (hashtagged, of course)? I have no faith in my government. I have no faith that my vote would ever make any difference (because of the money in the pockets...remember). So, on that level, I am totally and utterly pointless.

But, what I can do is always strive to be better to the person next to me.

At work, at the grocery store, in my neighborhood, on my social media accounts. I can always try and be the love that this world so desperately needs. I can always try to remember to look outside of my self-absorbed little bubble and not be shy about reaching out to those around me.

I can always try to be kinder. To be more helpful. To be more loving. To be more understanding. To be more compassionate.

And, like Jeremy says, 'That will have to be enough'.

The hottest damn president this country has ever seen

This presidential race is getting a little ridiculous. Have you seen the Republican candidate line-up? They have their own baseball team standing up there on stage. And the quality of some of those candidates has me crying and laughing both at the same time.

The sheer craziness of it all got me thinking....if Donald Trump can join this circus...why can't I?

SO...I'm un-officially officially announcing that I will be running for President of the United States in 2016. I'll more than likely run on the Democratic side, but only because the line ups of the parties look like a very sad game of Red Rover. I just want to help even things out.

I know I'm late to the game, but I promise I have about as much to offer as Mr. Trump...so please hear me out.

If I'm elected as President I promise there will be Pugs in the white house.

As your President, I promise to always be dressed cute. I know it did WONDERS for First Lady Michelle Obama to always have your outfit on fleek.

As to gun control, I would make everyone throw all the guns into the ocean. Unless they are pink and glittery. Those can stay.

As President, I would start the tradition of Presidential jewels. Because everyone needs a tiara.

Once elected President, I would decree that every presidential cabinet meeting would have mandatory margaritas.

As President of the United Statues, I would add a 'We are all acting like five year olds' clause to the Affordable Health care Act that would state that "boo-boo kisses" are an acceptable form of treatment by all doctors and or nurses, and will be free under the AHA.

As President, I would offer to sit in the Rose Garden at the first of every month and yell 'OFF WITH THEIR HEADS' at tourists. But just for funsies.

If I am elected President, I would make the salad knife the official kitchen gadget of the nation.

As President, I would make bang trims free for everyone, no matter where you are in this country. Everyone should have access to affordable hair maintenance.

As to immigration, I say let them all in. The more the merrier.

As President, I would outlaw war. Instead, any opposing parties will be required to hug it out.

Considering what other candidates are promising, I think I have a pretty strong platform. And I am no politician. I am of the people and FOR the people...unless you don't like pink and then I'm voting you off the island.

 

VOTE FOR ME IN 2016!

If a rich asshole can do it, a poor asshole can do it too!

 

From one broken person, to all the rest

So, you may have noticed that the Starbucks Red Cup outrage has been overshadowed with the events in Paris over the weekend. Facebook has been in a tizzy and it hasn't been very pretty. It has made me very sad, very mad, very confused, very lost.

I do not have any answers to the worlds issues. We are a broken planet. Filled with broken people. I do not have any helpful suggestions for our leaders. Not that they would listen to me anyway. I don't know what to do about ISIS. Or gun control. Or the Syrian refugees. Or our homeless vets. Or suicide bombers. Or religious zealots.

What I do have is hope. Hope that we will strive to be a people of mercy, of compassion, of honor. Hope that our hearts do not grow bitter against this wounded world. Hope that we always try to look towards peace instead of jumping to war.

Paris might not want my prayers, but Paris will get my prayers anyway. Because that is what my faith calls me to do.

I will refuse to walk through my life in fear. I am unafraid, because that is what my faith calls me to be.

And I will keep my heart open. I will continue to try and love my neighbor as myself, to turn the other cheek, to love my enemy. Because that is what my faith calls me to do.

Lovin' Scoopful ~ Spreading the Love

Look what I got in the mail yesterday

 

A handwritten note from Lovin' Scoopful.

 

Really..who even does that anymore?!!!!

 

We started eating Lovin' Scoopful Ice Cream a while back. For no other reason than it's slightly healthier for you than the other stuff. We continued to buy it because it's freakin' good.

 

But, there is more to it than that. On their packaging they advertise that 25% of their profit is shared with Special Olympics and other great causes. Well, doesn't that just make you feel good?

 

And THEN..if you read their blog or like their Facebook Page you'll see that they are all about helping each other. From random acts of kindness to kids volunteering for a cause, it's all about being nice to each other and spreadin' the love.

 

Which I am all about.

 

So...if you've never tried Lovin' Scoopful Ice Cream..you need to find your nearest store that carries it and get some. For real, like right now! Because they are a company worth supporting.

 

* Full disclosure: Lovin' Scoopful has sent me coupons for free ice cream. But not as payment to promote their product. In other words, they did not ask me to write this post...I just love their ice cream and their message.

Commercials that piss me off

1.

2.

I'm not trying to say that my marriage is perfect, we have our issues, but one thing we always avoid doing is being rude and ugly to each other. Both of these commercials seem to flaunt doing just that, being rude and being ugly to your spouse. And that really pisses me off.

All I can focus on in both of these commercials are the faces of the other spouses, the husband that was insulted by his wife and the wife that was dismissed by her husband. Makes me think about how I might feel if Jeremy were to act like that towards me. Well, the first one would never ever happen. We would never be so rude to each other (and words can't be taken back once they are spoken). But the second, Jeremy does admit that I can be long winded some time. I can't argue with that, but he at least is nice enough to continue to pretend to listen to me. And he never acts like its some monumental task to do so.

I know they are just commercials...maybe they are even suppose to be funny. However, they aren't funny to me. It just seems wrong to me to promote disrespectful behavior in a relationship.
But I guess they are right in line with the majority of modern TV programming, which is filled with people being rude, ugly, and disrespectful to one another.

Shows I Refuse To Watch

1. Toddlers and Tiaras

2. Dance Moms



3. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding



4. Jersey Shore


5. Mama's Boys of the Broncs

Choose Love or Fear

I read this article by Jeanie Miley in our local paper today. It touches on so much of what I believe in..my faith, if you will. For me, this extends much further than 9/11 and into the every day.

 
"We've wasted the experience," the man on television said, assessing our culture in this decade following the terrible events of 9/11, and the more he talked, the worse I felt.

Thankfully, the most important counsel I was given during those days following 9/11 came back to me, just at the right time, and I found myself back on firm ground.

We have two choices: love and fear.

In a sermon at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Dean Alan Jones had acknowledged the horrors of what had happened. Speaking to a shaken congregation, he brought the people in his care back to a startling, liberating reality: In spite of what has happened, you still have a choice as to how you will live your life and how you will respond to what happens.

There's no question that the world has changed radically in the last 10 years. All of us see the world differently. We experience ourselves differently now, and it's a sinister temptation to live in negativism, quaking in fear, attacking perceived and real enemies with our thoughts and our words and alternately playing the victim or the persecutor.

Are we any safer? Are we worse off or better off? Have we learned the lessons, or have we, in fact, wasted the experience? Do we live in fear of each other or love for each other?

I get brain-lock if I try to answer those questions from the collective "we." It is only when I can muster the courage to ask myself those questions that I take back my sense of personal power and freedom. So it is that on this significant anniversary of the 9/11 event, I am compelled to endure the discomfort of yet another personal and fearless moral inventory.

So it is that I must ask myself: Am I allowing fear to seep into my thinking? Then, as a natural result, am I allowing fear to seep into my decision-making and my behavior?

Who are my enemies now? What people do I fear or hate now that were neutral to me in an earlier, more innocent (or unconscious) era?

Am I better able to differentiate between real danger and perceived danger? How much do I let myself be governed by the tyranny of fear?

Am I clearer today about what loving behavior really is? Am I more generous, more compassionate, more forgiving now than I used to be? Do the people I say I love know that I love them? How do I show the love I say I have to the people who matter most to me?

In what ways do I exhibit courage? Do I know the difference in myself between courage and aggression? Am I stronger, or am I just tougher? Am I stronger or just more cynical and hard-hearted? Am I more or less open-minded and open-hearted? Is my discernment finer?

In conversations, do I contribute to the positive and energetic flow, or do I participate in "ain't it awful" and the conversations that focus on how bad things are? Am I more prone to blaming or am I willing to participate in finding solutions and giving encouragement to the people who are trying to find answers to what sometimes must seem to be insurmountable problems? Am I a bridge-builder or a wall-builder? Am I a peacemaker or am I someone who contributes to conflicts? Do I know what I, personally, contribute to a problem?

I am told that the difference between a mature person and an immature one is the capacity or willingness to be self-reflective. Being able to assess your own weaknesses and strengths, admit your failures, accept responsibility for your very own personal flaws and defects, all are signs of maturity. The difficult truth I must admit is that on some days I have more of an appetite for those often uncomfortable processes than others.

I return to the piercing question, "Am I choosing love or choosing fear"?

I want to choose love, and I hope I have the courage to do that."

Conversations At Home

Me: All these earthquakes are making me nervous.

Jeremy: Why?

Me: I don't know. I feel like the earth is gearing up for something big.

Jeremy: There are earthquakes all the time, its just the media trying to work everyone up. 2012 and all that end of the world bull crap.

Me: I'm not worried about it being the end of the world. No one can predict that.

Jeremy: Right. Besides I think when this world comes to an end, human beings won't exist anymore. Actually, I think human beings are going to be the end of human beings. We are going to destroy ourselves.

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail

I am a fixer. I am fully aware that I am a fixer to the point of being blunt and sticking my foot in my mouth. I'm also aware that I cannot fix everything...even though I wish I could.

I also consider myself to be extremely empathetic. To the point of making my heart hurt and feeling slightly depressed. I'm aware that no matter how much I think I might understand what someone is feeling, sometimes there is no possible way for me to fully comprehend.

And sometimes my mind will start to wonder about this big world we live in and all the bad things that happen..and all the sad people in it..and all the innocence that is lost..and all the negativity that could be avoided.

Sometimes its like I'm being crushed by it all. Because I can feel it...but I know that I cannot fix it.

I don't share

So, maybe you've heard of a little show on TLC called Sister Wives. You haven't heard of it? Well, you can read a little about it here. I try really hard not to harshly judge people that live differently from me. I mean, as long as everyone is consenting and of age then to each their own. But while I have tried to understand this way of life, I can't seem to really wrap my brain around it.

I'm curious about what sort of vows a husband says to a woman that is a first wife, when they are both aware that more wives will be coming..or to the second, third, or fourth wife. I know my wedding vows spoke of forsaking all others for my spouse. What does he vow? That he will forsake all others...unless its one of his other wives?

I haven't watched a full episode yet and probably never will. But the little bit I have seen of the show it just seems that the other wives are having to deal with their emotions of adding yet another wife. He, on the other hand, doesn't really have to deal with much of anything. This is same ol', same ol' for him..and he gets to have sex with a new, younger, cuter wife...and it's not cheating! Wait...I'm judging, aren't I?

All I know is, if the whole point to plural marriages is to have more babies to populate the world (which is what I am assuming..I'm not all that studied on the theory) then the women should be able to have multiple husbands as well. Right?! I mean, then the chances are even greater for more babies. RIGHT?! No? That's not how it works? That's not what "God" said? Oh, I see.

I'm judging again. Dang.