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 Greatest Belly Button Mystery of the Century!

Once again the Internets is all a-buzz about Miss Taylor Swift. This time everyone seems to be talking about her belly button.

Take a second and let that sink in.

There are "news" stories about Taylor Swift's belly button.

A belly button.

.
.
.

At first I was like,

"Really, Internets? There is NOTHING else going on in the world today, so you have to go bat shit crazy about a girls belly button?"

and

"What's wrong with her belly button? Is it deformed or something?"

So, I did a quick google search to find out what all the fuss was about. Apparently, there were people out there who questioned if Taylor even HAD a belly button. Seriously? Taylor Swift is not an alien (I don't think). Turns out, everyone went ga-ga over her bully button reveal because she rarely shows it. Now, isn't that a novel idea. A famous young pop artist that DOESN'T show her belly button. People found this news worthy...because she made the decision to keep her belly button covered up. It's like we've found a fucking unicorn!

Which brings me back to my musings on why people seem to dislike her? I still don't get it. She seems like a class act to me and some of these other little fluff pieces running around Hollywood could probably take a lesson or two from her play book.

Instead we have this:

 

To sum up my weekend

It's almost Thanksgiving; I hope you have your celery.

Jeremy and I go grocery shopping every two weeks. This weekend just happened to be our normal grocery shopping weekend. It also just happens to be the weekend before Thanksgiving. And it also just happens that we have the slightest forecast for snowy type weather for the next three days.

 

 

I felt like I was in some post-apocalyptic movie. The shelves were completely bare in some places. There was no celery! None!!! Zip! Not even organic. And cornbread? Gone.  Eggs? Yeah...picked over. People were either doing the mad dash or the zombie shuffle. Every corner we turned I expected to see Darryl and the gang with their shot guns and cross bows.

 



VMA OMG SMH

So, did anyone else happen to catch the MTV Video Music Awards last night?

Even if you didn't watch it, surely you have heard about the train wreck that is Miley Cyrus. I know she is probably pleased as punch that everyone and their mother's are talking about her today. But sweet baby Jesus on a triscuit does she have to be so...so...

{Cite}

 





Or so..

{Cite}

The only thing going through my head was the jingle from the pull up commercials. You know..."I'm a big kid now". She is so blatantly trying to prove how 'grown up' she is, but sadly it just comes across as a little girl trying really hard to be sexy. Which is just oogy.

After seeing Miss Dry Hump Miley I don't understand the hate that Taylor Swift seems to get. I mean, look at her.

{Cite}

And look at Miley..

{Cite}

Did Miley catch some strange tropical disease that destroyed all her pores so she is no longer able to sweat? It's the ONLY reason I can come up with for why she is constantly photographed with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Maybe the only way she can cool down now is by panting..a la "doggie style".

I don't care HOW many boys Taylor dates and then sings about. At least the girl still knows how to keep her damn tongue in her mouth.

I hate change

 

Google Reader is going away.

 

Why?

 

Why are they doing this to me?

 

How am I suppose to keep track of all the blogs I love to read???????

Things that annoy me

Websites that force you to 'sign up' to even browse the site.

 

I don't need one more email clogging up my inbox, thank you very much.

Wait a minute...Wait.A.Minute

Did I just see a commercial promoting a dating site for farmers?

 

Oh..I mean farmers, ranchers, and 'good old country folk'.

 

Farmersonly.com

 

I'm too afraid to even go check it out to see if its a real thing.

 

How do they verify that the people signing up are actually farmers?

 

Or ranchers?

 

Or good old country folk?

 

Do you have to own livestock?

 

Do your closest neighbors have to be over a mile away from you?

 

Do you have to own a pick up truck?

 

Do you have to wear overalls?

Things That Annoy Me

People eating while they are on the phone with me.

 

Oh, you think you are being all quiet about it.

 

But I hear you...in all your lip smacking glory.

 

And it's kinda gross.

 

Use your mute button...that's what it's there for.

Wisdom Teeth are Dumb

*warning..if photos of teeth wig you out don't look at this post*

My mouth is swollen and stiff.

One of the upsides to dental work..lots of ice cream.

My company for the rest of the day.

Stupid teeth with no point but to cause pain.

Oh HAAAAIIIIII!!!!

 

Gosh. I know I am letting time just slip on by without really posting and I'm sorry about that. For the last several weeks we've been dealing with deadbeat neighbors. They keep letting their dogs run all over the street. The big dogs aren't friendly and the small dogs chase cars. Considering I'm use to walking home after work every day and taking our dogs for walks just about every day, having loose dogs on our street every day..put a big kink in our usual routine. I had to start hitching a ride with a co-worker to get home. We had to start loading the dogs up and taking them to the park to get their walks in (not that our dogs minded, they love the park).

One of the big dogs actually jumped over our four feet chain link fence. It was in our yard when Jeremy opened the back door to let Lola out. When he want out to try and herd the dog to the back gate, the dog became very aggressive..barking and lunging at Jeremy. The neighbor had to come over and into our yard to get the dog.

We called animal control...several, several times.

One of the little dogs that likes to chase cars, when the neighbors where outside in the carport and let the dog chase the cars, was hit and killed two houses down from his home. We knew it was bound to happen if they didn't start containing the dogs, but it was still a very hard thing to witness.

ANYWAY, that's just the craziness we've been dealing with around here. It sort of consumed everything for a little bit.

And then Jeremy caught this awful stomach bug that seems to be going around. He was bed ridden for a solid day feeling like death, unable to keep any food down. He's all better now, but he was down and out for two days.

But, there has been some great things going on too!

Like some of this:

My cute pumpkin

And some of this:

Cupcakes from our sweet neighbors across the street.


And a little of this:

A little window shopping. I am in LOVE with this jacket.

And a lot of this:

Bingo stole my heart.

Two adorable cockers for adoption.

Oh, aaannnddd we've watched a few movies:
1. Prometheus - Not overly scary but weird.
2. Man on a Ledge - Very good movie, two thumbs up.
3. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Highly entertaining.

 

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.

Hunting 101: Boonies Style

I know I keep mentioning it..on Twitter and Facebook..but I am so sad when I found out that The Bloggess grew up just 10 minutes from where I live and that we didn't know each other growing up. But at the same time it makes me proud that she is from around here and made me look back on my own upbringing here in West Texas.

I have never considered myself to be a country girl. Ask my husband, I am NOT a country girl. Even so, there are things you just can't avoid when you grow up IN the country. Like hunting...and everything that goes along with it. My dad lived on a 100-acre spread about 45 minutes from town. There was nothing on all of this land except for a tiny house, a large shed, and animal pens. That's it. I hated going out there for weekends. I was a teenager! I had a social life and my dad had a party line...oh the inhumanity! There was a lot of hunting that when on out there. Sometimes from my dad's front porch, just grab a shotgun!

But out there in the sticks they didn't need guns to hunt. Oh no. One time, two of the kids that belonged to two of my dad's friends (it was a party every day out there) decided to hunt for Dove. No guns? No problem. Mark, who was 18 and...husky, tossed a rock into the middle of a grove of trees. This was just to startle the dove he'd seen fly into the trees. I can't say why that stupid bird flew DOWN instead of flying UP, but it flew down out of the trees and Mark reached out and caught the dove. Just reached out and grabbed it. WITH HIS BARE HANDS. And then, calm as you please, he handed that dove to a little 8 year old girl named Tatum. That's right, the girls name was Tatum Rainwater. NO, I'm not making it up. Anyway, he handed the dove to little 8 year old Tatum who snapped the birds neck. Like, no big deal.

I swear I heard dueling banjos off in the distance.

Dreams are for Dreamers

I received the postcard in the mail from my doctor regarding my yearly check up about a month ago. Besides being completely healthy the card also noted that I was pregnant. I was shocked and surprised and thrilled! Before I could even tell Jeremy he knew, 'You're pregnant..aren't you?' He said with a huge smile on his face. 'How did you know?!' I gasped, 'It's a miracle'. We were both so...happy. As we hugged each other I thought that I had to wait until I was further along before I could tell anyone else..and how hard that was going to be.

And then I woke up.

Not cool, Morpheus, not cool.

It was a rough morning.

Stupid Blogger

Y'all, I've been trying so hard to be better about leaving comments on your blogs and stupid blogger has been acting up! I type out the comment and hit submit and it makes me sign into blogger over and over and over again...but never actually leaves the comment on your blog.

Boo.

Tuesday Randoms

1. It seems that somehow I have held the PMS monster at bay. This would be 'hell week' as I affectionately call the week leading up to my period. But the usual moodiness (i.e. getting totally pissed off over everything and then crying myself into a heap on the bathroom floor in a matter of 2.5 seconds) has been wonderfully absent. I probably shouldn't question it..just roll with the happy's while I have them.

2. Lola's paw seems to be ok. The crack is still there but she hasn't been licking it or even limping. I think she will survive...I guess that means I will to (I'm a slightly over-protective Momma and will probably still bring it up to the vet on Thursday).

3. We are joining a gym this weekend! I am thrilled and intimidated all at once. I know it will be good for us. Eating right can only get you so far and both of us have been consistently sporadic with our workouts. But paying for a gym membership sort of means we HAVE to go. I can't let the money go to waste. It's like I want to do it, but I don't want to do it. You know what I mean? Hopefully it will help me lose these last few pounds that are keeping me in the 'overweight' category and get me all toned up!

4. I need a haircut in a bad way. My hair is a hot mess. I'm torn between cutting my bangs back off or just getting them trimmed so they blend better with the rest of my hair. I'd say they are about mid-cheek right now. I just know I have to do something. They get in my face, barely too short to tuck behind my ears, so I pin them back a lot of the time. I just need someone who knows what they are doing with a pair of scissors to please take pity on my poor hair and work it out!

5. Anyone ever watch 'Strange Sex' on TLC? I happened to catch about five minutes of it the other night. This man was suffering from POIS, Postorgasmic illness syndrome. Basically these poor people (a quick, very quick, google search seems to only include guys..so I'm not sure if women suffer from this or not) suffer flu like symptoms for days after they climax. Doesn't that sound so shitty? To experience something SO great, to experiencing something so crappy?! What is up with that? It's not right, I tell you, just not right.

Idol can kiss my cottage cheese butt

You know, I use to never understand why people would get so worked up about something, take such offense as to call for an out-right boycott of something. I use to think..what's the point. But now I am starting to understand, just a little.

After hearing this story on the radio this morning I was shocked. I mean, at first I was just mildly put off...well, that was very rude of American Idol to treat that girl like that. And then...THEN...I hear that this girl is 5'2" and 150 lbs. Y'all should have SEEN the look of horror I gave my radio.

That is me.

And let me tell you, if anyone were to call me chubby I'd be sorely tempted to pop them in the face.

I won't go around demanding that anyone stop watching AI..I doubt that will happen. But, I'm glad that I don't watch it. Because I would have had to stop. And I won't ever watch it again. But for those of you who will, be sure to notice the skinny girls in the front row because I'd hate to think that this girl was insulted for no reason.

Soul Savin' and Stamp Wastin'

I love getting mail...especially fun unexpected mail. So, I was excited when I got home yesterday and there was a hand addressed envelope for me in the mail. My excitement was quickly dashed, however, when I opened it up.



Do y'all know what this is? It's religious propaganda. The first time I was ever handed one of these little booklets I was waiting for a flight at the airport...with my Catholic youth group. I didn't think much of it until I flipped through it only to realize that Catholics were portrayed as Godless heathens. I had to laugh at that.



I am so glad that they explained the slang. Although, surely people who need saving already know what a 'narc' is...am I right? What I'm really curious about is why people seem to think only I need saving. It was only only addressed to me but my husband is just as heathen-ish as I am...if not more so. He DOES listen to that devil music after all.

Happy Valentine's from my insurance company

So, we got this piece of junk mail from our insurance company. An advertisment for life insurance with a little 'happy valentines' note from our agent and a poem. I shall recite it now for your enjoyment.

*ahem*

Because he loved me, brought to you by youdoitforlove.org

He did the dishes

Rubbed my feet

Surprised me with tulips

Took me to musicals even though he didn't like them

Carried my bags while I did the shopping

Held my hand

He died of cancer four years ago.

Because he loved me,

I can stay in our home.

I can be here for our children.

I can afford to pay for their college education.

I can worry about the other things in life besides money.

He still loves me. And he still shows it.

Wow...that is so...so.........morbid. I get the importance of life insurance but it almost seems sleazy to try and drive it home on Valentine's...with a poem about a dead spouse. Happy Valentine's...hope your spouse doesn't die!

Day Three of the Great White-Out

We've barely been out of the house, except for work, over the last three days. The one time we ventured to the store we went into a skid on the ice while coming to a stop. Ack! I don't think, in all the time I have lived here (which has been my entire life), that there has ever been ice/snow on the ground for longer than one day. Every thing is still white and/or icy and the novelty of it has worn off. No one knows how to drive in this mess and it hurts my eyes with all the brighty-whiteness. Ugh!

The dogs are restless because there have been no walks. But poor Lola shivers uncontrollably any time we make them go outside for bathroom breaks. During the store visit..in which we nearly lost our lives *pause for drama*..I looked for a little doggie sweater but the store didn't have any. Which is funny, because they usually do..when they aren't needed. But here I am needing one and they are no where to be found. Go figure.

So, we are hunkered down. Long sleeve shirts, PJ pants, fuzzy socks and slippers are standard issue these days. The curtains are drawn, pillows piled up against the backdoor...to keep the chill out. Coffee is brewing to help keep the warm IN. Every available blanket has been called into duty.

I'm a Texan..I'm not made for this kind of weather!!! If I don't see some green in the next two days I might go insane.