7 Quick Takes

There are so many ways to blog. I like to surf for different blogs sometimes. People will put some stuff in a blog. I am one of those. I've read about people who thought they had conceived after being told for years that she could not have children. She thought God had given her a child. That was a strange blog. I like the photography and art blogs. Those are fun. When I get to a recipe blog, I sit up an pay attention. One format I like is 7 Quick Takes. It goes something like this.

• We are three weeks in to school. Some days are better than others. We are trying to find a groove. We need to find it quick because things really pick up in September. Tomorrow we go to find the boy some ballet shoes and a white shirt. You would not believe how hard it is to find a white shirt. We try one more time. I hope we find one. 
• I have lost my kitchen mojo. What the hell is that? It's actually pretty normal for me. I've been in a rut for a while with everything. I have a touch of depression since my mom died. Well, duh. I had hubby and the kids each pick some new recipes. Now I get to plan a menu. I need to clean off my desk and gather the recipes and get to it. Tomorrow. Did I also mention I have a touch of procrastination happening? Pissing me off is what it's doing. That is my other goal tomorrow. I need to do that before we go get shoes so I can coupon. I have a stack of those on my desk, too. See, there's that procrastination/depression thing again. If any of the recipes are good, you know I'll post them. 
• Wow, that last bullet point went all over the place, didn't it? Was that about the cooking or the emotional wreck I am? Good grief, it was about both. It's like my Gemini twins were fighting to be heard. That was weird. 
• So much going on with my park mamas. We all have our issues, but some of them are going through some pretty heavy things. Makes my heart hurt to have my friends hurt. It feels good to know you have a group of friends that will always be there for you. Much love and many prayers for my mamas. 
• The divorce is getting ugly. So much to say. And I did. And I took it down. My nephew blocked me. I could see his posts, but I wasn't allowed to comment or like his statuses. I blocked him back. I knew it was his mother. Then I didn't want to be that childish. If she wanted to creep, she could creep away. Then I got unfriended. All because I don't agree with his mother. See, now that's not right. So I put that as my status. And I called her out. I also said may she rot for the damage she is doing to her children. And that was wrong and I know it. But I have to say my friends are the freakin' best ever because they played right along. I love them. Doesn't make what I said right, though, so I took it down. It was the right thing to do, but that didn't make it any easier. 
•  As much of a hard ass as I am, I promise I can be really sweet. Really, ask hubby. Maybe not him. Ask my kids. Wait, maybe not. Just kidding. They all think I'm a sweetheart. And a bad ass. 
• See this seven takes thing is pretty easy. Technically, two of these probably don't count, but they got a bullet point. 

I like it because I get to use bullet points and it's a random blog. I told hubby I was in the mood for a political blog. He started looking for snipers and black SUVs. He's so cute.              

Birthdays

Ooooh, Pitbull is a dirty, dirty, dirty dog! I asked my friend N to translate part of  a song. He is a bad, bad boy. I like his voice and the beat of his songs. Shake Senora makes me want to shake my senora. That's not what this blog is about, that's just what's blasting through my ear buds. But I digress again. Duh.

Today was my big girl's birthday. She is 14. What the hell?!?!?! You should see her. She's freaking gorgeous. Little boys pant when she walks by. Mama glares at the little boys and they run away. It was a rough day. Not for the big girl, but for me. This was the first birthday for one of my kids that Mermie wasn't here to make her phone call. I've felt like I was on the edge of a cliff all day. Just one miniscule breeze could make me fall off.

We don't answer our home phone. If you don't have my cell, I don't want to talk to you. That's just the way it is. Well, the phone seemed to ring off the hook today. One was from the church. They called to wish the big girl happy birthday. I had played the message already and hit replay when the big girl came to my room. I expected it to play the message from the church, not thinking it was in the "you already played that message" cue. With the message from my mom from my last birthday I have saved. I fast forwarded as quickly as I could and played the message from the church. By this time all the kids were gathered around the answering machine. When the message from the church was over, they asked if they could hear the one from Mermie. So I played it.

I miss her so much. My heart aches and aches some days. I see something on TV or hear something on the radio and I want to call her. I make a new dish or an old one and I want to call her. The kids do something great or even not so great and I want to call her. But I can't. And that sucks.

The boy was feeling extra sensitive today anyway for some reason. I don't know if he was getting his emotional cues from me or what, but he couldn't take it. He just burst into tears and fell into my arms. Deep, sorrowful sobs poured from my boy as I held him and cried with him. We held each other and talked about how much we miss her. We talked about wanting to see her again. We talked about last summer and how much fun we had. And we cried and we cried and we cried. What a big, strong young man he is.

I had to go to the garden. I needed a little quiet to process. And cry a little more. It was a rough day, for sure. I called hubby after a minute or so and talked to him about it. And cried some more. Grieving sucks, by the way. The smallest thing will set me off. I have two friends that don't have Facebook and have been out of town for several weeks. They both happened to come to the park. One of them asked about my mom. Well, shit, where did the tears come from? It took me a while to compose myself. Lots of deep breathing going on there.

The big girl seemed to have a good day. She even got her room cleaned for her sleepover. Yea for a houseful of teenage girls. It could be worse. It could be a houseful of teenage boys. That day will come, I'm sure. Sooner than I want it to. We went to dinner and had a wonderful time. There will be an ice cream cake and presents and friends tomorrow. And Mermie will always be with us in our hearts.          

Random Blog

I have a lot on my mind. It's kinda swirly right now. This is one of those show my good and bad side blogs. I'm pretty good at that. I am a Gemini, you know. It doesn't help I have a headache. It just gets better and better, doesn't it? Some of this probably belongs on my other blog, but I don't necessarily want it all over Facebook.

• The big girl listens to Pandora. I listen to I Heart Radio. Are you supposed to designate the names of apps like the names of books, with italics or quotation marks? Sorry, I digress. She has a new favorite band and I am so glad it's Relient K. I like them, too, but I don't know nearly the amount of their songs that she does. She also like Karmin. I do, too, but again, there's that her knowing more about the "current" music than I do. And that makes me a little nervous. Usually, when I'm on IHR, I'm listening to Air 1 Radio, which is contemporary Christian. So, tonight I'm on Pandora. One of the things I remember I don't like about Pandora is that you really can't fast forward. I mean, you can, but then you have to sit through the ads. Who wants that? I know there are ads anyway, but still, let me get to something I like. I am on the Karmin channel trying to get "caught up". I was just listening to Katy Perry and I couldn't fast forward. But then, Pandora redeemed itself by playing Neon Trees Everybody's Talking. The bad with the good. Except, you can't always control the language that shows up in some of the songs. You would think it wouldn't bother me that much, but it really does. Which is hypocritical because I have Niki Minaj's Starships. It's the edited version, but you know what she's saying. Ach!! On a bright note, Relient K is her favorite band. Small things, right. I may ban her from Pandora. Or not. 
• I have been blocked from my nephew's Facebook page. I can see the basic info, like if you're not friends. I have no idea what I did or said for that to happen. I haven't said anything bad about either of his parents, nor would I. Not on Facebook anyway. I try not to feed the monster on that social beast. I think he unfriended me. That is the son of the divorcing parents. Ouch, says my ego. Another part of me says it is one more thing I do not need to worry about. I can't change it right now, but hopefully, I'll get the chance in the future. 
• I have a favorite pair of shorts. They are a size too big, but they are so comfy, I will not give them up. I like where they sit on my hips. I wear it with a maroon t-shirt I have. I like the way it hugs my curves. Makes me feel sexy. Hubby likes it, too. Really, there isn't much better than that. We went to run some errands and I threw on my white wedges because my tan is kicking and those things make my short legs miles long. A little braggy, aren't I? Sorry. It feels pretty good. Anyway, we stopped to get gas. We belong to a program run by a local grocery chain that gives you money off the price of a gas when you spend money at their store. I forgot the card when we got out of the van. So I lean into the van just a little more than I had to because hubby was there. I really did have problems finding the card. When I stood up, the lady in the SUV at the next pump was looking at me and smiling. She'd been staring at my ass. And I'll take that every day because I am not proud. I am just glad someone enjoyed the view. 
• I am sad the Olympics are over. I look forward to that every two years. At first I was upset when they changed from every four years, same year for both Olympics, to the way it is now. But I get to watch Olympics sooner, so it's not too bad. I like the wallpaper going around that is a picture of Gabby Douglas wearing her gold medal. The caption says "16 and an Olympian, not 16 and pregnant". Yes! I can only hope that this is a turn around for many people. It would be great to see kids with a sense of self esteem. I think reality TV is an abomination. There is no such thing as reality TV. None of that stuff is real. But then again, nothing is what it used to be. I hope the Olympians inspired people to go out and be their best. Work hard and you can achieve great things. That's what we're trying to teach our kids. 

 And on that note, I am going to take some more stuff for my headache, then go stand in a hot, hot shower for hours. OK, more like 10 minutes or so. And I want a sandwich. Peace out!  

Hmmmmm...

Lots of good stuff on my list and I was trying to figure out why I hadn't blogged about it. Because I didn't have a computer. Well, I should get to it, then. Ready?

• Hubby and I have talked about putting ourselves on a no frills, no extra budget for the next year. Barring things like food and bills and essentials, no extra except what we already do, like dance. Great talk. Then I went out and bought two new shirts and a pair of shorts. Dumb ass. So we need to sit down and decide when we're getting started and what no extras actually means. We still need new front steps, a new fan motor for the A/C, a section of privacy fence for the garden and soil for the rest of the beds, the rest of the beds, new tires for his truck, and really that list needed bullet points of it's own. You get the idea. I am not looking forward to it, but I think it's now or never. We talk about it all the time, but I think it IS time. It will force us to be accountable to each other about where the money really goes. It's times like this I wish my feet were still growing. Good excuse for a new pair of shoes. Alright, I'll stop whining. About this. For now. But I'm gonna start again in just a second.
• I am really enjoying our local PBS stations. I wasn't sure we would. I was starting to miss my cooking shows something fierce. Flipping through channels, I came across a few good ones. We get three sets of PBS channels from various bigger cities around us. We get one all the way from the coast. One is in Spanish, so we took that one out of the saved channels. There is also a group of channels produced in Canada that we are really liking. The only problem is that when the weather gets too bad, we lose that set until the storm passes. I do miss some of the channels like TNT. They have great shows. The Olympics has dominated our television these last couple of weeks. I do miss having all the extra channels to watch some of the other events. We can't stream from the computer, so we've missed quite a bit. And I just now thought about streaming through the Wii. I am brilliant!! Late, but brilliant. 
• I am not a fan of coconut, at least not the shredded stuff you buy in the store. That is just a cruel thing to do to a coconut. As hubby and I were walking through the grocery store one day, he noticed beers from Kona Brewing Company. Well, sign me up for Hawaiian beer!! He got a pale ale that was scrumtious. I picked the coconut ale. Why? I don't know, but it was really good. It was really, really good. Hubby and I were supposed to be sharing one and then I noticed he had walked off with it. Oh, no, I do not even think so, Mister. So I got my own. Ha! That showed him. As I was retelling the story a couple of days later, I made the comment that although I am not a rum drinker at all (it doesn't like me and I don't like it back!) I liked Malibu Rum. Light bulb! It's not that I don't like coconut, it's that I only like my coconut with alcohol in it. Not surprisingly, I'm OK with that. 
• Our trip to Texas left a lot of work when we got home. The garden was horrible, the chicken coop needed to be cleaned, the laundry, the mail, the pool, the, the, the. Hubby and I took that weekend and worked our buns off. Our saving grace was our neighbor. Thank God for great neighbors. Our neighbor mowed the whole yard, collected the mail, and kept an eye on our chickens. Good neighbors can be hard to find, but he is wonderful. He keeps an eye on us, takes care of us, mows our front yard on a regular basis, and I could keep going. He knows everybody and everyone and if you need something he is the go-to guy. Love it!

And on that positive note, I think I'm done. That feels so much better. I'm going to bed now. The Olympics are still on and I need to get caught up. Go USA!!    

"It's not the hate, it's the stupidity"

Margaret Cho had a great quote about racism in her act many years ago. It's one that stuck with me. It's something along the lines of "Racism is like the weather. With weather, it's not the heat, it's the humidity. With racism, it's not the hate, it's the stupidity." Well that just sums it up nicely, doesn't it. Not only have we had a lot of hate floating around our country, but way more stupidity than should be allowed. Or the other phrase that I like: common sense just isn't that common. I sure wish common sense was running rampant. What a great day that would be! At the risk of alienating some people, you know I just have to open my mouth, or keyboard, because that's what I do.

Can we talk about this Chick Fil A boondoggle? I like that word. Of course we can talk about it. It's my blog. We can talk about anything here. First of all, an entire company is being vilified because the CEO was asked his stance on what has become a key issue. Dan Cathy was asked what he thinks about gay marriage. His response was that he believes in the biblical view of marriage. People went stupid! They didn't go nuts. They skipped that and went straight for the good stuff.

The GLBT community immediately called for a boycott of all the restaurants. They are mostly franchises owned by independent owners, who, amazingly, have their own opinions and beliefs and secrets hidden in their closets. All of a sudden, Christians were being sent to the lions. Again. For what one man said. At no time did he spout hate rhetoric and say that homosexuality was from the devil. He didn't say anything like that. But the press took it and ran with it. Suddenly, we aren't smart enough to read the comments for ourselves. Let's all jump on the "Hate Chick Fil A" bandwagon. No, because their waffle fries are lovely.

The extreme Christians went into overdrive. Let's all praise this man for standing up for our Christian values. Let's persecute all the gays and only eat chicken! Wait, what?!? Y'all are just as stupid as the other side. He didn't say that either. But, suddenly, this became a major issue and Christians need to stand together. Now we have a champion for family values! Um, ok, take a breath. Let's get a lemonade and talk about how you need to actually listen to the quote as well.

Then there's the millions of us that are stuck in the middle of all this, looking at both sides, thinking you're both idiots. What I can't stand is sheeple. Let's jump on whatever bandwagon fits our criteria and beat our drums and make ourselves be heard. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

One thing that irritates me is that it's being said that Chick Fil A gives money to organizations that spout hate. I looked up who they give their money to. I'm a freak that way. I always say do your own research, so I did. I know that there won't be anything that says: We promote hate around here. Here's what I did find, though.

1. Core Essentials: This program is provided to schools to emphasize and explore core values and good character. These help reinforce good character and promotes family values. I don't see that as bad. Are you saying that families with two moms or two dads can't benefit from this program? Don't we want our kids to grow up with a strong sense of ethics and right from wrong? Don't we want kids that will grow up to be productive members of society that work hard and give back to the community? Do we want kids that don't think the world and society owe them something just because they exist? Seems like a great program to me. 
2. All Pro Dad: This is an organization that helps fathers be better fathers and mentors to their children and children in the community, promoting strong families and strong fathers. There are former and current NFL players and coaches involved in this particular group. They meet once a month for breakfast and spend time with each other fellowshipping and mentoring with each other. Once again, is this for just father's of  "regular" families? No. It's for fathers that want better for their families. 
3. Family First. While the information for this organization doesn't state that they are a Christian organization, it may be. I did not take the time to read the blog, and I should have. It seemed pretty straight forward to me, though. Check it out for yourself. This group was co-founded by Tony Dungy, former NFL coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I like Tony, but that's me. 

The main website said that the franchise owners in each community are responsible for what groups they donate money to and what they support. To find out what they give time and money to, just call them. They will be more than happy to give you access to that info. It says so on the website.

This blog isn't meant to bash gay marriage or GLBT community. It also was not meant to promote Chick Fil A or even Christian values. It was meant to open your closed eyes to a major problem in our society today. That would be being offended. Every comment is not laced with hate and anger, from either side. Shame on all of us for being offended by someone exercising a right that has been long fought for-freedom of speech. If you ask for an opinion, don't get pissy when it isn't yours. Don't just take everything at face value. Take the time to look it up for yourself. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH, LAZY ASS!!!!!

I have friends that are gay that I love very much. I have family that are gay. I love them very much. I have a 12 year old niece that is transgender. She felt, at the tender age of 7 or 8, that she was not supposed to be a girl. Her mother, who is bisexual and living with her girlfriend, took steps to help ensure that she could live the life she is supposed to live. She lives as a boy and is treated as such. I cannot imagine what it took for that tender-hearted girl to bring the feelings that she didn't have words for to her parents. I also have friends and family that are amazing Christians and teach me every day that all people are made by God and His love for us is pure and never ending. They teach me that being offended is useless and wasteful and spouting hate, no matter what side of the issue you stand on, is wrong. We should all learn these lessons.

Strength and bravery come in many shapes and sizes. There is so much more to worry about in this country right now than where I buy my chicken sandwich and waffle fries. There is an election that will soon be taking place that will determine where this country goes in the next four years. Let's focus on unemployment, jobs, healthcare, and just getting through this life being the best people we can be, to and for each other. Let's keep our eyes on the prize of a united country where we don't force our beliefs on each other, but have open and intelligent dialogue about those beliefs. And, for goodness sake, don't ask my opinion if you don't really want it.