Flashback Friday-Girl Time

I've had a cold all week and instead of pushing it and making it worse, like I usually do, I rested and got over it.  I feel so much better today!  Thanks to my friend, Ali, for telling me that I am not allowed to go to the gym until tomorrow morning.  I said "Can't I just do yoga Friday morning?" She replied "NO!  Nothing until Saturday morning!"  I guess I didn't care to blog yesterday because I didn't feel well enough.

Lindsey had a friend spend the night last night.  They play together better than any combination of kids I've seen.  They danced in Lindsey's room, painted their nails, did face masks, and watched "Clueless" and "Mean Girls".  Lindsey is 11, Hanna is 12, and they both ran in my room while they were watching "Mean Girls" and said "What are rubbers?"  I said "They're nothing right now."  I sent Hanna's mom a text telling her what they had asked (she is also a friend of mine) and we laughed.  At least they don't know what they are yet!  Some kids their age are using them already, so maybe we are ahead of the game!  That's really sad....and scary. Lindsey has been talking about a little girl on her squad who "can't wait for her boyfriend to come over.  They are going to her basement to make out!"  Ummmm, she is in 6th grade.  Does this only seem young to ME????  Lindsey was laughing and said it's gross....I agreed with her.

I used to stay home on Friday nights (when it wasn't football season and I didn't have to cheer) and build tents with my little sister, Lauren.  We used to watch "Clueless" and "Dunston Checks In", among others.  "Dunston Checks In" was about a chimpanzee who checks into a hotel and steals jewels from its rich guests.  I loved hanging out with my sister.  Se was so adorable and sweet.  I was in high school, she was 8 years younger, and I am so happy that I was smart enough to spend that time with her rather than with my friends.  I saved the rest of the weekend for my friends.  Lauren hasn't ever forgotten it, and neither have I.  I knew that she would grow up one day and that it would be too late to hang out with me; I didn't think she would want to.....however, that hasn't happened yet.  She still loves to hang out with me; we are both adults now.  And we still watch "Clueless".  We just don't set up tents.

Bo the Bear

Some of you know that Dylan has a bear.  Bo is Dylan's best friend in the world, other than Carson.  He got him for his first birthday and brings him everywhere.  Dylan rubs Bo's ear on his nose, sometimes to sleep and sometimes just because he feels like doing it.  Bo is very loved, and he is real to Dylan.  Bo goes absolutely everywhere with Dylan.  He loves him dearly.

Last night Dylan was playing with an airplane on the floor, so was Bo, when Dylan picked him up and examined his torso.  All of a sudden, Dylan started screaming bloody murder.  He was wailing "Bo has a rip!  Bo ripped, MAMAAAAA, Bo ripped!"  I have never seen Dylan so upset.  He was absolutely horrified and was crying so hysterically that he almost wasn't able to breathe.  The tear was on his neck.  I calmed him down and asked Lindsey to get my sewing kit.  She sprinted to the closet.

Dylan watched the entire time as I stitched Bo's poor neck up.  He was immediately relieved.  Now there is a tiny thread that is hanging from where I stitched him and Dylan keeps asking me to cut it.  (I haven't found my damn scissors yet.)  Dylan hates hangnails, snagged fingernails, threads coming off of socks....anything asymmetrical, Dylan seems to hate.  He is a particular child in that way.

This reminds me....Carson has a monkey, Baby Konkey.  It's goofy looking with big eyes and it is the only thing that Carson has gotten attached to.  He doesn't bring him everywhere like Dylan brings Bo, but he does invite him sometimes.  Well, I hadn't seen Baby Konkey in a while but I figured he would turn up.  I went to the gym last week, but it wasn't the gym I typically go to.  I saw Baby Konkey resting on the ledge.  I was like "Carson!  Look!!!  Look who we found!"  It was definitely Carson's because the eyes were scratched from the dryer and he had some other marks that made him identifiable.  He had definitely been there for a while, I am talking months.  Carson was excited, but see, Dylan NEVER would have left Bo even for a minute.  He would never forget Bo.  Ever.

Dylan and Bo at the zoo

Dylan, Bo, and his other bear that comes in 2nd, Bo Bo

You're Just Mad Because.....

Church on Sunday was about conflict and why families fight.  Basically, the short version is that every member wants something and is not getting it.  It's okay to fight in the court room because someone wins, but no one wins a fight at home.  He said that when you are in conflict, what each person is really saying is "I'm angry because I am not getting what I want".  It is the truth and if you pause to realize that's the reason you are upset, it helps to put things into perspective.  It gives you a slice of responsibility and you have to be nice.  If everyone were nice and calmly discussed things, maybe we would work out of conflicts in a healthier manner.

I have used this to help myself and the kids this week.  I have also been saying "You're just unhappy because you are not getting what you want" and it completely disables them.  They pause and say "Well, yeah".  I ask them not to take it out on everyone else and learn to control themselves, not everyone else.

Jenny, Kerri and I had fun with this when we left church.  Someone honked at us and we mocked them and said "You're just unhappy because you aren't getting what you want!"

It works!

Weekend Recap

I can't believe I didn't write over the weekend!  I am such a slacker.

Saturday was Logan and Lindsey's first game.  The boys lost against a really good team, but Lindsey's squad....wow.  They are amazingly good.  I really couldn't believe it. I hadn't seen them practice, so I was stunned at halftime.  The stunts they did were amazing; everything was perfect.  I am going to have to film them and post it.  They are really good.

After the game I went to Zumba.  I had a hair appointment after that, and then I ate Mexican with Kerri for her little girl's birthday.  After dinner, I visited my friend, Lauren, who was in town and I was in bed by 10:00.  I watched "Mean Girls" and passed out.  It was amazing to get 7 hours of sleep!  I got up for church yesterday morning, went to lunch with Kerri and Jenny and went home to clean my house.  After I finished the house, I ate dinner with my friends, Matt and Amber, and visited their adorable new baby, Luke.  And I guess that was pretty much my weekend.  I made the rounds this weekend with my friends!  It was great seeing everyone.

By the way, if you haven't seen "Mean Girls", you really should.  It is so funny.

If my sister is reading, I have one thing to say.....You go, Glenn Cocoa!

Have a great day!

Flashback Friday-Alice in Chains, Don't Follow

I loved this song back in the day and something triggered me to Google it yesterday.  I totally forgot about it!   I love when it breaks down at the end.  It sort of reminds me of Guns N' Roses, Patience.  The lyrics are sort of Free Birdish, or even like Ozzy's, Mama, I'm Comin' Home....

http://youtu.be/eBB2OS4IoTs

So, I am either wrong, or maybe just like the last person on Earth to think about it, but "Alice in Chains"....is that Alice in Wonderland in chains?  Because Alice, being curious as she is, would certainly be a sad sight tied up in chains.  Is that what they are referring to?  Guess I will Google it.  Alice deserves to chase rabbits. Look at that face....there's a lot of innocence in curiosity.

Have a great Friday!

Go Shawty, It's Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Brea!!!  I love you and I hope you have a great day!  The world became more beautiful the day you were born, not just because of your face, but because you walked around decorating and designing better clothes.  heehee.  You are a beautiful girl, an awesome friend, and a wonderful mom!  I love you so much!  By the way, I can't believe that we have had like 17 birthdays together.  That's crazy.

-Brit

Car Stuff

I have been busy filing claims and getting my car fixed and scheduled to be fixed.  Considering that rocks hit my windshield on two different occasions, a psycho put a hole in my door, the plastic blinker cover thing came off of my mirror, and I had something stuck in my tire (assuming that's from the tornado I drove through), it took many different stops.

I really hope that I will stop filling the role of "Moving Target" now.  This has sucked, and as stupid as it sounds, I have really wondered if I should even be driving.  I haven't done anything except drive....and of course, my car is only a year old. Ugh.

How many people drive through a storm that ends up being a tornado and get their car door nailed by a gunman in the same summer?  And the meteorites that hit my windshield, well, that was just an unnecessary bonus from the Universe.

Thanks to God for protecting me and the kids.

Another Reason Not To Be Fat

Promise you won't read this and decide to call someone fat AND stupid......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19323061


I read this article and then read under "related stories".  There was an article that said that a beer belly is linked to Alzheimer's.

Interesting.

Why I am Tired

I had a strange weekend that has left me tired, I think, this Monday afternoon.  I never write this late, but I woke up late and I am trying to get some chores done.  That is turning out to be difficult because as soon as I clean up one area, I have to go and pick up the boys' mess in another room.  The boys are whiny and cranky and probably feeding off of me, who is very tired and groggy.

I will just get right to why I might be exhausted.  Saturday morning I went to the gym.  I had Dylan and Lindsey with me.  My goal for the day was to make a diaper cake for my hairdresser's baby shower.  (The dad is a tattoo artist and my hairdresser is tatted up, so we made a skull and crossbones cake....not babyish and typical and cutesy.)  So after the gym, I went to Walmart to get the diapers and some other things for the cake.  They didn't have the ribbon I needed, so I decided to drive to the fabric store on Barrett Parkway.  I was driving down the road and I heard a huge noise; something had hit the side of my car.  It was so loud,  can't even describe how loud it was.  The next little entrance into the shopping center that the object was thrown from, I pulled in and drove back toward where I was when whatever struck me struck me.  I figured it was an accident, or that maybe someone could tell me what happened, plus, I needed to make sure that my car was okay.  That's when I saw that my car was hit on purpose.  There was a guy throwing things at cars from the parking lot, and he had a gun in his left hand.  What I saw, I don't really know how to describe..... it looked like a giant spool of thread, but it was bright copper.  It was maybe the size of a football.  I freaked, obviously, and I pulled my car left and drove away from him and toward the back of the shopping center.  I called 911 and rolled my window down and yelled at some people that were coming out of the store to stay where they were.  911 asked me where I was, and wanted me to keep them informed as to what he was doing until they got there.  I parked my car right by the store and took the kids inside.  The people that worked at the store and some sweet customers watched the kids while I stayed by the glass and talked to 911.  This crazy guy was getting in and out of his creepy kidnapper, white van, grabbing things and throwing them at random cars.  He would pace back and forth a bit, throw more stuff, and then pace and talk to himself.  The thing that I worried about most is that he knew we were watching him.  I am not going to lie, I was scared and I was thinking about the crazy Batman theater killing spree.  I was afraid he was going to come at us and start shooting.  It felt like forever until the police came, but once they did, I got off the phone with 911 and they started handling it.  There were 4 cop cars surrounding him and trying to calm him down.  He was screaming "You're gonna have to kill me first!"  One cop came over and said that he was not right in the head as of the moment (Oh, really, Sherlock?), and that hopefully it wouldn't be long before they got him into cuffs.  He said we needed to stay to make statements and that my car needed to be written up. Like 30 minutes later, they got him into cuffs and into the back of the car; he resisted and screamed.

We all told the cops what we had seen. There were people who had been hit after me who eventually pulled in and told the cops about what they saw.  They wrote up a report for my car and said that he would be criminally prosecuted and undergo a psychological evaluation.

I had stayed calm until I looked at my car and realized what had happened.  Had he thrown the thing a little higher, it could have hit Dylan in the head and killed him.  My car will probably need a new door.  There were very sweet people there with me, one lady who hugged me once the shock of the situation wore off.  I started crying and thinking about my kids and let the pressure go, and she hugged me and told me how lucky we were and that it would be okay.  I wish I knew who she was.  I wish I knew who all of the people were in the store.  They were awesome.

On one hand, I feel blessed and protected by God.  On the other, I wonder why so many random and crazy things seem to happen to me.  It has always been that way and it isn't just me who has noticed it.  A couple of months ago I drove through a tornado, and I just have always generally felt like a magnet for weirdos.  Like when I went to Georgia State, I could be sitting with a group of people and I was the ONLY one getting messed with by a crazy, homeless person.  I sit there, not doing anything different than anyone else.  I am feeling some anxiety, honestly.  When I got home and took a shower, it hit me how freaked out I was.

Luckily, the kids were inside and away from the situation, but I know that it still scared the crap out of them.  Dylan is fine; he has talked about it a lot, but mainly about the police men.  Lindsey had a nightmare last night and had to sleep on my floor. Lindsey is already a worry-wart and paranoid, so this didn't help.

So, anyway, that was my weekend.  The baby shower was fun and I spent the night with Kerri and Jenny and we watched church in our pajamas on the couch.  (Kerri volunteered, so it was me and Jenny being lazy at home.)  I was lazy all day yesterday and I am tired today.  I am going to the gym later, but UGH.

Thank you to anyone who prays for me.  God protects me and my kids more than I even know.  This weekend we were lucky.  It could have been a very bad situation.  I do however, feel like I am supposed to be a reporter, like I went to school to be.  If I am going to witness random things, I may as well be writing about them for a living.  It is a very different feeling though when your children are in the situation.....I was shaking so badly.


Here is a picture of the cake:

In the end, it got finished!  Crazy day....

She's Dumber Than My Shift Key

I can't remember if I have ever posted this link.  If I already have, I apologize.  If I haven't, I meant to.  It is really old and I found it (again) yesterday while searching for the Jessie Spano freak-out clip.  Slater is in the clip, that's why it came up in the search.

This girl seriously is the dumbest person on our planet and possibly all others.  Thank God she is pretty.  If she were ugly, she would probably be mistaken as a desk or some other inanimate object.  This clip is so funny.  See if you can listen to her without cocking your head like a dog. I think that she needs a map.....to find her missing brain.  However, that will be difficult, because US Americans don't supply maps to their South African children.  Was that close enough to what she said, or did I get it wrong?  I don't know.  I am still confused.  And this clips is from 2007.

http://youtu.be/qQdhMSEqhfg

I Googled that chick and this picture came up. ;)

Langhorne Slim

I love the Violent Femmes, don't you?  They were so awesome when they were together.  I have especially  always been a fan because I used to babysit Victor DeLorenzo's kids when I lived in Milwaukee.  (DeLorenzo was their drummer, in case you aren't a fan.)  There were three kids; the two adorable little girls were 6 and 8, and the boy (Mal) was 10.  I was only 12, so it's sort of funny that I used to "babysit" him. He played soccer with my brother.  They were all really cute kids and their mom was one of those cool moms that you said you wanted to be when you grew up.

Mal is all grown up and following in his dad's footsteps; he is the drummer for a band called Langhorne Slim & the Law. They're so good! I thought I would share their awesomeness.....

I have posted a bunch of You Tube links below.  All of their music is really great, but I tried to pick my favorites.  Below them are links to a few of my favorite Femmes songs.  You definitely have a nice little play list today because I kept saying "Oh, I have to use that one!  Oh!  I have to use that one!"  

Langhorne Slim:

This is a great song.  Here's a link to Worries. This may be my favorite:

http://youtu.be/UnpScE0N9D4

Here they are performing Restless on The Late Show:

http://youtu.be/zehZX3UJKOY

Fire:

http://youtu.be/VC3qhJnEo7M

The Way We Move:

http://youtu.be/5KEv3rbNJuE

Salvation:

http://youtu.be/6689Ih37WuE

Rebel Side of Heaven:

http://youtu.be/gji8LWPWitI

The Electric Love Letter:

http://youtu.be/kvohcd4-eKk

Violent Femmes

(Seriously, I left out American Music, Add It Up...so many.  It was hard picking which ones I wanted to post!!!)

Used to be Happy:

http://youtu.be/VwfH57ca69A

Look Like That:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Xj0251A5g

Out the Window:

http://youtu.be/gxkeZ0Wj6IU

And of course....Blister in the Sun:

http://youtu.be/JE-dqW4uBEE

Covering Gnarls Barkley's Crazy:

http://youtu.be/fD-SMLTfuVw

Covering Do You Really Want To Hurt Me:

http://youtu.be/WdQoIun8CBI

Gone Daddy Gone:

http://youtu.be/nptMn4YMCCM


Have a great day!

Flashback Friday-I'm So Excited!

Big news!!!  I haven't wanted to jinx it, so I have kept my mouth shut until now, but my boys are officially potty trained!  No more diapers for Carson and Dylan, which means no more diaper changing for me until I have grand kids!  That's so weird.  My baby days are over, which makes me a little sad, but I am also SO EXCITED.  This made me think of Saved By the Bell and Jessie Spano.  Who doesn't remember that, right?  Even at like 10 years old,  I knew that the scene where Jessie completely freaks out and is addicted to pills was cheesy and classic.  "I'm so excited!  I'm so excited!  I'm so, I'm so SCARED!"  Haha.

This is awesome.

*By the way, today is my 500th blog entry.  I am so Jessie Spano right now.


You know I couldn't resist......


http://youtu.be/bflYjF90t7c

American Girl in Paris (Never Gets Old)

I was folding laundry and watching Style on Sunday.  They were playing the last couple of episodes of "Sex and the City".  Does that series finale ever get old????  I still screamed when I saw Big in the car behind Carrie as she is running away....like I have never seen it before?  Ha ha. I love Big.  Wanna reminisce?  Click below and travel back to 2004.

By the way, person who posted this video...thank you for the link, but it's Carrie, not Carry.  Shame on you.  She even has a necklace clearly stating how her name is spelled, which is what the video you posted is about.

http://youtu.be/vYc072SRDfI

I love the song too....La Belle et La Bad Boy, Mc Solaar.  (The Beauty and the Bad Boy.)

Book Respect

Why is it that when you loan someone a book you're almost certain that you will never see it again?  Oh, I know!  Because 99 percent of the time, you never do. I let someone borrow a book and as soon as it's out of my fingers, I kick myself in the ass because I was just stupid.

Is there an unwritten rule that says "books do not have to be returned to their owners"?  Did our parents teach us that librarians are just wimps and that the borrowing agreement doesn't really apply?  Or is it that people always have the intention to read your book, but they never get around to reading it, so they just think that they can keep it for the next 35 years until they do?  It drives me absolutely nuts and it is extremely rude.  It's a strange phenomenon that people assume you don't want your books back, especially since libraries will send your account to bill collectors if you don't return their books.  Do people assume that because you have read it there is no reason for you to own it anymore because it's already been read?  I used to keep my textbooks in college if they were good, so I can assure you.....I do not apply to this  little theory.  I keep my books as a reference, but how am I supposed to refer back if the BOOK IS NOT THERE????

My parents have an entire attic full of books that I will inherit when they die.  In fact, if they loan me a book, I do not have to return it because it's mine one day anyway. But as far as I know, I do not have any kind of agreement with anyone else I know that states that my books are theirs, even if I die.  So cough 'em up!  It seriously drives me up a freaking wall.  I think that what people must do is loan your books out to other people, they can't get them back, and then they just avoid you altogether because they know that your book is long gone.  And books are expensive! What is that???

You know, if I have ever had a problem with electronic books, I don't now.  If I read electronically, no one can run off with my file.  I can hoard my little library and not make it vulnerable by sitting on a shelf.

I don't care if I sound rude or stupid because you know it's true because it's happened to you.  Here's the deal.....there's going to be an uncomfortable moment when anyone asks me for a book from now on.  I will ask for their jewelry as collateral.  Hope you are laughing by now.

What To Do With a Hamster

You can thank Mr. Matti T., an avid Haphazard reader, for this post.  He absolutely insisted on me posting this bizarre picture.  In case you guys are ever bored on a rainy day and can't find anything to play with other then a few hamsters........

Just when I thought that hamsters were  useless rodents......

Thanks for the laugh, Matti T.  Have a great day, everyone!

Brittany Processes a Good Message

The Original Message:

Church was really great yesterday.  They are starting a new series on family and yesterday's message was sort of an overview of what's to come for the next several weeks.  Even though it was just an overview, I found it very interesting and really want to share what was said.

The preacher said that when we say "old-fashioned family values" (insert image of Andy Griffith and June Cleaver), it's really incorrect to look at it as old-fashioned because in the days of the Greek Thinkers and Mighty Romans, this idea that women and children should be treated with equally and with respect, was a revolutionary idea.  The idea that a man should love his wife and children and show patience and kindness was very modern.  Men were used to treating their family members like cattle, so getting used to it was difficult. In fact, women were treated so badly that all a man had to do to divorce her was to say three times "I divorce thee."  Boom.  She had to move out.  But also, this idea that family could be harmonious was hard to imagine because people are imperfect and have been since the very beginning.  (Look at the very first family.....Adam chose a woman over God, then Cain kills Abel, etc.)

The preacher talked about  society today and how we kind of wipe away any distinctions between women and men and their roles.  We do things like denounce old-fashioned views like marriage and he warned us about that.  He pointed out that in societies that do not follow these "old-fashioned" ideas, women and children are the ones to suffer.  He said that just because this idea is difficult to execute, we shouldn't become brokenhearted and say "Well, that didn't work, so we don't need it.  We will do it our own way." We are still supposed to strive for the ideal circumstances.  He said that women should fight to be treated well, as God commands men to treat them. When men do not love their wives as Jesus loved the church and women do not submit themselves to their husbands, women and children are the ones who suffer.  So if you think about it, God is a feminist's biggest supporter.  He told men to treat women well, and if you look at other countries that do not embrace God's blueprint of how a family should operate, the women and children are the ones who are suffering.  He gave the example of divorce.....women and children are the ones to fall below the poverty line. So then I asked myself "What if you can't have the ideal, or if it gets screwed up?"  Right when I thought this, the preacher said "Jesus died for your sins".  He said that God knows how hard his vision is and that things happen beyond your control.  He forgave you before you even screwed up.  He wants us to strive for these "old-fashioned" but modern views, but if we fail, he loves us still and wants us to keep pushing forward, in the direction of his vision.

Brittany thinks about what was said, and then has some thoughts of her own......(unedited)

I always had a problem with that "submit yourselves to your husbands" verse because it sounds so scary, like a girl saying "yes, sir" to a barbarian who she is forced to cook for and have sex with.  I never realized that this verse is assuming that you are submitting yourself to a man who loves God so much that he will treat you like gold.  Maybe I didn't realize that guys who cherish women, so much so that a woman would find submission comfortable, even existed?   A man who loves you as God loves the church will not be harsh with you and your children, but he will love you and protect you.  Who wouldn't submit to someone who cherishes and protects them?  Marriage simply doesn't work without the man treating his family well.  It seems that it starts with them, which is really where the whole "Man of the House" thing comes from.  He isn't supposed to be the boss because he is a man, but because he is a man who loves his family as God loved the church.  It isn't said in a caveman way and I hate when men interpret it that way.  Husbands and wives are supposed to be one flesh because they respect and love each other.  It isn't a pass for the man to walk in and toss his wife around and scream at her about dinner not being ready.  And also, wives should respect and love a man who cherishes them.  We have responsibility too.  A man can't be a man unless she allows him to.  It goes both ways. Hence the reason a marriage is a PARTNERSHIP and UNION.

Brittany has some more thoughts.  She is really pumped up and agreeing with herself and this whole equality thing......God definitely has this right.

You know, personally, I don't WANT to be a man.  I want to be treated equally and with respect for the sex I was BORN as.  What does all of that "equality and respect" mean if I have to behave as a man does?  Why can't I have it as a girl?  Why do I have to say stubbornly "I don't need you"  to a man?  I shouldn't say anything at all except "Don't treat me like that!  DAMN straight  I am a girl, so respect me as such!"  I am different than a guy and that's a good thing.  I am smaller, I DO cry more, and I have a tenderness to my heart that makes me different and I shouldn't have to completely forfeit my feminine qualities just to get respect and equality.  I like to nurture and listen and love and I shouldn't have to forfeit those qualities either.  I feel like saying "Oh, so I can only appear as smart as you if I act like you?"   Um, how about I am as smart as you because I have a brain too.  I think that men should treat us well and that we should feel free to nurture and love them.  The problem is that we keep nurturing broken men. (The Bad Boy)  We keep getting treated like crap by men who are not men.  This is partially our fault for taking care of broken people.  I don't mind men opening a door or pickle jar for me....this doesn't mean that they are smarter or more important than me and it's stupid to demand respect by rejecting trivial things like their arm strength.  Damn right, be polite to me and hold that door.  Bow down to someone who wants to nurture you.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  But seriously, why knock a guy for being polite?  Oh yeah.  I just remembered.  Maybe we assume that they just want to get into our pants.  But should we assume that?  We are in charge of our own pants, so if we just don't make it that easy, then we just had someone open a door for us for free. I really think that the feminists maybe went about this all wrong.  Why burn our bras?  We need them, so it was a stupid metaphor.  We should have burned something of theirs, not ours.  Why didn't we say "Yes.  We wear bras, and we are still just as smart and important as you are!"  Why don't we say things like "Yes, I paint my nails, I curl my hair, and like to cry to Beaches no matter how many times I watch it......and I could still be President of the United States" rather than be like "Don't be polite to me!  I can do it myself!"

Then Brittany ponders....

If we want all of that, we should probably stop saying that we don't need men at all.  Maybe we should stop making them feel like useless losers.  We got even.  They know how crappy it feels by now, right?  Maybe if we all treated each other with respect and dignity starting now, we would be all good.  Maybe we are all equal.  Maybe men are good for some things, women are good for others, and together we can get along and fit like a puzzle. Hmmmm....wouldn't that be a nice way to live?


Then Brittany realizes......

That's what God just said.

Sundays

Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's all mothers, but have you ever noticed that how your Sunday goes is an indicator of how your entire week will go?  If I go to bed organized, we are probably looking at a very good week.  If I go to bed irritated, stressed and without having gotten everything done, the week is probably doomed.

I have a lot to get done today in hopes that this week will be a good one.  I hope that everyone had a great weekend!

*Logging back in to add a note.....Lindsey and I were watching Jackie Evancho (amazing) on PBS after church and she sang the song from Moulin Rouge.  I had completely forgotten about how beautiful this song is.  I am not gonna lie....it sorta makes me cry.  It may be one of the most romantic songs ever....I wonder if love exists like this.  Reality tells me otherwise.  Oh, and it's Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, by the way.  Part of the song makes me cock my head and say "Is that even healthy?"  The whole life "all revolves around you" part.  Hmmmmm.....people who let that happen get kicked in the face.  Maybe if both people feel it?  I don't know.  That seems like a bad idea.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APzYBz8V7gA&feature=fvst

Anything Gatsby

I have talked about The Great Gatsby many times on this blog because it is one of my favorite books and I mentioned about a year ago that they have made the movie....again.  The Leonardo Di Caprio version was originally supposed to come out in December, but they have pushed it to summer of 2013.  This sucks because I was looking forward to seeing it in just a few months.  Anyway, if you haven't read the book, please read it and see the Robert Redford movie.  It really is a great story and you will fall in love with the characters....and hate some of them.

Any time I see anything about Gatsby, I post it.  On top of which, I love Chicago and I love Lake Forest,  so I thought I would share this article about where Daisy Buchanan was from.  Fitzgerald's first love, Ginevra King, was from Lake Forest.  She inspired Fitzgerald's most famous character, Daisy.  This is a good, short read from The Paris Review....


http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/07/23/where-daisy-buchanan-lived/

From the new film.  

Flashback Friday-The Giving Tree

One of my favorite children's stories is called "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.  I read it to the boys the other night and it had been a while.

If you haven't read it, it is about a friendship between a little boy and a tree.  The boy loves the tree and the tree loves the boy.  The boy plays in its leaves, swings from its branches, and eats its apples.  Throughout the story, the boy grows up and comes back to visit the tree.  (When he needs something, it seems.)  The tree gives him everything he has: his apples to sell, his branches to build a house, and eventually he gives him his trunk so the boy can build a boat and sail away.  At the end of the book, the tree is just a stump and the boy comes back as an old man.  All the boy needs is a place to sit.  The boy sits on the stump and they are both happy to be together.

I love this story, but I have a bit of an issue with it now that I am older.  I think that this story is a true depiction of how a lot of relationships are.  Why?  Because there are Givers and there are Takers in the world.  Apparently I am not the only one who has an issue with this story.  I discovered while writing this that there are a lot of people who had issues with it when it came out.

When is it too much to give to another person?  We are taught that you are good in completely sacrificing yourself for another, yet doesn't this just breed a bigger group of selfish people and hurt the Givers?  Givers are usually the ones to say they're sorry, to forgive, and to show patience and kindness.  The Takers take advantage of this, so isn't it unhealthy for the Giver?  When is being nice too nice?  When should you walk away when dealing with a selfish person?  Should you leave when you still have a few branches in tact, or when you are alone in the woods and nothing but a stump?  Should you be happy being a stump because you knew you gave your all?  Or is this completely stupid?  Honestly, the fact that the stump was happy the boy was there to sit on him at the end is very sad.  I think in People Terms, this would be considered having no confidence that you deserve someone better....someone who wouldn't have taken your trunk to sail away from you.  

I don't know what to teach my kids about this except what Jesus says.  He says to love your enemies as well as your friends, otherwise there is no reward.  There is no reward in only loving the lovable.  But am I wrong  to want more for my kids than becoming the types of people who let others take everything while they give selflessly?  But then again, I don't want them to be Takers either.  Between the boy and the tree, I would much rather be the tree.  The boy is a little punk who takes as he pleases and comes back only when it's convenient for him.  I don't want my kids to be like that, nor do I want to be like that. 

Maybe it's an Ebb and Flo.  Maybe we are all the boy and the tree at different points in our lives, or maybe we change roles with certain people.  Maybe that's why Givers end up with Takers.  Takers and Takers make it about a week, or they end up dead and on the news.  My question is this:  Why don't Givers and Givers wind up together.  (I am not talking just romantically.  I am talking about in any relationship.)  Or does a Giver naturally begin to take when finding another Giver because it's human nature?  Are Givers attracted to Takers because they like to nurture?  Are Takers attracted to Givers because they are selfish bastards?  Yes, now this is about the only thing I am sure of while I write this.  I think that Givers have it written on their foreheads and Takers are the first to spot it, hunt it, and go in for the kill.

I  know that when I love someone I would rather give everything I have than to know that I gave them a watered-down version of myself, no matter how many times I get burned.  (Maybe this is unfortunate?)  I definitely think we need to take care of ourselves in our relationships though and that there should be a balance.  

Have a great Friday!  Go read the book!  It's great, no matter which way you look at it.  

I found this online; pretty funny:

Amanpour

I absolutely love Christiane Amanpour, so I was thrilled to see an article about her in Vanity Fair.   For those of you who don't know who she is or how amazing she is, she is CNN's chief international correspondent.  She has reported for 25 years and she is my hero.  If it weren't for people like her we wouldn't know what's going on around the world.  I know that it's depressing to hear about other countries because they are so screwed up (not that we aren't too), but you have to imagine being a person living in a backwards society. Imagine being alone with no one out there to tell your story or do anything about your situation.  It's these brave reporters that give that isolated person a voice and who spark change.  I always wanted to work for CNN and I even thought that I might like to report in dangerous situations, but I don't know if I would have lasted a day.  Plus, my teachers told me that I belonged on a morning show and that I was too bubbly.  I hated that!

Christiane was born in London and raised in Tehran.  Her mother is British and her father is Iranian.  She grew up speaking English, French, and Persian.  The article says that they left everything after the Islamic revolution in 1979 and this sparked her interest in journalism.  She was in the middle of everything and was fascinated.

When asked if she is ever afraid on assignment, she said "It's what you do....We're in a country's backyard, literally reporting in real time about the atrocities that are being committed.  You always think about the worst that could happen-getting tortured , or maybe raped.  Certainly as a woman, that's a big fear.  And otherwise getting injured or killed.  I've been lucky."

She spoke briefly about the journalists who are being tortured and killed.  She said that this has been a bad year for them because other countries are trying to shut them up; they are killing the messenger.  914 journalists have been killed in trouble spots around the world since 1992, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.  Seventy percent of the deaths were deliberate murders, nine percent were tortured from death.  Just a side note.....This is what kills me about people when they pick up a paper....they take the stories in it for granted.  Thank God we have people out there who were willing to search for the truth.  It isn't easy, it isn't safe, but it is so necessary.

She was asked about the common view that foreign correspondents are "war junkies" and she answered "That's the biggest pile of crap."  She said that there are other careers that require adrenaline for survival and that there are certain people attracted to those fields.  (Like athletes, astrophysicists, or soldiers.)  Journalists need adrenaline as well for their survival.  She said "If you want us to be the eyes and ears in our field-not people spinning in the blogosphere or sitting in armchairs opining about what's going on in the rest of the world-you need people who are willing to go to the battlefront."  Yeah.....I wish I were one of them. She is so amazing.

Here is the most amazing thing that she says: she says that journalism isn't about being fair, it is about the truth.  This alone is why she is the most amazing journalist on the planet.  I get so sick on all of this bias, right-wing, left-wing reporting crap.  CNN versus Fox.....ummm, it shouldn't be this way.  The truth is the truth.  Give me the facts, not your opinions, unless I am watching an editorialized show.  I have always been intrigued with how different paradigms can paint a totally different picture until no one knows what the truth is anymore, but I think that people need to consider the fact that the truth is still there, even among different perspectives.  If ten people see a car crash, they will all have a different viewpoint, but the facts should stay the same in the big picture.  That's the way I look at journalism.  The facts are there, you just have to dig, and your sources are people.  It isn't as easy as everyone thinks it is to get to the bottom of a story and come out with the truth, especially when dealing with liars or people with egos or something to lose.  When we get the truth, we are lucky, and we are lucky to have people who dig for it.

We should all be happy that there are journalists out there who want to serve as the fourth check and balance of the government, and a check on the world, and in my opinion, they deserve more respect than they get.  Well, the Amanpours do, anyway.  You should choose your reporters as carefully as you would choose a car, in my opinion.  There are lemons and then there are the Amanpours.

Footprints in the Sand

My great-grandma always told my mom that you should never go to bed angry.  She said that you should always speak to someone like it's the last time that you will see them, because it very well could be.  My mom taught me this when I was a little girl and I wish I could say that I always remembered it, but like most human beings, I forget it.  Sometimes we get too comfortable with the people we love and we take each other for granted....and then something happens that makes you count your blessings.  I don't want to talk about the reason I am thinking about all of this, please just pray for a girl I know and appreciate everything and everyone you have, today, because what she is going through is the hardest thing imaginable.  If you are happy, embrace that.  If you are upset, just try to think about the blessings that you have been given. 

I have been hugging and kissing my babies all day and thinking about all of the people I love in my life.  I have been thinking about how short life is and how blessed we are to have the relationships we have and the time we are given.  No matter how hard things are, someone always has it harder and I believe that there is a purpose for everything and everyone in your life.  I really wish I could be a perfect daughter, mother, sister and friend, but unfortunately I am not, so I am taking the time right now to say that I appreciate you. 

I have always loved this, and even though you have probably already seen it, I thought I would post it today.  When I feel alone, this is often what I think about and it makes me feel better.   We all go through things that we feel like we can't handle and this helps me deal......


Footprints in the Sand


One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. 
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. 
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. 
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints. 
Other times there were one set of footprints. 
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life 
When I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, 
I could see only one set of footprints. 
So I said to the Lord, "You promised me, Lord, 
That if I followed you, you would walk with me always. 
But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life 
There have only been one set of prints in the sand. 
Why, When I have needed you most, you have not been there for me?"
The Lord replied, 
"The times when you have seen only one set of footprints 
Is when I carried you."

Tastes Like What?

We figured out why Dylan doesn't like steak.  He thought that it was SNAKE.  Dylan absolutely hates snakes; they freak him out at the zoo, so of course he wouldn't want to eat them.

Now that he knows what steak is, he says "Me like steak!"  

I thought that this was so adorable, I thought I would share.  

My boys are pretty much potty trained now, by the way.  They have been really easy to train and they get excited to go potty and wear cool underwear.

Have a great day!

Fish Pondering

My mom sent this picture to me on Saturday because of Lindsey's missing fish.  She said "You have always pondered fish".  I think it's a cute picture.  This is my fish, Sushi.  The outfit I was wearing was my favorite, by the way.  I have pink legwarmers on with that skirt.  I was six or seven years old, but I don't remember exactly.

Have a great day!  I am really busy, so there aren't a whole lot of words on the page today.  I am giving your eyes a break.  HAHA!

Allure Beauty Edition

My friends surprised me Saturday night for my birthday; it was so sweet!  I thought that I was going to eat with Jenny and Kerri and when we got to the restaurant, there everyone else was, waiting for me.  I was really confused at first and I am sure my face showed it.  It was a fun night and thank you to everyone for making me feel so loved!  I got a little tipsy and sick, so I am not going to talk anymore about all of that.

I just turned 32, which was surprisingly painless when compared to 29 and 30.  I had a really hard time being 29, the entire year, because I felt like it was a fake age.  I saw it as a countdown to 30 and like it shouldn't exist. I felt like "Yeah, I am in my twenties, but I am almost not, so I am lying and I am a poser still trying to be in my twenties."  UGH, I hated it.  30 was bad the first day and then I started realizing that I actually liked it.  I think that people are better in their thirties and it would be a perfect age if we didn't have to worry about looking older.  

I got this special issue of Allure in the mail the other day.  I was intrigued at first because I was learning all of these great tips for my skin, hair, makeup and nails.  I am pretty girly, so I was excited when I started reading it.  Then I started to think about how much time you would have to spend on yourself in order to do these things.  I don't know if I would ever leave the house if I manicured myself to this extent and if that's the case, if no one is going to see you and you are just going to be at home filing your nails and putting tea bags on your eyes all day, doesn't it defeat the purpose?  I guess you pick and choose what you care about or need to do to yourself, but I swear, when you read it your head sort of spins and you feel uglier and uglier because you realize the things you are doing to neglect yourself. 

They had some great tips on how to avoid crow's feet, picking the right concealers, and how to wear red lipstick.....all great.  Then there were tips that were sort of hilarious.  For example, they talked about bikini waxing and a way to do it so you won't look fat or like you have big hips and thighs.  I laughed out loud because it sounds ridiculous.  Men, these are the things that we have to worry about. You don't like when we pick at our bodies and call ourselves fat or when we always ask you if we look fat.....keep in mind that we have had to read crap like this since we were 12 years old.  Men have it so easy.  No one tells guys how to dress thinner, to drink ice water because it will shock your system and make you burn more fat, to try not to make any facial movements at all, ever, because it will result in wrinkles.  You wonder why we freak out when we age and why we always ask if we look fat?

I have a question.  How are men ever late?  You get out of the shower and use a towel to dry off your head and you're done.  How are you ever late, seriously?  It's like one of the mysteries of the Universe.

I am not really complaining, by the way.  I love being a girl.  It's fun, even though it is more time consuming.  I would be bored as a guy.  

By the way, they said to store your perfume in the refrigerator because it will last longer.  The worst place in the world for it is your bathroom.  Ok, well, I have like 35 bottles of perfume in my bathroom.  Guess I am not storing it in the fridge.  They said that the bedroom is better than the bathroom, if you can't store it in the fridge.  

Have a great day!  

Things to Ponder on Sunday

I dog-eared my favorite pages from Nora Ephron’s “I Feel Bad About My Neck” and I thought that today would be a good day to pull from a couple of the chapters.  

With every birthday, I try to reflect on what I have learned and how I have gotten better as a person.  I figure as long as I am smarter or better in some way every year, I am doing alright.  I do this because it makes aging a positive thing, rather than something scary and atrocious.   I also love when I can learn from people who are older than me because it is a logical thing to attempt to do.  I am not a person who is hell bent on making my own mistakes because I think it’s a stupid way to live.  I know that I am not smarter than my elders and that hindsight really is 20/20.  With that said, I still fail miserably sometimes—and this sucks.  The absolute worst is when I make new mistakes by simply trying to avoid theirs.  This resembles a car crashing because the driver overcorrected—it is the hardest way to screw up because I then feel absolutely powerless.  When this happens, I realize that no matter what I do, I will make mistakes and I am not fireproof in any way.  Life will still get you sometimes and you have to roll with it and move on.  This is hard, but it is life.

Anyway, I picked some of my favorite lines from the chapter called “What I Wish I’d Known” and I thought I would share it with you….

From “I Wish I’d Known”

• Never marry a man you wouldn’t want to be divorced from. (This makes sense for a couple of reasons.  You could first look at it like “I can’t stand to be divorced from him because I have to be with him” or because if you can see him being rotten and low in a divorce, he will be rotten and low in marriage.  If he is someone you could see being civil when you are divorced, chances are you won’t have a reason to divorce him.)
• You never know. 
• Don’t buy anything that is 100 percent wool even if it seems to be very soft and not particularly itchy when you try it in the store. (I am allergic, totally.)
• The plane is not going to crash.
• Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of thirty-five you will be nostalgic for at the age of forty-five.
• Write everything down.
• Keep a journal.
• Take more pictures.
• The empty nest in underrated.
• When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you. 
• There’s no point in making pie crust from scratch.
• Overtip.
• There are no secrets.
• People only have one way to be.
• You can order more than one dessert.
• Whenever someone says “Our friendship is more important than this,” watch out, because it almost never is. 

This next excerpt is from a chapter about death and although it is pretty sad, I loved it because she is so real.  She recognizes that even though we can’t escape death, we are still of afraid to talk about it.  We think we know what we will do when the end is near, but then it comes and we don’t.  She doesn’t really have the answers to these questions, but I marked this paragraph because I have wondered the same things. 

From “Considering the Alternative”

“Here are some questions I am constantly noodling over: Do you splurge or do you hoard?  Do you live every day as if it’s your last, or do you save your money on the chance you’ll live twenty more years?  Is life too short, or is it going to be too long?  Do you work as hard as you can, or do you slow down to smell the roses?  And where do carbohydrates fit into all this?  Are we really going to have to spend our last years avoiding bread, especially now that bread in America is so unbelievably delicious?  And what about chocolate?”

Ok, well, the only things I have answered in that section is regarding the food.  I will never give up bread because I eat it in moderation, just like everything else.  I love bread and it makes me happy.  I don’t really like chocolate very much, so I don’t really care if I can or can’t have it in my old age because I don’t have to have it now.  I have more of an issue with Sour Patch Kids. 

You all know how much I love to ponder and I hope this leaves you with a little something to think about.  I hope that you have a great Sunday!  

When Things Go Missing

I think that aliens must come down to Earth while we are sleeping and steal our stuff.  Forget about them implanting stuff into your brain….they are hijacking your dryer instead.  They probably have an entire museum full of our stuff just for their viewing pleasure. They either marvel at our inventions or they laugh at them.  We all joke about the missing sock.  You know, the one that gets washed and vanishes into thin air when you pull your clothes out of the dryer?  Where is that sock?  It’s in the Sock Hall of Fame on Planet Mooogasakiii, a hundred thousand light years away.  Why, you ask?  Maybe they don’t have feet and they laugh at our socks because they are stupid looking.  Maybe they find them intriguing because they have stumps where our feet are.  Maybe they don’t have silver, so they marvel at anything metal that we used to own—like the screw you just dropped and can’t find.  I mean, how can things go missing with absolutely no viable and scientific explanation?  Where are the 7 pairs of scissors that no one in the house seems to have used?  They are in a case next to our socks.

I speak of this today because we have a mystery in our house.  I am not kidding at all anymore; we really do have a mystery.  We have a missing fish.  I mean it.  Lindsey’s fish is actually missing.  She got a tank for Christmas and two fish, Mickey and Pluto.  One died within the first month, so the other fish has been hanging out by himself.  Lindsey went to feed the loner fish the other day and it was gone.  I mean GONE.  I blamed the cat at first, but I remembered Robert Di Niro saying in Meet the Parents that cats lack opposable thumbs, so I guess that’s out of the question.  The cat would have had to have lifted the entire black top OFF of the tank, set it down, and remove the fish.  Then the cat would have had to put it back.  We moved around the “props” in the tank and the fish wasn’t hiding behind them.  He also wasn't dead and dangling from them.  We looked in the filter because we thought that maybe it got sucked up, but it wasn’t there.  (As if that is even possible, like in Finding Nemo.)  Now I am starting to wonder if fish can disintegrate or somehow fuse with the rocks.  I mean, how ridiculous is that that I am even suggesting something like that?

Here is a picture of the tank.  Explain this:

The Crime Scene

Explain this.....

When I was in high school I had a turtle that I kept in a bowl.  There was absolutely no way that he could get out of the bowl, and even if he could, he was like ten feet off the ground because the bowl was kept on the top of my entertainment center, so you would think that escaping would be impossible.  Well, I came home to feed it one day and it was gone.  I was puzzled.  No one had been home, so I couldn’t blame my family.  I looked everywhere and eventually found him under my bed.  When he saw me, he started running and sliding across the wood floor.  I grabbed him and put him back into the bowl.  I was so confused.  First of all, how the hell did he get out of the bowl???  Secondly, assuming that the suicidal turtle jumped, that means that he survived a ten foot fall. How can that be?   I still have no explanation as to how my turtle escaped and survived.  I should have renamed him Shawshank because that little turtle was an escape artist. He really hated me.  

So back to the fish…..could the fish have escaped?  Fused with the rocks or props?  The only other thing that could have possibly happened is that Logan did something to the fish, but then that means that I have a psychopath on my hands.   I really hope that he isn’t to blame.  He swears that he didn’t touch the fish and I believe him.  Any ideas?

Poor Lindsey.  Her fish probably resides next to my missing scissors, light years away.

Flashback Friday-Brewers

Greg just got me a Brewers shirt for my birthday.  I told him that I have always loved the old logo and he found a really cool vintage t-shirt.  Here it is:

When I was six years old my dad took me to a Brewers game and I spilled hot chocolate on the guy who was sitting next to me.  The guy yelled at me and gave me a dirty look, which made me cry.  My dad yelled at him and told him that it was an accident.  I felt uncomfortable for the next 7 innings, but probably not as uncomfortable as the dude next to me who was covered in hot chocolate.  It probably burned his leg, he was covered in brown, he was sticky no doubt, and my dad had just yelled at him. 

That's what I always think of when I think about the Brewers, but I love my shirt!

Eat More Chicken?

I have been silent for over a week now which has people wondering what’s going on with me.  I am really sorry that I haven’t been writing, but I have been busy getting the kids ready for school and getting back into a routine after a wonderful trip up north.  It’s now time to get back to reality and the daily grind, and my blog!  And just to warn you, this is a long one, but I am making up for lost time.

I have stayed silent during a week when a lot has been going on.  The Olympics began and I wish I had more to say on the subject, but I really don’t get into the Olympics and have to feel like an unpatriotic bastard for like two weeks.  And then, of course, there is the heated Chick-fil-a dispute, which is what I have to write about.  At first, I was just irritated by the whole thing and tried being silent, but there are a couple of issues going on right now and I see both sides and want to write about it.  The way I will be writing this entry, however, is unique.  I will not be talking about my personal feelings on gay marriage.  It is my business and I am not going to allow my beliefs to behave as a screen between your eyes and what is actually present on this document.  I will say that I have gay friends who I love and respect with all of my heart.  I would never say anything hateful or evil regarding what they do.  I also have friends who are against gay marriage and I love and respect them and would never say anything hateful or evil regarding what they do. I only write this to display what is happening on both sides and I write this to point out where the miscommunication may be. 

First of all, let’s just be real here for a second and admit that people are fickle and in the end, they forget about things that don’t affect them personally.  Those who care with a passion will never buy a sandwich from Chick-fil-a again and those who oppose gay marriage enough to prove a point will eat it every day and have heart attack eventually.  To everyone else, the majority, this will eventually blow over and it will become old news.  It will eventually become a case study that public relations students study in Intro to Public Relations, just like the Firestone and Tylenol cases that I studied. With that being said, I think that we can go ahead and bypass all of the fighting and look at what's really going on here.  The people who read, who vote, who care, the ones not fighting just because it’s fun and trendy—they are the ones who count, so let’s just say that this is only a place for the intelligent to reflect and decide.  I mean no disrespect to anyone, except bigots and idiots, but this thing has become a circus of confusion and it’s important to look at both sides and the facts. 

Originally, I was irritated because I thought that it was a First Amendment issue. I get very upset when anyone tries censoring another person.  I thought “well, here is this old man with an opinion and he has a right to state it.”  I thought it was totally blown out of proportion and ridiculous because freedom of speech and expression should be protected and to infringe on each others’ rights is unacceptable.  I thought that there were a few people who needed to read this amendment over again and realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and all that the president of Chick-fil-a, Dan Cathy, did was have one and announce it publicly. 

I then realized that there is definitely more to this issue and I think that people need to look at both sides.  We are a country who prides itself on civil rights (maybe not always, but now, anyway) and maybe this really IS a civil rights issue, not just an attack on free speech and freedom of religious views. 

In Support of Chick-fil-a:

1. Activists should spend their days working on law makers and not an old man from the south and his chicken-eaters.  There is a whole generation out there who are probably not going to be around much longer because they are old and it isn’t a surprise that they feel that marriage is between a man and a woman.  They are old school.  It makes more sense to work on a younger generation that will actually visit the polls for the next 70+ years rather than the people who already have believed something for 70 years.  It makes no sense.  Chick-fil-a makes chicken, not laws.  I do understand that the court of public opinion sets a stage for other things to happen, but some people are just being hateful.  I would never attack my grandpa for an old school view.  It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t help anything, and I am tolerant enough to tolerate other people, even if their views may not be the same as mine.  Isn’t it hypocritical to say “You have to be tolerant of me, but I am not going to be tolerant of your opinion because it opposes mine?”  We could go around and around about who is right and who is wrong.  We are Americans and this is what makes us awesome.

2. Your beliefs take a long time to reach fruition.  If you are old enough to walk into a Chick-fil-a and purchase something, you are also old enough to have formed a pretty solid opinion.  I remember that one of the things I learned in my government class at Georgia State is that when campaigning, it is most important to persuade people who are independent or undecided because the ones who feel strongly one way or the other are typically not going to be persuaded.  Obviously, the people who went out of their way to buy chicken on Wednesday are not going to be persuaded, so all you are doing, activists, by screaming at them is that….screaming.  Go after the people on the fence.  Start a new ideology.  Strategically, this whole thing makes absolutely no sense. 

3. The people who are adamantly supporting Chick-fil-a have every right to their opinion against gay marriage and they have a right to protect their speech.  I don’t see anything hateful about having an opinion.  There isn’t lynching going on….except for maybe the sacrificial chicken that they are eating.  I say this because someone compared this (on Facebook) to African-Americans in the 60’s.  Come on, now.  Really?  Everyone is entitled to their opinion and no laws have been broken.

4. We believe in Freedom of Religion.  If you have half a brain, you know that this company is religious because they aren’t open on Sundays, which is their right. There are some religions against gay marriage, and that is their right.  Are people surprised that Chick-fil-a backs traditional marriage?  Where is the fuss and why?  Work on a crowd who is undecided and not on a right-wing conservative company who observes Sundays.

5. Persecution goes both ways.  There is some pretty hateful crap going on back and forth on Facebook and it’s on BOTH sides.  So, let me get this straight…..you can be hateful toward someone who buys a chicken sandwich and they aren’t allowed to have an opinion about the oldest union in history?  If you don’t want to support the company, fine, don’t.  But being hateful to others for supporting Dan Cathy is the pot calling the kettle black.  A note to the hateful people on BOTH sides: most activists who have been successful have been peaceful and haven’t started throwing stones.  Logic, patience and proper execution of actions and words goes a long way in life. 

6. Dan Cathy isn’t making laws, he is making chicken.  Why not fight law makers instead of a fast-food chain?

Then I read this rather crappy and opinionated article in the Huffington Post about why Chick-fil-a isn’t what we think and why it isn’t just about views and free speech.  Even though it’s a piece of crap read, you begin to understand why there is more to the story and it gets you thinking.  To activists, it really is a civil rights issue and it’s just like the ones in the 60’s.  I will highlight the five things for you and you determine whether or not you are comfortable supporting the company.  I plan on doing a little more research on the facts and trying to find better articles, but for now, here’s a jumping off point.  It’s pretty plain and simple…..

Against Chick-fil-a:

1. The company has donated at least $5 million to organizations (including a certified hate group) that want to make “gay behavior” illegal and even say that they should be deported.  These groups are against gay behavior and depict them as pedophiles.

So, if your son is gay, do you want him being shipped off somewhere?  Even if you don’t believe in gay marriage, activists ask, do you support this kind of treatment?  They want you to know that this is where your money is going.

2. Dan Cathy didn’t just say that he supports traditional marriage, but that you are “inviting God’s judgment on our nation”.  Activists argue that maybe it isn’t a great thing to support someone whose voice takes the authority of God. 

They have a point here because that is some scary sh** when people do things in the name of God while being hateful to a group.  Remember the 3,000 people who died in the Trade Center?  Guess what….they died in the name of God, just not yours.  What about Hitler?  He was a crazy mother you-know-what-er too, and his hate was aimed toward a specific group.  Activists want you to be very careful about supporting anyone who goes out of their way to deprive another of the equal rights and takes the authority of God.

3. Chick-fil-a supports groups who “pray the gay” away.  Activists say that every major medical organization claims that this is impossible, harmful and dangerous.

Activists ask if your dollar is supposed to be supporting groups that are non-scientific and hazardous to people.

4. They claim that Chick-fil-a has been sued several times for employment discrimination.  They have been called a “cult” and prefer to hire married people because they are “more productive”. 

I won’t have an opinion about this because there is nothing but he-said-she-said in this article, but I will say that Chick-fil-a hires the nicest and smartest employees of any fast-food chain, seeing as how they never get your order wrong and they always deliver your food hot and delicious.  Also, as far as I know, they offer scholarship programs, which is wonderful.  I would need to look at the company’s legal history to know whether this is true or not, and who are we kidding…..most people are too lazy to do this, so I don’t think that this will ever really help activists unless they lay it all out there and show people how many times they have been sued, etc. 

5. Activists claim that the company is not exercising their First Amendment rights by running their business based on the Bible, but violating the law by discriminating against gay people and firing women.

Really, look it up.  The only thing that you can do here is to look at the facts and decide for yourself.  I don’t have the information yet, but I will try to find it.  I would like to see facts before making claims like this, but nevertheless, this is what the activists claim. 

I really love my chicken biscuits and no one makes them quite like they do and I don’t want to give them up, but it makes me uncomfortable if some of these things are true.  However, I also feel a lot better and less annoyed knowing that activists aren’t just being obnoxious and simply trying to censor someone for a belief.  We are all entitled to our own opinions, but not our own facts and we do NOT have the authority to treat each other like crap……that is taking the authority of God.  Treat your neighbors as you want to be treated.

So, should we really eat more chicken?  It's a free country.....