Memorial Day

I know today seems to be overtaken by cook outs and mass drinking parties. And while I will be going to the same cookout held at my grandma's house every year since the beginning of time I still wanted to say something to the vets past and present.

Thank you

I know those two words don't seem to mean much and for everything that you risked, everything that you endured, everything that you have lost, has not gone unnoticed or forgotten. Those two words simply are not big enough to express our gratitude. When you're young you don't really comprehend the risk or sacrifice that comes along with being in the service. But the older I get the more I can't help but look at how valuable life is. And I am so thankful that you have served to protect mine and my families freedoms and right to live in a free country. You fought so that I could wake up in the morning, pick my daughter up out of her crib and not have to fear for what is to come that day.

Today is for you, thank you so much for risking everything you had for us and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

I don't know about you, but I'm over it.

So lately as you've probably noticed there's been a lot of stories in the news about racism. Personally I think it's a deflection tactic to distract from the real issues but that's just me. This is getting really old really quick. Honestly people it's 2014, we should be over this. Can we just stop pointing fingers at who's fault it is and just move on with our lives? Seriously, (and forgive the language) there are assholes everywhere and they come in a range of many different colors. The sooner you realize this, the better off you'll be. I don't give special treatment to anyone and that's what being a good person is about, treating everyone the same. If you treat someone different weather it be either positive or negative, THAT, is being racist. The only thing you can really be is a good person. Now stop making such a big deal out of this, put on your big boy and big girl pants and move on because we're all tired of  the same tired old story.

Standing for a Cause

I'm sure you've all seen the link on Facebook by now about the woman standing on a busy street corner with an anti-gay sign who is promptly slushied by a girl with a differing opinion. If not here's the video link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbVNP9q9lGk

Honestly upon watching this I thought they were both wrong. While everyone has the right to voice their own opinions, but seriously? There are many same sex parents out there doing a better job raising a child than half of the conventional households out there. So that sign is a real slap in the face to those individuals. Then there is the girl that slushied her and though you can't hear the dialogue on the version that I posted, it wasn't pretty. They are both just hurting their own cause. In my opinion, both of them are idiots and just need to go home.

To be honest I was just happy the woman didn't have anything scriptural on her sign. I think we have enough Westboro idiots out there preaching hate. In place of that I think more people of religion should stand up against Westboro and say that any church that preaches that kind of hate shouldn't be considered part of the Christian faith. If you are an individual that feels this way towards gays, that's fine. But it's not okay to form a cult about it. And as I've said in a blog before this one I firmly believe that God would take in a kind hearted atheist and a kind hearted homosexual before he'd ever take in a hateful Christian.

Live and let live people, it's a simple concept.

I Feel Like an Adult!

Yes, I feel like an adult. And it's not because I'm married, have a baby, and am working because all three of those things doesn't mean you're an adult. But I've finally gotten passed all of the dumb stuff I did when I was a kid. Today I thought of stuff that in the past that would have been horrible cringe worthy memory and just shrugged it off. You know you've all done it. You're at home doing something random, cleaning, eating, primping, etc. And all of a sudden some random memory from your past comes out of no where to haunt you. And you just cringe and say to yourself "Why did I do that?" Whether it was trying to get the attention of a crush you spent 4 years of your high school career obsessing over. Or stupidly getting involved in the drama between your best friend and his girl friend. At some point you have to say to yourself, you were a kid and you were stupid. I think being an adult is getting passed all that, learning from it and moving forward. So I started thinking of more of those cringeworthy memories and nothing. I wasn't the least bit ashamed. And it felt amazing!

But, that being said I don't care how old I get. I'm still going to get excited when a Pixar movie comes out. Cereal is an acceptable meal for any time of day. I will forever and always miss Saturday morning cartoons. And every time I hear velcro I'll think of 3rd grade when everyone who was anyone had a trapper keeper. Mine was a colorful neon dragon that spit glitty fire. And yes it was awesome.

Stay awesome, love you guys :)

Being Scared

This is to all new moms out there. I don't know if everyone has gone through this but the first 6-7 months that I had my child...I was fear stricken. Not about being a new mom, that came natural. But I became obsessed with the news, most particular anything political. And I turned into this frantic mess and was bitter about everything any politician said or did. After a while I realized what the stress of it was doing to me and I took a back seat and eliminated quite a few stresses from my life. And when I did, I realized that it doesn't matter which side of the fence you are on, right wing, left wing. I realized that the institution of government has not, in a long time, valued life and that I do know the value of life because I now had the daunting task of being responsible for a life aside from my own.
At that point I started looking at my daughter and took a good hard look at my own health. It's no secret that since the delivery not only had I not lost any baby weight but gained a fair amount. I looked at her and then looked at myself. Somewhere in my life I stopped taking care of myself, I didn't love myself enough to pay attention to what I was putting into body. And it's the same deal with anyone in someones family that smokes. Everyone gets mad at this person eventually because they can see what this addiction is doing to this person's health and that the addict doesn't love themselves or their family enough to stop. That is the harsh truth and no matter what you say you can't argue that fact. Food...I love you...I mean that I REALLY love you. But I love my daughter more, and I can't let heart disease or diabetes keep me from watching her grow older and being there for her. So, and yes I've said this to myself plenty of times before but now I need to do this. The diet needs to happen, I need to make the change before something medically happens to me that makes it even harder to lose weight. This blog is going to keep me honest. I am currently 28 years old (wow that tastes bitter writing that) and I am 5'3 and 267 pounds. And to be brutally honest I have been on again and off again when it comes to medication for my thyroid which is directly related to weight gain. Because I'm an idiot that doesn't love myself enough to remember to take it. Lets see where I am a month from now.
I hope this inspires someone to make a positive change in their lives.

~Love you guys, stay awesome.

How to Become Immortal!

That's right everyone. How to stay longer in this world than you would have ever thought possible is now right at your fingertips. Okay, that was a lie. No one is immortal and to the best of my knowledge there is not a way one can't die yet. But there is a way for your memory to be carried for a few generations. The best way for your memory to be passed on is through the kindnesses you share and express in your lifetime. It's the example that you set for yourself and those around you. After a while these kindnesses will inspire others to do the same in their lives. This is the part of you that will stay even after you are gone. This in a way brings me comfort knowing that something I may have said or done will have inspired someone to do the same.

I'm not saying there aren't times where I have been a jerk...because there have been plenty. I can guarantee that all of those times the person on the receiving end more than deserved it. Much changes you when you have kids. And some people make this change even without kids because they are just wired this way. But you get to a point in your life where you sit down without all the noise and think about your life and where it's heading and you realize that you want it to mean something. You want to be remembered, not for the material possessions, but for the person you were, what you stood for, whether you put good into the world or took good from it. So ask yourself when a tough choice comes your way. "When I look back on this moment what will I want to see?" Because you'll either close your eyes at night knowing you did the right thing. Or you'll lay awake cringing at the memory.

Love you guys, stay awesome!