Wow... What a weekend... (Found on Facebook #3)

The embarrassing news:

When falling in a parking lot, please don't break your fall with your face.  

Why am I imparting this advice?  Because I wiped out in a parking lot on Sunday and smacked my face on a concrete bumper.  Thankfully my teeth and glasses are unscathed.  My lip is all sorts of banged up.

Thankfully, other than having issues drinking, I'm doing much better.

The truly scary news:

The Immigration ban.

Oh, that was the news all weekend long.

Me, when seeing the news on Facebook

Donald Trump signed an Executive Order banning immigration from some heavily Muslim countries.

I get that... but when the details got out it got really weird...

He was banning people with valid vetted visas, people with green cards, and reportedly people that are dual citizens of those countries.

Found on Facebook

The country sat back and wondered why the hell people from places that had ACTUALLY attacked us were ok, but these others weren't.  (not to mention that most of the terror attacks in this country were the result of radicalized white supremacist men...)  Also, we were all baffled by the green card and valid visa issue.

The Trump camp cried "But Obama did it...."  actually.. no...

Found on Facebook

With astonishing speed the word got out.  People were being denied boarding or held when they got off the plane.  Legal residents on this country.  With lightening speed lawyers started showing up at airports.  They were willing to work for free.

The ACLU managed to get an emergency stay, which the Department of Homeland Security ignored.  (Yes, the executive branch said it wasn't going to listen to the judicial branch...)

My position on everything?

Well, if Trump had declared that he wasn't going to issue visas for a few months... I would have been more OK with it.  This blanket ban was rather scary....

Also, the complete disregard for the Judicial branch is worrisome.

I know people are saying that we need to help Veterans more than refugees...

Found on Facebook

(BTW: Starbucks is pushing to hire veterans, military wives AND refugees... I'll have a latte please!)

There's other things that Trump is considering that are downright scary...

Found on Facebook

And the things that leave me like this:

Found on Facebook

1.) this article

2.) this other article 

3.) this comparison

Found on Facebook

4.) This other comparison:

Found on Facebook

because remember:

Found on Facebook

Why I love Hallmark Channel movies

As we all know... this is been a trying week.

I was just remarking that I need my puppy, wine and Hallmark Channel Movies.

I know, the Hallmark Channel is not a place where one expect to find academy award winning movies of a deep a thoughtful nature.

Instead you find movies that have a rather simple plot.  Many of the plots involve finding love. (Actually, many of the plots are the same) And everyone lives happily ever after.

And there's some for every season!

the images are from the hallmarkchannel.com (also, I missed out on the wedding movies...)

I'm not really kidding!  January is the winter movies, February are the Valentine's day ones.  March, April and May are Spring.  June is the month of weddings.  July and August are summer movies.  September and October are fall movies.  The famous Christmas movies start right around Halloween every year.

I know they these movies are INCREDIBLY white and hetro-normative.  They are a sea of white, heterosexual people in the most non-diverse way.  Hallmark could do better, and they should.

But what these movies do, is they help me to escape.  When life is awful, these movies have an easy plot and everything turns out OK.

And, of course, I've also been taking to buying the movies that I always seem to stop and watch.  (Like favorite one, and favorite two)  I even have a wishlist...

It's a scary place out there.  And I can't be that warrior of social justice like others can.  Thank goodness I have movies to escape to!!

Reproductive Rights (I saw it on Facebook #2)

Before I begin, I must state that I've been planning on this series for a while, but I've put it off.

Why?

Because there is SO much scary and maddening stuff going on in Washington that it paralyzes me.  I need to pace myself before my "give-a-damn" breaks and I hide under the bed for 4 years.

And now...  back to the memes.

I got my tubes tied before Obama's second term.

Why?

Becuase I was afraid that Romney would win and I'd lose the right to make decisions about my own body.

Think I'm crazy?  Well, remember this:

It comes down the the principle of Body Autonomy.  But what about innocent babies, you say?  Well, think about this:

I, for one, want more legal rights to my own body while alive than I'd have when I'm dead.   Why can't I decide when I want to have children?  And the republican answer of "just don't have sex" really doesn't cut it.  

But when you look at the Pro-Life argument, and many of the people that are making the pro-life argument carefully... there's a bit of a disconnect.

Many times the same people that are marching in the streets to prevent women from having abortions are also the same ones that want to get rid of WIC, food stamps and all sorts of programs that are designed to help these single mothers.

And we always hear the "Well, put it up for adoption" argument...

We already have an overburdened fostercare system in this country.  if every pro-life person adopted one unwanted child, we'd be set.  But they are not.

And don't get me started about how many of the same people who believe in the "sanctity of life" really don't care about it after it is born

So how do you lower the rates of abortion?  Providing sex education and access to contraception.

And that brings me to late term abortion.

What sane human being thinks that a woman that is in her third trimester would suddenly decide that she doesn't want children and then gets it taken care of?

Now, if you're pro-life... and have adopted kids and care about a living wage, the environment, healthcare and helping single mothers....  then congrats!  You stand as an exception to the above.

But why does that give anyone the right to take away my rights to my own body?

Women's March on Washington (I found it on Facebook No.1)

Saturday hundreds of thousands of women used their first amendment rights to peacefully march on Washington.

Why did they march?

For more reasons than just protesting the new occupant of the White House.

I found this on Facebook that sums up why some were marching:

People were marching because women get paid less than men.  They marched because women should feel safe on college campuses.  They marched because of the poor treatment of Women of Color, Native American Women and Transwomen.

They marched because of crap like this:

Now there have been real issues involved with the march.  There wasn't enough transwomen represented.  (many of the signs had a vagina-centric tone... and not all women possess a vag)  I saw (but for the life of me can't find) evidence that white, able bodied women wouldn't let a disabled marcher get to a place FOR disabled people.

Then there was this.  (Go ahead and read for a bit....)  This person had white privilege thrown at her and her group.  Though it was rather nice to see woman after woman expressing their dismay at what happened, and asking to be educated.  (count me in on a helping of the education!)

It wasn't perfect.  I watched the rally's livesteam from the comfort of my couch.  (I have social anxiety and the march was too people-y, but it was nice to watch!)  Some of the speaker went on for so long that other were reduced to 30 second sound bites.  I did enjoy seeing the ASL interpreters.  (I heard the inauguration had none)

What I didn't like seeing was the backlash.  Piers Morgan had some sort of meltdown on Twitter.  Christy didn't get it.  Some women claimed that we had rights, so we needed to stop marching.  Then the pro-lifers came out:

I don't think these women get it.  They felt left out because they wanted to same "pre-born" women and these others wanted to "kill babies."  (Get ready, there's already legislation)

These women don't get it.  What they want is the way that the Republican Government is moving.  Heaven forbid, but they might get their wish.

It was so inspiring to see so many million of people marching.

Now, let's work so they don't HAVE to anymore.

(Also, this is the first post in a series I'm doing... based on Memes from Facebook!)

An Unexpected Long Weekend

From my last post, y'all would have gathered that we were expecting some weather.

Well, we got it!  A foot of snow dumped on us between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  In this area 3 inches of snow will shut everything down, so this was a bit extreme.  They also don't plow anything but the main roads, which left our complex a mess.  The sun melted and driven-upon snow solidified into 3 inches of ice by Sunday afternoon. (Sorry, I have zero pictures...)

Who loved it?  My dog.  She bounded around the soft drifts like a rabbit.  Sadly, our last walkie had to be before sunset every day since it was dangerous for mommy to walk.

Sunday, the majority of the churches cancelled services and Monday almost everything was shut down.

Work and schools were cancelled on Tuesday as well.  Most public schools are STILL cancelled.

After spending the weekend and the beginning of the week with below freezing temperatures,
Yesterday saw the temperatures rise above freezing.  Today and for the rest of the week the temps are expected to keep on rising.  I predict that by tomorrow all traces of the snow will be gone.  It's rather sad.  I miss having snow in the winter.

So what did I do while I was stuck at home?

I watched all but the last 2 episodes of Downton Abbey.  I cleaned.  We must have taken the trash out multiple times a day all weekend!

But now I'm back at work, trying to figure out where I left things off on Friday.  My unexpected stay-cation is over.

And only 3 work days between me and the long weekend.

Snowmageddon 2017

Apparently we're going to get some weather this weekend.

Where do I live?  In the purple 7-10 inch band.

Yay?

Y'all, I'm originally from Syracuse, NY.  Syracuse is no stranger to snow.

Down here?  Not so much.

The stores around here are already zoos, as the milk and bread as selling out quickly.

We knew this was coming.  I've known for a week now.

I decided to be smart about it.  I made a shopping list though Walmart Grocery. I'm picking it up on my way home.

Then I'm not leaving the house until Monday!

And that's if we even have work on Monday.

(Yes, I'm 42 and still wanting a snow day!)

Why am I not leaving the house?

Because people around here can't drive in snow!

And honestly, 3 inches of snow around here causes accidents.

If we get a foot?  It'll shut the whole area down!

That's why I'm planning ahead!

But honestly, who knows how much snow we'll get.  Mother Nature could laugh in the face of my perpetration and not give me any snow.

or we could be snowed in for a week!

But it's going to be cold for a while.... so I'll leave you with what I go through every morning.  All. Winter. Long.