so, this whole Chick Fil A thing....

Ok, so first off let me say I am by no means a religious person.

I was raised  in a family that includes a couple atheists,  an agnostic or two along with various Christian religions being represented (Baptist, Lutheran & Methodist).

I respect EVERYONE's right to believe what ever they wish to believe, support it to their hearts content even. What I do not support is a group of people telling people what is right or wrong.

Being gay is not a choice...would someone choose to live a life in which they are constantly judged and told that they are an abomination against nature amongst other ever so kind statements?

I have friends and family who are gay.

I support them.

I love them.

I am in no position to judge their choices in who they love or

how they live their lives....no one is except them!

I support love.

One of my friends posted on FB earlier saying "isn't it within the bible to love thy neighbor....do we pick and choose which neighbor we can & will love?"

Another says she always goes back to the thought,
 "What is it about my love that is hurting you?"

What it comes down to in the end is that we as a human race to need to learn to love and appreciate one another's differences.
You do not have to support gays if you
 do not believe in them, but don't attack them.

 Let go of the hate.

You can be a person of religion without being a person of hate.

I personally have never eaten at a ChickFilA, and due to items within the news of late I doubt it will ever happen now. I do not wish to support an organization that gives money to groups that promote a less than loving view on gays & their lifestyle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-badash/chick-fil-a-5-reasons-it-isnt-what-you-think_b_1725237.html

In what I think are important bits to this article these statements were made:

"Even if you don't support same-sex marriage, do you really think gay marriage is "inviting God's judgment on our nation"? Haven't we all heard enough blame from those who claim to speak for the Lord, like after Katrina or, more recently, after the shooting in Aurora, Colo.?"

I think people should use their beliefs, religious or otherwise to be a positive force

in our world rather than a negative one.

Promote love, understanding and acceptance.

Again this is just my own humble opinion...I know I will have some people amongst my FB friends who will disagree. That is what makes us as humans so great, we can agree to disagree.

All I ask is for people to not judge, just love one another!

I support love...how about you?

yippee

So, this am I went through all of my clothes trying on things I do not wear as often and discovered I am down another size. I am (super) slowly getting to where I want to be. I have a fun plastic tote under my bed that comes out once a month for me to try on my smaller clothes. I get so excited when I can pull something out of it and today I found a pair of pants that used to be laughably tight to be a perfect fit. WOOHOO

I am starting to celebrate the small steps along the journey. I didn't gain this weight all at once & I sure as heck am not losing it all at once. I haven't posted a pic in a bit and maybe sometime soon I will for an update.

Right now it is time to get a workout in before heading to my big doctor's appt. Hoping to get good news from this one, but we shall see!

Have a fab day everyone!



halloween...

So, this past weekend was Halloween, which is not my fave holiday...it is however my sweet girl A's. As I managed to get the day off from work and switch my schedule for the day after I drove down to LA to spend it with her & B at their annual Halloween party. As you can see she gets into the decor big time, so dang cute!

I was a Mexican senorita in the tackiest of ways...using my uniform from my very first ever job at 16 from El Torito.

I had the best time, just relaxing and chatting with the few people I did know there. Playing funny games, carving pumpkins and eating delicious food.

the getaway to spend some time with one of my girls was much needed as I have had a little bit of stress in my life of late and trying to find a good balance.

happy is as happy does

You ever have one of those days were you are just happy...for no special reason, just happy.

Well, for me I had one of those today.

The day is nothing special really. I mean I have the day off, but that doesn't make it anything to smile about other than I didn't have to go play nice with the customers. I was woken up by my downstairs neighbor's smoke alarm malfunctioning at 7:15 am.

You would think a start like that on a day I COULD sleep in would put my mood in the downturn, but it was kind of amusing.

I stood around chatting with two of my female neighbors and planning a girls night sometime soon for a bit before heading back upstairs. I did some cleaning, watched a movie, played on FB and just relaxed.

It was cool and dreary outside today and it felt nice to not NEED to go anywhere. I guess it just boils down to finally feeling as if I am at a good place in my life. I love my new home, each day I find something else to like about it. I have amazing friends and family. I have a job that pays all of my essential bills. For the first time in a long time it is not about what I do NOT have and more about what I DO have.

Life is just good.

oh how sweet it is...

life is good

nothing more

nothing less

just happy today

and thought I would share

with all 3 of my followers...haha

worked out

made a smoothie

read a magazine

ate some fruit & cheese
then I did my project for the day (see above pic)

organized my jewelry making supplies

now, 3 hours until work, where I hope to make large amounts of money on my shift

then home to watch Project Runway.

Have I mentioned how my life is good?

do you love your life?

So, how do you feel about your life?

Right now is it more of a FML ( F*@k my life ) or a LML ( LOVE my life ) kind of thing?

At the moment for me as part of my intention to become a happier, healthier me I am choosing to go the LML route. I saw a blog via a friend on FB about this phenomenon and have to say it struck a chord with me.

I came through so much change in the past year and have tried hard to focus upon all that is good within my life. Not going to lie, this is not an easy thing to keep up with as we all have ups and downs in our lives. The trick is to find that silver lining in each cloud that is blocking our sun.

I must say how exceptionally blessed I am with the people within my life that make it ever so easy for me to focus on the brighter side.

My biggest LML at the moment is hitting 20 pounds lost in my quest to lose weight and get healthy. This is only my first goal, but it shows that with patience, exercise and diet I can and will do it!

happy day

On this day 39 years ago one of my best friends was born. We have been through so very much over the years and I am truly blessed to have her in my life, good times and bad! Wishing my sweet cmg the happiest of happy days! I love you crazy girl...

OK, so I suck at this whole blogging thing. I do think of lots to say, but find it hard for myself to get to the computer to do it as I am just so busy actually living my crazy life.
This past 3 months has been filled with changes. I have experienced loss of a family member, moved 2 times, travelled to visit family out of state and worked to afford all of it.
I am loving my new place. It has a sense of peacefulness which I love. The location being so close to downtown was not a big draw when I looked at the place, but has become a major plus. ^ blocks to the library, 3 to my bank and 5 to my job...plus super close to a variety of food and adult beverage choices!
Now, if I could just get completely unpacked and organized my life would be amazing...one box at a time, day by day!

letting go...

I am working on my intention

(I just think most of us break resolutions so I like this terminology better)

for the new year to be a happier, healthier me. Thus in the spirit of that I have been working on decreasing the clutter in my house. I am amazed at the sheer number of books I own. I always knew it was a lot, but oh my. Currently I have 4 bags sitting by my door, 1 is going to a friend for her reading pleasure, 2 more are for the yard sale and the last is being taken to the local hospital as a donation. I love the feeling of letting go of this stuff, yet knowing that someone else will find joy from it.

Another thing I am doing is trying to change some habits I have that are not as good as they could be. I feel like I spend too much time playing on my computer when I could be exercising or spending time with those in my life who matter to me. In the spirit of that I deleted my twitter account. I basically use it to complain about stuff and part of my intention is to focus on the positive so why have it. As you might have noticed I haven't been blogging quite as much these days, but want to still have an outlet for my crazy thoughts so I will be popping on every once in a while still.

This week I am going to attempt a mini cleanse to get back into a healthier diet.

To be honest the foods I will be eating is how we should all eat every day.

It is fruits, veggies, lean proteins and no processed foods.The bottom line is if it comes from a package you shouldn't eat it. The hardest part will be the sweet stuff, I am only allowed 1 ounce of dark chocolate per day.

We shall see how the week goes.

falling to pieces

I thought the whole having your body fall to pieces thing happened when you got older, like 50 older not 38! This has been a strange 6 months for me medically. While I have always had a bout of bronchitis or strep each year, from childhood on...it is kind of my norm this year it kicked in hard. In the last 6 months though I have had in the following order; kidney infection, kidney infection, ovarian cyst, bronchitis then damage to my chest wall from coughing so much while having said bronchitis, now I managed to jack up my shoulder somehow and still have a cough after weeks of meds and rest.

I mean really? What the chatta? I am taking multi-vitamins again for the first time in years, also melatonin for sleeping better.

(which is AMAZING, I mean I am actually sleeping a full 7-8 hours each night...crazy talk)

Also my diet is much more on track than in previous times, but yet my body still has issues and is trying to fall apart...well ain't gonna happen man. I am bound and determined to have this be my year of treating this body of mine better & it needs to return the favor!

friends come and go

I have been sad this past month since I got news that my best friend was moving out of state.
I know we will still talk on the phone & touch base through the lovely social media of facebook, but it is still a big change. She is moving to Montana of all places...and I do get why. Finances, family and a need for change. All valid and to be honest I left first and shouldn't be upset that she is following my lead of change. I never gave any thought to my friends when I made my choices to move, be it from where I live now to go back to San Diego for college or my decision to return here after college.
I know that I will make the effort to go see her, it is just that the ease of seeing her is being taken away. She currently lives in the town in which we went to hs, where my mom still lives. I could combine seeing my family and hers in one trip that was a reasonable drive to do.
I will be going down to see her for one last hurrah sometime in the next month before the big move. A chance to run around to some of our fave places and make even more lasting & lovely memories. I will savor those as things from this point on will change, only the future will tell what lies ahead, but I know that she will remain in it although much further away.

being a grownup is over rated

When you are little all you want is to be an adult. There are so many things you want to do and so many places you want to go. We want to be able to drive, to drink, live on your own. The rules that our parents and society place upon us seem so stifling in our youth. Then you get to be an adult and realize that there is a whole lot of responsibility that comes along with the freedom. To drive you have to have money for the car, insurance and gas. Drinking can be fun, but there is also things to think of such as driving under the influence or impaired dating judgement. Living on your own is great, but there are so many small costs you never think of when you go to move out for the first time. Rent, gas, electricity, water, trash, food, cable, phone...and on and on.

Aside from all of these things our friendships were much simpler when we were little.

They are based on what toys you both liked, the street on which you lived, your parents being friends or a shared love of hopscotch. As an adult you juggle your own personal duties of life with the bonds of friendship you form. Lives turn into different directions as we grow older. We go to school, date, get married, have children and slowly evolve into different people. If you are lucky your friendships can survive this and grow into something deeper and even better than it had been. In other cases time slowly shows you how little you had in common in the first place.

I have friends I have known since we were barely out of diapers and ones I have met in the past year. The ones that are closest to my heart are ones that have made as much effort with me as I have with them. They can tell by the sound of my voice when I leave a message if they should call me back immediately. They are the kind of friends that will call you to repeat a stupid joke or think of you when they see something you might like.

It is not the length of the friendship, but rather the depth.

Thanks to my girls that are in my life...I love you!

I am...

confused, tired, happy, sad, angry, emotional, crazy, joyful, amazed...I am everything.
I haven't written in the past couple of weeks as I have had so much going on. I got another part time job...woohoo! Between the two jobs I work almost 25-30 hours...haha. I am happy to have a job I enjoy once more as it has been a while. It is working in a used bookstore that I have been going to for almost 20 years. Fun and not mentally hard, but it is much more sociable than the other part time gig. Makes me appreciate what things are good about working, but it is making me not like my other job much also. So, therefore the hunt is on for a serving or bar tending gig to get the social aspect I crave & also to get me back to making more money. I feel like I just can't get ahead and I really dislike just getting by. Trying to decide what and where I want to be in my life in the next year. My long term goal (besides just being happy) is to be out of debt and in better shape by the time I am 40 ( got just over 2 years for that!)
Having some very strange health stuff going on also, but hoping to be told at the doc this week that it is all normal strange stuff...we shall see. Not much to say really, just thought I would update on the small things...

half full, half empty

I have had a tough past year, but who hasn't? Seriously half the people I know are unemployed or having some serious changes going on in their lives. I know that in the long run I will be ok...I really do! It is just there are times right now where it is really hard to see that light at the end of this long ole tunnel.
I had a great vacation in CO. I came home giving major thought to moving there. Reality of the situation is that with my state of semi-unemployment I just can't afford to. I hate that for the first time since I moved out to be "an adult" that I have been living from check to check. There is absolutely no getting ahead or extra fun stuff as the money is just not there.
I am trying to appreciate the good things I do have in my life. Taking walks on the beach to enjoy the beauty that is where I live. Spending time with friends as they are precious to me. Cleaning out the clutter that is taking over my small cottage by the sea.
Small steps to try and get out of this funk.
In searching for something to cheer me up I came across a qoute by George Carlin;
“Some people think of the glass as half full. Some people think of the glass as half empty. I think of the glass as too big.”