some thinking time

With Vicki in kindergarten and Little Man buzzing around the house like a madbaby, I've had a surprising amount of time to think.  I keep going round and round in circles, and feel moved to write, but I'm afraid everything will come out nonsensical or disjointed.  I guess I'm going to start a long draft on here, and keep saving and editing until I feel compelled to publish (which is usually immediately, but I promise myself more time with the next one).
A few things that have been on my mind: what Christianity/being a Christian means to me, doing my interpretation  of the Constitution (since everyone else is), and good LORD my daughter is getting huge.
That last one is an ongoing thing, and probably won't make it into the posts.

And now, I leave you with a baby in a witch hat:

I made my own hell!

General asshats
Circle I Limbo

Puppy stompers
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

DMV Employees
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Scientologists
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Creationists
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Republicans
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Tea Baggers
Circle VII Burning Sands

Glenn Beck
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

NAMBLA Members
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

Something that might hit close to home.

It's been awhile. But let us jump ahead to what's going on now.

There has been a plague of bullying brought to light in the last few years - even more so in the last few months.  Children - yes, children - are killing themselves for things that we look back on as adults and realize they are growing experiences.  Given we did not have many of the technologies that kids do now that bullies use to harass beyond the schoolyard.  We also did not have the technology to embarrass ourselves in the way that kids do now - namely, sexting.  I know that personally while growing up I was entirely too modest to take a nude picture, much less send one to someone who might potentially forward it to thousands of people.  But times have changed.

Now our children are bullied for the simplest mistakes that any of us could make - and some think that suicide is the only way.  Other children are bullied for things that are not, in my opinion, within their realm of control. Honestly, what middle- or high-schooler would choose the incredibly difficult path of coming out?  How do you "choose" one's sexual orientation?  Personally, I always knew I liked guys - they were cute (and later, sexy) to me, they gave me butterflies and made me pay attention to my appearance, hoping that one would like me.  It wasn't a choice, it was just there.  I didn't "choose" to be straight because it was easy - and trust me, no relationship is easy. This tangent is relevant, just keep up!

Children that realize that they are gay and have the confidence - nay, the BALLS to come out while in such a hormone-fueled, turbulent, ever-changing environment such as school are being harassed.  They should be applauded!  This harassment is coming from intolerance, hate, and sometimes just plain ignorance.  A lot of times it isn't the bully forming their own opinion, but just imitating the opinion of the parent(s).  Therein, my readers, lies the problem.

Why do we hate based on ignorance?  Why does the fear of the unknown or misunderstood lead to belittling another human being, another Child of God?  Does God love "the gays" less than you or me? Excuse me for a minute here, but HELL NO.  God loves everyone equally, without question, unconditionally, forever and ever no matter what you do. The. End.

Since God loves them, why do you fear them? It just doesn't make sense to me!! If you are a Christian, you accept everyone as they are, and don't pick and choose random old laws from Leviticus to support your theory.  Christ came and changed those laws. This is why we are Christian, and not Jewish (not to mention the whole bloodline thing).

Now, for you non-Christians, the argument comes down humanity or morality.  Why are you making fun of someone for something they can't control?  Why not make fun of their hair color, or who they great-great-grandpappy is?  Because it isn't as sensitive, and wouldn't hurt the target as much, you say?  Well grow the hell up.  I'm sure you aren't perfect, and have things of your own that you secretly loathe.

Something to make you smile!

Here's the deal. While you are in middle and high school, hormones are raging. People seem to change from day to day.  Scandals come and go.  But herein lies the secret: while you are concerned with what others think of you, they are concerned about what you think of them.  Do you have acne?  Try to look through the make-up, everyone else around you probably does too.  Think your package is smaller while changing out in the locker room?  Guess what, the guy next to you is worrying about the exact same thing.  There's a psychological term for it, I remember reading it, but for the life of me I can't find it right now.  Let me know in the comments if you know it! 

So there is my position.  Kids, talk to your parents.  They remember high school better than you think they do.  For my generation, my parents grew up in the 60s - there isn't much that would have surprised them.  I know now that I should have went to my dad more about some of my concerns, but if someone had put that perspective on it, I might have.  

This may be pretty disjointed, but I needed to get my thoughts out.  Thanks all!

It's been crazy!

As per usual around here, things got kinda nuts.  July 4th, there was a tragic balcony collapse in a nearby city at an apartment complex.  One friend was lost, and another severely injured.  Others had relatively minor injuries, considering they fell three stories.  God works in odd ways, an we never know what's going to happen next.

I love this girl.

That threw my life into a loops, and then....Family Reunion!!!

Me and the rest of the Bug family went up to Lake Lanier, GA for the vonGal-Vreeland reunion - this is my mom's side of the family.  The place was gorgeous - water park, lakes, horses, the whole nine yards.  It was great getting to see family that I never see!  Most of those people saw me last in 1988 or 1993, so my husband got a lot of  "Last time I saw her, she was *this* high! With all that curly hair! Oh, it's still so curly! She must get it from her dad's side..."

I warned him.

Yup, curly. 

While there, we got a dog for VickiBug's fifth birthday!  We found a different way to make use of the doggie cage:

I swear, he climbed in himself.

There's the update! Another one is soon to follow, with it being focused primarily on my lack of decorating skills.

Spiders On Drugs

I know, I know, I'm up late. But I had to share this one.

BP Oil Spill: Kindra Arnesen Venice LA Needs to Evacuate

I'm not usually a pick-up-the cause type, but this woman has many, many things to say that NEED to be said. This was on many different YouTube channels, but was pulled by "the user" - and not sure why. Hopefully this one will still work.

An Adventure in Car Buying

Everything's an adventure these days, isn't it?  The Husband's been getting mucho overtime (yay for monies, bad for time together) and therefore we've been truckin right along with the plans to become the quintessential American Family.  You know, 2.3 kids, a house, a car, 1.4 dogs.   Well, we got the kids (not sure how we're gonna work a percentage of a kid yet), the house, and TODAY WE GOT A TRUCK.

Actually, THIS truck.  (!!!)

Ain't it purdy?  

Our need for this?  Think this:

Plus husband, of course.

In this:

Farewell, Jeep.  You will be missed.

Oh, that was a crunch.  So now we have room for kiddos AND groceries!! It's swell. Just awesome.  I'm bouncing off the (newly painted) walls.

Now, onto my plea for a puppy and American Life domination.....

BP Spills Coffee

Comedy on a serious issue. Seriously, this is how BP handled everything.

My first adventure in DIY-ing

We closed on the house April 9th!!  

This house, specifically. 

And, being a new homeowner, what is the first thing that I can change about the house that is cheap, quick, and relatively painless?

 

If you guessed painting, you were wrong on the relatively painless part.  

I decided to start with the kitchen (small painting area, much of it relatively covered up with tile/cabinets/appliances).  I wanted a sunny, yellow kitchen: something cheerful.  

oh yeah - YELLOW!

And now we enter the realm of MamaBug's adventure into painting.  Let's start with step one.  Or what I now know to be step one.

1.  Clean every. Thing.

     Bugs and cobwebs, while a nice accessory to any room's corner, do not do well being painted over.

2.  Tape everything, whether or not you think to.  If you are going to be painting within 8 feet of it, tape it.  Tape the ceiling.  The baseboards.  Your clothes and hair.  

And this is why.

3.  Put down your drop cloth.

     Or at least a small cat to catch drips.

4.  Lock up all small children.

They will thank you for it later.

5.  Corner the room with paint.

     No one told me about this until I'd began.  This is what caused me to need a third and/or fourth coat of paint.  Cornering is taking this angled paintbrush thingy and painting the corners and other places the roller apparently won't reach, no matter how much you try to force the roller to go there, and end up painting the ceiling.

6.  Paint!  

Use these type tools, not your hands. 

7.  Allot several days and/or hours to pass between coats so they aren't streaky.

     

I went with hours...and it took days.  Crap.

8.  Remove tape and clean everything again once you're done!

     This is because you've made a pretty good mess, dripping paint everywhere your drop cloth had a tiny gap between it and the floor.

9.  Call a professional to fix your mistakes.

     This is my current step.

my favorites from 5SF