January 20

Today was not a happy day.

It felt a lot like the day after Election Day.
But much worse.

I cried when I watched President Obama walk out of the White House for the last time as Commander-in-Chief. (At the same time I was yelling at He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named to button his damn suit jacket. Seriously.)

I did my best to NOT watch the shitshow inauguration but I did see him take the oath of office. I walked away when he started to talk.

From what I'm seeing online his speech was basically red meat for his "followers" and was full of cynicism, one-liners, and bullshit. Pretty much what I expected it would be.

My Timehop from 8 years ago today was filled with memories like this: "so freaking excited about today! YAY Prez Obama!", and "Oh my gosh. Look @ that crowd!", and "is thrilled to be witnessing history.", and "is so happy!", and finally "amazing speech." (Another favorite was "bye bye George.").

Today I am not happy.
I'm unsettled.
And angry.
And worried.

I think we're all in for a very bumpy ride.

Teddy ... Otherwise Known as 'Worry Cat'

As I mentioned earlier today - the world could possibly end tomorrow.

More likely though is the sad reality that we're stuck with a reality show con man for president for the next four years.

Which leaves the majority of us (you know, the popular vote that went to Hillary) feeling a lot of unease, dread, sadness, and angst.

Teddy's face sums it up best:

Oh, Teddy. I like to call him "Worry Cat" because that look right there - the one with the sad, worried eyes - that's his normal face.

And so, I think Teddy will become our mascot for the next four years. Hell, he might even get his own blog (thanks for the suggestion Melissa!). He can wear the look of worry and unease for all of us.

A New Day

Yesterday I cried.
A lot.

And then I got mad.
Really, really angry.
Pissed off.

And I resolved to fight against what has happened to this country.

My candidate won the popular vote.
If we didn't have such a f*cked up system she would be president.

Instead, we have a racist, sexist, nationalist, xenophobic clown taking over the Oval Office in 71 days.

I hate clowns.
They're frightening.

Last night I watched as thousands of people marched in protest over the election results.
That made me smile.

I love that we live in a country with freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.
And I hope these protests continue for the next four years.
They don't have to be huge protests, but we must continue to fight the good fight.

We have to fight for our rights. Fight for the foundations of this republic. Fight for those who can't fight.

Yesterday we had a breakfast for parents at the elementary school. It was more like a wake after a funeral - no one was talking, everyone was somber. Today we had another breakfast and the mood had shifted. It was as if everyone shook off the fear and uncertainty and sadness of November 9 and made the decision that life must go on and we will still keep doing what we've always done in the face of something horrific.

We come together as a country and fight like hell.

I'm in.
Are you?

Now What?

I don't even know where to begin today.

I've been staring at this screen for a while, wondering how to put into words the despair, sadness, and disgust that I'm feeling.

I can't even reconcile the words in my head right now: Donald Trump is our next president.

This seriously has to be some sort of sick, twisted alternate reality.
It can't be real.
This can't really be happening.

But then I remember - it really did happen. The country just elected a reality tv star with NO political experience - who also happens to be a sexist racist nationalist xenophobe - to the highest office in the land.

Today is the end of the Democratic party and the GOP. In one swift move both political parties have written their obituaries and now the American public is left wondering where in the hell do we go from here.

Sure, there are people who are happy that Trump won. I know a few of those people. I don't understand how anyone can be happy about this.

There is nothing to be joyous about.
There is no happiness.
Right now all I see is darkness and sadness and uncertainty and fear.

When I woke this morning to the nightmare realization that he had been elected I sat in my bed and cried. I am crying now as I type this.

I am sad.
And scared.
And fearful.
And worried.
And confused.

I fear for our country's future. And what this will mean for my daughters. And what this will mean for the world. I fear for the future of the Supreme Court and women's rights and LGBTQ rights and I am scared for Muslims, and blacks, and Latinos, and yes even white middle class women like myself.

I've been voting since 1992 and I've never felt so much despair after an election. I have been angry about results before (2000 I'm looking at you) but I've never felt such overwhelming sadness. 

And yet, I get it. People wanted change. They wanted something different. But this? This isn't the way to do it. Electing a man who wants to build a wall and ban an entire religion and take away women's rights and LGBTQ rights....that isn't change. That is taking our country back decades and that is not OK.

Beyond my sadness though is an anger toward the Democrats that I didn't think was possible for me to feel. My party has failed me and this country. They refused to listen to the millions of people who voted for Bernie Sanders - people who wanted change and voted for that change. I firmly believe that if Bernie had been on the ticket - even as a VP - we would be having a totally different conversation today.

And for that I am angry. 

So now what?

A friend posted on Facebook that now is the time to fight darkness with light. He said "we mourn and bury our dead and we fight." 

So, now we fight. We surround ourselves with our friends and neighbors and we vow to protect those who need protecting. We continue to fight for the rights of those who are targeted, for those who need protecting, and for those who are marginalized, and for those who fear their rights will be stripped away.

We fight for the America that we want to have.
We fight for civil rights and equality and love.

We fight with our words and our love of country and our determination to make this world a better place for our kids and grandkids. We fight with our votes whether that is on a local or national level. We fight in two years in the midterms.

And, we fight again in four years.

Today we find ourselves standing on the precipice, staring into the dark abyss of the next four years. As a country we've been on the brink before and somehow we make it through the darkness into the light. The only way to get through this is to stand together and stand for what is right and just and fair.

We need to channel our sadness and fear and anger into a fight for justice and equality and prosperity and love. That is the ONLY way we can set this country back on the right path. It might take some time but nothing that is worth it is ever easy.

Election Day

Today has been rather surreal.
And it's ONLY 9 a.m.

My day started at 5 a.m. when I was interviewed on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Programme.
In the United Kingdom.

So....long story short: Yesterday a reporter from the BBC contacted me via Twitter to ask if I would be interested in being interviewed as a "swing state" voter on this BBC current affairs show. I said yes and then spoke to the reporter for about 30 minutes on the phone.

Today, I had to be up at 4:30 to be ready for my Skype call from the BBC.
(How weird does that sound?!?)

I was part of a panel that included another Hillary supporter from Florida, a very angry Trump supporter from Nevada, and a 21-year-old college student from Iowa who was voting for Trump because he hated Hillary. Yes, really.

In all, I think I spoke for about one minute (maybe two) but it was still super cool.
I got interviewed on the freaking BBC!

And then I went to vote.
At 6:30 a.m.
With the kids and Kevin.

It was really cool to see a rather long line at the polling place.
And it was REALLY amazing to vote for Hillary.
History was made with that vote. 

Here's hoping for the right result tonight.

November

Well would ya look at this?
It's November 1.
And I'm blogging.
Seems like a good way to start the month I guess.

Not sure what the hell happened in October, but somehow the month got away from me and I didn't blog.

Whatevs. ;)

So here we are ONE WEEK away from Election Day and I am SO SICK AND TIRED OF POLITICS RIGHT NOW.

Seriously.
I am a political news junkie but right now it's all so damn exhausting.
This election is beyond ridiculous.
And I really can't wait until it is over.

I'm voting for Hillary.
I think Trump is a sexist, racist, misogynistic asshat and I hope he sulks in Trump Tower for MONTHS after he loses. 

And that's all I have to say about that.

November is actually one of my favorite months - mostly because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (Halloween used to hold the top spot but I'm debating giving it to Turkey Day). So here's hoping for a Democratic sweep next week. And maybe, just maybe, I'll blog more (that way my mom can't PM me to tell me I haven't blogged in weeks. LOL!! HI MOM!)

Here's to a good month. ;)

I Still #FeelTheBern But I'm Not #BerineOrBust

So I stayed up WAY too late last night watching the first night of the Democratic National Convention. And it was totally worth it.

I'm a political junkie and have no problem admitting it. I love the conventions (well, OK, I love the DNC...the other I can do without). For the rest of this week you'll find me on Twitter each night. ;)

Here is what I'm currently thinking about the election: I wish Bernie would have won the nomination. Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. He didn't win. Do I think the Democratic party worked behind the scenes to make sure he didn't win? Yes. I do. I think those leaked emails show as much.

Does that mean I'm going to vote for someone other than Hillary?

No.

Why?

Because:
1. I'm a Democrat. Always have been. Always will be.

2. Hell would have to freeze over for me to even consider voting for the Republican candidate (the one whose name I refuse to type).

3. I'm not going to pout about Bernie losing. Hell, Bernie isn't pouting (at least not in public) and I still believe in him and if he's OK supporting Hillary then I'm OK with supporting that ticket too.

4. I don't want to imagine what this country would look like with that egomaniac sociopath narcissist asshat running the show.

Look, it's simple: I wish Bernie would have won the nomination. I think he would have made a great president. But he didn't win. We have to move on. We have to unite as one party if we're going to win in November. We have to stop acting like spoiled petulant kids who just want to take their toys and go vote for a third party candidate who has no hope of winning.

As Sarah Silverman said last night to the #BernieOrBust people: You're being ridiculous.
Seriously.
Stop being ridiculous.

Democrats are no good to anyone if we splinter our party. Do I think Hillary is the best person for the job? Right now, probably yes. Am I happy that it has come to this? Honestly, I'm not thrilled about it.

But if Bernie can go on stage last night at the convention and speak to Hillary's experience and tell everyone that he thinks she's the best candidate for the job...then I can vote for her in November.

However, I'm still leaving my Bernie sign in my office window. ;)

Politics on a Monday

Tomorrow is the Ohio Primary.
It has been non-stop politics here for a good two weeks.

Every ad on television is a political ad.
It is total insanity.

Last Friday I went downtown to hear Senator Bernie Sanders speak at a rally. It was in a word, awesome. The crowd had so much positive energy and Bernie had a lot of great things to say. I left the rally feeling excited and ready to vote in the primary tomorrow.

I'm sure you can figure out who gets my vote.

This guy:

Oh yeah, I also got to SHAKE HIS HAND on Friday. That was pretty epic. Of course, I was almost crushed to death in the process - it was like being at a rock concert. Seriously, the crowd was insane....but in a good non-Donald-Drumpf way.

Speaking of He Who Shall Not Be Named, I watched the nightly news last night and was floored by how ugly this presidential election is becoming thanks in very large part to Voldermort Drumpf. As I sat there watching Americans beat the crap out of other Americans at a freaking political rally I thought "this can't possibly be my country."

It was sad. And disheartening.

And I really, really, really hope that our governor wins Ohio tomorrow in the Republican primary. And that someone other than Darth Vader Drumpf wins Florida.

So here's the thing Ohioans: Your vote can be a vote AGAINST Drumpf. If you're going to vote Republican on Tuesday give your vote to anyone but him. Make your vote count against him.

Me? I'll be feeling the Bern.

Bernie!

So yesterday afternoon I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed as I'm wont to do on any given afternoon and that's when I saw it.

One of our local news stations posted that BERNIE IS COMING TO TOLEDO!

Today.

That's right. They announced on a Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. that Bernie Sanders is coming to Toledo on Friday afternoon for 'A Future to Believe in Rally."

Nothing like almost last-minute, ya know.

I quickly emailed my husband and asked him to take half a day off work so that I could go. He of course said yes. (He had an ulterior motive - he wants to go to the driving range and hit golf balls).

And so ... I'm going to see Bernie today!

And I'm seriously excited about it. Yes, the doors open at 1:30 and the rally starts at 4:30 (WTH?) but it'll be just fine.

#FeelTheBern people.

Politics on a Wednesday

So, last night was YUUUUUGE for Bernie Sanders.

He won the Michigan primary. This is a big deal. Unless you listen to every news network out there. Then you might not think it's a big deal because according to them, Bernie is still "down in the delegate count" and blah, blah, blah.

People. Seriously.
Bernie was supposed to lose Michigan.
All the polls said so - and we all know how the polls are always right (insert sarcasm here).

But he didn't lose. He won by more than 20,000 votes.
YUUUUUUGE.
Feel. The. Bern.

This morning I thought that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the morning "news" shows (like Good Morning America) would actually LEAD WITH BERNIE. You know, since it's a big frickin' story and all.

But no.

They led with freaking Donald Drumpf.
WHY?
Because he has all the media eating out of his tiny hands and giving him FREE earned media.
His wins last night weren't newsworthy.

[As an aside: I made the mistake of actually watching Drumpf's "speech"  last night and I literally wanted to throw things at my television. Or punch someone. Or both. He said NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE. Absolutely nothing but garbage came out of his loud mouth. He had no policy points, nothing. Essentially it was "Ted is a liar, Marco is a little man, Lindsay Graham is a nasty person, people are attacking me, I own a lot of buildings, I watched the golf tournament at MY golf course on Sunday (WTF?), oh and I brought my own brand of water, wine, and steak (WTF? again) to this "press conference."]

But newsworthy or not GMA decided to lead with Drumpf. Their second story was about John Kasich who is barely holding on in the primary but hey he might win Ohio...but even if he does there's no hope.

And then...THREE STORIES into the broadcast they talked about Bernie and his "unlikely" victory.

I have a very strong feeling that had Hillary won that would have been a lead story "Hillary's nomination a done deal" or something like that. But Bernie? Nope. He gets relegated to the third news story of the day.

It irks me so very much that the media refuses to report on Bernie. He's not some flash-in-the-pan. He is a real candidate who is really winning and it's about damn time the media started giving him equal (and positive) air time and column inches.

And don't even get me started on how all the polls and pundits and talking heads are counting the super delegates NOW rather than waiting until the convention which is when they should/will be counted. The ONLY delegates that matter right freaking now are the "regular" (non-super) delegates. The super delegates can vote for either candidate at the convention which is why they don't count right now.

#RantOver
#FeelTheBern

Monday Musings on a Tuesday Afternoon

I woke up this morning and my first thought (right after, 'Oh crap. It's only Tuesday) was "oh crap..I forgot to blog yesterday."

Now that's not to say that my Monday afternoon blogging is a chore. It isn't. But yesterday afternoon was madness when it came to free time so blogging didn't happen.

Lucky for all (2) of you...I decided to take a few minutes and blog today.

So what's up buttercup?

1. It might snow tomorrow night. And I'm talking SNOW. It's supposed to rain all day Wednesday and then change to snow during the night and according to our local weather guys we could get 1", 4", 8", or even a foot of snow. They have no clue. Every forecast is different. At this point I think they're totally guessing about all of it. And of course The Weather Channel has named the storm - Petros.

2.  I've mentioned before the Olivia has been dealing with a new health issue and haven't gone into much detail. I'm still not going to get into much detail - I've told a handful of people what's happening and that's that. We did get good news yesterday about her condition so I'm feeling a bit relieved about the whole situations. Ah, #Vaguebooking at its finest.

3. Anyone else tired of the presidential election yet? I'm so SICK AND FREAKING TIRED of hearing a certain billionaire reality tv star's name mentioned. I refuse to type his name here for fear that if I type it enough he'll materialize in my house (think: Beetlejuice). He is running his campaign on earned media because the damn media won't stop talking about him. NO ONE CARES except for the boneheads in the major network newsrooms who still think this clown is news.

4. I've given up eating at night (read: after dinner) for Lent. It's not as bad as it was last year. I'm hoping it'll help me drop some lbs since I'm too damn busy to get to the gym right now. Also, I need a treadmill at home.

I know I had more thoughts to write about yesterday but I didn't write them down so they're gone. All gone.

Happy Tuesday! ;)

Monday Musings - February 15

Ah, another Monday another blog post. Hey, at least I'm somewhat consistent.

The kids had no school today so after a visit to the dentist we made a trip to the mall. Let me just throw this out there - I detest our local mall. I can't wait until the weather is warm enough again so that we can visit one of the TWO outside shopping centers in the area.

Yes, we live in northwest Ohio yet this city is home to not one but TWO outdoor "malls." Go figure.

As it is, here's what I'm thinking about today.

1. I'm so sick and tired of the GOP. If their "candidates" for president weren't scary/bad/terrifying enough now they're going to fight President Obama and try to prevent him from nominating someone to replace Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court. I'm sorry but WTF? The poor Justice was barely dead before the GOP was all over the whole "the next president MUST nominated someone" rhetoric. Um, dear stupid asshat GOP members of Congress - it is the president's JOB and Constitutional duty to nominate someone to replace Scalia. Also, it is your Constitutional duty to do the same. Need we remind you that Scalia was a Constitutional purist? Yeah. You're going against the very document he worked so hard to protect (granted, I never agreed with his methods or opinions but that is so NOT the point right now).

And totally changing course...

2. Holy crap 'The Walking Dead.' Seriously. Best episode ever. Watched several minutes of it with my hands over my eyes. Also literally screamed out HOLY F*CK at the end of the opening scene.

3. Speaking of zombies....if you're looking for a movie that is just plain fun and doesn't require you to do any real thinking other than "Damn, I kinda love Mr. Darcy"...I recommend 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.' No, I'm not kidding. I saw it last weekend and it was VERY entertaining and fun and I'm totally going to read the book now. Go see it. Really.

4. Remember how I said I was going to "cook something new at least once a week"? Yeah well..I'm actually doing it! I know, I'm shocked about that too. ;)

5. I gave up eating at night for Lent. What the hell? I did it last year too and actually managed to lose weight. And since I need/want to lose like 70 pounds (ha!) I suppose this is a good first step. My "cheat" day is Sunday. Which means I can still eat ice cream during 'The Walking Dead.' Thank goodness.

And there you have it. The stuff rolling around in my brain today. I actually had a few more thoughts earlier today but forgot to write them down and so....yeah, they're gone. :)

Getting Political

OK. It's that time again.
Time for me to throw on my political pundit hat and start talking about this election.

Last night I watched the speeches from Hillary, Bernie, and (forgive me for even typing this) Donald Trump.

I can't believe I just typed his name. I hope it's not like Beetlejuice - if I type it three times he'll suddenly appear in my home office and start yelling. Just to be safe I won't type it again. Once was my limit.

Anyway...here's my takeaway from those three speeches.

Hillary needs to stop saying "I" and start saying "we." She comes across as angry and a bit shrill (and yes, I went there as a woman...get over it). Her speeches seem forced, almost as if she's pissed that she has to work so hard for something she assumed was going to be in the bag. She claims to share some of the same ideas as Bernie but I'm not impressed with her. Will I vote for her if she gets the Democratic nomination? Yes, because the GOP field is terrifying and we can't let any of them near the White House.

Bernie says "we" a lot. I like that. I like that he wants a political revolution and that he wants to bring change to the political process. I like that he want universal Medicare for all and wants to work to reduce student loan debt (as I owe about $60,000 from law school). I like his ideas. I like Bernie. He's personable and he's not a typical politician. And yes he yells too but I think that's just how he always talks. His speech was full of ideas about what he wants to do and what he will do when he is president. I was impressed.

And then we get to the former reality TV star. The racist, xenophobe who hates women and everyone else. This is my takeaway from his speech: He's going to (1) build up the military, (2) build a HUGE wall, (3) give everyone guns to protect the 2nd amendment, (4) take away your healthcare, and (5) fix the 40 percent unemployment rate that he claims is happening in this country.

What. The. F*ck.

Unemployment at 40 percent?
Um, no.

His entire speech was full of untruths, lies, overblown statements, blustering, and idiocy. And yet the people cheering for him ate it up. They drank the Kool-Aid and then some. I just sat there with my mouth agape wondering how in the hell HE managed to win New Hampshire. It's very, very scary.

One can only hope that someone else - anyone else other than Cruz and Rubio - can manage to overtake that moron in the remaining primaries.

As it is, right now my support is for Bernie.

#FeelTheBern people.