A Little Respect...my 2 cents on the 2012 Presidential Election

Remember when no one cared about who you were voting for?

When people just cared about making sure you exercised your constitutional right
and just VOTED, PERIOD?

Yeah, me too. 
And I miss those days.

Now it seems like everyone, including major news media, is just too busy telling me who to vote for, who they support, who they think the best man for the job is. Whether they just come right out and say it, every thing I see on the news is so slanted to one side, just about anyone with a brain can see who they are rooting for.

I, for one, am sick to death of it.

I remember the days of impartiality.
When the news was just that: THE NEWS.
Just the facts, nothing else. And a journalists' word was absolute truth and could be trusted.

Now when you turn on the news, all you see are talking heads. Men and women with big fat college degrees who are so biased they should be wearing donkeys and elephants on their lapels instead of an American Flag.

And I'm referring to them ALL. Fox, CNN, ABC, CBS, and the worst of all MSNBC.

I've gotten to the point where I trust none of them.
And I've found if I watch Fox News and CNN and then meet somewhere in the middle of what I've heard on both networks, it's probably pretty close to the actual truth.

It's also exhausting.
Watching 2 networks to find some balance is just ridiculous.

Our media circus goes hand in hand with the real problem with this election...with what's really holding this country back.
And it's something so simple, we all should have learned this at our mother's knee when we were toddlers.

Respect.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Even the queen of soul taught us all about it.
And it is G-O-N-E in today's society.

As a society, we respect nothing and no one. Yes, you might respect your parents, your teachers, your elders, your spouse...but when someone, ANYONE, disagrees with you on the smallest thing, the first instinct is to cut them off at the knees.

It's ridiculous.
And it needs to stop.

Here's a newsflash. We are all different. There's not a single person on this planet who is exactly like you. So why do we need to lash out and knock out those that are different?
Are we not allowed to voice our differences in opinion?
If I live in the suburbs and have a Obama sign in my yard, will be neighbors be rude or hostile towards me because we have a political difference of opinion?
And if I live in that same suburb with a Romney sign in my yard, does that give anyone the right to steal it thus denying my right to free speech?

WHEN DID IT BECOME OK TO DISRESPECT OUR FELLOW AMERICANS?

Politics are a touchy subject. So is religion. Real conversations regarding these 2 subjects are next to impossible.
But it can be done. 
By intelligent people who respect each others opinions.
But that is a lost art.

Even between the 2 men vying for the Big Job.

I watched every debate. All 3 presidential and the vice presidential.
And I saw 4 very grown men, old enough to know better, act like disrespectful children.

I was glad my 7 year old son with autism couldn't completely understand what was happening because that was NO LESSON I wanted him to learn: interrupt and over-talk your opponent and you win.

I don't think so guys.

You win a debate by speaking intelligently about the subjects while respecting your opponent.
As my best friend so eloquently put it, "just because you interrupt and talk louder then the other guy, doesn't mean you win."

I couldn't agree more.

But then enter the media pundants...the ones who get to chose the victor.
And wouldn't you know it? The rudest guy ALWAYS WON.

I beg to differ.

I hold my candidates to a higher standard. I want a strong leader who will do what's best for this country while always maintaining an air of intelligence and respectfulness.

My ballot has already been cast. I educated myself like every American should. To me, political party affiliation has little to do with my choice. What truly matters is who is the best man for the job and who's policies will make America better and stronger over the next 4 years. Period. I could care less if he's a Democrat or a Republican.

And I'm not saying who I voted for. That's a personal decision that I feel no one has the right to question. I fulfilled my civic duty and that's what's important. And I hope all of you reading this exercise your right, as well.

But if you take anything away from this at all, it's this:

RESPECT the differences in opinion. Take a minute and listen. Educate yourself.

And most importantly,
RESPECT everything and everyone.

It's not easy but what a better person you'll be if you try.

Just when you thought you'd outgrown being bullied...

Monday, October 22, 2012 started out like any normal Monday.

Tired, up at 6:20 to get the kiddo ready for school. Seeing him off on the bus, coffee, breakfast, morning news....

Just a typical weekday morning. All that changed with a simple status update I posted on my Facebook page, inquiring about the new H&M store coming to my local mall...

"Douglasville peeps: anyone know when H&M is opening at Arbor Place? I need me some new skinny jeans!!"

I set down my iPad and went about my normal morning routine and checked it about 30 minutes later to find this:

Now when I first read this comment, I was sort of like "is he kidding? He's obviously kidding."
I'm not a skinny girl but I'm certainly not shopping in the plus section either. Not there's ANYTHING wrong with that. I've shopped there in the past but I've lost about 25 pounds since then. I'm pretty proud to be fitting into a size 12 after spending a few years in a size 16.

The more I re-read his comment, the angrier I got. Now with that said, I don't recall ever even seeing this man in person. He only knows what my body looks like from pictures I upload to Facebook. What gives him the right to even question whether I'm skinny enough for skinny jeans?

So I responded as you see above and posted a simple status asking why people feel the need to say things with no filter, why they don't think before the hit the post button...and told my Facebook friends if they wanted to know what I was referring to, go read my last status.

If you read the comments posted after Mr. Giglia's, you'll see my friends did EXACTLY THAT.

So I unfriended this person and decided to let it slide. He didn't know me, hasn't seen my body in person. Not worth my time.

And then I notice I have a private message.....I click on it and this is what I see.

I'm flabbergasted. Shocked. Stunned. Was he SERIOUS? I mean COME ON. Can someone really be this stupid?

That's when it hit me.

He's a bully.

He is bullying me about my weight. Just like so many others are experiencing in this country on a daily basis. Think of how many stories you've seen on the news lately about people being bullied about their weight....

The News Reporter in Winsconsin by the name of Jennifer Livingston who took a stand on air and told her bully off.

The bus monitor in New York who was bullied by CHILDREN so badly, people raised over 3/4 of a million dollars so she wouldn't have to endure that pain anymore.

Just this morning on the Today Show, I saw a story on a 18 year old girl who decided to take back her power from her bullies by posting a picture on herself online in nothing but her bra and panties.
And you know what?

She was a size 12 and she was BEAUTIFUL.

The craziest thing about this is I NEVER expected for this to happen to me. Yes, I'm not a skinny girl, probably never will be thanks to a hormonal condition called PCOS that I've had for years.

But I'm a NICE GIRL. I have lots of friends, always have, always will. And I thought that was enough to save me from a bully's wrath.

This just proves the point that so many have made: you CAN be bullied, anytime, anywhere, over anything.

I have blocked this person on my Facebook account so the messages have stopped permanently but the support and well wishes from my friends and family have continued through today.

And I love each and every one of them for it.

But I'm moving on.

I have a wonderful husband that loves me, thinks I'm the most beautiful and sexy woman on the planet. And a son that looks at my with so much love in his eyes, I could burst with happiness.

Those are the important things.

 Their opinions are the only ones that truly matter.

And tomorrow, I'm going shopping for another pair of skinny jeans.

And I'm going to look AMAZING in them.

Cry Me A River

I am an emotional person.

I admit it and I embrace it.

But I can't help but wonder if there are others out there like me.

It's currently 9:48 am and I have already cried twice today.
The day is starting off right.

Let me set things straight...I am not depressed or curled up in a ball in a corner somewhere crying my eyes out. I watched a Youtube video about a group of motorcycle riders who attend military funerals to shelter the families from any crazy protestors. This family's story about the man they lost in Iraq is so moving.

And then I went to one of my favorite websites to just mess around on...
www.thepioneerwoman.com and looked through the photography section.
The pictures of the Brothers contest were so beautiful...they moved me to tears.

Call me crazy but I love to cry. There is something so therapeutic in the shedding of tears for me. There is nothing in the world better than a happy cry or being so moved to emotion that you have to express it.

I'm sure there are others out there like me...who appreciate a good cry every now and then.

So I say bring on the Hallmark commercials! Your Lifetime movies! Extreme Home Makeover!

I have a box full of tissues....hit me with your best shot!

Happy weekend everyone!
Jessica

I should have named him Kodak

I love my camera.

We bought a Panasonic Lumix camera with a Leica lens right after we had the kiddo. Had to have a great camera to capture all those precious moments. It's taken many amazing pics and it's never far away from my hand.

Now that the kiddo is a big boy, HE wants to take all the pictures. I guess he is so used to seeing me do it, he figures it's perfectly fine to just pick it up and start snapping away.

So now when I pick up the camera and view the photos on the memory card, I see lots of pics like these: His hair...maybe only a portion of it. An eye...maybe 2 if I'm lucky. Random toys. Lots and lots of toys. And my personal favorite, smudges from his fingers on the lens. He's a budding Ansel Adams I tell ya!
And then there's the series of self portraits...those are just genius!
So I wonder...is he talented or what? I guess only time will tell! Happy Tuesday!

BRRRR!!!!!!

It's a balmy 20 degrees here this morning.

With a 13 MPH wind...gusting to 25 MPH.

Which gives us a wind chill temp of 7.

Yep...that's S-E-V-E-N. As in one more than six.

This Florida girl was shivering in her size 7 Fuggs this morning!

I got the Kiddo off for school this morning bundled in his 3 layers, hat, gloves...the works! And he didn't even complain about the cold! He was just excited to see the snow flurries flying around again.

Which brings me to the subject of today's blog...

I want a do-over of yesterday.

Yesterday was the perfect Sunday...a fire roaring in the fireplace all day, football on the TV, and snow flurries falling on and off throughout the day.

The white stuff started coming down in the morning and picked up a bit around lunch time...giving us just enough on the ground to play in and EAT.

The kiddo had snow all over his glove after picking up handfuls and trying to eat it.

Ahh. I wonder where he gets those ideas? (Me...totally me.)

But the joy on his face is the real reason yesterday was so much fun. There's nothing like a snow day.
Have a great week!

The Greatest Woman I Ever Knew...

She was born Pattie Jane Blount on August 26, 1951 to a middle class family in Tampa, Florida. With white blond hair and big blue eyes, she looked like a baby cherub...so cute and chubby!

As she grew, she became a beautiful young woman...and she dropped the 'E' at the end of her name. From then on, she was known as Patti.