Friday WTF?: Another Year Older

It's my birthday...again. Yeah, yeah, I know it happens every year at this same time, but for some reason this one feels different. It's not really about me though. This isn't a milestone birthday. I'm thirty-seven today so I have three more years before the big 40. I think my glum mood is because of my daughters getting older right along with me.

I'm the type of person who really likes to celebrate birthdays, even my own. I'm not ashamed or afraid to tell people my real age or the year I was born. I totally own it. But with the ending of the 2011-2012 school year, and the successful passing of all four of my girls, I now have a Senior in high school, a Freshman in high school, a middle schooler, and a fourth grader. The high school ones are biggies. My oldest received her voter registration form in the mail yesterday and I nearly burst into tears. But having my third oldest in middle school is tough too. I taught her how to shave her legs this week!

So, for me age is a relative thing as it applies to myself. When I'm eighty I might still feel sixty and that's just fine. What isn't so great is that I've never been able to find the pause button on my daughters. And they just keep getting older and older.

Friday WTF: My Kids Eat What?!

I know in a lot of ways I'm a bit overprotective and paranoid when it comes to my kids. But I promise you, I'm the one who does the grocery shopping in my house. Every now and then I'll ask them what they would like for dinner and I pretty much bow to their wishes for breakfast. However, there is no ad campaign in creation that can turn my kids into mindless food zombies who will FORCE me to buy what is advertised. Nope. Not gonna happen. So, I find the news about Disney Channel no longer showing junk food ads aimed at their young target audience silly. Okay, in reality I think it's just plain fucking stupid. So what if they show my kids sugar packed cereals and calorie riddled candy bars. If I decide my kids shouldn't eat them guess what, THEY DON'T. You know why? Because I'm the adult in this equation and I decide on what they eat. I also decide on what they watch and I'm more concerned about some of the TV show content than those damn commercials. I'm very close to tossing all of the TVs out of my house. Le sigh.

Friday WTF?: Boobs Hanging Out

By now many of you have probably already read the Yahoo article about another "controversy" over breastfeeding. Am I the only one rolling my eyes over this? I know this is a hot button for many people but I'm going to state my opinion here anyway. So, buckle your seat belts. Here it goes.

I breastfed my oldest for three months of her life, but her sisters didn't get the same treatment. Now that she's a teen and they are all older, the differences in their health are painfully obvious. Therefore, I well and truly support breastfeeding a child if at all possible. However, I'm not a fan of ANYONE exposing themselves in public. I know I "like" and comment about shirtless and mostly naked men on Facebook all the time. But to be honest, if I'm walking around with my kids somewhere I want everyone to be covered up.

Now, before anyone of you start unfriending me and typing the angry "but it's a natural and beautiful thing" emails, let me remind you this is my OPINION. It's what works for me personally. But I think it's important to state that just because I don't want to see a woman's boobs (feeding or not) when I'm out in public, doesn't mean I'm against breastfeeding at all or in public. I mean, come on, there are so many tasteful ways to do it that I think those who choose to flash everyone are just at the point of belligerence now. We as a society have gotten to the "my rights, fuck you" stage where we're like five-year-olds doing what others don't want us to do just to start a fight.

Back when I was breastfeeding, I had to sit in bathrooms and cover my child's head with a blanket. Now there are all kinds of cool bras and shirts that do the job for you, and many places have special rooms and areas away from the toilets. Now, if you can't afford the cool clothes and are somewhere without the special area, can't you still show some dignity by not being painfully obvious?

Back to the article. Should she have done this in uniform? I wouldn't have. To me the uniform of a US soldier is sacred. There are MANY things that shouldn't be done in them. But again, that's just MY opinion. Okay, let the angry comments begin...

Friday WTF: Yet Another Time Suck

As if I really needed another way to procrastinate and blow off all the important shit I should do all day, I have caved. My sister was very persistent in requesting I play Words with Friends with her on Facebook, and its finally happened. Now I will become a slave to this game as I am to the real life version known as Scrabble. Blame the game when I get NOTHING else done the next few weeks!

Friday WTF?: Words that don't Exist

Have you ever known someone who uses a word or phrase regularly that makes absolutely no sense? A young man I know was talking about working out and said he wanted to get swole. 

I said, "What? Don't you mean swollen?"

"No, you know, swole. Like I want my arms to get big."

"Ooookay, well swole is not a word."

And the argument digressed from there until I was laughing my ass off. Then a few days later I saw a muscle car in our neighborhood with "Team Swole" painted on it and realized the younger generation is truly full of idiots. 

However, I soon came to realize I'm also guilty of making up words. When my oldest was very small I would tell her to let me "put her hair up". She morphed that phrase into calling the plastic ties for her hair "hair-ups". Now everyone in our family calls them that without a second thought. Ah well, to each his own.

Happy Star Wars Day!

In lieu of my usual WTF Friday? post I've decided to wish all of you a Happy Star Wars Day instead! 

May the Fourth be with you!

Friday WTF?: Sexual Revolution of 2012

I've been paying particular attention to the ridiculous amount of debate going on in Congress about women's reproductive rights not just because I'm a woman, but also because I have four daughters. In an article on Yahoo news, it's been pointed out that while Hugh Hefner has made valid statements, he's not the best person to speak on the behalf of women's rights. Seriously? Who else would be sympathetic to women than a man surrounded by them daily? Don't you think all those girlfriends have let him know exactly how women think? The author of the article, Jeff Stacklin, quotes Laura Donovan from The Jane Dough as saying: 

"Though many argue he had a role in the sexual revolution and provided lots of opportunities for women, he also sends the message that it’s acceptable to juggle multiple significant others at once, all the while objectifying them publicly."

Okay, I'll freely admit that not so many years ago I would have fully agreed with her. However, my views on sex have changed drastically. I've come to the realization that I'm a consenting adult and no one can make me feel like a sexual being if I don't want to. In my opinion, Hef's girlfriends aren't forced to be anywhere near him. And I honestly don't think their proximity should affect the way he's seen as an ally on this issue. Hell, I think we need all the allies we can get.

Friday WTF?: My Time is Your Time

First, I'm going to go ahead and confess that I completely forgot to write this post yesterday. So, for the one person who actually reads my posts at 6 AM CST when they're usually scheduled...sorry.
Anyway, I'm going to bitch about Comcast this morning because they've ruined my whole day. Amazingly enough it wasn't even a bad customer service call that pissed me off. I've given up calling customer service for any company that offers online chat. It's just so much easier to read the words than try to decipher them by voice. So when I chatted with Comcast (Xfinity, whatever) online Wednesday, I actually got pretty great service. What thoroughly pissed me off is that my service call for today is from 8AM to 8PM. Let me break that down, I have to be home and available for the technician for TWELVE FUCKING HOURS. What's even more ridiculous is the whole thing is entirely their fault. Back at the end of January when I moved and had my service turned on, they left a cable hanging over my back fence and running into the neighbor's yard. They also left a large (major?) cable running along my back fence.
Now, to be honest, I don't even care. It's weird but not that much of an eyesore. I never go back there anyway. The hubs on the other hand bitches about it at least once every two weeks when he mows the lawn. With the rain we've had and probably more coming soon, he'll be mowing weekly in no time. That means I'll have to listen to him and that really sucks. So, I told them they needed to come bury the cables they were supposed to shortly after turning on my service the last weekend of January. They said, sure no problem, but you gotta wait around for TWELVE FUCKING HOURS for us to do it. For what? I sure as hell hope they don't expect me to make lemonade.

Friday WTF?: Ouch!

If you're anything like me, when you peruse the news articles online you spend more time reading the comments than the article itself. Usually the comments are highly entertaining either in how badly they are written, or in how passionate some people can get over nothing (in my opinion). However, when I read this article from The Daily Caller on Yahoo Tuesday, I have to admit quite a few of the comments made sense. The writer of the article appears to be female and she wrote about a male victim of a serious injury. I won't spell it out here but basically his ex-girlfriend ripped his nuts off. OUCH! Unfortunately I'm totally serious, this really did happen. Even more unfortunate is how this writer chose to "report" the incident. Now, I know nothing about The Daily Caller. Perhaps this is the type of writing style they prefer to draw readers in. But I do find it unfortunate that the male victim is now the butt of horrible jokes over such a serious injury. As many comments pointed out, if the victim had been a woman who suffered like injuries not many people would have found it funny.

Friday WTF?: Let's All Play Together at Once!

If you were following my blog last year at this time then you may remember me mentioning our annual Spring road trip. Basically, every Spring Break I take my girls and hit the road in search of bluebonnets and other pretty scenery to capture with my trusty Canon. How is this year different? Well, first of all gas is $4 a gallon in my area and I drive a SUV. Normally a full tank pulls $100 out of my account but at those prices I'm afraid to fill-up. Second, everyone and their brothers and sisters are on Spring Break this week. No really. I mean EVERYONE. Normally the school districts and colleges stagger the break over two or three weeks. This year, not so much. Therefore, every attraction in Houston is jam packed this week with kids looking for entertainment. We went to the library yesterday and took the very last parking space. It was nuts. What I want to know is, what fucking genius decided this was a good idea? Not someone with kids apparently.

Friday WTF?: It's Called Greed, Moron

If you read news online you've probably already seen a report of the Michigan woman who won a $1 million lottery jackpot in September but continues to collect $200 in food stamps. What gets me is that she isn't remorseful. She didn't even try to play dumb. She just brushed it off as if it must be okay because she hadn't been cut off yet. It's sad that there are really people this stupid in the world. It also goes to show that we have become a society lacking in basic morals, good sense, and accountability. Why didn't she take it upon herself to report her change in income? Oh, because she still has no job and two houses. Moron.

Friday WTF?: I Know This is Texas, But...

If you've seen my posts on Twitter or Facebook then you probably already know I'm a Texan, my husband is a gun owner, and I'm not ashamed of either. However, I'm first and foremost a mom who is usually very paranoid about the safety of my daughters.
On Monday there was a horrible tragedy up in Ohio where an alleged student shot four of his classmates. It broke my heart to read the news posts and I hugged my girls a little harder when they got home from school. 
On Tuesday a boy in Texas pointed a loaded gun at a classmate in the lunch line.
So know I want to know, what the hell is going on? Why are children resorting to such violence to let their thoughts be known? Back in my day we would just beat the shit out of each other on the playground. What are we teaching our children that makes them feel guns are the answer to solve their perceived problems? I don't know about anyone else, but given the choice I would rather know my child got into a fist fight than had to dodge a bullet.

Friday WTF?: It's a School, Not a Dating Service!

Yet another teacher was in the news on Thursday for having an "inappropriate relationship" with a student. What boggles my mind is this was an eighth grade teacher, putting her students in the 13-15 year range. Okay, I don't care how early puberty hits, there is no 15 year old on the planet that would get me hot and bothered. How in the fuck can these teachers, men and women who are sworn to teach our children, look at them one day and not see a child before them? 
When we saw the bit on the news my husband said, "What the fuck? It's not like they can't go to a bar or jump online and find someone their own age?"
Is it just too easy? Do these teachers who have broken such a sacred rule spend too much time with our kids? It's not like they don't know it's wrong. At what point do they start seeing these kids as potential adult flings rather than the children they are? I just can't wrap my head around it.
Now, I have two teenage daughters, one in high school and one in middle school. I'll admit I've done double-takes before on a couple of their teachers, but NEVER their classmates. I'll joke with them about who is cute and who isn't, but I'm JOKING. When I look around at boys below twenty, that's just what I see...BOYS. And they're strangers, not children I've watched age over a school year. Not kids I've learned the bad habits of and know their parents' names.
It's getting to the point where home schooling is the rule rather than the exception. It seems the only way to keep our children safe from predators.

Friday WTF?: Can't You Keep it to Yourself?

I used to think it was just me. Like, maybe I have one of those faces that makes people want to share every little tidbit of their lives with me. However, after the last couple of years of being steadily online and suffering the same phenomenon, I just don't know. People love to share with me. In person it's usually just me, but online it's the whole world. When I worked, I was in a customer service position and though I wasn't a bartender, or psychiatrist, I often felt I should be paid as one. Rarely a day went by that I didn't learn some seriously personal information about a complete stranger. Why?! I don't know. People just like to tell me things.
Online it's even worse. Facebook already tells us everyone's ages, birthdays, and locations. I can discover favorite foods, TV shows, and sports teams. However, the culture of over-sharing created by online social networks now has me going through emotional upheaval daily. Every single day someone out there gives me bad news. Death, illness, some form of loss. It's never ending. There are plenty of jokes and good news announcements too. I'm just curious as to why we all share so much of ourselves with people we will never meet face-to-face. Is it the promise of anonymity? Does that make us feel safer? I guess so. I'm guilty of making pretty personal announcements from time to time too, but the really gut-wrenching things, ya'll will never know.

Friday WTF?: Moms Pay Attention!

I wear many hats in life but first and foremost am a mother. So, when I see stories like the video of the little girl nearly being kidnapped in Walmart it really strikes a nerve. I'm not like many people who watched the news clip and thought, oh what a brave little girl. In fact, my initial reaction was, what a fucking stupid ass mom! The news anchor first said the mom was just a couple of aisles over, then later mentions the mom was shopping for fruit and left her seven-year old in the toy aisle. I've been to many Walmarts and can testify that the fruit is nowhere near the toy aisle. As a matter of fact, in most locations it's on the other side of the store since food and non-food items are separated. Now, when I was little it might have been okay to leave a seven year-old on one side of a big-ass store like Walmart all alone. But those days are gone and have been for some time. What mother doesn't know there are plenty of sick fucks in the world willing to victimize our children? So, I want to know if this woman is going to be charged with neglect, because leaving her daughter alone for any length of time in this situation was just plain stupid.

Friday WTF?: A Prostitute by Any Other Name...

And here's another attempt at me trying to do a weekly blog thing. So, every Friday I'll come up with something that completely boggles my mind for Friday WTF?
I have over a thousand followers on Twitter but they always come to me slowly. Because of that, I'm able to wade through them one at a time and check them out before deciding on whether to follow back. One of my most recent followers brought to light something I hadn't really thought about before. In this day and age do men really still have to pay for sex? I ask this because if even a quarter of the spam I receive is based in any type of reality, there are plenty of people out there willing to have sex with total strangers at a moment's notice...for free.
The follower I speak of lists herself as an International Escort and Elite Companion. Oookay. Now, I'm not knocking her gig. Hell, if I could charge the prices she has listed just for the initial meet and greet, I'd do it in a heartbeat. What gets me is, Why? Why would any man, obviously rich by her price lists, be willing to pay a woman for her time knowing it's nothing more than that? I mean, I can understand the whole business transaction - no emotional attachment aspect to a point, but come on. Today's women are a hell of a lot more in the know about sex, sexual freedom, and what men really want than we were a decade and more ago. In my opinion, it's easier for a businessman to meet a woman and be up front about wanting a sexually based relationship, that might go nowhere, today than it was in the past. Am I wrong? Am I being totally naive about how women think? I've been in a committed relationship for sixteen years. That means I was never a single "adult". My late teen years were lonesome but not much, so I've never really had to swim through the dating pool.
She also mentions men spending time away from their lives of things like being a husband to be with her. Really? Is an affair really worth thousands of dollars right out of the gate? That not only appalls but completely mystifies me. I'm thinking it would be cheaper to get a divorce and find the woman you actually want to have sex with rather than meet this chic, who is also meeting God knows how many others, from time to time. But that's just my female logical brain working here.