Month: January 2017

Some people got their wish today. They wanted change and they got it. No, I am not a fan, nor did I vote for him, but I can allow others to enjoy their moment in the sun. Winning is fun and it feels good…. but it doesn’t last.

Now it’s time to pay the piper. Let’s see what our new President is going to do with his term. Now YOU will get to defend every move HE makes… and I wish you the best of luck with that.

It’s not easy to want to back the new guy. You risk the chance of looking like a fool.

I campaigned for this guy. I voted for this guy – twice. The things I cared about, he had a plan for, and that’s the way I vote. I am an Independent, which means I vote according to the issues, not the party. He said he would change a few key things, and he did everything I had hoped for. As for me, I am satisfied. As for you, maybe you are not, and that is okay.

I’ve gotten to meet and chat with another famous Democrat and Nobel Peace Prize winner. His vision is completely different from our current President, and again.. I line up more with his idea of internationalism. Again.. you may disagree and that is okay.

Now we sit and wait… and watch. I find it interesting that my more.. um… well-educated, successful, painfully more aware and cultured and informed friends and associates tend to line up in the opposite direction than the people I happen to know that line up with our current situation. I also know many, many highly intelligent & cultured Republicans that only voted for Trump because they vote straight party tickets and are indeed, not huge fans.

That’s okay too.

I am cautiously optimistic. Nope.. that is lie. I’m cautious. I do have hope – I would like nothing more than for him to prove me wrong. But… I have researched and analyzed the hell out of his plan and I am completely against it.

Complete elimination for the National Endowment for the Arts and NEH. Privatization of Pubic Broadcasting. Then there are these issues:

1. To end coverage for preexisting conditions, veterans benefits, and aid to rural hospitals.
2. To remove discrimination protection for women in healthcare.
3. Against the provision allowing children to remain on their parent’s insurance till the age of 26.
4. To cut off funding for the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
5. Against ACA contraceptive coverage and maternity care provision.
6. To direct committees to send budget legislation to defund and repeal the Affordable Care Act.
The House votes on Friday.
For those who get health insurance through work, no pre-existing conditions.
Lifetime caps for coverage are back for everyone.

Luckily, we do not have a dictatorship. We have congress and a beautiful checks & balance system. I hope the Republicans and the Democrats will come to an understanding that is in the best interest of us all.

I send warm congrats to my friends and readers who voted for him and feel like there is hope again. I send love and light to my friends and readers who are concerned.

This too shall pass.

Dear Mr. Trump,

Or should I say President Elect Trump?

You frighten me. For the first time, in my entire life, I am terrified for the future of my country. Whether or not there is truth to what is being reported, I know that perception is reality. You see, Mr. Trump, I have worked in Public Relations for many, many years. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what the truth is… people will grab hold of what they want to hear and gobble it up.

I watched the debates. I heard the name calling, the lies, the threats – and it is those words that came out of your very mouth that make me sad. And maybe it is not so much that you said those things, but so many of my fellow Americans just soaked it up like the sun shining on them, and unfortunately, that says so much about character of people I pass on the street every day.

What makes me even more sad is that people who simply wanted to put a Republican in office voted for you, and they openly do not even like you. Your own party is not supportive of you. THAT is a big deal.

Look… please do us all a big favor. Stop with the Twitter rants. I read your feed and I sat there, not with a look of shock, because at this point I don’t expect much better from you, but it seems so incredibly immature. You look and sound like a petulant child. Please stop. You are embarrassing us all.

You have some really big shoes to fill and unfortunately, he out classes you 100%. It just goes to show, no amount of money can buy class.

Also, think before you speak. Discuss with your advisers before you appoint your staff. Please treat other leaders across this world with respect, and I assure you, you will gain the respect you so desperately seem to desire.

You represent everything I am against. You seem to be a bully, selfish, hot-tempered, and uneducated. You have spewed bigoted statements and have a very low moral gage. Be transparent, listen more than you speak, admit when you make a mistake, and try to show compassion. You aren’t a leader. You come off as a fascist, and this, Mr. Trump, scares me more than anything else.

I hopewe come out of the next four years unscathed. I seriously doubt you will make it a second term (that is my hope and prayer.)

In the words of one of the greatest presidents of all time:

“In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth;” that we should preserve it with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one.” ~ President Barack Obama, Farewell Address

No other President has ever frightened me or disappointed me more than you. I’m afraid you will do the exact opposite of “Make America Great Again..” instead… we will unravel, fester, and rot from the inside out.

I would like nothing more than for you to prove me wrong. Inspire me. Make me proud. Prove me wrong.

This is my request of you.

Change my mind about you. Change the world’s mind about you. Do good.

We are all a week into the New Year.

So many promises, so many plans, so many goals to achieve. I’d like to believe that I have started out strong, knocking off each and every detail I needed to in order accomplish my goals. The truth is – I’ve been under the weather, and just functioning is a bit of chore.

Like many of you, I caught the crud – finally. It made its way to me and it is hanging on like a the demon inside Linda Blair on the Exorcist. Started off with fever and chills, turned into a runny nose, terrible cough, and sinus congestion.

Luckily, the Z pack is working and hopefully, in the next few days, I will be a new woman. Even with all of the hacking and sniffling, I did try to accomplish a little. I somehow managed to organize my room, clean out my car, and tackle about an hour’s worth of Rosetta Stone. We’ve pretty much planned out the wedding & honeymoon, and are even starting to seriously consider what is next when it comes to housing. I am organized, if not a little sniffle-ly.

But none of that really matters, right? All of the little things trying to hold us back, they are just things.. and if we allow it to stifle what we are trying to do, then we are going in the wrong direction. I’m not going to let a little head cold convince me that the year is starting off on the wrong foot. Nope, it’s a minor inconvenience and I need to suck it up and move forward.

Today’s devotion told me: You are Going Someplace New. It said: You are opening up more and more. You are becoming clearer each day.

My favorite line was: Embrace the changes taking place. They are good. They will last. They will take you and your life to someplace new, someplace you can’t fully imagine now because it’s so different from where you have been. 

That is definitely the truth. I’m about to be a wife, a mom, a grandmother, and a new homeowner. These are all new titles. I’m replacing the girlfriend/fiance, single, no kids, renter, philosophical nomad…

You know the things that used to bother me, hold me down, and held me back are rolling off much easier. Problems that would plague & pester… gone. Just like the devotion said – You will find yourself gliding through life in a way that brings you JOY, and touches and heals others. 

We are all going some place new in 2017. May our journey be light. May we be open. May we trust the process and trust our own intuition. Our journey is not in vain.. even if our Destination is Unknown.

2017 has not disappointed. I started the New Year celebrating the last night of Hanukkah with dear friends in my old home town of Macon.Fried foods (to represent the oil,) beef brisket, and of course a little dreidel  was the center of the celebration.

It was nice to sit and laugh with old friends and co workers. I caught up on all of their stories: who was moving, who was promoted. who is getting married, who is having a baby… it reminded me that no matter where we go or how far we go to get there, life just continues on. Starting a New Year off with friends and good food AND a religious holiday was a beautiful way to illustrate the word JOY into my year.

Just the night before, we celebrated the love of two dear friends – Bill & Scott.

We attended their very posh wedding in Downtown Macon with dozens of our friends. It was a beautiful affair, with delicious food, a beautiful cake, and champagne a-flowing. We were told by the officiate to remember that love is love is love is love. That was a nice way to end the year.

Now I find myself back at work and back to the grind. I’m trying to remember to go with the flow and find a little grace and joy in each day. Today’s devotion tackled this very issue. It said: It’s good to go with the flow. But it’s better to go with what you know – what you know to be true for you. Trusting yourself is the ultimate lesson. It’s where all the guidance leads.

This is a wonderful lesson to not only take into the day, but to take into the year. Just yesterday, I was meeting with my Primary Care Physician as a follow-up for my blood work. I heard the best words a girl could hear: Your cholesterol looks great, your blood pressure is good – You are healthy.

I had not heard that in years. But I know that I have a long, long, long way to go. I need to, once and for all, get this weight down. I am working with a health coach and she asked me to research a good home gym option. I did and I ordered it. It’s called Fe’ Fit. The program includes 28 videos, 7 fitness genres, 5 workout programs-all to make your fitness fit your busy lifestyle. Every workout is 30 minutes or less.It has a 90 day commitment challenge you take and it has all the items I need to track that progress. I think this is something I can do and… what does it hurt to try? My kit should arrive tomorrow from Amazon (it was about $100.) Not a bad investment for my health. Now it will be about maintaining my good numbers, but adding another element – the element of letting the outside match the inside. And honestly… that’s going with the flow and trusting what I know to be true: I can always do better.

This week – Listen to those around you. Listen to the guidance of the universe (God.) And also listen to all the voices that God uses to speak to you, through whomever or however it comes. But always trust yourself. Trust your inner voice. And just go with the flow…