Thoughts on Holiday Greetings

I really thought about using the title "No, I didn't just declare war on your holiday", but that seemed a little confrontational. So, we will just go with this.

On open letter to the lady in the blue sweatshirt:

Hi. You probably don’t remember me. Our paths crossed only briefly. We were at the grocery store and passed in the aisle. Our eyes met, so I smiled and wished you a Happy Holidays.  You rolled your eyes and growled out “Merry Christmas” between your clenched teeth.

Did my greeting offend you? If I had been able to tell just by looking that you celebrate Christmas I would have gladly greeted you with a hearty Merry Christmas. But you see, I have friends of many different nationalities and faiths. Some of them celebrate Christmas, some Hanukkah, some Yule, some Kwanzaa, some choose to celebrate nothing at all.  None of them are lesser than the others and none of them deserve to have their celebrations diminished.

By wishing you a Happy Holidays I am not trying to declare war on Christmas. I am not trying to belittle your faith. I am only wishing you the happiest of whatever holiday you choose to celebrate.  

Veterans Day

Every year I try to post something thoughtful for Veterans Day.  This year my words are failing me, so I am sharing the words of those more eloquent than I.

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." – George Washington

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou

I saved the best for last.

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”  - Douglas MacArthur

Remembering Veteran's Day with a field of poppies

Don’t Rock the Vote Until You Do Your Homework

Voting is both a right and a privilege.  It is how “we the people” play our part in government. In short, it is important – much too important to be done on a whim. Yes, if you are registered you should vote in this very important election, but you need to do your homework first.

Your vote is your own. It should reflect your thoughts on the issues at hand. It doesn’t matter which celebrities support a candidate. It doesn’t matter if your Facebook friends say that anybody who votes for the other side is an idiot.  It doesn’t matter how your spouse or your parents vote. You are alone in the voting booth and you alone are responsible for the choices that you make.

Don’t base your decisions on a candidate’s speeches. Go to their website and read their policies. Get to know what they really stand for, what they really believe in.  Campaign appearances are carefully created to get you excited. Look for the substance under the sparkle.

Don’t get your news from just one source.  Expand your reading/watching so that you will see news from across the political spectrum.   Be sure that you base decisions on credible news sources. Trending topics on Twitter or Facebook do not count as credible sources!  If you come across something that sounds questionable, check it out.  There are lots of fact-checking sites out there during an election year.

I have done my homework and made my decision.  Have you?

Last Time magazine cover before the election

When it pays to clean out your closet

My closet has been in desperate need of a good purge and organization for ages.  I've been putting it off because cleaning closets really sux. Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and just get started. I'm not gonna lie, it was exhausting and painful.  But you guys, I found $125 in gift cards and $100 in cash!  Now I'm going to clean out every closet in my house and see what other goodies I can find!

I'm rich!

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Texas Comic Fest

This past week-end was the second Texas Comic Fest that hubby and I have produced.   After ten months of hard work the payoff was an amazing day of comic related fun.  Here are a few of my favorite moments.

There were several people who were experiencing their first comic con event. It was so much fun to see them take it all in. I think some of them really found their tribe!  They came in a little shy, maybe a little hesitant, but by the end of the day they were completely at home.   The best first-timers were actually some unintentional attendees.  See, the venue we were at frequently hosts gun shows. We had two different groups of people pay their admission, walk the floor for a bit, then come back to the door and say “This isn’t the gun show, is it?”  I can only imagine what was going on in their heads as they walked around seeing people in cosplay and wondering what the heck kind of gun show this was.

Another favorite moment was when a cosplayer dressed as Deadpool threw a taco at me.  I have been to a lot of comic cons, but I have never had food thrown at me before.  He threw a packet of taco sauce as well, so that was kind of thoughtful.  Taco wasn’t bad tasting either.

Taco throwing must have exhausted Deadpool. After the taco throwing he stole Professor X's chair.

Kids are always the best part of any event. There were a few adorable youngsters that had seen a Joker cosplayers and promptly went to find Batman and let him know. Batman played right along and said that Joker had escaped from Arkham and thanked the kids for their assistance in finding him.

The Joker (Alex Thomas) and Batman (Dan Madsen)

I also had a chance to get to know some very special people.  Bustin’ for Autism was at the event to support autism awareness and raise funds for their mission.  Former WWE wrestler Gene Snitsky was there supporting them. For someone who played a wrestling character that was downright evil, Gene is the sweetest person you would ever want to meet. Such a great guy supporting a fantastic organization!

Another very special person I met was of the four legged variety. Tugg is a canine superhero! He was an abused pup, but he was adopted by a wonderful family that nursed him back to health and trained him to be a therapy dog.  Tugg does charity work and even has his own comic book! Such a powerful example of what love can do. You can learn more about Tugg at his website TuggTheBullTerrier.com

Tugg the Bull Terrier Puppy

Note:  All photos are used courtesy of the Texas Comic Fest Facebook page.

Has it really been that long?

Over the weekend I was thinking about how much I've been neglecting this little blog. I knew it had been quite awhile, but I was shocked to see that it has been over five months since I posted.

I feel like I need to explain my absence, but the truth is so boring. The truth is that work has been insanely busy, I spend a minimum of two and a half hours a day commuting, and we have a couple of side projects going. All true, but just boring as hell.

So, I've decided to give you a range of options for where I have been.
1. While vacationing in the Arctic I was adopted by a clan of polar bears.
2. I am secretly a famous movie star and was doing the Greta Garbo "I want to be alone" thing.
3. I discovered time travel and went back to the Middle Ages where I promptly got bitten by a flea carrying the bubonic plague.
4. I discovered that I am actually the long lost princess of a small but wealthy island nation. I have been getting to know my subjects and having all the postage stamps reprinted with my face on them. 

So, which do you prefer? I think I'm going with the princess story. My curls would look really cute in a tiara!