Travel, Football, Birthday, and New Friendships

I wanted to share my experience this weekend.  Bear with me....

Today is Trent's birthday.  We have had a hard year, but he is pretty much back to normal and aside from being a bit on a financial low, we are doing very well.

So last week, I was looking at a ticket app that I often go to so I could try to find something great do to with Trent this last weekend for his birthday.  I ran across some UCLA vs. BYU football tickets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.  I thought it would be a great gift for him (and, no lying here, a great get-away for us both) but I could not purchase them without first checking to make sure he was not working and that we wanted to go.  I asked him about it and we talked about it and he said no...at first.  The next day he came to ask if I could still get the tickets.  I looked and I could.  We looked for a hotel room and plans were made.
We left earlyish on Saturday morning, arrived to SoCa in the early afternoon. Checked into our room.  Went to Old Town Pasadena, walked around in the massive heat, BTW!!   Took a shuttle to the Rose Bowl.  Watched a pretty fabulous football game!  It was messy and not pretty and came down to the last few minutes of the game to decide who the winner was going to be.  We stayed until the very last second and just soaked it all up.  We waited in a rather lengthy line to shuttle back to our car, but I gotta say, those Rose Bowl people know how to move a lot of people very quickly.  The rather lengthy line, I am talking like probably 2 miles long!, moved on out.  We were in line for less than 30 minutes before we got to our shuttle.  We got back to our room rather late, especially for people as old as us!!  Slept in a bit on Sunday and did a little sightseeing before heading back up to NorCal.  It was a rather fast and furious trip but so worth it. We got to see a pretty great football game, ate too much crap, didn't drink enough water, talked and laughed.  It was just a great few days.

What I wanted to share is what happened in the middle of all of that....

As I have shared recently, I have kinda changed a bit in my shyness.  I talk with people now.  I even start conversations with people in line.  Well, Trent and I were sitting on a bench outside of the Rose Bowl waiting for the gates to open when an older couple sat down next to us.  They were in their BYU blue.  Trent was wearing just a regular shirt but had on his UCLA cap and I was wearing my Aikman Cowboy jersey.  This couple would have had no idea we were LDS.

I asked the lady, Judi as I later found out, if they were local or if they had come down from Provo.  She answered that they are from Salt Lake City and they had taken a bus down.  Her husband's grandson, Graham Rowley, was playing for BYU, he was #92 and was a defensive lineman.  Trent and Howard talked football for a while.  Later Judi had mentioned that they actually lived in Sandy, Utah.  I told her Trent's brother lived there.  But I didn't know what ward or anything like that.  It became pretty clear from the way we talked that Trent and I are Mormon.  We chatted a bit more.  She was talking about her granddaughter training horses and they talked a bit about how much fun horse racing is.  Even if don't put any money down!  They were talking about being invited to an after race party and how much fun they were having.

At that point, I said something about drinking alcohol and how much clearer they were probably seeing things at that party!  Howard then said that he was drinking...he then said that he really wasn't a member of the church any longer. Judi said that they had a few issues.  I laughed and out of absolutely no where, I said, "Oh yeah, I am familiar with issues with the church.  We have a gay son." (Just a little side note here - this is really the very first time I have ever said those words out loud.  I have shared with friends and family, but never a complete stranger.  I don't really know why it came out -- well, I do actually...read on).

Judi's mouth gaped completely open and she sucked in air and put her hand on her chest and I was ready, actually for a fight.  I was ready to put her and other pretentious Mormons in their place.  Come at me, Judi, is what I was thinking. She reached over and touched my arm and said, "Oh my gosh, you are kidding me?  I have two lesbian daughters."   She went on to explain how she has a daughter who is married to a bishop who has stopped talking with her because of her support of her lesbian daughters.   She talked about the struggles and the hurdles and the fights and the tears.

I explained that Trent was a lifelong member of the church and was struggling a bit.  You know, being taught one thing all of your life and suddenly needing to see things differently.  Immediately, Howard got up and went over to Trent and just started talking with him.  Answering questions.  Judi and I were having our own conversation separately.  I told her I was a Mama Dragon (a group of mostly LDS mothers who have GLBTQ children who help each other out and listen and advise, etc.) and she knew about the group.  She told me her daughter and her partner were raising a child together and how she was really big in SLC Pride. She invited us to join them on October 3 for an Allies Dinner in SLC.  We talked about some of the things our "friends" have said to us.  We talked about blaming ourselves at first and wondering what we did as mothers. I showed her pictures of my children.  We exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.  It was just amazing.

By the end of our conversation, Judi and hugged and I was just crying.  It was such a blessed experience.  I wish I were more eloquent in my words so that I could explain how my heart felt.  She was just what I needed and Howard was just who Trent needed to talk to, if only for a little while.

There were just so many factors that had to lay out specifically for us to get to the point where we found out our similarities.  It started with a smile and a question.  It ended with a new friendship, new allies, new shoulders to lean on. What an amazing blessing.  What an amazing experience.  You just never know.

"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."  ~ Albert Einstein

XOXO

My Vote -- in 14 months

Been camping with the hubby for the last week.  Glad and sad to be back home.  I am sure some can understand.

This is September 2015.  The presidential election is not for over a year.  Yet, I am receiving tons of phone calls for polling and seeing debates on television and reading many articles on the candidates.  I feel it is too early.  I don't remember how it used to be, but I can't really believe that this campaigning has always started this early.  It has been going on for months.  I am already sick of it!

In California, our primary elections aren't until June 2016.  By that time, it has really pretty much been decided who will be on a ballot in November.  But I still exercise my vote and I give my vote to the person I like the most.  I don't go by his religion.  I don't go by his name.  I don't always go by his popularity.  I don't take your word of mouth who is the best.  I do research.  Though, I have to say, the last few primary elections, my vote has pretty much been lost in the system.  It really didn't count much.  But I did cast my vote for who I thought was the best candidate.  That person may not ever know who gave him that one vote, but I know.   Hopefully he knows that at least one person was listening to him and liked what he had to say and didn't go with the popular vote.

My vote this year....next year!!... is really a hard one for me.  I am torn for really the first time in my adult, voting life.  I do have issues and I do see things from a different prospective and I do want to see some change and I do want to see tolerance and acceptance.

My parents and most of my grandparents were democrat.   Though, I regretfully announce that not of a lot of them ever used their constitutional right.  I don't remember ever seeing my mother or father vote.  Of course, they had opinions about how things were run; but the older the got and the more I understood, I realized their bitch meant absolutely nothing.  You cannot complain about something you did nothing to fix.  You cannot take credit for something you did not support. If you did not cast your vote, being either for or against, you cannot be responsible nor feckless in what has happened.  You literally had no say in the action.  Your complaint, your bitching, your disgust fall on deaf ears.  If you did nothing, I don't want to hear from you.

I am a Christian.  I am a woman, middle-aged - thank you very much.  I am middle class.  I pay taxes.  I work.  According to my state statistics, my family household earns above median income.  I am not a 1%er.  I own property.  I vote -- every single time.  In my state, I am not in the majority.  I am mostly conservative, with a few steps to the left.  I am Republican; card carrying.

My issues for the next election include, but are not limited to, marriage equality, border issues, abortion, health care, the national debt, war/peace, welfare, gun control.  I will not go into my stance on all of these subjects, not today anyway.

I will say this -- I have a gay son.  I want him to love and to marry as he wishes.  I don't want anyone to stand in his way.  I will fight for his right to do so.  I will fight for his right to adopt children as he and his (future) husband see fit.  I will fight for his right to be noticed as a citizen of the United States, not some second-class no one.  He is equal.  He is equal to me.  He is equal to you.  His life matters.  It should not just matter to me, it really should matter to you as well.  If some elected county clerk (I really, really have a lot to say on this subject, but it just angers me to very much, I cannot even talk about it without my heart just racing) refuses to give my son a marriage license because of who he is marrying, the elected official is not doing their job and should be released - immediately.  I really don't care what side of the marriage equality issue you are on - you should ask for any ones resignation, or demand it, if they are not following the laws of the land.

• Do I particularly like going 55MPH?  No, I don't.  Do I always go 55MPH?  No, I don't.  Am I subject to a fine if found guilty of not going 55MPH?  Yes.  Does this change if I am a man or a woman?  It better not.   Can I be angry if I am fined?  Oh yes, I can and will be.  Will I go 55MPH from now on?  I would like to think I would really try.  Can I do anything about the speed limit?  Not really, I can just obey the law. 
• Do I like to shop?   Very much so!  Do I like to pay $150 for a pair of shoes?  Ummmmm...no.  Do I ever put said shoes into my purse without paying for them?  Ummmmm...no.  If I did,  could I be subject to jail time?  Yes!  Can I do anything about loving and wanting $150 shoes?  No.  Can I do anything about not spending time in jail?  Yes I can, I can obey the law. 

If you don't like the fact that gays are equal and can marry, do something about it.  But don't refuse service for my son or others just like him.  Again, I cannot reiterate enough how much I feel every single American should feel this way, I don't care how you feel about gay marriage - you should respect the law.  You can protest all you want.  You can send money to the county clerk to help with her legal fees.  But, my gosh, you should certainly stand behind America and obey the Constitution.  If you can't do your job -- there are highways going north to Canada and south to Mexico, hop on one.   I have to sometimes work on Sunday.  Do I like it?  Nope.  Can I refuse to do it?  Sure, but I will lose my job.  Can I do anything about it?  Quit and find something else.  Will Mike Huckabee come to a rally and defend my right not to work on a Sunday?  LOL -- I don't think so.  Okay, off my soap box now. 

The only other thing I will say will be about gun control.  I am a gun owner. I legally possess guns.  They are registered in the State of California.  They have been obtained legally.  I follow the rules of owning a gun.  My husband makes sure I am confident in firing my weapon and he makes sure that I know the safety rules and regulations and he knows I know how to use it and will.  Does the gang member who is in possession of a gun follow the same rules?  I am pretty much guessing not.  Do there need to be stronger gun control laws?  Probably, but definitely not to those who already follow the rules and live by the laws of the land.  Should the government be able to take my guns?  Only if they can 100% guarantee they get every single other gun off the streets, with no exceptions.  Are there senseless, cruel, terrible murders happening every day to innocent people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?  Yes, my goodness, every day you read about someone who was shot or a group who were shot for no reason at all.  Does this need to stop?  Oh my heavens, yes it needs to stop, it needs to stop tomorrow.  Are taking my legally obtained, fully registered guns the answer?  Absolutely not.  I don't really know what the right answer is here, but something needs to be done and quickly.  And fairly. 

Okay then....there you have my thoughts for the day!  I don't know how I am going to vote in 14 months.  I do know I am really going to listen to what is said and I am really going to weigh the things that I find important and finding the best candidate that fulfills most (I don't think we will every agree 100%) of my biggest issues.  

For those that read to the end....I wish I could give you a prize!!  For those who didn't, I will catch you the next time.  

XOXO 

Two Things...

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Sweet Potatoes

Yuck.  That is really all I need to say!  LOL.

Since when did the sweet potato become such a big deal?  It used to be that gross side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas that only your mom liked.  Now, it's sweet potato this, sweet potato that...  We went to our burger place, Moo Moo's (BTW, so yummy!!), and the waitress took my order and  I told her I will have fries with that.  She listed like 15 different fries (okay, maybe only four, but I really stopped listening after the first two), I told her just the regular fries.  But sweet potato fries were an option.  I have noticed it everywhere recently.  I saw a sweet potato pie at the grocery store.  I saw a burrito, yes a burrito, that had sweet potatoes in it.

Someone somewhere must have came out with a new study about how good the sweet potato is for you and the cancer-curing benefits  or the weight-loss benefits or the lowering-cholesterol benefits or whatever...  Just something someone said and it got blown up all over creation!  I am just guessing here...but perhaps a sweet potato farmer??

It seems like every so often something "new" will come out and all of a sudden it is everywhere.  Like Artisan a few years ago.  All of sudden, everywhere you looked you could get artisan things.  An artisan pizza or a sandwich with artisan bread or made with real artisan cheese.

Now the sweet potato has come to the forefront.  So, I did a little Google research and found this:

	Sweet potato Sweet potatoSweet potato leavesSweet potato, bakedSweet potato, boiledSweet potato, mashed	Potato PotatoPotato, O'BrienPotato, au GratinPotato, bakedPotato, boiledPotato, microwavedPotato, redPotato, russetPotato, whitePotato, white, baked
Amount per	100 grams 100 grams1 sweetpotato, 5" long (130 g)1 cup, cubes (133 g)	100 grams 1 cup, diced (75 g)100 grams1 Potato small (1-3/4" to 2-1/2" dia) (170 g)1 Potato medium (2-1/4" to 3-1/4" dia) (213 g)1 Potato large (3" to 4-1/4" dia) (369 g)
Calories	86	77
	% Daily Value	% Daily Value
Total Fat	0 g 0%	0.1 g 0%
Saturated fat	0 g 0%	0 g 0%
Polyunsaturated fat	0 g	0 g
Monounsaturated fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg 0%	0 mg 0%
Sodium	55 mg 2%	6 mg 0%
Potassium	337 mg 9%	421 mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate	20 g 6%	17 g 5%
Dietary fiber	3 g 12%	2.2 g 8%
Sugar	4.2 g	0.8 g
Protein	1.6 g 3%	2 g 4%
Caffeine	0 mg	0 mg
Vitamin A	14187 IU 283%	2 IU 0%
Vitamin C	2.4 mg 4%	19.7 mg 32%
Calcium	30 mg 3%	12 mg 1%
Iron	0.6 mg 3%	0.8 mg 4%
Vitamin B-6	0.2 mg 10%	0.3 mg 15%
Vitamin B-12	0 µg 0%	0 µg 0%
Magnesium	25 mg 6%

Everything is pretty even except for Vitamin A which the sweet potato has a crapton of and the regular potato and none of.  But the regular ol' potato has more Vitamin C, Vitamin B-6, Protein, Potassium, and less calories and sugar.  

That there just convinced me that I am okay eating a regular potato.  I like potatoes!  I like them *ahem...start best Forest Gump voice* fried and baked and mashed and hash browned and pan fried and au gratined and totted and wedged and saladed and chipped *end Forest Gump voice* -- you get the drift here.  I like potatoes.  Russet or Idaho or baby or red or fingerling or whatever, I like them!   However, I don't like them sweet! Gag.  

So, as stated above -- Yuck.  

*

No make up challenge

"The no make up challenge is to raise awareness to all women that they do not always need make up to look on top of their game.  You are all beautiful!"

BE THE FIRST TO TAKE THE CHALLENGE! Women you are beautiful... I challenge all women to the newest challenge! ‪#‎thenomakeupchallenge‬ post a most recent picture of yourself to your facebook, twitter or instagram‪#‎nofilter‬ wearing absolutely no make up and then nominate any number of your friends to do the same ... If you decline then "we all know why" This is not to humilate anyone but to raise awareness to all women that they are beautiful just the way they are and do not need make up to always look on top of their game. Take no offence make no excuses ladies let's get this thing going if you dare!!! Be sure to put ‪#‎nomakeupchallenge‬ #nofilter you can also post to the official pagehttps://www.facebook.com/nomakeupchallenge.

So, this was on Facebook recently.  

My favorite line, "...if you decline then "we all know why"..."  Really?  We all know?  Do we really know?  Or do we think we know?  

I will not be participating in this challenge for a number of reasons, but mostly because it is dumb.   What are we proving?  

Natural beauty, beauty come from within, it's how you feel .... blah, blah, blah.  

Yes, I wear make up.  A lot?  Well, I guess that depends on who you are and how you judge.  I don't think I wear a lot.  I mean I can give my husband a big hug and put my cheek on his shoulder and not transfer make up.  However, if I am crying my eyes out, yes, there will be mascara left behind.   Why do I wear it? Well, frankly  I wear it because I feel good whilst doing so.  I get to cover up a few imperfections and perhaps accentuate a few of my better qualities.  Do I wear it to put on a false presentation of who I am?  No, that is so stupid.  This is who I am.   Am I humiliated while not wearing any?  No, again, stupid!  Do I feel I am beautiful without out?  Well...the question you need to ask is do I feel beautiful with it?  

I am doubtful you will ever see me around without make up, at least some sort of something on.  I may not be made fully to the nines, but more than likely I will have some powder and some mascara and some lip gloss/stick on.  But the same goes for my hair; I am doubtful you will ever see me with my hair completely undone or at least up in a pony for workouts.  But never messy and certainly never looking like I don't own a brush.  But..the same goes for my clothing.... I am doubtful you will ever see me without clothing on.   It is all the same for me. Part of me getting ready in the morning is a shower, make up, hair done, and clothes on.  

I am not embarrassed or ashamed to wear make up. 

If you want to do the no make up challenge, you should!  By all means, challenge on!  More power to you!!  I wont make you feel bad about yourself whether you have make up on or not.  I wont make fun of you.  I wont think how much better you could look. In fact, I am guessing I may not even notice.  But don't assume "we all know why" I wont do the challenge.  It is not who I am.  It is not what I do.  I wont be make up shamed!  Don't judge me! 

XOXO