Standing for something

Whew! A lot going on in my head today, ya'll. 

I often refrain from speaking politically or about issues of morality on my Facebook and even on here. Although, I've given glimpses into my little bleeding heart a couple of times. I shamefully admit that I often refrain for fear of being judged. I know that I am a minority here in Texas. I know that people have strong views and really feel like they doing the right thing by themselves and God.... But here's the thing.. Everyone does. Even if you don't believe it in your heart, it hurts when people tell you that you're going to hell. (What up high school!) 

Just as you try to follow what's in your heart, I do as well. Watching the Senate feed last night gave me hope. It gave me courage. It gave me the courage to stand up and tell you that this is what I believe. Today is a monumental day that I hope gives people from all walks of life the courage to stand up and be who they are. We can stand against the hate if we stand together. Whether you are gay, straight, black, white, purple, pro-life, pro-choice or whatever else you are. 

I can't argue on behalf of God. That's not my job and although I'd like to think I know Him well, i cant say it with 100% certainty. We all have our own morals, as we should. I respect your right to believe whatever it is that you believe. Abortions or gay marriage being legal still honors your decision not to have one or not to marry someone of the same sex. I'm pro-choice. I'm pro-choice on abortion, gay marriage, and just about every other social issue out there. I respect your right to choose as a human being who you love, what to do with your body and what religion you follow. Being pro-choice to me means that everyone should be allowed to make those decisions for themselves.

If you're on the edge of a cliff, I'm not going to ask you what skin color you have, how you feel about homosexuality, what your stance is on abortion, what you call God, how you feel about welfare or what you had for breakfast. I'm going to offer you my hand. 

Love without judgement is the greatest gift you can ever give.

The Shining Girls

Happy weekend! I was so very grateful to see Friday night this week. This was my first week in Fort Worth and while the work is not too horrible, the drive certainly is. I don't mind the morning drive actually because I like the early quiet time to myself. The hour drive home when I'm just ready to be there is a lot tougher. I have been able to make my bootcamp at the gym two nights a week though, which is one thing I was worried about. Kyle can attest to the fact that I was pretty much a walking zombie by Thursday night.

I had quite the delightful Saturday today! All of my bridesmaids were in town so that we could go dress shopping. I had mentally prepped myself for a bit of a stressful day because bridal salons are always packed on the weekends and not as enjoyable as the TV would have you believe. However, when we stepped in to our first stop we were all pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowd. I didn't have too many guidelines about what I was looking for. I originally wanted a floor-length dress but after browsing online had come to terms with the fact that they were probably going to be too expensive for what I wanted to ask my bridesmaids to spend. I was once again pleasantly surprised when we found a simple floor length dress that was right in our price range right away. It was the first dress the girls tried on and everyone looked beautiful! Easiest shopping trip ever. I am so grateful for those ladies who have graciously agreed to stand by me on Kyle and I's big day! Love ya'll!!

In other news... I finished my first summer read this week.

I randomly came across a list of summer suggestions and was intrigued by this book. I guess I somehow missed the time traveling aspect in the description and spent the first 1/4 of the book pretty confused. It was a little bit of a slow starter for me but once I got in to it, I had to pace myself to make it last a week. Some other reviewers have commented on the "gruesome" aspect of this book but it honestly didn't bother me all that much. That might have something to do with the fact that I get bored with details and will often skip over those parts. "I spread the girls intestines around the room like blah blah blah blah" Scan. Scan. Scan. Back to conversation and I'm interested again. It definitely has some gruesome parts and some graphic descriptions of violence and sexual deviance. I would not recommend it for YA readers. The end was predictable but it kept me turning the pages until the very end. Overall, I would recommend this book. It was a nice change from your average summer romance read.

Perfectly Perfect

Long time, no see eh? Sorry about my absence. I've either been busy or had absolutely nothing going on, therefore nothing to write about. But, I don't want to get out of the blogging habit, so here I am!

I'll be honest....I've been a mostly busy trying to keep my head on straight. It's no secret that I can get a little obsessive. Sometimes Kyle has to step in and snap me back to normal. What usually happens is that I get some kind of set of rules in my head and I get obsessed with following them and then I get stressed out when I feel like I can't follow through. That's where Kyle steps in and says.."Nobody said you have to exercise this many times a week....or read these books...or eat those foods..or do those things." Or whatever my current kick is. And then I'm like oh yeah! I  can change the rules! This usually happens after some sort of crying breakdown.

That whole paragraph makes me sound a little whacko but in letting this blog be full disclosure, I am going to leave it. Please tell me that some of you are this neurotic?!? No? I can't help it. That's just how my brain works. I like structure and rules and I'm REALLY HORRIBLY AWFUL pretty bad with change.

Weakness

1. Doesn't handle change well.

2. Total Rules Girl

Strength

1. Self Aware

2. Total Rules Girl

Seriously, it took Kyle probably a whole year to get me to change my Subway sandwich order. And I had never even considered that you could get more than one type of soda from the machine. Living on the edge over here guys!

That's the real "rule" that I need to get stuck in my head! The ironic part is that I actually have a tattoo that says "grace" as my own personal reminder...I need to pay better attention! I am never going to be perfect and I can't let myself feel guilty or anxious about when I constantly fail at attempting it.