Fed Up With The Feds

Currently I am a little peeved at our Congress.  Arguing over federal funding to the extent that my husband is essentially working for free today, and knowing that if they don't get it together his paycheck will be late, is incredibly frustrating.  (Keep in mind, Congress is still getting paid.)  And what are they fighting over?  Well, apparently one of the things is Planned Parenthood.

I know that I have a lot of conservative friends.  I myself have many personal conservative beliefs though politically I am considered a liberal.  But it saddens me that so many of my friends are mis-informed or don't care.  Because federal funding is not given for abortions.  In fact, that would be against The Hyde Amendment.  (Federal funding has not gone towards abortions since the 1970's.) What federal funding goes towards is things like contraceptive services, sex ed, STI and HIV testing, and cervical cancer screenings.  And then I know people who would say, "But they provide abortions and should be shut down."  I disagree.  Abortions are legal and they will occur.  Shutting down a place that does do a lot of good doesn't make that go away. 

I stand behind Planned Parenthood and think it's ridiculous that we're ready to cut back funding on health care services simply because they provide a service we don't support.  Not everyone has the insurance or cash to go elsewhere.  And the fact that this is one of the big things that might make our pay late when I have my own health issues makes me want to say to our government:  grow up. 

I Nearly Didn't

I nearly didn't remember.  I nearly didn't post.  I thought, everyone else is, you have nothing to say.  And then I thought.  Next spring I will be a wife with a husband who's in a country because of that day.  

I remember...a teacher running into our college history class to tell us there had been an attack.  We didn't believe him.

I remember...turning the t.v. on just in time to see the second tower hit live.

I remember...being more terrified than I had ever been, sure the world was ending.

I remember...my 8 year old brother asking why somebody would hate us, why they would do that.

I remember...having no answers.

But what I know now is this, those lives had meaning.  I hope their families know we think of them, even if it's while sitting and reading a book.  I know that hate is not the answer.  That Afghan food is some of my favorite, and the men at the restaurant are friendly and kind.  I know that to forget what our country stands for, our rights and diversity, is only to invite trouble back in.  Burning a book to purposefully incite is not right, it is not Christian, and it makes me ashamed.  And I know that some day we will get there.  Some day we will remember not just the day, but that all people of different races, nationalities, and religious beliefs died that day.  And that they deserve to be remembered with honor, not anger. 

I remember today. 

Weekend Woes

Does anyone ever wish they had a fairy god mother to swoop in when things are difficult and make everything all better?  Hmm.  Just me?

Our car has decided that life has been too easy for us lately and it was time for more trouble.  The Blueberry (as I have begun to call our little blue Peugeot) tried it's hardest to work, but alas no.  So tomorrow will be spent towing our car somewhere to have it looked at, and hopefully fixed.  Please keep your fingers crossed, as we only have 4 months before we move, and the car really only needs to last us that long.  

And now comes a slightly more fun topic.  Clothes.  I love clothes.  I could window shop online for hours just looking at beautiful clothing and shoes.  Which is a good thing, since I am about to minimize my wardrobe to a smaller quantity than I have ever seen it.  

See, the thing is, I am now about 35 lbs smaller than I was a year ago.  Which actually isn't a lot size wise on me (I am indeed blessed to lose it evenly all over).  However it does mean that quite a few items of clothing are too big for me.  A few select items are being kept for when we decide to start a family, but the majority is being boxed up and donated.  This is a big step for me.  I tend to hoard all sizes just in case.  But since I have no intention of going back to some of those clothes, I think it's smart to just rid my closet of them.  Sadness came over me when I realized that some of my favorite items are too big (so I decided I will save those and get them altered) and that some items I had been keeping to fit back into I overshot and are now too big instead of too small.  Yay for losing the weight! Boo for losing the wardrobe.

I will be hopefully taking some pics of outfits soon.  I have been like a kid in a candy shop the past couple of days trying on clothes and figuring out what works together for this summer.  All of my shorts and jeans fit wonderfully, although a lot of my skirts fall off of me.  Thank God I bought a couple cute skirts for the cruise and they still seem to fit.  I am also taking this opportunity to donate things that just don't suit me or my sense of style.  Which is the most difficult part since I tend to have different styles according to my moods.  

And last, my weekend is being consumed by reading.  I am really into a book called The Lost Constitution.  I will be doing a book review when I finish it, but so far so good.  If you like historical novels, it's great.  And this book mixes telling a story from the past as the modern characters go on a treasure hunt of sorts as Congress is up in arms over the right to bear arms.  Fantastic.  And it has sparked quite a few conversations in our house since Garret is mainly Libertarian and they believe in the right to bear arms as staunchly as the republicans, while I am a confused partisan and tend to not like it to be so easy to buy guns.  Not that I am against gun ownership.  I was raised in a family where my dad hunts occasionally, as did my grandfather before him.  And Garret and I will be picking up his rifle and whatnot when we go home.  For that matter I have asked my father-in-law to take me to the range and teach me how to handle a handgun, since we plan on buying one in the near future (locked in a strongly coded box of course).  But I do not like how easy it has become to buy a gun, and I don't think people should be allowed to own some types of guns.  Just my humble opinion.

So, that's my weekend in a nutshell.  This next week I get plenty of time with G, which means plenty of time outdoors.  Today we made hot cocoa and went outside for a bit to read (G is reading Drood, and I might even let him do a guest post about it.....apparently from reading other bloggers reviews, it's good).  This week coming up also means plenty of time to relax, spring clean, and veg out.  Anyone have anything interesting happen this weekend?