I am absolutely fed up

Hear that? I am absolutely fed up. Maybe more just heartbroken, frustrated and discouraged. Maybe those are better words to describe what I am.

With every passing second our world becomes a less stable, accepting, loving, safe place. How many days have passed since the last mass shooting? Zero. 0. None. That's how many. Do we need to start counting in minutes? How pathetic. Where did our conflict resolution skills go?

What has happened? Why do we trust our leaders less now than before?

So what we have a shit president? What happened to Power to the People? Why haven't we done anything about it? Why can't we do anything about it? What happened to the days where when things were going wrong we could change them as a team, a country?

Why do we trust one another less now than before?

What has happened? Why are we so entitled and selfish and dangerously unaware of those around us and yet so willing to offer our commentary on others?

When did it become acceptable for people to expect things they have neither earned nor deserve? How did it happen?

When did we begin to need validation from individuals we see only once yearly?

When did our sense of worth move from what our parents, teachers, mentors, God and we ourselves thought of us to what acquaintance, stranger, random person you'll never meet thinks of us?

When did we stop respecting our elders? At the rate we are going at the least they can say they didn't singlehandedly destroy all of humanity in a single generation. 

When did some other country's citizens become more important than the men and women who are responsible for this country's freedom?

When did we get so spineless? Why can we not stand up for what we believe without some entitled cretin claiming some PC card?  When did differing opinions become "hate" instead of growth? Get a hold of yourselves, you ignorant swine. 

Why does Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, have to write a blogpost like this?

"This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love. In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.

I’m not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims. Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them “feel bad” about themselves, is a “hater,” a “bigot,” an “oppressor,” and a “victimizer.”"

Because we are weak, entitled, selfish, arrogant, ignorant. That is a lethal combination of characteristics. It is despicable. We are a despicable people. We are hateful. We are selfish. We are close minded. We have lost so many valuable lessons from humanity like hard work and unity, conflict resolution, not being an ass to name a few. We are individualistic to a fault. We are judgmental to the worst degree. It is no wonder society is literally crumbling before us all with more hatred and division than ever. What else would anyone expect when we ignore people in need, when non procreating couples are wedded, when we care about no one but ourselves, when the safety, health and wellbeing of our own citizens is put far down on the to do list? What else can you possibly expect?

As of yet I have no idea what I am supposed to do about it all. Seems like a hefty task. But the first step is recognizing you have a problem, right? That's more than millions of entitled little freaks have done. 

Why 7 out of 10 of you should go adpot a dog from the local shelter in the next 6 months

Here are a bunch of links to things you can read to convince you to go adopt a dog from your local shelter:

http://news.distractify.com/geek/science/reasons-you-absolutely-need-a-dog-in-your-life/

• This one gives 20 reasons to get a dog
• Like:
• reduce allergies, eczema
• helps overcome PTSD
• aids with all sorts of conditions

http://news.distractify.com/avericlements/21-ways-that-dogs-show-you-they-love-you-more-than-anything-ever/

• This one explains the way dogs express their love for you
• Like:
• not eating the food off the counter
• when the leave a few inches of bed instead of taking the whole thing
• when they bring back the things you throw for them instead of leaving them across the yard

http://list25.com/25-reasons-why-you-should-consider-owning-a-dog/

• This one gives 25 reasons for owning a dog
• Like:
• fitness
• love and affection
• teaching responsibility
• teaching discipline

http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/health-benefits-of-pets

• And this one gives health reasons for having a dog

SO GO GET A DOG ALREADY!!

Newly (mostly) vegan

I know right?

Well I started thinking about being vegan vegan cause of this book:

But then I decided to basically just be smart about what I put in my body....which means that I cut out dairy because it is not   so   good  for  you.  (decide for yourself what you think...)

As well as meat...you can do your own research. 

But I decided eggs might be harder to cut out (even though I have stopped eating them for a couple weeks now). 

So now I use Almond Breeze in stead of milk and Morning Star for meat stuffs....

I eat potatoes and rice like there is no tomorrow. 

As well as fruits 

• grapes
• canned peaches
• canned mandarin oranges
• apples

and vegetables

• this Vegetable Medley is GREAT
• spinach
• kale

beans

• garbanzo
• black

Anyway...I just feel better about everything. I have more energy and blah blah blah...

Also it is just easier...I have a few options that I can mix and match to create something delicious. It is simple and I think simplicity is a God-like quality...

Anyway...I would recommend that book up there ^^^^^^ to anyone. I am also reading a few other ones about a similar subject and I'll let y'all know about those.

It can't hurt to be educated!

Knowledge: What do you do with it? OR What does it do with you?

I have been meaning to write this post for a loooonnnnggggggg (<-- see what I did there?) time. A really long time. So here it is.

I have been told by multiple sources that I have the ability to learn something and then live my life according to that knowledge. Make sense?

For example, I learned that there is poop. everywhere. always. So now I close the toilet seat when I flush. *that was an awkward example*

I can't not do that now. I learned it and now to not close the toilet seat when possible seems an insult to that knowledge that I now have. I cannot forget or ignore or unlearn it. I learn something and it CHANGES ME.

I learned last year just how bad High Fructose Corn Syrup can be for you. Now when I shop, I (for the most part) buy things WITHOUT HFCS. I have to do it. I cannot not do it now.

Sometimes it is so inconvenient. I just want to unlearn those things and go back to the whole ignorance is bliss junk. Life was easier when I didn't know that there is poop everywhere, or that HFCS creates a hugely problematic response in insulin levels and all that jazz.

It amazes people. I guess knowledge doesn't change people like it changes me.

I live life according to the knowledge that I have. If you don't change your life as you learn then what good is learning things? I guess that confuses me. What do you do with knowledge if not change your life?

I guess this is my way of accepting the light so that I may receive more...

Does not changing make you a hypocrite? A fool? Normal?

God & Illness

I think that one of the purposes of illnesses in this world is to learn to pay attention to our bodies. We know we are made in the image of God and that our bodies are temples. These bodies house the Spirit which connects us to God and our Heavenly Father.

So think about it.

If we are having troubles with our physical bodies and we ignore it, how are we going to listen to the Spirit which is in the body. The body can experience physical pain and actually PHYSICALLY speak to you with the feelings. If we can ignore those signs, how will we know what our Spirit, which is just a still small voice, albeit powerful when listened to, is telling us. We don't (usually) feel physical pain when our Spirit is unhealthy.

I can't say that that is the only point to physical pain since I don't believe it to be true. BUT it makes sense that we need to learn to listen to what our physical bodies are saying to us so that we can listen to the more important spiritual body within us.

What is your body telling you?

An assignment for my class: part II

Humitrophis – I have no idea what the actual word for these things are. They are the little glass stone things that are put in jars and bowls as decoration and stuff. When my sister was a toddler she decided they were called humitrophises. It was great. She loved to play with them and my other siblings and I learned to love playing with them as well. We spent an embarrassing amount of time when we were kids playing with those little glass stone things. Whenever I see one I resist the urge to take it and play with it like I used to.

Baseball – Until recently, my brother and baseball were one in the same. I have gone to more baseball games than most 19-year old girls. My brother played middle infield and occasionally outfield. I idolized him growing up so I loved baseball. I love it still. Baseballs remind me of Christian. They always will.

White dresses and Blue blazers – Sounds like a wedding right? Well it is not. It was my high school graduation. I went to a private school so we didn’t do the whole cap and gown thing. The girls wore white dresses (knee-length or longer with sleeves!) and the boys wore khakis, a white collared shirt, and a blue blazer with the Waterford patch on the pocket. I did not cry during my graduation, but I got close. I had known my peers for years and years, some since I was 2 or 3. We were also the first class at Waterford where everyone who began the year ended it and graduated in years and years. Teachers couldn’t remember the last time a whole class graduated together. I will be in a store and see a white dress and think to myself “That would have been a good dress for graduation”.

My youngest sister has a very slow paced walk. Her heels touch first. Her head and shoulders are upright and straight. Her eyes are generally up, not looking at the ground as she steps. She has long legs so her steps are very long. Her arms slightly sway along her sides.

My sister is active, she moves a lot, even when seated. She grew up with almost all male friends, she plays on a boys baseball team so she has some mannerisms or characteristics that one would associate with boys like the way she sits and runs. She uses her face a lot to express herself.

My sister has a youthful voice. I noticed she emphasizes consonants a lot. More so than your average person.  When she is frustrated her voice elevates in volume and pitch.

When my sister walks into the kitchen, her first response is to look for food.

I see that my sister has some food on her face and it looks like she hasn’t brushed her hair in a while. Her nails are pink and blue. She has swirly earrings. She is young.

I have short steps since I have short legs. I have short arms so they swing a lot. My head projects forward when I walk.

When I stand it is apparent how short my arms are. As when I am walking, my head projects forward. Usually I cross one leg behind the other weight-bearing leg.

When I sit, I move a lot because of my back problems. I generally lean back in the chair unless there is a table and then I rest elbows/head on table. Sometimes I cross one leg under the other.

When I speak, I use equal long words and then rapid shorter words that rise in pitch during the points I want to emphasize.

I use the words/phrases:

Grow up

Junk

I don’t see a problem with that

Ain’t nobody got time for that

Poop. Everywhere, always

I really like the words:

Junk

Kylee

I sound a lot like my sisters. Well, they sound a lot like me since I came first.

I think others perceive me as short, compact, confident – because I keep my head up, I strut a little. I keep eye contact; I have bold/confident mannerisms like that. 

An assignment for my class: part I

Mac 'n Ramen – Growing up, my parents both worked so we had a nanny or my older siblings took care of us younger siblings. The go to meal was Kraft macaroni and cheese. One day, my older brother mixed Kraft Macaroni and Ramen. That then was the go to meal and I still eat it as a college student. The mixed fake cheese and fake chicken flavoring smell reminds me of my childhood. Yummy.

Grandparents - I can recognize my grandparents smell anywhere. It smells dusty, a little floral, like old people, and like Vaseline lotion. I have a scarf that my grandmother crocheted for me and every time I wear it I smell their house. It makes me happy.

Hospital – I hate the smell of the hospital. You rarely ever get good new there. It’s awful. It smells like medicine, illness, old people, white, false cleanliness (even though you can't possibly imagine the awful stuff everywhere, always). It reminds me of the day I was there when I was 15 years old and they told me I had 2 herniated discs in my back and Degenerative Disc Disease. They said I wouldn’t play sports again. I didn’t cry until I got home and was making Ramen noodles. I hate the smell of hospitals.

My trampoline – So many good memories (some including injuries) have happened on my trampoline. I remember my first back flip out there and the countless attempts at a perfect back flip 180. The times we would put the sprinkler by the tramp and dump dish soap so the surface became a huge, bubbly, slip and slide. That trampoline defines my childhood.

Harley Davidson – My dad has had Harleys since before I was born. So many of his shirts are from various Harley shops around the country. I can picture the way he lets his beard grow out when he’s taking a Harley trip to Yellowstone, Sturgis, or the Grand Canyon. I got my Harley license the year I graduated high school and now we can ride them together, with me not as a passenger. Harleys will ALWAYS remind me of my father.

Scratches on the Suburban tail light – This was my first car accident. Oh dear, it was terrible. It was the December after I got my license in August. I was going to go Christmas shopping with my cousin, Taylor. It was nighttime and I was reversing out of the garage to go pick her up. I couldn’t see the mailbox. I backed into it and it basically exploded. There were bricks up to 15 feet away. No one was home, my parents were in a movie and I couldn’t get a hold of them. I had a panic attack and cried and called my brother. He rushed home and laughed when he saw the mailbox. It was a shocking experience for me, but I smile when I think about it now.

Rusty and Rosie – These were the little rodent characters (I don’t know what animal they actually are) that were used by the elementary school that I went to to teach children various concepts. They had VHS movies we would watch and CDs to listen to. I can still sing many of the songs from Rusty and Rosie. I probably learned a lot from them and when my little sisters listen to the CD’s I can sing along.

The Beatles – When I hear any Beatles songs I think of my dad. End of story. The Beatles are the soundtrack to our car rides and Harley trips. Whether it be CD’s, iTunes, or Youtube videos I have heard every Beatles song ever. Beatles make me think of my dad.

Crowd cheering for me – When I was a senior in high school I was the varsity point guard until I broke my finger and had to get surgery. The night before I got surgery we had a home game and I was in a splint and bandaged up. I got my parents, the athletic trainer, and the coaches permission to play for a little bit since I was getting surgery the next day and they could just fix any more damage anyway. Well I played a little at the beginning of the game and then my coach took me out. In the fourth quarter, with just 2 or 3 minutes left, our entire fan section started cheering “WE WANT KYLEE! WE WANT KYLEE!”. My coach looked and me and said, "Get in there". I finished the last few minutes of my last ever game. That sound of the crowd still brings me to tears when I think about it. It was incredible.

What is the world coming to?

This is not for the faint of...stomach. In fact its disgusting. But fascinating.

stomach-pumping-device-makes-food-disappear

Seriously?

What happened to eating less and moving more? Does that not exist anymore? Begin by not drinking soda. Then cut out things like chips (doritoes, fritos, cheetos...if it ends in "os" dont eat it). Cut down your sugar intake, your sodium intake, you calorie intake.

Walk to work or school if that is an option. Park further away if it's not. Use the stairs. Not the elevator. I feel like that old Geico slogan "So easy a caveman could do it" right now.

I don't want to offend or patronize or demean anyone who has tried many things to lose and maintain weight loss. But physiologically, if you eat less and move more, you will lose weight and keep that weight off.

There are less drastic and disgusting options...like living a healthy lifestyle...?

What has society created?