Lone Survivor: Movie Review

Last night for our date night, we went to see Lone Survivor. I saw a preview for it a few weeks ago and we saw one together this week. Chance immediately said he wanted to see it and I agreed, much to his complete shock. He then admitted to having a man crush on Mark Walhberg. Well, maybe he didn't say it that way, but it was inferred. Anyway. We both agreed on a movie, which doesn't happen often that we both genuinely want to watch the same thing.

I had no idea what it was really about, but it looked pretty good from the previews. Once I really knew what it was about, I was a bit worried that it was going to be more than I could handle. Movies that involve beatings and brutality are something I can't really handle watching, but I decided that if it ended up that way, I would suck it up and watch it.

The movie started and built up the relationship of the characters. Not too in depth, but enough for a man watching the show to get, which I figured was the target audience. The plot built really fast and the thing that had to happen to get the story moving happened fairly early (at least to me, though the movie is on the shorter end of average) which worried me even more. That's when the action started. And let me tell you, I sat cringing, covering my eyes, and eventually had to get up and go to the bathroom to take a break because it was so intense. Remember, I'm a baby with this stuff.

I was impressed with the story and the actors. Saddened that it all really happened, pretty accurate portrayal. There was a wonderful tribute that made me cry and made Chance almost cry. We talked about it all the way home and even after we got home and went to bed. It was a very interesting story and made me want to know more.

I definitely recommend it, with the disclaimer that if you're like me, it's tough to watch in parts. I wouldn't let that keep me from watching, it's worth it.

Soapbox: Gay Marriage

Just a quick thought. All of these lawmakers who are so gung ho about gay marriage being legal, why aren't any of them legislating against divorce? Why aren't they trying to make it more difficult or impossible to get a divorce? Or better yet, let's make cheating illegal. Wouldn't that uphold the sanctity of marriage more? 

About blogging...

I have really debated whether or not to even address this, but I feel like I need to; for no one but myself.

You see, blogging is a really personal thing. You are putting your words and thoughts out into the world for everyone to see, judge, and agree or disagree with. Does that bother me? Not really. It does make me think really hard about the things I put out there. It makes me cautious. If you know me in real life, you'll know that I have an opinion on everything, well maybe not everything, but still... I'm very open minded to the opinions of others, and I frequently ask others to share their opinion with me. That doesn't mean I will change my mind, but it frequently happens. I am persuadable. In fact, I like for someone to propose an argument that will make me change my own mind about something. Really.

I also really like discussing current events. I think it's really important to know what's happening in the world around us. I love being able to ask questions of others and find out why they think what they think. My dad is really big on this too, and sometimes I'll just call him to ask what he thinks and we'll talk forever about it. It's really neat to me because we usually have really different perspectives of the same event and analyze it with completely different sets of life experience. What I like most about it, honestly, is hearing something that makes me think of the situation in a way I hadn't before. One of those, Ah ha moments that changes my whole mindset.

As I said before, a blog is a place to put how you think and feel about things, your personal thoughts and opinions. So when someone comments negatively on your blog, it's as though they are commenting negatively on your personal thoughts and feelings. I'm a pretty laid back person, and I let things like that roll off my back most of the time. But three days ago I wrote a blog about the uproar over kids being banned from restaurants. I wrote my own personal thoughts and feelings, and I know the thoughts of others also. I figured that some people wouldn't agree and I expected at least a few someones (depending on the traffic that day) to tell me why or how I was wrong and attempt to engage in a healthy debate. I'm fine with that, as I said, I'm pretty persuadable. What I didn't expect was to be told that I shouldn't be a mother. I did not expect for my teaching license or job to be threatened. I did not expected to be told to grow up. I really didn't.

Let me assure you, I didn't cry or get my feelings hurt at these negative comments. It angers me that someone who either knows me in real life would say these things anonymously in a blog comment, someone who is my friend on facebook and did the same, or doesn't know me at all and came across my blog in some other way would say these things. The amount of actual life that gets put into this blog is minimal and definitely not enough to actually say to me that I shouldn't be a mother (based on one blog post.) The amount of life that gets shared on facebook is a little more, but still, not all that much. I use facebook as a platform to share photos and links; to chat with friends and family. I rarely discuss work and any kind of advocating I do for my students and others with special needs on facebook. In real life, I'm a pretty closed off person. The people who know me well know a lot about me, and those out the fringes know some, but I try to keep my private life private either way.

I am posting this, sharing my feelings with you to say that if you disagree with something that I post here, tell me politely (or even rudely if you have something to say other than personal attacks) and let's discuss it. I'm more than fine with that, I like it. Tell me why I'm wrong and expect me to tell you why you are. It's give and take, and I enjoy it. If you think that what I write is awful and you never again want to read it, unsubscribe. Please. Because if what I'm writing offends you to the point of leaving rude anonymous comments, we probably won't be friends. I only post my blog in a few places, so chances are unless your my facebook friend you won't see my unless you search me out.

The commenter who left their comments anonymously, left me unknowing whether they are or aren't a facebook friend or fanpage follower, so I again say to Anonymous, if you are my facebook friend or follow my page, please unfriend me or unsubscribe. I do not appreciate anonymous rude comments questioning my ability to do my job as a mother or a teacher, as chances are, you don't know me as well as you think you do. If you leave anonymous comments on any other post, I will remove them.

To everyone else, thanks for reading!! I appreciate every comment and site view. It makes me feel as though someone does like what I'm reading and that I'm doing something right!! So, from the bottom of my heart, Thanks! :)

That's All I Want to Hear About Casey Anthony

I'm sure I'll be slammed for my opinion on some level, but I'm so sick of hearing about the Casey Anthony trial. I haven't watched a single minute of trial coverage and have only read an article or two.

It was a tragedy that a baby died like that, won't deny it. But the only reason people care is because of the publicity level. So many children are treated this badly and worse on a daily basis. There is so much public outrage and anger over something that no one can do anything about, for Caylee, yet there are children being abused and witnessing abuse on a daily basis. Where are the cries for injustice for the children who suffer in silence. Depending on your religious beliefs, Caylee is no longer suffering, and possibly even in a better place. But what about the little boy who was in the news recently for being beaten, tied up, and prostituted out for his mother's drug habit? Not only did he suffer for so long, but the physical and emotional repercussions of that incident will torture him for the rest of his life. That to me is much worse than being in a place of no more pain. Where is the outrage for him?

Next on my list is, if there wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, the burden being 100% on the prosecution, how can someone blame the jury? Juries must be unbiased and they must be able to make a decision based on what is provided in court. I've seen so many posts blaming the jury, but they only make decisions with what they are given. The prosecution can say that they "knew the truth" but they didn't, and they didn't prove her guilty. I know so many people are upset at the decision, but I would much rather live in a country that demands the innocent be proven guilty than a place that doesn't even allow us a trial to prove innocence.

Last thing, facebook is currently littered with posts about God being the one who will take care of Casey. But, in all honesty, if Casey is a Christian who has repented her sins, all she has to do is ask forgiveness. Sure, God will provide some punishment, but if she is saved and has repented, she will not "rot in Hell."

The Bible states: “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” Mark 3:28-30 Which I interpret as the only unforgivable sin is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, which means that even murder is forgivable.

So really, this was just a soapbox post for me, but I really needed a place to vent my frustrations at my newsfeed. Feel free to agree or disagree; just know this is all I have to say on the matter unless you can provide me with necessary reasons as to why I should change my stance.

Water, please.

Lately, I feel like this is the place I come to vent my opinions and get on my soap box. That was never the intention of this blog, so I hesitate to do it. BUT, here it is.

CNN recently posted a story about what doctors recommend for kids to be drinking. While I realize from the article that they are including teens as children, I have to sit here and think, DUH.

Doctors have recently recommended that the primary drink of children should be.....water. Really? Never would have guessed that. I never buy juice or soda for Archer. He really only likes apple juice because that's what he has at daycare, so I'm not giving him more. It's just so much sugar. His sweet treat drink is chocolate ovaltine, and he gets that once in the morning and once after dinner, which is probably too much but it's the only sugar he gets at home other than grapes. I don't buy cookies or snacks often, and when I do it's 100 calorie cookies and he gets one pouch. He thinks the best sweet snack is honey on whole wheat toast.

I don't worry so much about the milk because, at almost three, he's still only about 27 pounds. But I want to set a precedent that sweets are just for moderation. I occasionally let him have soda at a restaurant, but only because he doesn't like anything sour like lemonade and most kool-aid type drinks, or even clearer sodas like ginger ale or sprite. He will drink root beer, but nothing like coke that's really carbonated.

I didn't drink soda until I was much older than he is, only ever water. I still love to drink water, but my body craves the sugar and soda. A nasty habit I need to kick. I lost 20 lbs in college not drinking any soda, and I wish it was that easy for me now. I only had caffeine free soda during my pregnancy, and relied much more on green tea and juice for my sugar fix. I wish it were that easy when I didn't have as much motivation to do so.

Anyway, I guess the point of my soapbox is, sugary drinks are not for kids. Limit juice, gatorade, kool-aid, etc and give them water. There are lots of flavored waters out there if that's what it takes, but really, teach them to love water. It will make their weight management later in life easier, lower their risk for diseases like diabetes, and make them healthier people overall.

Facebook, you homewrecker!

My local news station is doing a piece on how facebook ruins marriages. There are divorce attorneys coming on using statistics like social network sites are involved in 50% of divorces.

It’s not really the story that bothers me, but the message it sends. Facebook is an incredible place to catch up with people you haven’t talked to in a long time, or leave a short note for your mom telling her you love her. It’s a place to share photos of your children with family members who live far away. It’s also a place that people are catching up with high school sweethearts, college lovers, and that person in the workplace you once had great chemistry with. Is that a bad thing? Possibly, if you’re married or in a committed relationship. Is facebook to blame? No. They don’t force you to message that person you know you shouldn’t. They don’t force you to then meet up with them or pursue any kind of relationship, emotional or physical.

One thing I've heard of a ton of couples doing is creating a couples facebook page. One pastor is even suggesting his congregation do this. Can I just say, I have no issue with that. If you want a couples page, that's fine. But please, don't think for a second that if you have a spouse who would use facebook to cheat won't find some other way to cheat. Don't think they won't (ps, I know that's a double negative, but I like how it sounds) create a page and keep it a secret.

This is a bit of a soapbox issue for me, but honestly, it’s not acceptable to blame someone/something for your personal decisions. If your relationship is causing you to seek out someone else, talk to your significant other about it, not someone else. Seek counseling, not another person. I think our current society, one in which the most pleasurable thing that you can get the quickest, we go after those quick fixes that make us feel good. I wish that we, as a race of humans, instead weren’t so proud to ask for help when we need it, for ourselves and our relationships.

I have, fortunately, never personally been in a situation of infidelity, but I mostly just hate hearing people blame a social networking site or other third party cause for something so complex as a marriage. There are so many other factors involved that you cannot put it off on something so simple as facebook.

I found this very insightful article when searching “Facebook Ruined My Marriage” (which is what the local news article searches for info on their article). It has basically the same tone as this blog, except with a first hand account from a woman who actually cheated on her husband of 20 years after reuniting with her long lost high school sweetheart. Thought I would share for anyone interested.

More on my little friend Jon

Apparently Jon Gosselin is a bigger douche bag than I thought he was.

On GMA, he's alledging that he was abused. That he was left behind with the kids while Kate was out "traveling." That what broke their marriage down was his saying, I'm going out with my friends.

Am I the only one who hears all of this in the whiny voice of a 5 year old? Seriously? You weren't abused, you were a baby. Man up, if you want to wear the pants, then wear them, but you've got to step up your game my friend.

Oh, and your wife wasn't out "traveling" she was WORKING. You know, that's where the money came from that bought your car and 5k square foot Trump Towers place. Working Jon, you should try it.

His actual words were, 'the straw that broke the camel's back was when I stood up to Kate.' He stood up to her by saying, "I'm going out with my friends." (Imagine these words with a pout, you know, really stick your lips out.) Geez. You have 8 kids, you don't get to go out and play with your friends all the time. Oh, and PS your friends are 22 year old females, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't let you hang out with them either.