Thursday Thoughts - In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream

Purging: Nail polish. I kept what's in the box and took the rest to my mom.

Painting them you me & the sea by Essie.

Reading:  Ohio by Stephen Markley c/o netgalley. I was not into it at all at the beginning, even texted Jana about it, but am now totally into it. Show Us Your Books is Tuesday!

Anticipating: A three day weekend. Debbie and I are heading to the shore tonight and I'm off tomorrow.

Laughing like a loon at this:

Going to three different stores the night before the Fourth like a simple fool and still forgetting two things. 

Making Mexican stuffed shells to freeze, breakfast burritos to freeze, and a version of strawberry lemonade lasagna (hold the jello because I forgot that).

Treating a day off mid-week sort of like a Sunday: I did laundry, packed for the weekend, ran the dishwasher, made eggs for breakfast, lingered over coffee, read, painted my nails, picked up around the house, did some purging, etc. 

Swimming at Mom & Rich's with Debbie and my uncle on the Fourth.

Enjoying a mid-week holiday dinner at Dad & Carol's on the Fourth.

Knowing not everyone in this country actually has independence, liberty, and justice, and that I will continue to do what I can to make sure that changes in the future.

Pulling: up my sleeves.

Reminding us all:

E-carding: 

What's new with you?

Linking up with Kristen

Freedom's just another word for...

In America, we get bent out of shape when people destroy things in protests. We also get bent out of shape when people protest silently. Which one is it, America? Would we rather Colin Kaepernick set things on fire in protest, scream and give the middle finger during the national anthem, or sit down silently in protest? Or would we rather no one ever say anything that paints us in a bad light?

Personally, my vote is for sit down silently in protest. There's no honor in staying silent about things that matter. With silent, peaceful protest, there's no destruction of property (an illegal and asshole move even during protest) and no disrespect (legal during protest but off-putting), there's just taking a stand and he is getting fucking roasted for it because the Internet is a hotbed of hate and we absolutely love to label people as anti-American.

Unfortunately for the rabid Internet dwellers, peaceful protest against your government or its entities and what you think they represent is very, very American.

When members of America's armed forces defend those first amendment rights we hold so dear, they do so for ALL of us. Not just those of us with the most popular opinions. Are you guys familiar with blogger and veteran Jim Wright? He is an awesome writer, so you should check his blog out here, but also check out his thoughts on Kaepernick here.

Look, I hate the Westboro Baptist Church and the KKK and everything both of those shitbag hatefucker groups stand for, but I absolutely support their right to speak freely and to peaceably assemble, even though their speech and assembly are in utter opposition to every fiber of my being. I may not like what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

Of course this issue is not technically about anyone infringing on Kaepernick's freedom of speech because the lynch mob coming after him is not the government, but his fellow citizens. We don't want our government to infringe upon our freedoms but we will gladly dance all over each other's. That's not really how it's supposed to work. 

What I feel for America is an innate love that comes from deep in my bones. I truly believe the quote that goes something like there is nothing that is wrong with America that can't be fixed by what is right with America. Even when something shameful happens here - and there have been many shameful things that have happened here - I still have an intense love of this country.

And I love that other people feel so strongly about what happens here that they take to the streets or in this case, the bench, to let their feelings be known. In the past few years, it has become the very pseudo intellectual/faux patriotic/snide smug superior person thing to do to hate on protesters. We have opinions on how they protest and where they choose to protest. If we're with them, we support them. If we're not, we bitch about them wasting time and resources.

We'd all do well to remember that we would be sipping tea, celebrating Boxing Day, and singing God Save the Queen if some guys sat on their asses instead of protesting back in the 1700s. This country was birthed out of the vagina of a protest and it's one of the only way changes have occurred throughout the years. Protesting is as American as apple pie.

It takes guts to take a stand against something that is largely accepted by your fellow citizens. This man sat down because America is not that great to him right now, and we hate him for it. But many of us love Donald Trump who has stood at podiums across this 

land saying that America is not that great to him right now, but he'll make it great again. Are we okay with that because he stands during the National Anthem?

The thing about love of country is that we all show it differently. I don't put my hand over my heart during the anthem, something quite a few have come under fire for in recent years, but I would wrestle you to the ground if you accused me of not loving and respecting my country. Pointing out problems we face as a nation, whether you do it at a podium, on a football field, on the street, in writing, in a crowd, or by yourself does not make you un-American.

You know where you have to grit your teeth and act like you love and respect your anthem even if you don't feel like it represents your ideals for your government and your country? Nazi Germany. Nothing perks up your civic pride like being watched during the anthem with rifles pointed in your general direction. In America, you don't have to pretend. Well, technically you don't have to but the Internet wants you to. It seems like a lot of us want everyone to fall in line, and we want to scream and call out and label and cart off those that don't. Sort of like a technology age version of the Secret Police.

Why would I want someone to stand with me during my anthem if they didn't feel like it represented them? I don't want to stand next to pretenders who look the part but have hate in their heart for this land or the roads we're travelling down. I definitely want everyone to love my country like I do, but I know that we do not all come from the same circumstances and that it might be harder for others to salute this flag and sing this anthem. Group Think does not become you, America. That's not what this country is about. It's the anithesis of what we're about.

I think it is extremely disrespectful to talk or be on your phone during the national anthem. I've seen both more times than I can count and I'm betting many people bitching about Kaepernick have done one of those two things. In my eyes, you might as well be sitting down. Good thing you're not famous, right?

I respect Kaepernick's right to sit during the anthem for what it does not represent to him at this time as much as I respect my own right to stand and be moved to tears by what it represents to me. His protest does not threaten me. It doesn't threaten you either. It doesn't make him un-American. It makes him someone who thinks differently than you do and expresses himself differently than you do. And in America, those things are not a crime.

Not yet, anyway.

Thursday Thoughts - Pass me some of that patriotism

1. And a hotdog, macaroni salad, corn on the cob, and soft serve ice cream, too. There. Now you know my weekend menu. I will also be trotting out all of my red, white, and blue lounge attire.

2. SCOTUS decision week, in which they delivered the most significant abortion rights decision in many years. The Court ruled in favor of Whole Women's Health, declaring HB-2 (which passed in 2013 despite Wendy Davis' towering filibuster, closing nearly half of the 41 clinics in Texas) unconstitutional. This means abortion remains legal in theory AND in practice. Not just in theory, which is what HB-2 sought to do. I think a lot of people think the right to choose is iron clad. It's not. It's been eaten away at in the 40 some years since Roe. Pay attention. If vaginas shot bullets this wouldn't be an issue.

via

3. Do you know how much laundry you have to catch up on when your dryer has been broken? A lot. Most of my spare time this week has been devoted to that.

4. I think we all want to be understood in certain scenarios. It's important to know the difference between that and living a life designed to gain the approval of others, which is a different type of understanding. That, you really don't need. If you are happy, self sufficient, and not a danger to yourself or others, it's okay to live the life you want even if no one gets it...you have to be fierce with yourself and listen to your gut. At the end of the day, your voice is the one that matters.

5. I love these words on why one should write in The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. I finished that last night. The next Show Us Your Books is July 13. No new episode of the Armchair Librarians this week, Jana and I will catch you next week when we'll be discussing The Nest.

6. I often get quizzed on my iced coffee making method. You can find that post here. I just got these new bags thanks to a tip from Mare. Probably the easiest I've worked with to date.

7. Dinner with the lovely sisters Melissa & Stephanie 1 and Alex at Villa di Roma on Tuesday night. The food was so good. I ate so many carbs that I was still full Wednesday morning.

8. Got fresh for the weekend. Toes are OPI Big Apple Red for America's birthday.

9. E-card of the week.

10. I hope you all have a safe and happy weekend celebrating America's birthday. If you drink don't drive and if you drive don't drink. Also, leave the fireworks to the pros. Jill is here tomorrow giving you her sunless tanner insider info, so I'll see you back here Tuesday for TWTW. Catch me on Instagram this weekend, and catch Jill there too because we will be rendezvousing at some point.  

Toodles, yankee doodles.

America is my favorite

And by Birthday Girl, I mean America. Not the flag. 

One of my favorite things about America is our flag. I love photographing it and seeing it wave when the Star Spangled Banner is played. I like to hear it snapping on windy days, resilient and alive.

One of the greatest things about this country is that you have the ability to burn the flag in protest of your government. While I consider it sacrilege to do that, you have to admit that living in a country where it is legal to do so is amazing. I also love that while you'll have your fringe flag burners here and there, you have eleventy billion people who would straight up punch someone in the face should they happen upon them desecrating the flag that represents, to them, the spirit of the American people.

God bless America, land that I love. Happy birthday, you grand old lady. Happy Fourth from me & my crew to you and yours. Be safe, don't drink and drive, and avoid setting off fireworks unsupervised.

See ya'll on Monday for TWTW.

In observance: Memorial Day

I always think Memorial Day has a somber undertone, as well it should. While we celebrate a three day weekend and have barbecues, frolic on the beach or at the lake, sit on curbs and watch parades go by, drink beers in backyards and do whatever else it is that we do, we are also conscious that the weekend is about observing all the lives that have been lost on battlefields in this country and across the globe to perpetuate liberty and the American way of life. Every day is the right day to thank someone who serves, but today is specifically in remembrance of those who have lost their lives doing so. Gratitude doesn't begin to cover the debt we owe to so many service men and women who've laid down their lives so that we may continue to enjoy our freedoms.

On Mondays I'm doing a picture linkup with Kelli at She Crab Soup. If you'd like to participate, here are the prompts through July. This is my photo for the prompt black and white.

Tomorrow: the weekend that was. Enjoy your day and your freedom so many sacrificed so much in order for you to have.

Linking up with Kelli for

I am a Patriot.

As Americans, we can argue until we're blue in the face over political hot button issues that divide us socially and economically. On the eve of the Fourth, let's step away from the lines that partition us and move towards the middle. Let's agree to stop letting the government define what America is for the weekend.What makes you an American has nothing to do with who's calling the shots on Capital Hill. What makes you an American comes from inside of you. It's a way of being, an outlook on life.

Whatever echoes in the beat of your heart, the thing that makes it hard to swallow and runs through your blood when you hear the national anthem makes you an American. The drive to work hard and be the best makes you an American. The willingness to help someone in need regardless of who they are makes you an American. The desire to DO instead of watch makes you an American.

When unthinkable catastrophes happen, Americans come together regardless of tremendous individual differences to stand united against whatever it is, be it people who fly planes into buildings, super storms that wipe out towns along the northeast coast, people who place bombs at finish lines, tornadoes that level towns in Oklahoma, or a man who shoots up a school in Connecticut in a fit of madness. The American people will not be defeated regardless of what other nations, mother nature, religious extremists, or even individual citizens do on our soil.

You can't break us, we murmur. We are Americans, we declare. We will get through this together, we say. What can we do to help, we ask.

That is America. Don't let elected officials, your beef with them, their actions or inaction turn you against your own country, because they are not what this country is about.

This song is one of my favorites, and it always makes the hair on my arms stand up a little. It does a good job of saying even if you aren't always happy with who's running your country, some of the things happening here, or some of the people living in it; you can still really love the shit out of it and think it's the greatest country in the world.

And I ain't no communist 

And I ain't no socialist 

And I ain't no capitalist 

And I ain't no imperialist 

And I ain't no democrat 

Sure as fuck ain't no republican either 

I only know one party 

And that is freedom 

I love my country. I'm thankful to live here in the birthplace of the nation every day, but especially during this most patriotic week of the summer.

Enjoy celebrating our independence this weekend. Say thank you to those on our borders and on the ground in foreign lands protecting our way of life. Don't blow anything up with fireworks and don't drive drunk.

I'll see you back here on Monday. Four day weekend, holler at me.

Happy Fourth, 'Merica. From sea to shining sea.

Linking up for Wednesday Gratitude, Random Wednesday and Whatever Wednesday

I'm a yankee doodle dandy

It's easy to point out many things that are wrong in this country, and what our government is or isn't doing that makes us angry. I'm sure many of us could gripe until the cows come home. 


Tomorrow isn't the day for that. July 4 is a day to appreciate what we have here, to celebrate the courage of our forefathers for securing our independence, to go swimming, to have a beer, to eat a hotdog, to wave a flag, and to watch some fireworks. 

Photo: anediblemosaic.com

Here are just a few of the things I love about my country and being an American. I hope you take some time over the Fourth to reflect on the things you love about America.

1. The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, Yankee Doodle - I am a true sucker for the patriotic songs. I will tear up without fail.

Photo: spiritof76dar.org

2. We're the home of the free because of the brave - the American armed forces have long been a source of pride for this country, heroes who provide defense and order and hope not only to us, but to people around the world.

3. Thanksgiving.

4. The hamburger. Cherry pie. Ice cream. Cobb Salad. Buffalo wings. Cheesesteaks. The almighty hotdog.

 "You look like the Fourth of July! Makes me want a hotdog real bad." 

                                                                           ~Legally Blonde II

Photo: imsuchateas.tumblr.com

5. That unique aura of Americanism. That pride. That America, FUCK YEAH attitude.

6. Disney World.

7. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

8. The Bill of Rights.

9. Baseball.

10. Our politicians may or may not be crooks who may or may not give a shit about us, that's always up for debate. Regardless of where you stand on that issue, we vote without fear of oppression or death. Many people on this planet are not so lucky.

11. Revolutionary War history. I love walking the streets in Philadelphia where so much risk was taken, so much put on the line for liberty. You can still feel the hope and fear of the founding fathers as they worked to declare our independence...and the strength of the women who were holding it together on their end.

12. College football on Saturdays. The Notre Dame Fight Song.

13.  The Brooklyn Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge (which I will see in person for the first time in just a few short weeks). The Seven Mile Bridge. Magnificent.

Photo: fla-keys.com

14. Our national motto - E Pluribus Unum - out of many; one.

15. When there is trouble, Americans come together. It doesn't matter what political table we sit at, we put it aside and take care of business. If there is an OH SHIT problem, you want Americans around.

Photo: ducksnarow.com

16. In this country, what you make of your life is up to you. No one is stopping you but yourself.

17. Lady Liberty.

18. The Rule of Law.

19. Bruce Springsteen. Rock-n-roll.

Photo: penetratingthevoid.blogspot.com

20. Our indomitable spirit and belief that our way of life should and will prevail. We may fall down seven times, but we will stand up eight.

Photo: abc-news.com

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.

                                  ~William Jefferson Clinton

Happy Fourth of July! Don't lose a finger setting off your fireworks. 

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.