Judgey McJudgerson

My wonderful friend posted this article on Twitter today, and because I love her and I'm interested, I read it.  As I was reading it, I was suddenly struck by the overpowering feeling that someone actually not only felt the same way I felt, but was making it known.  Truly preaching the gospel here, the way it should be preached.  As stated before, I am a Catholic, and I'm a steady Catholic.  I go to Mass every Sunday (at least I legitimately try to go to Mass every Sunday), and I try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.  Am I a sinner?  Hell yeah I'm a sinner.  Am I perfect?  Hell no I'm not perfect.  Am I a crazy right-wing conservative who thinks everyone who doesn't believe what I believe is going to Hell, and I should shame everyone around me into believing the same things I do?  No, I'm not.  Am I a crazy left-wing liberal who thinks that everyone who doesn't think the same way I do is a f***ing idiot and is the downfall of our country and I should shame everyone around me into believing the same things I do?  No I'm not.  What I am is a person who believes in love, and compassion, the way Jesus tells us to.  Something that really has resounded with me in the last week or so is something we read at Mass a couple of weeks ago.  The gospel was the story about the woman who was caught in the act of adultery.  The chief priests bring the woman to Jesus and tell him that she should be condemned and stoned.  Jesus doesn't say a word and begins writing on the floor with his finger.  When pressed for an answer He tells them that if any of them have not sinned let him throw the first stone.  One by one the Pharisees and chief priests leave until finally it's just the woman and Jesus, who is still writing on the floor.  He looks up and seeing the woman asks if anyone has condemned her.  She says no, and He says "Then neither do I. Go in peace and sin no more."  None of us are perfect.  All of us have some sort of black spot against us, no matter what.  HOWEVER WE ARE NOT CALLED TO JUDGE.  We are called to love and embrace all people.  No matter their race, no matter their beliefs, no matter their sexual orientation.  WE ARE CALLED TO LOVE. I feel like a lot of people have forgotten that in their need/want to be heard and be acknowledged throughout this great big piece of world.  Let us truly embrace that as we come up to the Easter Tridium. WE ARE CALLED TO LOVE.

Writing a Story

I've always been a writer.  When I was little, I would write stories about nothing and fill notebooks with stories that never got anywhere, mainly because I was trying to write about things I knew nothing about.  In middle school and high school, it was journals and diaries, mixed in with some very bad poetry.  In college it was more term papers than anything else, but with the occasional poem or journal entry.  As I got older, it became mostly blogs and the work I do, which is newsletter articles about features.  Turns out I'm not very good at business writing.  But every once in a while, I'll get an itch and out will pour a story.  The first time was about two monsters name Finn and Gus that I wrote for my little cousin.  Then I wrote a weird little short story that I posted here about four months ago.  And just recently (like last night) I got another little itch to write another little story.  This I can't tell what it's going to be, but I have the characters in mind and the short little story behind it.  I'll see if I remember to post it when I actually get it written, or it might be total crap and no one can ever read it, but it excites me to be writing something for pleasure again.  Though it does put a damper on work writing.

All Things Spring

Last week (Wednesday) brought in the first day of Spring.  I like Spring.  I don't crave it or adore it the way I do its counter-season (Autumn), but I do quite enjoy the lengthening of the days, once you get past the time change hangover, the warmer but still cooler temperatures, the life that seems to pop out of everywhere.  While Autumn feels like the independent working woman about town, Spring is more flirty, more dainty, more traditionally feminine.  Everything feels lighter in the Spring, and the food is no less.  Everything is small and delicate.  In Autumn, I want all things pumpkin, in Summer I want melon.  In Winter I want potatoes (I know, not a fruit but still true), and in Spring, I want lemon.  Nothing would quench my cravings like a light lemon pie, sweet with just the right amount of bite.  Or a lemon yogurt cake, speckled with blueberries.  Or a lemon custard, swirled with whipped cream.  Spring just shouts (well, calls daintily) bright and light.  I want to make my Spring like that.  Bright, new and light.  I believe I'll start with something lemon on my four day weekend this weekend.

Oh the Randoms!

A random list, for a random day!

• I forgot my watch and ring yesterday and all day my hand felt so weird!
• Am I the only one who really prefers room temperature or warm bread rather than cold bread?
• I had a game night last night with some of my friends and got my ass handed to me in Monopoly
• I hung a dark blanket over my patio door which lets in a ton of light, and it was the best idea I've had in ages.
• It's rainy outside, perfect morning to lay in bed and watch Made of Honor.
• I'm going to dye my friend's hair today and then she's taking me out for manis.
• My baby nephew is having his "welcome to the real world" party tonight, which means everyone is going to Fort Worth for the party.
• I was supposed to wake up at 6 yesterday and do yoga.  Yeah that didn't happen.
• I was supposed to get up and do yoga today too.  Yeah that didn't happen either!
• Patrick Dempsey is a tool in this movie but I love it.
• A car alarm woke me up at 3:30 last night in a panic.  Paranoid much?
• I really want to go back overseas to the British and Emerald Isles.

Can We Chat for a Moment?

Okay, let's talk for a minute.  I know I've talked a lot about different TV shows here, but let's be honest.  There is one show that I would get cable for.  Just one.  One simple show that I love so much that I could watch it a million and twelve times, which would be a lot because it's only three episodes a series. And there are only two series so far.  Of course I am talking about Sherlock, the new BBC version of Sherlock Holmes, steered by the incomparable team of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.  I knew little about the people  in the show and little about the subject matter when I started watching it.  Of course I knew OF Sherlock Holmes, any person with an interest in literature knows OF Sherlock Holmes, but I had yet to read any of the stories which inspired this amazing show.  I'm pretty sure the closest I had gotten to Sherlock Holmes before this was Disney's The Great Mouse Detective and Robert Downey Jr's version of Sherlock.  And then one day, my dear friend insisted that I watch Sherlock.  I was already in the throws of Doctor Whodom at the moment and was loathe to separate a moment from my Doctor.  Then my sisters brought it up in casual conversation, mentioning that maybe I should watch it because it was interesting and they thought I might like it.  So, during a lull I used to extend David Tennant as the Doctor, I watched Sherlock.  As mentioned before, each series is only three episodes long, but each episode is 90 minutes long.  I ran through the first series in a day.  And then I rewatched them, and before I knew it, I was all about everything Sherlock.  And not just ANY Sherlock.  No, no.  It had to be MY Sherlock, because who else could play the high-functioning sociopath like Benedict Cumberbatch?  I mean his is the only name that even MATCHES that of Sherlock Holmes.  Plus I mean have you seen the man?  You could cut yourself on those cheekbones, and drown in the blueness of those eyes.  AND he's a real life ginger.  I love real life gingers!!!  So yes, you can keep your rats and your Roberts, and your female Watsons (I mean really?!).  I will be patiently sitting here waiting for Benedict and Martin to finish filming series three of this show so that I can FINALLY watch them.

Thoughts from a 4-Mile Walk

I went for a very long walk yesterday.  I have an app on my phone that usually tells me how far I've gone and keeps track of my time, but my phone was dying yesterday and I didn't have time to charge it up a whole lot.  So I figured it would be safer and smarter to not waste my battery on an app and save it for an emergency.  I have a playlist of 16 classic rock songs that I usually walk to, and I know from previous walks that about 8 songs takes me a mile or so.  So 16 songs would take me about 2 miles or so.  So because I walked for the entire playlist one way, and then the entire playlist back the other way, I would estimate that I walked approximately 4 miles yesterday.  And that ends my career in math.

Some thoughts and views I had on my walk:

• It's always inspiring to see old people being fit and awesome.
• Some bikers are really rude and will just whip past you without any comment
• Some are really nice and will say "On your left!" as they pass.
• I saw a dude in the loudest shorts I've ever seen, and had he not been on a bike, I would have stopped and complimented him (as it was, he was past me before I even noticed).
• A guy actually stopped me and showed me a rattlesnake in the tall grass in the water and warned me to be careful because it's the season for them.  I don't know if I just look like the type to just go gamboling through unfamiliar tall grass willy-nilly or if he was warning everyone he could.
• There were lots of families out walking or running.  I think that's nice.
• I saw two sets of kids and dads, one running and one biking and the kids no joke looked like little copies of their fathers.  The running set had on the same set of running shorts and a white t-shirt, and the biking set had on bike shorts and bike shirts, and this little girl couldn't have been more than 8.  But there she was, riding along in her hot pink bike shirt.  Where do you find a shirt that small?
• There are some GINORMOUS houses on the other side of the lake.  One, no joke, was called Mount Vernon, and had two gates, one for deliveries and one for regular.  It looked like the White House.
• The lake is gorgeous.  You almost forget you're in Dallas.
• There was a woman in a long peach dress by the lake who seriously looked like a model.  She had that foreign look to her, and she was so beautiful.  I felt a little weird looking at her, but who couldn't?
• The way back is a lot shorter than the way there.
• I hit my stride when I push past the pain.
• Rowing looks really fun, but HELLA hard. I wonder if there's a beginner adult class.
• I cannot hear or feel my phone when it's in my pocket.  I missed two phone calls and several texts.
• Maybe I play my music too loud.
• My arches start to ache after a bit.  I should probably go to the doctor and find out what kind of shoes are best for my feet.
• People walk in the craziest outfits sometimes.  I saw a woman walking in flats, a flowing black skirt, a sweater and a scarf.  Crazy.
• Sometimes I really enjoy my city.

Bad Day

Yesterday was such a terrible, horribly embarrassing day that I can't even talk about it.  No seriously, I've hashed and rehashed it so much with my family, that I don't ever want to talk about it with anyone else.  It was just an awful day.  But I can tell you what I learned yesterday.

1. Always ask for help when you're at the beginning of trouble (or when you think you might be in trouble).  It will save SO much grief and money.

2. Being a grownup not only sucks, but I suck at it.

3. I'm not as good or talented as I thought I am.

4. It sometimes takes something huge to happen before you really realize that you need to make some major changes in your life.

5. I have the most amazing family in the whole wide world, and with their help, I can finally become the full functioning adult I need to be.