OCD blog is officially a go!!

Waiting for some permissions but I got the first post up. I have 2 projects in the works still! Here's the link:
OCD. Oh Calm Down

Oh Calm Down!

YAY!!! My second blog is under construction!!!

Okay, I know I've mentioned a million times that I have obsessive/compulsive disorder (OCD). You may not know I've mentioned it a million times because I usually don't publish them. It's odd, I know, because I post a lot of personal things. Cathartic and all that. So, I've started a new blog (a bit of a controversial one, I think that goes without saying) on my opinions and experiences for OCD.

OCD IS genetic so I will also (with their permission, of course) share my daughter's obsessions and compulsions, as well. We've all been diagnosed, medicated, and had therapy. I will be sharing how we cope with these things. One of our major coping tools is laughter. This WILL offend some people because it's a serious issue and I know that full well.

To give you a preview of what's to come, I noticed that this would be my 301st blog entry so I went back and deleted a post to make certain this one is #300.

Here we go: OCD. Oh Calm Down!

When it rains it pours...

The following is clipped from a review by Joe Sinclair on the movie Letters from Iwo Jima:

Kuribayashi straddles the traditional and modern worlds. He is of samurai descent, but he has also visited America. He carries not just a samurai sword but also a pearl-handled 1911 Colt pistol. A flashback shows an American friend presenting him with the gun at a dinner party.

He tells his hosts that if the two countries ever come to war he will have to follow his convictions. His personal convictions, or the convictions of his country, he is asked. "Are they not the same?" he responds.

Convictions.

Who are you, really?

"There's a difference between opinion and conviction. My opinion is something that is true for me personally; my conviction is something that is true for everybody - in my opinion."
~Sylvia Cordwood

So.. I'm pretty opinionated. No really, I am. I know I seem shy and retiring...
I had a pretty cool childhood. My mom was simply the best ever and my dad was perfect. Well, I thought so. I grew up in a small town (population 100, seriously). I have very hazy recollections of life before Kindergarten. We moved from Vegas when I was 4 and the transition was different for everyone in my family. It set a course for all of our lives that was very different than it WOULD have been had we stayed in Vegas. I'm going to stick to my story even though every one of us have a story to tell. Mine is perhaps the least interesting, mostly because I don't remember the pain of leaving friends behind but I do remember how I made all of my new ones and how they shaped me. My PERSONAL story lacks the real tragedy that others could express and how they became who they were because of it.

One huge sacrifice, for me, was that I saw my dad for 2 days a week. He stayed on working for the electrician's union he'd worked for when we lived there and Utah is a pretty union free state. He would NOT work in Utah. Had my parents been divorced, I would have spent more quality time with my dad but was content waiting for him to retire.
Shortly after we moved there (across the street from my maternal grandparents)my grandfather passed away. I don't remember him much at all, I just remember the overwhelming sadness of his loss in others, especially my Grandma, the last grandparent I had.
There's few perfect things in the world but one of them was my Grandma. She was the best and her contribution to who I am is huge and one I feel unworthy of. She didn't like being in her home alone at night after my grandpa died so my sister spent nights with her there during the summer and my grandma stayed nights in my bedroom during the school year. This went on until my sister got older and had other things that conflicted, so I stayed with her. Then as I grew older my niece took over but it was something each of treasure. She passed away when I was 15. The first huge loss to me. I'd experienced death before, but she took a part of me with her and left a part of herself with me.

My dad was so different than anyone I ever knew or have known since. When he died I was 17. I asked my mom and sisters to not speak ill of him in front of me because I planned on believing he was perfect for the rest of my life. I felt I'd been cheated. Even then I knew it wasn't true. I remember knowing then that his moods were not your normal, run of the mill, moody person moods. More like childish tantrums that no one really understood. I took note and when I recognized that I'd inherited that from him, I wasn't going to ruin holidays for everyone for no apparent reason. I never understood how a happy family gathering could be thrown away by the person I loved and cherished my short time with. I was determined to fight it and it has gotten the best of me from time to time but until The Headache From Hell, it was never as difficult a battle. My dad was a Democrat, BIG TIME!! I remember him coaching my sister to debate with her teachers in school who were Republican sheep. The one she debated the most with was my driver's ed/history teacher when I got into high school. He slept in the passenger seat as we did our student driving but had an uncanny ability of knowing when we took the car above 55 mph and nearly threw us through the windshield if we rolled through a stop sign. In history, HIS copy of the textbook said "Murdering Bastards" when the books we had mentioned a Kennedy and "Filthy A-rab" when teaching us of anyone of middle eastern origin regardless of actual geography. This could be an explanation to why history is my least favorite subject in the world. Anywho.. I knew nothing of politics but if my dad said the sky was blue, I would argue it was green. I inherited my argumentative and opinionated nature from him. I was a Republican because he was a Dem and I'd rather be a fat pachyderm than a stupid ass any day of the week... Ahh the ignorance of childhood. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania so Steelers and Pirates were a given (I can't remember if I've ever mentioned that he and his brother was approached by minor league scouts when he was younger). When I was 15, Superbowl XIX rolled around and the Steelers were out. SF 49ers vs. Miami Dolphins. I know zilch about football but Joe Montana was hot. Naturally this meant my father was rooting for the Dolphins. I had advertised our epic battle of wills a bit too much because our home teachers (scroll to the last definition) came at the time the game began and spent well over an hour telling us the evils of worldly pursuits such as television, football, and especially the Superbowl on the Sabbath (pretty sure they were both Republicans). As soon as the door hit them in the backsides the game was on and let's just say that I've also taken the opposite approach to my father's handling of being wrong. I don't think of myself as a loser or an idiot, I think of myself as a the person who had a fairly major part in bringing my brilliant little chiclets into the world. Though I can't take all of the credit, I try to take the things that have shaped me and teach them to my children. I won't ever even come close to thinking I'm mother of the year material, maybe unorthodox mother of the year, but I do my best under the circumstances and I'm proud of the little people I'm raising. I'm also my biggest critic, therefore constructive criticism is unnecessary.

I've also mentioned the evolution of my life since the headache. I'm not as good a mother as I once was. Not as good a friend, family member, daughter. Maybe not as good a person. My days were so full. Hobbies, yoga, PTA, volunteer work in my kids classrooms, LOTS of church callings. I love to read and learn so more and more time is devoted to that. I have varied interests but we all know that much of my time has been devoted to President Obama for over a year now, actually close to two.

I'm often astounded at the amazing ignorance of rural Utah and the intolerance that is taught to children from their birth. The town I live in now is a bit more liberal because it's a University town. I'm not a racist or intolerant at all and I've tried to make my kids understand the cancer of hatred towards someone different than they are. You can't explain it, they have to see it. After one of my daughters informed my that she was out of school for Milk Day which baffled the heck out of me did I realize she meant Martin Luther King Day. I showed them his most famous speech and explained segregation but still, they didn't begin to comprehend it. My nephew who I love like a brother married a gorgeous black woman who I LOOOOOOVE talking to. They have four beautiful children and if we lived closer our oldest daughters would be so close because they are so similar. I swear, they communicate through telepathy.

The first taste of racial history came from the remake of Hairspray which was funny and the completely bizarre thought of John Travolta as a woman with husband Christopher Walken was hard to look past but my kids were appalled at the idea that people in America was treated that way. Second was the play my oldest daughter and her friends wrote and acted in and won their way to the regional history fair based on Rosa Parks. But the thing that drove it home was when I began campaigning for Senator Obama to be our President. They believed they could handle the opposition at school and (I'm ashamed to say) church. Even to the point that eventually they were afraid to defend him which made them feel weak. Instead they stayed silent.

When the campaign began I had no idea who to vote for, partly from ignorance and partly because I didn't like the candidates I did know. I used Glass Booth to help narrow down to the candidates that shared my views. First place was John Edwards but something about him screamed sex scandal. Mmmhmm, I called it. Senator Obama was my next choice. There are few things I don't agree with him on and oddly I'm more liberal. I loved the grassroots support that some people interpreted as worship of an imagined incarnation of the Messiah. I see it as American people coming together to put a man in office that they truly love and are inspired by. Is there anything more American than taking the future of the country into your own hands? It was historic in THAT sense alone. I recognized that I could take an active part in history. My children will remember how I fought for my beliefs. My convictions. I didn't do it for shock value or popular opinion. I did it because I listened to a man speak of hope and change for the country I live in that seems to have lost many of IT'S convictions. Vaclav Havel said: “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out”. We couldn't go on in the direction we've been going. That is how ruts are formed. We MUST have change because the world around us is changing and like it or not, so are we. Our children need to know that in order to improve the world around us, we must take risks and we've never been cowards before.

I'm proud of my small part of the election of the first black President. I'm honored to listen and be moved by him and know deep down that, though he doesn't know who I am, he appreciates what I've done and admires MY convictions. I'm also happy that my children see me never falter in what I know is right and know they are proud of me too. I know that, like me, they will not follow the path of least resistance or fall in with the ignorance of the people around them but will question the veracity of what seems wrong to them. I will support them in all that they do, so long as they make educated choices, form their own opinions, live according to their own convictions. In the end THAT is what I learned from my dad. He was flawed and sometimes he was wrong but he was true to his beliefs and formed them in an educated manner. I'm not perfect either and as I spent this last weekend with my family I discovered that I stand apart from them more now than I ever have. Not because I'm a half sister or because my headache has changed me and I'm reclusive, but because we've all changed. Every single one of us. We can't go back to who we were but we can examine ourselves and ask if who we are and what we think is true to ourselves and if our convictions are truly a hope for a better existence for everyone our lives touch. Or are we so shallow that we lack true beliefs? Do we want what is true for us to benefit the people around us? I certainly have MY opinion on that one but that is something that belongs to me. Kind of like the Patch does.

Keith Olbermann becomes a liability to MSNBC

My guest on the shoutbox up yonder shared a link with me and I've read it and have to say thank you as I've not been in the Olbermann loop. I enjoyed his back and forth with O'Reilly mostly because I feel O' Reilly's a cockroach. While Olbermann seemed to have the intellectual upper hand, Bill-o the clown was on uncertain footing with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert mainly because their self deprecating approach seemed to set him off balance and he seemed to sense he was being trounced but wasn't certain exactly how it was happening, particularly Colbert.
I have enjoyed many of Olbermann's smack downs, but he's spends a little too much time angry and honestly, I haven't watched him since the election.

I certainly would rather see him cut from MSNBC that have it turn into the circus that is Fox News. Either way, I'm with the majority of American's that have thrown their belief in Jon Stewart.

I'm a pretty regular reader of HuffPo although I can only take small doses of Arianna. I enjoyed her recent guest visit with Fox News Channel President Roger Ailes who insists that Fox New is no longer at war with the White House which confirms what we knew all along. They've been at war with the White House despite claims to the contrary. But unfortunately, Ailes statement is completely false. Otherwise why would Fox news cut the last 20 minutes of the GOP retreat where the Republicans literally had him where they wanted him yet he STILL came out the winner.
Jon Stewart Q&O If you can't handle the spanking, skip to the 6 minute mark.
Ailes also defended Glenn Beck's inflammatory and completely off base accusations about President Obama. Suggesting that Glenn Beck wasn't speaking of President Obama:

"Well, he was talking about Hitler and Stalin slaughtering people, so I think he was probably accurate," he said. "I think he speaks English, I don't know. But I don't misinterpret any of his words. He did say one unfortunate thing that he apologized for. But that happens in live television."

One would think that Ailes would be the first to realize that proof is only one Youtube search away:



"Anyone not onboard look out, because you too could be the next victim of the killing spree"

Umm, who's the one holding the bat here?

Glenn Beck insists he'd never used the word "slaughtered":

Yes I wandered off topic, but here's my point. Yes Olbermann is getting a bit radical, along with Maddow, Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly, etc. I can't really say I agree with radicals, unless it's me. But he wasn't wrong about Scott Brown.
Thank you for the link, guest. I'm happy to have a topic even though I can't stick to it!

Funny? Not so much...

The Patch exists because I drive everyone insane with my political opinions. I tend to be a realist so the the crazy outlandish accusations about the President are ignorant, counterproductive and tiresome. Especially when you consider the source(s).

Two things that are notoriously sensitive subject matters are politics and religion. I recently took exception to a joke about President Obama on Facebook, actually two, but I struggle to not offer my opinion or pretend I don't notice. Pfft, like I can do that, but I try. Both of these friends are ladies I go to church with. The most recent one even followed up with a personal acknowledgment to me knowing it was going to bug me. And when it did, she told me to lighten up and just laugh along with her because if I take it personal I'll be miserable. Ahh, the cure to my misery, compromise my beliefs. Among the many things I hear bandied about our President is that he thinks he's Jesus Christ (or the anti-Christ, depending the person) but I've defended my faith with as much passion. Ironically among the crazy, outlandish accusations of the LDS church or more specifically Joseph Smith is that we believe he is Jesus Christ. That would mean we weren't Christian. We're a cult. So am I expected to keep my faith to myself? Ignore the jokes? Or laugh along with people and stop taking the things that are important to ME so seriously?
I respect people of other faiths and their beliefs. I can respect other political opinions and even share some beliefs. Religion works like that too, it's not all or nothing.
When I was younger, I remember Polack jokes. Why don't we share those on Facebook? Ethnic slurs? Sticks and stones, right? What is the big deal with sexual harassment? We have the constitutional right to say whatever we want, right? I guess so.
I think at my house I will be doing all the things I've always done. I will take my children to churches of other faiths so they can be certain of THEIR OWN faith. I'M certain and I know a lot of people who are absolutely certain of their faith and perhaps it isn't Christianity.
I will always question the people who govern our country. Some, quite frankly, frighten me. I don't believe that either party has the corner on heroes or really stupid people. I'm frustrated with President Obama sometimes, I think he is too. He takes a hit with that smile and even a laugh of disbelief (across the board tax cuts like Reagan and Kennedy) I roll my eyes and yell at my TV. Then I see a commercial for Black History Month and everything is okay. I had a real part of that. He's a good man and I've never doubted him.

You're kidding me, right???

I just traced a hit right to the House of Representative in Washington DC. Who in the heck has time, in the House of Representatives, to read my blog. FIX THE COUNTRY!! STOP READING BLOGS!! Don't make me have to draw it in crayon!

President schools at the Grand Old Party Retreat

The GOP "retreat" was held in Baltimore because the Colosseum in Rome was already booked.

I will be blogging this as I (belatedly) listen. I've listened to the first question and can I take a moment to use an allegory? Of course I can. It's my blog. In testimony meeting at church, (click and scroll for "bearing a testimony" definition) sometimes people stand up and give sermons on what WE should believe or how WE should behave rather than actually bear their testimony. Annoying. That is what the first question was like from Congressman Pence, who also pulled one of the more predictable political bunnies out of his hat. He tells of stopping by the Salvation Army and meeting a little African American boy (as opposed to just a typical American boy)who was happy for the opportunity to write a letter to our President and have it passed on. The boys father spoke to Pence about the economy and the struggles they were facing. Now if this Retreat were taking place in MY area, the little boy would be unimpressed with the opportunity to write a letter to his President and more interested in telling Pence "See that guy over there? The one by the truck that costs more than most people's houses? He told me that if HE saw Obama he'd blow his head off with his shotgun." My guess is that Pence doesn't talk to many little boys. President Obama is expected to have an answer to that long-winded reprobation. We get to see why the GOP was so resistant to having cameras roll. The Obama I voted for was back in fine form and called Pence on petty politics and flat out untrue statements. He did it with the obvious superior intellect and a tone of satire that had everyone airing the event that was supposed to be more fun for conservatives. If you are a critic of our President and you will NOT listen to AT LEAST the first 15 minutes of this clip, you are not worthy to opine. How much of this will Fox air??

Paul Ryan up next... Good question on increased spending though, it will take more time on that subject to fully understand if the increase in spending was a result of the failures in the previous administration or bills passed by the current one. I liked President Obama's point stressing that excess spending and earmarks are not confined to one party. NO ONE is stupid enough to believe that one. Okay there are people that stupid but they quit reading this when they had to go look up the first word I used that they didn't know what it meant.

Shelley Moore Capito (WV) next... Clean coal, nuclear energy, blah blah. Everyone knows the answers to these ones if they've listened to anything for more than 5 minutes. Sit down Shelley, you're wasting our time. Can we get an intelligent woman to ask a question? Shouldn't you be at a tea party with Palin? Good Lord!!

Jason Chaffetz, UTAH (Please don't be a tard, PLEASSSSSE): OH SNAP!! Go JASON!!! Yes, this is why the Patch has been quiet on politics lately. I'm with Jason on this first half of the question because I feel a bit cheated, myself. I agree with President Obama that he's always been an advocate of transparency but that isn't a one way street.

Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee. Good question.
He nailed this:

Now, you may not agree with Bob Dole and Howard Baker, and, certainly you don't agree with Tom Daschle on much, but that's not a radical bunch. But if you were to listen to the debate and, frankly, how some of you went after this bill, you'd think that this thing was some Bolshevik plot. No, I mean, that's how you guys -- (applause) -- that's how you guys presented it.

Dr. Tom Price, Georgia. Sit down Price you're a lying sack of BS. Study up and come back when you have your facts straight:

CONGRESSMAN PRICE: Mr. President, thank you. I want to stick on the general topic of health care, but ask a very specific question. You have repeatedly said, most recently at the State of the Union, that Republicans have offered no ideas and no solutions. In spite of the fact --

THE PRESIDENT: I don't think I said that. What I said was, within the context of health care -- I remember that speech pretty well, it was only two days ago -- (laughter) -- I said I welcome ideas that you might provide. I didn't say that you haven't provided ideas. I said I welcome those ideas that you'll provide.

Snipped for space.

So there's got to be some test of realism in any of these proposals, mine included. I've got to hold myself accountable, and guaranteed the American people will hold themselves -- will hold me accountable if what I'm selling doesn't actually deliver.

CONGRESSMAN PRICE: Mr. President, a point of clarification, what's in the Better Solutions book are all the legislative proposals that were offered --

THE PRESIDENT: I understand that. I've actually read your bills.

CONGRESSMAN PRICE: -- throughout 2009.

THE PRESIDENT: I understand.

Peter Roskam, Illinois: Great exchange and I recommend watching it. People fear reaching too far across the aisle. If you are Republican and support the President's ideas and choice, you'll not be voted back into office. Vice versa, I'm going to say but I don't believe it. It's asinine bullcrap.

Jeb Hensarling, Texas: Jeb was full of shit. The tiresome beating of a dead unicorn. His question was raised on the deficit and it's increase. When Bush Sr. left office, we had a HUGE deficit. That was Clinton's inheritance and if you are willing to look at facts instead of regurgitating bitter untrue recollections then you have no business stating an opinion. When Clinton left office the deficit had become surplus. It took Bush Jr. 8 years to turn it into a monumental deficit. How dare these people accuse President Obama of being responsible for the state of our financial affairs. Now I know Joe Blow on my facebook (the majority of them) are completely ignorant to the facts of governmental history. They parrot the ignorance passed down for generations. But the division in our country is from the people IN HIGH RANKING POLTICAL POSITIONS perpetuating stupid fear mongering myths. They are supposed to be smart enough to know better. My 12 year old would do a better job. I doubt Joe Blow will ever take the time to educate themselves on these matters and will yap on forever under the umbrella of freedom of speech. I call it non-patriotic, treason. It's completely unacceptable.

Last point I'll make here. President Kennedy worked to make our country (a very YOUNG country) stand out in excellence. We carry big accomplishments that made us a force to be reckoned with and quite honestly it's not surprising that we were first to land on the moon. President Reagan stood against Mikhail Gorbachev and told him to tear down that wall. He spoke as a world leader and with absolute authority. He built our defenses to be the best in the world.

Where are those American people? Why are they content to be the Flintstones when we have ALWAYS been the Jetsons. Take a good look at the way your government looks and take responsibility for your mistakes. President Obama just did.

My guess is that the people who enjoy and agree with this post will or have seen this clip. The rest will continue listening to BS spouted by politically stunted and quite honestly racist detractors If that's the case, you get what you deserve. Here's the link. It has the video and the transcript:

President Obama takes on the GOP and trounces.

BTW Fox stopped airing it 20 minutes before the end.
Fair and balanced? Only in their little worlds. Tards.

Memories.

An old friend of mine gave me the address to his blog because I wanted my daughter to hear him sing. I was searching for the audio file and got caught up in his HILARIOUS commentary and then in other blogs by his family. One in particular is dedicated to his grandparents. My grandmother and his were very dear friends and my mom speaks often of his grandfather who was quite the character. I stole a picture from one of the blogs that was taken in the town we grew up in. It's actually the view from the east of the house I grew up in. It's a reminder of how fortunate I was to grow up in a town of remarkable people and breathtaking beauty.

Sooo, how curious ARE my readers..

I know that my blog is a guilty pleasure for some. Most don't mention it to me, but what if I said I was up to something? Something that would make my mother, my politically challenged attorney, and my OCD husband have a complete STROKE about?? It's not immoral, so you can rule that out... But it IS pretty good, as far as secrets go.

So who's going to admit they are reading this?

(And to my daughter who I have told 5000 times to stay off my blog. This is going to drive you nuts too but you'll have to admit you're still reading and you'll be grounded for 6 and half years!!!)