Yeesh! Why is everything such a big deal to some people?

Saw this article posted on a message board I visit. It's about a woman getting a negative reaction from some parents because she was born with one hand instead of two and is on a children's program.


How do you explain a missing hand to a child?

Once again, I should clarify that I have no children and to some that means I'm not allowed an opinion. Too bad. :) I remember meeting people who dealt with various disabilities as a kid and I'm hardly scarred by it. We knew people with missing fingers, a missing arm, etc. One of my father's cousins has Down's Syndrome and his niece and nephews grew up with him in the house like he was an older brother. My parents explained these things to us in simple terms -- He lost his finger in a factory accident. He lost his arm in a car accident. That was enough for us and we moved on. It REALLY isn't a big deal and will help kids to understand that people can look different but still be able to do what everyone else does.

No Matt, this is NOT a typical family

Interesting. I'm watching The Today Show this morning and they're talking about how much to tell your kids about the economy and how it's affecting the family. What got me is the main family they focused on mentioned not going out to eat or to the movies anymore and spending less on groceries. I'm assuming they are spending less on groceries by eating more rice and beans type stuff than steak, don't really now -- the kids are eating. Now, how many families with less than 7 kids (this family had 7) have been doing without movies or going out to dinner for years?

I hate it when they focus on families that, IMHO, do NOT reflect the reality for many families. How about focusing on the families or couples who make just over minimum wage and are trying to better themselves by getting an education but find it almost impossible when they can barely pay rent and put food on the table? I guess that's not stylish enough for The Today Show, but it seems they ALWAYS focus on families that really don't represent what many families are truly going through.

Someone please explain to me how we are worse off today than people were during the Great Depression? I've seen a few people say this today and I don't get it. Things are not good, for sure, and are probably going to get worse before they get better. However, last I checked our unemployment rate is not averaging in the 30% range.

Much of the problem is that we as consumers got greedy. Everyone wants to blame the Big Evil Corporations. Sure, they were making money hand over fist, but nobody FORCED people to buy homes they couldn't afford, or is forcing everyone to go into huge amounts of debt for their instant gratification. Used to be that people had "nice things" when they were older, things they bought slowly over time. Now there's this sense of entitlement that we should have everything we want in our 20s (or sooner). Well, we in general are paying for it now.

We've done this to ourselves.

It's all my fault, lol

I found out through a post the other day dealing with the whole "In God We Trust" on money issue, that if I, as a God-fearing Christian don't pass on the whole thing about writing "In God We Trust" all over everything, that I'm responsible for the mess the world is in at the moment. Now we know!


It's my fault that:

there was a cyclone in Myanmar
there was a huge earthquake in China
gas prices are rising
George Bush is President
young girls wear jeans so low you can see their underwear
New Kids on the Block have reunited

Fat acceptance TV segment

Some of you may have seen a segment about fat acceptance last week on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. If you didn't, check out Big Fat Deal or The F-Word. The owners of those two blogs were featured and were awesome! I'd rather not post the actual videos here and ask people to go view them at one of the blogs so that you can see their blogs and comment, if you'd like. You may have to scroll down a little to see the videos on their blogs.

Anyway, I've been reading a lot of comments here and there about the whole thing, and one point really sticks out: why didn't the thin people on stage tell us their stats? Mo and Rachel were asked their height and weight, along with questions about their blood pressure and cholesterol. As usual, it's simply ASSumed that the thin people are perfectly healthy and the fat ones have to justify themselves, and probably still aren't believed. I'm pretty sure people don't believe me when I say my blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure are all normal. Of course, the old "Well, it may lead to problems when you're older" comes up. Sure, it may also lead to problems in thin people, too. There are plenty of thin people who have problems with blood pressure and cholesterol.

I'm not anti-thin and I'm not pro-fat. I just want people to learn to feel good in their own bodies. As many of you know, this is something I've fought for years and have finally started to come to terms with in the last year. I'm also focusing on eating when I'm hungry, not according to any time table or schedule. I eat what I want when I'm hungry. Sometimes that means blueberries and tomatoes, sometimes that means a few Hershey's Kisses, sometimes that means chicken, sometimes that means a burger, etc. I feel much healthier and have started limited exercise again (limited due to the tendonitis in my wrist and the Dammit foot, as I like to call it). I got off that for a while and had no energy, was depressed, had all sorts of injuries and just felt awful. So, I'm back to what seems to work for me and I'm not gaining weight.

We are starting a health program at work and I'm part of the marketing team. I'm so proud that this program focuses on overall health, not weight loss. There are weigh-ins for people who want them, but the focus is on eating well and being active. This is great, because I'm done with diets. They don't work for me. All diets have done for me is make me fatter, lol.

Another interesting point that came up in that segment: Meme Roth, an anti-fat activist, says (and I'm paraphrasing) that fat people are already accepted and that an article in the New York Times touting that thin people should be accepted would be met with a backlash. I about spewed my drink on the monitor, lol. Didn't I see an article VERY recently that stated a prominent clavicle is the latest fashion accessory? Don't we see airbrushed people all over the magazines -- not just their faces, but arms and other body parts so that they look thinner (and ridiculously tan and smooth)? Doesn't every woman's magazine have at least one article in it about losing weight? How many times do you hear people who are a normal weight say they have to lose 10 pounds... or 20?


Oh, and one more thing while I'm thinking about it. I can't remember the doctor's name, but she did say these things aren't all black and white. That I liked. Then she went on to say that we can't use height and weight to determine health -- we should use BMI. Well, what the fark is the BMI number, if not a number based on your height and weight and no other factors? That one really boggled me.

So, Rachel and Mo were EXTREMELY poised, looked fantastic, and really handled everything so much better than I could. When I get mad my face turns red, so I would have been purple by the end of the segment.

Again, I want to stress that I'm not about hating anyone. To be fair, I think Meme Roth has some good points, particularly about getting soda machines and that kind of crap out of the schools. She doesn't mention it in the segment, I don't think, but I've seen her mention it in other places. I just wish she didn't have to act like it's horrible that we fatties have access to clothes that actually fit us instead of wearing mumus to punish ourselves until we lose weight to fit into "normal" clothes. I've lived that way (well, not in mumus) for way too much of my life, wasted my life waiting to do things until I lost weight, and I'm not going to do it anymore. I find it interesting that since I stopped dieting, I feel better and I look better.

Anyway, enough of the rambling. If you've made it this far, thanks. :)

Minor rant

Not even a rant, more of an irritation.

I get so irritated when people post a story on a message board, ask for opinions, then get ticked when they get opinions that don't agree with theirs. I guess they are looking for validation and aren't expecting people to not agree, but if that's the case ask people you know will agree with you -- BAM! you're validated.

In this case, the OP didn't do that, but someone else told us we shouldn't judge the OP. Yeesh! Since when is it considered judgemental to not agree with a person? You know, I get along with most people and try hard to word things in a way that won't hurt feelings, unless someone has been particularly nasty to me already. If I post that I would have done something differently, it doesn't mean I'm judging anyone. C'mon people! How old are we, for cryin' out loud?

If you don't want people to disagree with you, don't ask for opinions. Heck, don't post at all, as you're going to always get opinions whether or not you ask for them.

Christmas trees

Why do some people think they are so much better than others because they get real Christmas trees? We were discussing white trees vs. green trees (and other colors) at one of the boards. When it comes to these discussions, a few people always feel the need to stress that they have REAL trees and they couldn't possibly have a fake tree, etc. If you get a real tree, fine, but don't act like you are somehow more Christian or something because of it, lol.

Some of us like our fake trees -- especially when we are allergic to pine and can barely walk by a Christmas tree lot without losing it.

I feel like such an ass!

I know it's not my fault, but I still feel bad. I've been here about 1.5 years now and just today noticed my boss's beautiful ring. I think I may have noticed it before but didn't comment. Well, today I opened my big mouth and commented. Well, duh -- it's her engagement ring. She had just gotten engaged two years ago last Friday and her fiance was killed in an accident. So, this time of year is tough enough for her without me bring it up. She knows I didn't do it on purpose and so do I, but jeesh!

Sick of hearing about the Duggars

OK, so they had another child. I personally don't agree with it, but people don't personally agree with everything I do, so there you go. They appear to be cared for and doing well, so that's that.

What bothers me is that this one family gets so much attention when there are others out there who do more for this world. Whenever I hear about the Duggars, I think of a kid who used to work for me at Burger King about 12 or so years ago. Stuart was 18, one of 21 kids -- yes, 21. He was the second oldest so you can imagine how many little ones were running around. Some of them were her natural children. However, the vast majority were adopted and some were foster kids she was planning to adopt. I was never at the house so can't speak for it. I do know that Stuart was a great employee. He was funny and helpful, pitched in where I needed him, and the customers thought he was great. He wasn't surly or grumpy.

Stuart's parents, to me, are examples of real heroes when it comes to kids. They took in kids who had nowhere to go and gave them a loving home. I also think of the people who take in kids who are born with all sorts of mental and physical problems and addictions. You don't hear about them very often, do you? No, we only hear about a woman who has the ability to give birth to 17 children and wants more. Again, I really do think they are cared for, but it bothers me that this one family gets so much attention when there are others out there scraping by just to help kids who aren't as fortunate.

I also think of a woman I work with, who was telling me about how her mom used to teach kids in Camden, NJ (one of the worst if not THE worst places in the country). Not only were these kids living in horrible communities, but they were mentally challenged in various ways. This woman, and others like her, didn't have to do this for a living, making mediocre (if not worse) pay. Yet there they are, doing what they can to help kids in unspeakable situations, trying to help them get as far as possible.

I really wish the media would focus on people like that, people who are helping the kids in awful situations and those already here, rather than focusing on one family simply because it's large and the kids all dress alike. I know I could not do what Stuart's mom and my coworker's mom do. I don't have that in me, which is why I am so in awe of people who can give of themselves in such a way.

Fat Rant

I think this video has been around for a while, but I just discovered it this week and I'm now watching it every morning before I go to work, lol. She's right. I keep waiting to do things until I lose weight, holding on to some clothes that don't fit, etc. I know I can be in better shape and haven't been exercising much because of the weather, other than the 1-2 miles of walking I get in walking downtown. I get less this time of year, for sure. It's very difficult when you're overweight (heck, I'm not overweight, I'm fat), to accept your body as it is while you're trying to make it healthier, but I'm working on it.

OK, one more rant and I'm done, lol

There's a story about a babysitter who fell asleep and the kids got outside and drowned. Now, when I first heard this story I thought that parents also nap while kids are supposed to be sleeping and parents and sitter should be treated the same. The lastest in this story has come out

Police: Sitter Spent Night Drinking Before Erie-Area Toddlers Drowned

OK, she's under the legal drinking age and should not have been "rocked." She behaved irresponsibly in many ways. However, my question still remains -- if a parent came home drunk, then fell alseep while the kids were supposed to be sleeping but they got out and drowned, would the parent be charged with involuntary manslaughter? I think in some jurisdictions they would and in others they wouldn't, but I find that very often caregivers/babysitters are expected to take better care of kids than the parents.

(Disclaimer -- My friends are parents and they are responsible. These are not the parents I talk about. I think we all know what I'm talking about and this is not a bash on parents in general. Thank you.)