election

Well, here we go. I don't know what on earth is posessing me to touch this subject, but coming into the home stretch, I am unable to let it pass. I never thought I would write about sports either, but 2 posts ago proved me wrong. Ok. I am not writing this to sway your decision. I am not writing this to make my decision known, but I think if you've kept up with me in my literary adventure you may have an inkling anyway. I am writing because that is what I do(now). Writing has become my therapy and feeling like I do today, I need it. As mentioned in my previous post, election years wreak havoc on retail. This is now the fourth election my business will be surviving long after whomever is elected is gone. After an extremely dismal weekend at the shop, my spirits have been lower than low. I really hate to equate my self-worth with how much income I bring in, but when it's your own business, everything gets taken personally. Let me just say that my income is used to better my family and my business. My self-worth has more to do with how well I can provide for them than my own financial gain.  My husband says this lull in sales will pass. I know he's right. I know I am not the only one trying to get this crap over with so we can return to some semblance of normalcy. Financial stability is not the only thing I wish back to normal.  I wish people would not use this election and its candidates as fuel for hatred and intolerance. I feel I am constantly being bombarded by negativity on all fronts. Our lives and relationships have been divided.  Black vs. white, gay vs. straight, rich vs. poor, patriot vs. non-patriot, Christian vs. non-Christian, even man vs woman. I just can't take it anymore. This country has become so fueled by hatred one can feel it around every corner. Do I even need to bring up that dreaded chicken fast-food place. Freedom of speech aside, I have never been so embarrassed to be a citizen of this country as I was when I watched that hate-filled debacle. Grown men and women acting like jackasses just because they don't like a person's choice of partner. Intolerance on any level is not acceptable in my world. Like it or not we are all in this together and to quote one of our illustrious founders,"All men are created equal". That in itself should just say it all. We may not like our neighbor, we may not like a person's opinions, partner or even social status, but does that give each and everyone of us a RIGHT to tell them not to BE that way.Heck, I really wish my neighbor would get a job and stop peeing off his balcony, but that's his choice, not mine. Well I certainly didn't mean to get back on my cyber soap box, but enough is enough. I am tired of feeling like we have transported back to the sixties what with the war, the election, women's rights, even the whole organic/green movement. What's next race riots? Are we going to be so angry if our current president stays in office that we'll "take it to the streets". Come on people now, smile on each other. This hate-filled feudal system we live in now has to stop. We the people have to make the change. It may start with a vote or it may start with just one kind gesture, but the hatred will be our undoing if allowed to continue. I may sound preachy, even liberal and idealistic, but again as stated before, it's my blog and I'll say what I want to. Everybody get together, try to love one another...right now. Good night world.

home

Falling temps, grinning jack-o-lanterns, and a pending BIG election all reminding me we're in October. Not to mention falling sales as everyone hunkers down waiting for the big day and the big news. Oh well, I've been through this before and I'll get through it again. In retail October is always an el sucko month made worse by the looming election. In order to not let this get the best of me I am adapting a new no worry attitude, working harder, and reveling in the warm spookiness of my home. Now as you all know, Christmas is my thing. Bedecked and bedazzled halls in glittery vintage splendor make me happy. My husband, well, no. Aha, but there is a new ally bouncing around my house. My four year old is enchanted by all things holiday whether it be Christmas, Easter or Halloween. Halloween has always been my mother's favorite probably because her birthday is smack dab in the middle of the merriment. She really loves her birthday. Each year she precariously perches on her rooftop in order to display her leering electric pumpkins. Crazy you say? Normal I say. Guess this apple didn't fall too far from the tree. I have deemed this the 31 days of Halloween. Each day Sully and I have a new decoration, craft or treat to work on. Dollar store gravestones in the front AND back yard. Glittered skulls and bony torsos chill on the porch lit by the Christmas light spider web. A trip to the store's basement unearthed a bevy of orange pillar candles scored at an estate sale along with the vintage tissue balls hanging in the windows. My vintage blow-mold light-up owl makes me grin.  Black cats and bloody handprints finish off the evil aesthetic. Thankfully my husband has learned to just smile and ignore, but I really think he enjoys the warm orange glowiness of it all. Settling in to this rainy month has also prompted the urge to cook those perfect autumn meals. Homemade bread, baked pastas, chicken-pumpkin chili(that was a good one)beef stew, all seasonally satisfying. One particular dreary cold day had us all in front of the fireplace. Refusing to turn the furnace on we succumbed to our pioneer urgings. Bundled in my afghan ALL DAY, I sat like a lump on the sofa reading my suspense novel. Refusing to move until my husband returned with smore makings I was suddenly re-energized. Nothing tickles a four year old more than sticking something into a roaring fire. With all the goings on in our fair city, no amount of friends or festivals could tear me away from my two men. Domesticity may sound boring to some, but as the wind blows and the rain pelts the windows, my heart is where my home is. Goodnight world.

football

Now this is one topic I never in my life thought I would be writing about. Growing up in the "Steel City" one could never get enough of the Pittsburgh Steelers. My dad would spend every Sunday yelling and swearing at the television. You couldn't pass through a mall without being besieged by Terrible Towel kiosks. My mother, sister, and I having zero interest in all things sports related would jump out of our skins everytime my dad would yell , so accustomed to his ususal quiet nature. Mild-mannered by day, my father would develop a mouth like a truck driver when it came to the "Stillers". Now, being an adult in a city with the world's WORST football team, I find myself swearing out of frustration. One really has to admire the tenacity of this town's fans. Forever disappointed week after week, they cling to any small victory feverishly proclaiming this is gonna be the year! Not likely. Sorry Brown's fans, but I get very aggravated watching you deflate time and again shrugging off another loss. I don't get it! It's one thing to watch a winning team, the excitement so infectious it's hard to stay planted in your butt-shaped couch indentation. I know, I know, it's the whole our city, our team mentality, but come on, haven't we learned this lesson by now? Oh, I am so going to catch Hell for this, but stay with me a moment, there is a point to this rant. Last year I had my first taste of college football. All I can say is WOW! Being in that stadium, cheering for my nephew among the fans, feeling that excitement was, well, WOW! I love the sheer innocence of these boys. I love that they're not tainted by money, fame, and women. Ok, yes, they get the fame and the chicks and money from the school, but it's just different. Watching my nephew sack and tackle, hair flying, was amazing. I was so proud. To just have that instinct, I would probably be running the wrong way. That is if I were male and 20 years younger. This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch his brother lead his team. Sadly it was a loss, but a good game none-the-less. The first half dragged along as if they were running through muck, hungover. The second half as the game heated up, one could feel that familiar electricity in the air. Now you have to understand, for me to even say "second half" is a strange surreality for me and anyone that knows me. This is my testament to how much I have fallen for this game. As I watched my nephew leap in the air and score his second touchdown of the game, I again felt my heart burst with pride for this boy I have watched grow up and become a man. Sitting in those stands, surrounded by family, life was good. So yes, I get it, this crazy violent game and the fans who come week after week to watch their team and soak up that testosterone driven energy. Now you won't find me analyzing and discussing stats and trades and players, but you bet your ass I will be yelling and swearing like the best of them come November when I get my next "fix". Until than I will be content to watch their games on ESPN in the warmth of my living room while my husband cringes at the string of expletives erupting from my mouth. Like father like daughter. Goodnight world.