Sometimes snarky moments come from sadness and disappointment.

This is a copy of a letter than I recently sent to some of my email friends. Then I thought about how I really believe in the message, so why stop there?

Hi friends,

Tonight I feel led to share a message with you all. I think that a few of you will know exactly where I'm coming from here. But in case you don't, you will now. If you know me well, you know that I am a Democrat. A bleeding heart liberal and I'm perfectly OK with that. I wouldn't want to be any other way. This doesn't mean that I agree with everything the party has to offer. It means that I feel strongly in my views as you do yours. I also believe that kindness is important always!

Over the years, I've received lots of "forwarded emails" that are of a different view than mine. Some are funny whether I agree with them or not. Some are not at all funny to me. Some are interesting and some are completely untrue (I highly recommend Snopes for checking the validity of messages-especially if you are trying to teach me something). And some are just plain mean and even asinine.

Usually, I don't speak up about these messages because I get that humor is fun. I like to laugh and if I can laugh at myself (which I do often) then I can laugh at a lot of the emails I get. Some I simply delete. I have yet to figure out why I continue to receive certain types of messages. Maybe it's easier to just send them all my way when you are forwarding them instead of picking and choosing the ones that are more my type of humor. I hope that despite this message you will continue to share your jokes with me, even if it means leaving me out of some of the jokes.

Every once in awhile I will indulge you and forward a funny from someone else that I think you may laugh at, even if it's not my cup of tea. I don't think I've forwarded many, if any, that come from the other side of your particular political spectrum, and be sure that there are plenty. And some are even completely true...as in you can't even make this stuff up! But I know each of you and know what might make you laugh or what might be viewed as not so funny in your eyes.

I try to not send nastygrams even though there have been many messages that are so awful, hateful or full of lies. Again, I simply delete them and try to stop the flow of these messages at least in one direction. But I'll be honest today, because I do love you all. And I hope that you will understand. It makes me terribly sad to see how polarized our country has become.

Upon receiving a "funny" email regarding the wedding of Chelsea Clinton, I just decided that I've had enough. I won't get into her parents- their policies, their beliefs, their actions. No this is about an intelligent young woman who has been married. A woman who doesn't have a lot of bad marks against her. Does she have any? Chelsea grew up in the spotlight, in all of her awkward stages that all of us go through, though hers were displayed and mocked. The girl was a child at the time! She grew up with the ongoing criticism and ridicule of both of her parents. Particularly the antics of her father and Monica Lewinsky. How horrible that had to have been for her! She was an innocent young girl whose father happened to hold this country's highest office. Despite all of that, I think she's turned out OK!

On Chelsea's special day as a beautiful bride she couldn't even leave that in the past. The blows could not stop. It wasn't because of who she really is and I don't even think it's because of who her parents are. I think it's just because we are so divided that ugliness is now a regular part of our daily lives. When another recent First Daughter was married, Jenna Bush, the actions of her father were not thrust upon her. She was celebrated as a beautiful bride by all-Republicans, Democrats, Independents, etc. The polarization did not exist on that occasion at least not in my little corner of the world-I hope it didn't exist at all. What a great moment for all of us and a perfect day for Jenna! I'm very sad that Chelsea didn't get the same respect.

So I'd like to share this, please take a look...and maybe realize that there doesn't always have to be snarkiness. Some actually do deserve a special day. A day that doesn't have to be divided.

Chelsea Clinton Gets Married by Mamarazzi

In the future, if you have something you'd like to forward me that is funny-please do! Again, I love to laugh! If you want to teach me something-make sure it's correct. When in doubt? Go ahead and skip me. I hope I haven't offended any of you. And I hope that my message has made everyone think just a bit.

Peace, Love and all that stuff...your loving friend,

Heather

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Warning: No Rainbows or Butterflies Here Today

Guess I need to point out the obvious, June has not been the NaBloPoMo month for me. But it's not my fault. Honest. (Some have asked what that stands for, it's National Blog Posting Month. Which really doesn't make a lot of sense since it happens every month. It's simply a way to motivate yourself to the challenge of blogging every day for a month. They offer daily writing prompts. I think they may award prizes, too).

So back to how it's not my fault. June hasn't been very kind to us. In fact, it's been downright sucky. Mr. H has lost his job. And not just lost his job as in laid off, but actually fired. If that's not bad enough, there may be repercussions he'll have to face outside of the job. So yeah, not good. Normally I worry, a lot. Sometimes obsessively. This mess however, has left me at a loss for words. We've talked about it and all, but for the most part I've been calm. Until today.

One of our financial advantages is that we have older vehicles which are paid off. But we also have something called bad "carma". This rule in our world dictates that if one vehicle somehow breaks, the other must always follow suit and become broken as well. Mr. H's car has been out of commission for awhile now. He wasn't sure if he should get it repaired or purchase a newer car, since it's a bit old and probably worth less than the cost of the repairs needed. (I have no idea what's wrong with it). Fortunately, he's not the fastest acting guy in these types of situations so he did not buy a new to us car, complete with a monthly payment, only to get fired. And we still had my minivan. Which broke down yesterday. It's getting a new fuel pump for $700. Yikes. Because of the "carma" situation, I should have seen this coming. It always happens this way.

So now the severity of the whole job loss thing is hitting me. I'm starting to stew. Mr. H had commented last week that he was so thankful that I'd been so supportive and understanding of the situation. And really I have been. I hate to disappoint him but now I really don't feel so easy come, easy go. When we met I was self-sufficient. Throughout most of our marriage I was the breadwinner. I would much rather have been a stay at home mom, though. You know that saying "Be careful what you wish for, it might come true?", that is exactly what happened to me. For the past three or so years I have been at home. Just under crappy circumstances. It took a long, long time to become comfortable being dependent on another person to support us. You know, because I can't *control* that person or their means of support.

Today I'm feeling rather let down. Kind of angry. Starting to worry. And resisting yelling "I told you so!!!" to Mr. H for the action that has caused these problems. Because it is true, I did tell him so. UGH!

I suppose it's best to stop here for now. I don't want to send out waves of negativity and run off my few but very appreciated readers out there. On a good note, school is out. The girls have been having fun. They've had a week to chillax, a week of art camp and this week is VBS. Our new pool should be arriving soon. I'm glad that I ordered it when I did, it would have been very hard to buy it knowing the current circumstances. And the girls really deserve it!

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In which I stand for something and face getting voted off the island.

I usually try to keep any cancer related posts on my caring bridge page but this one is a little different and I think may reach a new crowd here, one that really seems to need to be reached. Over there, it's more about me or fellow cancer warriors and well-I think we get it. And a warning-this is a bit of a snarky moment...but for a few good reasons.

Now I have to be honest real quick, about something that definitely would be better understood over there. But to be real, and honest. I'll admit this one little thing and hope that in a way you may understand. It's the color pink. Which is one of my favorite colors. More specifically the pink ribbon-the one that is used for breast cancer awareness. While all cancers suck (there's no polite way to really say that sorry), those who have been afflicted with another type understand about the pink ribbon. And how it's a bit, um, overused. In all fairness it is for a good cause. But again to be honest, because all cancers suck and are not at all discriminating in who they affect it would be nice if other cancers got the same amount of attention and support brought about like the pink ribbon does for breast cancer. I think I've seen the pink ribbon on just about any item you can think of and I imagine that everyone knows what that represents. However, unless you or someone close to you has been affected by another type of cancer, you probably have no clue what color ribbon represents each cancer. There really isn't a problem with awareness and fundraising for any cancer, it's just that all cancers need to be recognized and contributed too. I'd just love to see the great efforts of the pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness spread to other colors for other types. All people owe it to themselves to be able to recognize possible symptoms of any particular cancer. All cancers deserve to have fundraising and research and outreach. So that's my little snark about the pink ribbon.

But my irritation this week is actually in support of breast cancer awareness and particularly the efforts made by The Susan G. Komen Foundation the leaders in raising awareness, money and research for breast cancer. The foundation tries to reach as many women as possible including those that may not have insurance or a family doctor. Such as the women that may utilize Planned Parenthood for all of their health care including female care. In fact for those women, PP may be the first line of detection for those who otherwise may not be able to receive other forms of care. If you happen to be one who is against health care reform then I would say that PP is an organization that is helping reach those who may not otherwise be reached especially without health care reform. SGK donates funds to PP that are directly earmarked to be used for breast care including mammograms and other exams that could potentially catch a life threatening disease as early as possible. Makes sense to me that SGK would want to include PP in their efforts as this is all about saving lives.

However, PP is seen by some by only one thing-abortion. Some people are not able to see that there is far more good health practices available at PP including breast cancer detection and treatments than there is abortion. I'm in no way turning this into a pro-life or pro-choice argument. I only would like to point out that as I've mentioned the vast majority of the efforts at PP are for positive health care. According to the PP annual report only 3% of the services offered are abortion service. Yes, ideally that would be better at 0%, but that is not reality. If anything PP promotes ways to avoid an unintended pregnancy and potentially avoid abortions. For those that believe PP actually promotes abortions, I ask you to look at the numbers and use some critical thinking skills. The big picture here is that PP offers 97% of services again for good health related things, including cancer screening and prevention. Again SGK is the leading foundation for providing all things breast cancer related and again any money given to PP is specifically used for just that. Nothing else.

So you're probably wondering where this is all coming from? Earlier this week a blogger who's target audience is fairly large and targets women, took a stand-against the SGK foundation being advertised on her blog because they contribute money to PP who does offer abortions, a sad but legal option in our country. However, I can't reiterate it enough-the money SGK gives to PP goes towards breast health only. It does not enable more abortions to happen. End of story.

I do believe that it was this blogger's right to choose what she wants advertised or not advertised on her blog especially because I believe this blogger's ad income is now her family's sole source of income. One of the problems that I do have is that SGK is only one of many organizations that supports PP. While taking a stand against an organization who again is the leader of breast cancer support and thus helping to save many lives, there are an astounding number of companies that also support PP. Many of these companies develop and sell products that could be considered fun or even luxury items. This same blogger has decided to not boycott the companies that make these items, regularly uses and enjoys these items and by purchasing the said items obviously contributes to the overall income-some of which goes to PP. Over the past few days I have just been trying to grasp this blogger's line of thinking. Why take a stand against a foundation that's sole purpose is to help save lives but not take a stand against a company who makes photo editing programs that the said blogger admits to "utterly obsessed with editing my photographs" and publicly acknowledges the maker of her preferred editing programs as those made by a company that also supports PP financially?

I am having trouble comprehending this line of thought and action. It seems to be one of convenience at the least. At the worst it's possibly turning away the support of the many readers of the said blog and their further support of SGK. Many readers did express that this information was new to them and thanked the blogger for making them aware so that they could discontinue their support of SGK-even those who were avid supporters up until this time. What a shame! And what a disservice! Not only is that less support to a foundation that helps to save lives but also these same women may one day find themselves diagnosed with breast cancer and may feel so strongly against this foundation now that they themselves may choose to not take the help of SGK in saving their own lives or the lives of their family members.

What good can possibly come from this? I realize that speaking up and out against this will probably not put me in good favor with some. However, this has been weighing on my heart and mind for a few days. As a healthcare professional, the survivor of a blood cancer, and a woman I feel I need to speak out. As the blogger in question stated herself "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything". I believe those to be very wise words and I hope that many will see this whole debacle in a new light.

And you know what? In the spirit of raising awareness, I think I may share this on my caring bridge site anyway!

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and now an important message...

Chocolate Melts-A Cautionary Tale

I've been having a big time craving for Caramello bars for quite awhile now. At the store the regular size bars cost $1.09, is that not obscene or what?! For only four tiny squares of Cadbury chocolate goodness filled with drippy, sticky, yummy caramel.

In order to save money, I had the bright idea to order a box of Caramello bars from Amazon. Isn't that genius? Saving money and trips to the store. A win/win! I bought a box a few months ago when it was still winter in most places. And recently placed an order where it's more like summer in some places.

My box arrived and was brought right in. I figured they may have gotten a little warm and that I better check to see if they needed to go into the fridge. I opened the box and every single one of my precious Caramello bars were melted. Not a little melted. They were liquified! I put them in the fridge and now they aren't liquid, but for a Caramello connoisseur-they are ruined.

I'm not sure if I should try to complain and return them? Was it my fault for ordering such a thing in May? It is poor judgement. But, why would anyone sell them at this time of year? Without some sort of climate controlled packaging? That's poor judgement, too. Really I'm not one to make a fuss, so they will probably go into the trash and I'll be out a few bucks.

So, in order to turn this into a good thing, I've decided to make it a lesson to all of you on the interwebs...let's just all say no to purchasing chocolate that needs to be shipped unless it is winter.

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please excuse this snarky moment...

i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas! we really did. in the midst of exhaustion my mom and i sat and thought about it and agreed that this seemed like one of the best christmas celebrations we've had. i do love the season and look forward to it all year long. i have to confess though that when it's done, i'm done. i like to get the house back to normal and everything put away quickly. we were light on decorations this year so that's good. but as i look at the loot we've all acquired...that is going to be a challenge. my camera is lost among said loot, hopefully it'll turn up soon and i can share pictures of our day. and i can't wait to see all of your pictures!

ok so for the snark. and if this applies to any of you, well, i'm sorry. *sort of* but really i hope that instead it will change your way of thinking. =)

now i don't mind if anyone decides to have santa as part of their christmas traditions or not, that is totally an individual choice. in fact i do enjoy learning about everyone's different traditions. there is just one little thing that really annoys me and i've got to let it out.

some people worry about santa "getting credit" for giving gifts, especially the big gifts. what?! say again?! this is about the silliest thing i've heard. and as petty as *i* think it is, i've heard/read about a handful of people who actually worry about this. seriously.

now i love to give gifts, love it! probably a little too much. it's never occurred to me that santa is raining on my parade. when i give gifts i'm only thinking about how happy (hopefully) the recipient is going to be. and if santa is giving great gifts too, that is awesome. in the end doesn't it all work itself out? isn't the effort going to be realized? i totally think it will.

i do apologize for this snarky moment. if it had come up once i'd just said to myself "how silly" and moved on. but as i've mentioned, it's come up quite a few times. as if we don't have enough truly troubling things in life to worry about? and where is the christmas spirit?

not only do i believe in santa, but i get caught up in his magic too. santa always brings us the best gifts!

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