SOMEONE doesn't like me...

Someone doesn't like me, but I BET YOU they're watching my blog. 

I'm willing to bet that they're reading this right now. So here's to you! 

My post today got reported. It broke 0 group rules. 

I checked. Three times. 

I simply disabled comments. I described my OOTD, I did my {captions} and I said if they want to know more, they can look here on the blog. Nothing there broke group rules. Not a single thing. 

My post got removed. 

I asked Jennifer why and have been told it's because I linked the blog. Which people have complained about "finding your opinions offensive".

Basically, I am blowing their tiny little minds with reality, and they can't handle it. 

So hey. I don't have to censor myself anymore!!! Cuz I totally was. You didn't like me censored? You REALLY won't like me now. 

I DID ask the mods why religious posts were allowed, when they're expressively against the rules. I was told that they were "monitored". Umm. ok, but they're against the rules. Soooo, yeah. They told me to report them if I found them offensive. Game on.

The thing is, when people attack me, or make fun of me, or come at me from another direction I just pivot. I'm aware of my potential. I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work.

 I close with a quote from A. Hamm.

Guess the power's in the wrong hands over there.

Day 38

I am tired.

I think I expended too much energy yesterday. I was just so mad. I still am mad. At the world...but you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. (That phrase was really popular in my house when I had toddlers.) I'm still feisty (not mad really, just miffed) about what happened yesterday in the group too. What I find interesting is that 75% of my post was about fashion/Tieks and 25% was about being a decent human being and caring about others, so hey, maybe we should speak up and write some letters so this shit stops happening, but it's too political...if that's political, they really don't want to hear my opinions on 45. 

I just find it sad that people found it more important to report my post rather than to have a little bit of compassion for the people that died, and those that feel it should never happen again. This should be an issue ALL humans care about, and making it "about politics" is annoying.

Anywho - back to the frivolous fashion. 

Today is another Lularoe day. Sorry if you don't like LLR, I find it fits and it's fabulous and fun! 

 Wearing TC2 soft brown leggings, a cute pink perfect tee with little happy foxes on it. Raspberry Truffle Tieks and these cute little fluffy earrings from Amrita Singh complete this look. 

I mean, seriously - aren't they just the cutest???? Chloe loves foxes, so she's going to be stoked when she wakes up and sees that I'm wearing this shirt. I'm somewhat channeling fall with this look. I really want it to be under 70 degrees again. Anything above that is just unnecessary. And oh god, the humidity. *sigh* In winter we don't have enough, in summer we have too much. Can't we just mix all the seasons together and live in perpetual perfect temps and humidity? *sigh* Someone needs to get on building that weather machine.

I'm so glad I stretched these suckers. They fit so much better now. 

Looking at these reminds me that I want to do Tieks of the week. However, my biggest issue here is that I don't know if I have enough seasonal clothing to do this and still wear what I plan on wearing that day. Such as, I know I have enough clothing to match RT to get a full 7 days of outfits out of them, but some of them are sweaters and stuff and it's 82 degrees outside. I'd love to show a whole array of different clothing you can wear with your tieks, not just summer clothes. Hence, the dilemma. 

"Floof" earrings from Amrita Singh

What I might do instead is try on a bunch of outfits, take pictures of me in them and then do a "featured tieks of the week post" on a Tuesday or something, and show how diverse each pair is. Which also gives me a day of wearing whatever the heck I want to if I don't feel like being fashionable too. (Aka, break day!) I'm still mulling it over. Until I decide, I'll keep doing daily looks and putting them here. 

Blooper/reject pictures:

(This shirt wants to "hug" my leggings super badly. I'll have to watch that while wearing it today. lol)

Crazy eye....I stare at you. I'm looking at you. I SEE YOUUUUUU.

Today I got silenced.

Today I got silenced. It was really uncomfortable. 

If you know me at all (or have been following my blog for any period of time in the last 37 days) you should know that I try to stay positive. I'm trying really hard to be positive right now. I have daily tried to make a blurb about something good, something uplifting or bright, be it silly (like earrings and fashion) or serious (like fat shaming) but keeping it with a positive spin (haters gonna hate, but I'm gonna keep on dancing). 

Today I mentioned the mass shootings. I mentioned them even less on TA than I did here in the blog. I'd put exactly what I said, but I didn't think to save it. Suffice to say, it was very generalized. It got taken down at 4:47pm. I know the exact time as I was replying to a comment about as my post disappeared. 

While I didn't say much in my post, the comments section did. Most of it was "We agree, something needs to change. Contact your representatives." While political, that's blanket political. I didn't say "We should ban guns" or "Take away the guns" or anything like that. I said something along the lines of, "We need to effect change. The only way to prevent this from happening again to to contact your representatives and tell them it needs to change." 

Apparently that blanket statement was just TOO MUCH for some people who then reported my post. (YES, this next part is an assumption, but I'm ANGRY and I'm going to stereotype for a second. I'm human too.) Likely most of the people who reported me are also members of the NRA, DAR, Conservative side of the Republican Party or just hate immigrants and think the shooter was in the right. It's an assumption, but they're the types likely to do that type of thing in the first place. 

Most people didn't say anything except, "Hey, you're right. This is wrong." However, TA got too many complaints (I guess there's a special number that a post has to hit before it's removed) and they had to remove my post.

...

......

..........

Because apparently expression the opinion that KILLING PEOPLE is wrong was just TOO political. Because HUMAN BEING BEING SHOT AND MURDERED has no place in a "page about shoes". Because expressing grief about innocent lives being lost due to a (generalized description of a) lack of gun control and mental health access is just TOO MUCH apparently. 

Why? Because it made people uncomfortable. Because they came to talk about shoes and fashion and everything frivolous. They came to show off their church outfits (religion is also banned, but that doesn't stop people from posting about going to church!). 

But you know - that fashion and those tieks mean NOTHING if you get shot down in the middle of church. They mean NOTHING if you get fired one day and have a mental health breakdown the next and no insurance to get yourself help, because the services available to people in this country are LACKING. Still....I get it. It was removed. Okay. 

I was fine at this point. People suck, reported it as offensive, but ok. I understand. It was political (more so in the comments than in my post) but ok. I get it. Why not delete the offensive comments and turn off comments then? Why delete the ENTIRE POST??

So I posted my post again - with less - simply eliminating the stuff about the shooting because *sigh* we can't have that now can we!? It got taken down. (I later found out it was because I referenced that my first post was removed. Stupid rule to have, and not one mentioned in the official rule page either.) 

Posted a third time. Removed. Posted a fourth time, eliminating comments, eliminating every but a description of my OOTD and the description for anyone using an e-reader. THAT one got to stay. However, had I not disabled the comments, they'd have likely removed it too, as people would have continued to drop comments about how it was unfair that my other post got removed do to expressing an opinion about the shootings. Which is BS.

The admin of the page messaged me and said in a very polite PR way (that's why she's good at her job), but I also believe very genuine, why it got removed and cited politics and people reporting me because they don't care about the shootings. She basically said (and I'm seriously paraphrasing) "Your heart's in the right place, but we can't teach people how to be humane. I'm with you but people suck, we had to take it down." I told her that I'd try to be good but no promises as I'm passionate about human rights and well, a lot of other things. 

I didn't like being silenced. I've had enough of that in the past from self regulating what I say so that I don't offend people to hiding my emotions from an abusive ex so he didn't have ammunition to use against me. I refuse to be silenced and honestly I'd still be going at it if they hadn't allowed my last post to stay up. I will NOT be silenced.

Unless it's of my own accord. 

I might silence myself to protest all the people who reported me, to protest humans being abused at the borders, to protest the lack of gun control in this country, the lack of regulations, the lack of freaking HUMANITY and EMPATHY for fellow mankind. I might silence myself to represent those who cannot speak for themselves, and those who aren't strong enough to speak up.

I doth protest.

Every day of this coming week, I plan to post here what I normally do. Words and all. In the TA group, I will be posting my normal post, commentary that I feel like sharing there (there's always more here) and then disabling comments. In effect, it's a way to protest being silenced by silencing myself. By silencing everyone else's opinions. By silencing them back. 

Because we shouldn't have to silence ourselves in times of crisis because it might be political or religious and might offend someone. Because people have now DIED going shopping at Wal-Mart in the last 24 hours and we should be shouting out loud until we change laws that make that impossible. We have been SCREAMING since Columbine and we're still nowhere. How many people have to die? How is it that we still don't care unless it's someone we know and love?

You shouldn't be afraid to go to the movies, a concert, shopping at the mall, or even school. We should be safe doing these things. We're NOT. 

There's no excuse for silencing that. Group rules I understand, but what happened was a tragedy. That's not political - that's an issue of humanity. That's having empathy for your fellow mankind. That's being a person who actually cares. I'm ANGRY that this has to happen again and again and again, and people now are saying "well, it's political so shhhh. You might offend someone." 

Fuck. Them. 

If they're offended, they need to look inward and realize why. There are things you should be offended about.  

You should be offended that the kids and adults are being locked up at the border. 

You should be offended that semi-automatic (hell FULL automatic) rifles are ridiculously easy to get. 

You SHOULD be offended at the disturbing lack of healthcare in this country for our weakest members of society, let alone mental healthcare is pitiful. 

You SHOULD be offended by these things and if you aren't, it's likely that you don't want to look that deeply at yourself. That you don't want to put yourself in those shoes, because it's so much easier to say "That'll never happen to me" than to address it. 

But guess what? IT CAN happen to you. In the snap of a finger it can happen to you. It did to me a few times. My life has drastically changed, essentially in a month or less, about six times in my 37 years. *SNAP*

 What's happening right now in this country in particular shouldn't be happening. Period. You can deflect that it shouldn't be happening in any part of the world and I agree, it shouldn't, but I'm talking about here and now and what WE can change in OUR country. And the fact that we're making it about politics is asinine. Other major countries have regulations and their mass shootings are FAR less than ours. Don't tell me it can't be done. It can. Register to vote people. Vote the policies in. Vote the NRA out of congress.

 It's an issue about humanity and I will not be silenced for expressing that. We aren't treating our fellow human beings as they should be treated. Period. And it's not right that people get silenced for stating such. No matter the group.

Don't cross me. You won't like the results. I'm like Fred:

You've been warned.

ETA: If you can speak up for someone who can't, you should. Period.

Day 37

Day Thirty Seven?! That's also my age. :D

Today I added some stuff to this blog. There's a Christmas Countdown Clock (It's NEVER too soon. :P to all the Christmas haters), a little about me blurb, a time zone map, and a hilarious "donate for electric snakes" button. The reason for this? I get at least one comment or PM probably every other day or so about how I need ES's in my life, they are "so me" according to everyone else, but honestly, they remind me of the early 90's when I was a kid and I can't really pull the trigger on bringing back my childhood. However, if people are awesome/crazy enough to donate money to me for them, (see gif below for my own reaction at this) I will buy electric snakes with that money. I swear. Girl Scout Promise (and I'm a registered Girl Scout and co-leader, so it's a for real promise!) This paypal is not linked to any other account, so all money put there will ONLY go towards the purchase of Electric Snakes. LOL. 

Ok, moving on. 

I wrote above last night. This morning I woke up to news of two mass shootings. It makes me super angry, but I went into it on my personal FB. WHY we continue to let this go on irritates and angers me. I write to my congresspeople. I tell my daughter to do the same. She's 14 and writes to hers on occasion, when something really matters to her. I don't understand why we are letting this continue to happen. My best guess is because if it's not happening to us personally, we no longer care. It seems to be the sad truth of things. People hold their kids tight, but don't teach them why this is wrong and how to go about changing it. So I'll keep writing and keep trying to educate others to do the same. And educating the children to speak up for themselves and their fellow citizens too. It's all I can do. One person can make a difference, even if all you do is write letters. Write. Please. 

Now on to today's OOTD:

 My new Lularoe perfect T and Torrid jeggings. Maiden voyage for my California Navy tieks, fringe tassel earrings from Amazon. I'm SO MAD that LLR is "suspending" perfect t's because they fit me so well, and I just discovered them, so I only have 2. *angry face*

My daughter asked me why I pose the same way every day. Well, because I can. It's my best and most flattering pose. Also, I hate posing. Honestly, I do. lol. 

Earrings and my face (don't mind the wet hair!) 

Today's oddball pictures:

Day 36

Quickly posting because I am going out to breakfast/brunch with the husband, but I didn't want to post too late in the day either! <3 

Dress from Torrid, and DWC's today with earrings from Amazon. :)

Might post twice today, or amend this one later. We'll see. (I edited a bit. lol)

DWC's - it's hard to see, but they're the perfect balance for me of croc vs patent. They're "wrinkly" without being deep wrinkles. I really like these shoes.

We did brunch, not breakfast today. lol. Mac and cheese and pecan encrusted bacon. To die for!! 

Nothing major to say today, just enjoy your weekend and have a good one!! <3 

Day 35

So I cannot get mustards off of my mind. I just LOVE them. What's funny, is I didn't like the first pair I got, and the second pair I was still very meh about. It goes to show that fit really matters. I didn't love them until I got a pair that fit right. Once I got the fit right, I was like, YES. These have to be in my life. I have a bunch of other tieks to wear, but I keep gravitating towards these ones. 

I mean, really. Just look at them! They're such happy shoes! How can you not like them? #TeamMustard

So today, I wore another yellow shirt, because it's supposed to be warm again with high humidity, it's sleeveless. Jeans again; same pair - YES - I did wear them two days in a row. Denim isn't meant to be worn and washed every time. Look it up! (I'm not stinky, they're not dirty, absolutely fine to wear again. I changed my undies, it's NBD.) (shirt and denim from Torrid)

I also could have worn wild copper or even the tortoiseshell Tieks with this. Honestly, a lot goes with this as it's a very simple outfit. You can really put in any complimentary color with it. Navy, black, chocolate, biscotti, camel, chestnut, and mojave would even work. The nice thing when you color block it generally works really well with any other (complimentary) color for shoes. 

Jewelry is simple today. These adorable earrings that I got in a LLR order from Amy. I have no idea where she gets them from, but I LOVE THEM. These ones in particular are glorious. I need to get starstrucks to go with them. LOL! 

In other life news, Chloe's wart is dying (YAY!) and we will probably only have to go back for one more injection. She also made a cake for the first time completely 100% on her own from start to finish from scratch. *Proud* (Things I couldn't do at 14 - make a cake. She's got one up on me. lol) 

I have to mail out Toby's birthday presents so that he gets them on time, but I'm still waiting for two of them to come from Amazon. I cannot believe my son is turning 16 in just 17 more days. It feels like yesterday he was just a little bean crying in his crib smelling like that new baby smell. *sigh*

The crochet blanket I'm working on (I'm dubbing it project fall blanket) is going well. First set of hexagons is being blocked now, while I'm working on the second set. I'm re-watching Firefly while I work on them, but I'll be finding something on Netflix likely today or tomorrow to binge watch. I got a lot of suggestions, so hopefully I can find something else to get into. 

I may need to go to the store today. I also need to send in my NOI to the school district so that we can be "approved" to homeschool another year. In Ohio, all you have to do is have the paperwork, but for some reason schools seem to think they have to approve it. It's stupid. Fortunately, we've yet to encounter a problem with our school district. *knock on wood* And I have to return the CN tieks that didn't fit right today as well. Returning the ones with the weird L mark, as the other pair fits almost exactly the same, but has no marks on them. 

I think that's about it! 

Extra pics that weren't "featured". lol. 

You know, seeing only this portion of my neighborhood, it looks like a really great neighborhood. Also, my yard (nor my neighbors) look like the hot mess that they are with all the overgrown plants. You can sort of see the ivy attacking everything but not really. Pictures sure can be deceiving, can't they? My yard is a hot mess of weeds, my neighborhood houses are a mix between completely run down and decently maintained, yards are generally all weeds and grass, no one takes care of their yards beyond mowing around here. However, you'd never be able to tell any of that by this picture. How funny. 

Day 34

Happy August 1st!! 

It's a nice cool 71 with a light breeze outside right now, so I thought I'd take advantage of that and go outside for my OOTD. Which I almost forgot about today. Oops. I sat down and started crocheting and got carried away. lol. Still hurting today, but less than yesterday overall. Yay! 

It's the maiden voyage for my tortoiseshells! 

These are by far my prettiest tieks. And that's saying a lot, as I have LP's and moonstrucks too, but there is just something about these that's just classic and fun and beautiful. 

Today's OOTD is a semi-repeat (I mean, I DO have other clothing you haven't seen yet, but I also like to wear things repeatedly, just slightly different. Last time I wore this top, it was with black leggings and biscotti tieks. This time it's with jeggings from Torrid. The top is from The Scarlet Oak Boutique.

I think I might end up at the store at some point today (I need more yarn) but packing is out right now, on the sole reason I hurt and I don't want to hurt even more tomorrow (to the point where I can't pack some this weekend). Just going to take it easy I believe. 

Days like yesterday and today remind me that baby steps are still steps, and that we shouldn't beat ourselves up for not doing MORE. We're doing enough. Making sure you don't push yourself further than you should shows amazing restraint in our go-go-go world and it's sometimes hard to forget that going slower is OKAY! You don't have to push yourself to the point of injury because that's the pace someone else can do. Your own pace is perfect, and it'll just get done, just slower. 

A goal I'm setting for myself this month is to drink more water. So I've got my two water bottles out and ready for me to drink from. One lights up to remind me hourly to drink water and the other has bands that you can move around so you can better keep track of the water you've had. That bottle has helped me drink more water than the other one for sure. Even though I thought the reminder lights would, I'm more motivated to move the bands up and down. lol. I will say, the blue tooth light up water bottle has an amazing blue tooth speaker that makes that bottle worth it for the speaker alone. 

Anyway, I'm going to go crochet some and then head to the store. <3 y'all. Happy August!