I’m a Halloweenie

I love Halloween. Not just because I’m a horror film addict or because I love costumes and candy but because of what it represents. As a kid, my family went BIG for Halloween (oh and we were Catholics) and it’s one of the few holidays you can go BIG for decorations wise and not have it be weird. For me, Halloween meant family time. We’d have a neighborhood parade and then a party before we went trick-or-treating. My mom and dad always dressed up. It was honestly a magical time. I like that it symbolizes the entrance of winter and emphasizes the fall but most importantly, I love that it shows that our country is accepting, of everyone and every boy and ghoul.

 

I am not a religious person. I am a spiritual person but I don’t adhere to one religion. Our country was not founded on religion but on freedom from religious persecution. Halloween for me is one of the few holidays free of religious influences. You can try to say it’s a pagan holiday and the dead come back to life yadda yadda but I don't think of it as some religious pagan holiday. To me it's just an awesome holiday where I get to dress up and hand out candy and get scared. It has influences, sure, but it's not a holiday that adheres to one religion. The pagans have influenced other "Christian" holidays and we don't mind those. If you look at the holiday of Easter and ask what bunnies and eggs have to do with it that’s because the Christians incorporated pagan practices to convert them. Everyone can be tricksters. Pagans worshipped a goddess of fertility whose symbol was a rabbit. They painted eggs as offerings in hopes of a good harvest/growing season. If their offering was accepted they’d see a rabbit!

Seeing Halloween as anything more than a harvest festival with deeply rooted traditions of dressing up and “trick-or-treating” is just weird to me. Don’t read so much into it. Enjoy the costumes, enjoy the magic and enjoy the fall. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas are nice. I do love me some Turkey. Thanksgiving has been taken over as a religious holiday which I guess it is but I’ve always seen it and have been raised to see it as a time to give thanks for what and who we have in our lives not for what God has bestowed us. However some of my religious people refuse to see it as anything but a time to give thanks to God. The first Thanksgiving was with “heathens” who didn’t believe in god or understand a prayer. It was a THANK YOU to the heathens which helped them survive. But to each their own. 

Christmas and I used to be friends when my mom was alive. After my mom, the biggest Christmas lover of them all, died Christmas took on a much more sinister, depressing and terrifying tone than Halloween with its “traditions” ever could. I don’t like Christmas not just because of the loss of my mother but because it’s all about what you can buy. I hate gift giving, I hate receiving gifts (truly). If Christmas is about loving your fellow man how about you just tell them that or do some volunteer work or just spend quality time with your family. Some people do. I intend when I have kids to make sure they know the holiday is NOT just about gifts but about love. Love for your family. Love for your fellow man. Love for the season. 

I’m working on loving Christmas again it’s just hard with all the commercialism and spoiled, rotten flavor of it all. Christmas Day is beautiful, after the presents are unwrapped and it’s just family enjoying each others company. Leading up to Christmas I want to poke out my eyes, burst my ear drums and hibernate.

I’m not trying to advocate Halloween or tell you it’s better than it is. I’m also not trying to put down any other holiday. I am merely expressing my opinions on the matter. This is how I feel. This is why I do the things I do. I’m me.

Your Daily Dose of Duke # 21

It's been awhile. Duke hasn't really been up to much. Same-old, same-old - sleeping on the couch, sleeping on one of two dog beds, sleeping on our bed, running in the yard. i have started taking him on more runs with me again. Even ran him 5 miles recently. He's kind of a jerk to run with but he does love being outside and peeing on everything.

Duke seriously loves the beach, but hates the water.

He is not impressed.

This picture cracks me up. He's coming at ya, full force!

I found this hilarious.

Action shot

his imitation of a goat.

Change in the Winds

Change is necessary in life. It’s good. It’s bad. It has its moments. It can tear you apart or put you back together. I am not afraid of change. I embrace it. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly it adds to my character and develops me as a person.

   

Last night my husband told me he accepted a job offer. It’s for a company that the more he gets to know the more he smiles when he talks about them. My husband has hated his job for 9 years; I want him to know what it feels like to be with a company you can stand behind. To be proud of your work, to look forward to the mornings. I wanted him to be happy.

To work for this company means leaving my beloved Pacific Northwest and heading below the mist into the golden state. At first I was devastated I’ve made Washington my home in many, many ways. Then I realized we are what we make of our surroundings and our actions. California is where the job is. It doesn’t mean we have to stay there forever and it doesn’t mean we had a choice in the matter. We would have loved to stay in Seattle or Portland but we go and do what we can and what is best for us as a couple. My husband is a great man and I will always stand behind him, just as when I need it, he will stand behind me. A move is not the end or a beginning. It's just change. This move will be our first as a married couple.

This morning I went for a run. It was dark, even with my head lamp. It was chilly, even with my layers. There was no wind and no sounds. I began running and let my mind flood with emotions and thoughts and worries and everything else. Those four miles became 40+ minutes of pure mental flow. At one point I looked up at the sky. The clouds had parted and there was nothing but stars above me and my feet pounding below me. My layers melted away as my body warmed up. I ran and I ran until the sky lightened, my brain was happy and  my view on the move shifted.

Panting, I was stretching out next to my car when I noticed not only my breath steamed and dissipated in the cold but my whole body steamed, radiated and flowed out into the universe. It was as though my soul was exhaling. I smiled.

Making a Statement

It’s very easy to get frustrated with the world today. There is misinformation flying around like what is tossed in a room full of monkeys (I am referring to poop). The internet is a minefield of random data. Worse yet people are a minefield of misinformation. To ease my hatred of mankind I have made a list of things I would prefer not to discuss with you.  In no particular order:

   

Politics: Oh the dreaded politics. I know it’s 2012 I am well aware that there is a presidential election.  Here’s the thing, who I vote for does not concern you. In fact, it has nothing to do with you. It is a personal choice that I don’t feel the need to tell every person I meet about. What party am I affiliated with? Nunya. As in Nunya Business. I’ve been getting phone calls from campaign people and even if it’s the person I’m voting for I still “decline to say.” Why? Because it only matters to me. Also, I use Facebook as a way to stay connected to friends and family, not a way to push some kind of weird political agenda of how wrong or right one person/party is. If you want to have an actual discussion (oy vey) you can call, text or write your local congressman. Kidding. I’d be happy to discuss stuff with you in person or on the phone as long as we keep normal tones but if you think slamming Facebook with all your political hullabaloo is going to change my mind, you’re wrong. I will continue to post pictures of the meals I work hard to prepare, my dog, my achievements and hope that my friends will support me as I run for being awesome.

Religion: I was raised Catholic. To each their own. I am Agnostic (confused). Basically, I believe something could be out there but whether it’s God, Jesus, a Flying Spaghetti Monster, a 7-headed Lollypop Goddess, Pele or Odin it doesn’t really matter to me. I believe in the human spirit. I think that any amount of true prayer, dedication and meditation can lift someone’s spirits, create a positive feeling and enable people to do great things. I don’t put anyone down for believing what they believe. Just because we don’t believe in the same things, doesn’t mean I love that person any less. I hate everyone with an equal amount of spite. In fact, to truly believe in something sometimes take more strength than to deny it. Everyone has the ability to be spiritual, what form that spirituality comes in doesn’t matter to me. However, please don’t tell me to “Have a Blessed Day” I never know how to respond to that. Do I look slightly confused and say Thank You? Do I shot them hand guns and say “Back at cha?” Do I get the deer in the headlights look and say “You too?”

Dieting: Getting healthy is no easy feat, especially if you are dealing with years of bad eating habits. Changing your eating habits because of allergies, medical concerns or to correct your cookie monster attitude is a great idea. I talk about my weight loss a lot. 1 Because I’m super proud of it and 2 Because I learned a lot from it. I learned that I feel better when I eat better. I learned that I am truly allergic to some foods. I learned that carbs help me run. One of the most important things I learned is that no one thing works for everyone. The key in life is BALANCE and finding a way of eating that will support you for the rest of your life. For instance, I can’t eat red meat it makes me horribly ill. I wasn’t always this way but I am now. Does that mean I expect my husband to give up red meat or if we have kids I’ll restrict their diets? NO. I still cook steaks for my husband I still plan on cooking red meat burgers for my kids. It just means I will eat something else. I was a cake addict. There, I said it. There wasn’t a cake I didn’t love (honestly, I can’t think of a cake I wouldn’t devour). Does that mean I no longer eat cake? Heck no, did you miss the part where I said I love cake? I just control my portions and use it as motivation to run that extra mile. If you have found a balance in your life with your food and nutrition and it is something you will maintain for yourself (without inflicting your rules onto those around you), then bravo to you. I applaud your ability to correct your wrongs. This does not, however mean that I want you to try and convince me of your way of eating. Unless I generally ASK you what you are doing or why you are doing that, I could care less. As long as you are happy and healthy and will indulge in a beer with me every now and then I wish you all the best.

Your Trip To Hawaii: Yes, I’m a horrible person. I’m from Hawaii, I’m Hawaiian, I danced hula and surfed since I was 3, I can speak pidgin and I love pineapple. However, if one more person tells me about how they went to Hawaii for a week and “fell in love with the culture.” I will start flinging poop. Hawaii is not something you can grasp in a week or two weeks or even a year. If you truly understood Hawaii, you would not want to live there. Our school systems, cost of living, drug addiction, teen pregnancy rates and crime are atrocious. Yes, I LOVE Hawaii, it is my home and if I were a billionaire I would live there, on a farm and run a charity for children whose parents are meth addicts and can’t afford to give them proper lunches. The history of the islands pumps through my veins like the rhythmic pounding on a ipu heke. I hate that my culture is bastardized for money. Hawaii’s only source of income is tourism. This doesn’t mean that you have to have been a born and native Hawaiian to understand the islands what it means is you have to have lived there and truly understood the plight of the islands. There are no shortcuts, there are no compromises. Hawaii is a world unto itself. Putting a sticker of the islands on your car does not mean we are “sistahs.” It is a beautiful place but just like a beautiful women, it’s hiding crazy.

Running: There’s a peace for me that comes with running. I love it and it will continue to be a part of my life for as long as possible. It is a stress reliever, it gives me an endorphin rush and it helps me cope with my addiction to food (Ha!). I am flat footed and therefore have to run with special padding. I have sustained injuries from running. To stop running for me, would be like to stop pushing during childbirth just because you ripped a little (eaw). I will heal and hele on. DO NOT TELL ME TO STOP RUNNING. It is my personal choice and if I hurt myself to the point I won’t heal then you have to let me fall to fly. I cannot run barefoot or minimalist. Once again, I AM FLAT FOOTED. Running without my inserts is what caused my injuries in the first place. Since getting the inserts and re-evaluating how I run I’ve been much, much better.  I will happily support you with running and give you advice if you ask, but I do not appreciate being told to stop or being told HOW I should be running.

Phew! Okay that pretty much sums it up. If you read this and have an issue, guess what? These are my personal opinions and this is my blog and if I have offended you, I do not care. This is how I feel and this is why if you try to start on any of these subjects in a combative manner, I will button my mouth, smile awkwardly, scowl, roll my eyes and if you are persistent enough tell you to stop talking. Remember, the internet can be bountiful with misinformation. Go with your guts, quit preaching and start living.