Amen, ahem

The past few weeks, my fella and I have been watching the Leah Remini, docu-series about Scientology. I have a lot of respect for her, for standing up to them. It can't be easy to admit how naive and/or gullible you were/are. Clearly, Scientology is a cult. Any organization shrouded in secrecy, has something to hide. Duh. I always wonder though, about those people that get sucked into a cult, what happens in your brain that stops you from reasoning? If any organization told me that my family was the enemy because they didn't hold the same beliefs of that organization; I'd just have to say, go to hell. What stops some people from doing that? And for those people who get out, what happened in their brain that finally made them say, go to hell!

We've had some pretty interesting conversations about religion. I was raised in the Catholic church and he was raised in the Mormon church. We both became adults that have no interest in organized religion. I know that some people find that kind of sad. Others would say, hallelujah! 

Religion in general, fills a need for people though. I was not interested in attending church as I grew up because I felt like they were hypocrites. I didn't like it at the time, that all religions basically said, if you aren't Catholic/Methodist/Baptist, etc., you're going to hell. Most of what I learned about God in the Catholic church, led me to believe that God just wanted you to believe in him. I figured, then why does it matter what denomination you are? 

No, I'm not saying all church goers are ignorant. And I'm not saying all churches are only interested in domination. There are plenty of people out there who strive to be good or better or kinder, in the name of God. In the last couple decades though, NON denominational churches have been popping up everywhere, and gaining in popularity. I suspect, it's because they are driven by the teachings of the bible and not the Pope or the Bishop or the Prophet.

Organized religion is just too subjective. How else can you explain radicals? It's all about power and control for them.

Funko POP

It's so great that I didn't discover these years ago...I would a hundred of them by now! I love them!

They're so cute! My guy just doesn't realize how lucky he is sometimes :-) 

Mwahahahahahaha!

Tired faces

We have a new ad campaign going on in my home town. It started out being directed at drives. Apparently, the number of pedestrians being hit by cars has skyrocketed! A lot of it is texting and not paying attention. But then they realized that pedestrians are just as much to blame.
I like this campaign. One, because it puts at least some onus on the pedestrian. Honest to God, I can't tell you how many times each week, I have to slow down or brake for nincompoops crossing the street whenever and wherever they want. Also, you numskulls on bicycles are NOT exempt from the rules of the road. If you're riding on a city street, number one, use the freakin' bike lanes that we spent millions of dollars on to accommodate YOU. Second, you don't get to blow through stop signs and turn lanes. Geesh! And parents, teach your kids to look around when they're riding their bikes. Why the hell is everybody in such hurry?!?!?!

http://fox59.com/2016/11/15/group-launches-tired-faces-campaign-to-promote-pedestrian-safety-in-indy/

the IRS

First, this is just a little "you're invading my space" rant.
Just because the things on my desk are accessible, doesn't mean you can use them. I hate it when people just take things off my desk, without asking!!! Stop it! It's rude AND it's rude!! Geez.

Now, on to the worst government agency in history, the IRS. Does anyone actually appreciate the IRS? I don't think so. I don't want to be angry, because I happen to have just won my argument with them, but I am. It took 2 years of diligence on my part. I had to succumb to many threatening letters, duplicate and triplicate copies, ignorance and bullying. Me, Jane Doe, a regular citizen with a regular income, in a regular home in the Midwest. Because they came to their senses, I've now officially overpaid the IRS $1837. Yesterday, we received yet another letter from them stating basically that they accept what I've been trying to tell them, for the last two years and that I can expect a partial refund. 
Excuse me? PARTIAL??? What about the interest on what I overpaid you? What about the penalties you made me pay?? How about a refund on the whole amount, assholes. Honestly, I just can't be happy about my win and that really pisses me off!

On a happier note...we're having our first significant snowfall of the season! It's awesome!!
2 hours ago, there wasn't any snow on the ground. Now look:

Merry, happy, joyful!

I wish people could decorate with Christmas lights all year long. It's so pretty and colorful and cheerful! I dig it. I like it so much, I just bought those super cool fairy lights, so I can "tastefully" decorate indoors!

Remember when...

...you were a kid...what were you're favorite toys or games?

I loved Battleship. The old version.

I think the new digital version is cool though - you can't loose the ships!

My favorite board game was Uncle Wiggley.

I liked building models and making things, like creepy crawlers.

You could make bugs and scare your mom :-)

I liked Colorforms too. I had a few Barbies but she wasn't really my thing. I wasn't really a doll kind of little girl. I was more of a, "it's my backyard, my tree, so I get to be Tarzan!" kind of girl. 

I liked stuffed animals but I didn't have too many of those. But I really loved Breyer Horses! I only had 4 or 5 though. I remember that they were kind of expensive for just just a sit around kind of thing. I had these;

I saw one today on sale at Amazon and it made me remember them, so I looked them up. It was fun. 

Did you play jacks? Me either. Did you do Chinese jump rope? We did that all the time at recess, in Catholic school. How about Lego's? I loved Lego's when I was in 2nd/3rd grade. But when I had Lego's, we only had 4 shapes. That was it. So we had to be creative all on our own. Now they have every size imaginable and Lego's are expensive!! Geez! What about an Erector set or Lincoln Logs? 

It's fun to remember when 

I didn't get it

There was so much I wanted to say about this article, but at the same time, I can't say anything. It was really tough for me to get through and I had to stop and start 3 times just to finish it. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dear-every-cancer-patient-i-ever-took-care-of-im_us_58348345e4b050dfe61876d7