What is going on?

What is going on with people these days? We're back to racism or threats of it, Black Panthers and Jesse Jackson. People are suing people over the weather and school bus companies over seat belts. People are killing their own kids. And it's 85 degrees in March!
Recently in the news, a bus driver ran into a bridge, killing himself and a child as well as injuring several others. They haven't really said what caused the bus driver to wreck, whether he wasn't paying attention, if the kids were being bad or if he had some health issue. I'm not pretending to understand what it's like to lose a child, it isn't something I can even wrap my brain around, but accidents do happen. I've heard that one of the parents now wants to sue the bus company for lack of seat belts. I guess to me, even if they installed seat belts on every bus, kids would not put them on, accidents would still happen and people would still be injured.
Last summer there was a concert at the state fair. A random storm came through and part of the stage collapsed and people were injured and died. Now, the victims families are wanting to sue for millions of dollars. Again, I can't imagine the pain of losing someone so suddenly, however, there was an announcement made about the storm, they really didn't know where it was going to hit, and the state as well as others have paid out tens of thousands of dollars to the victim's families already.
Think about this now, in Africa a single mother dies of AIDS which she contracted from her late husband who contracted it by having sex with other women. The 5 children are left without parents. Their extended family comes in and takes anything of value from them and leaves them alone, homeless, afraid, without food and no one to take care of them. Who do they get to sue? Where are our priorities?

I'm back!!

So, it's been several weeks! Sorry, I've been a little under the weather. But, while we're on the subject, man this weather is fantastic!!
Well, this week is spring break week in btown, so in the spirit of going on vacation, I thought I would blog about my 3 favorite US vacation destinations!
Number 3:
San Diego, California! San Diego is one of those places that it doesn't matter what time of year you go, it's typically beautiful! I love the beaches, the shops, the landscape, the parks and the sail boats! It is a bit expensive, but it's such a fun place to be.
Number 2:
Phoenix, Arizona
Again, it's typically nice when you go, I love the mountains, the malls, the river, but my favorite part is that it is home to some of my favorite people!! I just love how it feels to be back home again in Arizona!! The food is amazing too, especially the drive-thru Mexican food joints! Travis and I would like to open one in Indy, but it has to be dirty and delicious at the same time!! I really enjoy all that there is to do in Arizona, indoors, outdoors or just driving in the car, there is so much to see and do and it's just a lot of fun!
Number 1:
Florida Keys, Florida
A couple of years ago we went to the Keys for the first time with our neighbors, and it was one of the best trips we've ever been on. We had so much fun and fell in love with this chain of islands. We loved the fresh seafood, the laid back lifestyle, the breathtaking ocean views, the fishing, the beaches and all the fun Key West has to offer! I know we will be in the Keys again someday soon and can't wait!
If you've never been to one or any of these destinations, please make it one of your future vacation destinations!

My obsession

Recently, I was hanging out with a friend and realized we had a similar secret obsession. I really became curious about whether or not our obsession was really healthy for us? Our obsession is none other than Chapstick!!!!! I love just rubbing it on my lips all the time! I literally have to stop myself so people don't think I'm a freak. But I wonder what the ramifications are for using so much Chapstick? I have always been told that too much of anything isn't good, so I'm wondering what the harm can be in little ol Chapstick? Well I checked it out and there is a website called lip balm anonymous. These people are a little worse off than me. I mean I love it and all, but not 24-7. They say when they've tried to quit, their lips actually went through withdraw and can show signs of being without Chapstick! I'm guessing
It's called chapped lips!! :) I wonder how many others there are out there!?

Boycotting Hershey today!

Is this 1984 all over again? Do we still have people who have phobias against those with HIV and AIDS? I 1984 Ryan White was diagnosed with HIV and upon arrival back to his school in Kokomo, IN he was outcasted by those in the school as well as parents! How sad is it that in 2012 we are facing this same issue in Hershey, PA at the private school associated with the Hershey Company!! They claim they are protecting other students there. My issue with this is, what are you teaching them? The article I read mentioned that they were concerned since it is a 24 hour private school and they were concerned about the passing of the disease through sexual contact. Are you kidding me? Can we not teach students about abstinence anymore? Or can we not teach them about safe sex? Or bring awareness to the disease, the affect it has on one's life and how to prevent the spread of the disease! Instead, we are discriminating against a 13 year old child because of something probably not even his fault (I don't know how he contracted HIV) who has also met every other requirement to get admitted to the school.
This is the biggest sales day of the year for Hershey, I think we need to send them a message to let them know it's not ok to discriminate. Ryan White died in 1990, 6 years after his diagnosis. By the end of his life, he finally received acceptance from those around him, he was known nationwide. And even had Elton John sing at his funeral! Something tells me that teenage boy didn't need all of the excitement, he probably just wanted the next kid to be treated better than he was!

When Helping Hurts

I recently started reading the book When Helping Hurts. It primarily talks about trying to help those in poverty in other countries, but also has examples from the US.
I was born with a burden for hurting people and often struggle when I pass by the people on the side of the road with "will work for food" signs, families who are homeless or people in need or harm in general because I really want to help. The thing is, often if I give in to these feelings, I actually do more harm than good. I perpetuate their situation and enable them to stay stuck in the rut they're in. (Unfortunately, I also have heard the statistic that oftentimes, those people holding the signs or selling pencils are making more money each year than I am, like in the $100,000 range.) Some people living in poverty or who are homeless actually choose that life. Others have little to no self-esteem, others live in generational poverty and simply don't know how to survive any other way. So what does that mean for me? How do I help? I'm still reading, so when I get to that chapter and read through it, I'll let you know!!
Until then, I also have to question my motives. Why do I feel so compelled to help these people? Is it to pat myself on the back? Is it to try to alleviate my guilt for having material possessions while they struggle to feed their kids (or that I have a huge pile of junk that needs to go to Goodwill). Maybe it's because I want to fix their problem, but I'm not God, so can I really fix it?
I'm obviously being challenged by this book, and I hope it's not a cliff hanger where at the end I'm worse off than when I started!!! To be continued...

It's super duper!!

With all of the hubbub of the Super Bowl in Indy this week, it begs me to ask myself why.
Why do people get so wrapped up in celebrities? There are a few celebrities that I get excited for, Elton John, Julia Roberts and maybe one or two others, but no one is really worth me sitting outside all night long to see. When I was downtown, people were mobbed around certain restaurants waiting for some celebrity that may (or may not) be in there to come out. To me it's just a bit silly. I prefer to take the opposite approach, I head toward the cameras, to hopefully get some part of my body on the news or ESPN or whatever!!
Also, why doesn't Indy do more fun events like this? I think once a year Indy should have a weekend long city party! Bring back the people who do the zip line, bring in some local and nationally known artists to give us some fun music, put out big tents, and just have a big fun party! One of my favorite parts of walking around downtown were all the random musicians!! It was fun to see people having a good time! People were friendly, and I only saw one guy getting arrested! The Indy 500 has lost some of its excitement, so let's spruce things up around here and pull this excitement off once a year Indy!!

Isle Roatan, Mahogany Beach

We pulled into Honduras and something told me I was going to love this port! I had heard very mixed reviews about this stop so I was curious what we would encounter once we were off the boat. I knew there were two good beaches, Mahogany Beach which is where our boat ported, and The West End beach which is where the excursions went. I wanted to see the island so we left the port and went up over a hill and at the bottom you could get scooters (which I wouldn't recommend) or private taxis. We met up with a guy name Parson and he offered us the grand tour for the entire day for $25 each. We decided it was worth it, so we were off. Pretty close to the port is a town called Coxan. It was a pretty poor area, but gave a good look at what some of the people there lived like. (Some boats port here, so if you do, just take a cab somewhere else). We had to stop for gas on our dime, which sort of frustrated Travis, but oh well. Then, we went to West End and went to some resort, which was absolutely gorgeous! We each had to pay $10 but we had full access to all the outside amenities. It was really nice, but it was at that point that I realized most if not all of the beach access on the West End was private. The drive to the beach, was amazing. Roatan is mostly rain forrest and pretty hilly. The great part about that is the views! It really was spectacular! After the beach, we went a different way back. It was the area of the island mostly owned by Americans. Remax has taken over half of the south end of the island!! Parson said you can by land for really cheap in certain areas, or you can by from the Remax areas for quadruple the price. But you can really tell the difference. In the areas owned by Americans the grass is manicured, there are stone walls, everything is landscaped, etc. Parson also told us that the Mayor of that area is very protective of the Americans, so if someone walks on their pier, they are in "big trouble"! It was very interesting! Once we were back at the port, we realized that the deal I thought I got on a Mahogany box wasn't a deal at all. This was one stop that was actually cheaper at the port than it was outside of it.
We then headed over to Mahogany Beach and it was really nice, but very crowded. We ate at Fat Tuesdays on the beach and though it was a bit pricey, it was pretty good!! We didn't stay on the beach long, but this was probably one of our favorite stops!!! Many people seemed to enjoy this stop and some of the crew on the ship told us it was one of their favorite stops. We were sad knowing our cruise was coming to an end, but it was a great way to end a great trip!!