When Friends Can't Have Different Opinions?

Art by @Static_Skye

Why is it that some people think that if you have different opinions on certain things you cannot be friends. As far as I know I haven't lost any friends on Facebook based on my personal beliefs in what is going on in the world and if I have they must not have been very good friends because I didn't even notice they were missing however I know friends who have lost friends that they have had for years. I will never understand why anyone would think that friendships are so easy to dispose of. 

I am still friends with everyone I have been friends with. We don't all agree on everything. We parent differently, we handle life situations differently, we enjoy different things, have different religions, support different political parties. Some of us drink, some of us don't enjoy it. Some get high, some don't and never did. Yet we have always been able to just accept the differences because these things do not define or change a person. We are allowed to feel and think what we want or at least we use to be allowed to think differently. 

Unfortunately I am not sure what it says about us as a people to not be able to get along because your friends don't agree with everything you do or say. What are we teaching our kids? Are friendships so dispensable? Did they really ever matter before? Was it all a lie?  Are your beliefs really so important that you feel the need to push it on someone else? 

I have never felt so self important that I needed to try to get someone to think or believe what I do. When I don't agree with a post or comment someone leaves or I see on Facebook I simply just scroll by. It is not my job to make someone agree with me. It is not my job to force my opinion on them in hope that what..it will change their mind. That suddenly they will say "yes! you are right. what a dummy I was for thinking or believing that." No! No one is going to suddenly change their mind or belief because of something you said. People believe what they believe. Maybe you will spark something and they will do their own research that in the long run will possibly open their eyes to something. Maybe! But inevitably all it does when you push your beliefs on someone else is piss them off, make them feel bad, and make them hide their posts from your judgmental eyes. 

Why? Remember when it was okay to think differently than someone else? Yeah, me too! It was the good old days before everyone was a keyboard warrior who don't have to look at you when they tell you are dumb for feeling different than they do. 

Can't we all just get along? 

My Life In Pictures - May 11 - May 19

May 11 - My baby boy turned 17. OMG how fast time flies.  My boy is all about his electronic games, Dallas Cowboys and his sweatbands. 

May 12 - We finally sold our van which was sitting in the driveway for more years than I care to say. It was enough for a down payment on a new car for me. Thank God! It barely had time to get comfortable in our bank account before it was gone. Such is life but so thankful to be driving a new car. 

May 13 - One of my favorite sketches so far. She doesn't suck.

May 14 - One of the best parts of this forced quarantine is that my kids are home from school. Just spending time with my daughter over the past months has been amazing. We were always together prior to this but these days without school or work we have more time to just sit on the deck talking or looking at clouds.  

May 15 - Just my dresser skeleton. We call him Sheldon. I love him! He sits among my photos and angel collection. 

May 16 - My new baby. We named her Stormy. She is smaller than my old baby "Big Blue" but she has all the bells and whistles that Big didn't have. I am so going to miss my Explorer. 

May 17 - Our tulips look so bright and pretty with the sun shining through them. 

May 18 - My girl is designing covers for her friend's new track on SoundCloud. Check it out if you have a chance. 

May 18 - The gazebo is up which means we spend way more time outside. I love when my husband puts it up because it is like we gain an extra room in the house. The kids are doing homework and I was getting ready for a Zoom call with my class. It was a beautiful day and the weather was glorious but the best part was just being with these two people!

Little Wonders By Kate Rorick

• 
  

• 
  

The 411:

We have all had that mommy moment that we are not proud of. The one we wish we could change but thankfully most of us haven't had them go viral online. Poor perfect Quinn had her "bad" mommy moment recorded and plastered all over the internet. Horrifying!  That moment changed Quinn's life as she knew it and for the better in so many ways although it takes her time to realize it. 

I must admit that it took me a hot minute to get into this book. I enjoyed the first few chapters about Quinn. Then the story changed for me and I struggled through a few chapters but thankfully when Quinn her and "new" friend Daisy who is having some personal struggles find each other and become fast friends I was all in.

Readers will enjoy finding out how these two very different woman become each others besties and while the internet is forever learning how to make lemonade out of the lemons you have been handed can totally change your life for the better. Very enjoyable even though I lost interest for a few chapters. Now that I finished it, I am not even sure why I wasn't into it. I love Quinn, Daisy and even Shanna.

My Life In Pictures - May 1 - May 10

May 1 - My attempt at a dude. Does he look like a dude. Not sure why I find it so hard to draw men without making them look too feminine. 

May 2 - This guy was sunning himself while my husband was cleaning up the side of the yard. He stayed long enough for the whole family to get a nice glimpse of him. Head raised up above the rock. It was odd how long he stayed like that.  He is pretty cute!

May 3 - Jinxy needed a pillow soooo he used the windowsill. Does this look comfortable to anyone? 

May 4 - These girls are pretty cute. 

May 5 - Hot day. Luna stretched out as far as she can. I cannot image this coat of fur when it is 84 and humid. UGH.

May 6 - We had tenants in the bird house for the first time this year. Today all the babies decided was the day to jump and try to fly. They were all over the deck. Hoping, bouncing and this little guy holding onto the screen. It was so tiny and my cats were going crazy. Thankfully there is no way out of the house or these tiny birds wouldn't have stood a change. 

May 7 - Man life is so different. My son went into the pizzeria to grab our Friday night pies. We always do Pizza Friday. He eats a whole pie every single Friday so he is happy to go in.  I just had to grab a photo to remember how weird these times are. 

May 8 - Found on my son's Snapchat. I think this is a compliment right? LOL

May 9 - Got my daughter some light saber chopsticks! They are so cute.  

May 10 - We cleaned out my truck so we could post it on Craigslist. We obviously had different opinions of how the day was. I enjoyed my time with her. 

My Life In Pictures - April 23 - 30

April 23 - OMG I am in love with my daughter's cardboard and Exacto knife artwork. So pretty!

April 24 - It was a beautiful night. These are my favorite color combinations. 

April 25 - The drawing prompt was Quest. She said she was drawing  girl on a boat looking over at the waves and the horizon but she is not sure it looks like she is on a boat. I saw it before she even told me what it was.

April 26 - The Kramer has been bestowed to the girl. After sitting in a guitar bag for over 17 years my husband finally relinquished his beloved guitar to our daughter. They may have not thought it was a big deal that needed to be memorialized but I thought it was beautiful. Shot taken over my shoulder to not take away from the moment ♥️

 

April 27 - Scrapbooking some old pics from my grandparents house and wanted to add some paper beside photos. Found this letter from my Uncle dated June 17 1969 from when he was in the Army. We should all get back to writing. I love that my grandparents kept this letter inside the envelope.  

April 28 - I haven't been to my classroom since March 13th but with my preschool still open and a few of my kids and co-workers still there I decided to drop off some fun Summer items for them to play with and my co-worker requested dark chocolate. It was nice to see them all and I was happy to do it!

April 29 - The prompt was sprout. I am amazed how she takes a prompt and thinks outside the box using her own skills and style. I would have probably put a little bud in a planter but this is why she is an artist and I am a doodler.

April 30 - My little doodle. She reminds me of Pat Benetar for some reason and I think it is because of her mouth. 

My Life In Pictures - April 18 - April 22

April 18 - My daughter's take on what is going on with the world and toilet paper! You can see her little cartoon here. 

April 19 - It was nice enough for some of our plants to go outside without freezing. This has been a very strange Spring

April 20 - I have smudged the house a lot over the past few weeks. Pretty much at least once every 3 days. Why I smudge

April 21 - Trying a new way of sketching. These Kawaii eyes are adorable. 

April 22 -  I did a Laurensize tutorial with a You Tube Artist. Damn it I wish I could remember the name.

My Life In Pictures - April 11 - April 17

April 11 - The prompt for the art my daughter is doing on Instagram was Glow. I think she nailed it!

April 12 - Thankfully I did a little Easter shopping when Valentine's Day ended. It was a bit different. The kids kept saying it was the first Easter they didn't spend at their Abuela's

April 13 - We never have a good view of rainbows near us but after a storm I headed out to see if I could see any and saw the most beautiful rainbow. It was a double and so vibrant. Because of my location I couldn't get a good view but was thrilled to be able to see it! Always look for the rainbow. It is amazing how good it makes you feel. Just a reminder that no matter what storm you are going through in your life, light will return. Hang in there!

April 14 - These are the worst birthday photos I have ever taken but my Goddess turned 15. I cannot believe it. Time flies. She had a great day and we all decided to that we didn't need a huge cake in the house so I did some of her favorite cookies and a few slices of Shoprite cheesecake. My family loves it.

April 15 - I have been putting books and movies in a milk crate with a FREE sign and an announcement on Facebook. Knowing that kids are home from school and I have a ton of read for a review/like new books I hoped to give them away to anyone who wanted them. 

April 16 - Goddess' drawing prompt was unite. I love her interpretation. 

April 17 -  Someone had a dirty butt so they needed a bath. Poor baby. She was not a happy camper but you have to do what you have to do. 

 

Our New Bread Maker Is Amazing However We Are Eating TOO Much Bread NOW!

At the very beginning of February my husband started telling me that when I shop I should pick up just a little more food. He told me that Corona virus was being felt in other areas of the world and to prepare I should just get more pantry and freezer food. "Instead of 2 cans of tuna, get 4.  Instead of 4 cans of sauce can 6." I was on it and we were slowly getting a small stockpile of paper goods, chicken, beef and canned goods as well as powdered milk and cat food and litter.  The end of February a bread machine showed up at the front door and he said, "Oh yeah, I ordered a bread machine. We are going to be making so much bread so get flour, yeast and sugar on your next trip." In didn't think we needed it. Didn't think we would use it and wondered where we would be storing it. We had one before kids and used it a lot then didn't and eventually it was tossed. 

Well, when the shit hit the fan we were nicely prepared and I was thankful I had a prepper on my hands. We have made so much bread, bread sticks, pretzels and dough for pizza. You can make yogurt, jam, rice and more but I have not done that yet.

Here is my first loaf. I didn't realize I could make bigger loaves until the second one. The book that came with my machine isn't well written. I have been learning as I go.

My first Pizza using the machine to make the dough. 

The fresh loaves don't last more than 2 hours in the house. I have had to piggyback a few loaves. As soon as one comes out, I wash the pan and start another one. 

My first attempt at Easter Bread was using the machine to make the dough.

After realizing how hard it is to cut fresh bread I bought a bread cutter. The bread is so warm when we cut it because no one knows how to wait that it gets squished as the knife goes through it. This bread cutter has made things so much easier. 

We use both items all the time. There is always fresh bread! Thankfully I am not a bread lover like my family I just kinda like it but man, hot bread with butter makes it hard to have only have one slice. 

I highly recommend both

My Life In Pictures - April 1 - April 10

April 1 - My husband started his Spring garden which means I lose the top of my microwave stand because this window gets the most sun for a few weeks.

April 2 - Hung out with my daughter in the temporary greenhouse. It was sunny but cold. She did her homework and I did some reading. It was a great day. 

April 3 - Drew a photo of my daughter reading or was she doing art on the 2nd but didn't take a photo until the 3rd to share on my Insta? What do you think? 

April 4 - Slowly filling up the greenhouse. 

April 5 -  Nothing

April 6 - My son asked for some football photos today for his Snapchat/Instapages. No problem. I took about 50 in 6 minutes.

April 7 - This doesn't happen often! All three cats in one pic! 

April 8 - My first digital art! Don't laugh. 

April 9 - My daughter did an art challenge for the month of April. Her pieces were impressive. Look at hers compared to mine above. It's actually laughable.

April 10 -  Life is very different these days. Seeing my kids in masks every time we leave the house is weird.  It is also weird that a few months in we have gotten use to seeing everyone wear one. It is the norm. Never saw this as the future.