Something's Gotta Give with Gun Violence

Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

I live in Marysville, Washington (and have two kids in school). It's a bedroom community bursting at its borders with 10 elementary schools, four middle schools, and another four high school campuses.

Children everywhere!

There are not a lot of violent crimes here. Still, on Friday, October 24, 2014, a 15-year-old boy brought one of his father's handguns to school with him, walked into the cafeteria, and shot five of his friends and then himself, all in the head.

Only one of the kids survived. He was the shooter's cousin.

There Has Been a School Shooting in My Town

On Friday morning, October 24, 2014, at 10:39 AM, freshman Jaylen Fryberg brought a gun to Marysville-Pilchuck High School, invited five of his friends to have lunch with him, walked into the cafeteria and shot all five, two of whom are his cousins. He then shot himself.

source

I was 3.9 miles away, welcoming my husband home from dialysis and doing a little housework.

A few minutes later the local news app I use pushed a breaking news notification to my phone. I very often don't even pay much attention to them. I did tap this one and read a headline about a possible school shooting here in Marysville.

"Oh God, no", I muttered.

And immediately went into GET-ALL-THE-INFORMATION mode.

I was holding out hope that the word "possible" would turn out to mean that that's NOT what happened.

Alas, it was true.

Resources for People with Vision Loss in Washington State

I realize this is a very specific topic that many of my readers may not have any need for. That's OK, you can skip it if you want. It's something I've been thinking about sharing since I attended the Sight Connection Low Vision Expo last May. It just so happens that October is Blindness Awareness Month, and today specifically is World Sight Day, so I thought it fitting to post about it now.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this year's Insight: A Low Vision Expo. I got lots of useful and interesting information that I want to pass on to those who might need it.

My (low) vision has been stable for the last 20 years. I adapted to my limitations a long time ago. I attended a living skills school for the newly blind and visually impaired when it first happened. This was back in California, so everything I've ever known about available resources for my particular disability were specific to that state. When I moved to Washington 11 year ago, I didn't know anything about what might be offered here, and frankly, didn't really need to know for a long time.

Why I Understand the Loss of Washington State's NCLB Waiver

Washington state recently lost its No Child Left Behind waiver because it doesn’t require state test scores to be integrated into teacher evaluations. Evidently, Governor Inslee and our Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn, both urged lawmakers to pass a law to bring Washington into compliance with this rule, but they refused.

“Our state Legislature failed to pass a bill during the 2014 session that would have prevented this from happening, Our state could have maintained its No Child Left Behind waiver with a one-word fix (from ‘may’ to ‘must’) on student growth scores being one of multiple measures of assessment in teacher and principal evaluations. This does not serve our state’s students.” ~ Excellent Schools Now, here

I cannot understand why the Washington State Legislature couldn't do this one thing in order to keep flexibility in how our NCLB federal money is spent. Money that our school districts sorely need. Money that we, at the local level, know best how to spend. Seems to me that is why NCLB waivers are possible at all: because after 12 years with No Child Left Behind in place, DC has come to the same conclusion.

10 Things Summer

We have been living in Washington for 10 years now. In that time, there have only been a few Independence Days that were hot. It is a general assumption around these parts that summer doesn't officially begin until July 5.

This year? Summer is most definitely here! Like, 84 degrees here.

I love sunshine and warmth. Not so much HOT-th. Yes, I just made up a word.

But it's fine. Just gives me an excuse to try a banana daiquiri!

1. Like this - Yum!

Frozen Banana Daiquiri recipe

2. Flip flops

3. Sitting outside

4. Grapes

5. Lemonade stands

6. Produce stands

7. Big salads made from veggies bought at produce stands

8. An overheated kitty

9. Grilling

10. Cool sun shots

I guess I have been Instagramming All. The. Things. of summer. Why not?

We still have the 4th of July, a trip to Oregon, my daughter's birthday, our wedding anniversary....and August to go!

I've just got to leave you with the inimitable Will Smith, aka The Fresh Prince....

Linked with Monday Listicles.

West Coast Girl

After writing about what I was doing 10 years ago, and while standing in the shower, I realized something.

I have now been living in Washington, combined total years, longer than I lived in California.

I first lived in Washington from birth to 12 years old. I have been living in Washington again for nearly 10 years. That's 22 years. I lived in California for 17 years in between.

God. I remember the first time I could say I had been or done something for 10 years (as an adult). I felt old then! Now I'm talking about 17 and 22 years? And add those two numbers together? Gah!

I feel basically equal fondness for the two states I've called home. Leaving both was difficult. I left people, and a chapter of my life, behind both times.

Ooph. Typing that just made me tear up!

Five Things I Miss About California

1. All the sunshine you could ever want.

2. The most beautiful lake in the world (Lake Tahoe).

3. Great sourdough bread.

4. BART - Bay Area Rapid Transit.

5. Friends and family.

Five Things I Love About Washington

1. Nary a drought to speak of (even if certain people sometimes panic needlessly).

2. My son and I were born at the same hospital (he in a new building, but still).

3. Four distinct seasons.

4. I feel special living in the state where Starbucks and Amazon are headquartered.

5. Friends and family.

Both the Bay Area and Puget Sound are shaped similarly. There is water to the west and there are mountains to the east and I always know what direction I'm going. One freeway, I-5, runs through both states and it makes me feel like I'm still connected to California because of it.

I have always lived near bodies of water, and I suspect I always will.

So you see, when someone asks me where I'm from, it's kind of difficult to answer. I feel like I'm from both places. I suppose I have to say Washington officially. But I know there's more to it than that.


Linked with Monday Listicles.

Wordless: Glacier Peak....or not

I looked and looked online to figure out the name of this mountain and I really thought it was Glacier Peak. But my father has informed me that it is actually Three Fingers Mountain.

Sigh. I'm sorry I was wrong.

Nevertheless, I'm sure its beauty can be appreciated.

Hubs took this photo with our new Nikon the same day I took
the one in last week's post with my phone.

Linked with a few Wordless/Wordful photo peeps:
Parenting by Dummies, Create with Joy, Live and Love Out Loud and Better in Bulk.

Wordless: Winter, so far

Two Instagram, two not. All taken with my phone. Which, I'm not saying is fabulous or anything.


Linked with a few Wordless/Wordful photo peeps: Parenting by Dummies, Create with Joy, Live and Love Out Loud and iPPP.

Gay Pot Day

Today is a big day in Washington state.

It is the day that both the legalization of same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana use go into effect.

I'm calling it "Gay Pot Day". Catchy, isn't it?

I am neither gay nor do I smoke pot. But I voted yes on both of these issues.

I must admit, I wasn't always cool with gay marriage. For a long time I looked at it through religious eyes. But over the years I have come to see that WE make marriage what WE want it to be. Some people have a religious ceremony, some do not. WE place that on it. Essentially marriage is only a civil, legal arrangement between two people. WE put love and/or religious beliefs into it. There was a time when marriages were negotiated for land. That's neither romantic nor religious.

So now I feel that marriage should be allowed for ANY two people who want to make a life-long commitment to each other.

I bet these two have been waiting a long time!

As of 7:00 this morning King County had issued 279 marriage licenses to same-sex couples since midnight. They are so excited and happy! How can anyone think this is a bad thing?

The marijuana law is a little trickier. Washington voted to legalize and tax pot use, not only for medicinal purposes anymore. Problem is, the federal government still doesn't like it. As of the 11:00 news last night there was talk of a "smoke out" under the Space Needle to celebrate the new law, even though smoking pot in public can result in a fine just like having an open container of alcohol in public.

It's all a little convoluted I suppose, but I think still a step in the right direction. Really, the feds just need to pull their heads out and get over it. Drug USE really shouldn't be criminalized and the government could bring in so much revenue through taxing drugs. Revenue that could be funneled to SCHOOLS. I don't care where the money comes from, they just need the money.

Also? I believe marijuana to be a very benign drug. Further, I believe it to be MUCH healthier than cigarettes. One could argue for outlawing those. But I won't go there.

So, Happy Gay Pot Day, Washington! Or, Queer Weed Day, as my husband put it.

Fall, Finally

Picasa says I have 117 pictures in my Fall 2012 folder. I've shared some of them along the way, but I thought it might be cool to put together a sort of "Autumn photo log", if you will.

This fall in the Pacific Northwest was pretty amazing. We had stellar weather well into October. Even as it was gradually cooling down, the sun remained in full force.

Probably the rain was tired and decided to take a little vacay. It does put in quite a bit of overtime around these parts.

All the extra sun gave us bountiful color!

Alright, I suppose I should stop. I know Autumn doesn't technically end until nearly Christmas, but it's beginning to feel a lot like winter now.

Isn't where I live beautiful? Would you believe I took all of these pictures just around my neighborhood? It's true! Imagine how much more beautiful going up to that mountain is.....

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and aren't being trampled in your local Walmart!

My Politics...for what it's worth

*This is kind of a BIG post. So....you've been warned.


Unless you've been hiding under a rock, and maybe you are, this is a presidential election year.

Sigh.

I've been saying it for months now, I really just want to skip this one. Since we can't, I have been trying to pay attention to the campaigns, the debates, jokes....

I took a presidential election quiz several weeks ago that showed I side with President Barack Obama.

My results went on to show who I side with by party

• 88% Democratic
• 74% Green
• 44% Libertarian
• 43% Republican

Does knowing this make you feel any differently about me? I find that sometimes learning someone's political persuasions can be hard to reconcile with how we feel about the rest of who they are. Especially if you're in another camp.

For years I thought I was very middle-of-the-road, sitting on the fence between Democrat and Republican. I would describe myself as a "liberal Republican" or a "conservative Democrat". But apparently I am now actually quite far removed from being a Republican at all, and that I could be Green or Libertarian. Oh, but those parties don't count, do they?

Since this election season began, and helped by taking this quiz, I now see how I'm not really on the fence at all. In fact, I'm having a hard time understanding how anyone would be proud to call themselves a Republican right about now. Mitt Romney just keeps sticking his foot fully into his mouth and then looks around like, "What??".

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The 47%

The other thing I'm having a hard time with is how anyone who knows my family and everything we've been through can be a supporter of Mitt Romney.

You see, my family is part of this 47% he spoke of. Both Mark and I have legal disabilities. Mark is chronically ill. But let me clarify something. We are very GRATEFUL that our government has programs in place that have been helpful to us over the years, and we've both paid taxes. It's not about "entitlement".

Then again, I do believe I'm "entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing!"

I believe EVERYONE is entitled to those things. They are BASIC necessities you asshat. And yeah, I think if someone is in need of help, someone should help them.

Look, I know there are "welfare moms" and junkies who abuse the system. But they can't be allowed to ruin it for those who are just trying to get by. Honest, decent people who have simply been dealt a crappy hand. There are ways to weed out those who are less deserving.

Abortion

I don't know if I should even get started on women's rights, but being that I am a woman..... The abortion issue is so beyond frustrating, I'm not sure I can adequately express how I feel about it. I  never thought I would terminate a pregnancy....until I was 16 and pregnant. I didn't want to and it was really hard. But it was the CHOICE I made. And honestly -- hold onto your hats -- at this stage in my life, and considering my family circumstances, I'd probably do it again. I still wouldn't want to and it would still be hard, but I should be allowed to make that choice if I believe it's what's best.

There are so many reasons and varying situations that CHOICES simply MUST be available. I will never understand how someone can think they have the right to take someone else's rights away.

At the debate on Tuesday, when asked what he would do to help ensure equal pay for women, Mitt Romney only talked about making sure women have flexible schedules so we have time to cook dinner for our kids. He would cut funding to Planned Parenthood and I'm 100% sure he would do everything he can to limit access to birth control and abortions. And the correlation he made to single mothers and gun violence? Don't even get me started.

None of this is about religion. People like to use religion as an excuse for their nonsense. Religion is PERSONAL, and so too is a woman's reproductive choices. I believe in God, but I don't believe I have the right to tell others what to believe or to condemn them for anything. Isn't managing your own life enough?

The Economy

I learned in high school civics that our government has a system of checks and balances. That the President is the leader of our country, but we also have Congress and the Supreme Court who get their say. Both the President and Congress have the power to stop legislation in its tracks. And even when something is passed into law, the matter can be taken before the Supreme Court where nine highly qualified judges can be the deciding factor.

In this sort of government, how can any one person be wholly to blame for something? And in turn, how can any one person be expected to fix a problem all by themselves?

I didn't watch any of the post-debate spin and commentary on Tuesday, so I wasn't sure if anyone else was as shocked as I was when Romney exclaimed not once, but twice, "Government does not create jobs!" Um. What? Then why do you blame Obama for the current unemployment rate and how can you promise to create more jobs if you become President? I'm so confused. Sometimes I wonder if that man has Terrets.

By the way, it was Obama's tax incentives of 2009-10 that made it possible for Mark and I to become homeowners.

Education

More needs to be invested into our children. Period. My daughter doesn't have any textbooks for crying out loud! Not paper, PDF or eBook. Nada. Her math teacher has a text book which he uses to verbally give the kids the information they need and they take notes. There are history textbooks but not enough for each student. I don't know how teachers are teaching.

Improving education in America has been pushed down to the bottom of the political to-do list since 9/11. I completely understand that we had some shit to take care of after that. But it's time to move on and re-prioritize some things in this country. Politicians go an and on about how important education is for the future of our children. Obama has made some changes in regards to student loans and grants for college. But more needs to be done for K-12 too.

I was pleased to hear Obama talk about education as it relates to PREVENTING crime and violence. I like that he doesn't want to throw more gun control laws on the books, but rather look at how we can ensure less desperation which leads to crime.

Health Care

If you know me and my life at all, you know health care is a HUGE part of our lives. Having a pre-existing condition means my husband has to apply for and get denied good health insurance, and then apply for the only insurance that will cover him, which costs nearly $300 a month. That combined with Medicare parts A, B and D, and he STILL has some out-of-pocket medical expenses. All of that is JUST for Mark. The kids and I have to fend for ourselves. This is one of the reasons it's so difficult for people with disabilities and/or health problems to get ahead in life. It's a vicious cycle.

My brain is ill-equipped to dissect the legal jargon of "Obamacare", so I can't say with any authority if the changes being implemented will benefit my family. But I applaud the President for trying and CARING. He pushed and pushed for some kind of change. He didn't back down. I appreciate that.

(Actually, I think it already has benefited us. We all got FREE flu shots this year. Did you get yours?)

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These are the things I PERSONALLY feel strongly about. So these are the things I have to base my voting on. The things I care about fly in the face of the Republican platform. Not only that, but I just don't feel like Mitt Romney cares about me and my family.

Heck, I also think there should be marriage equality and will be voting YES on Washington's Referendum 74. Oh oops, did I just say that out loud? My bad.


Image credits: I got all of the above images from fan pages on Facebook such as Being Liberal, MoveOn.org, The Christian Left, One Million Vaginas, Miss R-EVOLutionaries and Upworthy.

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I did not write this to piss anyone off or to try to change votes. I wrote it for the same reason I write everything I do, because it's my PERSPECTIVE, and people can learn from others' perspectives. So, if you want to leave a comment on this post, I expect you to be respectful. If you can't do that, I will delete it. Because saying something rude on my blog is, to me, the equivalent of saying it right to my face.

Sublime September

The background for this quote is a picture I took of our beautiful blue sky!

We here in the Pacific Northwest are having the NICEST September I can remember in the nine years I've been living in Washington.

Seattle almost broke a record for most consecutive days without rain. We are now on the verge, according to a quick soundbite I heard yesterday morning, of setting a record for the least amount of measurable rainfall in August and September. I think that's what the weather guy said.

I kid you not, like clockwork, it usually rains on the first day of school, the day after Labor Day (or 2 days after Labor Day, but whatever). And thus begins our quick decent into Fall....

Not this year! My son wore SHORTS to his first day of school!

Except for ONE cloudy, drizzly day....

....the weather has been PERFECT. Cool, crisp nights and mornings with mild, breezy afternoons and evenings. And SO. MUCH. SUN.

Why Mother Nature is being so nice to us I do not know.

But I'm enjoying it. Even if it means I have to keep shaving my legs.

Because I know all too well what comes next: once this beautiful weather ends, we won't see it again until next Summer.

10 Words for Home

My fellow Washingtonian and our Listmaster has tasked us with listing 10 Words That Describe Home. I wonder if any of hers and mine will be the same?

I live in Western Washington, about 40 miles north of Seattle, straight up I-5, in a bedroom community called Marysville.

I guess it's a small town, but it has grown a lot in just the 9 years we've been here, and it's growing still. We now have our own Costco, Taget, Olive Garden and Mark's favorite new addition, Cabela's.

We like it here. It's very family-oriented with lots of nice people. It's not perfect, but where is? I was born in the next city south, Everett, in the same hospital as my son (new building). You may remember that I lived in Lake Tahoe from 12-19. I consider that home too. But I live back in Washington now, so here is where I will talk about.

1. Wet - it rains spits steadily 10 months of the year.

First day of school, day after Labor Day. Mother Nature just knows.

2. Clean - all that water.

3. Green - once the sun comes out and combines with the water. Also, lots of crunchy folks here.

Snapped these photos on Saturday when we took a drive with my dad north along Chuckanut Drive, into Bellingham, stopping at this lookout in Mt. Vernon on the way home. See how green?

4. Coffee - Seattle is Starbucks headquarters and Marysville has no less than seven stores, not to mention a myriad of corner coffee huts.

5. Volcanoes - Washington boast TWO mountain ranges, the Olympics and the Cascades, many of which are volcanoes. Anyone remember the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980? I had just turned 6, slept through it and was greeted by a blanket of ash outside my front door.

6. Strawberries - My house sits on land that used to be strawberry fields. The annual Marysville Strawberry Festival is held every June. I love living in a town that still has old fashioned parades and carnivals.

7. Community - I don't know if it's just us, but we have managed to meet some of the kindest people here. From our personal friendships to Girl Scouts, our kids' teachers, various health care professionals and Mark's co-workers at Home Depot. It's very cool.

About my actual house....

8. Condo - our dwelling is zoned as a condo to justify the tiny lots, but it is a fully separate house. We have barely enough room to turn around in our "backyard". Just enough for a BBQ and a small garden, which Mark has recently begun purchasing supplies for.

9. Cozy - our house is just big enough for the 4 of us, not too big, not to small. Sure, more space would be nice, but like my mom always says, "the bigger the house, the more there is to clean!"

10. Ours - before two years ago I didn't think we'd ever buy a house. I was used to renting and was really comfortable with it. Now I'm so glad we took the plunge.




PS: I have taken over my BFF's blog, Mom Rocks Mealtime, for this week and next. I would love it if you went and checked out my first post!