Interviews are F.U.N.!

Did this impromptu interview about some of the paranormal stuff I have experienced in my life. There is a long list, trust me but I think it comes with being in tune.

Now – I’m generally not fond of being on camera. This time I made an exception.

Check out the link – Video Link

Love you all –

#technowarriorstv #iriesplace #writekennysmith

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3 Things You Don’t Know About #metoo

“Men make the moral code and they expect women to accept it. They have decided that it is entirely right and proper for men to fight for their liberties and their rights, but that it is not right and proper for women to fight for theirs.”

Emmeline Pankhurst

I often wonder what compels my compulsion. The compulsion to watch shows and scenes placing my mind back at the scene of the crime. It’s a compulsion to be certain and in some ways, a very sick and twisted one. Many times, I force myself to relive my own sexual assaults – yes that’s plural as it has happened to me more than once during my lifetime – watching and discussing things I know will take me back to those moments.

Some of these discussions are frustrating. Others are debilitating. While still more are enlightening, not only for me many times but for those with which I have those discussions. Apparently, I’ve had those discussions a lot lately and I have come to some interesting conclusions in regard to assault as well as the #metoo movement as a whole.

5 Things I Learned about Sexuality from Watching One Movie

One movie can say a lot when it comes to sexuality and since this one was a teen flick, what it’s telling me worries me.

The Movie Itself

I was watching a movie the other day, perhaps you know it – Easy A. It’s an interesting study in sex education, sexuality, and rape culture. Lately, because I guess this is something I feel driven to share when I watch a movie like this, I see these things and evaluate what the media is telling us about these topics. What I see in this movie is not very great – hint: there are spoilers so if you haven’t seen it, consider yourselves warned.

An Unschooler says “Yes” to Public School

After unschooling for years, I allowed my kids to go back to public school. Here’s why…

First, let me say unschooling is something I believe in whole-heartedly. My kids have grown and learned so much throughout their time unschooling. They’ve learned to trust the world around them and trust us as parents to have their back. Their confidence has grown by leaps and bounds but in an effort to unschool, I have come across a unique situation. Where is the line? That line where you as the adult come in and make the decision for them, taking away the power you have worked so hard to instill in them. At what point does a parent say no?

THE PROPOSAL

I know, there are times when things are too dangerous and that’s a clear line. I’m talking in regards to their decisions about their education. As a community of unschooling moms, what would you do when your kid comes to you claiming the next step in their education is to go to a public school?

Now, I can hear the thoughts in your head. I’m sure I had a handful of them myself but trust me when I say, my kids rarely go into anything blindly. They researched. They talked about it. They came up with a fantastic presentation of all the ways a public school could help them. Taking the initiative to find a good place for themselves and asking their mom to support them in their decisions.

Smoke Doesn’t Always Lead to Fire – Thank Heavens!

So, Mondays – we all love them. For a stay-at-home mom, Mondays are usually just like any other. Sometimes there is a partner that leaves to go back to their 9 to 5 and that makes it a little different. But ultimately, the Monday dread usually doesn’t exist for those who stay at home and care for the children.

There are moments I wonder why I am here doing this stay at home thing and this unschooling thing. But then there are moments like today. And yes, today just happens to be Monday. Today is a day when my skills as a respectful parent were tested to their fullest.

Now, I am comparatively new to this respectful parenting thing. I have not fine tuned all my skills as of yet. And there are some things that ingrained programming has made a struggle. And this is where we begin.

Saving Money – It’s a thing!

Let’s start by saying, I love my husband. Sometimes I wonder how or why. But I do. He is a very intelligent man with a sense of humor matching my own. But here’s the thing. He grew up without. Not the normal without. But seriously without. And this has traumatized him somehow. To his credit, the pattern of survival he developed in those years has subsided in some aspects…except in the category of actually getting things fixed.

When it comes to actually getting things fixed, he is always looking for the cheapest shortcut because we obviously can’t afford anything else (an error in thinking that I can’t seem to get him passed). So, when something breaks or needs a repair, I am generally left with two options short of an argument and an Aspy meltdown.

Option One – He will fix it himself.

This option has a few distinct flaws I am super familiar with. My husband is good with his hands. He’s smart enough to do the research and find the information. This man can learn to fix just about anything. HOWEVER – this man also has an aversion to taking a project to completion. Half fixed and repaired things are my life.

Living Intentionally…?

There are times I wonder why I started a blog. I have not been very good at keeping it up. And I am sure I have lost readers because of it. Sometimes I wonder if I really needed the exposure. What my message was supposed to be. Why? Why did I do this?

The short answer, I’m not sure right now.

Perhaps we all go through a phase where we don’t write. Sometimes we get blocked and can’t figure out what to say as we sit down at the keyboard. We all want to sound important and intelligent and to have our thoughts read and validated by others.  Some of us are writers at our core and just need to put this stuff down, even if it’s only for posterity. Others have an exact point to make or the point they are trying to make is to live a more purposeful life.

So why do we do this?

Why do we live by the clock to post on time as to not disappoint our readers, our followers, our “likers”?

Volunteerism

No this isn’t a call to arms. It isn’t a way to shame anyone or make them feel guilty. It is what it is. Some call it service. Some call it assisting the less fortunate. But it all boils down to one simple word:

Volunteering!

As an advocate, I find a lot of people get that idea mixed up with volunteer. Don’t get me wrong, I do both. But sometimes, when I am attempting to get my kids involved in volunteering, I find it difficult to motivate them. To kids, volunteering sounds like work. And let’s face it, some volunteering is work.

We all know service is important and we all know we need to give back. It makes you feel good. It builds community. It creates a sense of belonging. It bridges gaps that other actions and programs are unable to bridge.

Boring service is sometimes necessary. None of us likes that stuff. The boring stuff is not for your kids.

Mind Blindness

We visited my parents a few weeks ago. This is a normal thing for us. We live close and I have most of the grand kids. So they love when we are hanging out, even if it’s just for a moment. We visit more often than every few weeks, but this time has been bouncing around in my brain. So I felt it was necessary to share.

It’s so prevalent because we had another moment where I desperately try to explain to my father the idea of mind blindness.

The “American Dream” and Me

I always believed in the American dream. My parents lived it practically verbatim. My dad started his own business at 32 and he worked long, hard days to bring home a steady income. It paid off. 30 years later, that business is still here and because he pushed to make it so successful, he’s had enough money to leave that one to the employees in a buyout and start a different business. One less difficult on him physically. Less wear and tear on the old guy.

I did not grow up in the lap of luxury though.

The business really wasn’t stable and successful until I was a teenager. We grew up on Ramen and cheap Mac & Cheese and hand me down clothes. My younger sisters were the ones who grew up a little high on the hog, especially the youngest one. And that’s okay. I appreciated a lot of what I had.