Brought to you by the letter..............

What is wrong that so many of our letters are being blatantly discriminated against? It's an injustice. They just sit there, in the alphabet, waiting to be used in a nice little (Or big) word. Some people use them elegantly, others...not so much. But they are there. To use.

Words were created with letters. For example the word word has four letters. It has W- O- R and for good measure it ends with D.

What...that word also has FOUR letters. W- H- A- T.

Not WUT. Not WAT.

You see where I'm going with this right?

Why has H been discriminated against? The same could be said for the T in JUST. Again a four letter word.

Someone, somewhere is to blame. They have butchered our language. It was already the most messed up language in the world. Now people are making us sound like a bunch of uneducated hillbillies.

It's hard enough to see Brat's friends do this. I want to correct them all. Point out that speaking like that only makes you look stupid. But all the kids are doing it and I'm the old lady so I'd be the stupid one.

Besides...they might think my ellipses look funny and they don't comment on that.

But when people my own age begin talking like this I want to bitch slap them. I realize its the thing to do. Back when I was first on the internet I probably did all the 'things to do' as well. But geeez...its annoying.

Besides, soon there will be an uprising. H and T will want their place back in our words. They will stage an uprising. They will employ a group to fight for their equal rights and knowing our luck the Rev. Jesse Jackson will jump in on it.

Save me the headache. Quit talking like a moron.

Please and thank you.

I want your sex....

Remember the songs we grew up to? The stuff that was on the radio all the time. The videos we watched on MTV back when they actually showed videos. We had Madonna's Like a Virgin, George Michael's I want your sex, Samantha Fox with Touch Me and then for the really wild ones There was oooh me so horny.

So explain to me how a generation who embraced sexuality in our every day lives via music, grew up to raise kids who know so very little about their own bodies?? And how did we become so uptight about things that we view a little girl in a halter top or bikini as being "sexual".

I have mentioned before I answer questions by teens. I am serious people, our kids do not know ANYTHING about the good OR bad of sex. They don't know how to avoid being pregnant. They don't know that a kiss or a grope doesn't mean he loves them. They don't know ANYTHING. And its our fault.

And now we are punishing the little kids. Little girls. Innocent. Wouldn't know what provacative means. They can't dance or wear clothes that reveal skin. I'm surprised we don't reinstate the full body swimsuits of the olden days.

Ya see recently a few things have come to my attention. People are quick to make generalizations. I've seen kids who were doing an innocent yet time consuming activity referred to as provocative and sexual. I've seen people say that their parents should lose them. What were they doing you ask? They were dancing. They were also 7. They had no clue how adults perceived their dance moves. And *gasp* their belly buttons were showing.

Seriously?

This is why I have to inform teenagers every day that yes if you stand upside down in the bathtub but didn't use a condom you can still get pregnant.

But that's not what I fear most. I realize these kids are in danger of STD's and early pregnancies. That's a given. But that's not my biggest fear. Because at least I know they will eventually learn that stuff.

What I'm scared of is that we are raising a bunch of kids who are going to be afraid of their own sexuality. Ashamed of their bodies. Remember our parents? Grandparents? How they wouldn't even kiss or hug in front of us? Do we want that life for our kids? Yes there are limits. And it's on us to set them. But make them fair. Don't ruin the lives of these pure innocent kids.

Because self esteem and love of oneself and ones body....those things can not be replaced. And it takes years of therapy to repair them. Trust me, I know.

The world is doomed...

Yep you read that correctly. The world is doomed. Why? Well let me tell you a story.

I have a job. It's a work from home gig. Technically I am an "independent contractor". This just means I work for peanuts, they can lower my wage if they want, I get no benefits and I can do all this from the comfort of my sweat pants and t-shirt. Hey, we all have priorities.

Well I can't get into what my job is, what company I work with...any of that. It's part of the whole privacy agreement I signed. But I can tell you this much. I answer questions. The topics vary. But I spend a good chunk of my time talking to teenagers. Most of them young teenagers. And it scares me to see what they think they know.

I have a hard enough time when I have to explain masturbation to what appears to be a 13 year old boy. I find myself often wanting to ask where his parents are? What happened to sex education in school? And other seemingly obvious questions. But some of the questions about sex are much more serious. I get a lot of 'How do I know if I'm pregnant'. I get a lot of how to perform specific acts.

But what kills me are the questions that prove that society is failing our teens. Today I got this beauty:

"What is the best sex position so I know she won't get pregnant?"

Really? This is what our teens think? No wonder teen pregnancy rates are on the rise. No wonder two of our Ambassador Girl Scouts (Think top level seniors in High School) are toting babies to the events. Where are the parents?? What are they NOT teaching their kids.

If you are a teen and are reading this I have news for you. EVERY POSITION CAN GET YOU PREGNANT. The only guaranteed way to not get pregnant is abstinence. The second best way is condoms or other contraceptives.

I am worried about what our teens aren't learning. They know how to build bombs, surf the internet, make hearts on their facebook status and design video games. But they do not know how to prevent STD's and pregnancy. Shouldn't those things be a priority??

I blame parents first. Because ultimately it is a parent's responsibility to teach their kids how to keep themselves safe. SAFETY FOLKS. This isn't about showing them that we want them to save it for marriage. Obviously we do. But if they are going to do it, and they WILL, we want them to be safe. We teach them how to prevent accidents in the car. We don't want them to have to handle the car if they slip on ice. But IF it happens we want them to know what to do. Because safety is important. Parents bitched about sex ed classes saying it was a family matter. Then DO IT. Don't assume that little Johnny is not going to do anything wrong. Teach him. Show him values first and then follow it up with safety.

Second I blame schools. Rather than do the job they have and TEACH, they let parents dictate what they will and won't do. And that leads to not doing enough. Why do these kids believe that by hanging upside down in water while having sex they will not get pregnant? Because they haven't been taught any better.

So I am honest with Brat. Sometimes too much LOL. But I want to know that she is well aware of what can and does happen.

Guys I tell you honestly if you had to answer the questions I have to answer, you would be screaming for sex ed from the roof top. Don't think your kids are innocent. Or that they don't ask questions. They just ask them anonymously to strangers who very well could steer them wrong. Wouldn't you rather they ask you?

It's like crack for sober people...

Your life is going along at a normal pace. You get the kids off to school. You either work, clean house or hell maybe just sit on the couch with bon bons watching Days of Our Lives. You manage to cart them to the many after school activities. Somehow you throw in a dinner, baths, and possibly some tv. Normal life. You only drink when the kids drive you insane occasionally. You don't imagine yourself doing drugs. The clubs and wild days of your youth are behind you.

And then it happens. You first experience it slowly. It seems kind of cheesy. You are curious though. After all, everyone you know has tried it. So you do too. "Is this all there is to it?" you ask yourself often. What's the big fascination? But, my friends, that is before you get your first high. It kind of makes you giggle like a school girl. Next thing you know, you just have to include it in your day. But you are mature and responsible. You do it a little at a time. But like an alcoholic, you are sucked in. Five minutes becomes an hour. That becomes two hours.

Pretty soon the husband is taking the kids to school because you were up until 2am. Dinner is Stouffers Lasagna. Hey don't knock it. At least you splurge on the good kind. You begin to wonder if you can skip those after school activities. And before you know it...you are spending hours a day with your new love.

Yes. It is THAT bad. It is the new crack for sober people. It will grab a hold of you and not let go. It will take hours of time away from your family. You will soon reconnect with those you knew "back in the day". And it will cause you to piss off everyone you know.

It is Facebook.

Do you realize how much time I spend on Facebook? Way more than I spend on other things in my life. I can't find time to color my hair but I can sure find time to make sure "the Jones" family is doing ok. Of course I could call "Mrs. Jones" and ask. I could even visit. But no. It's much better to keep up to date with them via status updates.

Now in my defense, half of my Facebook time is spent surfing through the billion and a half notifications from Farmville, iHeart and other such irritating applications. I mean how can I know that my friend went to the dentist today and survived if I don't check in. How can I show the world that I support my mother, father, bra size, friends, troops, doctor and local mall? I MUST check in on Facebook.

At first I laughed. Oh yea, I'm really going to tell people every move that I make. Then one day I realized I had become just like them! Suddenly if I had a blister on my foot I must announce it to Facebook. But I have to be careful. My daughter is on there too. As are all her friends.

Facebook is absolutely the greatest invention on the planet. I know what my family is up to and I don't even have to interact with them!! What kind of perfection is that!!! Sometimes I find out what my mom is up to and she's temporarily residing down the hall. It's genius.

But that doesn't take away from my absolute HATRED of Farmville, Restaurant City, and all the other nonsense games that auto post every flipping thing my friends do in the game. With close to 200 friends that can get really really annoying.

But farkle and bejeweled blitz totally make up for it.

So I admit it. My name is Queen Bee and I'm a facebook addict. It's not just for teenagers anymore.

I'll take some guilt with a side of shame please....

Normally on a good day I like to think of myself as optimistic. On a good day. But there is optimism and then there is stupidity. To me optimism is having hope. Feeling that things will improve. It doesn't downgrade what you are currently feeling but leads you to believe that this too shall pass.

For some reason people have adopted a new form of optimism. It urges you to quit focusing on what's got you down and start being grateful for what you do have. In theory it sounds good. But in reality....not so much. It instead makes you feel like you should have shame and guilt over feeling bad about whatever you are feeling bad about. So all this positive being thrown at you only ends up making you feel worse.

A friend of mine once told someone "Don't feel guilty for your feelings. Someone else's reality doesn't diminish your own"

That my friends is a wise statement. Your reality doesn't make mine less. The fact that millions of people are without jobs right now does not make the fact that one of my employers cut our pay by a third suck any less. The fact that many are homeless doesn't mean I should feel better about the fact I need to repair my floors and don't know where the money is coming from.

Yes I am aware that I should be thankful for a home, heat, food and a healthy child. And believe me, I volunteer at a homeless shelter daily. I know what my alternative COULD be. I know that I am very blessed. I don't deny that. I don't pretend my life is the bottom of the barrel because by far it's not.

But that doesn't change the problems I DO have. Lack of money for much needed things. Health problems. A child who struggles daily to just be accepted and liked. A semi sort of job thing that just cut my pay.

My reality is STILL reality. And I am not going to feel shame for thinking right now that it sucks. I am not going to let the fact that others have it worse make me feel guilty for hurting and being sad. I am not going to let the fact that I do have many things to be thankful for stop me from hating some of the situations of my life.

Will I get over it? Absolutely. And I'm still optimistic. I still believe there is hope. I still believe that there will be better days. But today is not one of them. And I won't apologize for that. Instead I will accept my reality. I will feel how I want to feel. I will own the truth.

Tomorrow I will again wake up grateful for the positive in my life. But I won't promise to not acknowledge the negative. Because if I ignore it, I can't possibly fix it.