What’s Been Going On?

So, what has your ole Kittie Kat been doing for a the past couple months?  I have been actually pretty busy. And sometimes so upset that I couldn’t do anything at all.  It’s just been a real rollercoaster of a ride already in 2017.

I’ve been writing. I’m hoping… Scratch that.  I will be completing my first draft of my novel by the end of next month.  Writing has been a great experience for me.  I have always wanted to publish a book since I was in 3rd grade.  And here I am about to finish my first draft of my first ever novel in a little over a month.  I’m just so excited.  8 year-old me would be so proud.

It has been really hard. I had this vision of what I wanted to write about but it evolved into something more.  I loved that it evolved into something that might help a reader.  I hope the readers will connect with the characters and find strength and courage at times when they feel they don’t have it.  This is why I wanted to be a writer.  I’m hoping to help people gain a different perspective.  But it was hard to come up with new material.  I didn’t have enough but I’ve been doing pretty well at it.  I’ve reached over 50k words and it only took me 2 months after NaNoWriMo.  Ha!

I’m also preparing for my Honey Bee’s arrival to the States in almost a month!! EEEE!! I’m so excited!  I can’t wait to show her around the Midwest.  Although, how am I going to top New Zealand??  Plus it will still technically winter.  Winter in the Midwest vs. New Zealand any day of the year.  Yikes!

I do have lots of fun things planned for us and the girls.  I can’t wait to show her the places where I have childhood memories.  I can’t wait to take her up to Wisconsin to meet my crew up there.  I also have things planned that I’ve never been to or done.  So, that’s exciting as well.  I, unfortunately, won’t be able to take the whole two week off.  That’s going to be weird to go to work while she’s at home.  Those days are going to be the longest days ever!  AAAAHH!!!

Of course, the new US Administration has me straight up buggin’.  I am now at the point where I don’t even care.  I don’t care what that stupid head tweets.  I don’t care that they are defending the fact that numbers at the inauguration where the most ever.  What I do care about is Americans.  I care about human beings.  That’s where my energy is going to go towards.

I’ve actually stopped logging into Facebook unless someone close to me mentions me in a comment.  I’ve even stopped going on Twitter.  I’m exhausted from it all.  It’s going to be an exhausting 4 – 8 years for us.  I’m leaning towards 8 because he’ll never get rid of the electoral college in favor of the popular vote while he’s in office.  He’s still arguing that Hillary only won the popular vote because of millions of fraudulent votes.  UGH! I’m wasting my time aren’t I?  After I said I wouldn’t.

Also, I either had the stomach flu or food poisoning this week. Either way, there was a lot of violent vomiting that made my torso muscles sore even days afterwards. Still feeling it now. 

But, yeah.  That’s what I’ve been doing.  Writing. Reading. Breathing. Vomiting. 

What have you been doing?

Sorry, You Can’t Protest!

Sorry, You Can’t Protest! – http://wp.me/p44Su5-94

My sister asked on Friday night why women are marching. She couldn’t understand. This is why.

We Are What Make America Great!

W and I drove to Baltimore today. We are staying in Baltimore tonight and leaving for Washington, D.C., super early. After we walked around the city for a bit, we went out to dinner at a nice Italian place. The waiter spotted the safety pin on W’s shirt and started up a conversation. W tells […]

via A funny thing happened on the way to the march — The Flannel Files

Love Always Wins

Art from Thursdays at the Coffeeshop The way of propositional politics in the hands of fallen men always crushes the people it was meant to restore. It weaponizes an idea into picket signs, angry rants, loud bloggers, hapless trolls, and mob mentality. Our minds are so Pavlovian-conditioned to lock people into categories that we forget: […]

via The Only Credibility We Have Left. — J.S. Park

Inauguration Day

This is how the Inauguration Day started for me:

I woke up angry.

I drank my coffee angrily.

I started to feel bad about being angry.

I went to work trying to suppress my anger.

Then I allowed myself to be angry.

It only started to turn around when I allowed myself to be angry. I allowed myself to feel angry at the people who voted for Trump. I allowed myself to feel angry about the Electoral College. I allowed myself to feel angry at the Democratic party for putting up a nominee who was sure to lose.  I allowed myself to be angry about all the injustices of the the country because of this campaign and election.  Once I let the anger out, I was ready for action.

I get why people voted for Trump. I don’t really quite understand it but I get it. Read this blog post by Beauty Beyond Bones. I do understand the part about your rights being taken away because of another group whining complaining.  Believe me!  But why turn around and vote for someone who is going to take our rights away to reinstate your rights and re-establish your comfort zone.  This is counter productive and once we get another Democrat President and democratic control of the houses again, it will go back to us again.  This constant tug of war is maddening.

Being a Christian, I get it.  It can be really upsetting how we can be discriminated against. But that does not give us the right to discriminate against others. Being a Christian, I also remember reading in the Bible about what it means to be a Christian.

“and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
-2 Timothy 3:12

It is in our very nature once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior to be persecuted. We are not of this world. We can not hope to have our lives to be made easier by anyone serving in a government office.  There are Christians in other countries who are being executed for just handing out Bibles.  There are Christians in other parts of the world that have to go underground in order to worship and read God’s Word. We have become ungrateful and spoiled.

And as I remembered this verse, I reached a conclusion. I do believe that God put this man into power for a test. Who do we put our trust in? God or Trump?

I have been reading my Bible a lot lately. It’s sad to admit that I read my Bible more in I feel troubled. I am grateful that I have the Word to give me solace but I should be reading it more.  I digress. That’s not what this post is about.  Anyways! I was reading my devotionals this morning and, of course, they are always something that I always need to read.

The first one was about abiding in God’s Love:

God’s love isn’t just a fact to memorize or a fleeting feeling. His love is here to stay. God’s love doesn’t just stay in the good times and leave when things are bad. God’s love always remains, so we should remain in His love.

Each of us can reap a greater harvest of Christian maturity when we press into God’s love. You will grow in difficult times when you abide in the amazing love God has for you.

From “Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life – a Daily Devotional”

This was a reminder to me that only should I always remember what God’s Love means but also how I outwardly project His love to others.

The second one was about emotions and how our lives are really not our own but His:

Although you belong to God because He created you and He pre-designed an incredible life for you, He has still placed the choice for that miraculous life in your hands. One of the most practical instances of where we choose God or choose self is in our emotional preferences and habits. You must give up your right to whine and pout and then wholeheartedly embrace the plan of God for your life, which is found in the fruit of the Spirit. You were created for good works and not for the works of the flesh or for the opinions of your emotions.

From “Holy Emotions – Biblical Responses to Every Challenge”

This one got me fired up! We all have the ability to lead extraordinary lives. We all have super powers. God has given us super powers. To uphold justice. To reach out to the weak and poor. To help the marginalized and minorities. I will help. I will help women, men, LGBTQ, Straight, Christian, Muslim, Disabled, Latino, etc., etc.

Anger is an important emotion. But what you do with that emotion is what matters. Right now, it should call you to action. A while back, there was a sermon at my church called “Ordinary World Changers” and I thought about it yesterday.  One of the questions our pastor asked was “What breaks your heart for the Lord?” Get angry! Get upset! Then get out there and do something!

This is not about me. It’s not about you. And it’s definitely not about Trump. It’s about God.

I will be a part of the Revolution for ALL people. I will be a part of the Resistance for YOU!

My favorite tweet from yesterday.

Book Review: Grounded

Title:  Grounded
Author:  A.E. Radley
Pages:  357
Publisher:  Ylva Publishing

Description as seen on the Ylva Publishing Webstore:   City professional Olivia Lewis is coming to terms with her latest romantic failure by attempting to throw herself into her work. But with clients suddenly leaving Applewood Financial in their droves it becomes clear that old enemies have decided to strike and Olivia realises that she is losing everything.

Meanwhile the world of first-class flight attendant Emily White comes crashing down around her when she loses her job with Crown Airlines. With no income, enormous debts and a broken-hearted five-year-old son she thinks that things can’t get any worse. That is until a blast from the past threatens it all. When a twist of fate brings them together will they finally be able to understand each other?

—

This sequel was a long time comin’.  Let me tell you!  Radley’s first book in this series is titled “Flight SQA016”.  You can read my review of it here.  I fell in love with characters in this book.  I couldn’t wait to get my greedy hands on “Grounded” to see what happens to them.  Radley did not disappoint.

When I started reading it, I realized how much I missed everyone.  It was like seeing old friends for the first time in a long time.  I can relate so much with Emily.  She’s a single mom just trying to do her best for her kid even when the avalanche of life fast approaches.  I understood how hard it could be to ask for help when you’ve been doing it all on your own for so long.

In this book, I was able to see the relationships of the all the characters deepen.  I loved seeing the interactions between Emily and all of the people around her.  I wanted to be best friends with Simon.  Tom and Lucy were so very sweet.

I also couldn’t help but gush over her and Olivia’s relationship.  They are very sweet to each other despite personality flaws of both women.  I was able to feel how much they cared for each other.  And as I said in my review for “SQA016”, I loved that the story was about their relationship and not about their sex life.  I have a well-developed imagination.  I don’t need someone telling me how to have amazing sex.

The interactions between Olivia and Henry were beyond adorable.  I could really see how she cared for him as his own and he loved her so much.

I finished this book in a day because I had to know what was going to happen next.  I needed to know that things were going to be ok.

If you like Lesbian Romance novels, you are going to LOVE this book. Hell, you don’t have to be into lesbian romance to love this story. It’s a sweet story about how love endures no matter the obstacles.  I highly recommend it.