Dreams

I have always had vivid dreams. They help me write, etc. The other day (thanks to the show "The Walking Dead") I had to move to Atlanta, Georgia, and I was really upset about having to go there. I also dreamt about Mermaids and this song was playing in my head. SO funny because I never had paid attention to this song before, and am not even sure the last time I heard it.



So strange. Bono, what are you trying to say?

Especially in Michigan...

As the Chili Peppers say in their song Especially in Michigan, "Cry me a future. Where the revelations run amok".

I moved back to Michigan February 2010. I had been away for 5 years. I felt a pull to Arizona, and had nothing keeping me in Michigan, had I, I may never have left. Leaving when there is something to be left behind, is not usually the most solid time to leave. However, after years of exploring the great state of Arizona, and working there and making new friends, a new home, and expanding my family, something pulled me back home. Without going into every detail as to why I left and why I needed to come home, I have to admit that something was left behind. My family. Living away from people sometimes hurts more than one can really think. It is hard to imagine what it feels like until you do it.
Sure, you are fine for awhile, and excited with the newness and the exploration ahead, but my heart strings were always connected back to a place I swore I most likely would not return. Michigan.

I missed my parents and my friends and other family, and REALLY missed my sister. I talked to my mom and my sister almost everyday, especially after the birth of my daughter, Sofia. I missed The Great Lakes (I made it a point to make sure I made it up to Traverse City when I returned, since I had never been), Cider Mills, family holidays, parties that everyone had that I only could read about on Facebook, the birth of my friend's children, day to day options of visiting people I loved, places like the Woodward Avenue Brewery, other Ferndale places, Ann Arbor, friends, family, and the beauty of my birth home in general. Don't get me wrong, my family and I experienced some wonderful things in Arizona, but sometimes if something is missing, it is missing, and nothing can fill that space, unless you grab it, and fully embracing it until that space is no longer there. Sometimes that is not in the plan, but...Tis life.

Although this song is about touring and being away from the one you love, this is a great way to express what I wrote above...


Now, I have a whole different adventure to look forward to. Michigan isn't a place where I feel I need to feel stuck. There are so many new things here. I also have a daughter to show things too. This is a place of family and friends and reconnecting with everyone and meeting new people, exploring parts of the state I have never seen, and having new adventures!

The way I am (in the Autumn...and other times...)

I am a woman and a mother, a lover of life, nature, humanity, and the environment. I can be loud, rude, and passionate, but I have a huge heart. I love the Autumn, and the summer, the east, the west, the desert, the midwest, and all three coasts (Lake Michigan included). The world is a vast place, and helps me to write. I love people, and I hate people, but mostly love them. Music, and creativity are the best ways to explain all that makes us who we are.

Ingrid Michaelson-great lyrics and song "The Way I am"


and a mom...who loves the cider mill

I love Autumn

Last Autumn I was in North Carolina, enjoying the colors. With the coming harvest comes death, but right before this is the beauty of Autumn. Reds, yellows, and amazing oranges can be seen all over. Living in the deserts of Arizona for 5 years I began to miss the Autumn and drive up north into the mountains where we could see the colors. However, last year was a reuniting with my love of this time of year, however its length in time is always too short, but what keeps us happy about it, is knowing that next year, we can reach out and feel it again, if we choose to be where it is possible to see, smell, and feel the beauty of the changing season.

This was North Carolina...

Now onto glorious Michigan, seen in the picture at the bottom of this post.
My camera was broken unfortunately for this odd fall back to my home state. I missed out on taking breathtaking pictures of the colors, but I want to emphasize again, that the orange colors seem to stay, and be the last ones, when all the other colors have turned to brown and death...

Another beautiful thing about this time of year is the cider mills, orchards, donuts, Halloween, and many other festivals that have come and gone this year in a whirlwind of craziness. I will post more on this subject, maybe in more detail about the "events", with pictures from such events. Seeing Sofia begin to appreciate these things as a child, not just a baby, is very exciting for me and my future seasons with her.
____________________________________
Autumn wins you best by this its mute
Appeal to sympathy for its decay.
- Robert Browning

Remember Remember the 5th of November

Yay for standing up for what is right. This is what makes being political important. Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Healthcare

I am pleased to have healthcare right now. I always had great coverage and hadn't been covered for the past 6 months or so, so now I am really happy! This is one stressful thing to check off my list. I always thought everyone should be covered, even when I was working a great job with wonderful benefits. Now, I don't pay for my insurance, except through taxes. However, once I get back on a normal plan, meaning through a job that offers it again, and I am letting the big insurance industry control everything, I won't end the fight to get coverage for everyone. So, those of you who voted for all these conservatives, please keep in mind that they might try to get rid of the new Healthcare plan, which is a plan that only holds a fraction of why we need it. It already costs to cover the uninsured, and this way we will have people who were once denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions to have the coverage they need. Look, I would pay for a plan, but when you work somewhere that doesn't offer it, like if you are a contract worker, the costs are usually unaffordable.
If everyone who wasn't covered was in a pool, and could have a better rate because of it, that would be the best AND I don't see how "the right" could complain because then it wouldn't be "universal health", however I would LOVE to have some Canadian coverage for everyone!

Really? Why I shouldn't be surprised

Usually I dig listening to the discussions on CNN, heck I even watch Fox sometimes just so I can explain why I think it is so vile, to people like my cousin, who think it is the only true new source. Fact is, tonight I am just annoyed. There is the big analysis of "what is going to happen" or "HOW did this happen"? Was it Obama's fault? No. Did Congress sit back, and not get aggressive enough over Healthcare or other issues? Maybe. What if they had been more aggressive? Would this have helped? Maybe. However, it appears that every time there is an election, if things are not great, then well, the other party takes control. It happened under Clinton, under Bush...now Obama. This is a problem with the two party system. People give up, by into the stupid marketing, and switch sides. Some of us do not, but some people really have no clue what is going on, or what they really stand for, because how can you vote for Obama and then vote for someone like Rick Snyder?? Really?? How about Rand Paul in Kentucky. So, tonight, I am just bored. It is all too predictable.