Do Something Good: Donate Blood

Y'all, the world is kinda shit right now.

I don't even feel bad about saying "the world" instead of "America" because I have international computer friends who are also like "WTF, guys?"

So, here's a way to do something good regardless of who you are/what you believe:

DONATE BLOOD.

Apparently we are in a shortage- which we kind of always seem to be in :( But the Red Cross is bugging me even more than normal.

So I gave in. Posted my #BloodSelfie on social media (which sounds awful, but I'm trying to work with you ARC!).

 And you know what happened? A nurse who is a friend from church- who I'm pretty sure I disagree with politically on most topics- thanked me. She commented how she sees first hand what a difference this makes, and how thankful she is for donors.

It was nice.

It was also easy. I chugged like 60 oz of water in 2 hours, peed twice, ate a hot pocket, did my rapid pass questionairre online in less than 10 minutes, and spent less than an hour on my phone while laying down.

Not a bad way to save 3 lives, y'all.

Go. Do it. I'm blessed to be able to do it very close to work and that my employer has crazy good regulations regarding donations that allow me to be able to do it so easily. But we all can. Take your kids!  They'll be fascinated and it's a great learning experience. Go with your friends or romantic partners or family members.

Do something great today, and donate blood.

Add It to My List: January 2017

ANOTHER LINK-UP! Because blogging is more fun with friends, let's just be real.

Link-up creators are Lauren from Eat, Drink, & Be Lauren and Bre from Bre Writes. Basically, they are always recommending things to each other- podcasts, television shows, music, blah blah blah. And they figured- why not share even further?

I always need recommendations, and I love link-ups where bloggers interact with each other. So this appeals to me immensely! I hope you will link-up also!

One note- I won't be discussing books very much, because I love the Show Us Your Books link-up and want to save it for that (which Lauren encourages this because she is a SUYB-er too).

Anyway, here's what I've been enjoying this month:

• Dear Booknerd Podcast
• of course they cancel right around the time I started listening, but I finished all 70+ episodes and enjoyed it
• How to Stay Outraged Without Loosing Your Mind
•  I know everyone has been sharing this- because it's important. Many of us are unhappy with the election results. And even if you have conservative values- Trump is openly silencing people who does not agree with him. If you believe in the Bill of Rights in any way, that is terrifying. Please don't ignore very serious red flags out of loyalty to a specific party.
• Haven
• This is the show Hubs & I are currently binging on. I started watching it because I thought it was based on the books in the Bishop/SCU series by Kay Hooper, but it's actually based on the book The Colorado Kid by Steven King. Either way, cool sci-fi series based on a novel. 
• French Dip Sliders
• OM NOM NOM
• I made these for my church group (we trade off making dinner each week when we meet) and it was SO GOOD! I can't wait to make them again
• Ask Me Another Podcast
• Because it's random trivia and funny and I need something to zone out of the sorry mess of current politics.

What are you enjoying? 

Link-up so we can all add-it to our list! 

The World Today...

I haven't been posting lately.

I haven't known what to say.

I'm disappointment regarding our President and the choices he is making.

I'm supremely disappointed in people who are backing him in ways that make me feel disrespectful and alone.

I'm sad at the truth of signs from women of color pointing out that feeling that way since 2016 is a privilege.

Anyway. Lots of crappy things happening.

Also lots of amazing things happening. People are stepping up.

There's some hope.

I don't want to ignore these by writing out trivial topics.

I also don't feel qualified to write about it sensitively and with respect (because while some people don't deserve it, quite frankly...I want to encourage communication and respect so I have to demonstrate it, and I haven't necessarily been).

So I've said nothing. At least on the blog. I've been retweeting a lot of smart and thoughtful and yes, sometimes snarky things on Twitter.

Facebook...oh boy, Facebook. I have...Trump supporters on FB. And they are pissing me off. I am trying to share basic facts there rather than snark. Go high when they go low, right?

Anyway. That's where I am. I hope you are doing something. I hope you are signing petitions, marching, tweeting, CALLING YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. 

Even if you disagree with me, I hope you are exercising your rights- because I am truly concerned that they will be taken away. Temporarily, I hope, because humanity is resilient. But I am fearful it will happen. And I don't want that.

It's really, really easy to take something from someone when they don't believe it is important.