Little Ones

Devastating

I read a tweet after the Clackamas mall shooting that said they were afraid this 'wouldn't be the last shooting of 2012'. Here we are, just days after that shooting and I wake up to find that 26 were killed in an elementary school. 18 CHILDREN and 8 adults. Let that just sink in for a moment...

My heart is unbelievably sad right now. I pray that we aren't so calloused to such events that we hear the news and go on throughout our day. If you aren't moved to tears and if your heart isn't breaking... you should probably take a good look inside as to why that is. I cannot imagine what these little ones had to witness... their friends and teachers shot in front of them? Little ones in art classes hiding in school closets...

I wrote a post a few months ago about the shooting in Colorado. How quickly did we forget about them? How quickly will we forget about this shooting? What will it take for our country to deal with our insanely loose gun control laws? How many children will it take to be gunned down for us to wake up to our countries sick views on violence? I'm tired of people saying that it's not guns that are the issue but the people behind them. Yes, that is partially true but if those people didn't have access to guns, we'd have 20 little children alive and looking forward to Santa. There were 15 mass shootings this year alone. I was just watching a gun control debate and I'm so sick of hearing that we need more guns so these things don't happen. What a load of crap. Have we completely gone off the deep end? FIVE year olds were murdered! I'm so angry right now I could scream.

Japan has one of the strictest laws regarding guns. The only guns allowed are shotguns and rifles. It is no easy task to obtain one. Japan has the second lowest murder rate in the world. I've never felt as safe as I did when I was in Japan. In 2008 the USA had over 12,000 firearm homicides. Japan had 11 for the ENTIRE year. Less than the Colorado shooting. By the way, 11 gun related homicides was considered shocking to Japan. Their minds must explode when they hear about us.

We pride ourselves in our 'right to bear arms'. I believe we've twisted this original statement that it's virtually unrecognizable to what the original intent was. Our country is obsessed with violence. Video games actually reward you for how many head shots you make. Is this seriously where we are at in our country? Why do you need access to assault weapons? Why do we need hand guns? What is the point of them except to kill as many people as possible? And as my brother said, if your argument is about hunting, you should probably stop because you're terrible at it if you need a gun that pumps out 100 rounds. Until we wake up and make serious changes, another shooting is on its way. Praying for you Sandy Hook.

New Name

Well, I am trying to come up with a new name for my little Etsy shop. I was so happy when I first came up with HunnyBoo. Taking my two grandmothers nicknames and combining them...well I just thought it was a done deal.

Right after I came up with it, that TERRIBLE TLC show "Here comes HoneyBooBoo" became a massive hit. People hear my store name and refer back to that show all the time. ARG! My little store name just grates on my ears because I simply cannot get that dumb "Honey Boo Boo" child out of my head.

I have a few other ideas for new names, but I'll take your suggestions!

Bye Canada

After 2 years of living in chilly Canada, it's time for this chapter to close. A few days ago I learned from our lawyer that I have to move to the US while we wait for Trevor's green card. Instead of busting out Christmas decorations, we've been hitting up McDonald's for free fry boxes to pack away our lives.

We will be heading down to Yakima for Christmas. Then, Trevor will fly back to Canada and I'll remain at home. I can go visit Trevor, but have to remain living in the states while we wait for his green card. The thought of living apart is just depressing. Oh, and don't bother asking questions about why immigration works the way it does. I don't understand it...I just follow the rules.

Trevor and I have talked about the last few years of our marriage. Immigration has made the last years feel very 'unsettled'. Not knowing how long we'd be here for, unsure of when we'd have to move, etc etc etc... it's made us feel on edge. We're looking forward to soon having a place where we know we'll be for the long haul.

With that said, I didn't think my time in Canada would come to such an abrupt end. Am I excited to be back home with my friends and family again? You have no idea! But it will be sad to leave Trevor's friends and family here. I think over the last two years I've kept my mind locked into the future that I never really was 'present'. We got a bit focused on what our lives were going to be instead of enjoying our lives right now. I'm trying to learn a valuable life lesson of living in the moment, yet envisioning the future. Haven't mastered it. Any suggestions?

I don't want you (whoever you are) to think I haven't enjoyed my time here. I have. I've met some amazing people, went back to school (something I never thought I'd finish), got my first little puppy dog, survived the cold, and learned the wonderful ups and downs of being newlyweds. This chapter was a good chapter, but it's time for a new one to start. Onwards to Yakima!

Now taking orders

It only took me like a year to finally post a few items on Etsy, but I did it. HunnyBoo is alive and kicking. By the way, I'm severely disappointed that my shop name is so closely related to that horrible TLC show. The reason I picked the name that I did was to honor my grandmothers, Grandma Honey and Grandma Boo...NOT that Honey Boo Boo child. Blech!

There are only a few items up for sale, but within the next 2 weeks be on the look out for linen aprons and more dresses. I'm particularly excited about the new bubble dresses I've been making. See those listed really soon. Anyways, here are the items I've listed, plus pictures from the day at the dog park when my parents were in town. Why? Just because it's cute.