Because it can happen to anyone.

A few months back I posted an entry about the things I learned from dating an addict. It wasn't to inform anyone really, just a way for me to get rid of a lot of thoughts in my head that kept coming up. Today I found this from a person that works in an ER and has seen abuse from all angles. Male on female, female on male, male on male, female on female, parent to child. All forms. She gave the phone number to the National Domestic Violence Hotline which I think is absolutely awesome because a lot of people don't realize that that hotline is out there. I didn't. And if you read her list of the most used excuses I will go ahead and tell you that I fell into numbers 3, 8, 10, 12, and 19. And that was all in one relationship.

The sad part about me posting this right now is that the one person that I really want to read this won't. And even if she does she will continue to make excuses about how her husband treats her.

The thing about the domestic violence hotline is that you can call if you have a friend or family member that is in an abusive relationship. They will give you advice on how to help them. So, the next time I get that text about how my friend is being treated I will not only be giving her the phone number but I will also be calling for advise on how to help her.

So, call this number: 1−800−799−SAFE(7233) 


And also, if you or someone you know has thought about suicide, please call this number: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or go to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. They want to hear from you and they know how to help. 


All it takes is you reaching out. Don't become another statistic.
                               

Holidays equal way too much family time

I hope everyone had a wonderful fourth of July weekend.

 I didn't have to go back to school or work until today so mine was extra lovely. I went home to spend time with the family. After day two I was ready to kill them all. Luckily, I got to spend my weekend with this view:

 So, I was able to tune out the family and enjoy the sun.

My brother brought a friend home with him. They had a couple of kids and an adorable dog. Their youngest spent almost all of the weekend in a kayak paddling around the slough with Gypsie hanging out with him.

Way too adorable.

And of course we had Bella to entertain. Luckily Stanton and Seth were there to keep her occupied. I believe that she chased tennis balls for at least a total of 24 hours. By Monday morning she was literally tip-toeing around because her little paws were sore. But she is a trooper and quickly went for a swim as soon as she got outside.

She is so freaking tan!

My good friend Luckie came to see me this weekend too. It was nice having a non-family member around because I got to have a normal conversation that didn't include the question, Do you ever watch Swamp People? Apparently, my entire family is in on some kind of secret Louisiana back woods t.v. show that they had to discuss in detail for hours at a time.

Please excuse the raccoon eyes and Rudolph nose. I always put sunscreen on at the beginning of the day but forget to reapply. And I never take my sunglasses off.

And by the end of the weekend our fierce guard dog completely gave out on us.

She has no teeth and her tongue hangs out of the side of her mouth. Be very afraid.

So, about a month ago I went to New Orleans for Shop-a-holics bachelorette party and we meet a lovely group of guys that were on the male version of our trip. I meet a guy that is so much more witty than I am and he told me about a member of their group that was notorious for slipping away with out telling the rest where he was going. So they gave him the nick name Flight Risk. When I told Ice Queen about my trip and the guys she decided that she wants to be known as Flight Risk because she also has the ability to disappear quickly in a crowd. And she justified her name change by saying that she hasn't made anyone cry lately so she doesn't deserve to be an Ice Queen anymore. So, I changed her name and I am going to leave you guys with a video of her so that all of you can see what I get to live with.