On Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner has arrived fully emblazoned on and in "Vanity Fair."  A blaze of fabulous clothes, cars, new boobs and hair.  Cheekbones to die for and eyebrows, as the young kids say, "on fleek."

I'm reading the hoopla and, of course, checking out the pictures.  I watched the Diane Sawyer special on her and was impressed with how well Diane tackled the subject and showcased the very real struggle.  I was touched that (at the time Bruce was still referring to himself as he) he was honest and candid about his journey.  I couldn't imagine the lifelong struggle.  I empathized with him greatly about that especially since someone I love has lived this journey all of her life.

And then...he said something that made me BLINK.

He said that, of course he's a Republican and I BLINKED again and again and again.  It really made me sit back and go...WOW.

The unabashed privilege of Bruce Jenner now Caitlyn was fully displayed.  The struggle that others face daily when going through this transition, was never there.  The money and the fame made him the automatic poster child even though other backs have been broken since the Roman Empire.  Caitlyn is on the cover of Vanity Fair, is a part of a hit reality show and has a new show about to come out.  Caitlyn is full of money that she will protect at all costs while you pull yourself up by your bootstraps.  LOL!  

I am glad to see we are living in a world where people are more comfortable living their truth proudly.  That warms my heart.

Caitlyn?  Old girl is a Republican.  LOL!

I mean...I guess right.  To each his own, blah, blah, blah.

Sometimes though...it simply makes my eyes squint.

GET.MONEY.

Beachin' It!

We did the beach this past weekend and loved every minute of it.  The Robinator found a brand new hotel that allowed doggies to stay and we packed up and rolled out to Florida!  We bypassed the popular beaches for a state park beach because we knew alcohol wasn't permitted so the people we'd like to avoid probably wouldn't be there since the Rangers patrolled the state beaches.  This proved to be an excellent tactic because we ended up on a super nice and clean beach that was very family oriented.  There were lots of parents with kids and lots of couples just wanting a quiet day on the beach.

Henderson State Park Beach

We took most of our own food so I didn't have to worry about not being able to find food and, since our suite had a nice kitchen...it all worked out well. 

The best part about it was that we did absolutely NOTHING!  Just straight up lazy the entire time!  When's the last time you did absolutely nothing?

Village Talk: Totally Unfit OR...Did Something Stupid?

Recently I had something go down in my neighborhood where a neighbor asked me to call the police on some kids for her.  Well...CLEARLY this neighbor doesn't know me cuz yeah...I'm not calling the police on kids.  ESPECIALLY in the currently climate we've been in for a minute regarding police situations.  I was annoyed with the situation big time because the woman is a mother and well...I figured mothers should think these kinds of things through before making a rash decision.  I mean...I hold mothers up in high esteem even as I recognize they are human.

But again...I would never, ever, EVER call the police on children unless I for real thought my life was in danger.  So yeah...just wanted to get that out the way.  o_0

That said, I read this article and I felt some kinda way about it:  

Mom allegedly leaves son alone for holiday weekend

So...the mother is 27.  Her child is 8.  She became a mother when she was still a teenager of sorts.  At 27, she's a cute girl still.  And...she's been a mother for 8 years + the 9 months she carried the child.  You'd like to THINK she'd figured out how to do this mothering thing a bit better but well...the news that we often hear or read would suggest that people in their 20's are still kinda offish.  As someone who was MAJORLY offish in her 20's...hell...I can't imagine the simple ish I might have done had I been a parent since being a teenager.  Not saying that all women who became mothers early on did major irresponsible ish but hey...I'd understand-ish if they did.

Whenever I hear/read something like this...I wonder what I would have done.  I know me so I know that had I realized that an 8 year old neighbor child was home alone while his mother was out of town...I would have promptly made him call his mother and give me the phone.  I would have told her IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that her child was going to be at my house until she returned and that my expectations were that she was going to return as quickly as possible with the threat of the police being called if she didn't.  I would have thought about the repercussions of calling the police.  Of the child being removed from the home and taken into protective custody.  Of the mother being arrested.  Of her arrest possibly leading to her losing her job and all the crap that follows losing your job when you're a single parent.  I would have wondered why in the HELL she didn't leave the child with someone she trusted and then I would have been sad thinking that she didn't have anyone in her life that she'd trust with her child.  I'd think that yeah...she did something stupid but hey...the child was being well taken care of prior to this so yeah...maybe getting them people in their business would COMPLETELY wreck their flow of life.  If she didn't have someone she trusted to care for her child for a weekend...what are the chances that she'd have someone trusted to care for the child while she dealt with the legal issues surrounding her doing something majorly f'ed up and stupid?

But yeah...Idda thought about all of that and brought him to my house, put on some cartoons or hooked up his video game and kept an eye on the kid until she hot footed it back home.  And then...Idda kept an eye on her azz from that point forward to make sure the child was good ya know?  I probably would have offered to watch him for her so she could have a break from being a mother and just be a cute 27 year old at the beach with friends from time-to-time.

Cuz mothers need that downtime sometimes when they are the everything and all to their babies.

I get upset thinking about this "neighbor" who called the police straight off the bat.  I mean...chick had kids who played with the kid apparently so she was acquainted with him but not so much so that she'd consider the repercussions should she call the police.  So she did and the child was removed from the home and the mother arrested.  Nothing was said about the child living in unfit conditions.  Their home is nice and well kept.  

I'm not condoning what the mother did cuz yeah...that was stupid and dude...REALLY??????????  HE'S FUGGIN 8 YEARS OLD!  But the "neighbor?"  She's a b*****.  An unfeeling, unconcerned b***** who doesn't give two shits about that child.  Yeah I said it...she's a BITCH.

I hate calling people b*****es and very rarely do it...but in this situation one mother did something super stupid and the other mother was a b****.

I hate b****es.

Your turn.  What would YOU have done?  Would YOU have called the police?  

12 Minute Gluten Free Chicken and Broccoli!

I love Chinese take out.  Or, should I say...LOVED it.  Since pretty much every sauce has a base which includes soy sauce I can't eat it in restaurants and the few recipes I've tried before tonight simply didn't do it any justice.

I ran across this recipe and it made tonight:  12-MINUTE CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI

The only thing I changed was that I added red pepper flakes.  I had two substitutions because well...I'm crazy but instead of cornstarch I had to use flour because I was out and instead of rice wine vinegar I used a Serrano Honey Balsamic vinegar because, again...that's what I had.  Since one of the ingredients was honey...I felt like this wouldn't be a big deal.  

I also did something that has changed my life as of tonight.  Instead of grating up fresh ginger...I cut a piece about the size of my garlic press and peeled it.  Then...I pressed it.

LIFE.CHANGING!

This was soooooooooooooooooooooo good!

YIELD: ABOUT 2-4 SERVINGS

12-MINUTE CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI

This classic chicken and broccoli recipe is full of fresh and delicious flavor, and it's ready to go in just 12 minutes!

PREP: 3 MINS COOK: 9 MINS TOTAL: 12 MINS

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

• 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

• 2 Tbsp. honey

• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

• 1 tsp. sesame oil

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

• salt and pepper

• 1 bunch broccoli, chopped into small florets

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and mostly cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, make your sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, cornstarch, garlic, ginger and sesame oil until combined. Set aside.

Once the chicken is browned, add the broccoli and stir to combine. Continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes, until the broccoli is bright green. Stir in the soy sauce mixture, and cook for an additional 1 minute until the sauce has thickened.

Remove from heat and serve immediately, garnished with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

SNL Skit with Louis C.K.: When you get what you asked for.

Full disclosure here.  I'm a Louis C.K. fan.  I think his show, "Louie", is genius.  I think he tackles things we are mostly uncomfortable discussing in a fresh way.  In a REAL way.  You know...that way you discuss them at home when you don't have to use knowing looks or hushed tones to discuss them because you know the heart of the person you're discussing them with.  See...we can discuss anything if we already KNOW the person we're discussing it with.  When we don't know the person, as we're forming our thoughts, we are constantly thinking about just where this person is coming from.

Well...you know that.

Anyway...yeah...I'm a fan.

We missed SNL on Saturday night because we were out partying it up big time popping bottles and whatnot.

Okay...we were asleep.  Hell...we're old.  We can't stay up that long on a Saturday night anymore without planning.

So we watched on Sunday morning while eating late breakfast.  We were still trying to digest Louis C.K.'s opening monologue and watching silently.  I had a piece of bacon in my hand and was chewing.  When the above skit started...I stopped chewing.  BACON.  I stopped chewing bacon.  I stared at the television blinking and holding my bacon in my hand.  

I thought about another SNL skit with Louis C.K. in it that was basically a ripoff from the Dave Chappelle Show.  I thought when Dave did it...it was brilliant but on SNL it made my eyes squint.

And it made me wonder if perhaps I'm bringing along with me a feeling of some kinda way because for decades...we've been wondering why there weren't more people of color on SNL and now...we have them so exploring politically incorrect and edgy comedy including Black people and ABOUT Black people is more likely to happen.  SNL is well known to be offensive to all right?

So what do you think?  What DID you think?  Did the new skit make you laugh?  Was it funny?  Was it uncomfortable to watch because you know people like the Sprint manager?  Was it funny because you know people like the Sprint manager?  What do you think, so far, of Leslie Jones on the show?

What did YOU think of his opening monologue?  Child molester "jokes" too much?