I Don't Wanna

I mentioned in my last post that the internet has felt like a harsh place to be lately. I wish I could say I could simply turn my back on the world wide web and retreat into the peacefulness of my own life, but alas, that is not the case. Because you see, life has been somewhat harsh lately, too.

I've dealt with a barrage of hatefulness from my job in the last couple of weeks...from face-to-face interactions where people have hurled such insults that I feared I needed to duck:

To the kind of telephone conversations that make me want to plug my ears:

After eight hours of this sort of behavior, I wind up feeling exhausted, underpaid, under-appreciated, and feeling like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders. Or, more appropriately, the weight of the everybody else's problems on my shoulders.

Emotionally battered and bruised, I tend to shy away from life. I wake up in the mornings in an "I don't wanna" mood. "I don't wanna work. I don't wanna answer the phone. I don't wanna send late notices. I don't wanna call her back. I just don't wanna."

The don't wanna's tend to bleed into my personal life, as well. "I don't wanna do laundry. I don't wanna cook dinner. I don't wanna go anywhere today. I don't wanna write a blog. I don't wanna check my email. I just don't wanna."

The only thing I've wanted to do lately is close my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else.

<Insert Wayne and Garth Flash Back Sound Effect Here>

...to be continued...

Doctor Who images courtesy of bigpicturesphoto.com. Angry birds images courtesy of webdesignhot.com.

How I'm Feeling About Facebook Lately

The internet has been a hazardous place as of late. Especially on Facebook. With the looming election, paired with recent world events and football season, Facebook has gone from this:

To this:

I always wonder what I'll stumble across each morning when I open my internet browser. Will I be smacked in the face with some crazy right-wing conspiracy theory, complete with hate speech and illustrations? Or will I (finally) be greeted with the things I WANT to know about...i.e. who's at the grocery store/which friend's kid won their soccer game/who found a Doctor Who collectible on eBay.

In years past, when the internet turns hostile, Brian and I have been known to "take a Facebook break." We disable or delete our accounts, living a blissful, quiet life, free from armchair politics and the web-wide Whiny Wanda. (Because everybody has a friend like that, am I right?)

Believe me when I say my finger has hovered over the "Obliterate Your Facebook Account Here" button several times over the last few weeks.

But I can't seem to make myself pull the trigger this time. Maybe it's because I don't want to go to the trouble of recreating my account in a month when I start going through withdrawals. Maybe it's because Brian is gone a lot, and Facebook is my tangible connection to the outside world. Maybe it's because I would miss seeing the daily posts from Jenna about my godkids. 

However, if I'm honest with you about why I haven't just quit Facebook this time, it comes down to a simple answer.

It's because Facebook created the ultimate answer when they came up with the "Show in News Feed" feature. I can be friends with you on Facebook all day long, but if I don't want to read all of your rants, I can simply choose to take you out of my personal timeline. You're nary the wiser, and my page is filled with the updates I'm most interested in. 

FINALLY! I can create a timeline that will greet me with unicorns and rainbows instead of gremlins and thunderheads!! I get plenty of pleasure out of making use of that little feature.


You posted something extremely offensive? HIDE FROM TIMELINE!

You continually post political statements that border on hate speech? HIDE FROM TIMELINE!

You complain about everything in your life to the point of exhaustion? HIDE FROM TIMELINE!



I feel like Shera with He-man's catch phrase.

I'm sure at some point I'll revisit those I've hidden and consider allowing them back into the lovely meadow of wildflowers that is my Facebook timeline. (Perhaps after the election is over?) But for now, I'm employing my own brand of The Timeline Police. And it's working!

Of course, I could always just use my husband's answer for Facebook nonsense and post this whenever someone annoys me (Warning: Foul Language Ahead:)

Source

Funny, colorful, and right to the point. But, I think I'm going to stick to my game plan. It's reversible, it's comfortable, and it's keeping Facebook much more warm and fuzzy. HEY! It's Facebook's version of the Snuggie! And who knows, maybe one day, the internet will return to being a (mostly) kind place to visit. But for now, I'm gonna stick to my guns and wrap my little piece of the internet in the warm flannel of choice. Thank you, Facebook, for giving me the option to be the passive-aggressive peace keeper of my own page.

Hack This, You Mean Ol' Hackers You

When I went to open up Abby Gabs yesterday to get down to my Monday blogging business, I was met with a sad state of affairs. My website, in all its glory, was missing.

Refusing to panic, I headed to the place where all questions in the universe are asked and answered--The Internet. That's when I found out that a hacker group known as Anonymous had somehow managed to break through all the security barriers at Go Daddy dot com (also known as my blog's web hosting service.) In an evil attempt to "test the firewalls" at the major company, this big-ol-fat-meanie-head-hacker-person broke the internet. Basically, the attack left many Go Daddy hosted sites unable to <insert lots of technical jargon here.> 

Go Daddy issued the following statement:

Twitter was alight with complaints. And the poor Go Daddy customer service reps were taking the major brunt of it all. I just kept thinking offices filled with tech-savvy computer dudes and dudettes, backs hunched over their computers, banging away at the keyboards as they hurriedly tried to solve our problem and get our websites back up. My immediate frustration with the web hosting site found a new target after I read so many of those angry tweets.

See, I had always thought of hackers as being a member of our Nerd Family. Sure, they might be mischievous little rascals, trying to use their brains for bad. But still---when you said the word hacker, up until yesterday, I thought of this guy:

But after reading the harassment being hurled at the Go Daddy reps yesterday via the world wide web, my opinion of hackers has changed slightly. They are no longer nerdy loners who struggle with social interaction. I don't think of them as the Leonards or Sheldons that I find so endearing. In fact, I no longer even consider them to be members of Club Geekdom. (<---That's the club my husband and I started for rabid Doctor Who, video game, The Big Bang Theory, and Comic Con fans.) Now, when you say the word "hacker," I think of THIS guy:

What a mean and evil thing you did to the world yesterday, Mr. Hacker. You're a very, very naughty boy.

And to the staff at Go Daddy, who had my blog up and running again in less than 12 hours---you are rock stars. I'm sorry the world was so hateful to you yesterday. And I hope you got all that work finished before the bars closed, because each and everyone of you deserve a stiff drink. Martinis for everyone!

In the spirit of keeping things official, Abby Gabs would also like to issue a statement to the hacker who broke the internet yesterday.

And yes, you can quote me.

It's Tuesday! And you know what that means.

I'm hanging out with the gang at 

yeahwrite's speakeasy.

We might even drink some bathtub gin

and bemoan the character of hackers.

Stop by and read some awesome blogs, why dontcha?

I Am Not A Morning Person

You've all seen the movies where the beautiful female lead wakes up in the morning to bird song, sunshine streaming through lace curtains, her cheeks pink and her hair perfectly coiffed.

Woodland creature flock to her breathtaking loveliness, and the day always starts with a song.

Suffice it to say that I do not wake up as gracefully as Cinderella.

All those coffee mugs and night shirts that are emblazoned with the phrase "I Don't Do Mornings," were created specifically with me in mind. My alarm clock is my least favorite item in our house (including dirty litter and the cob web that keeps appearing in my living room window). It has been beaten, smacked, and punched so many times, there are bits of plastic missing from its face. It's a miracle the thing still works.

And when I wake up in the morning, I'm less-than-dewey-fresh.  I always, always have "Edward Cullen" hair. Oh c'mon...you know, like this:

Except he styles his this way on purpose. (source)

There's almost always crap in my eyes and sometimes at the corner of my mouth. I have bags under my eyes big enough to carry a week's worth of groceries. A giant zit will have formed on my chin overnight that rivals most 13 year old boys on the cusp of puberty. My grey hair multiplies by factors of ten. And let's not forget about the lone chin hair that manages to grow to an inch in length from bedtime to rise-n-shine. In short, I don't resemble Cinderella in the slightest. I look more like her 30-something-year-old ugly step cousin.

My husband is always patient with me, especially on mornings when I get up super-early to help him get out the door for work or class on time. He gently points me in the direction of the coffee maker, ignoring the curse words muttered under my breath, usually in his direction. He moves furniture and cats out of my path, so they don't get tripped over or tread upon. 

Not to say that he doesn't find humor in my less-than-graceful state upon waking. He may or may not have made references to movie characters before. And we're not talking about glamorous starlets or adorable cartoon divas. Oh no. We're talking more along the lines of giant lizards with fire breath whose only concern is stalking its prey.

Because, you see, there are 3 things that need to happen before I'm ready to welcome the morning with a song: a hot shower, a hotter cup of coffee, and at least 15 minutes in front of my make-up mirror. After copious amounts of hair gel and concealer, and a second cup of coffee, I'm much more presentable to the general public.

Cool mug, huh? I designed it. You can buy it HERE.

By cup number three, I'm officially a human being. I can keep up with normal conversation, I can answer the phone by the second ring, and I can even check my email without worrying that I'll reply to something in a snarky manner. But it's that first cup---that first steaming-hot cup of delicious fuel--that really starts the process. In fact, that first cup of coffee is so crucial to my ability to function in the real world, that I'm beginning to wonder how I ever made my way through life without it. I don't remember being 8 years old, knowing that the only way I would be able to wake up as an adult was with the help of a jolt of caffeine (2 sugars and splash of half-and-half, please and thank you.) 

I certainly don't remember any of my teachers teaching me about the importance of morning coffee in math class.

I mean, it's basic arithmetic. Am I wrong?

Riley's Story

Meet Riley.

Riley is a vibrant, beautiful, 3-year-old little girl who lives in Louisiana with her parents, Christy and Jerry. She also has four other siblings: Haley (11), Hunter (10), Lexie (9), and baby brother Anthony (15 months)! All together, they make one, big, happy family.

While I've never had the pleasure of meeting Riley in real life, her story came to my attention thanks to our friends, Blake and Heather. (They are the rock-star parents to a little guy named Everett that you may all remember.) And when I learned about little Riley, I wanted to share her story with you.

You see, Riley has Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. I know...I had never heard of it either. When I spoke with Riley's Mom, Christy, on Facebook about the disease earlier today, she said this: "It's a very aggressive, autistic-like disease in behavior and mannerisms, but it's not autism by far. It's the deletion of chromosome 22q13.3." When that didn't make me any less confused, she sent me this graphic:

(Click to enlarge)

That's when I started to understand Phelan-McDermid Syndrome a little bit better.

Riley is a 3 year old child in an 11-month-old's body and mind. She suffers from absence seizures, GERD, and she is unable to walk or talk, though she is able to communicate through a special device. She has a high tolerance to pain, she does not sweat, and she can only eat a special kind of baby food because of an allergy to protein. Little Riley has therapy 3 times a week: one day each of speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.

As you can imagine, with all the therapy sessions and doctor's visits, it doesn't leave a girl much time to enjoy her Dora the Explorer (Riley's favorite thing, ever.) It also doesn't leave much money in Mom and Dad's bank account. Jerry works hard as a railroad employee to support his family, and Christy stays at home with the kids, since Riley needs so much hands-on attention. When it became obvious to this crafty mom of 5 that cash flow might be an issue, she immediately turned to her hobbies as a way to make a little dough.

Christy creates adorable bibs, dresses and blankets for kids, and sells them on her website, Lil Bandit Bibs. Each item on the site is lovingly handmade, and the design possibilities are endless.

You'll find fabrics ranging from floral patterns, to sports teams, to your child's favorite cartoon characters.  The bibs are made with special-needs children in mind--each one is reversible, easy to remove, and soft to the touch. Christy also offers embroidery, which adds that extra-special something to any item you order.  So if you're looking for a gift for an upcoming baby shower or birthday party, you've just found the perfect place to shop!

And the best news of all? The proceeds from every sale go to help pay for Riley's medicine and therapy. Even if you don't have a little one in your life who would love to have a soft, cuddly blanket, you could help this family simply by sharing Christy's website. So take a minute out of your busy day to visit Lil' Bandit Bibs. Let's make Riley's life (and her family's life, too!) a little bit easier, one bib at a time!

(You'll notice a new button in the left-hand column of Abby Gabs. It will take you straight to Lil' Bandit Bibs!! Want one for your own website? Let me know and I'll send you the picture!)