YIKES! And My Apologies for being MIA...

What can I say...A LOT has happened since October 12th (the last time I blogged). A. LOT.

And...a lot of those things can cause someone with a history of anxiety and depression, such as myself, to go off the rails a bit.  You have (probably) seen the news and heard the stories of why 2016 was not a great year, but here's a short list:
-The Way-Too-Long-And-Money-Grubbing Campaign "Season" (and skewed news/hateful rhetoric/divisive politics/openly rigged results)
-The Election.  And Post-Election. The rise of public acts of hate/racism/sexism in the fallout after the election.  Too much to go into here. Just....sigh. BUT - there was this, so I know all hope is not lost. <3
-The Continued Injustice following Police Violence on Black Americans (and of course, the fact that it is STILL HAPPENING)
-Dakota Access Pipeline and the horrendous treatment of the Native Americans and peaceful protesters
-The Mass Genocide in Aleppo (not new news, unfortunately, but finally came into the public view with the use of social media)
-Syrian Refuge Crisis (ditto)
-A Potpourri of Personal Family Issues (but, I'm used to those for the most part)
-The deaths of some of the most influential artists of my childhood (and most were lost unexpectedly and way too soon): Prince, David Bowie, George Michael, Muhammad Ali, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, and most recently Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds. And this isn't even the full list. It's been a bad year for "Hollywood" deaths.

It's been very hard to focus on the good with so much bad floating around, but luckily I have found it in my family, friends, and most surprisingly, the Christmas holiday!  Historically I am NOT a "Christmas Person", but this year I needed to focus on love, joy and giving so the timing was perfect.  Also, seeing Christmas through the eyes of my sweet OG is enough to make any Scrooge smile! I love her so much.

So, in short, I will begin posting the several GOOD MEMORIES (that far outweigh the bad) from the past couple of months in following posts to play catch-up, but I wanted to apologize and also explain why I have been absent (aside from the regular life business).
And...since I try to be proactive and educated about the injustices in our world, I wanted to touch on/document the yuckiness that has been transpiring in 2016.

Also, as a side note: depression and anxiety are very real, can be set off by even the smallest things, and are nothing to be ashamed of - just saying. :)  Stay strong, everyone! We will get through this TOGETHER.

Love, peace, and laughter on the planet Earth.

xoxox