The Person I Blogged This From Deserves To Have A Great Day

Just read the sneak peek. It literally made my day. I cannot wait for the next chapter to be posted. I really hope we also get to see some more Mike and Sasha romance. I love them so much. I'm also glad Sasha is doing ok with after how last chapter ended. :) can't wait for the next chapter. :)

OMg can't wait til your next chapter ! 😁 you're the best!!

ahh thank you ^_^ hopefully I might have it done next week, it’s just taking so long because of work and I’ve started another fic too, but it’s mostly work and my suddenly very busy social life that’s the problem!!!

i’m posting a sneak peek now though ^_^

On May 28th, my sister, Edna, turned 31.

 Her mental age is about three years old. She loves Winnie the Pooh, Beauty & the Beast, and Sesame Street. Even though the below picture is unconvincing. 

Edna and “Cookie.” I think she was trying to play it cool. 

My name is Jeanie. I’m Edna’s younger sister. I’m also her guardian and caregiver. 

That’s me on the left. (Hey, you never know. After a year of writing a blog about online dating - Jeanie Does the Internet - I’ve come to learn that there are A LOT of fools on the internet.) 

ANYWAY, I’m not “doing the internet” anymore. I’m taking care of Edna full-time, after completing my MFA in Writing for Screen & Television at USC.

May 16, 2014. I wanted a picture. Edna wanted breakfast.

In case you’re wondering where our parents are, they’re dead. Our mom died of breast cancer when she was just 33. 

Us with mom before she died. (Obviously.)

As for our dad, he peaced-out around the time my mom got sick. His loss - we’re awesome. 

Here we are being awesome at the beach. Pushing a wheelchair in the sand? Not so awesome. 

In case you’re wondering “What’s wrong?” with my sister - as a stranger once asked me on the street  -  NOTHING. Yes, Edna has a rare form of epilepsy - Lennox-Gastaut syndrome - but I don’t know if that’s anymore “wrong” than people who don’t have manners. 

Basically, Edna was born “normal,” and started having seizures as a baby. They eventually got so bad that they cut off the oxygen to her brain, causing her to be mentally disabled. Or impaired. Or intellectually disabled. Or whatever you want to call it - except “retarded,” because in 2010, President Obama signed Rosa’s Law into effect, replacing that word with “intellectually impaired.” 

Which is cool and all, but services for the disabled and the people who care for them are SEVERELY LACKING. Also, there’s a bunch of people working in taxpayer-funded positions who are supposed to help families like us, but don’t. (Big surprise, I know.) They just fill out paperwork (whenever they feel like it) with asinine statements like this: 

YUP. I transport my sister down the stairs in her wheelchair, because that is not only safe, but TOTALLY PRACTICAL. Why doesn’t everyone in a wheelchair just take the stairs, for God’s sake? Stop being so lazy, PEOPLE WITHOUT WORKING LEGS! 

But, as it says above, Edna’s legs do work. Whether or not she wants them to, is another story. 

Edna refusing to go inside. 

These are the stairs that I have to carry her up - by myself - on a daily basis. That is, until one of my legs break and both of us are just sitting at the bottom of the stairs, helpless. 

For six months, I have begged - BEGGED - the State of California to help my sister, which they are required by law - The Lanterman Act specifically - to do so. But they’ve told me “these things take time” and that I “need to amend my expectations.” (That was said to me when I refused to place Edna at AN ALL-MALE CARE FACILITY. Because yes, that was an “option” that was offered to me.) 

Prior to Edna moving in with me in my one-bedroom apartment, she was living with her amazing caregiver, Gaby, back in Tucson, where we went to high school and I did my undergrad. Edna’s reppin’ the Wildcats below. 

But back in November, Gaby also died from breast cancer. (FUCK YOU, BREAST CANCER!) This picture was taken a month before she died. She never even told me she was sick because she didn’t want me to worry. 

By the way, we were raised by our grandma. Edna and her were very close.

She’s dead, too. Surprise.

She died when I was 20 and Edna was 21. That’s when I became Edna’s legal guardian and Gaby stepped into the picture to help me out with Edna. 

So, six months ago, after Gaby died, I moved Edna to California, where I tried to get the folks over at The Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center to help me. I’ve told them I’m worried about our safety - that one of us could get hurt on the stairs -  I’ve told them I can’t afford to pay the private babysitters $15/hour because the ones social services sent me who make $9/hour were unreliable (they didn’t show up on time or at all so I could get to school and work), untrustworthy (one of them let Edna go to the bathroom in the kitchen and then took her into the bathroom because “that what I thought I was supposed to do.”) 

But the people over at the FLRC don’t return my calls, they don’t file the paperwork on time - and the first caseworker that was assigned to us actually LAUGHED AT my sister when he came to our home to evaluate her. When I reported him to his supervisor, she told me, “That’s just [insert name of said jackass].” 

He was one of the two caseworkers that contributed to the report I mentioned above, which also included this: 

So let me get this straight - I have to feed, bathe, dress and help Edna in the bathroom and you can’t deduce whether or not she is able to vote? What in the fuck?!

Now I realize I seem angry. And you can bet your balls I am. I’m also sad. Sad for those who don’t have family to stick up from them and who waste away God knows where, monitored by no one. Or monitored by people who physically and sexually assault them. 

I’m also sad for the caregivers who are SO EXHAUSTED - trying to take care of their loved ones - while also trying to take care of themselves and battling a system that is supposed to help, but does nothing of the sort. And I know a lot of people give up. They let their dreams, their marriages, their friendships slide. All while trying not to resent the very person you’re doing it all for.

Edna wanted to sit next to me the other day while I was writing. Clearly, she’s not impressed. 

Here’s the thing: I REFUSE TO GIVE UP. I’M NOT GIVING UP ON HER OR MYSELF. I’m going to pursue my dreams while taking care of her, AND while ensuring that the people paid to do their jobs ACTUALLY do them.

That’s where you come in. I need you to help me get my story out there. Because I know I’m not alone in this. I want to connect with families who are in similar situations and also show people who have no idea what it’s like to care for someone with a disability (or even a loved one who is sick) that it can be rewarding. Super fucking hard. Exhausting. Painful. Isolating. But, rewarding. 

I’m going to get help for my sister - and others. My hope is that by sharing our story, I can bring awareness to the lack of services and help for the disabled. 

Thank you, 

Jeanie 

Facebook:  facebook.com/eisforedna

Twitter: @EisforEdna 

Attention Florida Pet Owners:

Privately owned hotels, motels, etc., can still legally turn you away if you have pets with you. It just happened to Hurricane Harvey evacuees. Please do not go to a hotel trying to demand that they take your pets - You can get turned away, (the police will assist if needed) and you may end up back on the road in the storm. Which is the most dangerous place to be.

There has been a post going around saying that the PETS act means that hotels have to accept your pets… This is FALSE! The PETS act allows FEMA to spend government funds on creating pet friendly evacuation and disaster response plans, to fund pet friendly shelters, to fund veterinary services, and to pay pet fees to hotels that accept pets for displaced families who receive vouchers after a disaster. It has no bearing on private businesses, private businesses are not required to change or amend their pet policies.

Some hotels do, however, voluntarily change their policies during a storm. This will be dependent on each individual hotel owner, (they are usually franchises). So the best thing you can do is call the individual hotel before you go.

To evacuate, you will need to identify pet friendly hotels, shelters, etc.

To find pet friendly hotels, you can use BringFido.com or Booking.com (on Booking, select “Pet Friendly” in the filters).  The American Kennel Club has a list of Pet-Friendly shelters for you, your family, and your furry friends here. And finally, for your general preparedness information, FEMA has a “Helping Pets” page for storm preparedness and facts you need to know here.

Please be safe and have a backup plan in place. I hope that cuddling your furry loved ones brings you much comfort.

They need to fix this and make it right!!

WTF? They have 1 episode guest stars like Adam (whose character is DEAD) appear and they don’t invite Jen? The hell kind of logic is this?

I would love to see a preview if there isn't gonna be an update. Sasha and Mike please!!!!! Thank You! I hope today is going better for you!

eyes open update??

I’m trying I swear I just haven’t had the best couple of days so I haven’t been in the mood to write, you know?? would it help if I post a little preview of the next chapter? :)

you can either have sasha and max, sasha and mike, sasha defending ryan, or sasha and joe :)

Add me to the “sad” list because I got excited too! I think all Oncers will recognize Steveston aka Storybrooke in a second

It’s sad that I get excited to see Steveston in random places. Also every location in this “across America” ad is in Vancouver, Canada

CS Storybook Update--8/29

The deadline is passed us and I have yet to hear from some people.  I also had a few people say they weren’t writing at the last minute, which I’ve had to find people to write collaborative stories so we don’t have any holes. However, this adds to the time it takes.  

PUBLISHING - Please do not post your stories until the book goes up. Once the book goes up, we ask you to wait 2 weeks to post them on FF/AO3 and tumblr but please link the storybook  OR you can publish at the same time as the book but only publish a couple of paragraphs and link the book for the rest of the story.  Our goal is to get the stories read by as large of a fan base as possible.  

Please check the list below.  If I the title is not bold with a line OR in italics, and you know them, please touch base as we need to know one way or the other if they are in or out.  

Thanks for your participation!   I have received the following.  If the title is bold, with no line, I have the art.  If the title is bold w/ a line, I have rec’d both story and art.  If it is in italics I have heard from the person. 

Keep reading

This movie was the inspiration for my story The Beach House that I wrote in the summer of 2016.  Didn’t @suwya do an amazing job on the poster?

THE BEACH HOUSE

When fate is involved, can Emma and Killian change their destiny so their love transcends time and space to give them their happy ending?

This is an Alternate Universe Multi-chapter

Can also be found on AO3 and on Fan Fiction

Tumblr (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16)(epilogue) (extra chapter)

#SaveEmeraldCity

Alright guys, things are not looking great for Emerald City’s renewal. And before I knew that they would likely be setting up a cliffhanger ending, I wouldn’t have minded just one season of this wonderfulness, I’ll take anything I can get. But, if there is more to tell in this amazingly beautiful world then I think it’s worth a shot to try to save this show! Who’s with me?! my god, I am terrible with these sorts of things, forgive me

No, things aren’t looking great. TV Grimm Reaper expects it to be canceled:

Emerald City is likely to be canceled. Its ratings weren’t terrible for a Friday premiere, but they haven’t stopped declining. Last week’s 0.6 puts it into the likely canceled range, even for a Friday show. As you read the nonsense from the #PRJedi in the TV media about Emerald City being an “event series” remember what that means: If it had good ratings, it would be renewed. Since the ratings are bad, one season was always the plan! (x) (Can that mean that there isn’t actually a cliffhanger? lol) 

But! Tv By the Numbers says it’s still a toss up (same goes for Timeless, guys check that shit out too, it’s so awesome!).

Here are some things we can do:

(If anyone has anything else to add, please add! I am not the best with ratings info lol)

Watch it live! (WHY CAN’T I HAVE A NIESLEN BOX, WHY? I WATCH GOOD SHOWS, DAMN IT) If you can’t watch live, watch it legally through streaming sites like Hulu or nbc.com if you can. (I understand if you are outside the US it doesn’t count (WHY))

Tweet!! LIVE TWEET! During the show and before and after it airs (I think it’s 20 minutes before and after that it counts, I think?)! Use #EmeraldCity as a priority tag and then, hey, maybe we can get that and/or #SaveEmeraldCity to trend! And fans outside the US, this is where you can really help! It airs twice, once at 9 PM EST and 9 PM PST on Fridays (use google to find out what time that is for you and Tweet away! :D)

Follow Emerald City on all social media platforms and engage! Even if it’s a like! Sharing is great and promotes it. 

Spread the word! Maybe you can get some other people into it too! (Especially if they have a Nielsen box… bribe them them….)

Petition coming soon! :)

Fingers crossed!!!