AM~Erica in Search of Modern Suffragettes

So anyway...

We are on countdown to less than 2 weeks until the end of trash-talking campaign ads as election season is winding down to a close.

THANK GOODNESS!!

I'm not ready for the Christmas commercials to begin, but the few I've seen have actually been refreshing, and a welcome change, compared to the doom & gloom of attack ads for the looming of Super Tuesday.

However, this means Super Tuesday is right around the corner. And it is incredibly important we get out there to vote on November 8th!

No, the presidential candidates are not the best of choices, but don't let this particular race deter you from voting if you are registered to vote.

This is Super Tuesday we are talking about! There's more than one issue & office on the ballot that need our voices heard!

If you click HERE, you will see a sample ballot for just my county. My municipality will have additional voting on top of this, as well as other surrounding municipalities. Look at all of it! There is a whole lot more going on, voting-wise, than just president. There's other federal, state, and local candidates & issues to focus on, too. It's my thinking that this ballot is not alone.

How do we break all of this down? If you go to BALLOTPEDIA, there you will find an incredible breakdown of the candidates & issues! Research this stuff so you know what & who you are voting on.

With all of that said, I want to, once again, turn my attention to my fella female registered voters across this great land:

Early voting has begun in many places. Even if you are voting early, or by absentee ballot, remember THE REVOLUTION! Get out your yellow, get a yellow sash, find something as a yellow sash, and get your vote on!

Whether you vote early, or if you vote on Super Tuesday, remind ourselves about what the suffragettes before us were fighting for. We haven't been casting ballots for a hundred years yet. This is still shiny & new. Let's keep using our 19th amendment right to get in there & make our voices heard.

Remember, when you vote, early or on November 8th, and no matter who or what it is you're voting for, let's use our harmony of voting voices to remind ourselves, remind each other, and remind the nation that we do vote.

When you go vote, like I said, remember to wear your yellow sash, or wear yellow (the main color of the American suffragette movement), then get a selfie or two:

* in front of the polling place, OUTSIDE
* with your voting sticker
* in your yellow

Be sure to hashtag it, across social media, with #YellowSashRevolution. Let's get this visual movement going!

Here's 2 of my sashes I've made, recently, along with my last sticker & other adornments I'm considering wearing.

Remember, there are laws about where photos can be taken, and what of, on voting day. There are states that don't allow photos inside the polling place or at the voting booth, but the grander scale is no photos of the ballot & who you have voted for!

Also, you are not to wear candidate &/or issue campaign wear inside the polling place.

Please be a smart voter. Use your right, use your head, use your heart, use your conscience, use your voice, wear your yellow, and go vote!

I'm not a "copy & paste this" or a "share this post" kind of person, but let's band together, as women registered to vote, and make our presence known!

You in? Who's with me?

UPDATE: Support the movement by getting your #YellowSashRevolution Twibbon added to your photo HERE!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica's Yellow Sash Revolution

So anyway...

We have entered full on election season. The nasty attack ads are out, as well as the claws of those on the right AND on the left.

Today, there has been a BIG push to get registered to vote. This is awesome! Not only are there paper forms, you can also do it online (with a touchscreen device), and you can now do it on Snapchat!

Really, it couldn't be easier.

Now, if you are choosing to pass it up because you don't want to get picked for jury duty, just know that your name is already in the barrel when you get a driver's license, state ID, or even own property such as land. Not using your voice to try to make a difference just so you don't have to MAYBE get called for jury duty is actually a very pompous thing to do.

So everyone who will be 18 by election day should take this moment to get registered!

Now that this is covered, I want to address the lady voters.

*****

Hi, fella Lady Voters!

Are you registered to vote? I sure hope so. Because I want you to to join me in a revolution!

Now, as in many revolutions, there is background to this. So let's get some women's herstory going on so you can find out what we can do.

Back in Victorian times, there was the push to get women votes. In the suffrage movement, there was a rise of suffragettes who fought for their right to vote! Literally fought!

Women were beaten, spat upon, and arrested during their protests to get a vote.

The suffragettes across the pond used the colors of purple, green & white to make their statement. Banners, sashes, signs - all promoting getting the right to vote.

The American suffragettes had much of the same statement, but they used yellow/gold with purple & white. The main color tended to be yellow. And this brings me to the revolution.

There is a large push for getting more registered voters. It appears there were 60 million eligible citizens that did not register for the last election. For so long you could only have paper copies of the registration form. I mean, you could find it online, but you could only print it out, fill it out & either mail it in or take it to the public library or election office on your own. Since then, you can now register online as long as you are using a touchscreen device (so you can write your signature). As of this week, you can now register to vote on Snapchat! It's that easy!

Once you have done that, here's the plan, ladies:

Find & wear a yellow sash. Thick yellow ribbon that proves the point that you are a registered American voter who happens to be female.

I kind of pointed it out in my previous blog post about voting. But I'm going to bring up some of the ways again.

1. Go hardcore, old school, Edwardian suffragette! Big Merry Widow hat, maybe with yellow somewhere on there. A maxi skirt or dress that is yellow, or has yellow, and some sensible shoes.

B. Even though women had already gotten the right to vote, we had to prove our worth more when having to step up in the work force during WWII. Rosie the Riveter is the mascot for these women, and tended to be in a red scarf. I propose showing the same strength in outfitting, just in yellow!

III. Dress as a 20's flapper in a lot of yellow. A drop-waist dress, so t-strap Mary Jane shoes and a yellow cloche hat. Especially since it was 1920 when we got the right to vote!

𝚫. Not ALL females could vote in the 20's - as a matter of fact, not EVERYONE could vote by then. It wasn't until the 60's until our colored brothers & sisters could vote. Remember the Selma march - and dress in yellow along those kinds of lines.

If nothing else, dress in yellow. Wear the sash.

Now, on the sash, you can add letters in purple to say "Votes for Women" or even "I Vote"/"iVote"; maybe "Female Voter" or something like "Voted." You can even put "Yellow Sash Revolution."

When you go vote, on voting day or as absentee, be sure to get a selfie of sorts with your voting sticker, maybe even in front of the voting sign.

~ Do NOT include your ballot!

~ Do NOT get your selfie IN the polling place!

~ Do NOT show others entering or exiting the polling place!

Be smart about your photo, include tagging it with #YellowSashRevolution on social media, and let's get the women back into the suffragette spirit of meaning business when we use our right, privilege & voice to vote!

So, who's in? Share the info, and let's get word out to our sister suffragettes!

Remember, it doesn't matter what party you vote for or are a part of, as long as we make it a Woman Suffragette Party on Super Tuesday!

Let's make a difference, let's make a mark!
GO VOTE! REGISTER TODAY!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Continues to Make a Statement

So anyway...

How did we all do on Monday raising Suicide Awareness? Did you wear yellow? Have you written "LOVE" on your wrist? I know that several of you have. I will be making a wrist montage to share soon. Thank you to all who sent your support & shared with me.

But here's a reminder: The week isn't over. This is SUICIDE AWARENESS WEEK. Even though Monday was Suicide Prevention Awareness Day, it needs to keep going. I have been writing "LOVE" on my wrist everyday. And I got thinking...I need to wear a shirt. We must stay loud & get louder with the awareness...so I made 2 shirts. Let me share with you my step-by-step process.

1. Here's my inspiration:

2. I purchased 2 yellow tshirts (just because they were perfect & on clearance):

3. I got out fabric paint (black & red...like the writing on my wrist), a pencil, paint sponge & paper towel.

4. I begin by figuring where I want my design on the shirt & then pencil it on.

5. Then begin tracing with the fabric paint then smudge with the paint sponge. I suggest focusing on 1 letter at a time:

6. Then use the 2nd color & smudge, like step 5.

7. Once done, let dry.

8. Then toss in the dryer on high for about 20-30 minutes to let the paint set better

* NO PIC FROM INSIDE DRYER *

9. Then wear to support the cause.

Always remember that you are worth something. Fox 4 in KC lost Don Harmon in November 2011 to suicide. They now have a depression campaign called "You Matter." I think it's very important.

So the rest of this week, please keep showing your support. From someone who's suicide attempt failed, there is more to live for. Really.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica is Wearing Yellow

So anyway...

I made an observation not too long ago. It had to do with the color yellow in songs I've heard over the years. The color, itself, is usually bright & cheery with a lot of energy. Am I right? Yet the songs containing the color seem to be very chill & mellow. Generally, though, the songs & the color tend to be very memorable & leave you very happy.

That's why I think it's a good color to wear today & thru this week. See, today, September 10th,  is World Suicide Awareness Day...and the awareness continues thru this week. It has been raised since there have been so many more in the last few years. Most of the awareness has come from the bullying and NOH8 movements, which I also FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT, and it generally surrounds the LGBT community. But these movements truly transcend just that community. And the suicide rates have also jumped with the low economy including the loss of jobs & self confidence. There is so much more behind some of these people doing so. A black & dark cloud of evil just swallows you. It really does appear to be no way out. People with forms of depression & some mental illness fight this a lot. There's those who attempt suicide & fail...and...the ones who sadly succeed. That is one success I would hope we never truly want to achieve.

When I talked about Mother's Day, I shared a bit of my battle with depression, and COVERED IT A BIT MORE since then.

With this week being Suicide Awareness Week, I thought I'd kick off the week with another  confession about myself: I survived my own attempt. Only a tiny few know about this until right now. Shocked?

I went thru a rough time in high school. I was a horrible teenager. But I had dark things going on that even I didn't know about. Dates & years of the stuff that happened are gone from my head, but I remember them happening. One of those times was my suicide attempt.

Let me just say that I am a wuss. I'm not kidding. So, I didn't want to physically harm myself. So...I decided to overdose on whatever I could find. With one can of Coca Cola, I took a pill with every drink or two. It's a blur in my mind, but I remember asprin being part of the mix, I couldn't tell you the rest. I literally took at least one of everything I could find in the house. And I had enough medication to last me thru the whole can of Coke. I was hoping I could just lay down after that & let the messed-up-mixture take effect & just take me. Instead, I was vomiting for 2 days straight. I missed school because of it, but I didn't reach the ultimate goal I was truly striving for. I failed...luckily.

Looking where I'm at now, I realize there were things ahead of me that I had to finish. Like my husband & children. They never would have come about if I'd succeeded in such an awful action. My hubby may never have answered God's call to ministry if I had not been there to help him answer it. (Side Note: He's a darn good preacher, too! That's not just biased opinion either. Come check out his anointed messages sometime, especially if you haven't already.) And? There are many of you I would never have gotten to meet or know. It's amazing having each of you in my life, no matter how you made it here into my craziness.

Another part of the suicide prevention for the LGBT community is "It Gets Better." Well, again, that can be said across the board. It might seem like it won't...but it will. Keep going...there is a light. My life is crazy, it's trying, and it's GOOD!

It's always good to know there is a support system for you. And you have one. I'm glad I do since I still struggle with the thoughts sometimes. I know where I failed & I know how I would do it "next time"...I can visualize it & feel it when I'm so down. But my plan is that there won't be a "next time". As I am putting this out for all to read, I don't want to succeed in taking my own life. I have a lot to plan for & move forward with that includes family & friends.

Thus far, I have been totally quiet about my "past". Like I said, such a tiny few knew about my attempt...maybe 2 or 3 people. It's not something I just work into conversation. Even with a couple of other friends that I know who have tried to take their own lives...I talk them thru it without ever revealing the idea that I truly understand.

It's also a reason that I get heartbroken & frustrated with flippant "jokes" telling someone to kill themselves. It's crass. I'm sure that's the point...but there really are people who take that to heart. Suicide is one of the subjects I feel should never work its way into a joking & light-hearted manner. There is nothing light-hearted about the heaviness of the world on the shoulders of the one with those thoughts of taking their own life.

Today is World Suicide Awareness Day. You are asked to wear yellow &/or write "LOVE" on your wrist to raise awareness that we are all beautiful & that there is a light in every one of us. Since it is a whole awareness week, and if you missed it today...please participate at some point this week. You are now aware that you know someone who attempted...but did not succeed. Luckily. In this sense, it's good to be a failure.

Join me. Whether you view the color yellow as bright, electric & cheery, or if you see it as laid-back, easy-breezy & mellow...it's loved & memorable. So are you.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica