feature image via Shutterstock

Happy New Year and a sparkling cider toast to you, my perfect shiny mirror balls! Are you ready to ring in 2018 with some good damn news for a change? Bizarre how Sunday Funday changed from a fun, lighthearted fluff piece to a critical part of our collective self-care and resistance this past year, but I’m glad we got to share in one not-horrific news round-up together every week. So, on that note, tune out your Twitter feed for a hot sec and tune into these hot links. See you in 2018!

The Best of 2017

via Shutterstock

I give you permission to focus on the good for just five minutes, ok?

From an Oscar to church weddings, five big wins for LGBT rights in 2017.

Asia made big strides in LGBT rights in 2017.

The Best LGBT Documentaries of 2017.

FUCK. YOU. MIKE. PENCE.

Seriously, fuck you. (via Shutterstock)

Pence’s neighbors trolled him at his Aspen, Colorado home by hanging a “Make America Gay Again” banner next to an American flag banner. Even more awesome, the banner idea came from the family’s daughters and one of their daughter’s girlfriends! Then the family asked their other neighbors to join in. I love it so much! Unfortunately, you’re going to have to click through for pics, as I can’t find any that would be fair use to post here. It’s worth it, though!

Mike Pence’s Colorado neighbors troll him with a ‘Make America Gay Again’ banner. HAHAHAHAHAFOREVER.

VP Mike Pence gets message from Aspen neighbors: Make America Gay Again. This story has an actual pic of the banner!

Report: Pence’s Aspen-area neighbors hung ‘Make America Gay Again’ sign. This one has a video with the cool mom!

Sorry Not Sorry, Homophobes and Transmisogynists

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U.S. Military To Allow Transgender Recruits After Trump Administration Drops Appeal. You can enlist starting tomorrow, Jan 1.

“Gay panic” defense banned in Illinois; are other states next?. I freaking hope so!

Lesbian couple wins case against Christian bakers who called them “abominations”. FUCK YES FUCK YES FUCK YES Pay up, assholes!

The Human Rights Campaign released two new sets of polling data about key midterm election states, Arizona and Pennsylvania that show voters in both states back LGBTQ protections and won’t put up with politicans who don’t back us!

Self-Care As An Act of Political Resistance

It me! Blowin’ kisses to you! (made with Bitmoji)

Darlings, I care about ya’ll and I want you to know that it’s OK to stop, breathe, be present, put down your worries, and do what you need to do to take care of yourself. I’ve often felt overwhelmed this year to the very maximum limit of my ability to handle stress and it’s even affected my health in measurable ways. I took this past last week of December to slow down, take stock, and do some self check-in and self-care planning for the year ahead. I urge you to join me. I’ve linked some worksheets (and posts about how to use them) from Social Work Tech that I love and personally use. It only takes a few minutes to invest in your well-being and I am telling you that I believe you’re worth a few minutes of self-investment. And if you truly don’t have a few minutes to stop, that’s OK, too. You just need to do what you need to do to survive. Our collective survival depends on each of us surviving. I lurve ya! See you all fresh and shiny and new in 2018!

A Self-Assessmen Tool & Worksheet. I do this exercise as a first step before making a self-care plan. It helps me take stock of what’s affecting me and what I need to be well.

Making a Self-Care Plan & Downloadable Template. Love this plan and use it at work and personally!

The More You Know

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This Is Why People Kiss On New Year’s Eve.

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