Little Miss Sew and Sow

Amazing-ness

2009-09-21T18:13:00.002-04:00

Last night I went with my friend Peggy to the DMB concert in Camden. It was my second Dave concert, and her 83rd. Last year, the show was okay, but it was clear that the band wasn't "feeling it". This year was the total opposite. You could tell that they were enjoying themselves, and they really put on an amazing show.

Edit this setlist | More Dave Matthews Band setlists

WHAT size???

2009-08-24T20:53:00.004-04:00

Calling a woman PLUS SIZE when she looks like this--
is insane.

This picture is in September's issue of Glamour. I am so happy to see a REAL woman pictured, with a REAL body! This makes me feel SOOOOO good about my body! She is beautiful! I love the real stomach, stretch marks and pooch and all!!

Bravo

2009-08-14T10:57:00.002-04:00

I had a fantastic dinner last night at Bravo with my dearest friend in the world. It was fabulous!
Mike gets here this afternoon; not sure what we have on tap for today--probably just avoiding the heat as much as possible! Boy, it's hot here! We have gotten spoiled in NJ!

Bueller... Bueller?

2009-08-06T18:52:00.003-04:00

John Hughes died this morning, of an apparent heart attack. He definitely shaped the 80s with his films, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, among them. So the next time you have a little extra time, whether it's due to Saturday detention (TBC), your family leave you at home over Christmas when they go to Paris (Home Alone), or you stay home from school with a fake illness (FBDO), watch a John Hughes movie to pass the time.

What he's up to these days...

2009-08-06T18:36:00.003-04:00

So W is busy. Very busy. Being three is a LOT of work, from what I can see. Our biggest hurdle these days is going to bed. It's gotten bad recently because we took away his pacifier (which he only had at bedtime and nap, I might add) when he turned 3. He only asked for it for the first 2 or 3 days, but his going-to-sleep ability has decreased precipitously. Seriously, it has been taking me up to an hour to get him down at night, which is horrible, especially since 5 out of 7 nights, I am here alone. Well, Monday night was the last straw. When Mike came home, he saw my distress, and made a suggestion. He recalled that, a few months ago, when we were going through a rough patch with the sleeping, my mentor at work, Rita, suggested that we reverse the doorknob for his room so that we could lock it from the outside to prevent him from running out after lights out (aka, playing games). We unlock it, of course, once he's asleep so he can get out if needs to in the night but it keeps him from being able to run out of his room every five minutes just after he's put down, as he had been doing. So it's working so far. In fact, the last night he didn't even get up after I put him down! Success, for now.
The toileting is great. He has been in underpants for nearly 2 weeks (he wears a diaper for nap and bed) and has only had a few pee accidents (his last one was last Saturday). No poop accidents, unless you count today, which I don't... Here's what happened. He hadn't pooped since Monday, and he was complaining of a tummy-ache (I bet!). He had tried several times yesterday to poop, and I was getting worried. Well, when I went into the room between our classrooms today, right before we were going to leave, there he was, pulling up his pants, saying, "My poop in potty. Big mess." Sure enough, he had pooped in the potty... and clogged the toilet! Bless his heart. He had also gotten poop all over his bottom and legs while trying to wipe himself. I got him all cleaned up before we left, and gave him a bath when we got home. He was so sweet about the whole thing. When we called Mike to tell him about it, he said, "Daddy, my poop in potty. Break toilet." So funny.
Also falling into the "funny category" is this, which Mike witnessed the other night. Here's Mike's account, as copied/pasted from an email... "he's was brushing his teeth the other night to get ready for bed while standing on his little potty singing -- on one foot. i told him he needed to just brush his teeth and quit the other. and he looked at me with the most sincere eyes and said 'Stand on one foot, sing songs!' maybe you had to be there but i can't help but laugh every time i think about it." All I witnessed was the audio portion of that incident, so I heard the singing, as well as Mike's chuckling. It was quite dear.
W had a very acute observation the other night. While lying on his pallet (he's refusing to sleep on his bed right now--he insists on sleeping on a pallet on the floor in his room), he started fingering his nipples (yes, that's right. He has also been going through a phase of not wanting to wear a shirt to bed). He looked up at me, and with the most serious look on his face, said, "Mommy, why my have nipples?" Good question, son. Good question.

They always say...

2009-08-04T20:31:00.003-04:00

...truth is stranger than fiction. Seriously, this really does have the makings of a mystery/spy/thriller novel. I mean, to anyone who's paid any attention to the news over the past few years, Blackwater is, to say the least, a bit on the shady side. So to read this about the owner of the company, while shocking just due to the nature of the allegations, is not terribly surprising. Read on.

Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

By Jeremy Scahill

August 4, 2009

A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety.

These allegations, and a series of other charges, are contained in sworn affidavits, given under penalty of perjury, filed late at night on August 3 in the Eastern District of Virginia as part of a seventy-page motion by lawyers for Iraqi civilians suing Blackwater for alleged war crimes and other misconduct. Susan Burke, a private attorney working in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights, is suing Blackwater in five separate civil cases filed in the Washington, DC, area. They were recently consolidated before Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia for pretrial motions. Burke filed the August 3 motion in response to Blackwater's motion to dismiss the case. Blackwater asserts that Prince and the company are innocent of any wrongdoing and that they were professionally performing their duties on behalf of their employer, the US State Department.

The former employee, identified in the court documents as "John Doe #2," is a former member of Blackwater's management team, according to a source close to the case. Doe #2 alleges in a sworn declaration that, based on information provided to him by former colleagues, "it appears that Mr. Prince and his employees murdered, or had murdered, one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information, to the federal authorities about the ongoing criminal conduct." John Doe #2 says he worked at Blackwater for four years; his identity is concealed in the sworn declaration because he "fear[s] violence against me in retaliation for submitting this Declaration." He also alleges, "On several occasions after my departure from Mr. Prince's employ, Mr. Prince's management has personally threatened me with death and violence."

In a separate sworn statement, the former US marine who worked for Blackwater in Iraq alleges that he has "learned from my Blackwater colleagues and former colleagues that one or more persons who have provided information, or who were planning to provide information about Erik Prince and Blackwater have been killed in suspicious circumstances." Identified as "John Doe #1," he says he "joined Blackwater and deployed to Iraq to guard State Department and other American government personnel." It is not clear if Doe #1 is still working with the company as he states he is "scheduled to deploy in the immediate future to Iraq." Like Doe #2, he states that he fears "violence" against him for "submitting this Declaration." No further details on the alleged murder(s) are provided.

"Mr. Prince feared, and continues to fear, that the federal authorities will detect and prosecute his various criminal deeds," states Doe #2. "On more than one occasion, Mr. Prince and his top managers gave orders to destroy emails and other documents. Many incriminating videotapes, documents and emails have been shredded and destroyed."

The Nation cannot independently verify the identities of the two individuals, their roles at Blackwater or what motivated them to provide sworn testimony in these civil cases. Both individuals state that they have previously cooperated with federal prosecutors conducting a criminal inquiry into Blackwater.

"It's a pending investigation, so we cannot comment on any matters in front of a Grand Jury or if a Grand Jury even exists on these matters," John Roth, the spokesperson for the US Attorney's office in the District of Columbia, told The Nation. "It would be a crime if we did that." Asked specifically about whether there is a criminal investigation into Prince regarding the murder allegations and other charges, Roth said: "We would not be able to comment on what we are or are not doing in regards to any possible investigation involving an uncharged individual."

The Nation repeatedly attempted to contact spokespeople for Prince or his companies at numerous email addresses and telephone numbers. When a company representative was reached by phone and asked to comment, she said, "Unfortunately no one can help you in that area." The representative then said that she would pass along The Nation's request. As this article goes to press, no company representative has responded further to The Nation.

Doe #2 states in the declaration that he has also provided the information contained in his statement "in grand jury proceedings convened by the United States Department of Justice." Federal prosecutors convened a grand jury in the aftermath of the September 16, 2007, Nisour Square shootings in Baghdad, which left seventeen Iraqis dead. Five Blackwater employees are awaiting trial on several manslaughter charges and a sixth, Jeremy Ridgeway, has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and attempting to commit manslaughter and is cooperating with prosecutors. It is not clear whether Doe #2 testified in front of the Nisour Square grand jury or in front of a separate grand jury.

The two declarations are each five pages long and contain a series of devastating allegations concerning Erik Prince and his network of companies, which now operate under the banner of Xe Services LLC. Among those leveled by Doe #2 is that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe":

To that end, Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.

Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince's executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to "lay Hajiis out on cardboard." Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince's employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as "ragheads" or "hajiis."

Among the additional allegations made by Doe #1 is that "Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq." He states that he personally witnessed weapons being "pulled out" from dog food bags. Doe #2 alleges that "Prince and his employees arranged for the weapons to be polywrapped and smuggled into Iraq on Mr. Prince's private planes, which operated under the name Presidential Airlines," adding that Prince "generated substantial revenues from participating in the illegal arms trade."

Doe #2 states: "Using his various companies, [Prince] procured and distributed various weapons, including unlawful weapons such as sawed off semi-automatic machine guns with silencers, through unlawful channels of distribution." Blackwater "was not abiding by the terms of the contract with the State Department and was deceiving the State Department," according to Doe #1.

This is not the first time an allegation has surfaced that Blackwater used dog food bags to smuggle weapons into Iraq. ABC News's Brian Ross reported in November 2008 that a "federal grand jury in North Carolina is investigating allegations the controversial private security firm Blackwater illegally shipped assault weapons and silencers to Iraq, hidden in large sacks of dog food." Another former Blackwater employee has also confirmed this information to The Nation.

Both individuals allege that Prince and Blackwater deployed individuals to Iraq who, in the words of Doe #1, "were not properly vetted and cleared by the State Department." Doe #2 adds that "Prince ignored the advice and pleas from certain employees, who sought to stop the unnecessary killing of innocent Iraqis." Doe #2 further states that some Blackwater officials overseas refused to deploy "unfit men" and sent them back to the US. Among the reasons cited by Doe #2 were "the men making statements about wanting to deploy to Iraq to 'kill ragheads' or achieve 'kills' or 'body counts,'" as well as "excessive drinking" and "steroid use." However, when the men returned to the US, according to Doe #2, "Prince and his executives would send them back to be deployed in Iraq with an express instruction to the concerned employees located overseas that they needed to 'stop costing the company money.'"

Doe #2 also says Prince "repeatedly ignored the assessments done by mental health professionals, and instead terminated those mental health professionals who were not willing to endorse deployments of unfit men." He says Prince and then-company president Gary Jackson "hid from Department of State the fact that they were deploying men to Iraq over the objections of mental health professionals and security professionals in the field," saying they "knew the men being deployed were not suitable candidates for carrying lethal weaponry, but did not care because deployments meant more money."

Doe #1 states that "Blackwater knew that certain of its personnel intentionally used excessive and unjustified deadly force, and in some instances used unauthorized weapons, to kill or seriously injure innocent Iraqi civilians." He concludes, "Blackwater did nothing to stop this misconduct." Doe #1 states that he "personally observed multiple incidents of Blackwater personnel intentionally using unnecessary, excessive and unjustified deadly force." He then cites several specific examples of Blackwater personnel firing at civilians, killing or "seriously" wounding them, and then failing to report the incidents to the State Department.

Doe #1 also alleges that "all of these incidents of excessive force were initially videotaped and voice recorded," but that "Immediately after the day concluded, we would watch the video in a session called a 'hot wash.' Immediately after the hotwashing, the video was erased to prevent anyone other than Blackwater personnel seeing what had actually occurred." Blackwater, he says, "did not provide the video to the State Department."

Doe #2 expands on the issue of unconventional weapons, alleging Prince "made available to his employees in Iraq various weapons not authorized by the United States contracting authorities, such as hand grenades and hand grenade launchers. Mr. Prince's employees repeatedly used this illegal weaponry in Iraq, unnecessarily killing scores of innocent Iraqis." Specifically, he alleges that Prince "obtained illegal ammunition from an American company called LeMas. This company sold ammunition designed to explode after penetrating within the human body. Mr. Prince's employees repeatedly used this illegal ammunition in Iraq to inflict maximum damage on Iraqis."

Blackwater has gone through an intricate rebranding process in the twelve years it has been in business, changing its name and logo several times. Prince also has created more than a dozen affiliate companies, some of which are registered offshore and whose operations are shrouded in secrecy. According to Doe #2, "Prince created and operated this web of companies in order to obscure wrongdoing, fraud and other crimes."

"For example, Mr. Prince transferred funds from one company (Blackwater) to another (Greystone) whenever necessary to avoid detection of his money laundering and tax evasion schemes." He added: "Mr. Prince contributed his personal wealth to fund the operations of the Prince companies whenever he deemed such funding necessary. Likewise, Mr. Prince took funds out of the Prince companies and placed the funds in his personal accounts at will."

Briefed on the substance of these allegations by The Nation, Congressman Dennis Kucinich replied, "If these allegations are true, Blackwater has been a criminal enterprise defrauding taxpayers and murdering innocent civilians." Kucinich is on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and has been investigating Prince and Blackwater since 2004.

"Blackwater is a law unto itself, both internationally and domestically. The question is why they operated with impunity. In addition to Blackwater, we should be questioning their patrons in the previous administration who funded and employed this organization. Blackwater wouldn't exist without federal patronage; these allegations should be thoroughly investigated," Kucinich said.

A hearing before Judge Ellis in the civil cases against Blackwater is scheduled for August 7.

Pots and pans

2009-08-02T18:51:00.002-04:00

When Mom and I were in DC back in June, we saw the Smithsonian's exhibit of Julia Child's kitchen. Here's a piece from NPR about her pots and pans, which have recently been added to the rest of the kitchen.

Cherries

2009-08-02T17:00:00.003-04:00

Mike and I like cherries a lot. I mean, a lot A LOT. Even when Wegman's started having them at 3.99 per pound, back in May, we indulged. So now that they are 99 cents per pound, we are literally making ourselves ill on cherries. There are worse things to make yourself ill on, right?

Birthday pics, etc, as promised

2009-07-28T20:09:00.013-04:00

You asked for it... Well, maybe you didn't, but here you go anyway.
While my parents were here, Mike and I had an overnight get-away in NYC. I went in on the train on Friday afternoon, did around by myself for a while, and met up with him after he got done at work.
I snapped the picture below when I was meandering through Union Square. There were these three girls walking to a restaurant (I later saw them across the street from where Mike and I were eating) and they had on practically identical outfits. They were such a bad cliche, I couldn't resist...
After eating and walking around a bit, we headed to BowlMor, a bowling alley in the Union Square/Greenwich Village area.

I didn't do so well. Yes, I got a few strikes, but that was a total fluke.Of COURSE I had to take a picture of Lance Bass's signed pin at BowlMor!This was, perhaps my favorite thing that I saw in NYC... On a front door in Greenwich Village, the person had posted a plaque that read "No Menus" in both English AND Chinese! Hilarious. I totally need one of those. We get bombarded with menus for Chinese places....

While Mike and I were still in NYC the following a.m., my brave parents took W to the Staten Island Children's Museum. W loved it-- they had a REAL FIRE ENGINE that he got to play in!

After visiting the museum, the three of them took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan, where they met us. We took the ferry back to SI, where my parents had parked their car, and drove back home. W really liked the ferry. He thought the Statue of Liberty was neat; he has a book about NYC and when he sees the drawing of the statue in the book, he gets all excited.

So my parents are the King and Queen of Projects. While they were here, they did several things around here that have needed doing...
Dad, using the 100 lb roller on the new kitchen floor...
Giving horsey rides...
Dad also organized Mike's tools in the basement. Mom organized the other crap down there... We actually have a lot of space, now that stuff is neatly stacked!
We went to our favorite farm while they were here... The farm provides a free apple for each child who visits. W loves choosing one for his very own!
According to my mother, I loved to wear bowls on my head when I was a little girl. So of course Mom couldn't resist snapping this picture of W...
Ah, the birthday! My mom got me a cupcake tower for Mother's Day... It was the perfect thing for the party!

He loved having everyone sing to him!He got great stuff for his birthday...
Underpants!
A new bike helmet (with Lightening McQueen on it, of course), to go with.....
...his new bike! That's right, it's a two-wheeler with no pedals. It's a balance bike. A child who uses one learns to ride a bike without training wheels. A friend of ours had one for her son, and he now rides a two-wheeler perfectly, and won't be four until November!
Of course, we had an unwelcome guest...
I found this caterpillar munching on one of my tomato plants! He was actually quite beautiful. He had a gorgeous green body, with blue and white stripes along it. He will be a pretty butterfly (if he makes it!). I transplanted him to the neighbor's front bushes (hey, no one lives there!).
My tomato plants are incredible. They are taller than my fence.
It's a jungle out there!
Kicking back after the party...
Yes, it was a big weekend.

Fake bake, etc.

2009-07-28T19:16:00.003-04:00

I admit it. I used to be a fake-baker. I haven't been in 5 years, and I try to be careful about the sun--wear a hat, sunscreen, etc. Seeing this article today scared me and made me glad that I have resisted the urge to have a tan as of late, and made me wish I had resisted long ago...
And can someone please tell Barry that his job is to run the country--not to smooth over ruffled feathers over a beer in the Rose Garden??

THREE

2009-07-21T18:40:00.001-04:00

W turned 3 on Sunday! He had a great party. My parents were able to be here to celebrate, which was wonderful.
I'll post pics soon. Thanks to everyone who helped make his birthday so special!!

Former dorm-mate in the slammer!

2009-07-21T18:21:00.003-04:00

A girl with whom I lived in Scales House at Smith was arrested on Friday for allegedly stealing $110k from a client of Chase, where she (I guess not any more) works. She was a first-year when I was a senior, so I didn't know her well, but I do recall that she was pretty wild.
Who knows what was going through her head.

Changing the dynamic

2009-07-10T19:28:00.005-04:00

Are you a parent? Are you thinking of becoming a parent? Well, I have the book for you.

This book comes highly recommended from my co-worker, the Toddler Whisperer. The author, Beth Grosshans, is a frequent speaker/collaborator with our school. Her discipline techniques are no-nonsense and practical-- they work! I got the book on Tuesday and have been starting to implement the Ladder, and let me tell you, IT WORKS. W is NOT the one "in charge" at our house, but I can see him beginning to slip into that pattern, as Mike and I are both "pleasers," according to the book.
So I have tried the technique advocated by the book, and while it is a challenge at first, it really keeps my blood-pressure down, and works to calm the raging sea (aka, raging toddler). We don't spank, so this approach is perfect for our family. Basically, this book stresses the importance of correcting the situation at once, in order to avoid more serious problems down the road. Click here for a brief interview with the author.
The book covers problems from eating, sleeping, toileting, etc. This is definitely a book worth looking at if you have ANY questions about how to raise/discipline your child/ren.
I'll keep you posted on our progress.

The countdown is on!

2009-07-05T14:24:00.002-04:00

A week from today, my parents will be here! They had planned to come up back in June, but were unable to because Dad had to stick around and wait on the state legislature to play its games. So they are going to start a drive up to Jersey next Friday and arrive on Sunday. They are bringing, among other things, a painting that my BFF did for me back in December, as well as a rug for my living room that Mom swears I'll "love". So they'll be here for a little over a week, and it looks like Mike and I might just get an overnight getaway out of the deal! I think we'll wind up staying in NYC for a night, and hopefully go to a show (if we can get tickets to a good one).
They'll also be in town for W's THIRD birthday! I cannot believe he is turning 3 this month. It's incredible. We're doing a Cars-themed birthday party, since he adores the movie and anything having to do with it. He's super-excited about his (as he calls it) "McQueen party" and says that, when he turns 3, he will wear Big-Boy Underpants and get rid of his "woo woo" (his pacifier, which he has in bed at night). We'll see about that...

300th post

2009-07-04T14:02:00.004-04:00

What better way to celebrate my 300th post as Little Miss Sew and Sow than to share a fabulous op-ed piece from the NYT?? This piece about Sarah Palin is brilliant-- especially the part about interrupting the networks' coverage of Michael Jackson's death... Thanks, Gail Collins, for putting my thought on paper! I've included my own comments in purple. Enjoy.

Sarah’s Straight Talk

By GAIL COLLINS

Published: July 3, 2009

Truly, Sarah Palin has come a long way. When she ran for vice president, she frequently became disjointed and garbled when she departed from her prepared remarks. Didn't anyone learn anything from Mark Sanford's piteously unprepared "remarks" about Miss Argentina?? Now the prepared remarks are incoherent, too.

“And a problem in our country today is apathy,” she said on Friday as she announced that she would resign as governor of Alaska at the end of the month. “It would be apathetic to just hunker down and ‘go with the flow.’ Nah, only dead fish ‘go with the flow.’ No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time ... to BUILD UP.” Huh?

Basically, the point was that Palin is quitting as governor because she’s not a quitter. Or a deceased salmon. Oh, thanks for clearing that up.

Sarah Barracuda made her big announcement Friday afternoon on the lawn of her home to an audience that appeared to include only Todd, the kids and the next-door neighbors. Smiling manically, she looked like a parody of the woman who knocked the Republicans dead at their convention. She babbled about her parents’ refrigerator magnet, which apparently had a lot of wise advice. And she recalled her visit with the troops in Kosovo, whose dedication and determination inspired her to ... resign.

“Life is about choices!” declared the nation’s most anti-choice politician.

People, what is going on with governors in this country? Are we doomed to see them go bonkers one by one, state by state? Oh, yes, please! Let's see, who's already managed to show his/her "crazy side"?

Eliot Spitzer (awhile back, but still counts b/c of shock value)
Rick Perry (come on, seceeding from the Union? Come up with a new idea! That's been done!)
Rod Blagojevich (duh)
Mark Sanford (do I even need to explain this one?)
Bobby Jindal (his response to the "State of the Union" address was pretty wacky--especially the "set" for it)

The timing of Palin’s announcement was extremely peculiar. Not only did she interrupt the plans of TV newscasters to spend the entire weekend pointing out that Michael Jackson is still dead, she delivered her big news just as the nation was settling into Fourth of July celebrations. You’d have thought she didn’t want us to notice. That IS really strange that she did it at such a time... Seriously.

“I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity,” she said in a fairly typical moment. “I choose not to tear down and waste precious time, but to build up this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic free people!” How, pray tell? Specifics, please.

Palin has a year and a half left to go in her term of office. The political world had been wondering whether she’d run for re-election. The answer is no. And furthermore, it turns out that Palin believes that the only way her administration can “continue without interruption” is for her to end it.

Anyhow, no point in wasting precious time. 2012 approaches... So do mid-term elections. Might she be planning a bid for a national office? Something to think about!

One underlying theme in Palin’s remarks was that many ethics complaints have been filed against her on issues ranging from her alleged attempts to get her former brother-in-law fired from the state troopers to charging Alaska for her children’s travel expenses.

According to the about-to-be-ex governor, fighting all this negativity has cost the state “thousands of hours of your time” and $2 million “to respond to ‘opposition research.’ ” But now this is all water under the bridge. Every single unfair charge has been dismissed. (“We’ve won!”) And now that the battle is over and the time/money has been wasted, Palin is going to leave her job in the name of “efficiencies and effectiveness.” So, basically, she's saying the state of Alaska will be better off without her in charge. How does that translate into America being better off with her in charge??

“I cannot stand here as your governor and allow millions upon millions of our dollars go to waste just so I can hold the title of governor,” she said. But you did.

Perhaps there is some new and interesting scandal that Palin has yet to let us in on. (If so, I hope it involves a soul mate.) Otherwise, it would appear that this is all about her desire to start raising money and setting up operations for a presidential run in 2012. Her fans immediately interpreted the resignation as a canny move to get her back down to the lower 48, with as much time on her hands as Mitt Romney. (Mary Matalin called it “brilliant.”)

Palin was the subject of a devastating article in this month’s Vanity Fair by Todd Purdum, who wrote that McCain campaign aides found it almost impossible to get Palin to prepare for her disastrous interview with Katie Couric. And there is no sign, Purdum reported, that Palin has made any attempt to bone up on the issues so that next time around, she could run as a candidate who actually had some grasp of the intricacies of foreign and domestic policy. She's a female version of Bush 43. Her schtick is that she doesn't know anything about anything. Unfortunately, that's a turn-on for a lot of voters. Me? I'd like my president to be a little smarter than I am... I'm just sayin'....

So if she’s starting to run, it will be as the same reporter-avoiding, generalization-spouting underachiever that she was last time around. But with better clothes.

Now we know she not only doesn’t have the concentration to read a policy paper, she can’t focus long enough to finish the job she was hired to do.

On Friday, Palin said that finishing out her term would be just too easy. “Many just accept that lame-duck status, hit the road, draw the paycheck and ‘milk it.’ I’m not putting Alaska through that,” she said.

Apparently, she’s going to put the rest of us through it instead. Beautiful finish.

A painful admission

2009-06-29T20:18:00.002-04:00

The Supreme Court handed down a huge ruling today in the New Haven Firefighters case. I heard about this case a few months ago on NPR and it really riled me up. Apparently, the city of New Haven, CT, administered an exam to its corps of firemen for the purpose of determining promotions. The test was not a new thing; moreover, the people who were going to take the exam had received a syllabus and study information to help them prepare for it. It's not that there were no blacks that passed--38% of them did--it's that none of those passing scores were high enough to fill the certain number of promotion positions. So the city threw out the test results for everyone in order to avoid a potential lawsuit from minorities. What did they get in return? A lawsuit from the white firefighters (and 1 Hispanic) who should have, according to the test results, gotten a promotion. Wanting to avoid a lawsuit is no reason to ignore the law, SCOTUS said. So the Court, in its opinion today, was essentially saying that the results could not be ignored--not that the test was necessarily good or bad.
So yes, I agree with Scalia, Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy. As much as it pains me to say that for the first four in that group, I think the decision (authored by swing-vote Kennedy) was a good and fair one.

Skatin' off into the sunset...

2009-06-25T19:58:00.003-04:00

So Michael Jackson died today. I am feeling a rush of emotions right now. I have an overwhelming urge to say some totally inappropriate things, such as, "There won't be much for the embalmer to do..."
But I won't. Instead I'll just say that it's sad for his three young kids to grow up without a father. I'll also say that his talent was extraordinary and the music world is definitely better thanks to his amazing skills as a musician, singer and dancer.
One parting moment of inappropriateness-- as overheard by someone (who shall remain nameless) at his place of work (again, remaining nameless)...
"Wow, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett in the same day... That's like when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day..."

Just beachy

2009-06-18T20:25:00.002-04:00

We did something totally out-of-the-ordinary for our family a few days ago--we went on a mini-spur-of-the-moment Vacation! On Sunday, after church, Mike asked me what I thought about going to the beach, as we all had a few days off from work/school. Hmm... So we went home, did a little research on the Shore, and created a little getaway! We stayed a little mom-and-pop motel in Point Pleasant, about an hour from our house. The room was actually two bedrooms, which was perfect with W, as he was able to go to sleep at his normal time and Mike and I were able to stay up later (as in, until 10). We were such "old folks," playing Yahtzee and watching The American Experience on PBS. It was so relaxing and enjoyable.
The boardwalk was a typical boardwalk, with the silly rip-off games and greasy, too-expensive food. However, there was a decent, albeit small, aquarium that we enjoyed. We got there just in time to see them feed the seals (they also brushed the seals' teeth!).
We ate lunch at a little diner that was surprisingly quite delicious. Mike was craving a cheeseburger, I had a chicken panini, and W had (no big shock) chicken tenders. With full tummies, we went to our hotel, where we had arranged early check-in so that W could get his nap. He was excited about the BIG bed (we barricaded him in with pillows), and went to sleep without a fuss. After naps, we headed to the beach. You have to pay a nominal fee for most beaches in Jersey, so we got our beach passes at the hotel and trooped down to the shore. The water was waaaay too cold (we didn't even get near it, though there were lots of dummies out frolicking in the waves). We instead sat in the sand and showed W how fun it was to dig in the sand.
He was skeptical at first. In fact, he hated it at first. But he quickly warmed up to the idea of it and soon had a great time.

Here he is with his daddy, filling his dump truck with sand and shells.

He got really into running up and down the beach. We were flying his Elmo kite, which he thought was pretty neat.

On Tuesday, we found a practically deserted public beach further south in Bay Head. It was great. The tide had recently receeded, and we were able to collect some really neat shells.

It was pretty nippy and windy.

You can see how windy it was from the flags.

We got home by naptime on Tuesday. W was asking about the "'tel" and the "beech", which leads me to believe that he really enjoyed his trip and would be game for a repeat at some point in the near future.

Oink!

2009-06-09T19:57:00.002-04:00

We had the End-of-Year picnic at school yesterday evening. There were lots of fun activities for the kids--sand art, spin-painting and face painting. W was leery of the face painting at first, so he decided to get his arm done. After standing in line for a while and seeing other kids getting their faces done, he decided to go for it. He wanted something "pink" so we went with a pig face.

It's June!

2009-06-07T21:02:00.004-04:00

June just crept up on me! Memorial Day has come and gone, school's out... Sort of. Good news--I found out that I will be working at W's school this summer! After months of waiting, a slot came open, and they asked me to work. So that will make it MUCH easier to keep sending W to school through the summer. Routine and consistency is so important to him, so this is a fantastic opportunity for both of us to continue our daily grind.
My mom flew up on Wednesday for a last-minute-planned trip... As in, got her ticket on Tuesday. See, she and Dad were supposed to drive up to see us, but Dad had to stay in MS (ridiculous MS legislature), so it looked like a visit was off... Until Mom found a ticket that she could get with Frequent Flier miles! So she's here. She and I drove down to DC on Saturday morning to go to some museums--specifically the Smithsonian's Natural History museum. They have an exhibit going on right now that explores early North American European settlements from a forensic perspective. One of our distant-distant relatives was dug up and studied as part of the research. While we didn't see him on our visit (he's since been re-interred), there was a little blurb about how he had likely died of lead poisoning. Turns out, wealthier people generally died of such ailments, as most of their utensils and dinnerware was made of or coated with lead-- po' folks had wooden stuff. Very interesting.
Anyway, we did that, then went over to the American History museum. The last time I was in DC, it was closed for renovation. Well, it's open now. It's very... sterile. I enjoyed seeing Julia Child's kitchen, which is on permanent display there. Seeing the Star Spangled Banner was really cool, too. As for the new decor, however, I'm less than impressed.
After that, we backtracked and visited the National Gallery of Art. I love that place. It is so beautiful. We were in search of one of my favorite paintings, Renoir's Girl With a Watering Can. My mom has pictures of me standing beside it at ages 10 and 20. We were hoping to get a shot of me standing next to it in my 30th year. No such luck. I looked at their website and it seems that she is no longer "on display". Very interesting...
So then we went back to our hotel... The Ritz! My dad surprised us with reservations at the Ritz-Carlton because he was so bummed that he couldn't be up here with us. We relaxed a little bit, then set out for Georgetown, to one of my old haunts, Clyde's. Clyde's has great food and a relaxed atmosphere. I had a burger (I was craving it!) and Mom had crabcakes. Everything was delish. We strolled around a little bit, ducking into little shops here and there, but were so tired that we didn't last long. We hailed a cab back to the hotel and kicked back. I took a luxurious bubble bath in the gigantic tub and snuggled into the comfy featherbed. I slept like a rock.
Breakfast was huge, and delicious. I was only able to put away a fraction of what was on my plate, but enjoyed it immensely. We checked out soonafter, got our car, and made our way out of DC via some very interesting neighborhoods. We made it home in about 3 hours, thanks to my E-Z-Pass tag. It sure does save time when you don't have to stop to pay tolls with cash. With E-Z-Pass you just slow down a little bit and sail on through. Nice.
So we're home now. Mike and W survived our absence. The only time W really missed me was at bedtime last night. He wanted to sing "Baby Beluga" and Mike doesn't know the words/tune. But W's Smart Papa had a solution--call Mama! So there I was, standing in Barnes and Noble, singing "Baby Beluga" to my son over the telephone. The things we do for our children.

Amen, Uncle Jesse.

Not a huge shock, but...

2009-05-27T13:49:00.003-04:00

... disappointing nonetheless. It seems that AT&T might have "unfairly swayed" the outcome of this season's American Idol. I didn't care one way or the other which of the two guys won (believe it or not, I liked them both), and have never voted for anyone on the show. In fact, this was the first season that I had ever watched Idol.

If this allegation is true, however, it would cast a little dark cloud over the outcome, I think. Again, not a huge shock, and not something that's going to keep me up nights, but I figured I'd share.

Hard to believe?

2009-05-26T20:37:00.003-04:00

It's so strange that there are still segregated proms. This NYT Magazine article is really interesting. Perhaps the author could have gone a little more in-depth, but for such a sensitive subject dealing with teenagers, she did a decent job. The audio slide show is really the most touching part of the piece, as you hear the actual voices of the kids involved in the situation.

In and out

2009-05-25T19:20:00.004-04:00

Mike installed my new ceiling fan (Mother's Day present) in the kitchen yesterday--it's fantastic (get it?!).

Here's Mike washing dishes (I love my husband so much!). You can see my new sink, new counter tops, new shade, and new light over the sink. Hooray!

My darling husband also finished staining and varnishing W's W-sized eating set to match our dining table. It looks great, and W is super-proud of it.

Here are my veggies in the backyard. I have several tomato plants, bell pepper, eggplant and squash. I sowed some carrot, radish, watermelon, and pumpkin seeds this past weekend as well.

Here's the first squash bloom of the season!

Here are my delish herbs. I have (clockwise from lower left) basil, parsley, mint, cilantro and rosemary.

Remember the stuff I started from seeds back in March? Some of it didn't work, but the stuff that did work is pretty impressive. Here are some tomato and bell pepper plants.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T19:19:00.002-04:00

We went to the Rutgers Gardens this morning. We didn't get to see much of it, as W was a little on the fussy side. We will definitely go back; the grounds are beautiful, and best of all, it's free!

Giant chair, or tiny W? You decide.

There is a nice nature walk on the premises. W was not up for walking it, so he rode on Mike's shoulders. There was a little creek running through that we all enjoyed looking at and listening to.

I took this picture of us, accidentally cutting out the best part of the subject-matter. Oops.

Mike took this one; he managed to get all three of us in the frame.

On our way home, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. After eating, W played in the PlayPlace. Mike helped him figure out how to climb on parts of it. He loved it. We did big time hand sanitizer when he got out, of course.

Peeking out from the play structure...

It's back to work/school tomorrow; we had a wonderful holiday today, though.

Things that make me happy

2009-05-25T19:17:00.004-04:00

My in-laws gave W this magnetic put-together tractor the last time they were up. It had been in the closet until today. As you can tell, it's a huge hit.

W is VERY PROUD of his tractor.

W and I picked strawberries with some friends of ours on Friday afternoon at a nearby farm. They were absolutely scrumptious! I also got some zinnias and "butterfly daisies" for the front yard.

On Saturday, we went to the farmers' market, where I got flowering tobacco plants (they have a lime green flower) to fill in the rest of my front beds.

Here are my zinnias (in the back), Wave petunias, and the flowering tobacco.

And my pride and joy, the lavender bush. It was a tiny, puny thing last year, and didn't bloom (they often don't in their first year). I pruned the heck out of it, and now look at it! It's about to bust open with some deliciously-fragrant blooms.

A happy boy

2009-05-25T19:15:00.003-04:00

We are so fortunate to have such a happy, healthy boy! He loves the play structure near our townhouse. He is really good at climbing up and down.

We go over to play at the "play set", as we call it, nearly every day. He adores it.

W and mama, enjoying a nice afternoon

What a ham.

Check out the hat that I embroidered for him! He wanted a lightning bolt on the side of the car so that it looked like Lightning McQueen, from Cars.

The back of the hat says "vroom", which I free-handed. He loves this hat. He wore it to bed the other night.

Some more pictures

2009-05-17T20:28:00.003-04:00

Here are some more pictures of recent projects/cuteness.

Lovebirds and vines embroidered on a dish towel for a family friend who is getting married at the end of the month.

W watering the plants

Watering more plants... He loves it when we give him a "job" to do!

A co-worker/friend of mine is expecting her first baby in mid-July. We are throwing her a surprise shower at work tomorrow. I embroidered three cloth diapers for her to use a burp cloths. Super soft and super absorbent (for obvious reasons!). She doesn't know what she's having, so I used gender-neutral purple and green for the word "baby".

Here's a sleepy moon...

And here's a sweet baby face.

And this blanket is for Alice's new addition. It's super plush and soft. It's in LSU colors (of course!). I used two pieces of cotton flannel and put a piece of batting between the fabric. I trimmed it with purple pom-pons and hand-embroidered "Lil' Tiger" on one corner....

...and the baby's initials in the bottom corner. In my humble opinion, it turned out really well. It's going in the mail tomorrow.

Some pictures

2009-05-17T20:27:00.004-04:00

As promised, some new pictures.

Here is the clay pot he made for me at school for Mothers' Day. Aren't the hand prints great? He chose the stones around the rim and glued them on himself. He also picked out the geranium and planted it (with a little help from his teachers).

The apron itself is from Wal-Mart. I did the embroidery myself. I donated it to the church for the Youth group's silent auction.

Grapes

Pear

Cherries

New header

2009-05-16T20:25:00.001-04:00

So......
What do you think of my new header?
I came up with the concept (the design for the Sew and Sow part) and April, of AprilShowers, did the design/art/installation.
Oh, Happyness!

Sick Boy

2009-05-11T19:22:00.003-04:00

W. is sick. He stayed home from school today. Thank goodness Mike was already scheduled to have the day off, so I didn't have to miss a day (I've used up all my personal and sick days). He snoozed on the couch for three hours this morning (totally unlike him) and on the floor for two hours this afternoon. His nose is running like a faucet (but the mucus is clear, thank goodness), he has a bad cough, and he's just not himself (no fever, though). So I don't know if I'll be able to go to work tomorrow or not; staying home with him might be in my future. We'll have to see.
I finished a few embroidery projects yesterday--the blanket for Alice's new baby, a hat for W, and an apron for the church's silent auction. Pics will follow, I promise.

Plantings

2009-05-08T18:26:00.003-04:00

I've got quite a spread in the backyard. We went to the farmers' market this afternoon and got lots of plants. I just finished getting them into the ground. I planted--

6 grape tomato plants
4 squash plants
4 eggplants
2 bunches of parsley in pots
2 sweet potato vines
1 patio tomato plant
2 decorative basil plants (it's a purple color and smells divine)

This is all in addition to the plants I put in about 2 weeks ago--

basil
cilantro
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 tomato plants
1 jalapeno plant
2 clematis vines
Oriental lilies
2 bleeding hearts

I also separated and transplanted several daylilies and hostas. It looks so green and lush outside now. It really makes up for the bleakness of the New Jersey winter.
Mike is working tomorrow for someone, so he got today and Monday off in return. He got some molding up in the kitchen, above the countertop backsplash, so it's looking even more complete in there. He also went to Home Depot to get my Mother's Day present... A new ceiling fan for the kitchen! Bye-bye grody brown fan, hello new white fan!

Sewing

2009-05-04T19:29:00.006-04:00

I've got several sewing irons in the fire. I am working on a blanket for Alice's new arrival (LSU motif, natch), aprons for Mother's Day gifts, embroidered pillow cases for a wedding gift and a doo-dad for some matching work at school. The doo-dad is a black velvet pouch (similar to a jewelery roll) for storing decorative ceramic spoons that my lead teacher got on a recent trip to Ukraine. The spoons have delicate flowers in different colors painted on them. There are three of each, four different kinds in all. The idea is that the children look at the colors/patterns and match the spoons accordingly. They are very beautiful and are sure to be a big hit. I'll have to post pics, because I doubt this makes much sense to anyone but myself. :-)
W did some fingerpainting this afternoon. I had tried to get him to do it before, but he never had much interest in getting his hands messy. Today, however, he really got into it. Crayola makes some nice fingerpaint that is actually more like a gel. It is very, very washable. I rolled out some brown kraft paper on the living room floor and squirted the paint onto the paper for him. I showed him how to do it and he took to it like a duck to water. I have two masterpieces from his efforts. One will be used as wrapping paper for a birthday gift for a co-worker (Rita, the lead teacher in my classroom). The gift is a book called "Rita and Whatsit" and it's about a little girl (Rita) who is unhappy with her birthday presents... until she discovers that one of the gifts is a dog. The book was published in French several years ago and was just recently published in English. The name/subject matter was perfect, so there you go.
I got W a copy of "Ten Little Ladybugs" today. It's a wonderful book that works through numbers 1-10 with a lovely catchy rhyme. The pictures and words are simply delightful.
On a side note, it is supposed to rain every day this week. Of course the plants are happy, and everything is greening up nicely, but it sort of means we can't go outside and enjoy the green-ness! It also means that we have dozens of stir-crazy toddlers at work, unable to run out their energy on the playground. And, of course, it means that I have a stir-crazy toddler at home. Seriously, how many trips to the Chick-Fil-A indoor playground can one tolerate?

Potty Talk

2009-05-01T20:36:00.006-04:00

So I talked to W's teacher yesterday about the Toileting. She recommended that we really wait till the summer, as she doesn't think he's quite ready. To be honest, I agree with her. I was just worried that we'd miss the "sensitive period" for toileting and mess up the whole process. She suggested that we encourage, encourage, encourage him to use the toilet whenever possible, so that he gets used to that aspect of it. She said to check his diaper frequently, and once we notice that he stays completely dry for two hours or more, he is ready, as it indicates a greater degree of control on his behalf. So that's where we are on that front right now. He is, for sure, excited about the prospect of underpants, but I think he "gets" (as much as a toddler can!) that he isn't quite ready. We just want him to be successful and not get too frustrated with the process.
This is a really great article about Toileting. We are pretty much using it as a guideline for the process. Of course there are some things we sort of brush aside, but the majority of it is very practical and useful for our family.

Things We Do

standing diaper changes (actually, quite easy!)
elastic-waist pants (no buttons, snaps, zippers, overalls)
encourage water play (outside of the bathroom, of course)
teach our child appropriate vocabulary for body parts/functions
no lock on bathroom door/toilet
have small toilet seat that can be put on regular toilet

Things We Don't Do (and Probably Won't Ever Do!)

use cloth diapers
avoid having a potty chair (we do, in fact, have one upstairs)

There you go.

Good Day

2009-04-29T20:45:00.003-04:00

"Good day!" That's what W says when he's happy. If he's super happy, he'll say, "Good big day!". Well, today was definitely a good day. In my opinion, it was a good BIG day. We had a normal afternoon after school--ran by Target, where we happened to find BIG BOY underpants for a really fantastic price. A package of 7 Disney (Cars, Wall-E, Buzz Lightyear, Incredibles, etc) underpants marked down from $9.99 to $2.49. I got two packages, even though I wasn't anticipating starting the toileting process for a few more months. Well, so we get home and he does a little "fishing work" that I set up for him...

He's got a bin of water with a tiny bit of blue food coloring in it (the ocean!) with some sea critters hanging out. He uses a kitchen strainer to "catch" the critters and set them on the tray (actually the lid for the bin) beside the bin. He loves this kind of thing. It really builds his concentration.

So a little bit later, he has a big poop in his diaper. He wants to go get rid of the poop, and when I get a fresh diaper for him, he REFUSES to let me put it on. He insisted on putting on underpants. I explained to him that he had to tell me when he needed to tee-tee or poop so that we could get to the potty. He said "Okay!" He was so proud.Ta-da!
Love this pose.
So anyway, he had two accidents in a 10-minute time period. He was not happy when I insisted that he take off his own shoes, pants and underwear, but he made an effort to do so. I assisted when he needed help. After the second accident, he was fine for about an hour. When we went up for his bath, he sat on the potty and peed. He stood up, all excited, then sat right back down to pee some more.
He's in a diaper for bed, of course, but we are now done with diapers in the daytime. From what I've seen at work, with the toddlers in my class, you cannot go back and forth between diapers and underpants in the daytime. The child gets confused and doesn't know when he can and can't poop/pee. It's going to be a tough thing, I think, for the next few weeks, but hey, we'll only have to go through it once (with him, that is!). So say a little prayer for Mike and me! We're gonna need it!

For your viewing pleasure...

2009-04-29T20:06:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures from our various adventures over the past few weeks. Enjoy!
Here are the daffodils and tulips in my front garden. Notice the slate--a friend of mine was re-doing her front flower beds and got rid of the rocks--I snagged some for our yard!

Yay spring!

I liked these tulips in front of a church in Princeton.

Grrr! Here are Mike and W on top of one of the bronze tigers on the Princeton campus.

I had to include this one, just because W is just hilariously adorable with his finger stuck up his nose.

Ahh, now that's a nice family picture!

What is he looking at?!

Yup, that's a squirrel eating a donut out of a dumpster on the Princeton campus. A coconut-covered donut.And here's a different squirrel from a different dumpster in the same area eating a French fry.

Now that's a big door (Princeton campus).

Last weekend we went to an Earth Day celebration in Hopewell, a community about 15 minutes north of us. They had lots of activities for kids and neat stuff to see/do. W got to pet a chicken. I was really surprised at how soft the bird's feathers were. Seriously, they were velvety. I was also impressed by how muscular the wings on the bird were... Mmmmm... Hot wings....

They also had baby ducks. W enjoyed looking at them and "peeping" at them.
This was perhaps the coolest part of the event--Nomad Pizza. It's this company based out of Hopewell that makes wood-fired pizza right there in a truck. We got one for lunch, and it was absolutely delicious.

Eureka!

2009-04-27T20:26:00.001-04:00

I took my dad to the train station yesterday (he takes the train to the airport--sooo much easier than driving to Newark!). It was sad to say goodbye, but he and Mom will be up to visit again in June. It's tough being so far away from family. I do, at times, envy folks back home who have family nearby. It would be fabulous to get to see my parents on a whim, or to even have a regular (free) date-night sitter. That part I do miss. But there are things that I don't miss, and there are opportunities both Mike and I have here that we would have never had back home (yes, I still call it "home", believe it or not!). In spite of the commute, Mike likes his work. I enjoy my work at the Montessori school--I think it's helped me become a better mother for W. I learned, long ago, not to try to predict the future. I have to remind myself to live in the moment and enjoy the life that I have, for it is a good one.
Our pastor's message yesterday was spot-on for me. The title of the sermon was "Eureka!" and the Gospel lesson was from Luke 24:13-35. Don't run for your Bible--it's the passage about the two men on the road to Emmaus who encounter the stranger (Jesus) and walk the 7 or so miles to their house without recognizing with whom they are traveling. They talk about the "strange events" that have happened over the past few days, still none the wiser as to whom their companion is. It's not until they get to their home, invite the stranger in for a meal and begin to eat that they catch on. At the very moment they realize who's with them, Jesus disappears. In their excitement, they go find the remaining 11 disciples (remember, Judas is dead at this point) and share their story. So the gist of the pastor's message was this: What you're looking for is usually right there in front of you, you just have to really want to see/believe it. He talked about how many great scientists (Archimedes, Einstein) made their great discoveries in a similar fashion. He broke down the process into three steps--

Rigorous study/preparation (searching for the answer);
Period of rest (that's when the discovery happens);
Joy (Eureka! I figured it out!).

From my own experience, that's how it is with God. After years of questions, doubt, denial, study, exploration, etc, I began to get God. I say "began to" because I don't think finding God is a one-time, one-shot thing. I think it's a process, a process people of faith work with on a daily basis. I don't think we're supposed to get God, really, because to do so would induce complacency. Instead, I think we're supposed to marvel at God's wonder and grace, and treat each day as yet another chance to experience God's power. So I suppose Step #3, for me, isn't a snapshot in time, but rather an ongoing experience. As in, each day should be filled with joy and "eureka's".
Thoughts?

Talkin' 'bout a heatwave!

2009-04-27T20:06:00.002-04:00

The temperature has gotten up to 90 the past two days. This is highly unusual weather for us here in The Jerz. Usually we don't hit 90 until July. We had part of the power cut off in our house because of a "light installation project" in the kitchen (I'll explain the quotes later), so the fan in our bedroom wasn't working last night. Mike and I just lay there for what seemed like hours until he said, "Are you asleep?" "No," I replied. "I'm hot," he says; "Me too," I say. "Wanna turn on the AC?" he says. SHOCK. Usually I am the first to open up that can-o-worms, and usually I hold out till late-May! "Please do," I said. Thank the Lord he did, otherwise I don't think I would have gotten a wink of sleep.

Installation

2009-04-25T10:39:00.001-04:00

Mike, my dad and our kind neighbor Matt are installing our new countertops today! Mike and Dad ripped the old ones out on Thursday. They had a little trouble with the new ones at first, as one of the pieces wasn't mitered correctly. They bought a new one at Home Depot and the new one seems to be a bit better.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Spring!

2009-04-18T18:24:00.002-04:00

Finally! Spring has sprung! Today it got up to 76 degrees. It was absolutely gorgeous. This morning, we spent some time cleaning up the churchyard. They were supposed to have childcare, so we took W with us, but the care provider was sick, so I basically watched W play while Mike worked on cleaning up the bushes along the road. After that, we headed up to Hopewell for the Green Market at their old train depot. W got to pet alpacas, chickens and baby ducks. He got to try out a tumbling apparatus that was sponsored by a local gym for kids. We ate delicious wood-fired pizza from the traveling wood-fired pizza kitchen (believe it!). After wonderful naps this afternoon, we prepared some delicious food to grill. Our neighbors Ethel and Matt are coming over to grill, so I'm out for now.
Oh, and I'm recovering from bronchitis. But I'm doing much better. At least my voice is back.

New and improved

2009-04-09T16:17:00.004-04:00

I have been in desperate need (want) of a new bag. I've really enjoyed carrying around my Vera Bradley tote that Mike got for my birthday a few years ago, but had fallen back into the habit of toting around my favorite (read: boring) Longchamp bag that I've been using since my senior year at Smith. While it is incredibly classic and practical, it is a bit dull, and I felt that I needed something a little cheerier to match this cheery time of year. Hence, my quest for a new, springy bag. I got my Vera Bradley catalog in the mail yesterday, something I always enjoy flipping through, as I admire the beautiful fabrics and styles. However, nothing in the past year has particularly grabbed my attention to the point of actually wanting to buy a new bag. Not so, this time. One of the new spring fabrics, Bali Blue, is absolutely gorgeous. It was love at first sight. So off I went to The Papery, a fancy-schmancy boutique in Princeton that happens to sell VB wares. The bag that I thought I wanted turned out to be a wee bit large, so I settled on this one...
The best part about the whole thing? My MIL treated me to it! She called it my wedding anniversary present, which actually worked out fine, since I think Mike appreciated the fact that he didn't have to shell out the money for it.

Frolic time!

2009-04-09T08:33:00.003-04:00

To raise money for mission projects, our church is holding FROLICS. I am hosting a sewing frolic in June. I am really excited about this opportunity to share my love of embroidery with others for a good cause. Here's my Frolic description:

Title of Frolic: A Stitchin' Time
Date of Frolic: Saturday, June 6, 2009
Time of Frolic: 9 am until noon

Description of Frolic: No matter what your sewing skills are, you can create an adorable hand-embroidered t-shirt for that special little boy or girl in your life. Carrie will take you through the process of personalizing a boring t-shirt step-by-step, from the use of stabilizer and iron-on patterns, to basic stitches (stem, split and satin) and finishing techniques. Carrie will provide a variety of kitschy Jenny Hart designs from which to choose, but if you have one of your own in mind, please feel free to bring it. You will be provided with a high-quality white t-shirt, stabilizer, embroidery floss, small embroidery hoop and a needle. Shirts range in size from 2T to 5T; please indicate which size you want when you sign up for the frolic. If you prefer a smaller size, or a onesie, please indicate as such when you sign up for the frolic. Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Number of guests: maximum of 10, ages 12 and up
Cost per participant: $35 (price includes shirt, stabilizer, iron-on design of your choice, embroidery floss selection, embroidery hoop and needle)

Fun, huh? So I've submitted it to the person in charge of organizing the whole project, and there will be a book of all the options available for the church, as well as members of the community, starting next Sunday. The pastor, an avid woodworker, is hosting a woodworking workshop. Mike is signing up for that one. Since it isn't going to be held until October, that is going to be Mike's birthday present.

Confession time

2009-04-08T20:27:00.003-04:00

I have a confession to make: I watch American Idol. This is the first season that I've ever watched it.
Adam Lambert's performance of Gary Jules' arrangement of Tears for Fears' Mad World last night was eerily amazing.
And can I just say, I don't think Simon is a jerk. I think he practices that "Radical Honesty" thing by saying exactly what he thinks. Yes, sometimes it's harsh, but it's also usually accurate.

Child labor

2009-04-08T15:54:00.002-04:00

So I am getting my house in order for a visit from the in-laws... I've found that I get more done when W has a playmate, so the neighbor kid is over. I've put them both to work. W is dusting, and the neighbor kid is doing the Swiffer. I think I'll just put my feet up and read a book!

One month...?

2009-04-06T18:24:00.005-04:00

Has it really been a whole month since I wrote something on this thing? ::checking calendar:: Yup, sure has. Life is going well; my best girlfriend in the entire world just found out she's expecting her second, and another dear friend/co-worker is expecting in July. Babies, babies everywhere!! To answer the question that everyone asks... no, not yet. Don't know when, or even if. I'm a big believer in things happening when they're supposed to happen... and it just ain't happening right now, folks!
I've completed several craft-y projects lately. Here's a sampling--
Here's a big floor pillow I put together for a friend's daughter's second birthday. The fabric is a really soft flannel with kitties and flowers on it. The trim is purple pom pom's.

This is a little girl's shirt that I embroidered for our school's Auction Night fundraiser
Here's the little boy shirt that I embroidered for Auction Night

Yup, I make seasonal kerchiefs for Maggie. Here's her Peanuts Easter Beagle one.

I embroidered this t-shirt for my best girlfriend's little boy for his second birthday. His party theme was ROBOTS, so I thought the shirt was very appropriate.

Ah, the Easter season. I got three little wooden eggs from the craft store and painted them. I primed them first, then painted them. Several layers of paint later, I used Polyurethane to give them a nice shine. I love the little chicks I nestled in with the eggs. They're so old-fashioned.
I'm working on a blanket for a friend's new baby boy down in MS. It is a trial-and-error thing, hence the delay in finishing it. I didn't expect it to be as involved as it's turned out to be!
And as for my gardening... My bulbs are a success! The dwarf iris came up a few weeks ago (see below) and the daffodils are in full bloom. I think we'll have tulips in a week or so. I have some hyacinth in a pot indoors and they are blooming and smell divine.

Below, you'll see one of the two Jiffy greenhouses W helped me prepare a few weeks ago. Each greenhouse has 72 peat pots. We filled all of them with seed. I'd say 90% of them have sprouted! I cannot believe it. It will be a few weeks before I can move them outside, as the nighttime temperatures still get pretty low, but we will have lots of good veggies growing, and pretty flowers too, this summer.

Marching ahead...

2009-03-06T20:21:00.004-05:00

...to March! I sort of fell off the Blogger-Train in February. I lead a fairly normal (read: dull) existence, so I don't always feel the need to share the mundane. This has been the case over the past few weeks. We've had some weird weather; 60 one day, six inches of snow two days later. Typical NJ "spring", or so I'm told. I am ready for Real Spring. My daffodil bulbs are coming up, which bodes well, so I can't complain too much.
I was laid out with a vicious stomach bug mid-way through this past week. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I missed a day of work and Mike stayed home to take care of W. I was on the Saltine/Gatorade diet for over 24 hours, which, disappointingly, didn't do to trim my waistline. Oh well.
My mama comes to visit next Saturday. Her Spring Break and mine coincide, so she's staying for several days. I haven't seen her since Christmas, so I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm doing a Lenten study of Genesis. It's really thought-provoking, and would be totally worth doing aside from Lent, as well. The focus is on renewal and grace, two things I think we could all benefit from. It's a pleasant way to wind down at the end of the day and work toward a peaceful night's sleep.

Theo's Holiday

2009-02-18T20:54:00.007-05:00

So I was flipping channels tonight and came across one of THE BEST Cosby episodes of ALL TIME... Theo's Holiday. Remember the one where Theo decides he's ready for the "real world"? I found the whole thing on YouTube, but it's in short segments... Enjoy (you have to get past the first 8-10 seconds of each one, then the show starts).

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

Gotta love Cockroach. He's a little Urkel-esque in the Part Four clip, no?

Giveaway update

2009-02-14T15:17:00.003-05:00

Here's an update on a previous post... I won a prize in the April Showers 100th Post Giveaway! I got lucky and won 50% off any service she offers... So I'm going to indulge myself and have her design a fancy-schmancy header for my blog. Stay tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

2009-02-14T07:01:00.006-05:00

Mike and I celebrated our Valentine's Day last night. A few weeks ago, I lucked out and won a $150 gift card to PF Chang's through my job. On top of that, a co-worker (I like to call her the Toddler Whisperer because she is SO AMAZING with the little people) offered to watch W for us so that we could go out and enjoy a nice dinner. So yesterday afternoon, we dropped W off at the Toddler Whisperer's house. He was in Seventh Heaven--he adores her. We had a delicious dinner--it was a good thing we made reservations, as the place was packed! Mike got duck, his fave, and I got a yummy, spicy chicken dish. We have about half our balance left on the gift card, so we're excited about being able to go back for another "Free" meal soon!
We exchanged our Valentines last night. I got Mike some fancy tea that he really likes--Zhena's Gypsy Tea. I got him three different varieties--Coconut Chai, Passionate Peach, and Egyptian Green Mint. Yum. For me, Mike got several lavender-scented items from Etsy. If you've never shopped on Etsy, you're missing out on a real treat. Speaking of treats, the big surprise for me was walking up to the house last night after dinner and discovering a big box from ProFlowers.com. Mike had ordered two dozen roses for me.... They smell divine, and are absolutely beautiful. What can I say? My husband is a smart man.
W is obsessed with his training potty. He doesn't quite have his timing down yet; he asks to use it AFTER he's gone in his diaper... But at least he's making the connection, right??

Consistency

2009-02-04T15:47:00.002-05:00

Here's the video promo for the Summer program at W's school... He makes a cameo appearance in the "Consistency" frame (1:25 or so).

As long as I continue to work over the summer, he will have his consistency, as he'll continue his regular school schedule.

Good golly...

2009-02-02T19:03:00.002-05:00

...Miss Molly! Leave it to a Smithie to be remembered as a hell-raiser, right? Saturday was the 2-year anniversary of Molly Ivins' death, and this piece, written by her former assistant, is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful woman.
[Molly (Smith '66) received the Smith Medal and was the keynote speaker at Rally Day for my junior year (2001). At that point, her breast cancer was in remission, only to reappear a couple of years later.]

Studying Mississippi

2009-02-02T16:09:00.004-05:00

I ran across an interesting report today. The non-profit, non-partisan American Human Development Project conducted a study the state of Mississippi. Their findings probably aren't "breaking news" to anyone, but it is interesting to see it all broken down by race, geography, etc.

Here are the basic findings, courtesy of the American Human Development Project's study:

BY COUNTY:

The top three county groups in the state, Rankin, Madison-Hinds, and DeSoto, are well ahead of the rest of the state in well-being with a human development level around the U.S. average.

A resident of top-ranked Rankin County lives, on average, 6 years longer than a resident of the bottom-ranked Panola-Coahoma area, is 3 times more likely to complete college, and earns over $12,000 more. Mississippians living in Panola-Coahoma have a human development level similar to that of the average American in 1975, more than thirty years ago.

BY RACE:

Whites who are worst off in the entire state in terms of income are still better off than the vast majority of African Americans. Earnings for white Mississippians in all county groups spans from $22,000 to $38,000. For African Americans, the range is $13,000 to $25,000.

An African American baby boy born today in Mississippi can expect a shorter lifespan than the average American in 1960.

BY GENDER:

Mississippi’s females have a higher Human Development Index than do males, despite the fact that they earn 33 percent less, because females live over 5 years longer and have far higher rates of school enrollment.

White men in Mississippi earn an average of $5,000 more per year than the typical American worker today, at $33,390. But white women have median personal earnings about equal to what typical Americans earned in 1980, $21,453.

And here are the basic recommendations from the group (again, not rocket science, but important, nonetheless):

Reduce infant mortality by improving health care for African American girls and women. African American babies die in Mississippi at more than twice the rate of white babies. The death of a child is a loss like no other, and the burden of grief borne by the African American community is heavy. The solution lies in ensuring that women have access to quality medical care and that girls grow to adulthood in an environment that supports them to eat a nutritious diet, get adequate exercise, manage chronic conditions like diabetes and HIV, cope with stress, and enjoy overall mental health.

Improve the health of African American men. An African American baby boy born today in Mississippi can expect to live 68.2 years. This is a lifespan shorter than that of the average American in 1960. African American men in Mississippi die at higher rates than white men from the leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, and stroke—as well as from other causes like homicide, accidents, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. The premature loss of African American men is a source of both economic and emotional distress in African American communities.

Improve the quality of public education in Mississippi. Mississippi has some of the worst scores in the nation on most measures of K–12 educational quality. It is difficult to imagine how the state can make economic progress when the future workforce is deprived of the opportunity to develop even basic skills, much less the higher-order skills needed to obtain better-paying jobs, such as independence of thought, communications skills, interpersonal skills, and technology literacy.

Connect at-risk boys to school. About a third of Mississippi’s African American men over 25 do not have a high school diploma. And today, still greater numbers of African American boys are leaving high school without graduating. Without a high school diploma, prison becomes a far likelier destination than college. The high rate of juvenile detention in Mississippi, especially for nonviolent offenses, is a worrisome impediment to long-term ability of African American boys to become productive members of society and to lead fulfilling lives of choice, freedom, and dignity.

Ensure that working families can make ends meet. White men in Mississippi are, on average, earning about $5,000 more per year than the typical American worker today. But African American women today earn less than the typical American in 1960; African American men earn what typical Americans earned in 1970; and white women what typical Americans earned in 1980. More than one in five Mississippians lives below the poverty line; nearly seven in ten public school students qualifies for a subsidized lunch. Other states help working families meet a basic monthly budget with a state earned income tax credit, state minimum wages, affordable housing, affordable health care options, and subsidized childcare. Such policies help to create an infrastructure of opportunity for all.

You can go to this website for the complete study. For extra commentary, check out this piece from Institute for Southern Studies.

I found this especially interesting-- and telling-- The average cost per year of keeping an inmate in prison in Mississippi in 2006 was $15,000; the average expenditure per pupil for elementary and junior high school in the state that same year was just over $7,000. Thus the state is spending twice as much per prisoner as it is on education per schoolchild.

Thoughts?

A super-cute blog

2009-01-30T17:37:00.003-05:00

I came across this blog today. It is totally cute and unique. The blogger is a graphic designer and actually creates those neat-o blog layouts you see on some blogs. She's got a giveaway going right now that I'm entering, because HOW CUTE would a personalized "Little Miss Sew and Sew" header be??

Sayonara!

2009-01-24T11:08:00.003-05:00

This is, perhaps, my favorite image from this past week.

Although this one is also nice.
For more eye-candy, click here.

Two out of three...

2009-01-24T10:54:00.003-05:00

... is bad! Two out of the three humans that live at our house are sick, and the other one isn't so tip-top, either. I have been feeling crummy on-and-off all week, and it's really hit me now. I think it's just a nasty cold. I have a bad cough and just feel bad in general. W hasn't been feeling so well either. He was absolutely pitiful when we left school yesterday, and he was pointing at his left ear, indicating that it hurt. He has only had one prior ear infection, but I automatically knew that it was that. So I called the pediatrician. Luckily, we were able to get right in to see the nurse practitioner. She was super-nice, and confirmed that he does, in fact, have an ear infection. She wrote us a script for amoxicillin, and off we went to the pharmacy. One Tootsie-Pop and dose of children's Motrin later, he was closer to being his old self. He was a semi-good sport about taking his anti-biotic at suppertime, so that was good. He's got to take it twice a day for ten days. Ugh. Not fun for anyone. I just hope he doesn't get the runs or any other nasty side-effects from it.
Unfortunately, this throws a crimp in my weekend plans. I was going to clean the house top-to-bottom. We are having our house re-appraised so that we can get a lower mortgage interest rate, and I really need to get it semi-presentable. Moreover, we have company next weekend. A dear, dear friend of ours from all the way back to middle school (for Mike) and high school (for me) is flying up from MS on Saturday and staying until Tuesday. We can't wait! Mike is super-excited; this is his absolute best friend in the entire world (besides moi, of course!), so he's really looking forward to this. He's even taking Monday off from work so that they can go into NYC together. As much as I'd like to tag along, the thought of taking W as well just isn't very appealing, believe it or not.
So I don't know when things are going to get done around here. Our schedules are such that it's difficult to get ANYTHING done, to be honest. Sigh.

A "suspicious white powder"...

2009-01-21T15:28:00.002-05:00

...otherwise known as "sugar" or "flour" (hopefully) was discovered in 12 envelopes mailed to the WSJ offices in NYC today. Mike actually wasn't there for the excitement. He stayed home this morning with W (who is sick) so that I could go to work. He didn't go in to work until after noon, so he didn't have to deal with the evacuation, thank goodness. He's working at a satellite office this afternoon.
There are some real crazies out there.

The inauguration

2009-01-20T18:04:00.003-05:00

It's happened. Barack Obama is the 44th POTUS. How happy was I to see that clip of #43 getting on that helicopter. I thought the celebrations surrounding the event were lovely... all except for Rev. Lowery's little "funny" at the end of his benediction. I am sure he was trying to be cute and funny, but the humor was lost on me. Why not ask people of ALL colors to "embrace what is right"? This only adds fuel to Obama's critics' fires. Sigh. Rick Warren definitely did the right thing by playing it straight (no pun intended!); his prayer was wholly appropriate and inspiring, IMHO.
Oh, and was John Roberts not told that he was to give the oath of office? Seems to me that he should have practiced his lines a bit more...
Be sure to check out Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson's prayer from an inauguration event held yesterday--it truly says it all, in beautifully-chosen words.
In other news, W is sick. He has a temperature of just over 100. I'm keeping him home tomorrow. Poor him. He has a snotty nose and a bad cough. He's a good sport, though. Very cuddly and sweet.

Three day weekend

2009-01-19T09:58:00.001-05:00

We have really enjoyed our three-day weekend. It's amazing how much-needed this break is! I mean, W and I just had two weeks off of school/work, but I have just been exhausted. Should a person really need a vacation AFTER a vacation? Maybe so.
On Friday afternoon, after school, W and I went to Market Fair, this mall that's nearby that has some fancier fare. We had fun in the toy store, where W played at the train table. W enjoyed a small bowl of sugar-free chocolate ice cream, which really is quite delicious. He got it all over his shirt, which really bothered him, but I was able to Shout! it out when we got home. It was super-cold; I think the high on Friday hovered around 17.
When we awoke on Saturday morning, our temperature gauge read "4.3". That's right. FOUR-POINT-THREE DEGREES. I immediately called my dad, a complete weather freak, to let him know about the cold. Seriously, I cannot remember actually being somewhere that got that cold. Even when I was at Smith I don't recall the temperature getting that low; I think I would have remembered that. So it didn't get much warmer on Saturday than it did on Friday, but we got out and about. We drove down to Hamilton because there is a Chick-Fil-A with a decent indoor play place. First, though, we went to the Barnes and Noble there; they have a really nice Thomas train table set-up. While W was playing at the train table, Mike and I switched off watching him and wandering around the bookstore. At one point, we smelled something a little (well, a lot) funky. Mike, angel that he is, volunteered to take W to the bathroom to change him. God bless him. Mike said it was the worst diaper he's experienced in a VERY long time. Very tenacious poop ALL OVER. I think he had to resort to dampening the paper towels, which W did NOT appreciate at all. Boy, was I glad I missed out on that one.
After that, and lunch, we did a quick trip into Wal-Mart to get some hygeine items for Levi Sunday. Once a year, our church has what we call "Levi Sunday". After a brief worship service, the congregation disperses and goes to different work stations to work on service projects for the Trenton area. There was a station for assembling lunches for TASK (Trenton-Area Soup Kitchen), one for putting together hygeine kits for folks and one for making cards for shut-in's, nursing home residents, and hospital patients. After working a while, we all enjoyed subs from Wa-Wa. Yum. Oh, and everyone wore jeans. Bonus, on a day as cold as it was. It's called Levi Sunday not because of the jeans, though. The Levites were set apart to do service in the ancient Temple; our church strives to avoid making a distinction between worship and mission/community work, or hearing and doing. I think it's so important to combine the two; too often, we think of a church building as THE PLACE to worship God. However, our worship of God should be evident in our daily lives and actions, not just for an hour on Sunday.
Anyway, after church, we went to a neighbor's house for their son's 2nd birthday party. It was really time for W's nap, so we didn't stay long, but it was fun nonetheless. I think W was a little done with celebrating birthdays, as we had been to another friend's child's 2nd birthday party the evening prior. He was a good sport, though. He's definitely a bit of a wall-flower, especially around big crowds and people he doesn't know, but so are his parents, so he gets it honestly.
We watched the playoff games yesterday. Can I be honest? I am SO GLAD the Eagles didn't win. Philly fans can be really obnoxious; it was bad enough that the Phillies won the World Series. I don't think any of us could have survived a Super Bowl victory! While watching the games, I managed to get some laundry done, as well as a draft "dodger" sewn for the bottom of our front door. The door just doesn't fit well, and even though we also have a storm door, the cold air comes in sometimes. So I got a little bit of corduroy fabric from the Red Tag section at Jo-Ann's and sewed a tube, filled it with bird seed (hope it doesn't attract critters!), and volia! Drafts dodged! We'll see how effective it is...
Mike took W on the train this morning. This is sort of a weekly outing for them. Since Mike has a monthly parking and train pass for his NYC commute, it doesn't cost a dime for them to take a little ride. They ride from Hamilton up to New Brunswick, get Dunkin' Donuts, and ride back. W loves the train, and Mike adores the alone time they get. I get to vacuum and catch up on whatever else needs doing. Everyone wins!
Back to the grind tomorrow. But really, I love my job. It IS work, but I enjoy it so much, it doesn't feel like "work". I know how fortunate I am to have my child in such a wonderfully nurturing environment, especially since I am in the same building with him and can sneak peeks into his classroom every once in a while! It really is a dream-come-true.

Speaking of manners...

2009-01-15T18:54:00.003-05:00

I had the most bizarre thing happened to me today; I mean, I was really waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and tell me I was being Punk'd. W and I were at our favorite grocery store, Wegman's, today after school. We were in the produce section. I had just put our bananas in a bag after counting out seven of them with W. I turned the cart around to get to the produce weigh station to print out our little price sticker, when all of a sudden...

Cranky Old Man: Hey! You just bumped your cart into my G-D leg! Watch where you're going!
Me: Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to.
COM: (sarcastically) Yeah, I know you didn't. Why don't you think about what you're doing and watch where you're going. Get your head out of the clouds. Pay attention to other people.
Me: silent; staring in disbelief
COM: walking away, mumbling various insults

Did that really just happen? I mean, he sort of took it over the line with the foul language. If I hadn't been so shocked, I might have said something snappy back to him, such as, "Excuse me, please don't use that language in front of my child" or something to that effect. Mike says I should have gotten the store manager to kick him out for his profanity.
On the way home, still not believing what had happened, I got to thinking about the guy. What a miserable person he must be to speak in such a manner to a complete stranger. I mean, if that's how he talks to people he doesn't know, can you imagine how he acts towards people he does know? I said a little prayer for the guy. I really did. Even if he did act like a turd.
On a completely different note, the weather outside is frightful. It's 18 degrees out right now. Tonight's low will be 7. That's not a typo--it will be 7 degrees tonight. Tomorrow's high will be 17. Brrrrrrrr!

Manners

2009-01-14T19:57:00.003-05:00

::clearning throat and climbing up on soapbox::

It's really a shame that manners aren't stressed more these days. My mother, herself a big proponent of manners, would borrow a phrase she had heard from her own mother,"pretty is as pretty does," when teaching me the basic tenets of being polite. Another favorite, borrowed from Mammy in Gone With the Wind, was, "If it ain't fittin', it just ain't fittin'." I see too many kids, and adults, for that matter, that just don't have the basics when it comes to manners. I know, I know, it's un-couth to discuss another person's lack of couth. Since I'm not naming names, but rather bemoaning the general state of things, I am giving myself a pass here. I encounter folks at work, church, the grocery store, etc, that wouldn't know common courtesy if it whacked them on the head. I came across this article on the NYT website this evening and thought I'd share, since it concerns this very topic, with specific reference to the decline in manners in today's children.

January 13, 2009

Making Room for Miss Manners Is a Parenting Basic

By PERRI KLASS, M.D.

For years, I took care of a very rude child. When he was 3, I called him rambunctious — and I talked to his mother about “setting limits.” At 4, I called him “demanding.” At 5, he was still screaming at his mother if she didn’t do what he wanted, he still swatted me whenever I tried to examine him, and his mother asked me worriedly if I thought he was ready for kindergarten.

I could go on (he didn’t have an easy time in school), but it would sound like a Victorian tale: The Rude Boy. I never used the word “rude” or even “manners” when I spoke to his mother. I don’t describe my patients as rude or polite in the medical record. But I do pass judgment, and so does every pediatrician I know.

It’s always popular — and easy — to bewail the deterioration of manners; there is an often quoted (and often disputed) story about Socrates’ complaining that the young Athenians have “bad manners, contempt for authority.” Sure, certain social rubrics have broken down or blurred, and sure, electronic communication seems to have given adults as well as children new ways to be rude. But the age-old parental job remains.

And that job is to start with a being who has no thought for the feelings of others, no code of behavior beyond its own needs and comforts — and, guided by love and duty, to do your best to transform that being into what your grandmother (or Socrates) might call a mensch. To use a term that has fallen out of favor, your assignment is to “civilize” the object of your affections.

My favorite child-rearing book is “Miss Manners’ Guide to Rearing Perfect Children,” by Judith Martin, who takes the view that manners are at the heart of the whole parental enterprise. I called her to ask why.

“Every infant is born adorable but selfish and the center of the universe,” she replied. It’s a parent’s job to teach that “there are other people, and other people have feelings.”

The conversations that every pediatrician has, over and over, about “limit setting” and “consistently praising good behavior” are conversations about manners. And when you are in the exam room with a child who seems to have none, you begin to wonder what is going on at home and at school, and questions of family dysfunction or neurodevelopmental problems begin to cross your mind.

Dr. Barbara Howard, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an expert on behavior and development, told me that a child’s manners were a perfectly appropriate topic to raise at a pediatric visit.

“It has a huge impact on people’s lives — why wouldn’t you bring it up?” she said. “Do they look you in the eye? If you stick your hand out do they shake it? How do they interact with the parents; do they interrupt, do they ask for things, do they open Mommy’s purse and take things out?”

Dr. Howard suggested that the whole “manners” concept might seem a little out of date — until you recast it as “social skills,” a very hot term these days. Social skills are necessary for school success, she pointed out; they affect how you do on the playground, in the classroom, in the workplace.

We also think of social skills as a profound set of challenges that complicate the lives of children — and adults — on what is now called the autism spectrum. Children with autism, whether mild or severe, have great difficulty learning social codes, deciphering subtle body language or tone of voice, and catching on to the rules of the game.

Therapy for these children can include systematic training in social skills, sometimes using scripts for common human interactions. And one lesson, Dr. Howard said, “is that you can teach this stuff, and we maybe aren’t teaching it as well as we should be to children who are developing normally.”

And of course, one of the long-term consequences of being a rude child is being a rude adult — even a rude doctor. There are bullies on the playground and bullies in the workplace; it can be quite disconcerting to encounter a mature adult with 20 or so years of education under his belt who still sees the world only in terms of his own wants, needs and emotions: I want that so give it to me; I am angry so I need to hit; I am wounded so I must howl.

I like Miss Manners’ approach because it lets a parent respect a child’s intellectual and emotional privacy: I’m not telling you to like your teacher; I’m telling you to treat her with courtesy. I’m not telling you that you can’t hate Tommy; I’m telling you that you can’t hit Tommy. Your feelings are your own private business; your behavior is public.

But that first big counterintuitive lesson — that there are other people out there whose feelings must be considered — affects a child’s most basic moral development. For a child, as for an adult, manners represent a strategy for getting along in life, but also a successful intellectual engagement with the business of being human.

I did not enjoy visits with my rude patient. Despite his generally good health and his normal developmental milestones, I couldn’t help feeling that the adult world had failed to guide and protect him. He was loud and demanding and insistent, but one of his basic needs had not been met: no one had taught him manners.

As a pediatrician, I worry about the trajectories of children’s growth and development: measuring a baby’s head size, weighing a toddler, asking about the language skills of a preschooler. Manners are another side of the journey every child makes from helplessness to autonomy. And a child who learns to manage a little courtesy, even under the pressure of a visit to the doctor, is a child who is operating well in the world, a child with a positive prognosis.

Whew. I'm glad I'm not the only one who had noticed this! At school, we are very adamant about manners. We afford children the same courtesies that we, as adults, expect. We say "please" and "thank you" and make every effort to be as respectful of the child as possible. In return, we get respect back 99% of the time. It's amazing how a kind word, tone of voice, deed or note can really have a positive impact.

::stepping down from soapbox::

Do you Hulu?

2009-01-10T20:21:00.002-05:00

We don't have cable, so our entertainment options are somewhat limited. Hulu.com is a great website. You can watch movies and TV episodes for free with limited commercial interruptions. We've watched a few movies on there and have been quite impressed with the quality. The selection changes from time to time, so if they don't have anything we're interested in right away, we just check back again in a week or so.
As we looked at the selection tonight, we noticed that they have "Waking Ned Devine" right now. I saw this movie about a year ago and thought it was absolutely wonderful.
Enjoy.

Back in Jersey

2009-01-10T17:10:00.003-05:00

W and I stayed in MS until Tuesday. The memorial service for Mr. Sut was on Sunday at Galloway UMC. There must have been over 350 people in attendance; what a testament to his life. The service was wonderful. The senior citizen singing group of which he was a member sang a peppy little tune. Both of Mr. Sut's sons-in-law are musical, so one played a gorgeous piano prelude, and the other sang a duet with a church member. The pastors conducted a tasteful, appropriate service that truly celebrated his life. Mr. Sut's grandson spoke to the congregation about Mr. Sut's love of life and for his friends. His message was so true and meaningful. It was truly a wonderful celebration of a wonderful person's life. The burial was on Monday, at Lakewood. It was cold and rainy, but there was a good crowd of close friends and family. Mr. Sut's older daughter, a Methodist minister from Memphis, conducted the service. Family and friends were invited to share memories, which was really nice.
I didn't share, but I had several warm, wonderful memories floating around my head as we stood there. I think my favorite, and oldest, memory is from when I was 4 years old. It was the first time I really remember going over to Sut and Posey's house; they lived in north Jackson, off of Old Canton Road, for decades before moving to a retirement community just a few years ago. Anyway, they had a big backyard complete with muscadine vines and fruit trees. There were wooden swings hanging from a tree, as well as a wooden picnic table set. We were over there for dinner, sitting outside at the picnic table. Like any 4 year old, I was fidgity, and scooting myself all over the benches. Bad idea. I wound up with dozens of splinters in my backside. Dinner was delayed as we all went inside to "operate" on my bottom. The Smith's and my parents laid me out, facedown, on a couch and positioned Posey's magnification/reading light over my bottom. As Mom, Dad and Posey plucked the splinters out, Mr. Sut fed me delicious strawberries to try to distract me. That was just him. The sweetness that was so welcome. I love that memory.
I also remember staying overnight with them when my parents would go out of town, spending the day with them when school was out for the summer, going to Swensen's for sandwiches and ice cream and going to church dinners with them at Galloway. I remember them being at my high school and college graduations (yes, they made the trek to Smith!). They sat as "honorary grandparents" at our wedding. As I said in a previous post, he and Posey are truly grandparents to me--I am truly blessed.
So yes, we are back in Jersey. We were all excited for snow today, but it really hasn't done much. I think W and I jinxed ourselves by going out to get a sled yesterday. We were supposed to have between 4-7 inches, but it's hardly covered all the grass. Darn.

Mr. Sut

2009-01-02T11:46:00.002-05:00

Today is a sad day for me. Mr. Sut, my grandfather (not by blood, but by love) passed away early this morning. It was not that unexpected. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure last year and his health had steadily declined. He went to the hospital last Friday (he's 88); Mom and I went by the hospital to see him this past Monday. He was getting 2 pints of blood. We had a very nice visit with him--he was disappointed that we hadn't brought W with us, but told us that a "hospital was no place for a little guy". I was planning to go by and see him today before we flew out for NJ.

But we're staying for a few days extra now. The service is likely to be on Tuesday, and I just feel really strongly about being there. Mike is calling Orbitz to try to get credit for the two tickets that were supposed to get me and W back to NJ tonight. I don't know what the next few days will bring.

I do know that I am incredibly blessed to have had this wonderful man as a part of my life for as long as I did. Here's a picture of him with W from August, 2006.

Checking my list

2008-12-24T19:31:00.003-05:00

I am steadily crossing things off my to-do list... But there are some things that are getting added. C'est la vie.

make chocolate-covered pretzels for neighbors--DONE
make cookies for church Christmas Eve reception--DONE
meet/greet at church Christmas Eve pageant at 4 pm tomorrow--DONE
clean house in preparation for pet/house sitter--Sorta DONE
finish laundry--DONE
find digital camera (?!)--DONE
pack for myself and W--Sorta DONE
celebrate Christmas with Mike and W tomorrow, as Mike has to work on Christmas Day--DONE
attend neighbor's Christmas gathering on Thursday
catch 6:36 am flight out of Newark on Friday
Plan get-together with MS friends

Brrrr!

2008-12-22T10:16:00.002-05:00

We had a fantastic weekend. Friday was my 29th birthday. We got out of school early due to winter weather. It was snowy at the school, but as we traveled south toward home, the snow turned to slush. Thank goodness the salt trucks had been out. I can handle driving in snow okay, but the slush is really yuck. So we got home earlier than normal and W took his nap at home (which meant that I was able to have one too!). Of course Mike didn't get home until regular time (9:30), which meant we didn't really celebrate, but that was alright.
It was alright because the next night we had all our friends/neighbors and their kids over! I made a huge crock-pot of chili, and people brought other yummy treats and a cornucopia of beer and wine. It was definitely a feast that would make Bacchus proud! Folks started coming over around 5, so W got some good playing in with the other children. I don't know how he did it, but W went to sleep around 7 and managed to sleep through the rest of the evening's festivities. It wasn't an especially late night, as Mike and I had agreed to keep the toddler nursery at church for the following day...
We only had three kids in the nursery. One was a "crier" but I immediately intervened and worked some of my newly-attained Montessori "Toddler Whisperer" magic on her. She calmed down pretty quickly and joined the boys at the sand table without much ado. After church, we drove s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y home, as the roads were incredibly icy from all the slush. We ate leftover chili and took naps, which was heavenly. The afternoon included a trip to the library to get a Bob the Builder video for W. I don't know where he's picked up on BTB, but he really likes him. So we indulged that little desire. On the way home, we saw a beautiful desk chair out at the curb to be picked up by the garbage man. I said, "Stop! GO BACK!" We went back, Mike got out and checked it for major problems, and, seeing none, loaded it into the car. It actually is very similar to the one pictured above (middle chair), but it has wheels and is lighter in color. We're going to refinish it and use it at our computer desk in our den. It's quite lovely, and very comfortable.
It's been incredibly cold. It got down to 14 on Sunday night and only got up to around 22 yesterday. Today was a little warmer, getting up to around 30 and less windy. It's supposed to continue to warm between now and when we fly out for MS, so that's a good thing, as it means we are less likely to encounter delays.
I have quite a few things to cross of my to-do list between now and then...

make chocolate-covered pretzels for neighbors
make cookies for church Christmas Eve reception
meet/greet at church Christmas Eve pageant at 4 pm tomorrow
clean house in preparation for pet/house sitter
finish laundry
find digital camera (?!)
pack for myself and W
celebrate Christmas with Mike and W tomorrow, as Mike has to work on Christmas Day
attend neighbor's Christmas gathering on Thursday
catch 6 am flight out of Newark on Friday

And once we get back into town on January 2...

write six 3-page papers for Montessori Philosophy class (due first week of January)
sew placemats and napkins for toddler lunch group at school

Jeopardy! episode live blogging

2008-12-18T19:00:00.003-05:00

This is Jeopardy! Please welcome today's contestants... There I am. Cheesy head nod. Oh, hi Stevie! Where are the truffles you promised to mail me? Oh, hi Alex. God, I am so nervous. Alex just said my name... TV Robots, right? That's when my stomach did a backflip. THat was it for me. I knew where this was going at that point. Knew that one about Rosie on the Jetsons. Am I even there? Haven't rung in yet... Lost in Space... Yeah, that was me at this point. Holy moly. Canterbury. Yes, got one. Battle of Hastings, right? Didn't ring in in time; either that or was too fast... Of course he gets the DD at this point. Knew the answer to the DD as well. Crapola. First break. I am feeling like bleh at this point on the show, because there were several I knew but couldn't get the hang of the buzzer. Now they're touching up our makeup and doing our "Hometown Howdies". Alex is having to re-record a clue from a previous episode. Yeah, you think he has perfect pronunciation, right? Wrong. They just re-record whatever he messes up. I wish they could've done that for me!! Now the stage assistants are making sure my buzzer is working. Yeah, it's working. I just can't work it. Here comes Alex, ready for the interview section. Milt: I've lived in all four of the US states that are actually Commonwealths. BO-RING. Yeah, tantalizing. Lame. I wonder how many times he practiced this bit. Oh, it's me, now. Yes, I cooked with Julia Child. Didn't blow that, thank goodness. Oh, and Stevie the Harpist. Very cool. He was sitting in a director's chair for the game; I'm not sure what the problem was, but he couldn't stand for long periods of time. Oh, here we go again. Got one! Oops, missed one. Rare Earth? Is that even a band?? I think I made that up. Thank goodness i got the one about dalmations- I had one as a kid. Here I am again, not able to get my buzzer timing right... Of course i get one right about a hair dryer. Oh, good save, Carrie, Radio Flyer. And grill, thank goodness I got that one, since Mike likes to grill so much. Plaitnum. Oh, tricky, Alex. Hello, Carrie, where are you? Of course I am going first in Double Jeopardy... Geez. Oh, the weather report pops on during the commercial--we're due for a winter storm overnight and tomorrow. Happy Birthday to me! I asked one of the stage people if anyone had ever barfed on the set (from nerves)... She said no, but that a couple of contestants had passed out. That tidbit of information was not especially helpful or encouraging. Thanks a bunch.
Oh, another Santa category... Remember this was taped in October. Oh, didn't understand the clue on that one, but I get it now. The second I hear these clues online, the answer pops right into my head. It's just so frustrating... Sweet, I knew this DD of course, about Sylvia Plath (fellow Smithie!!) I was telling Mike last night how I don't feel like I can even enjoy the show now. Let me explain... I don't know if it's like this for you or not, but for me, I used to watch the show, thinking, gosh, those people ought to know these answers, these questions aren't that hard, right? Well, it's one thing to know the answers when you're sitting in your living room, it's another thing to be sitting there with those bright lights, the audience, trying to get the damn buzzer to work! I never realized how difficult playing the game actually is! So... Okay, I don't think I answer any more after this point (the Santa category). Geez. Symphonies?! Are you kidding me? I think I was just thankful at this point that it was almost over. I think I might have even put my "signaling button" down by now... Holy cannoli. Oh, that's cute, the bows around/over me. Nice, guys. Another commercial. Come on, Alex, just tell us what the final category is gonna be. Quotations.
So I'm there just thinking, well, they have about the same amount, so they have to bet a lot of money. So what's my bet going to be? Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Zero. The stage crew comes by to check on our wagers... Mine solicits a "perfect wager" comment, bringing me to my highest point of the entire show. Basically, the two guys just have to get the answer wrong, and I become the champion with big $1200!! Oh, here's the clue. I knew it right off the bat. Let's see how confident I look. Yup, I'm done writing, and the guys are still writing. I really felt like I might cryBut alas, it's not to be. At least I got it right, though. It would have been really embarassing to miss a question about Jefferson Davis, being from Mississippi and all. Oh, there's the phone. It's our friend Nick. And beeping in is my co-worker Marcia (former Miss Peru, for real!). So that's it from me. Over and out, TV Land!

Don't forget...

2008-12-17T18:42:00.003-05:00

...to tune in to Jeopardy! tomorrow, December 18, to see me! Of course our VCR doesn't record... But I've found a kind soul at work who will tape it for me (I just have to remember to take the tape to her tomorrow!). Here's the clip they taped for the Jeopardy! website and for local promos.

So yeah, be sure to watch. And try not to notice how nervous I am!

Gettin' old

2008-12-08T19:38:00.003-05:00

I saw this piece on NPR today and it reminded me that I am getting old... And yes, Matthew Sweet is definitely showing his age a bit, but his voice is just as sweet appropriate, no?) as ever.
Matthew Sweet just makes me happy. I have no idea where my 100% Fun album is... I really need to track it down when I'm back in MS over Christmas... "Sick of Myself" is one of my all-time favorites.

I used to listen to that album, along with Juliana Hatfield's Become What You Are, constantly when I was 14... and be all ang-sty and crabby-teenager-y. Ah, sweet youth.

The proof

2008-12-05T21:34:00.007-05:00

Here's proof of W's love for Kit-Kat's. What a happy little boy!
What do you think of the hat? Believe it or not, I made it MYSELF!He eats healthy food too, you know. His fave is bananas.

What do you listen to...?

2008-12-02T21:32:00.006-05:00

...in the car, that is. These days, I often have toddler-appropriate music playing in the car. When I'm on my own, however, I am able to indulge in a little NPR-listening. I heard an interesting report tonight about teens and se x. The report focused on sexual content on TV shows. Now, this isn't anything new, but it was thought-provoking. Some people interviewed asserted that shows like Gossip Girl influence teens to engage in sexual behavior. I contend (and they did not touch on this point) that teens that watch shows that are risque (and I can't really say that Gossip Girl is risque, really, since I've never watched it, but for the sake of argument...) have less supervision and are therefore more likely to have opportunities to engage in sexual activities. I mean, my parents didn't let me watch 90210 when it first started in the early 90s (I really was too young for the show then--12 or 13), they were totally involved in my life, and I would have never dreamed of having sex anywhere within a million-mile radius of them. So maybe there's a connection somehow, but not in the way the researchers think... What do you think?
Also heard on NPR, the radio cartoon of the day. Listeners go online and look at the cartoon and come up with possible captions. Here's the cartoon (which I think is just absolutely hilarious), along with the cartoonist's caption--
Here's my favorite alternative caption from an NPR listener: "So, when did Mrs. Claus' interest in "reindeer games" begin to subside?"

Finally, I ran across this little gem on the NPR website as well. It made me think of my dearest friend, Rachel. So Rachel, as a little welcome back from the paradise of Jamaica, this cover of "Such Great Heights" by Ben Folds. This little treat definitely put a smile on my face.

Pater, part II

2008-12-02T21:23:00.002-05:00

Here's a write-up about Pater from an Tribute.com:

Harry King White

BORN: August 22, 1914
DIED: November 30, 2008
LOCATION: Little Rock, AR

Harry King White, age 94, a lifelong resident of Little Rock, loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 30th, in Conway, Arkansas. He was born August 22nd, 1914 in Little Rock. His wife of 66 years, Mildred Cockmon White, his mother: Nettie Schaer White, his father: John H. White and his brother: Jack W. White preceded him in death.
He is survived by his three daughters: Kay Quinn of North Little Rock, Lynn White Hotchkiss and her husband Robert of Long Beach, Mississippi, and Debra Ann White of Springhill, Kansas; grandchildren are Susie Brough and husband Mike of Tomball, Texas; Shawn Cervantes of Conway, Amanda Corker and husband Mike of Sherwood; Robert Lee Hotchkiss, Jr. and wife Sonjiala of San Diego, California; Jennifer Haar and husband Darren of Tokyo, Japan; and Michael Hotchkiss and wife Carrie of Lawrenceville, New Jersey; great-grandchildren are: Brandon, Joshua, and Kayla Brough, Eric and Dylan Cervantes, Christopher Corker, Evelyn and Isaac Haar, and Wilson Hotchkiss.
Mr. White was retired from the Western Electric Company, was a great lover of all kinds of music and the Arkansas Razorbacks, but his first love and focus was his family. He made friends with everyone he met and will be greatly missed.
Visitation will be from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at Griffin Leggett Healey and Roth, 5800 W. 12th St., Little Rock, AR 72204 ~ 501.661.9111. Funeral service will be Wednesday, 2:00 p.m., December 3rd at the funeral home officiated by Rev. Chris Allen with burial in Roselawn Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 200 S. Commerce St. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201; PO Box 15728, Little Rock, AR 72231 or other favorite charity.
**
What the obit doesn't mention was the period that Pater and Mater lived in Vegas. That is one of my favorite stories about them. They just decided that Little Rock wasn't exciting enough for them in their retirement so they packed up and went to Vegas back in the 80s and stayed there until the early-2000s. Also, Pater taught Mike how to play pool. You gotta love that in a grandpa.

Pater

2008-12-01T17:31:00.004-05:00

Mike's 94-year-old grandfather died yesterday. Mike is flying to Little Rock tomorrow morning. The funeral will probably be on Wednesday; Mike will get home late Thursday night. Most airlines don't offer bereavement fares anymore. As far as bereavement "favors", the only thing they'll let you do is change or cancel your ticket with no penalty fee, which I suppose isn't a small thing, considering how much they generally charge for that. I wish that W and I could go with him, but with tickets over $400, it just wouldn't work out.
So it's going to be just me and W this week. Wish me luck.
I got my Christmas decorations up yesterday. The house looks festive. I can understand why some people leave Christmas lights up all year! Unfortunately, the cats think the tree is for chewing and swatting. Badness!

The aging process

2008-11-29T17:39:00.005-05:00

George W. Bush has aged A LOT over the past eight years. I mean, going from this:

...to this:
I mean, I know the presidency is a stressful job and that a person AGES A LOT during the 4-to-8-year term, but really... is it just me, or does he look like he's drinking again??

Thinking about India

2008-11-28T19:29:00.003-05:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking about India over the past few days. If you watch the news, you know what's been happening in Mumbai. I can't imagine how frantic and chaotic the scene is. Even on a good day, Mumbai is chaotic! I can't even fathom how rescue crews are getting through the streets, as the one rule of the road is that there are no rules! Apparently the hotel that Dad and I stayed at, the Palm Grove, was used as a "jumping off point" for the terrorists. Renu, one of the family members with whom we traveled, is in Mumbai right now, visiting her brother and his family (the Gandhi's). All of them were present for W's baptism; they are like family. I am hoping that they all piled in the car and headed to Umbergoah, about 100 miles to the north of Mumbai, where their family roots are.
In other family-related news, Mike's grandfather, Pater, is in the hospital. He's 94 years old. He has something seriously wrong going on in his abdomen. The doctors think it's due to a blood clot that killed part of his intestines. He's been in relatively-good health up until this point, living independently in an assisted-living home for the past few years in the Little Rock area. I think the only medication that he's been prescribed is Flomax, so that's pretty awesome for someone his age. He loves the Arkansas Razorbacks, and as much as I hate that LSU lost to them today, I'm happy that Pater's team won.
W and I spent yesterday afternoon at our church. Mike had to work (he has the day BEFORE the holiday off, but has to work the actual holiday), so it was really nice that our pastor and his family hosted an "open Thanksgiving" in the church's fellowship hall. There were about 40 people there, and TONS of food. W had a great time running around with the other kids and even played a little football with them. I had fun playing dominoes and meeting some new folks.
My parents were here last week, so we did Thanksgiving dinner with them on Sunday night. Mike roasted a chicken and made his mom's cornbread dressing, and I made mashed potatoes and green beans. We bought a carrot cake and Key Lime pie at Wegman's, both of which were delish.
We all have so much to be thankful for.

Gimme a break!

2008-11-19T14:48:00.003-05:00

W has a favorite candy. He LOVES Kit-Kats. He just found a tiny piece of a wrapper somewhere that was leftover from Halloween and brought it to me and said, "Kit Kat, Kit Kat" (or something close to that).
Good lord, what have I done to this child?! Mike and I don't even really LIKE Kit-Kats!! I don't know where he gets it from....

Toilet paper woes

2008-11-16T16:02:00.002-05:00

Amazingly enough, our supermarket has fantastic store-brand toilet paper. I never would have thought that generic TP would be the way to go, but seriously, Wegman's TP is great. I did something dumb last week, though. We were nearing the end of our stash and were in desperate need for more. I was at Wal-Mart (ugh) and figured I'd just buy some there. I got a 24 pack of the White Cloud (WM brand) kind. I mean, toilet paper's toilet paper, right? WRONG. This is, as Mike calls it, John Wayne toilet paper-- "Rough, tough, and don't take sh*t off no one." It is only ONE PLY. And, it doesn't feel very good. So now I'm stuck with 24 rolls of crappy (I couldn't resist!) toilet paper. I have definitely learned my lesson.
Oh, and today, when we went to Wegman's, I got a big pack of their TP. So we have enough to last us the rest of 2008.

Identifying with India

2008-11-09T20:19:00.006-05:00

Here's an article written by a woman who was in India on election day. I love all things Indian (except perhaps the food), so I couldn't resist posting this (she refers to some of the cities Dad and I visited when we were there in 2004). I highlighted the parts that really spoke to me. You may or may not agree with what she says or thinks politically, but I think this piece is really important because it helps show how people of other nations see our nation. It's an interesting perspective, to be sure.

Through Indian Eyes
Lynda Resnick Posted November 9, 2008 | 02:27 PM

My husband and I were in India during the U.S. election. Of course we cast (so to speak) our Obama votes before traveling to India during the last three weeks of the campaign -- an insightful experience. We followed CNN throughout our journey, but we were more drawn to news from the BBC and local Indian channels.

Everywhere we went, from Mumbai to Jodhpur to Delhi, people were curious and engaged in our election, and everyone knew the players. They were all rooting for Obama. We met some corporate leaders who were concerned that Obama might cave to the unions and tighten up foreign trade, and some royals who were negative about anyone darker than they are, but men and women in the streets, no matter how humble, were rooting for Obama.

It was the first time in a long time that "I felt proud to be an American," to borrow words from our soon-to-be First Lady. The last time people abroad felt that kind of affinity with an American political figure was when John Kennedy was in office. I don't believe their support for Obama was just because his skin is brown like theirs. It is a combination of gravitas and spiritual calm that attracted the limpid brown eyes of a magical country. Ganesha is the charming elephant god that most Hindus hold sacred... as I visited shops to find the perfect one to bring home, one shopkeeper after another confided that our candidate Obama also has a Ganesha in his home.

As the results came in on election night, and tears of joy and hope streamed down my face, I realized that America had finally grown up. The polls didn't lie; we were actually achieving the divine state of color blindness. The window is open and we can grab opportunity, we can make changes, we can mature and we will be able to manage the crises of our modern society. The "me generation" doesn't work anymore. The new calling is for the collective consciousness. If one doesn't care about the common good and only focuses on their own greed, they will be hard-pressed to find comfort in this new era.

How perfectly curious it was to be in India during this historical moment. The myth about traveling there is that you will shocked by the poverty, but I'd traveled to Cambodia when Pol Pot was still lurking in the jungle and saw a civilization returned to the Stone Age by endless war. What shocked me in India was how joyful the citizens are. Their lives are tough, even for the rich ones. I felt an almost equal empathy for the Maharani I visited who lived in a gargantuan place crumbling around her, as I did for street people who pedaled our rickshaw. The spirit of the place is life-changing -- it gives you hope for all mankind.

When we landed at LAX after 26 hours of flying, L.A. looked sparklingly clean (I didn't know a Santa Ana wind had just come through). I practically kissed the customs officer and couldn't get a smile off my face. I remember when I was a child and my parents would travel abroad, they would tell me, "I kissed the ground when I came home." It has been a long time since I felt like that, but I do now. Our troubles are grave, but they are nothing when you look at the emerging nations of the world; it is a mind change that we need. We still have clean water and can breathe most of the air without fear of lung problems, and while our society tends to make wrong food choices, safe food is there for the buying. Unless you have traveled to India or China you have no idea how compromised these basics of life can be.

Everyone is asking, "What can I do as a citizen?" We are ready like we were for that one moment after 9/11 -- ready to follow a bold leader. At last we have one, and I believe that our collective consciousness will push us toward the sacrifices we must make to cure our ills. A beautiful man of color will lead us. My hand is raised, "call on me."

A fine dining experience

2008-11-09T16:35:00.002-05:00

Since the weather was so gross yesterday afternoon, we did one of our favorite rainy-day activities--went to Ikea! The nearest Ikea for us is in Elizabeth, near Newark and right across the river from NYC. You can even see the Newark airport from the Ikea restaurant. Traffic was horrible all the way there, so by the time we got there, we were all hungry. You gotta love a furniture store with a restaurant. And I'm not talkin' Miskelly's. This place has everything--Swedish meatballs, pasta, salad bar, wraps... So the three of us ate dinner for less than $10, AND got a table overlooking the airport, which W really liked. Our mission was to find a child-size dining set for W. Our kitchen table/chairs are counter-height, which means that W cannot sit there easily. The Montessorian in me wanted him to have something on his own level. So this is what we wound up getting:
Mike and I just put it together. It was surprisingly easy. Since the wood is unfinished, we can either paint it or stain it. I'm inclined to stain it the same color as our kitchen table/chairs, which is a dark, dark brown. While I'd like to paint it in fun colors, that would sort of detract from the rest of the kitchen/dining room palate of red and brown. I'm open to suggestions, though.

Tiger bait!

2008-11-08T11:32:00.003-05:00

Today is the big day: Bama at LSU. Get ready. This game is big, not only because Bama is ranked #1 by the BCS, but also because it's Nick Saban's first trip back to Baton Rouge as a coach since doing the unthinkable... Here's a piece from ESPN the Magazine.

Gimme an F... !

When Alabama rolls into Baton Rouge, LSU fans will have a hard time deciding which is more fun: showering the Tigers with love - or raining hate on Nick Saban.

by Wright Thompson

There is strange music coming from apartment 315: a mix of zydeco and swamp pop, as unquestionably Louisiana as getting a go-cup from a bar. Inside is a raucous group of LSU fans. The Big Ragoo and the Evil Twins are surrounded by their crew, which includes a nuclear chemist, two women kissing, another drinking straight from a bottle of Stoli, an ex-fighter pilot and the guy who played keyboards—and organ—for song 11 on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. They all have at least one thing in common.

They hate Nick Saban.

Now, lots of people dislike coaches. Michigan fans loathe Jim Tressel. Buckeyes can't stand Joe Paterno. Nittany Lions detest Bobby Bowden. Those are normal, acceptable levels of hate. But LSU fans hate Saban more than store-bought jambalaya, more than FEMA, more than Yankees who confuse Creole with Cajun. The man loved 'em and left 'em. This is personal. This is cultural. This hatred is…intergalactic. "You could draw the analogy to Star Wars," says Indiana professor Ed Hirt, an expert in fan behavior and why sports turn ordinary grown-ups into psychopaths. "It is going to the dark side."

The LSU fans will tell Saban just how much they hate him in person on Nov. 8, when the Alabama coach brings his top-ranked Tide to Baton Rouge. As a rule, LSU opponents must park their buses and walk into the stadium in open air, protected, sort of, by police barricades. LSU fans chant "Tiger bait" over and over. But when Saban and his team come to town, that walk will be more than scary, presuming local authorities allow it to happen at all. LSU police say they will have extra security at the stadium and along the Bama bus route. "It's gonna take the 82nd Airborne to get him into Tiger Stadium," the Big Ragoo says.

Just five years ago, Saban was every LSU fan's hero, leading the Tigers to their first national title in 45 seasons. But on Christmas Day, 2004, he broke their hearts, bailing on Baton Rouge for Miami and NFL money. Two years later he stabbed their hearts by taking the Bama job. Since then, Ragoo and the Evil Twins have counted the days to Saban's return, passing time with another national title and many Alabama jokes. (Such as: How are Bama fans and maggots the same? Both can live off a dead bear.) Now their day of blessed redemption is upon them, and folks down here are some kind of pissed.

The roiling emotions across the Pelican State have to do with insecurity, fear, ethnic slurs, off-color jokes and grandmothers who speak Cajun French. For those who don't know what any of that means, don't worry. We'll translate.

First, there's the Big Ragoo. He's the greatest LSU fan alive. Ragoo is short and bald, sort of what you'd get if you crossed Winston Churchill with John Belushi. He acts like that too: half eloquent statesman, half wild man. He's given away untold amounts of food and drink to strangers. Show him respect, he will move heaven and earth for you. Cross him, he will feed you to the crabs. He is 59. He is a district manager for an oil company. His real name is Marvin Dugas. The 'S' is silent.

Then there are the Evil Twins. God, where to begin? They are actually twins and possibly evil. They are 46 and unmarried. Evil Twin Two, whose name is Scott DeJean, is a veterinarian. He's the older one, but he's the sidekick, and mans the stereo at the party. Evil Twin One is named Kent. He does the talking. This is his condo. His fridge holds only beer, soda, cream puffs and Slim-Fast. He has framed pictures of the 2003 and 2007 national championship games in his bedroom, the first images he sees in the morning. Evil Twin One warms up the crowd at Les Miles' weekly radio show and does skits at tailgates. In real life, he is a lawyer.

Besides being unhinged LSU fans, the Twins and Ragoo are Cajun, born and raised in southern Louisiana parishes. Their parents grew up speaking Cajun French at home but didn't teach it to them, not wanting to pass along what they saw as a stigma. Their folks were belittled, spanked for not speaking English in school. Years ago, when chef Justin Wilson brought his Louisiana recipes and swampy accent to national TV, Evil Twin One asked his grandmother if she was proud. No, she told him. They weren't laughing with Wilson and his catchphrase "I ga-ron-tee." They were laughing at him.

That brings us to Saban.

He has several problems down here. First, LSU fans can be insecure. Maybe it's because LSU sits smack on the border of Acadiana—the 22 parishes that make up Cajun country—and the locals' antennae remain out after years of ridicule. Maybe they are scarred from years of losing before Saban, and, somewhere deep inside, maybe they're afraid all this success will go away. Secondly, he went to Alabama. Tiger fans won't admit this, but they have a complex about Alabama, so a loved one leaving for Tuscaloosa subtly reinforces the fear that they are inferior.

Finally, there is the quote.

The slur for Cajuns is coonass. Some say it comes from a gamey delicacy or a ringtailed hat, others say the word is derived from the French put-down conasse, meaning cheap whore. Younger Cajuns will sometimes say it with pride, displaying stickers on cars around Louisiana that read "RCA," for registered coonass. For older people, it is incredibly offensive. OK, stage set.

"AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES GUY SAYS "YEAH, I SAW THAT SABAN (WENT TO ALABAMA); THAT SON OF A B-"

Saban took the Bama job the day LSU played in the 2007 Sugar Bowl, and signs such as "Saban is a D-Bag" popped up in the French Quarter. Back in Miami, the coach was speaking to reporters off the record. He repeated a story a friend, who Saban said happened to be on LSU's board of trustees, told him—a story that ended up taped and played on the radio a few weeks later. Here it is: "He was walking down the street yesterday before the Sugar Bowl. He calls me. There was a guy working in the ditch, one of those coonass guys that talk funny. I can't talk like them, but he can. Most people in Louisiana can. He says, 'Hey, you see where Coach Saban signed up with Alabama?' You know, however they talk. And the board of trustees guy says, 'Yeah I saw that,' and he says, 'That son of a b—, I feel like he's f— my wife.'"

It didn't matter that Saban was trying to be funny, or that a lot of people use the word coonass. A segment of LSU fans heard ditch-digging coonass and saw red. "Cajun people are proud," Ragoo explains. "When they perceive that you're putting them down and making fun of them, they become focused and galvanized about kicking your ass."

The quote hurt, and Saban quickly released an apologetic statement. He is responsible for the return of LSU football glory and doesn't really deserve to be hated. But you can understand, right? Those who hate Saban do so because they cared for him so much. "I was jilted," says Alie Gremillion, Ragoo's fiancée. "Nick was like your first love." Here's a story: The first Saints game in Louisiana after Katrina was against the Dolphins at Tiger Stadium. When Saban came out, he got an unforgettable ovation. They loved him. And now this? Same conference? Alabama? Ditch-digging coonasses?

Two years later, at the party, Ragoo and the Evil Twins still aren't over it. They refer to Saban as Lil' Nicky, or Tricky Nick. "He's like Satan," Evil Twin One says. "He's gone from king of the world to Judas."

As the drinks start to flow, so does the level of anger. There are jokes, both innocuous and disturbing (like Ragoo opining about what some of his less-civilized brethren might do with a 12-gauge should they spy Saban in the Bayou). "If I were him I'd be very discreet," Ragoo cracks. "He might not make it back."

He is, of course, kidding. Around him, in apartment 315, the party continues. It is the night before LSU will lose to Georgia, 52-38. Dozens crowd into the kitchen, taking turns spinning the Wheel of Death: a carousel of scotch, vodka, tequila and rum. Wherever it stops, that's your poison. They spin it for hours. After Ragoo takes a turn on the Wheel—"Oh, no, tequila," Alie says quietly—he lies on the floor and lets the Twins spin him like a top. At the end of the party, they play "Rocky Top" to honor Tennessee, Alabama's opponent. Of course they change the chorus a bit.

Rocky Top, you'll always be,
Second in the SEC.
Good ol' Rocky Top.
Second in the SEC!
Second in the SEC!

The next day, the party continues at 6 a.m. with Budweiser, biscuits and boudin. It moves toward the stadium with chicken spaghetti at Ragoo's tent; a neighboring tailgate has a keg on a giant stand, rigged with rubber tubes. All the while they jam to music coming out of twin six-foot stacks, like The Allman Brothers have set up in the parking lot. The party survives the game and beyond the entire sad afternoon. LSU fans even congratulate passing Georgia fans on their W, which will not happen against Bama. Afterward, Ragoo heads to the Pastime Restaurant & Lounge to watch Saban's Crimson Tide. They're crushing the Vols, playing with a confidence Ragoo recognizes. When Alabama scores, he stares at the television. He is quiet. He mumbles to himself, his face twitching a little. "You want an Excedrin?" Alie asks.

He declines. But the long day, and the combination of LSU losing and Saban winning have left Ragoo worn out. Is it possible that giving up 52 points to Georgia is worse than being called a ditch-digging coonass? Not a chance. "I'm gonna sharpen my shovel," he says.

"We're ditch-digging coonasses," Alie says.

"That's me," Ragoo says.

Really sad

2008-11-07T19:32:00.004-05:00

When people find out I'm from the South, they often ask if racism is alive and well. This question, while expected, always rattles me a bit. I say that the racism isn't necessarily blatant, and then explain that racism exists everywhere, in various forms and degrees. Here is living proof that it doesn't matter where you live--ignorance is everywhere.

The map

2008-11-04T22:03:00.003-05:00

This is huge. This is huger than huge. No Republican presidential candidate has ever won without Ohio, and it was just called for Obama.
The northeast is solid blue. Huge shock. The south is solid red (except for MS, which they haven't called yet, but HELLO!!). Huge shock. There are some pleasant (and fortunate) quasi-surprises (PA and OH).
Overall, huge voter turnout. For both Democrats and Republicans, this is a fantastic day for America. More people than ever have stepped up to cast their ballot and show their patriotism. Hooray for representative democracy!On a night like tonight, I sure miss Tim Russert and his white-boards.

Don't even go there...

2008-11-03T18:59:00.004-05:00

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, Barack Obama's grandma died this morning. Rotten timing, huh? Maybe I'm a cynic, but I'm just waiting for one of the McCain-ninites to say "oh, what perfect timing... they've probably had her on ice for the past few weeks and wanted to wait and spread the news the day before the election!"
Yeah, I am so sure.
Let's all say a little prayer for tomorrow... That every voter is treated with dignity and respect and that every ballot cast by a legitimate/registered voter is counted. For info about where to cast your ballot, what to bring to the polling place, etc, check out the League of Women Voters website--it has a wealth of (nonpartisan!) information.
Hey, don't think your vote doesn't count. It does-- as long as every vote is counted.

Boo to you!

2008-11-01T16:15:00.005-04:00

W had a great Halloween. I made his costume; he was The Cat in the Hat. I used a pair of black sweatpants and black t-shirt and safety-pinned the white fur and red bow on the shirt. I pinned a long black tail made of felt and stuffed with batting on the back of the pants. I made the hat, which turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. But in the end, it turned out pretty cute--don't you think??
The whiskers/nose didn't stay on very well...Ta-da!!Here's one side of Maggie's costume......and here's the other side! There's a glare--it says "I'm really a Chihuahua"Here are some of our pumpkins. Mike said that our front yard looked like a pumpkin patch because we had five carved pumpkins and two that weren't carved. I got a little crazy with pumpkins this year because I really like roasting the seeds...
Today we drove to the Howell Living History Farm, which is about 20 minutes north of us. It's run by the county and has lots of animals. Today included a demonstration of how bacon, sausage, and scrapple are made. We saw the initial preparation for all that, but didn't stick around for the full demo. W enjoyed seeing the animals. I think the chickens were his favorite, though I don't really know why...
He laughed and "talked" with the chickens...
He thought the sheep were okay...
Here's Jesse the Horse taking a sniff of W and his daddy... They only have male horses right now, and they are all serious work horses. They are incredibly large and powerful-looking animals--one can see where the term "horsepower" comes from! The farm also has some incredible oxen, but they weren't there this weekend--they were at a conference. No kidding.When we got to the pig pen, the pigs were all the way on the other end. I called, "Here, pig pig pig!" and they all came running over. There were four piglets. They were stinky, but pretty cute. Here they are nosing around in their slop trough. W thought they were pretty funny and wanted to reach in and touch him, but Mike and I vetoed that idea. Can you blame us??

Where did October go?

2008-10-30T17:06:00.004-04:00

Each time I get on the computer, I think to myself, "Self, you ought to really update your blog." But I don't ever get around to it. It's not because I don't have anything to say; it's just that I don't really have the energy these days to say it. By the time I have quiet time in the evenings, I'm exhausted and just want to cross-stitch or read. Seriously, I'm around toddlers all day. Who can blame me for wanting some SILENT adult time?
Most of what I would have written about over the past month concerns the election. If you're not absolutely outraged and disgusted about the way in which McCain has run his campaign, you have NOT been paying attention. He and his "running mate" take every opportunity to slander Obama and spread lies and half-truths about him. Oh, and notice the use of "air quotes" for "running mate"; Senator McCain LOVES the "air quotes" (see Exhibit A), and I can't think of a more appropriate use of them than when describing his choice for VP.
Other election-related topics floating around in my grey-matter as of late-----
Sarah Palin's Makeover
C'mon, Kids! Get your new Caribou Barbie! Complete with custom Jimmy Choo--oops, we mean Johnny Choo--Eskimo-inspired Mukluks! Style her hair, do her makeup! She's a great choice for VP and way more fun to make-over than Mitt or Rudy would have been! And all for the bargain price of $150K!
John McCain's (latest) Senior Moment
To date, his most obvious (and embarrassing) bout with forgetfulness came on Sunday's Meet the Press with Tom Brokaw. McCain was trying to minimize the importance of Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama by naming the five former-secretaries of state that have endorsed him. Problem was, he couldn't remember all of them. Oops. Shoulda practiced that one.
Tying Obama to Islam
Okay, can I just say that I am really really really tired of this sthick, for the following reasons:

Obama is NOT Muslim...
... and even if he were Muslim, so what? Saying that all Muslims are bad because of the evil deeds of a few people who happen to be Muslim is just like saying all Germans are bad because of what the Nazis did. Hello?!
I would rather have a devout Muslim who practices the five pillars of Islam in the Oval Office than a lacksidasical Christian who doesn't practice what s/he preaches. And before anyone gets all "devout Muslims support jihad against the US"--NO THEY DON'T, just ask one. For further commentary on this topic, see #2, above.
And as for suggesting that Obama would appease Iran's Ahmadinejad, well, that's just silly, because Ahmadinejad isn't even the one who's in charge of Iran. The Ayatollah is the one who pulls the strings. Besides, meeting with Ahmadinejad would just give the world another opportunity to witness just how crazy the man really is. Case in point. Yes, he's a despicable person. But how can we learn how to deal with him and the nation of Iran without hearing what he has to say? Meeting with a nation's representative is not the same as condoning that nation's stance on international and domestic issues. There are plenty of nations who don't agree with everything the US does, but do they shut us out?

Colin Powell is Awesome
First of all, I have always been a closet-fan of Colin Powell. I think his service to the US is admirable and I have great respect for him. That said, I've also always been a little annoyed with him for his alliance with the Republican Party. After the Bushies threw him under the proverbial bus back during Bush II's first term, Colin Powell had every right to be angry and bitter. But he didn't show it. No, instead he gracefully stepped aside and let the Bushies continue their misplaced war. Now that I think about it, why didn't he make more of a stink back then?? Well, he's redeemed himself, in my book, and it's not just because he threw his support behind Obama. His comments a few weeks ago on MTP were so eloquent and so dead-on... Well, just see for yourself.
So there you have it. Probably a lot more than you bargained for, but I had a lot to catch up on.

Last night's performance

2008-10-03T19:06:00.006-04:00

Mad props to Joe Biden for keeping his cool last night. He's known for his temper and tendency to say things that, while often true, can be inappropriate. It was entirely within the realm of possibility for him to tell Sarah Palin to go back to the Barbie Arctic Dream House. Each time she winked, I threw up in my mouth a little.
Here's a flow chart of Sarah Palin's debate strategy, courtesy of adennak.com, via huffingtonpost.com.
On another note, work is going really well. I'm enjoying it a lot, and W seems to really like school. Each morning, when we pull into the parking lot, he gets all excited and claps his hands and squeals. He really seems to be adapting well to this big change. He is also really interested in the toilet. He isn't ready to be toileted (the Montessori term for "potty training"--we train dogs, not children!) but he is definitely interested in it. We got him a little potty for his birthday and he's been sitting on it each night before his bath. Well, for the past four nights, when he's sat on it, he's peed. He is so proud of himself, and we are really happy for him, too. A step in the right direction!
It's definitely becoming fall here. The trees are changing to beautiful autumn colors. That's one of the things that I definitely prefer here in New Jersey as opposed to Mississippi--SEASONS!

Filed under "D"...

2008-09-23T18:59:00.002-04:00

... for "DUH"!!!!!I guess Clay Aiken was the last to get this news...

Thanks, Keith

2008-09-23T17:27:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Keith Olberman for doing his part to de-rail the Not-So-Straight Talk Express.

The back-to-school bug

2008-09-11T18:30:00.003-04:00

I got sick at the beginning of school each year when I taught high school. It started innocently enough with a bad cold, but always turned into a raging upper-respiratory infection. Amazingly enough, the past two years that I've been at home, I haven't gotten sick in the fall. Well, now that I've gone back to work, I'm sick again. I wipe snotty noses all day, and even though I wash my hands religiously (as in, after each wipe!), I have managed to come down with crud. On Tuesday afternoon, my throat suddenly started hurting, in the way it does whenever I'm coming down with something. Oh no, I thought. Sure enough, by bedtime, I felt awful. I had to take yesterday and today off from work, and will have to take tomorrow off as well. I hate using up my sick days so soon, as I know I will need them so that I can stay home with W when he's sick... But I also know that I wouldn't appreciate it very much if one of W's teachers came to school in a state similar to my own, so I'm affording that same courtesy to my own students.
I'm heading to the doctor tomorrow. If it has turned into an URI, I will have to get some serious meds to knock it out so that I will be fit for work on Monday.
Sigh.
Other than that, the new job is great, and W really likes school. He takes his nap in his own little bed in the nap room without the help of a pacifier. Amazing. Of course, he wouldn't dream of going sans-Nuk at his own house, but I guess it's a step in the right direction.

Oh, the hypocricy!

2008-09-05T15:43:00.003-04:00

We don't have cable, so I miss out on catching The Daily Show on a regular basis. I do love Jon Stewart, though, and this clip is just too good not to post! Mom and Dad, this is especially for y'all.

What's YOUR zip code?

2008-08-31T15:25:00.002-04:00

An awesome article from Friday's NYT. Enjoy.
Are YOU planning to watch the New 9-0?

Sarah Palin

2008-08-30T18:18:00.002-04:00

I received this from MoveOn.org in my email box today. Please take a second to read it:

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday was John McCain's 72nd birthday. If elected, he'd be the oldest president ever inaugurated. And after months of slamming Barack Obama for "inexperience," here's who John McCain has chosen to be one heartbeat away from the presidency: a right-wing religious conservative with no foreign policy experience, who until recently was mayor of a town of 9,000 people.

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.¹
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.²
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. ³
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.⁴
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.⁵
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.⁶
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.⁷

This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.

We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.

In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.

In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=1

3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=2

4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=3

5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=4

6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=5

"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=6

"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=7

7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-9301282-YooBQ3x&t=8

Working girl

2008-08-28T20:13:00.003-04:00

I have started the new job, but won't be posting any specifics, as I want to keep my professional life separate from my private life. W. got to meet his teacher, and that went really well. He had a lot of fun doing some rocks/dumptruck work. I had fun at work getting the garden area outside my classroom, as well as outside of the other toddler classrooms, ready. Another teacher and I filled EIGHT big black trash bags with garden debris, spent plants, etc. What a sense of accomplishment!
Tonight's the big night for Obama. Don't mess up, Dude!

Amen to that

2008-08-26T20:23:00.002-04:00

Couldn't have put it better myself... Take a look/listen.

In the news

2008-08-20T18:26:00.002-04:00

On a sad note, the saxophonist (LeRoi Moore) for DMB died yesterday of complications from an ATV accident he had earlier this summer. Very very sad.
On a lighter note, check out this video from the Today Show. Each Olympics, they do a spoof of one of the sports. For Athens, Al and Matt did synchronized swimming. I think this one is even better, especially because of the music and their outfits. Check it out.

The latest pics

2008-08-19T19:26:00.003-04:00

Here are some not-so-recent pics that we recently uploaded. Most are from late-July, I believe.

Finished pillow--I stitched the design and made the pillow. The design is called Summer Line-Up and is by The Trilogy. I did a Spring one a few months ago and turned it into a pillow; I am now working on the Autumn one.

This pic of W has become our new desktop background on our pute.

My butterfly bush and cosmos. A little blurry; I need to try to get a better one since it has even more blooms on it right now.

Look closely and you'll see a bright green preying Mantis on the stem of a cosmo.

A very happy bumblebee--they love my flowers in the front yard--who can blame them?? We also have a large number of Monarch butterflies that enjoy the floral buffet, but I have yet to capture a picture of any of them.

My little gardening buddy. He loves deadheading the flowers--unfortunately, now he thinks ANYTHING is fair game for deadheading--not just the dead ones!

Back to normal

2008-08-19T18:32:00.002-04:00

Things are slowly getting back to normal after a lovely visit from my sister-in-law and her two kids. They live in Tokyo, so they had been in the States for about six weeks this summer; we were their last stop. My niece will be four in October and my nephew turned one this past March. Needless to say, the house was a ZOO. We did things like story time, Terhune Orchards, the park and Princeton. I must say, my niece, while the oldest of the cousins, is the most demanding. Maybe it's because she's a girl, maybe it's because she's three. I don't know. She definitely knows what she wants when she wants it and isn't shy about it. Bless her heart, my sister-in-law is working so hard with her please-and-thank-you's. She says some really hilarious stuff; she's very intelligent and has a great vocabulary for her age. Perhaps the funniest thing happened when Mike took the three kids to the swings (brave soul!). My niece was wearing Crocs and discovered how fun it was to kick them off while swinging and have Uncle Mike retrieve them for her. The first time it happened, she said, "Go get my shoe." Mike asked her to say please, which she did; then, as he went to get the shoe, it dawned on him that she had kicked it off on purpose. He asked her if she had; she said "yes," and he told her that if she did it again that he wouldn't get it for her. Well, lo and behold, she did it again. When he refused to get it for her, she said, and I quote, "Well, I'm gonna tell my mom, and we're gonna take your swings and ruin your way of life!" It was all Mike could do to keep from laughing. "Ruin your way of life"??? Where in the world did she pick up THAT?!

A fungus among us

2008-08-13T16:18:00.002-04:00

So I've been having mega issues with my ears for the past month or so. Last Tuesday I went to my regular doctor and she diagnosed me with an outer ear infection in my right ear. On Thursday, the left ear started acting up. I called and made an appointment with the ENT she referred me to. I went to the ENT today. He says I have a FUNGUS in BOTH ears. Gross. I probably got it from swimming (the one time this summer I actually put my head under) or maybe from the shower. So I have these lovely drops to use twice a day for ten days. Five drops in each ear. Drop, drop, drop, drop, drop... wait five minutes... stick cotton in to prevent solution from coming out and staining skin and clothing (!!!!)... repeat process with other ear. He also recommended some oh-so-stylish earplugs to wear when swimming and showering. They sized me as a "medium" for them and of course when I went to get them from the receptionist, they were out of that size. So she gave me a little can of putty-like stuff to use until they get another shipment of them in. I have to go back and see the ENT in one month. Really, a FUNGUS?! I disgust myself.

What's your theological worldview?

2008-08-12T10:30:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Deanna for posting this nice quiz.

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Classical Liberal

You are a classical liberal. You are sceptical about much of the historicity of the Bible, and the most important thing Jesus has done is to set us a good moral example that we are to follow. Doctrines like the trinity and the incarnation are speculative and not really important, and in the face of science and philosophy the surest way we can be certain about God is by our inner awareness of him. Discipleship is expressed by good moral behaviour, but inward religious feeling is most important.

Emergent/Postmodern

64%

Classical Liberal

64%

Modern Liberal

57%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

54%

Roman Catholic

50%

Neo orthodox

39%

Reformed Evangelical

25%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

21%

Fundamentalist

Dis-orientation

2008-08-08T16:06:00.004-04:00

I had assistant teacher orientation for Montessori today. It was really eye-opening. It's a different philosophy from that of a regular classroom. Not different in a bad way, of course. It puts so much focus on the child and the environment and is all about the teacher being a facilitator, as opposed to a "leader". The onus is on the child to learn; the teacher simply provides the environment, basic instruction materials for that learning to take place.
I think it's an environment in which W will thrive. It's one that will take some getting used to for me, but I think it will be a great opportunity for growth as an educator. I'm really looking forward to this new experience.

Did you hear that?

2008-08-05T20:25:00.004-04:00

Well, I didn't. I have a raging ear infection in my right ear. My right ear has been giving me fits for the past month or so (problems with the inner ear), but last night it was unbearable. I went to the doctor today. She diagnosed me with an outer ear infection. She couldn't even see past the eardrum to see if there inner part was still messed up. So I'm on antibiotic ear drops twice a day for seven days. That's pleasant.
Did you hear that John McCain wants his wife to participate in a "wet t-shirt/pickle-licking/other various sundry inappropriate things" contest? That's right. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The man needs to THINK before he speaks. Actually, it might be better if he just didn't speak at all...
Show of hands: How many of you out there check the air pressure in your tires? Of course you do! It can help with gas mileage, plus it's handy to know if you need to put more air in to avoid a flat tire. Well, according to John McCain, it's silly to check the air in your tires. Really, John? Oh, that must be because you have People to do that for you... He thinks this is so hilarious that he'll send you an "Obama Energy Plan" tire pressure gauge if you contribute $25 to his campaign. Not clear if it's an operational tire pressure gauge, but if it is, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of his "joke"? Ha, ha, John.
Think about it this way: Under-inflated tires make you lose about 1 mile per gallon to road friction. This translates to about 1 gallon of wasted gas per tankful. McCain may think this is funny, but for me (and probably for you, too, that's real money!). This simple, immediate, FREE action Obama and many others have suggested will save consumers about half of what McCain's gas tax "holiday" would without any other changes and without chipping away at funding for roads and bridges. So check your tire pressure. Oh, and save yourself around $23 (how much gas would that buy right now??) and head over to the auto parts store or Wal-Mart and BUY a gauge for around $2 (or even less!).
For more tips on fuel economy, check out this handy-dandy site put together by our friends in Washington! Click and Clack have some good tips, as well.

The library

2008-07-29T20:42:00.004-04:00

It's no secret that the library is one of my favorite places to go. We have several around here that we can use that are part of our county-wide system. I go to the library at least once a week, often twice. There is a great selection of videos and DVDs to check out, which is a plus.
So yesterday W and I went to the library closest to our house; it's also the largest one in our system and the most crowded, usually. We were nearly done with gathering our materials for the week. We were in this little side room that houses the videotapes. I was getting a Sherlock Holmes video for Mike since he's obsessed with anything Sherlock Holmes. Anyway, W was getting irritated with being in his stroller and was being a little vocal about it. He had his pacifier in his mouth, but it wasn't doing anything to keep him quiet. The next thing I know, this librarian approached us and grumped on us! Here's how it went down:
Grumpy Library Man: Can I help you find anything?
Me: No, I've got everything I need. Thanks, though.
GLM: Um, is there any way you can quiet him down?
Me: (bewildered and embarrassed) Well, we're about to leave.
GLM: Because he's a little loud and disturbing other patrons.
Me: Yes, well, we just have to check these things out and we are leaving.
GLM: There's a lobby you can take him in to and calm him down.
Me: That won't be necessary. Like I said, we're leaving right now. Thanks.
And I wheeled W away. Of course at this point W had gotten quiet. As we were checking out our books and videos, I saw GLM speaking with two people near where The Incident had occurred. I think they were the ones whom we had "disturbed" because I had noticed them shooting us some "looks" while we were perusing the DVD collection. They obviously weren't TOO disturbed or engrossed in anything important, because even when we were leaving the building, they were still conversing with GLM.
The whole thing really aggravated me. It was really embarrassing and annoying. Now I'm all cranky about going back there. I know I shouldn't be, but I am.
The DVD I got to watch last night was "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I had never seen it before; it was disturbingly good. I had always wanted to see it since it was filmed at Smith, it was cool seeing College Hall and Lyman plant house, as well as the distinct Smith lampposts. If you haven't seen this movie, take the time to watch it. But don't expect it to be a "sit there and relax" movie. It makes you think, and it is quite discomforting. Elizabeth Taylor was especially fabulous; she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Martha. I always think of Elizabeth Taylor as...

old...
hawking stinky perfume...
friend of Michael Jackson...

...so it was really awesome to see how wonderful she is as an actress. I mean, she was dynamite.