Thanksgiving was awesome.
I HEART my Aunt Judy and can't believe how lucky I am that she lets me invite myself and my crew to her place.
She makes the best pie. Yes I had a piece of the irresistible apple, but not until the day AFTER thanksgiving. My cousin took off with the peanut butter pecan pie so I didn't get a piece of that but I was smart enough to take a bite.
Okay so down to business. We have had requests for Christmas wish lists-- this post is intended for family members but friend should feel free to comment on content or make suggestions.
Links are included to help clarify but are just random brands as we are not picky at all!
Steve:
•T-shirts (for running and also every day life since he goes through them like crazy--he wears regular solid colors like blue, green, maroon)
•Button up casual shirts
•Scriptures (his were lost last year sometime and were never found)
•Journal (no particular style)
•Socks
•Ties
Lee
•Prep bowls
•Jewelry (small necklaces/earrings)
•Irregular measuring cups (odd-sized)
•Kleen Canteen (any color but orange)
•Clothes (message/roxy T-shirts or blouses/work shirts)
•Anything Ipod (running band, charger, dock, Itunes gift cards etc.) I have a nano 3rd gen model--same as my father-in-law
•Thank you notes (blank, not actual thanx from people)
Casey:
•Science stuff-like Chemistry kits or experiment stuff
•Books- Inkheart - he bought Inkspell but didn't realize it was a sequel so it is sitting on the shelf waiting for Inkheart to show, Calvin and Hobbes or other cartoony/graphic novel types (he LOVES Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
•Skater T-shirts (he said he doesn't like skating but likes the shirts--I think he just likes red, black, and brown sketched images on Ts)
•Video games for PS 2 used are fine but he doesn't like sports games as much as fantasy or adventure-please rated E for Everyone or E 10+ (no Grand Theft Auto or Playboy Mansion)
Bridget:
•Littlest Pet Shop pets. The actual pets and accessories, not like merchandise.
•Clothes-specifically church wearable stuff or plain white tops to go under stuff. She likes the stuff at naartjie and she likes skater stuff too--she is not a brand girl but these can give you an idea of what she likes. She is also into two-tone long-sleeves.
•Art supplies--water color paper, kits to put stuff together, etc.
•Books- short chapter books for girls
•Socks
Gillian
•Dolls/princess stuff
•Church clothes
•Shoes (fun fancy kinds)
•Stuffed animals
•Hoodie
Meghan
•Hats
•Socks
•Burping cloths
•Pants or leggings, solid colored
•Pacifier holder (my Sis in law got us a cute one after she was born but it has disappeared)
•Soothie pacifier
•Baby toys (she has just discovered her hands and is probably soon to start wanting to play with something that shakes or rustles)
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Por favor
So the whole flat world thing has me a little irked this morning.
I got up at 4:20 this morning in order to shower so I could be presentable for a video conference but the teacher never appeared online nor did he call in to the conference number. He could not know that it took a herculean effort to drag my sorry carcass out of bed this morning due to a late bedtime for lil Meg and then getting up in the middle of the night to feed her since she woke up to the sounds of Gillian crying with her own issues at 1:20 am.
The good news is that I can catch up on my blogging before I head up north to Sonora for Turkey Day. I am looking forward to the tryptophan coma that I hope to enter shortly after consuming large portions of turkey and cranberry. Especially because this year I will be skipping dessert. I can't believe I just said that.
We are leaving in the am and hopefully stopping to see a few folk who I still need to contact. Emmy and Tara?
Here are two quick pics I took in my ghettofab living room studio this weekend:
I got up at 4:20 this morning in order to shower so I could be presentable for a video conference but the teacher never appeared online nor did he call in to the conference number. He could not know that it took a herculean effort to drag my sorry carcass out of bed this morning due to a late bedtime for lil Meg and then getting up in the middle of the night to feed her since she woke up to the sounds of Gillian crying with her own issues at 1:20 am.
The good news is that I can catch up on my blogging before I head up north to Sonora for Turkey Day. I am looking forward to the tryptophan coma that I hope to enter shortly after consuming large portions of turkey and cranberry. Especially because this year I will be skipping dessert. I can't believe I just said that.
We are leaving in the am and hopefully stopping to see a few folk who I still need to contact. Emmy and Tara?
Here are two quick pics I took in my ghettofab living room studio this weekend:
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Flat World
I know that The World Is Flat is somewhat outdated having been replaced by Hot, Flat and Crowded, but the world really is changing because of technology.
My job in the past has been to travel monthly for one week and then support teachers and principals remotely from my living room. I get up at 5 am (give or take an hour after Twilight early screenings) and I work online, checking email, creating resources for schools, and brainstorming with people who live in other cities across the country. Now I am doing more and more online work people from my living room rather than traveling, which leads me to my most recent conclusion:
The demise of the 9-5 work day. My evidence:
The 9-5 workday is really a product of the 20th century, right? If you think about it, it goes along with the whole idea of efficiency per minute, right? We need to have every second accounted for--we get paid by the hour, we take breaks and are paid for every second we work after 40 hours a week. Anyone seen the original of Cheaper by the Dozen? The father has a stop watch and his job is to actually go to factories and help them be more efficient by making fewer movements, etc. He even writes a book on efficiency.
The 21st century has other options.
The Japanese were famous for efficiency in the 80s--anyone seen Gung Ho? I loved Michael Keaton in those days-- Night Shift, Mr. Mom, etc. So did everyone know that the Japanese never quite recovered from their major recession of the 90s. Why not? Efficiency stifles creativity. If we want people to be creative, they ought to be encouraged to work at hours that are best for them. If I can get up at 5 am and be focused and creative, my employer ought to encourage me to work at that time. I had a co-worker who was terrible in the mornings-- late and out of it until 4-5 cups of joe. But what if she and the millions of teenagers whose bodies operate on a later clock could work in the evening? What kind of new inventions would spring out of that think tank?
The problem is that in the meantime, people are trying to do both. Like "be innovative with your schedule, save money by telecommuting on a schedule that works best for you" yet HR might ask employees why they were leaving at 3 pm (seriously, no wonder Michael Scott hated Toby so much.)
I predict that the end of this will come soon but we have to be patient with the Old School/Original Gangstas just a little longer while they work out their issues.
I think it is coming--it has already happened to me. Are you ready?
My job in the past has been to travel monthly for one week and then support teachers and principals remotely from my living room. I get up at 5 am (give or take an hour after Twilight early screenings) and I work online, checking email, creating resources for schools, and brainstorming with people who live in other cities across the country. Now I am doing more and more online work people from my living room rather than traveling, which leads me to my most recent conclusion:
The demise of the 9-5 work day. My evidence:
- This week I skyped with someone in India at 7 pm PST (11 am in India) about what was going on at his school in North Carolina.
- I had one-on-one conferences with teachers during their prep time in Durham, NC using Adobe Connect at 5:00 AM PST
- Two teachers from Albany, NY called me via skype at 2 pm EST to review their daily calendar to help tighten up their approaches and make their curriculum more cohesive for their students.
The 9-5 workday is really a product of the 20th century, right? If you think about it, it goes along with the whole idea of efficiency per minute, right? We need to have every second accounted for--we get paid by the hour, we take breaks and are paid for every second we work after 40 hours a week. Anyone seen the original of Cheaper by the Dozen? The father has a stop watch and his job is to actually go to factories and help them be more efficient by making fewer movements, etc. He even writes a book on efficiency.
The 21st century has other options.
The Japanese were famous for efficiency in the 80s--anyone seen Gung Ho? I loved Michael Keaton in those days-- Night Shift, Mr. Mom, etc. So did everyone know that the Japanese never quite recovered from their major recession of the 90s. Why not? Efficiency stifles creativity. If we want people to be creative, they ought to be encouraged to work at hours that are best for them. If I can get up at 5 am and be focused and creative, my employer ought to encourage me to work at that time. I had a co-worker who was terrible in the mornings-- late and out of it until 4-5 cups of joe. But what if she and the millions of teenagers whose bodies operate on a later clock could work in the evening? What kind of new inventions would spring out of that think tank?
The problem is that in the meantime, people are trying to do both. Like "be innovative with your schedule, save money by telecommuting on a schedule that works best for you" yet HR might ask employees why they were leaving at 3 pm (seriously, no wonder Michael Scott hated Toby so much.)
I predict that the end of this will come soon but we have to be patient with the Old School/Original Gangstas just a little longer while they work out their issues.
I think it is coming--it has already happened to me. Are you ready?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Early Show
So I have to say, I feel like I just got back from a concert. The adrenaline of teenage girls screaming, jumping, holding hands with their bff because of tension, and sucking in their breath during the romance scenes just absolutely made the show for me.
I admit it, I loved the movie. It kind of felt artsy, like a bit understated. Some examples:
- Diamonds on the skin? Actually looked like sparkly skin--they could have done this up big-time hollywood style but instead it just looked like it should
-Lots of zooming in on the faces from interesting angles--no dialogue, just zooming in. Especially Bella, who I actually loved in this movie.
- Charlie Swan. Perfect amount of dialogue, matched the book perfectly for me--didn't look like how I pictured him, but the character was great.
- Mike and Eric--just regular looking guys for once. I liked how everyone was pretty much regular looking who was supposed to be.
-Soundtrack. Perfect.
So much other stuff. But I really do recommend Twilight, even if you didn't like the books. The movie was great fun.
I also loved all the mother-daughter combos hanging out in the theater though I still preferred sitting behind the teenagers with the "bite me" and "I love Edward" T-shirts. That made it a truly enjoyable experience and I wish I knew who they were to send them thank you notes.
The only things I didn't like:
- Okay I have no idea who picks the previews but this theater played the most horrific film preview I have ever seen. I had to close my eyes it was so disturbing. It is called "Let the Right One In." So wrong. So foreign.
Thats it!
I admit it, I loved the movie. It kind of felt artsy, like a bit understated. Some examples:
- Diamonds on the skin? Actually looked like sparkly skin--they could have done this up big-time hollywood style but instead it just looked like it should
-Lots of zooming in on the faces from interesting angles--no dialogue, just zooming in. Especially Bella, who I actually loved in this movie.
- Charlie Swan. Perfect amount of dialogue, matched the book perfectly for me--didn't look like how I pictured him, but the character was great.
- Mike and Eric--just regular looking guys for once. I liked how everyone was pretty much regular looking who was supposed to be.
-Soundtrack. Perfect.
So much other stuff. But I really do recommend Twilight, even if you didn't like the books. The movie was great fun.
I also loved all the mother-daughter combos hanging out in the theater though I still preferred sitting behind the teenagers with the "bite me" and "I love Edward" T-shirts. That made it a truly enjoyable experience and I wish I knew who they were to send them thank you notes.
The only things I didn't like:
- Okay I have no idea who picks the previews but this theater played the most horrific film preview I have ever seen. I had to close my eyes it was so disturbing. It is called "Let the Right One In." So wrong. So foreign.
Thats it!
What Belt Are You?
This question is typically saved for children in one of the martial arts, but in this case I want to know the name of the belt where you live...
You have heard of the "bible belt" right? Well guess what they call the region in the country with a high population of Mormons?
The Jello Belt
You have heard of the "bible belt" right? Well guess what they call the region in the country with a high population of Mormons?
The Jello Belt
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Online privacy?
One of the schools I work with recently received a memo saying they can be fired for inappropriate content on Myspace, facebook, twitter, or match.com., etc. If you don't feel like opening the memo, it says they can be fired regardless of if they posted it during school days or not.
I understand if you have a public profile, I do--like if you have a blog that lets any Joe Fool come and post comments (like this one). I also understand if your facebook status says "Mrs. Brown is out of town over John Jacob Jingleheimer in her fifth period class" or other inappropriate material that indicates you are breaking the law or feeling like your car is warm and dry for the student at the wet bus stop. However, I have to draw the line at match.com. I think that if your profile includes that you like Piña Colada and making love in the dunes off the cape, that is your beezwax. If you want to watch porn on weekends with your gay bf, that is your right (in most states.) I think it is ridiculous for CMS (Charlotte-Meck in NC) to dictate what you can do in your personal time because it might make you a "bad teacher."
How about checking to see what these people are actually doing in class and checking for student engagement? How about finding out if the teacher is working all hours of the week to help students after class, before school, during lunch, and staying until 2 am chaperoning a dance and making sure the moral fiber of the students is strong before you go out for a weekend in Vegas for some R and R.
I feel personally that teachers should be good examples, avoid profanity and refrain from swaying students to your political beliefs, to keep your nose clean during the school day certainly yes. But fired for what you do with your online dating? How are they going to track that anyway? Are they going to create a user "PinkertonCMS" looking for potential matches with teachers displaying lewd behavior in the greater Charlotte area?
What do you think?
I understand if you have a public profile, I do--like if you have a blog that lets any Joe Fool come and post comments (like this one). I also understand if your facebook status says "Mrs. Brown is out of town over John Jacob Jingleheimer in her fifth period class" or other inappropriate material that indicates you are breaking the law or feeling like your car is warm and dry for the student at the wet bus stop. However, I have to draw the line at match.com. I think that if your profile includes that you like Piña Colada and making love in the dunes off the cape, that is your beezwax. If you want to watch porn on weekends with your gay bf, that is your right (in most states.) I think it is ridiculous for CMS (Charlotte-Meck in NC) to dictate what you can do in your personal time because it might make you a "bad teacher."
How about checking to see what these people are actually doing in class and checking for student engagement? How about finding out if the teacher is working all hours of the week to help students after class, before school, during lunch, and staying until 2 am chaperoning a dance and making sure the moral fiber of the students is strong before you go out for a weekend in Vegas for some R and R.
I feel personally that teachers should be good examples, avoid profanity and refrain from swaying students to your political beliefs, to keep your nose clean during the school day certainly yes. But fired for what you do with your online dating? How are they going to track that anyway? Are they going to create a user "PinkertonCMS" looking for potential matches with teachers displaying lewd behavior in the greater Charlotte area?
What do you think?
Monday, November 17, 2008
New Renters on Deck...
So we found some stellar renters. Here are the specs:
1 Married couple who lost
2 homes to delinquency in the subprime era with
2 daughters and over
3 years of self-employment with
0 years rental history so
0 rental references available and now legally we can run
0 credit checks though I did check
1 personal reference from a pastor who barely spoke English (curses I was too embarrassed to make him switch to español) and said we would "probably be fine" as they are very consistent people.
At the end he said they were "very faithful."
Hey that is good enough for me.
1 Married couple who lost
2 homes to delinquency in the subprime era with
2 daughters and over
3 years of self-employment with
0 years rental history so
0 rental references available and now legally we can run
0 credit checks though I did check
1 personal reference from a pastor who barely spoke English (curses I was too embarrassed to make him switch to español) and said we would "probably be fine" as they are very consistent people.
At the end he said they were "very faithful."
Hey that is good enough for me.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wannabe
I love to try different recipes and would say that I can follow most recipes for breads and desserts fairly successfully which makes me more of a baker than a cook . But I WANT to be a cook, I want to be able to whip together a sauce like little Remy and automatically know what goes together to serve up a superb meal.
I like the cooking blogs and peruse them regularly for dinner ideas and I ran across the blog of the sister of my friend Katie. I am a secret lurker but I am coming out of the closet on this one because it has some GREAT ideas and I want to share one here since it was so successful and fun too.
Tin foil dinner! The kids loved the idea of opening dinner "like a package" and I could control portions to equalize the meat available. Here is a photo of the makings:
It is sooo easy- just chop up some carrots, potatoes, and chicken pieces. You could add anything you like and I would have added some broccoli but I didn't have any on hand. My only regret is that I made the portions small (one chicken breast for the whole family!)
Instructions:
1. Cube up pieces of veggies, etc.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and whatever spices/herbs you want (I did thyme from the garden, s&p, and a minced glove of garlic)
3. Sprinkle with olive oil OR stick 1 T of butter on top (I sprinkled parmesan on top for fun too)
4. Double foil it-- wrap it once and then wrap the outside too
5. Cook for 20 minutes at 400 and then flip it over to cook for another 20
EDIT:: Vivian claims that 40 minutes is not enough time for these dinners (says it is my fault my oven runs so hot) so you might want to consider adding another 20 total. I was worried about that myself because it always takes longer to cook the potatoes than recipes state so I cubed up the little veggies into teensy squares and the time was just right)
Yum.
Also ran:
Whole Wheat Foccaccia Bread
The kids school sadly does not allow for treats so we had to settle with cutting out foccaccia in the shape of pumpkins. This would have worked out really well with white flour but with whole wheat I honestly hurt myself with the cookie cutter. Tragic, really.
Lastly I made a fun little dessert with phyllo--chocolate purses?
Instructions:
Melt together in double boiler (or micro if you are way lazy):
-2 big scoops chocolate chips (maybe 8 oz or so?)
- 4 T butter
- 2 T sugar
-1/2 c milk
It should be about the texture of brownie dough (thanks for the analogy Katie!) so if it is too runny, add more chocolate. If you add more milk it makes a nice smooth sauce for desserts or for garnish (do you call it garnish if it is a dessert?)
Then take the phyllo dough and make purses, triangles, or whatever other shape you want. If you need help, here is a little video I watched on how to do it--> Phyllo purses
I didn't take a picture of the whole tray but here is an individual one. They were fun (a bit time consuming but definitely a repeat for other such events.)
If you want the flavor but less work, then just brush the phyllo, throw some chocolate on it, and then bake it.
EDIT: Lyndsi says that there were nuts in the bottom, which I forgot to add in this recipe. I took a handful of almonds and toasted them, then chopped them up in my handy nut chopper until they were pretty small (think the kind on the nutty buddy ice cream cones) and then I put them underneath and on top of the chocolate. My tip on that is that I took a round teaspoon (shaped like a melon baller) of chocolate and dipped it into the nuts, then put the spoonful in the phyllo. I then sprinkled a few nuts on top as well. Sorry I was negligent before!
Oh yeah, bake 450 for 10 minutes.
I like the cooking blogs and peruse them regularly for dinner ideas and I ran across the blog of the sister of my friend Katie. I am a secret lurker but I am coming out of the closet on this one because it has some GREAT ideas and I want to share one here since it was so successful and fun too.
Tin foil dinner! The kids loved the idea of opening dinner "like a package" and I could control portions to equalize the meat available. Here is a photo of the makings:
It is sooo easy- just chop up some carrots, potatoes, and chicken pieces. You could add anything you like and I would have added some broccoli but I didn't have any on hand. My only regret is that I made the portions small (one chicken breast for the whole family!)
Instructions:
1. Cube up pieces of veggies, etc.
2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and whatever spices/herbs you want (I did thyme from the garden, s&p, and a minced glove of garlic)
3. Sprinkle with olive oil OR stick 1 T of butter on top (I sprinkled parmesan on top for fun too)
4. Double foil it-- wrap it once and then wrap the outside too
5. Cook for 20 minutes at 400 and then flip it over to cook for another 20
EDIT:: Vivian claims that 40 minutes is not enough time for these dinners (says it is my fault my oven runs so hot) so you might want to consider adding another 20 total. I was worried about that myself because it always takes longer to cook the potatoes than recipes state so I cubed up the little veggies into teensy squares and the time was just right)
Yum.
Also ran:
Whole Wheat Foccaccia Bread
The kids school sadly does not allow for treats so we had to settle with cutting out foccaccia in the shape of pumpkins. This would have worked out really well with white flour but with whole wheat I honestly hurt myself with the cookie cutter. Tragic, really.
Lastly I made a fun little dessert with phyllo--chocolate purses?
Instructions:
Melt together in double boiler (or micro if you are way lazy):
-2 big scoops chocolate chips (maybe 8 oz or so?)
- 4 T butter
- 2 T sugar
-1/2 c milk
It should be about the texture of brownie dough (thanks for the analogy Katie!) so if it is too runny, add more chocolate. If you add more milk it makes a nice smooth sauce for desserts or for garnish (do you call it garnish if it is a dessert?)
Then take the phyllo dough and make purses, triangles, or whatever other shape you want. If you need help, here is a little video I watched on how to do it--> Phyllo purses
I didn't take a picture of the whole tray but here is an individual one. They were fun (a bit time consuming but definitely a repeat for other such events.)
If you want the flavor but less work, then just brush the phyllo, throw some chocolate on it, and then bake it.
EDIT: Lyndsi says that there were nuts in the bottom, which I forgot to add in this recipe. I took a handful of almonds and toasted them, then chopped them up in my handy nut chopper until they were pretty small (think the kind on the nutty buddy ice cream cones) and then I put them underneath and on top of the chocolate. My tip on that is that I took a round teaspoon (shaped like a melon baller) of chocolate and dipped it into the nuts, then put the spoonful in the phyllo. I then sprinkled a few nuts on top as well. Sorry I was negligent before!
Oh yeah, bake 450 for 10 minutes.
Burning Down The House
For those of you who were up late at night worried about me and my family in the reported "Santa Barbara Fire" that has been in the news, here is a quick update:
The fire, referred to as the "Tea Fire", was a brush fire in Montecito, slightly south of Santa Barbara. Over 80 families have lost their homes and I feel sorry for their losses. Only 4 people have been reported with burn injuries though I believe they all survived. Montecito is one of the wealthiest communities in the country with many famous people within the city limits. Fortunately for Oprah, your idol likely lives on the westside of the freeway overlooking the water and the fire is on the mountain side. However, the blaze was burning strong last night and it was very visible from UCSB in Goleta, the city north of SB where we live. As of 4 am today the fire is fairly contained but as at least two of the teachers at the kids' school live in the evacuation zone or south of there, school has been canceled today.
Montecito has been declared a state of disaster--the fact that so many people in that area were very wealthy is an indicator that they had good fire insurance but the sense of loss many of them must be experiencing must still be painful, particularly those older families who have been there for their entire lives. I have to admit my snobbery in wondering if it is easier to lose everything you own if you can afford to replace it all with better stuff, with or without the insurance policy, but I am sure that there are enough of the OGs in the community to really justify sorrow on their behalf.
My prayers and thoughts go out to them and may their harddrives be backed up in some secure location.
The fire, referred to as the "Tea Fire", was a brush fire in Montecito, slightly south of Santa Barbara. Over 80 families have lost their homes and I feel sorry for their losses. Only 4 people have been reported with burn injuries though I believe they all survived. Montecito is one of the wealthiest communities in the country with many famous people within the city limits. Fortunately for Oprah, your idol likely lives on the westside of the freeway overlooking the water and the fire is on the mountain side. However, the blaze was burning strong last night and it was very visible from UCSB in Goleta, the city north of SB where we live. As of 4 am today the fire is fairly contained but as at least two of the teachers at the kids' school live in the evacuation zone or south of there, school has been canceled today.
Montecito has been declared a state of disaster--the fact that so many people in that area were very wealthy is an indicator that they had good fire insurance but the sense of loss many of them must be experiencing must still be painful, particularly those older families who have been there for their entire lives. I have to admit my snobbery in wondering if it is easier to lose everything you own if you can afford to replace it all with better stuff, with or without the insurance policy, but I am sure that there are enough of the OGs in the community to really justify sorrow on their behalf.
My prayers and thoughts go out to them and may their harddrives be backed up in some secure location.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A Movie Review
I randomly click "add to my queue" on netflix whenever I login (like once a month maybe). When I am dancing around the house with this baby in a sling I like to have something to watch and with the "no cable" situation I don't have anything on a tivo or dvr to watch.
So... I thought it would be fun to get Dreamgirls since it would be a light, musical whimsy.
Yeah, no. I haven't even finished it but truly it is a depressing movie. I was confused how it could get such good reviews and Steve pointed out that Million $$ Baby got good reviews too. If you have not seen either of these movies, I would skip them but if not, get ready to sing some Stones because you ain't gonna get no Satisfaction.
It is then that I decided I like happy endings. Does this make me shallow? Before I decided to keep Dreamgirls and finish it, I need someone to guarantee that it is going to end happily. Can someone here verify that for me?
My next up title is Catch and Release which I have never heard of before-- it must have been one of those sleepless nights in which I added it without knowing in advance if it was worth it.
I did, however, like Prison Break season 1 which my neighbors have had for two months, preventing me from a speedy turnaround on on my netflix these days. I can't ask them to turn it in though because they need to watch it having been the best netflix rental all year. Oh except for a bizarre little indy called "Jump Tomorrow" which I highly recommend. Very weird, almost Napoleon Dynamite-like. Hilarious.
I will take other recommends and also would like you to verify the Dreamgirls situation thank you.
So... I thought it would be fun to get Dreamgirls since it would be a light, musical whimsy.
Yeah, no. I haven't even finished it but truly it is a depressing movie. I was confused how it could get such good reviews and Steve pointed out that Million $$ Baby got good reviews too. If you have not seen either of these movies, I would skip them but if not, get ready to sing some Stones because you ain't gonna get no Satisfaction.
It is then that I decided I like happy endings. Does this make me shallow? Before I decided to keep Dreamgirls and finish it, I need someone to guarantee that it is going to end happily. Can someone here verify that for me?
My next up title is Catch and Release which I have never heard of before-- it must have been one of those sleepless nights in which I added it without knowing in advance if it was worth it.
I did, however, like Prison Break season 1 which my neighbors have had for two months, preventing me from a speedy turnaround on on my netflix these days. I can't ask them to turn it in though because they need to watch it having been the best netflix rental all year. Oh except for a bizarre little indy called "Jump Tomorrow" which I highly recommend. Very weird, almost Napoleon Dynamite-like. Hilarious.
I will take other recommends and also would like you to verify the Dreamgirls situation thank you.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Parenting Mistake #2
So after the fiasco with trying to balance authority vs. loving relationships, I had another opportunity to teach my kids the wrong thing tonight. I have many of these such moments, much like emmy's bad advice and tiffy's fake housekeeping tips, in which I could do a regular column.
Scenario: Mom asks child #1 to do homework for 14th time:
Child #1: No one likes me! (runs to room crying)
Mom: What! Are you kidding?
#1: I don't think you like me or anyone. Everyone at school makes fun of me.
Mom: About what?
#1: The way I talk.
Mom: How do you talk?
#1: They say it sounds like when you plug your nose (demonstrates this)
Mom (crying inside): I am about to say something really mean here, but most of those kids are dumb. You know how I know? When they made those thank you cards for when I did the bread demo, their spelling and grammar was bad, I mean REALLY bad. The problem is you are smart-- people make fun of the smart people, did you know that? They can't think of anything else so they make fun of the way you talk. Who is doing this, Osvaldo?
#1: No, he makes fun of my name.
Mom: Um, what? A kid named after a murderer is making fun of your name? Did you know a guy named OSWALD shot a president? Yeah, no kidding. And he is making fun of your COOL name that used to be mine? Now that is funny (laughing uncontrollably)
#1: (laughing now) well he doesn't know that.
Mom: Well yeah, but still, Oswald. Think about that next time he says "Que sí" and look at him with pride and say "que sí" because that is what I did my whole mission when people said "hermana queso" or "hermana que sí" Also sometimes people called me "hermana pirata" because I wore a head bandanna... (rambling on a bit more and then some more inspirational stuff about oldest child, cool older brother, etc.)
In retrospect I think I was a really bad example on how to deal with mean kids. I think I might even have said something about the kids changing his oil or driving a bus when he is successful because he is smarter than them but I hope I just imagined that.
Scenario: Mom asks child #1 to do homework for 14th time:
Child #1: No one likes me! (runs to room crying)
Mom: What! Are you kidding?
#1: I don't think you like me or anyone. Everyone at school makes fun of me.
Mom: About what?
#1: The way I talk.
Mom: How do you talk?
#1: They say it sounds like when you plug your nose (demonstrates this)
Mom (crying inside): I am about to say something really mean here, but most of those kids are dumb. You know how I know? When they made those thank you cards for when I did the bread demo, their spelling and grammar was bad, I mean REALLY bad. The problem is you are smart-- people make fun of the smart people, did you know that? They can't think of anything else so they make fun of the way you talk. Who is doing this, Osvaldo?
#1: No, he makes fun of my name.
Mom: Um, what? A kid named after a murderer is making fun of your name? Did you know a guy named OSWALD shot a president? Yeah, no kidding. And he is making fun of your COOL name that used to be mine? Now that is funny (laughing uncontrollably)
#1: (laughing now) well he doesn't know that.
Mom: Well yeah, but still, Oswald. Think about that next time he says "Que sí" and look at him with pride and say "que sí" because that is what I did my whole mission when people said "hermana queso" or "hermana que sí" Also sometimes people called me "hermana pirata" because I wore a head bandanna... (rambling on a bit more and then some more inspirational stuff about oldest child, cool older brother, etc.)
In retrospect I think I was a really bad example on how to deal with mean kids. I think I might even have said something about the kids changing his oil or driving a bus when he is successful because he is smarter than them but I hope I just imagined that.
Defiance
Scenario: Baby crying, three other kids taking forEVER to brush teeth. Mom wants some quiet time to calm baby.
The kids were in the bathroom telling each other "knock knock" jokes and in general having fun with their siblings. This is unacceptable.
Sample dialogue:
Mom (walking into baño): "I am serious. You have about 15 seconds to be in your bed and you are not to talk to each other, laugh, or make any kind of noise in general. The next person to make ANY noise with their body is _________ (fill in whatever empty threat comes to mind.)"
Strangely, children comply for the most part and they get in bed.
Mom (for good measure yells): "Be quiet. Now."
Child 2
...yells out from her room "YOU be quiet."
Mom: excuse me?
Child 2: Well, you tell us to be quiet, why can't we tell YOU to be quiet?
Mom walks over and closes bedroom door.
So mom contemplates this and asks herself this question "Why can't my children tell me to be quiet? Am I that authoritarian? Can I give them a reason why I need to be quiet? It isn't their fault that I had four kids, that was my choice. Or my husband's, whatever. But why do they need to suffer because I am frazzled?"
Door opens.
Mom: Hey child 2.
Child 2 makes eye contact, no response.
Child 1: I am sorry I didn't listen to you
Child 3: I am sorry mama, I love you
Child 2 no response.
Mom: Why are child 1 and 3 sorry?
Child 2:(dirty look)
Silence.
The kids were in the bathroom telling each other "knock knock" jokes and in general having fun with their siblings. This is unacceptable.
Sample dialogue:
Mom (walking into baño): "I am serious. You have about 15 seconds to be in your bed and you are not to talk to each other, laugh, or make any kind of noise in general. The next person to make ANY noise with their body is _________ (fill in whatever empty threat comes to mind.)"
Strangely, children comply for the most part and they get in bed.
Mom (for good measure yells): "Be quiet. Now."
Child 2
...yells out from her room "YOU be quiet."
Mom: excuse me?
Child 2: Well, you tell us to be quiet, why can't we tell YOU to be quiet?
Mom walks over and closes bedroom door.
So mom contemplates this and asks herself this question "Why can't my children tell me to be quiet? Am I that authoritarian? Can I give them a reason why I need to be quiet? It isn't their fault that I had four kids, that was my choice. Or my husband's, whatever. But why do they need to suffer because I am frazzled?"
Door opens.
Mom: Hey child 2.
Child 2 makes eye contact, no response.
Child 1: I am sorry I didn't listen to you
Child 3: I am sorry mama, I love you
Child 2 no response.
Mom: Why are child 1 and 3 sorry?
Child 2:
Silence.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Conflicts
I have three events on Thursday night and need some help narrowing it down:
1. Appointment with Bishop to get recommend to see the Mexico City Temple Open House Sunday eve. Yes I didn't serve in Mejico but it seems like a cool event and it is 100% puro español.
2. Pampered Chef party from someone in the ward. I have not attended one in about 4 years and the inviters are nice people we have had over for dinner. My policy along those lines is to always attend to help the hostess--unless it is a candle party in which case it simply isn't really useful to spend money on something that will melt away.
3. Baby shower for a newer girl at church. This ward has had 11 babies born this year, each with an accompanying shower--I co-hosted the upcoming 12th baby's momma's shower last week. I see her around the complex pretty frequently and really like her but do not know her well yet.
So... obviously I am going to attend the interview and then get to one of the events- or do I go to all three? Here are my options:
1) Go to shower for 30 minutes, drop off prezzie, go to interview, and end up at pampered chef party in time to eat whatever they are making.
2) Go to interview first, send present to shower with someone and then go to pc party.
3) Go to interview, go to shower, and skip pc party but head there on Saturday for open house.
4) Go to pc party for 30 minutes, order something, go to interview, then head to shower for rest of evening.
5) Skip it all and go to a dance aerobics class at the gym.
1. Appointment with Bishop to get recommend to see the Mexico City Temple Open House Sunday eve. Yes I didn't serve in Mejico but it seems like a cool event and it is 100% puro español.
2. Pampered Chef party from someone in the ward. I have not attended one in about 4 years and the inviters are nice people we have had over for dinner. My policy along those lines is to always attend to help the hostess--unless it is a candle party in which case it simply isn't really useful to spend money on something that will melt away.
3. Baby shower for a newer girl at church. This ward has had 11 babies born this year, each with an accompanying shower--I co-hosted the upcoming 12th baby's momma's shower last week. I see her around the complex pretty frequently and really like her but do not know her well yet.
So... obviously I am going to attend the interview and then get to one of the events- or do I go to all three? Here are my options:
1) Go to shower for 30 minutes, drop off prezzie, go to interview, and end up at pampered chef party in time to eat whatever they are making.
2) Go to interview first, send present to shower with someone and then go to pc party.
3) Go to interview, go to shower, and skip pc party but head there on Saturday for open house.
4) Go to pc party for 30 minutes, order something, go to interview, then head to shower for rest of evening.
5) Skip it all and go to a dance aerobics class at the gym.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
How to find privacy in a 2 bedroom apt...
When magic fails to create the room of requirement in your house, create one for yourself using this tactic:
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Of Election Results
I know that some of you will be ecstatic to have a new president this morning, some of you will be sorely disappointed and some of you will be indifferent.
To those who are enthused, congratulations on a truly fantastic acceptance speech.
To those who are disappointed, all I can say is that according to some pundits, the GOP has not been in a good place the last few years and in order to re-align the base, Republicans could not win this election. During this time in which Democrats control nearly all facets of government, the GOP can restructure and gain strength rather than stagger along halfway engaging extremes of the party. In other words, had McCain won, it could have meant the end of the party.
To those who are indifferent, well, here is a happy picture of my daughter who also appears to be indifferent:
To those who are enthused, congratulations on a truly fantastic acceptance speech.
To those who are disappointed, all I can say is that according to some pundits, the GOP has not been in a good place the last few years and in order to re-align the base, Republicans could not win this election. During this time in which Democrats control nearly all facets of government, the GOP can restructure and gain strength rather than stagger along halfway engaging extremes of the party. In other words, had McCain won, it could have meant the end of the party.
To those who are indifferent, well, here is a happy picture of my daughter who also appears to be indifferent:
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Happy Voting
I heart being an American. Why?
1. Apathy. No one cares if I vote or not.
2. Signposts of democracy--> Accepting the results of an election. GW lost the popular vote but no one stormed the White House in protest, we just accepted that we set up a system that must work somehow.
3. Red, white, blue.
4. Toby Keith- you can write a lame song about how you are going to shove a boot in someone's rear end for attacking our country and actually sell albums.
5. Red/Blue little states lighting up all over the internet. Can't wait to watch the coverage tonight because it is going to be so close. Or not.
6. The fact that voters sit around and make laws they do not understand-- We are voting on propositions 1-12 in California. I am voting "yes" to half and "no" to half. Lots of social issues- gay rights, animal rights, rights of minors, and rights of corporate America and I honestly have no idea on most of them.
7. Lauren Hanson. Do you know who she is? No? Neither do I, but she is on the ballot running for the local Water Board. I am not voting for her but for all I know she is an amazing individual and I had to pick based on her name alone-sometimes you vote on someone based on their occupation- like parent/teacher (oooh!) or litigator (boo!) or even worse "no ballot designation." This poor person won't get a single vote because what data do we have to vote on? Her name is Jacqueline Inda, though, so you might vote for or against her because of a gender or ethnicity that you might be leaning toward/against.
8. Absentee ballots- you can be out of the country and completely immersed in another culture- perhaps for over ten years- but you can still cast a vote for Lauren Hanson or Jacqueline Inda and feel proud that your vote is going to change laws affecting someone else.
1. Apathy. No one cares if I vote or not.
2. Signposts of democracy--> Accepting the results of an election. GW lost the popular vote but no one stormed the White House in protest, we just accepted that we set up a system that must work somehow.
3. Red, white, blue.
4. Toby Keith- you can write a lame song about how you are going to shove a boot in someone's rear end for attacking our country and actually sell albums.
5. Red/Blue little states lighting up all over the internet. Can't wait to watch the coverage tonight because it is going to be so close. Or not.
6. The fact that voters sit around and make laws they do not understand-- We are voting on propositions 1-12 in California. I am voting "yes" to half and "no" to half. Lots of social issues- gay rights, animal rights, rights of minors, and rights of corporate America and I honestly have no idea on most of them.
7. Lauren Hanson. Do you know who she is? No? Neither do I, but she is on the ballot running for the local Water Board. I am not voting for her but for all I know she is an amazing individual and I had to pick based on her name alone-sometimes you vote on someone based on their occupation- like parent/teacher (oooh!) or litigator (boo!) or even worse "no ballot designation." This poor person won't get a single vote because what data do we have to vote on? Her name is Jacqueline Inda, though, so you might vote for or against her because of a gender or ethnicity that you might be leaning toward/against.
8. Absentee ballots- you can be out of the country and completely immersed in another culture- perhaps for over ten years- but you can still cast a vote for Lauren Hanson or Jacqueline Inda and feel proud that your vote is going to change laws affecting someone else.
Monday, November 3, 2008
QUESETESCAPA aka 90's Spanish Bands
So people have asked me about my username and I haven't had time to upload pictures from Halloween or the blessing event I figure I will fill today's post with boring info about why I went with quesetescapa. Some of you know the gist but here is the full historia:
While serving a mission in the Canary Islands I did make a sincere effort to give up worldly music but the natural inclination to love all that has rhythm could not prevent me from falling in love with the contemporary music in my surroundings. Stores or buses playing it overhead, etc. Walking in the plaza or down the boardwalk while making street contacts, the back of my mind was recording anything that caught my attention and I would write down a target lyric in my little notebook and chased the title or band name down from some of the young members or investigators we taught (don't judge--you know the mission handbook instructs you to build on common beliefs).
So... having said that, the music I bought when I came home (where or where was Itunes in 1997? I paid WAY too much money for some of that Spanish import stuff) came down to three basic bands:
1. Rosana (highly recommend and she is actually from one of the Islas)
2. Amistades Peligrosas
3. Ella Baila Sola
If you are going to ask why Maná is not in my list my response is that I already had some Maná and I went to Europe, not Latin America.
So Ella Baila Sola wrote this controversial song about police brutality in Spain. The original lyrics in Spanish are below for those who care.
So the song is about an immigrant black man (presumably from Africa as are most immigrants in Spain) who is being chased by the police because he sells tobacco in the metro. The phrase "que se te escapa" loosely translated means "that escapes you" the black man.
I recognize that I am not black, nor a man, nor have I ever been chased by the authorities. However I like the feel of this song because I believe in music as a way of expressing political ideas. I also like the creative use of the language- more on this below because most people don't care about the Spanish stuff- and I like the song itself because it has a cool little ritmo. So... when the day is done, the name quesetescapa means "that she escapes you."
Note on creative use of Spanish below with VERY loose English translation according to my own unprofessional opinion:
Que se te escapa el negro que se te escapa That the black man escapes you
Como sudas corriendo sudor de caza How you sweat, running, the sweat of a hunt
Vende rubio en el metro oh que gran falta He sells Rubio in the metro- oh what a big problem (total loose translation)
El tabaco es veneno droga que mata. Tobacco is a poisonous drug that kills (Rubio is the brand and there is a play on the words since Rubio also means blonde/fair complexion) Also they are being kind of ironic here about the fact that tobacco is poisonous since tons of people smoke, especially the policia.
Vende rubio un moreno o que guasa He sells Rubio the dark one (again the play of the blonde vs. dark) and it has been a lot of years but guasa refers, again, to how bad it is that he sells tobacco)
Dale porra a ese perro dale en la cara Hit the dog with your stick, hit him in the face (sorry about the violence)
Y el brazo que retuerzo como resbala His arm that twists, oh how it slips
Me parece de acero y de mermelada Its seems like cement and jam (okay sounds weird but again, the arm thing, like he is just out of your reach, all slippery like but tough)
Pero que pienso tu pega y calla. But what do I think? You hit and he will shut up (I think this refers to the dialogue between the cops)
No mires el fuego de su mirada Don't look in the fire of his glance/look
Podra ser tu nieto pero es tu rata He could be your grandson but he is your rat
Con la que haces el juego que a ti te mandan With whom you play the games that to you is given
Que risa y que choteo nunca se falla. What a laugh and a joke, never fails
Le dejas varios metros para que vaya el negrito You leave several feet so that the black man can run
Extranjero salta que salta Foreigner jumps, he jumps
Hacia tu companero que arriba guarda Towards your companion who is guarding above
Con su porra y su cabreo para dar caña With his porra (this is a play on words because the word is used as profanity in modern day but it also means a weapon that used to be used to beat revolutionaries) to "give cane" or beat someone
REPEAT
Pero que pienso tu pega y calla.
But what do I think? You hit and he will shut up (I think this refers to the dialogue between the cops)
No mires el fuego de su mirada Don't look in the fire of his glance/look
Podra ser tu nieto pero es tu rata He could be your grandson but he is your rat
Con la que haces el juego que a ti te mandan With whom you play the games that to you is given
Pareja de europeos crisol de Espana. Pair of Europeans (euphemism for cops), crucible of Spain.
_______________________________
Ahí está.
While serving a mission in the Canary Islands I did make a sincere effort to give up worldly music but the natural inclination to love all that has rhythm could not prevent me from falling in love with the contemporary music in my surroundings. Stores or buses playing it overhead, etc. Walking in the plaza or down the boardwalk while making street contacts, the back of my mind was recording anything that caught my attention and I would write down a target lyric in my little notebook and chased the title or band name down from some of the young members or investigators we taught (don't judge--you know the mission handbook instructs you to build on common beliefs).
So... having said that, the music I bought when I came home (where or where was Itunes in 1997? I paid WAY too much money for some of that Spanish import stuff) came down to three basic bands:
1. Rosana (highly recommend and she is actually from one of the Islas)
2. Amistades Peligrosas
3. Ella Baila Sola
If you are going to ask why Maná is not in my list my response is that I already had some Maná and I went to Europe, not Latin America.
So Ella Baila Sola wrote this controversial song about police brutality in Spain. The original lyrics in Spanish are below for those who care.
So the song is about an immigrant black man (presumably from Africa as are most immigrants in Spain) who is being chased by the police because he sells tobacco in the metro. The phrase "que se te escapa" loosely translated means "that escapes you" the black man.
I recognize that I am not black, nor a man, nor have I ever been chased by the authorities. However I like the feel of this song because I believe in music as a way of expressing political ideas. I also like the creative use of the language- more on this below because most people don't care about the Spanish stuff- and I like the song itself because it has a cool little ritmo. So... when the day is done, the name quesetescapa means "that she escapes you."
Note on creative use of Spanish below with VERY loose English translation according to my own unprofessional opinion:
Que se te escapa el negro que se te escapa That the black man escapes you
Como sudas corriendo sudor de caza How you sweat, running, the sweat of a hunt
Vende rubio en el metro oh que gran falta He sells Rubio in the metro- oh what a big problem (total loose translation)
El tabaco es veneno droga que mata. Tobacco is a poisonous drug that kills (Rubio is the brand and there is a play on the words since Rubio also means blonde/fair complexion) Also they are being kind of ironic here about the fact that tobacco is poisonous since tons of people smoke, especially the policia.
Vende rubio un moreno o que guasa He sells Rubio the dark one (again the play of the blonde vs. dark) and it has been a lot of years but guasa refers, again, to how bad it is that he sells tobacco)
Dale porra a ese perro dale en la cara Hit the dog with your stick, hit him in the face (sorry about the violence)
Y el brazo que retuerzo como resbala His arm that twists, oh how it slips
Me parece de acero y de mermelada Its seems like cement and jam (okay sounds weird but again, the arm thing, like he is just out of your reach, all slippery like but tough)
Pero que pienso tu pega y calla. But what do I think? You hit and he will shut up (I think this refers to the dialogue between the cops)
No mires el fuego de su mirada Don't look in the fire of his glance/look
Podra ser tu nieto pero es tu rata He could be your grandson but he is your rat
Con la que haces el juego que a ti te mandan With whom you play the games that to you is given
Que risa y que choteo nunca se falla. What a laugh and a joke, never fails
Le dejas varios metros para que vaya el negrito You leave several feet so that the black man can run
Extranjero salta que salta Foreigner jumps, he jumps
Hacia tu companero que arriba guarda Towards your companion who is guarding above
Con su porra y su cabreo para dar caña With his porra (this is a play on words because the word is used as profanity in modern day but it also means a weapon that used to be used to beat revolutionaries) to "give cane" or beat someone
REPEAT
Pero que pienso tu pega y calla.
But what do I think? You hit and he will shut up (I think this refers to the dialogue between the cops)
No mires el fuego de su mirada Don't look in the fire of his glance/look
Podra ser tu nieto pero es tu rata He could be your grandson but he is your rat
Con la que haces el juego que a ti te mandan With whom you play the games that to you is given
Pareja de europeos crisol de Espana. Pair of Europeans (euphemism for cops), crucible of Spain.
_______________________________
Ahí está.
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