That's Weird

So about a week ago, I had a birthday. It was a lovely day, nice sunny weather, not too cold... I had my choice of what to do for the day so we went out to Half Moon Bay to see the waves. Hoped to see some surfers too, but while the waves looked plenty big to me, they weren't nearly big enough, I guess. It was a possible "Mavericks" weekend, but again, not quite big enough waves, so no Mavericks. That was good for us, since the traffic is nuts when the surfers are there.

I talked to my in-laws, got a message from my big sis and dad and talked to 3/4 of my children (the 1/4 is in the doghouse for a while). AND I had a great birthday dinner cooked by my baby sis, Lunasea. None of that was weird at all.

I also was served breakfast in bed, which in previous years was reserved for Mother's Day alone. With breakfast, I got a couple of birthday cards. A very nice one from LK and this one from DH. He actually bought it before my birthday, which was pretty amazing in itself. He liked the sentiment. The print is pretty small in the picture, so let me tell you what it says.

"I love the days when we never get around to shoes..."
the inside reads, "...when all we get around to is us." Happy Anniversary

So he crosses out the Anniversary part and prints "Birthday" above it. Very proud of himself for picking it for the sentiment and molding it to the occasion.

LK looks at the picture and says, "That's weird."
DH: "Why?"
LK: "They're both girls"
DH: "Hunh?"
LK: "Look."
DH: "Uh Oh."

So I got a lesbian anniversary card for my birthday. How many of you can say that?
I know. I am special.

Martin and Me

A piece of schoolwork came home last night with LK. A comparison of MLK and her. It had the typical stuff, name, birthday, hometown, brothers and sisters, favorite games. Stuff like that. But what I liked most was the "Dream for the Future" section. MLK's was "Fairness for all". LK's was "Pick up gorbich".

Dream big, little one.

In twenty years or so, when you see her driving one of those big green or blue trucks around or hoisting cans on her back, give her a wave, OK?

One Concern or maybe One Reaction

Such a momentous occasion. I have a concern though.

There is such a focus on the African American aspect of this inauguration. And while I don't disagree with that fact and that we are breaking new ground and we've come a long way and all that, I keep seeing the comments from the "guys on the street" saying how proud they are to be an African American. That they never thought they'd live to see the day...

I think that's fabulous, and it's great to have that kind of pride after all these years. And I love it that little kids see that the sky's the limit - they really can do or be anything they strive for and their skin color doesn't need to be a barrier, but it feels a little funny to me. I'm an American. I don't consider myself a white or caucasian American, and I'm extremely proud today, but it feels less progressive to me that the focus is so much on the race of the president and the race of the celebrants. I believe we haven't come as far as we might think. We elected the best and the brightest candidate. I did not care what color s/he came in when I cast my vote. Clearly some did, but with the numbers involved in this election, plenty of people cast their vote as I did.

When we can say we are proud to be Americans. Collectively. Without reference to background or color... THEN we will have come a long way.






Photo credit according to SFGate.com: Getty Images/Mark Wilson

Cougars

Hadn't heard the term used quite this way before. Cougars. But apparently it's been around a while and has quite a following.

Turns out if you google it there are clubs and Cougars and Cubs websites and lots of other stuff. Most of the pictures are Ashton and Demi, natch, but there are lots of other celebrity examples and non celebrity too, natch.


To each his or her own, of course, and I guess it's clear what my preference is, but can anyone else say "Ewwwww"?

Global Warming ummm Cooling ummm Warming ummm Cooling

(written on 1/14/09, but obviously not posted)
For the following cities, all followed via DH’s beloved i-phone (I think he loves it more than me…) the temperature last evening:
New York, NY 12
Manchester, VT -2
Bloomington, IN 6

If live in one of the above areas, please stop reading and don’t look at the picture below.
At my house in lovely Cali, it was 70 degrees yesterday evening. Se.ven.ty. DH barbequed some steaks. It felt for all the world like a lovely summer evening, but for the winter darkness. It is a little harder to BBQ in the dark. You can’t see what you’re doing all that well.

Our steaks were a bit charbroiled, but oh, they were good.
And once again, I am reminded that I love where I live.

It's GS Cookie time again

Here we go. Once again, I have a Brownie in the house. That means cookie sales. In another GS experience a long time ago, I once volunteered to be the "cookie mom". Never again. Despite very careful accounting (I thought), that volunteer position cost me somewhere around $50. I never could figure out how that happened.

So I'm not cookie mom this time (or ever again), but LK will be selling cookies in the neighborhood and I imagine I'll be taking the order sheet into my office, as will DH. The hard part for me to swallow (haha) is that they are now charging $4 a box for these things. I used to buy 10 boxes easy - maybe more if another cute little brownie came to my door after I'd filled my quota. I'd freeze some and we'd share and eat some. It worked well. But at $4 a box, maybe we'll just cut back on the calories, y'know? Who needs all that sugar anyway?

The Last of the Teenagers

It seems I've had a teenager in my house nearly all my life. In fact, my first teenager hit those magic digits only 15 years ago. But since then, we've never been without at least one. This is our last year with a teenager for a while. BK is 19 today. And LK is just coming up on her 7th bday. We've got a few years in between to draw a nice deep breath before she gets there.

The last of the teenage years. Not gonna write a big old thing for him this year - like his older brother and sister, he'll just need to wait until he is two dimes and a nickel for that. But I will wish him a VERY Happy Birthday, and hope that he doesn't freeze to death in the midwest over the winter, and that he figures out how to bring school, family, work and girlfriend into balance this year. Oh yeah - and that he enjoys the last year of his teens as much or more than the rest of them all together.

Happy Birthday BK. We love you!

The First Quarter

Well, you'd think, with two weeks off work I'd have time to get to this little site here and throw some cute little shenanigans at you wouldn't you? I thought so too. So much that I even mentioned this blog in my Christmas card this year. Oops.

Speaking of late... (we were, weren't we?) It's 11pm and since a little missy was born at 10:35 pm on January 3, 1984, it's not really late, but as it's nearly midnight, signaling the 4th of January and a different child's birthday; this post feels late.

Twenty-five years ago... it seems so long ago, and yet perhaps it was yesterday. This was before it was de rigueur to know your unborn child's sex and name. I had a newly 3 year old boy who I was convinced would be a girl before I heard "it's a boy" and went into momentary shock. I was not going to be unprepared this time. I thought it would be awfully nice to have a girl, but another boy would be fine too. In fact - I was pretty sure I'd be handing down clothes and toys to our second son anytime. I'd been on bedrest for a couple of weeks before Christmas, and was just released to "light activity". I'd had a doctor appointment that day and stopped at Venture (the local Target) for a few things before going home. I had collected several items when I started feeling some pretty strong contractions. I figured I could just finish grabbing a few more things and then head home to wait it out there. I never got to the checkout. Fast and furious this baby wanted out. I was only at 37 weeks, so I was not in as much of a hurry. Besides, I'd just slipped on some ice and fell HARD on New Year's Eve, so I wasn't very comfortable to begin with. I'm pretty sure a broken coccyx (look it up) was involved. I wanted some healing time before having to use that part of my anatomy for childbirth. OK - it's not really involved, but let me tell you sitting after childbirth is not all that fun, and if you add the tailbone aspect to it (ok you don't have to look it up anymore), it's that much less comfortable.

Anyhooo, leaving the 1/2 full cart in the middle of an aisle (sorry Venture staff), I hustled myself and my toddler out to the car and drove home. We didn't have cell phones, so it was all up to me and it never occurred to me that maybe I shouldn't have been driving with contractions coming at me that frequently. I called DH from home and told him he'd better come home RIGHT AFTER WORK because I was pretty sure I'd need to go to the hospital tonight. He did, we dropped toddler off at a neighbor's house and off we went. Got there about 7pm or so and had a baby at 10:35. Went home the next day and started pacing the floors with a screaming baby.

She was my first experience at colic. She was also my headstrong "I'll do it MYSELF" girl, making every excursion much, much longer since she had to get her own snowsuit on. Or her own shoes. Or her own anything. And THEN she'd have to go to the bathroom. AAAAAAAAAHHHH!

She delighted us with songs at an early age. She still does. She embarassed us when we flew with her because we were poor (and cheap) and did not want to buy an extra ticket for her. She was 18 months old, potty trained and speaking in full sentences. She was also not terribly tiny. The flight attendents were understandably suspicious, and we felt like we should travel with her birth certificate so they'd know we weren't cheating.


She was bright, eager to please, eager to have fun, always had a couple handfuls of friends, but she was always true to herself. She's had a rivalry or two along the way, making things interesting and a little uncomfortable at times. But she's never done something because it's the easy thing. She's made deliberate choices and they've always made us proud. It's been such fun watching her grow from a headstrong baby to a lovely independent woman who is an incredible daughter, sister, friend and aunt and is a quarter of a century old today.

Happy Birthday, DDD. Love you SOOOO MUCH!