Random thoughts for September...

Try explaining autumn to a four year old when fall makes so much more sense.


Thank GOD for school.


Maybe a recession is just what we need to shake up this over fed, over pampered, apathetic country. Seriously, 700 billion so people can buy mcmansions and beemers and then face financial ruin if they need cancer treatments?


When I see young people cheering for Palin as she's pushing for more coal miner jobs I want to cry.


Obama needs to stop being so damn nice, he comes off as weak. I hope this is some Ali like rope a dope strategy.


Every year the irony of dozens of happy families apple picking compared to the grueling labor of migrant farm work never fails to get me.


We'll be getting our first oil delivery soon and I can't help but think about all the fun stuff that 2K could buy us. Such is the privilege of not freezing to death I guess.



October is the last month I get to be 40, I'll be officially on the road to 50 soon and highly ambivalent about this whole aging thing. It looks like I started out the first 25 years of my life clueless and will wind up spending the last 25 equally confused. I hope I won't have to spend any of it in diapers again though.

Just a thought...

I honestly believe at this point it would be worth the risk to the economy to call the house Republicans on their bluff and not bail out the credit market. I know, I know, I said no more politics, but DANG, I'm only human. Really, wouldn't it be great. Call them on it, don't let them get away with more corporate tax breaks and their inane demands or grandstanding. Do it their way and let the free, deregulated market right itself right back up. Oh, yea ! It's not a free market ! It's as loaded as the craps dice in the sleaziest casino in town. Really, I'm for a lot of Republican principles but not a lot of Republicans lately and it just might be worth the risk to show these shysters up once and for all. What's next? Will the new populist Republicans dig up Hillary's old health care plan? Yea, I don't think their newfound concerns for the common man will last long. My heart truly goes out to the politicians on both sides of the aisle still trying to hang onto a bit of integrity, but they're losing sympathy points fast. Why not stand up, speak up, they might lose an election but they'll win something a hell of a lot more satisfying. No one knows if this bailout will or won't work, no matter how much Bush screams BOO tiredly into the cameras, so it's just as easy to do nothing. It just might be worth a tar paper shack and some hobo stew not to have to listen to this bull**it anymore.

Suspending my campaign,er, blog

It's been so easy to ignore this blog lately with all this news going on ! Collapsing economy, Palin answered a question, McCain parachutes in and rescues the economy while Obama does his best to not outright mock a war hero, Grey's Anatomy season premiere ! Really need I go on? I really don't want to turn this little piece of my world into some political rant so it's just easier to back off for a bit and watch my country get turned on it's head.
I will say everyday I'm in my (my being subjective of course, face it this house belongs to the bank and the whims of the economy) home with my two (80% of the time) darling children and my go to guy for everything wonderful life has to offer, I exhale a soothing breath (well thanks to allergies, any breath is a good thing lately) of gratitude that I really would still be perfectly happy if the US collapsed and we had to fight off brain sucking zombies together, as long as I'm in it with my little clan.

The Co-sleeping Battle.

The co-sleeping debate is quite popular nowadays. Some parents are adamant it's the worst thing for the child, the marriage and the mattress. Others swear it fosters security, and parents get more sleep avoiding bedtime dramas. This post isn't about any of that. This is about the co-sleeping battle of maintaining and holding ground against a growing toddler. We're on our second bed buddy and this one is proving to be quite the strategist in gaining territory. She maneuvers in sweetly with a request to cuddle, then hangs onto her dominance with careful placement of knees, elbows and feet. Even her head is assigned battering ram duties against our spines. She has to go.
Our son managed to hang in there until about 5 or 6 then decided his bed was far superior since his mattress hadn't ever been peed on. When he was about 8 we bought a new home and he started his campaign to invade our brand new king size bed. We'd had a full size previously which meant my husband spent more time on the couch than the dog. He made it clear if we were having another kid, he was getting a permanent space in a king size bed. Since we didn't just want to tell our son he couldn't stay with us and exile him to the opposite end of the hallway we worked out a compromise. He could come into our room anytime, with his blanket and pillow and sleep on the floor. He actually did this for a couple of nights, then I stopped dusting for spiders. Solved.
Now back to the girl. Unlike her brother, who willingly slept on the floor to spare himself the embarrassment of sleeping with his parents, Ky is so not ready to go there. But she really needs to go so I can wake up just one morning without a new bruise or bloody lip. Alex and I really have no problem with sleeping like farm animals, and I wouldn't trade the hours of bonding, cuddling warm baby bodies and security our children have felt snuggling with us in our bed, but I'm thinking it might be time to stop dusting the ceiling webs too.

Fahrenheit 451

Palin got her ignorant ass kicked by a librarian !


Ok, I was sure this one HAD to be false, but looks like this rumor is proving too tenacious to be false. She wanted to BAN BOOKS and fire the LIBRARIAN who refused to do it. Yea, vote for her, whatever. But she's crossed the line on this blog and I'm going to finally let go and say what I've wanted to say to Miss Cleavage since the first time I laid eyes on her. What a cheap attempt to tease with that skin colored undergarment she wore at the convention . Yes guys, she had on one of those weird scraps of material ice skaters, showgirls and strippers love to wear, you didn't really see her Aunt Bea bosom, just her Aunt Bea hairdo. Palin is the 50 student high school valedictorian who makes it to state university to find out she's a dime a dozen. Only McCain elevated her to dean. Nice, country first right! Also nice to see with all the infinite power Republicans have at their disposal they'll gladly use it to stick a Barbie figurehead into the White House.

Sarah Palin, if you have to move to sunny D.C. from frigid Alaska aren't you afraid all your plastic parts will melt? I'd stand far away from the fire at your book burning parties if I were you.

OOOOOOOOH, it feels good to take the low road.

The Modern Belly

In the old days, before blogs, celebrity sites and Nicole Kidman, you got pregnant, you got fat, you got pregnant again, you got fatter, you get the idea. Maintaining one's figure was much idealized, idolized and rare. We all know those lucky few in our social circles who didn't get strechmarks and balanced their babies on bony hips. Then everything changed and weight gain and stretch marks went from badges of honor to pounds of shame and scars of sloth. I'm not sure where it started but now pregnancy means a five pound weight gain and a 10 pound baby. It's become a contact sport with food, push that food off the plate ! fight off that second cheeseburger with hours on treadmills and in yoga classes ! And a competition among women to see who can earn the much coveted MILF title five minutes after delivery. So I have to say it isn't a surprise to that Palin looked like the Goodyear blimp with her first pregnancy, and the after pic in a weight loss ad during her fifth. Things have changed folks and I bet a lot of us mommies who've spread our pregnancies over the last decade have similar photo comparisons. I still can't stand her but I can certainly understand the pressure on the contemporary mother to make the expanding pregnant belly unobtrusive, the expanded boobs prominent as possible, and the appendages slim. The modern mommy in waiting is sleek, sheathed in black and strutting in stilettos. Palen still looks like her belly might have been bound, but I suspect that might not be all that uncommon nowadays and there might be a lot of swooning in the near future from the reemergence of the corset.

It ain't over until McCain has sung !

Well at least ended his speech on a high note. I have to say I liked it, and I liked that this man who'd been through so much had his moment tonight. He deserved it, he deserved it eight years ago but was too busy dodging accusations of his wife's drug abuse and siring a black love child to beat Bush. It was the usual promises and pandering but he managed to throw some genuine sincerity in there.
I had the pleasure of watching 2 convention hours with a friend I've probably racked up thousands of phone hours talking about utter nonsense and laughing uproariously. She's an Independent who I don't believe has ever voted Democrat and she'll more than likely cast her vote for McCain. Or abstain this time. I expected the usual "I love her, she's a mom, and McCain loves her after a day of knowing her, give that woman the keys to the White House", but found a voter who is as turned off as I am. Why? Because of Palin. No, not because she hates women, hates kids, working moms, or new governors. Not because she believes the rumors and innuendos, she's barely aware of most of them, been busy moving and raising her own kids. But for one solid, simple, reason that makes this woman my go to girl when I need to hear some honesty. Yea, yea, truth is subjective and changes with the bearer, but at least it's sincere honesty. She's there even when I don't ask for truth, like about my hair, but I won't drag that into this right now. She simply does not know Palin. She understands that speeches and public appearances do little to really help make an informed opinion about a person. Choosing a stranger who'd barely been vetted as VP is not "putting country first". I can't wait until Palen finally makes her first unscripted press conference or interview because even though I know I'm unabashedly soured on her anyway, I just might get to watch it with the phone glued to my ear, the kids interrupting my gales of laughter, my husband shooting me withering glances as he tends to the four year old's nightime demands, and my friend. Thanks, I really needed that.

Comment on Mudflats.com

Or, you know, maybe someone needs to remind Sarah Palin that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:54 AM on September 4 [25 favorites]
It’s from http://www.metafilter.com/74487/Sarah-Palin-as-McCains-runningmate —
“Jesus was a Community Organizer, and Pontias Pilate was a Governor.”


Still hope Obama does the right thing and spends some bucks honoring those who serve their communities selflessly.

Community Organizers

Do the people that make ugly speeches brush up on anything? Community organizers are the heroes of minority neighborhoods. People that build themselves up then return to help their fellow citizens. Many couldn't land traditional "white establishments" positions of power so they had to create their own. Often trading lucrative high powered opportunities in business, mobilizing the least powerful into one cohesive unit to work toward the betterment of the community. It's quite a lauded position in struggling communities and not to be mocked. I really hope Obama takes the positive connotation of this honorable position back from the hands of those that will never 'get it' and runs an ad honoring our strong, brave, and self sacrificing community organizers. It might not earn him votes but at least they deserve that much.

The Promises Have Begun.....

You don't have to pay taxes!
Healthcare will be dirt cheap!
You'll all "creatively, individually" get rich !
Your hair WILL grow back!
You will no longer feel the need to satisfy your sexual needs in the stalls of........... OK ,no one said that one.

Mudflats

OK , even if you're completely smitten with Palen just reading these Alaskan tidbits are worth the price of admission.
Mudflats

KRK (15:10:45) :
Great blog!
The “outside” bit always cracks me up. I spent the summer of ‘94 in Anchorage and it took me forever to understand all those odd headlines in the paper: “More Alaskans Go Outside This Year.”

The Bear

Obama and McCain are walking in the woods. In the distance a huge angry bear is coming right towards them. One takes off running, the other crouches down. The running man yells back "C'mon, run, what are you doing?", the crouching man replies "I'm putting on my sneakers, I don't have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun you."

Floaters

In my late 20's I started getting floaters in my eyes. If you don't know what I'm talking about you're lucky, if you do then you know how aggravating they can be. They're always there but sometimes more bothersome than other times. This month has been particularly awful for my right eye, I mean if I'm looking at a white background I'm squinting Popeye-like awful. I was told years ago by an opthamologist there's nothing to be done, call if I suddenly have flashes, accompanied by a couple of horror anecdotes regarding what flashes can mean for the human eyeball. It ain't pretty. Of course I've googled and came up with all sorts of complicated solutions involving diet and surgeries. WELL, today I hit eye floater lotto ! It seems if you just move your eyeball rapidly side to side or up and down it can make those babies shift into the nether regions of your eyeball galaxy. I'm wondering did the opthamologist mention this and I was still stuck on "flashes and retinal detachment are not desirable". That's about about as scientific as I get. It's working ! Well for about 10 minutes at a stretch, but definitely an improvement and if you consider it cardio it's win/win.

The House That Jefferson Built.

Preferable outcomes for the election of the new White House residents?

Obama/Biden win the election, the Democrats get two years to turn back some of the Bush damage and the Republicans get back to winning a majority in 2010.

McCain dumps Palin for Romney, wins the election and in 2010 the Democrats have a 60 seat majority in congress.

The religious and liberal extremists are exiled to Cuba where they must all join the Catholic church and live under extreme socialism.


It's all about getting back to the basics of checks and balances.

Schadenfreude

All of us who've blogged about "Babygate" should feel a measure of guilt (well I do anyway) , especially regarding the guilty pleasure, about using the salaciousness of the scandal to pump up an opinion regarding the current VP nominee. It's an irresistible story and the cliched white elephant. However, blaming Obama and his supporters for rumors that started way back in Alaska before the VP announcement is ridiculous. If anything major kudos to him for comparing Bristol with his own mother and trying to protect her from the media. Class act all the way. Could you imagine if one of Obama's or Biden's underage children were trotted out on stage with a baby covering a distended belly? We'd have lame McCain jibes ala his Chelsea and rape jokes. What a wit ! I have to wonder if Bristol wanted to sit this one out and wasn't excused from the family table. One can only hope that when Bristol is/was/will be pregnant she inherited the kind of guts her mother obviously possesses and focuses on what's important, and it's not politics.

Head Spinning

OK, I'm lost. I've seen a nomination for VP right out of a Northern Exposure storyline. Kooky ex-beauty queen uses considerable manipulative/opportunistic skills to manuever into governorship. OK, great. Gets picked for VP by McCain based on one meeting, unvetted, tells a blatant outrageous lie in her first speech as VP nominee, and is wholeheartedly embraced by the conservative base. Let's not even get into the who's who and pregnant plot. Really people, what has to happen for any of you say, um, did something die under the porch? Meanwhile they're still in full attack mode regarding Obama's inexperience because he was too busy earning his law degree, practicing and teaching congressional law, working as a community organizer in CHICAGO, where the community actually surpasses the quadruple digits, to instead find some sweet little town in Illinois and spend his days fielding cow trespassing complaints at town hall. Sorry, no brainer there regarding intellect and experience. What Obama has is called the whole package , educated with enough life experience to make Palin look like the girl in the plastic bubble. Until a conservative can post a reasonable blog proving Palin's expertise in foreign policy, public education, health and security, and a little ole' paper called the Constitution, I'm just going to continue to enjoy this little political parody and pray our country really hasn't fallen this far. And seriously folks, if those bloggers who shamelessly and gleefully promoted the pregnancy switch rumors regarding the Palins are wrong then it looks like Palin binded her pregnant belly to hide it. Who takes that risk in this day and age? And why?
The biggest problem with Republicans nowadays is while they still wield immense power, it's mostly all about money and religion now. Logic, intellect, and substance have gone underground and for the better of our country it's time those who still possess those skills speak up or we'll all end up like Bristol Palin, dragged along as innocent, vulnerable pawns in the wake of of a few VIP's voracious appetite for greed, power and celebrity. This country doesn't need Palin, her daughter needs her.