I am interrupting the beginning of our regularly scheduled (ok, sporadically, when you least expect it, cause I'm too cool for schedules, if "cool" means held hostage by snowed in children) post to mention that today, I am filled with hope. There is change on the way for our country, hopefully positive. I feel it will be, but I'm not in the business of guaranteeing people will follow promises with action. Cause, seriously? My radar with that is sometimes waaaay off. But, I feel somewhat renewed. Whether you agree or not, like it or not, we did make some history with this election. I feel the right choice was made, I think that President Obama is the face of hope for a lot of people. To me it isn't about race, it's about the best person for a job. But, I do feel that by winning the election, Obama sends another message of hope to this country- anything can happen. In other words- "Yes, we can." Let's see what we take from this, and do with it. If we want change, we have to make change, too.
A change I'd like to make? To see some green outside. this white crap is killing me. When it's not in single digits, or negatives (which has just been so much fun!!!-do you hear the sarcasm? cause it's not dripping, it's oozing) it's snowing. When it's not snowing, it's a glare of ice. Today is the first day back to school with no delays, and it's snowing. I am shaking my head, squeezing my eyes shut and wishing for a beach somewhere.
But, I can wish for beaches all day long. Not happening. I will deal with this weather the way I have been (no, not by drinking! Why would you say such a thing?.....), and somehow survive the cabin fever without listening to that inner voice that pops up and says "THAT'S why Jack Torrance went crazy on his family...."
I have been cooking and baking a lot lately. Playing around with some recipes and adjusting them to be more versatile, more picky person friendly, and just mine. Mine in the way that whenever my kids eat it, they'll remember just how good their mom's such-and such tasted. I've made muffins, cookies, chicken parmesan, burger dip, lasagna, my knock off stroganoff, chili mac, my sloppy Joe, tuna noodle, and drinks that can be made virgin for the kiddos and add a little something extra for the adults to give some extra warmth. I've been busy. I've also been mixing and matching candle scents to make my own blend for my candle warmer. Basically, my house is always warm, filled with food and smelling yummy. I'm losing the "not so" part of my title here, people. Winter is domesticating me in ways I've never been domesticated before. I'm afraid, Internet. Hold me.
I started out doing it to prove a point, I think. That I **could** try new recipes and ideas without that stupid fear of failure. And I was GOOD at it- my kids enjoyed every single thing. even Alyssa, who is so picky I want to scream sometimes. The kid hates peanut butter. And pizza. And eight hundred other things. They liked the sandwiches I made up as I went, the casseroles and new meatballs and burgers... and I liked that for every new thing they tried, one more fast fix went out the door. You know you've spoiled them when your toddler turns her nose up at spaghetti-o's, and opts for your own pasta. Especially when spaghetti-o's were her favorite food. Heehee.
I'm enjoying this domesticity and that's weird! I've never really BEEN that way before- I mean, i cook, clean, all that good stuff, but there's been so much negative stuff that kept me from really trying to enjoy myself, in whatever I was doing. I've never truly taken pleasure out of creating things, because there was always something keeping me from really letting loose and just going wild with it.
I'm telling you- life really does begin at thirty. Because now I DO go wild with it, whatever it happens to be. And I figure it someone doesn't like it, they can kiss my ass and go on their way. Never thought of it that way before. Now that I do, it's a lot more fun! It makes for an easier day, I'll say that much. You worry soooo much less when you realize that no one, outside your own four walls, has an opinion that can make or break you. Even more when you realize that no one in those four walls does, either.
I've spent a lot of time cracking my own shell, and now I think it's finally just busted open and someone brand new has stepped out. It does make people look at you differently, having a confidence in yourself, a better posture, a better outlook. And it FEELS so much better. I'm a better person than I've been in a long, long time. and that makes me a better mom. I'll take it.... and accept the casualties that come with it. Sometimes, there's just no other way. Sometimes, there are no more roads left, and it has to be a brand new direction.
Anyway....
If you like to cook, bake, or just have the option, you should check out Tastebook. they have a really awesome selection iof recipes, you can make your own books, add photos, etc... there are a lot of options over there. I've got four little books started already, LOL. It's addiciting!
What about you, Internet? Favorite dishes? Faves you cook or someone cooks/has cooked for you? Things your family can't live without?
Showing posts with label democrat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label democrat. Show all posts
11/4/08
Conversations With My Daughter
Sometimes, my daughter amazes me. Really. Alyssa has been into the Presidential race from the beginning- mainly because of my influence. I'm open with my kids about everything, including politics. And this has been a history making race. Not something I thought I would ever see and now something that I want them to remember as the very first time there was a whisper of change.
She watched with me to see whether Senator Clinton or Senator Obama would win the nomination. She listened to the coverage, asked questions. I answered as best I could, keeping in mind that she would absorb this and take it with her later on. I encouraged her curiosity, talking with her about making intelligent choices, paying attention to what all the candidates, party aside, had to say. Because, for me, it isn't about the party. It's about the best person for the job. It isn't about your race, your gender, your religion. It's how you, in my eyes, will best serve our country and the people that live in it... how will your term help us to flourish?
Last month, she came home from school telling me about the mock election they would be holding. she wanted to know why she couldn't just vote, for real. She wants to vote. She's upset that she can't. I'm proud of that. And then, the hard hitting questions.
She wanted to know why people would or wouldn't vote for someone based on their color, their gender or their religion. I explained that some people see things differently, and that there are some who can't look past certain things to see a bigger picture. Here are Alyssa's opinions on that:
Voting for someone just because they're a woman is stupid. Same for NOT voting for the same reason. "I know we're smarter, Mom .. (oops...).. but still!"
Voting for / against someone because they are a different color is dumb. "It's what's inside that makes people good or bad, not what's outside." Very true, my smart girl. But not all people are open minded enough to see that.
Voting because of religion is dumb, too. "Isn't America here because we wanted to be free to believe what we want to?" Thank you, public education, for giving her that so early. That isn't sarcasm on my part, either. I appreciate her knowing these things when she's not so jaded against this or that.
Alyssa has an advantage when it comes to "different". She doesn't see it. Having Jake has given her that, and having me be open has given her more. She's never made fun of someone for being different, she's never understood why people are picked on for it. She seems to grasp the idea that some people don't see it that way, but she hasn't matured enough to realize that regardless, it will always be that way. Sadly. People will always be labeled, judged, etc. Unfortunately, it's the way the world seems to work. She understands, because of Jake, that people are cruel sometimes, and sometimes they just don't understand. We fear what we don't understand, a lot of the time. And we react to that.
She voted, proudly, in her election yesterday. She has watched coverage of Kids Pick the President. She's now fascinated with former Presidents, Abraham Lincoln in particular. To her, he made this election possible. She is enthralled with the idea of this first. Because either way, it will be a first. She is excited to be a part of it, even without being able to really vote. She actually seems to grasp some of the bigger issues and has very definite opinions about them. Some issues, of course, are too complicated, or mature, to explain to her. I'm open, but not when it involves explaining things she really doesn't need to know about. For now.
She blows me away sometimes. She really does. She is still so innocent in the ways of the world, but more informed than a lot of the adults I know who ARE allowed to vote. Scary. All I know is that this has affected her. She wants to know more about those who have changed the country, and she wants to know how she can too. And who knows, maybe one day she really will. At eight, she already seems more qualified than some. **cough**
So, go out and vote. Let's all hope that positive changes come from this election, and hope that we call all be united in our support of one another's choices. No more attacking or judging, or even condemning because of who we believe is the best choice. After all, isn't this about being free to make that choice? Just ask my daughter.
She watched with me to see whether Senator Clinton or Senator Obama would win the nomination. She listened to the coverage, asked questions. I answered as best I could, keeping in mind that she would absorb this and take it with her later on. I encouraged her curiosity, talking with her about making intelligent choices, paying attention to what all the candidates, party aside, had to say. Because, for me, it isn't about the party. It's about the best person for the job. It isn't about your race, your gender, your religion. It's how you, in my eyes, will best serve our country and the people that live in it... how will your term help us to flourish?
Last month, she came home from school telling me about the mock election they would be holding. she wanted to know why she couldn't just vote, for real. She wants to vote. She's upset that she can't. I'm proud of that. And then, the hard hitting questions.
She wanted to know why people would or wouldn't vote for someone based on their color, their gender or their religion. I explained that some people see things differently, and that there are some who can't look past certain things to see a bigger picture. Here are Alyssa's opinions on that:
Voting for someone just because they're a woman is stupid. Same for NOT voting for the same reason. "I know we're smarter, Mom .. (oops...).. but still!"
Voting for / against someone because they are a different color is dumb. "It's what's inside that makes people good or bad, not what's outside." Very true, my smart girl. But not all people are open minded enough to see that.
Voting because of religion is dumb, too. "Isn't America here because we wanted to be free to believe what we want to?" Thank you, public education, for giving her that so early. That isn't sarcasm on my part, either. I appreciate her knowing these things when she's not so jaded against this or that.
Alyssa has an advantage when it comes to "different". She doesn't see it. Having Jake has given her that, and having me be open has given her more. She's never made fun of someone for being different, she's never understood why people are picked on for it. She seems to grasp the idea that some people don't see it that way, but she hasn't matured enough to realize that regardless, it will always be that way. Sadly. People will always be labeled, judged, etc. Unfortunately, it's the way the world seems to work. She understands, because of Jake, that people are cruel sometimes, and sometimes they just don't understand. We fear what we don't understand, a lot of the time. And we react to that.
She voted, proudly, in her election yesterday. She has watched coverage of Kids Pick the President. She's now fascinated with former Presidents, Abraham Lincoln in particular. To her, he made this election possible. She is enthralled with the idea of this first. Because either way, it will be a first. She is excited to be a part of it, even without being able to really vote. She actually seems to grasp some of the bigger issues and has very definite opinions about them. Some issues, of course, are too complicated, or mature, to explain to her. I'm open, but not when it involves explaining things she really doesn't need to know about. For now.
She blows me away sometimes. She really does. She is still so innocent in the ways of the world, but more informed than a lot of the adults I know who ARE allowed to vote. Scary. All I know is that this has affected her. She wants to know more about those who have changed the country, and she wants to know how she can too. And who knows, maybe one day she really will. At eight, she already seems more qualified than some. **cough**
So, go out and vote. Let's all hope that positive changes come from this election, and hope that we call all be united in our support of one another's choices. No more attacking or judging, or even condemning because of who we believe is the best choice. After all, isn't this about being free to make that choice? Just ask my daughter.
11/3/08
Finally, The Politics Take Over
Got this in an email from my Dad, and just had to share it. What do YOU think!?!?
"I am a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.
* If you grow up in
"exotic, different."
* Grow up in
American story.
======
* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
* Name your kids
======
* Graduate from Harvard law School, and you are unstable.
* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well
grounded.
======
* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the
first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter
registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as
a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator
representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the
state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the
United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while
sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and
Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real
leadership experience.
* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city
council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people,
20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then
you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking
executive and next in line behind a man in his eighth decade.
======
* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising
2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real
Christian.
* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, an d then left
your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a
true Christian.
======
* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including
the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no
other option in sex education in your state's school system while your
unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.
======
* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a
prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values
don't represent America 's.
* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until
age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of
Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.
OK, much clearer now"
2/5/08
Super Tuesday!
Just thought I'd take a second and encourage all of you to vote today. I'm not going to go into a huge political rant- though I may at a later date- but be aware of all the issues and the various candidates (and parties!!) stance on things that are needed and beneficial to our country. We need a change. A positive one. We need better health care, funding for education and children's services, as well as numerous other things. And we need to get our troops out of where they don't belong, and get them home safely.
I would never take it upon myself to tell anyone how to vote, or how to feel. All I can, and will, do is express my own opinion. No one has to agree with me, just like I don't have to agree with anyone else. What we all do have a responsibility toward, however, is respecting those opinions and beliefs that differ from ours, and disagreeing gracefully. Unless it's within your own family, of course- then you can attempt to beat them into submission! :)
So, vote! Choose wisely, based on your knowledge and the knowledge of the candidates. Do not vote for gender, race, or because of smear tactics. Vote for the best candidate, to you, and we shall see what happens!
And in case ya wondered, it's Obama for me.
I would never take it upon myself to tell anyone how to vote, or how to feel. All I can, and will, do is express my own opinion. No one has to agree with me, just like I don't have to agree with anyone else. What we all do have a responsibility toward, however, is respecting those opinions and beliefs that differ from ours, and disagreeing gracefully. Unless it's within your own family, of course- then you can attempt to beat them into submission! :)
So, vote! Choose wisely, based on your knowledge and the knowledge of the candidates. Do not vote for gender, race, or because of smear tactics. Vote for the best candidate, to you, and we shall see what happens!
And in case ya wondered, it's Obama for me.
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