My NeeNee

It’s the ninth anniversary of my grandmother’s death tomorrow. This occurred to me regularly over the course of the last few weeks, but today is the day I realized it. There is a difference between having the knowledge of something and actually realizing it. Today I realized it. It hit me full force and I’ve been fighting tears off and on all day.
I don’t know what to say really. What is there to say about someone you loved as dearly as I loved her? There is no words that are adequate. She was my mother, my best friend, and my echo. I will miss her always.

Answer for Kirrrrt

Geoffrey and Bronte in their helmets


Kirrrt was asking me about skateboards for his boys in a comment down below. I started typing out an answer, but it got long enough I felt like it deserved an entry of it’s own. His question was:

“I have a question about skateboards. The ones I bought my boys have crappy little white wheels that barely roll. Do I need to upgrade the boards (better than the Wal-mart el-cheapo model) or can I upgrade the wheels?What should I be looking for in skate wheels for a 6 and 7 year old?”

As a mother who skateboards I have a little experience with this. The answer actually involves a few questions, but really it’s important to buy the best board for your child, yourself, or anyone that is going to really ride. After all, it’s your money AND it’s your loved one.

1. Have your boys worn out their skateboards? This is a pretty easy question to answer. Are they chipped up on the nose and tail? When you spin the wheels do they stop spinning or not spin at all? If the answer is no and the boards aren’t being ridden you aren't going to want to get anything other than a Wal-Mart board. Why pay money for something that is going to sit in the garage most of the time? If they are using them and having a lot of fun riding then invest in a good solid board. You can get a good blank deck at most skate shops for about $25-30. You can get away with fairly generic trucks, but make sure that the bushings are swapped out for something soft. Bushings are CHEAP (maybe $3) so it’s worth it. Also, make sure that you have some decent bearings. They don’t have to be the top of the line, but bearings are what make the wheels roll smoothly so they are important. Now, on to wheels.

2. With regard to the wheels the most important question is what surface do they skateboard on? You are going to need to get wheels that match the surface because if you get a soft wheel on the street you will need new wheels every two weeks. If they are in a skate park (Atlanta is about to get a new Woodward park!!) and the surface is "wood" then you are going to want to get a wheel that works for that surface. Here we need soft sticky wheels for the park because it's like ice. So, when you are at the skate shop ask them what they recommend for the surface that your boys are skating.

3. How much do you want to spend? You can get blank decks at your local shop or even on eBay for pretty cheap. Then build it up. The good thing about a skateboard is you can swap everything on it out if you wear it out or it doesn’t fit your need anymore. If your kids really like skateboarding invest a little bit upfront and then you can upgrade as they get better.

4. What are you riding? I’m not joking. Get yourself a board (longboards are really fun and super easy to learn) and go out with them. Skateboarding is a very bonding sport. I feel like I am a lot closer with my kids since we started boarding together. Trust me on this one.

Lastly, and MOST IMPORTANT start this rule right now while they are young.

NO HELMET, NO PADS, NO SKATEBOARDING!!

EVERYONE falls and at some point everyone hits their head and it can be very serious if a helmet doesn’t take the majority of the blow. Whether they are on a $15 skateboard from Wal-Mart or a $175+ custom board do not let them ride until they have on their gear. My eleven year old knows the rules and he’s take a number of falls where when he got up said, “I’m really glad I had on my pads/helmet.”

Well, what do you know?

All I can say is "It figures." This doesn't surprise me. It just gives further proof that the agenda was there well before the war. WELL before the war. It also confirms that for the entire Bush administration the neocon 'theories' have overshadowed reason, logic and most importantly FACT. Great. That's just great.

WHOA!

Ted Haggard. Alright, let’s examine his statement here briefly. He was merely contacting Mr. Mike Jones for a massage and for meth that he threw away. According to the reports that I’ve read this is what he’s admitted. He admits that he purchased illegal drugs from a male prostitute that he contacted after getting the prostitutes number from a website that advertises gay prostitution. First of, WHOA!! Is this covered in Sunday School under the section about repenting for your sins? Never the less let’s get back to the facts.
This man is a minister of a 14,000 (that’s THOUSANDS) person church and somehow the general populace is supposed to believe that not ONE of them is a massage therapist? Or knew of a massage therapist he could go to if he was legitimately interested in a massage? And by my recollection of growing up in Colorado Springs there are MANY licensed massage spas in the city. In fact it’s home to one of the best in the country (and it's AMAZING!!) So, rather than spending some of what I imagine to be a pretty hefty salary at a spa near his home he drove for over an hour to meet with a male prostitute he found on the internet for a massage? I don’t know about anyone else, but I call bullshit on that defense.
Secondly, crank is not pot. It's not something you just purchase on a whim. You don’t go from being a Christian fundamentalist role model who has never done drugs EVER to purchasing methamphetamines with no intent to use them. Why would you? Why would someone who is “model Christian” even think it would be alright to purchase an illegal substance from a prostitute secretly? What part of that is even remotely something a good citizen would do much less a holier than thou evangelical leader? Again, after weighing the basics against common sense I’m going to have to call bullshit on the defense.
Shadenfreude indeed, my friends. Shadenfreude indeed.

O.K. This wsn't really taken on 1/7/04. It was taken last night. I have BANGS!! Yay!  

Day of the Very Much Alive

Today was a cultural day for us. While Danimal slept off the muscle relaxer (his back is fortunately not fractured, but is badly bruised) the children and I went to the library. Geoffrey is starting to do research for a collage that is based on his heritage. We got a number of books about Native Americans, African Americans, and Mexicans. Bronte got a Shel Silverstein book, an Anansi tale and a couple books about dragons. Then we came home, picked up Dan and headed to Boulder.
When we got to Boulder we headed for the Fiske Planetarium. They were having a couple of cool programs today. Both were Mexicano origin. The first one was a program that combined traditional Azteca dancers and music with the creation stories that the Aztec had. They told about the 4 suns that came before the one we have now. Since it was at the planetarium they could project the various images up on the ceiling and have all sort of stars and things going on while the narrator was telling the stories. Then the dancers, who are a local troupe, would come out and do a dance or songs that were relevant to the story.
When they were done we went for dinner at Illegal Pete’s, watched some freaky street performers on Pearl Street, looked for a LaCross padded shirt for Dan. We went over to the new 29th Street Shopping area in Boulder just to check it out. While walking back to the car we ran into Dan’s parents. We chatted for a bit with them and then went back to campus.
The second program was a celebration of La Dia De La Muerte. The musicology department at CU brought in some ethnomusicologists from UNAM and they played their traditional instruments (many that they made) and sang traditional Mexican songs that were relevant to the Day of the Dead. A professor at CU was reading poems first in English and then in Spanish that were all about the day of the dead and then they would play. They were all wearing traditional skeleton masks so it was spooooky. They had people dancing, too. One of them made Dan dance with her, so he danced with the dead tonight. haha! The program was really beautiful and it made me really proud of my Mexican heritage. Click on the link above and check out the "traditions" tab. It’s pretty interesting how the one main tradition has so many different sub-traditions throughout Mexico.
I think we all had a really good time. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and it was really good research for Geoffrey's "Heritage Collage."

Weekend Surprises

On Saturday night we were fortunate enough to be given some really awesome hockey tickets to see the Colorado Avalanche. To make it an event the Danimal and I decided to surprise the children by not telling them that we were going. About 30 mins before we left I told them to go change into warm clothing because we had a surprise for them. Of course there were a lot of questions, but I gave no answers. Secretly a cab was called and the children were given further directions, “Go stand outside and keep an eye out.” “What are we looking for, Mom?” “You’ll know when you see it.” Up came the cab and off we went.
Rather than just going to the game we went to dinner (on the boss) at Brooklyn’s which is right next to the Pepsi Center here in Denver. We ordered drinks, apps, and then a full entrée for each of us. Despite our best efforts to kill some time (as we got there earlier than expected) we were still ahead of time. I ordered coffee and then went to the ladies room. When I came back to the table a Styrofoam cup of coffee was at my place setting. I’m not going to waste time being apologetic about this but that’s just fucked up. We spent $92 on dinner and I got a freakin’ Styrofoam cup?!? I asked the waiter about it in a joking manner and his rebuff was, “You get what you get. We only have about 20 cups here.” Are you kidding me? So, that will be the last time we’ll go there. Whatever. It didn’t ruin the night.
We went out of the restaurant and Bronte wanted to know where the cab went. We pointed to the arena across the street. She wasn’t excited. Her mood and expression changed though after we got settled and the action on the ice started. All in all the kids had a blast and so did the adults. I can’t wait until we can go again. Next time I’m holding out for a real coffee cup though. Haha!

By the way, a note to Brooklyn’s. The next night we went out to dinner at Duo, spent $22 less on dinner and I got an actual china cup. So FACE!!!

what to say

With the upcoming state elections I'm not really sure who I'm voting for yet. But I can assure you there isn't a chance in hell that I'm voting for THIS GUY. What in the hell? Eliminate the last semester of high school for "men?" Is he fucking kidding? Yeah, my vote is NOT going to Rick O'Donnell. I want my son to go through all of high school. Every day of school he can get before college to help prepare him for life. I want him to have every day possible to prepare him to think for himself so like fucknuggets like Bush and his sycophants like Rick O' here don't make it into office ever again is key. Yeah, so I know who I'm not voting for.

My Daughter is a Poet

Here is a poem my daughter wrote. She's a budding poet at the age of 8. Can you tell I'm proud?

The Princess Mirror
by Bronte W.

When the
Princess looks
In her magical mirror
A forest jumps out
Animals jump out
A party jumps out.
The Princess looks
In her magical mirror
She runs in the forest
She plays
with the animals
She has a party
In her palace
Magical Mirror
Magical Mirror

Dan will kill me for posting this.

I posted this on a private site, but I keep coming back to it giggling. It's just to funny to me to keep private though.

Today after test driving a very cool old car the Danimal and I were driving back home. He was fidgetting and then says, "My front leg hurts."

WTF? His front leg? I started giggling.

"I MEAN my left leg!! My LEFT leg!! It's in front when I skateboard." haha!! I had a completely different image in mind. Even so, just shows how much we skateboard. We don't do left and right any more. It's a front leg and a back leg. I guess if he says "middle leg" I'll know what he's talking about.

*snicker*

Only one word works in some situations...

There are moments in life where all you can do is say, “fuck” because quite frankly they are the kinds of moments that your brain can’t really wrap around easily. They are moments where you just are stunned and not sure what to do so that seems like a really good starting point. Last night around 9:30 was such a moment at my house.
Max and Lily, the boxers who we live with, tore threw the house and out the dog door. Max was first and then seconds behind went Lily. Moments after they went out the most ferocious snarling and growling began. It was nothing like I’d ever heard from one of my dogs. Dan went to the door and looked out. He quickly slammed the door shut and turned. “Fuck! Fuck! They have a skunk!” He grabbed the block to the doggie door effectively locking them out and within seconds it was evident that the skunk had sprayed.
“What do we do?” was repeated many times. They were locked out with an either very injured skunk or a dead skunk and we were going to have to figure out a solution to not only getting rid of the wild beast, but cleaning up our now very smelly “attack” dogs. After determining it was, in fact, dead Dan removed the carcass from the yard placing it in a trash bag. I looked up the solution to the smell and called the vet. Both agreed that 3% hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish detergent mixed into a solution are the only thing that really works on dogs or people. Dan headed to the store.
I think we finally got to bed around 12:30. The smell in the house was still overwhelming. The dogs still were not completely scent free after 2 washings. The deck was bleached but still pretty smelly.
I’m still sort of thinking “fuck” but that’s life. It’s funny and gross and overwhelming and you just never know what it’s going to bring along.

I *heart* Danimal.

Just in case anyone was wondering...

I love my boyfriend. He's awesome and he takes good care of me. He bought me some of these so I can not get bruised any more while trying to pursue my goal of dropping in before I'm 38.

Yeah, I really love my boyfriend.

Open letter to Mr. Bush

Dear Mr. Bush,

You’ve said that American shouldn’t trust the Democrats to run Congress. That being said I have a few questions for you. Should we trust the wire taps you are using arbitrarily to spy on innocent Americans? Should we trust the prison guards that are presently torturing people who are supposed to be protected under the Geneva Conventions we signed? Should we trust C. Rice~ a woman who doesn’t seem to be able to read clear titled correspondence or listen to people directly telling her that we are about to be attacked? How about us trusting Senators like Mr. Foley? Should we trust Rumsfeld? I hear other people in your own administration and even your wife don't trust him. Or maybe we should just trust you, Mr. Bush. After all, you only lied to us about WMD and about your motives to go into Iraq. Isn’t trusting you and your cabinet what Valerie Plame did? Yeah, so on that note I think I’ll pass on listening to you, Mr. Bush, for advice on who I should trust or not. I did not vote for you or your cronies and will continue to everything in my voting power to get your kind out of office.

Signed,
V.W.
~”dissent is the truest form of patriotism”- Thomas Jefferson

I love this man. He's my hootie.  

Some of the Rules I Live By

Live your life as if everything you do is going to be on the front headlines of the newspaper. If you wouldn’t want it there then don’t do it. If you aren't ashamed of it then who cares who sees what is going on in your life?

Always let the people you love know it. Never let someone you love wonder how you feel. Life is too short and those people are too important.

Fuck the bastards. If someone can’t be supportive of me through good AND bad times then they are not a friend. They might be a useful acquaintance, but that’s it.

Know all the rules so you know how to break them when you don’t agree.

Don’t live by other people’s standards and don’t compromise my own.

I am the queen of my universe and the at the center of my stage.

In Remembrance- Sept. 1, 1933-Sept. 13, 2006 

This just in....

Radio Shack has officially won the "Shittiest Move In Corporate America" of the Day Award. Or maybe it's the "We have electronics but no balls award." I don't know. What I do know is that I've lost even the most remote (heh..that's punny) interest I ever had at shopping with them. I never have really shopped at Radio Shack. I think I went in a about a year and half ago because I needed to replace a radio antenna. I just don't foresee myself going in again after this. How is it that they couldn't take a few minutes to lay these people off in person? What a loser move. Good going, Radio Shack. Maybe that's why you are still a shack and not even a shed or a garage yet.

So, how DID we get to this point?

Alright. It's really hard to keep track of all the dealings in Washington that have summed into a body count of 2639 U.S. soldiers, but here is a really great summary of part of it. A really important part of it. The part that outlines some pretty big, fat lies that the Bushistas don't want you to remember. READ IT!!

And since I'm feeling a little pushy just go ahead and bookmark that blog. It's a keeper.

Telepopmusik makes me smile

It's not new, but...

I brought you something close to me,
Left for something you see though your here.
You haunt my dreams
Theres nothing to do but believe,
Just believe.
Just breathe

Blame this rant on Rummy

I read this just a bit ago and here is what I came up with.


Here's my take on all these old coots in Washington. They don't have anything to lose at this point because they are fucking old and falling apart (Cheney is seriously going any minute and Rummy already looks like a skeleton) so they use their power to test their cockamame theories. If the false theories by some crazy miracle work then they end up having a grand legacy. If they fail then they don't give a shit because they'll be dead in a few years before the poo hits the fan anyway. Ultimately, they aren't basing anything they do on knowledge or fact or experience, but rather theory and belief. They want it to be true that their god/power/psychosis has made them right they move ahead on false pretense. And there’s an old saying in Georgia, I know it’s said in Georgia, that “you can want in one hand and shit in the other and see which fills up faster.” Perhaps that is a good saying for them to move to Texas. Either way, that is where we are, our “leaders” with their hands full of shit and still insisting that they are right. Our country was built on a solid foundation that's been eaten away by greedy fuckers who want to prove that their beliefs and theories are the right ones. *sigh*

Alright. That's all I have to say for now.