Dayum...

Every Word by Sade

You treated me like a stranger
And all the time I was loving you
All your slick moves
They were once innocent moves
I wanted to look up to you
I really trusted you
And every word you said

Completely unapplicable to my current situation, but yet her voice and the knowledge of what she means just grabs me and makes me think, "YES!" And then she sings something like,

When I need to be rescued
And I need a place to swim
I have a rock to cling to in the storm
When no one can hear me calling
I have you I can sing to
And in all this
And in all my life
You are the lovers rock
The rock that I cling to
You're the one
The one I swim to in a storm
Like a lovers rock

And it's completely applicable and I think "Yes!" again. I cannot imagine marking my life the way I have without her music. It's just too clear and dead on. She's one of those artists that touches me through the ebbs and flows.

Mr. E has gone missing.

Mr. E has not been home in nearly 48 hours now. He's not at the shelters. He's not smushed in the street. The crazy cat lady said she doesn't have him. WHERE ARE YOU, MR. E!?!?

My boyfriend is tiny!!

O.K. so Dan isn't really tiny. He's about 5'11" and pretty broad shouldered. He always makes me feel like I'm little. Look how tiny he looks compared to his boss!! hahaha!! That cracks me up. Even so he looks HAWT!! WooT!

My REAL Life

I had a friend tell me that they hadn't subbed to my skateboarding blog (Smoooochie Skates) because if it was about my "real life" I would put it on this blog and she was subbed here. Well, to that I say, "skateboarding IS part of my real life." I'm on a board every day. I talk about skateboarding every day. I read about it every day. It's even become how I commute to work (more on this later). It's as much a part of my real life as my garden, listening to music, reading books, cooking for my family, cleaning house, folding laundry, going to work, paying bills, and anything else that I do. It's frustrating that people see my life as compartmentalized and that skateboarding is something outside of my "real life." Skateboarding is part of the fiber. It's what helps keep me sane when life is stressful. It's my yoga. It keeps me challenged because there is always more to learn. So, really, I guess it's fine if friends don't want to read about my skateboarding, but it's really not fine for them to think it's somehow outside of who I am.

Just a note

My boyfriend texted me right after I got out of the car (we carpooled in.) It said, "You have nice legs." Yeah, he RAWKS!!

See my other blog re: how the light rail commute is going. I am still doing it on day 4. While I carpooled this morning I am riding back via RTD. It beats traffic. That's for sure!

Happy Birthday to the Sweetest Dan

June 5th, 2007- Dan turns 33!

There are hundreds of little things that I love about this man. Seemingly, I only get one day (his birthday) to celebrate that he is alive, but actually, I get to love him everyday and I'm lucky for that. Cheesy, maybe. True, definitely.



Here are a few of the phenomenal things about him. It doesn't even to the long list justice, but here it is anyway.



1. He let me keep the cat.
2. He gets why I need to work part-time right now and supports it.
3. His amazing sense of humor and wit.
4. He loves that I enjoy giving back rubs nightly.
5. He's one of the kindest people I know.
6. He's obsessed with various projects, but always has time for me.
7. He loves my children as if they were his own.
8. His broad shoulders.
9. His blue eyes.

Dan, I love you with all my heart. Happy Birthday!!

Public Transportation

Tomorrow is my first day of taking the light rail to work. I don't know how long it's going to take. I don't know if it will really save me money, and it certainly isn't going to save me any time. So, why am I doing it? The reasons are fairly simple.
First, I hate the whole idea that the money I spend on gas is helping big oil show their "largest profits ever!" If I were paying $3.50 a gallon knowing that the money was going to help figure out how to find cleaner fuel alternatives or making sure that the oil riggers in Nigeria were getting paid a fair wage then I'd be o.k. with it. However, I know that there are issues with 3rd world labor wages and I don't think that big oil is in it for the environment. I just don't. I'm not a tree-hugging peace child out to save the world. Just a mom that wants a good place for her kids to grow up.
Secondly, I need the freakin' exercise. While I'm not at my heaviest I am heavier than I'm comfortable with so I've decided that the extra half mile here and there walking, kick/pushing, or riding my bike will add up. I've made a few dietary changes as well, so we'll see. I just need to be down about 5 lbs and I'll be back where I am comfy. Yay!
Lastly, I just like cities that have public transportation that works and I want it to work in Denver. So, that being said it's fairly hypocritical for me to not use it often. I love being in cities like D.C. or S.F. where you can hop on a train and get where you want to go fairly quickly. I want Denver to be a city like that so this is my little way of helping and hoping it succeeds. They are bleeding money into it so I'm going to just make it work for me. I live .4 miles from the silly station so I should do it. I"m going to do it. Tomorrow!! I'll let you know how it goes.

Sometimes

Sometimes I don't have a lot to say. It seems that I'm feeling that way right now. Sometimes there is too much going on that requires no thought to really say much. Sometimes life is like a list and you just go through the list until you have something to say.

Continuation

First Day of Kindergarten

Today is my son’s last full day of Elementary School. It’s a milestone. A marker he will remember probably for the rest of his life as moving from being a young child to a young man. The school he goes to has what they call a “Continuation Ceremony.” He will be giving a short speech today at the ceremony, and it says all the things that we know about time moving quickly, how hard work pays off and how giving back to the community is important. I will be in the audience crying, I’m sure.

Just as anyone might expect I’m proud of him. He’s worked really hard this year with a teacher that was hard-nosed and to be honest not always fair. He’s made real strides with his academics. He is headed to a Magnet school that required a lot of him to even get in. He is on the right path to a successful future, and he’s worked really hard to get there. We’ve both worked hard for him to do all that he’s done. It’s been fun and challenging both. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

Even so, I feel a little sadness with the excitement. In some way I feel as if I’m losing my little boy. I still have my wonderful son, but he’s not little anymore and this is the marker of that. It is the time where I stop holding his hand and just walk along side him. I will still be there to occasionally help him figure out bumps in the road, but not catch him every step of the way. That’s a silly analogy, but still somewhat fitting. It really feels like the first step of letting go so he can pursue his own life, and that’s hard for any parent. There are a number of steps left along the way before he’s independent and I suppose I can cling to those, but those markers will come and I will have to let go little by little until he’s on his own. It’s hard but necessary as so many of the parts of being a parent seem to be.

I know today I’m going to cry tears of joy, sadness and pride. I just won’t be able to help it, and even though it isn't about me it does feel like it just a little bit.

DPS Shakespeare Festival May 2007 with his sister.

Sadness...

In the past few years there have been a few people that I've considered shining stars in Bush's war (wrongly entitled "War on Terror.") One of whom is Cindy Sheehan. I've never really lauded her endeavors, but have quietly sat by in awe of her determination.

Today I read that she's giving up and saying that her son truly died in vain. This is heartbreaking. She's fought so long and hard to make that not true, but I think in the most recent funding bill the Dems failed her and us.

I hope that she can find some sense of peace to move forward in her life. I hope that others can take up the fight and press on. I hope that we can remove the cancer that is each up our young men and our nation before it's really too late.

Panties in a Bunch over Stolen Underwear

The panty thief is in BIG trouble now. Women who had their underwear stolen are coming forward to identify their stolen drawers! This guy is going DOWN!!!

Selfish, selfish woman

When I first read about the 60 year old woman I immediate thought it was selfish. Then, I decided to read about her reasoning. Perhaps she was having babies for her children or for some other purpose greater than just her own selfishness. Well, I was wrong. She was just being selfish and claiming that her act was for women. She said:

The 60-year-old psychologist who delivered twin boys by Caesarian section
said she was on a mission to let women know they have choices.
"My mission here, the reason I'm doing this is to help other women. It's really
basically about women and empowerment," Frieda Birnbaum said, speaking on
NBC's "Today" show Thursday.

She could have kept her altruism to herself, because quite honestly this doesn't show me or any other woman anything other than you can still make foolish choices that effect the lives of many even when you are a senior.

Let's just look at the reality of the situation. She's 60. When her daughter enters kindergarten she'll be entering retirement. When her daughter is learning to drive she'll be having her license taken away. When her daughter is graduating high school she'll be 78! When her daughter finished college she'll be in her 80's. And if she dies before her daughter reaches these milestones then it will be her other (grown) children that step in and take up the responsibility of raising a child they didn't choose to have.

If she really wanted to prove that women can do anything at any age then there were a lot of ways to do it that wouldn't have had the potentially traumatic end that this situation does. Her choice wasn't about what women can do. It was about her selfish want of having another child without thinking of the reality of what happens when she is too old to care for herself, much less the child. Selfish, selfish woman.

Dear Senator...

Alright, so I probably sound like a crazy person in my letter to Senators Allard and Salazar, but I had to say something. I am so sick of the Bush Administration infiltrating the other branches of our government and corrupting the very foundations of our system. They all need to go and Gonzales is a fine place to start! Here's the letter:

Dear Senator ...

I am writing to you today to make a
request. After watching and thinking about the scandal that has arisen out
of the Department of Justice I would like to sincerely urge you to take part in
the vote of no-confidence against Alberto Gonzales. The reasons are
many. I would like to take a moment to share why I feel this is
necessary.

First Mr. Gonzales has a proven track record of not
remembering. He doesn’t remember meetings. He doesn’t remember being
presented with the idea of people being fired without cause. He’s said it
on numerous occasions. While I understand that he’s a busy man I find it
very improbable to remember that he cannot remember being part of discussions to
not only fire 8 U.S. Attorneys, but potentially firing many more. There is
proof that he was in the meetings and was keyed in on the firings. Yet, he
doesn’t remember them. We need an Attorney General that can remember what
goes on under his/her nose and drive the Department to work for the American
people.

When you hold an office of such importance, as you do,
there is a thing call accountability. By simply signing off on a
document that gave Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson the power to make
hiring decisions for very key positions he was passing the buck to two very
junior people in the department with little or no experience in managing such a
task. He was saying that someone with little experience could do his
job. If he doesn’t want the accountability or the work of being Attorney
General then why should we have confidence in his work?

Honestly, Senator, I don’t understand the language he uses.
On one hand he says that he didn’t do anything improper and that he’s done
nothing wrong but then on the other he claims that not only does he not
remember, but that mistakes were made. I’m sorry, but this is
contradictory and I don’t feel that it’s fair to the American people to have an
Attorney General who is supposed to be upholding the law be so confounded in his
own actions!! This isn’t a mistake that was devoid of harm. It
harmed a lot of people and his only defense was that he doesn’t remember.
That just doesn’t cut it when you are the Attorney General. Or at least it
shouldn’t.

Quite frankly, I haven’t even discussed the shaky
ideology that Mr. Gonzales has with regard to the power of the President.
And that’s the problem. It’s an ideology. In law, in government law,
it’s not about some theory derived from a political think tank. It’s about
the LAW that is based on reasoning and thought. I don’t think that Mr.
Gonzales gets that. He plays dumb half the time and then the other time
he’s being defensive. I do not find any sort of security knowing that this
man is in charge of the Judicial Branch of the United States.

So, with that being said please think about what kind of Attorney
General your constituency deserves and vote against Alberto Gonzales in the vote
of no confidence next month. We THE PEOPLE deserve someone who is not
willing to pass the buck and shun his/her duties, but rather stand with Lady
Justice in defense of the law.

Thank you for your time.

Me, today.

Oh, and since that's sort of boring here's something interesting to read. Well, interesting is probably not the right word. More like odd yet satisfying is a better descriptive. Just click the link already.

Panties Pilfered

Underpants gone missing?

The best part of the story:

Police are offering the opportunity for victims of the thefts to come and
identify which garments are theirs on May 25 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

UPDATE!!!! UPDATE!!!! UPDATE!!!!

For fuck's sake. Don't these police have anything better to do? Do they honestly think that any of these women would want their stolen panties back? GROSS!!

Fruity Pebble Art

A few months ago I took a photo of my daughter at her swim lesson and sent it to Dan's sister, Deana. She was a swimmer in college (and before) and so I thought she'd dig it. Well, she did. Here's what she did with it along with the original! How cool is THAT!? My baby is a Fruity Pebble!!

A Hit Dog will Holler'

Over the weekend Jimmy Carter made a comment about the Bush administration. Now he's recanting after the Bush administration said that he's irrelevant. This has been on my mind off and on all day.

Whether you like Carter or not is irrelevent here. I think he's a mixed bag of tricks personally. He's done good and bad. Even so, I think he was right the first time. The Bush Administration is a disaster. There continues to be more and more evidence to the dispicability and corruptibility of the current Administration. It doesn't take much searching or much brain power to look at the economy ($4 for gas in Cali), the way the war is going (basic failure on every level), and the DOJ scandal to figure out whether or not Carter's allegations are spot on. They are, and now the Bushies are up in arms disputing Carter's initial statement. If he was as irrelevant as they are claiming they could have kept quiet about it and said, "We stand by our record." But they can't. They can't because they know that Carter still has a lot of leverage with the world community. So, they are shouting from the rooftops, and I think they are making so much noise because deep down they know what Carter said is TRUE. Like I said, "A hit dog will holler."

Now as far as Carter recanting I think the explanation is pretty simple. He made a hasty comment and then was either reminded or he remembered that there is an election coming up. I don't think he wants it any harder for his party than it has to be. A call from some Democrat friend probably coaxed the recant from him. Whatever. Whether you want to chalk it up to him seeing and stating what is obvious or chalk it up to an old man getting it right on accident the bottom line is that the Bush Administration sucks and goes into defenst mode when someone points out that very obvious fact.

Me. Today.

Here is what I look like today.

In Front of Me

There are:

- CD-Roms with various things on them
- my digital camera
- Dan's keys
- my check book
- some papers
- some used tissues (that I just used and haven't gotten up to throw away)
- panties that I just bought
- a brand new coffee mug that Dan brought me from Indianapolis
- the monitor
- speakers
- the keyboard & mouse

I didn't mention the safety pin or dime, but they are there, too.

It's DONE!!!

Ten weeks ago, Dan informed me that he was going to tear the deck out. It was a Sunday evening. Since then we have transformed our backyard.

Week One

Week Ten