Indigo Robe

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Mum likes reading, decorating, shopping with the girls, and Starbucks. She also feels funny writing in the 3rd person. Papa (also known as Sparky) is currently looking at me with a blank stare having asked him to add something about himself to the blog. (Now he wants to say something) The only thing he loves more in life than music and Coke is his wife and kids. (Awww...) :) Little Lotte is a genius on the computer and makes me fall over laughing every day with her quick wit. She loves computers and animals. Sweet Pea abandoned her family and moved to Phoenix for work and is now married as of 2/28/06. She is beautiful and smart and the most nurturing person I know. She gave me the greatest gift ever when she made me a grandmother. I am the proud Mum Mum to Andrew Christopher. There are no words to describe the joy of having a grandson!

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Too much shrimp scampi???


So last night I went to a Carole King concert and she sang all of her hits but she started to run out of time and had to cut one but it was ok because Little Lottie, who was there with me, didn't know that one that she cut out and then she played "Jazz Man" for her finale and then she stood up to be applauded and I helped some kids solve their problem about ignorant adults and then I hugged Carole King and told her she had a very special gift/talent and then she wanted to hang out with me and be my best friend so I showed her how to make white boards from a giant piece you can buy at Home Depot and have cut up and then she recommened I work for the University and then I woke up.


P.S. While running errands today, I heard TWO Carole King songs on the radio, but not Jazz Man.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Nice day for a white wedding...





Last night I had the honor of attending a friend's wedding. I have known this woman for 12 years. I was building a house that she had just had built. The realtor told me to ask her about her house - ask to see the layout. A stranger? Weird, but I needed to know what it looked like. I knocked on her door timidly and she welcomed me in like an long lost friend. We toured her home, we went outside to talk. Turns out I was working in the school district she had just been hired into. Her little girl was 3 at the time and running around with only underwear on and chocolate pudding smeared over half her face and torso. A neighbor walked by and mentioned something about how messy she was. My friend laughed it off and said, "That's what chocolate pudding and being 3 are all about!" I knew instantly I wanted to be her friend.

We have lived through laughs and heartaches. My Sweet Pea babysat for her two wonderful children. I was her son's fourth grade teacher and everytime I see him, he tells me I am STILL his favorite teacher. I can honestly say that HE was my favorite student! She has raised these two little ones into wonderful young adults - ALL on her own.

We have shared secrets and shoes, laughter and lattes, email jokes and exercise tips, dieting and donuts. We have encouraged each other and endured hard times together. She is truly a wonderful friend. Here are some photos of her wedding - September 28, 2006.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

huh?


"At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, Ginni and Edward Dewbray were stopped at the security line and told if they wanted to bring a small bottle of Oil of Olay onto their flight to North Carolina, they would have to put it in a clear plastic bag. Edward Dewbray asked several other travelers for a bag and eventually found one."

Does the clear plastic bag have magical qualities? Superman had kryptonite. The TSA has Ziploc?!

And at the end of the article...

"After testing a variety of explosives, the FBI and other laboratories found that tiny amounts of substances _ so small they fit into a quart-size plastic bag _ can't blow up an airliner."

Ohhhhh.... somebody please explain to the TSA that the toiletries just have to FIT in a small space, not be IN the plastic bag! The screeners had already been through the Dewbray's carry-on luggage and were aware that the Oil of Olay was the only liquid they were carrying. Insisting it HAD to be in a plastic bag is just plain nonsense.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

the post in which I make disjointed comments at the end because I am steaming (no veggie pun intended) mad!


Here is the really bad news about the evils of spinach...

GOD REFERENCES QUASED; 'VEGGIE TALES' CREATOR STEAMED

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber always had a moral message in their long-running "VeggieTales" series, a collection of animated home videos for children that encourage moral behavior based on Christian principles. But now that the vegetable stars have hit network television, they cannot speak as freely as they once did, and that has got the Parents Television Council steamed.

The conservative media-watchdog group issued a statement Wednesday blasting NBC, which airs "VeggieTales," for editing out some references to God from the children's animated show.

"What struck me and continues to strike me is the inanity of ripping the heart and soul out of a successful product and not thinking that there will be consequences to it," said L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council. "The series is successful because of its biblical world view, not in spite of it. That's the signature to `VeggieTales."'

More than 50 million copies of the series have been sold since 1993, according to Big Idea Inc., which produces the series.

Two weeks ago, NBC began airing 30-minute episodes of "VeggieTales" on Saturday mornings. The show was edited to comply with the network's broadcast standards, said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks.

"Our goal is to reach as broad an audience as possible with these positive messages while being careful not to advocate any one religious point of view," she said.

"VeggieTales" creator Phil Vischer, who was responsible for readying episodes for network broadcast, said he didn't know until just weeks before the shows were to begin airing that non-historical references to God and the Bible would have to be removed.

'Remember kids, God made you special'

Had he known how much he would have to change the show -- including Bob and Larry's tagline, "Remember kids, God made you special and he loves you very much," that concludes each episode -- Vischer said he would not have signed on for the network deal.

"I would have declined partly because I knew a lot of fans would feel like it was a sellout or it was done for money," he said, adding that "there weren't enough shows that could work well without those (religious) references."

All programs set to air on NBC must meet the network's broadcast standards, said Alan Wurtzel, a broadcast standards executive. "VeggieTales" was treated the same as any other program, he said.

"There's a fine line of universally accepted religious values," he said. "We don't get too specific with any particular religious doctrine or any particular religious denomination."

Vischer said he understands the network's position.

"`VeggieTales is religious, NBC is not," he said. "I want to focus people more on `Isn't it cool that Bob and Larry are on television."'

Marks said the network is "committed to the positive messages and universal values" of the show and expects "VeggieTales" to continue airing.

But Bozell is not satisfied.

"If NBC is so concerned about that four-letter-word God, then they shouldn't have taken `VeggieTales'," he said. "This just documents the disconnect between Hollywood and the real world."

Ok - so I go to NBC and check their shows. I put into GOOGLE: "NBC LINEUP" and come up with this result to click:
www.nbc.com/NBC_First_Look/

I am assaulted with a video that I cannot find the little x to close out. The camera pans over a nude body on a poster where the breasts are covered with the words "museumofsex". A girl is arguing with a man. The scene moves to an apartment, a man grabs her with a knife, and there are screams heard. I cannot watch this video (these things creep me out, give me nightmares, and goshdarnit, call me crazy but I don't find murder entertaining) so I cover it. I happen to be offended that violence is entertainment but I don't see NBC reaching out to me to see if I am offended by such stuff. I go back to the video to try and figure out how to get past it so I can merely look at the lineup for making my point here. I see two investigators discussing the dead women who is bloody and tied and bound. They are leaning over her, talking over her like she is a plate of chicken on their table at a restaurant. As I typed this sentence, I once again go back to the screen and see another "official person" talking to people while a video of porn plays in the background. But it's not really the background, it's clearly on the left side of the screen and the couple are partially nude, groping and making out and I cover the screen again.

I return to the webpage, trying to click onto the bar at the top labeled SHOWS so I can merely look at the lineup of shows to make a case about my disgust that you cannot dare say "God made you special!" because it won't appeal to a large audience and the NETWORK HAS STANDARDS IT MUST UPHOLD." (rolling eyes) Clicking on the SHOWS button merely brings the background up for a split second and then the video is refitting to fit into the middle of my screen. I still cannot find the button to CLOSE the video that I don't want to watch. Everytime I click on the button that is supposed to list the shows for NBC, the screen is repositioned and the show names disappear. I am now viewing the bloody, dead body of this young woman once again.

I actually just wanted to go look at the lineup to prove that standards are different for everyone. What one find offensive, another does not. Just as some find violence and watching other people have sex on their televisions is not offensive, some people do. Just as some people enjoy the positive message that the Veggie Tales bring, others may not.

To end this (because my little rant won't change the world) I just don't get how it's ok to call a woman a bitch or whore or "ho" on tv, to show graphic sexual encounters, and to display violence as entertainment meets the standards but saying "God made you special" is somehow too offensive.

I know people say "TURN OFF THE TV OR CHANGE THE CHANNEL IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT.

I say, EXACTLY! If you don't want to hear veggies talk about God, turn the channel or turn the tv off. WHY doesn't this double standard work both ways?

I am not a Bible thumper. I don't attend church. Those of you who know me know I am not advocating religion. I am merely pointing out that NBC should not say they are going to censor the word "God" because it's offensive to the mainstream and then not censor gratuitous sex, blatant violence, and obscene language.

Just let the veggies speak. You'd think they were a bad bunch of tainted spinach, the way NBC is treating them.

Friday, September 22, 2006

I have 3 weeks off and you don't...

It's true! I am now officially on a 3 week break. This is actually a 1.5 week break when you take into account that I will be working the week before school returns because gosh darn it, those lesson plans HAVE to be written BEFORE the kids actually walk into the classroom. (This fact is always lost on the people who think teachers have ALL OF THIS VACATION TIME!) Add to that the fact that I am also scoring 200 papers of writing for the 6 Traits (that equals about 8 -12 hours of work, depending on how much they actually wrote) and I am down to 1.5 weeks. NOT COMPLAINING! But I sooo deserve this break because apparently I am the meanest teacher in the world because I:

1. Ask students to write their first and (GASP!!!) LAST NAME on their papers. (Kid starts crying)

2. I ask 4th graders to listen while I teach about paragraphs, hand them a typed OUTLINE and go over HOW TO FILL IN THE OUTLINE, model a paragraph and then ask them to WRITE A PARAGRAPH. (Kid starts crying)

3. I ask students to NOT play with their Yogeogotchimagoo cards in class while I am teaching. I then ask if there are more cards and am told no only to find 10 minutes later that there were more cards so I take said cards and tell him to write me an apology letter and we will discuss getting back said cards. (Cue kid to start crying) P.S. The next day, he came running up to me and said that his mom said a whole bunch of bad words in front of him so he wants his cards back. :)

4. I rush to defend the life of a little kid who is getting beat up by a schmuck in front of him in line. I ask him to come with me so I can place in in front of the line so he is safe and next to me. The little brat says no to me. I cannot believe my ears. I say again, "Come with me to the front of the line." To which he looks me in the eye and now shouts, "NO!"

I SHOULD have let the other kid kick his ass!

Sunday, September 17, 2006

5 things...

Five Things In My Closet

- too many pairs of black shoes
- My Madeline Doll
- my desser
- my jewelry
- way more than 5 things

Five Things In My fridge

- Bicardi Silver, chilled and waiting
- leftover cheeseburgers from dinner tonight
- lots o'cheese
- chili that I made for dinner this week (oh yeah, I am ahead of the game this week!)
- lebanon bologna and mini beef stick thingys (pointing finger at Sparky)

Five Things In My Car

- Cd's of the music from the wedding
- lots o' school "stuff" that I NEED to actually take INTO the school
- extra change
- my favorite air freshner - Yankee Candle Midnight
- a blanket (cause you just can't take a chance it might get below freezing in Arizona)

Five Things In My Purse

- my wallet
- lots o' expired coupons
- lots o' assorted pens
- a receipt for a wedding present that I just remembered I was supposed to pick up yesterday. (oops!)
- Origins lip gloss (it's got a hint of mint and tingles!)

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Jury Duty


I had jury duty yesterday. This involves me driving downtown in the early morning rush hour traffic. I don't do rush hour traffic anymore. Rush hour, on the way to my school, involves making sure I don't hit a cow.

So I get instructions from Sparky. He cannot emphasize enough that I should be VERY CAREFUL LEST I DIE trying to exit onto Congress Street. Sufficiently scared and forewarned, I am slightly hesitant as I approach the big green sign that tell me Congress St. is coming up in 1 mile. I try to merge right but holy smokes, the traffic coming ONTO I-10 is incredible. However, it's also fairly slow so I figure I will be good, put on my right turn signal, and politely merge. My first mistake was using a turn signal. My second mistake was being polite.

This freakin' middle aged woman in her little SUV would NOT let me in. So the Philly in me, I MEAN MY INSTINCTS kick in and I think to myself I will just put the nose of my car right in front of her car. Works every time! But then I suddenly had Sparky sitting on my shoulder, whispering to be careful. I backed off. I freakin' backed off! ME!!! I again tried to nicely wave to her to show her I needed to be there. SHE DIDN'T FREAKIN' LET ME IN! Now I am ready to give her another kind of wave with my hand but I am trying SUPER HARD to get over now cause I less than a 1/4 mile until the exit. THE UGLY LADY finally goes fast enough that I can get in behind her. I BEEPED. MAN DID I BEEP! I may have said some things outloud in the privacy of my car too. And do you know what she did? SHE PULLED INTO THE OTHER LANE - THE LANE I HAD BEEN IN. She didn't even want to be in the lane I needed to be in. I thought my head was going to shoot right off, right there on I-10.

I MAY or may not have POINTED at her. I MAY or may not have said some slightly magical words. I MAY or may not have wished she runs out of gas in Casa Grande, without water, with a whole freakin gaggle (or whatever) of buzzards just waiting to eat her innards for a mid morning snack.

When I finally did get off the exit, I then had to find a certain street, which I found. But here's the thing: Am I the only person in the world to not have daily interaction with the law that I cannot easily identify or find the courthouse? WHY doesn't the courthouse have a sign. Maybe a sign that says: COURTHOUSE. Am I crazy? I pulled across the street, called Sparky on his cell phone and asked where the courthouse might be. After explaining where I was, he asked me to look at the building in front of my car. Sure enough, it was the courthouse.

I park and ONLY AS I AM APPROACHING the doors do I see these little tiny letters on the class door explaining it's the (name of someone I don't know) Courthouse. Gee, thanks! I could see that soooo clearly from the road!

You've gotten this far and you want to know if I was called up to serve. No. I got a number, I got to go upstairs, in an elevator with 60 other potential jurors. We walked in and the judge (HE LOOKED LIKE GOD - up there on high, far away, booming voice, stern look) and said the case had been moved but he wanted to tell us himself and he wanted to prove that there is actually a courtroom in the courthouse. Everyone chuckled that nervous laugh and we were dismissed. It was 10:00 am. I went RIGHT BACK TO WORK LIKE A DUTIFUL TEACHER. Ok, I actually went and got my eyebrows waxed, shopped, and had lunch. I kinda like jury duty!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Ever have one of those days?



I am still trying to research if it's normal for the male to fall on his back after mating with the female as that is exactly what happened at the zoo. I wish I had video of THAT. The female came around and, using her head, helped him to flip back over. What a gal!

Monday, September 04, 2006

It is not length of life, but depth of life. ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


"Where I live if someone gives you a hug it's from the heart."
~Steve Irwin

Sending a big hug for Terri, Bindi Sue, and Bob.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Some wedding photos from my little camera...

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Just Your Typical Visit to the Zoo

Lucky us! We had just enjoyed feeding the giraffes, watched a lovely little family of peacocks, saw the elephants spray themselves with water to stay cool. And then... we wondered upon these little creatures of God doing it like they do it on the Discovery Channel. Thanks to Erika for teaching me how to use the video on my digital camera, I now know that the male also falls off onto his back when he is , ummm, done. I now present, my first feature film: The Dirty Desert.


But No Sour Cream...

Sweet Pea arrived at work at the airport last week with her burrito and a small plastic container of sour cream. Naughty, naughty! Her sour cream was immediately confiscated. That's for YOUR security folks.

However, you CAN take your gel filled bra. Whew~!

Can I Take It?
Due to enhanced security measures liquids, gels, lotions and other items of similar consistency will not be permitted in carry-on baggage. These types of items must be packed in your checked baggage.

Additionally, liquids, gels and lotions purchased beyond the checkpoint but must be disposed of before boarding the aircraft.

To ensure the health and welfare of certain air travelers the following items are permitted.

Small amounts of Baby formula and breast milk if a baby or small child is traveling
Liquid prescription medicine with a name that matches the passenger’s ticket
Up to 5 oz. (148ml) of liquid or gel low blood sugar treatment
Up to 4 oz. of essential non-prescription liquid medications including saline solution, eye care products and KY jelly
Gel-filled bras and similar prostethics
Gel-filled wheelchair cushions
Life support and life sustaining liquids such as bone marrow, blood products, and transplant organs carried for medical reasons