Late September Discoveries

There is something much worse than unrequited love. The unrequited nap. I was home from work today with my 16 month old son who is on the downward swing of pink eye. He went down for his afternoon nap, and even though I could have graded papers while he was sleeping, I felt a surge of sleepiness. (Due to my almost five year old daughter's 4:30 to 5:15 a.m. fear- of- night- time- parade, back and forth from our room to the guest room, where she has been sleeping because in her own room, which she shares with her brother, she is scared of aforementioned sibling and the noises he makes) So, I lay down to nap and just as I enter that state that is just between reality and dreams, like the world in "The Magician's Nephew" where the tall trees and small little puddle-ponds are, my son wakes up from a 30 minute nap.
I tried to bring him in bed with me to lay down but that didn't work out so well. He likes to chortle uncontrollably when I scold him for hitting me.

Also, I've discovered that I really, really hate it when you pull the tab on an unopened, re-sealable cheese package and it tears the plastic so close to the seal that you don't have enough space to grab the plastic with your thumb and forefinger and are then forced to open the thing with a scissors, completely negating the re-sealableness of the cheese package.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned From TV Sketch Comics

• All people with "Conservative" values are old-fashioned.

• Every Republican is by definition out of touch.

• It's wrong to generalize or stereotype a large group of people unless they are of an opposing viewpoint.

• Anyone who believes in Creation is a buffoon.

• Smart people voted for Kerry, ergo idiots comprise the majority of our population.

• All home-schoolers are dull, socially awkward and generally ignorant.

• Be accepting of everyone...except those you've deemed as narrow-minded.

• It's OK to be verbally cruel toward people you disagree with.

Who needs activist judges when you've got activist comedians?

My new favorite blog...that I don't post on.

Cake Wrecks.



Enjoy.

Babies Everywhere!

I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure this is how the current trend in my family got started. Let's just say that I'm stearing clear of their water. And their breakfast bars.

A baby changes everything. (For the better.)

My sister is a mother. My little sister. IS. A. MOTHER.

I never imagined (O, thank you God for all the good things that happen while I'm busying worrying about the bad things that never do) what a thrill being an aunt could be. There are three little boys now, and I adore them. Earnest, winsome, loving, and mischievous. And another that's sure to be the life of the party.

And now a little one kicking around inside me. I begin to understand why mothers call pregnancy and child birth a miracle. Tiny cells, rapidly dividing and changing and in weeks a heartbeat, a spine, skin. Not yet one pound and this baby is all there. All four chambers of the heart. A wildly complex brain. A beautifully flexible spine. Tiny fists and a nicely turned ankle.

A person.
Inside of me.

And paving the way is a younger sister showering her son with kisses and filling my heart with joy.

No wonder I've been humming the opening lines of Psalm 45 these past three weeks.

My heart does overflow. A goodly theme is mine.

On a happier note...

Get it? Note? Music? It's genius...

What songs can always pick you right up off the metaphorical floor when you're feeling down (i.e. when your little sister doesn't want to let go of the fact that you're withholding information from her and you really, really just want her to be happy for you...yeah, like that) and put an insta-smile on your face?

I'm still thinking...

*This just in!
Jason Mraz's song "I'm Yours" is my current pick.

Advertising and Sign Language Interpreting

What would you do after graduation if you were getting two separate degrees in these fields?

Andrew Sullivan would call this a "Mental Health Break"

Where Do The Candidates Stand On The Issue Of....

"Arrested Development" coming back? What??? Is this a devilish tease or is there truth to its possible return to prime time? Molly, please inform. If you are still in your Franciscan Monk mode and denying yourself Hollywood gossip, please consider violating your vows for the good of the country in getting to the bottom of this key voter issue.

The case against McCain

I have been trying my best to stay out of political "discussions" on this blog. But I am now beginning to feel so fervently that in no way is John McCain the "lesser of two evils" in this campaign. All Palin issues aside, I'll let the man speak for himself.

"My Sandwich!??? My Sandwich?!"

If only Ross could have had access to this kind of "moist maker" protection technology.....he may never have had to go on sabbatical. Although, that would denied us the beauty that is "fireball."

"Sing a sad song..."

The Scientist by Coldplay

I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt

Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Connor

Let Him Fly by Patty Griffin

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning by Carly Simon

What songs make you want to curl into the fetal position with a box of Kleenexes?

Not to brag

But I'm having this man's baby.

Question

Several times, in different venues, since Sarah Palin was asked to be McCain's running mate, I have heard people - not a few of them women - scream that she would not have been chosen had she not been a woman. Fine. I think there is probably a lot to that notion. I'm not a hundred percent sure it's accurate, but I won't dismiss it.

But being as this is an election year, in the most powerful country in the world, and the wrong answer might blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Would Obama have been nominated if he weren't black? Well, punk, would he?

Only in America

Say what you want about the state of American politics, the economy, our over-cosmetic-surgeried population, cowboy presidents, working mothers, and community organizers, but only in America can the son of a Kenyan goat-herder and the wife of a commercial fisherman from the most remote state in the union run against each other for the two highest offices in the land - and by "land" I mean Earth.

So put that in your snooty little pipe and smoke it, Europe.

I Am So Bored Already

So I subscribe to The Stylephile, a fashion spin-off of Variety. It’s cute, but so irrelevant to my life I rarely read it. (But if it's schedules of upcoming trunk shows in L.A. you want, I'll forward it to you.)

This time I opened it. A Pea in the Pod month-long style drive for expectant moms, the subject line read. (Don't think I don't want the Secret Fit Belly pants.) I clicked through to the article:

Like EVERY website these days, there's a place to post your comments. Here was the sole contribution:

Really?

Poor Stacey forgot she was on a fashion website and not on her lavender-scented soap box.

Am I surprised? A Variety reader is a petty left winger? Okay, I wasn't. Timing and perspective are not strong points amongst the hoi polloi of web surfers and lefties seem particularly immune to them.

But seriously. This is just boring. And not funny. And boring.

Get a cause, Stacey! Fight a real enemy! Do anything but what you're doing now: giving voice to other people's severely limited view of humor.