Friday, May 29, 2009
Courtney has the Traveling Dance!
For a hysterical and quite accurate recap of SYTYCD...head over to Courtney's blog. And leave bunches of comments, too!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy belated Birthday!!!!
It took a little detective work and a computer savvy husband (and by computer savvy, I mean that unlike me, he actually read the big window that kept popping up telling me that my photo program had expired instead of closing it every time then wondering why the program won't work) to get my pictures in working order. Thank you, Honey!!!
So, please enjoy a photo journey of our sweet, sweet baby Trey's first birthday celebration.
There was good food. All the guests were asked to bring their favorite pasta dish....yum!
Good family!
Good cake. Giant Eagle is known for their delicious cake and poor spelling...
Trey went to bed shortly after this cake incident....to go to sleep, not as some sort of cake smashing punishment. His early bed time worked out well for Joe and Bella who then got to open all of his presents.
So, please enjoy a photo journey of our sweet, sweet baby Trey's first birthday celebration.
There was good food. All the guests were asked to bring their favorite pasta dish....yum!
Good family!
Good cake. Giant Eagle is known for their delicious cake and poor spelling...
Trey went to bed shortly after this cake incident....to go to sleep, not as some sort of cake smashing punishment. His early bed time worked out well for Joe and Bella who then got to open all of his presents. Happy birthday, sweet baby!
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dance
Very exciting!!! So You Think You Can Dance premiered tonight, yes tonight! I LOVE this show. If you're not familiar with the phenomenon that's earned it's own acronym, SYTYCD....here's the skinny. It's American Idol for dancers....3 judges, weekly competition, America votes, someone goes home. There seems to be more crying and jumping on this show when the judges critique the song....er, dance. AI is hosted by Ryan Seacrest and he does a great job....but he's no tall drink o' water like SYTYCD's hostess Cat Deely!
I'm not alone in my affection for this show. So a few of us bloggers (Christina, Courtney, Megan, Renee, and myself) are going to rotate a blog review each week. Get it? The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dance??? It all makes sense now, right? I guess I pulled the short straw having to post the inaugural review. So much pressure! Feel free to leave your opinions and comments each week...this dance card is big enough for all of us!
Tonight's premier began with auditions in Brooklyn, New York and Denver, Colorado. I have to say that I was pleased this time that there were far more GOOD dancers featured than ridiculously embarrassing "dancers". I feel badly for these unfortunate souls who have no one who loves them....at least not enough to tell them NOT to audition. These are the people that were probably told once at their sister's wedding that they were a good dancer by others who were so drunk they thought it would be funny to freak the mother of the bride. They should not audition. If your "formal" training consists of watching videos on MTV, you should not audition. Is this news to anyone? Apparently it is.
Ahhh I digress. Tonight's show featured the 2 regular judges, Nigel and Mary. Nigel cracks me up with his shaggy, kinda feathered hair and his attempts to be "down" by saying things like "stank face" and "you brought it" with his thick British accent. He does know his dance though, and he tells the truth! Did anyone else see when he imitated one dancer by pointing to his crotch and yelling "Why would you do that?" Gold! Then there's Mary. At least 3 sound techs per season are approved for workers compensation from her screaming soooo loudly. In New York she looked like she just got off her pirate ship and forgot to change out of her puffy shirt, while in Denver the rodeo barely ended before she had to be at the convention center. She, too, though knows her dancing! In New York, Nigel and Mary were joined by Tabitha and Napoleon, a married, hip hop dancing duo. They are too cute for words...I love how she looks at her husband as he's talking. In Denver, Nigel and Mary were joined by Sonya Tay....who is so cool she snaps her fingers instead of clapping!
As for the competitors...the ones to watch, I think are Gabby (she was the first to audition and is a carni, too!), Peter the Italian tap dancer, Chimizie the super cool hip hop guy and Natalie and Brandon who both almost made it into the top 20 last year. Ooooh, don't forget Kayla who was brought to the audition by her very proud grandparents!
How weird were the "mutation" dancers, Storyboard and Hobgoblin? How does one know that they can bend like that? I kinda liked it. I'm going to get me some Schmean. I also enjoyed the umbrella dancer guy... the umbrella worked. Some props that didn't work were light sabers, a mannequin, endless leg warmers, and too much see through mesh. I give credit to Tiffany who auditioned in spite of her horrendously debilitating long hair....er, I mean spinal dysplaysia.
Let me know what you think. Tune in next week for a review of the Miami and Memphis auditions!
*** I realize that STILL have not posted about Trey's first birthday. I swear that we did celebrate it. My computer won't let me upload or download or sideload pictures right now. Be patient!****
I'm not alone in my affection for this show. So a few of us bloggers (Christina, Courtney, Megan, Renee, and myself) are going to rotate a blog review each week. Get it? The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dance??? It all makes sense now, right? I guess I pulled the short straw having to post the inaugural review. So much pressure! Feel free to leave your opinions and comments each week...this dance card is big enough for all of us!
Tonight's premier began with auditions in Brooklyn, New York and Denver, Colorado. I have to say that I was pleased this time that there were far more GOOD dancers featured than ridiculously embarrassing "dancers". I feel badly for these unfortunate souls who have no one who loves them....at least not enough to tell them NOT to audition. These are the people that were probably told once at their sister's wedding that they were a good dancer by others who were so drunk they thought it would be funny to freak the mother of the bride. They should not audition. If your "formal" training consists of watching videos on MTV, you should not audition. Is this news to anyone? Apparently it is.
Ahhh I digress. Tonight's show featured the 2 regular judges, Nigel and Mary. Nigel cracks me up with his shaggy, kinda feathered hair and his attempts to be "down" by saying things like "stank face" and "you brought it" with his thick British accent. He does know his dance though, and he tells the truth! Did anyone else see when he imitated one dancer by pointing to his crotch and yelling "Why would you do that?" Gold! Then there's Mary. At least 3 sound techs per season are approved for workers compensation from her screaming soooo loudly. In New York she looked like she just got off her pirate ship and forgot to change out of her puffy shirt, while in Denver the rodeo barely ended before she had to be at the convention center. She, too, though knows her dancing! In New York, Nigel and Mary were joined by Tabitha and Napoleon, a married, hip hop dancing duo. They are too cute for words...I love how she looks at her husband as he's talking. In Denver, Nigel and Mary were joined by Sonya Tay....who is so cool she snaps her fingers instead of clapping!
As for the competitors...the ones to watch, I think are Gabby (she was the first to audition and is a carni, too!), Peter the Italian tap dancer, Chimizie the super cool hip hop guy and Natalie and Brandon who both almost made it into the top 20 last year. Ooooh, don't forget Kayla who was brought to the audition by her very proud grandparents!
How weird were the "mutation" dancers, Storyboard and Hobgoblin? How does one know that they can bend like that? I kinda liked it. I'm going to get me some Schmean. I also enjoyed the umbrella dancer guy... the umbrella worked. Some props that didn't work were light sabers, a mannequin, endless leg warmers, and too much see through mesh. I give credit to Tiffany who auditioned in spite of her horrendously debilitating long hair....er, I mean spinal dysplaysia.
Let me know what you think. Tune in next week for a review of the Miami and Memphis auditions!
*** I realize that STILL have not posted about Trey's first birthday. I swear that we did celebrate it. My computer won't let me upload or download or sideload pictures right now. Be patient!****
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Do NOT make me pull this car over!
Before I begin yet another rant.....allow me to acknowledge that our sweet, sweet baby Trey had his 1st birthday on Tuesday. I have not blogged about it yet because I'm waiting until after his party to be able to post some pics and cute stories...or cute pics and stories....whatever.
Anyway, while playing some highly educational, thought provoking, using all the primary colors game with the kids, something on the Dr. Phil show caught my attention. A woman in New York was arrested after kicking her kids out of the car and driving off without them and then not being able to find one of them. Stop me if you've heard this one....oh wait, it's not a joke. It peaked my curiosity, so I googled it to see what I could find out. Well! Look out Loretta, but people had A LOT to say about this story!
Allow me to fill in some details.....the woman is a successful lawyer in New York. She lives in White Plains, which according to 725 articles is an affluent suburb. Her 2 girls (10 and 12) would not stop fighting with each other, so mom pulled over in their downtown area and told them to get out. They were 3.5 miles from home. The 12 year old took off after mom and eventually caught up with the car and so mom generously let her back in. Mom drove around the block to get the 10 year old, but she was gone from where she was left crying on the corner of 1st and My Mom Just Abandoned Me Avenue. A "Good Samaritan" had taken the girl to get ice cream, then to a police car cruising the mean streets of White Plains. The mom, not knowing about the ice cream and cops, went home, picked up her husband and father, then went back to the area to look some more. Finally, after returning home, she called the police to report the girl missing. The police told her that the girl was with them and was safe if not a little bloated from all the free ice cream freely given by strangers. When mom arrived to pick her up, she was immediately arrested and charged with child endangerment.
I fully expected every message board to be jammed with outrage at this mother.....How could she do this to her children? What if something had happened to her baby? What about the trauma? But you know what? Almost every message was supportive of the mom....huh.
Some of the opinions were....At 10 and 12 years old they totally should be able to walk the 3.5 miles home. Good for the mom for following through on a threat. I remember when I was kicked out of the car as a kid and I found my way home. The 12 year old should be punished for leaving the 10 year old behind. If the mom gets punished, those girls will think they can get away with anything by threatening to call the cops. Kids have too much power these days. We've all thought about kicking the kids out and if you say you haven't then you're a liar. The 10 year old wasn't crying because she was scared, but because mom followed through.
Some leaned towards...I would have kicked them out, but would have parked to wait out the drama. I would have made them walk home, but follow them the whole way. I would train my kids to know the way home. I would have parked and gotten out myself to cool off.
Every one agreed that the mom should NOT be charged, but maybe (just maybe) could benefit from some parenting classes. A judge DID drop the charges, but mom has to stay out of trouble for 6 months...or else!
So, what would you do?
It's hard for me to imagine since my kids aren't that old, yet. I thought back to when I was 10...ahhhh the glory days. We (my brother and I) were allowed to, or more accurately never told not to, walk wherever we wanted. However, it needs to be considered that other activities never approved or disapproved of included setting fire to stuff, disassembling appliances, and throwing rocks at the window above the garage. So, that's not really a good guage.
In my heart of hearts, I have to believe that I would never kick my kids out of the car in anger (or happiness either). I think it would be different if the girls had asked to walk home and mom knew they could handle it. But clearly they were scared or else why would the 12 year old chase down the car, or the 10 year cry and go along with a stranger?! Praise the lord that it was a "good Samaritan" that stopped to help. All the pedophiles must have been at the mall...
Anyway, while playing some highly educational, thought provoking, using all the primary colors game with the kids, something on the Dr. Phil show caught my attention. A woman in New York was arrested after kicking her kids out of the car and driving off without them and then not being able to find one of them. Stop me if you've heard this one....oh wait, it's not a joke. It peaked my curiosity, so I googled it to see what I could find out. Well! Look out Loretta, but people had A LOT to say about this story!
Allow me to fill in some details.....the woman is a successful lawyer in New York. She lives in White Plains, which according to 725 articles is an affluent suburb. Her 2 girls (10 and 12) would not stop fighting with each other, so mom pulled over in their downtown area and told them to get out. They were 3.5 miles from home. The 12 year old took off after mom and eventually caught up with the car and so mom generously let her back in. Mom drove around the block to get the 10 year old, but she was gone from where she was left crying on the corner of 1st and My Mom Just Abandoned Me Avenue. A "Good Samaritan" had taken the girl to get ice cream, then to a police car cruising the mean streets of White Plains. The mom, not knowing about the ice cream and cops, went home, picked up her husband and father, then went back to the area to look some more. Finally, after returning home, she called the police to report the girl missing. The police told her that the girl was with them and was safe if not a little bloated from all the free ice cream freely given by strangers. When mom arrived to pick her up, she was immediately arrested and charged with child endangerment.
I fully expected every message board to be jammed with outrage at this mother.....How could she do this to her children? What if something had happened to her baby? What about the trauma? But you know what? Almost every message was supportive of the mom....huh.
Some of the opinions were....At 10 and 12 years old they totally should be able to walk the 3.5 miles home. Good for the mom for following through on a threat. I remember when I was kicked out of the car as a kid and I found my way home. The 12 year old should be punished for leaving the 10 year old behind. If the mom gets punished, those girls will think they can get away with anything by threatening to call the cops. Kids have too much power these days. We've all thought about kicking the kids out and if you say you haven't then you're a liar. The 10 year old wasn't crying because she was scared, but because mom followed through.
Some leaned towards...I would have kicked them out, but would have parked to wait out the drama. I would have made them walk home, but follow them the whole way. I would train my kids to know the way home. I would have parked and gotten out myself to cool off.
Every one agreed that the mom should NOT be charged, but maybe (just maybe) could benefit from some parenting classes. A judge DID drop the charges, but mom has to stay out of trouble for 6 months...or else!
So, what would you do?
It's hard for me to imagine since my kids aren't that old, yet. I thought back to when I was 10...ahhhh the glory days. We (my brother and I) were allowed to, or more accurately never told not to, walk wherever we wanted. However, it needs to be considered that other activities never approved or disapproved of included setting fire to stuff, disassembling appliances, and throwing rocks at the window above the garage. So, that's not really a good guage.
In my heart of hearts, I have to believe that I would never kick my kids out of the car in anger (or happiness either). I think it would be different if the girls had asked to walk home and mom knew they could handle it. But clearly they were scared or else why would the 12 year old chase down the car, or the 10 year cry and go along with a stranger?! Praise the lord that it was a "good Samaritan" that stopped to help. All the pedophiles must have been at the mall...
Friday, May 1, 2009
I Protest the Protest!
Let me make this point abundantly clear right off the bat....I am pro-life. I would not have always said that....in high school and as a young Christian, I would firmly tell you that a woman's body is her own and no one can tell her what to do with it! Later it became, well it's not a decision I would choose, but if it works for you....I assume that it is with age, learning, and prayer that is apparent (to me) that abortion is NOT God's will for any woman at any time under any circumstance. (We can talk more about it if you want) Throughout scripture, verse after verse point to the truth that God creates every person.
Psalm 100
Psalm 139
Col 1:16
1 Ti 4:4
Dt 32:6
Feel free to add more to the list....
So, anyhow....Thursday morning I'm driving home from church and as I approach a very large and busy intersection, I notice some people holding signs. I thought to myself "Oooooh, I wonder if Walgreen's is having a sale? I wonder what the specia.....what the? What is that? Is that a? OH *%&#! Look away! Quick! Oh crap, it's too late! For crying out loud they're everywhere!" I realized too late that the people were protesters of Planned Parenthood and were holding huge (and by huge I mean 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide) posters of aborted babies (it pains me to even type those words!) and the words "Abortion is Murder!"! Admittedly I have never seen pictures like this. It was gruesome and disgusting. There were about 4 people on every corner of a 16 million way intersection and I'm stuck at the longest red light in the history of traffic! I wanted to roll down my window and yell "Hey! I'm pro-Life! Can you put your hurling accusations and underlying contempt for women down just until I get through the light? Please and thank you." When I got home, I was telling Jay about it, when all of a sudden I burst into tears. This is not typical behavior for me, to say the least. I could probably count for you on one hand the times I have burst in to tears and still have a couple of fingers left over.
I am heartbroken for those tiny babies who didn't get a chance at life. I am heart broken for the woman who already feels guilty about the abortion she had and now has to have it shoved in her face. I am heartbroken for the woman who feels like there is nowhere to turn to. I'm angry that I had to have these pictures seared into my brain! I'm angry that the people (mostly men I might add) are just standing there almost expressionless as if it's no big deal to be standing on the warring side of a thrown gauntlet.
Jay did a great job comforting me. (even if he said "No" when I asked him to go ask the people to put their signs down) He then pointed out that point of the signs was... "If it saves even one baby, isn't it worth your being upset now?" (Which is an unfair question to begin with. The question should be: How do we best love/serve/reach out to women in the name of Christ?) I immediately said "NO!".....but of course...IF it is an effective strategy. And so that is my question. Does this method of "in your face" protesting really work? I want numbers, people! Do clinics and hospitals see a decline in appointments for the procedure after protesters descend on a neighborhood? Do doctor's offices see an increase in pre-natal appointments? How many doctors have had this conversation? "Well Doctor, I was really contemplating an abortion since this wasn't a planned pregnancy, I'm single, don't have any insurance, not a whole lotta money, not really sure if I can handle the burden financially, emotionally, or spiritually...even if I decided to give the baby up for adoption. But then, some strangers standing on a corner were yelling at me and accusing me of being a criminal...so that totally changed my mind." Seriously?
We agreed that there had to be so many better ways to get the point across. How about building relationships with the woman around us? How about earning the right to be heard about sensitive topics like this? How about reaching out to girls and young women before they get to this decision point? How about teaching them how valuable they are to God? How about teaching responsibility and that sometimes the quick and easy solutions are not so quick or easy?
I think any of these choices would speak volumes to the hearts of both Christian and non Christian woman. Anybody else?
I just don't think protesting in such a way is an effective way to get people to change their hearts or minds. So, thank you for the nightmares, anti-Planned Parenthood protesters! Now go love somebody!
Psalm 100
Psalm 139
Col 1:16
1 Ti 4:4
Dt 32:6
Feel free to add more to the list....
So, anyhow....Thursday morning I'm driving home from church and as I approach a very large and busy intersection, I notice some people holding signs. I thought to myself "Oooooh, I wonder if Walgreen's is having a sale? I wonder what the specia.....what the? What is that? Is that a? OH *%&#! Look away! Quick! Oh crap, it's too late! For crying out loud they're everywhere!" I realized too late that the people were protesters of Planned Parenthood and were holding huge (and by huge I mean 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide) posters of aborted babies (it pains me to even type those words!) and the words "Abortion is Murder!"! Admittedly I have never seen pictures like this. It was gruesome and disgusting. There were about 4 people on every corner of a 16 million way intersection and I'm stuck at the longest red light in the history of traffic! I wanted to roll down my window and yell "Hey! I'm pro-Life! Can you put your hurling accusations and underlying contempt for women down just until I get through the light? Please and thank you." When I got home, I was telling Jay about it, when all of a sudden I burst into tears. This is not typical behavior for me, to say the least. I could probably count for you on one hand the times I have burst in to tears and still have a couple of fingers left over.
I am heartbroken for those tiny babies who didn't get a chance at life. I am heart broken for the woman who already feels guilty about the abortion she had and now has to have it shoved in her face. I am heartbroken for the woman who feels like there is nowhere to turn to. I'm angry that I had to have these pictures seared into my brain! I'm angry that the people (mostly men I might add) are just standing there almost expressionless as if it's no big deal to be standing on the warring side of a thrown gauntlet.
Jay did a great job comforting me. (even if he said "No" when I asked him to go ask the people to put their signs down) He then pointed out that point of the signs was... "If it saves even one baby, isn't it worth your being upset now?" (Which is an unfair question to begin with. The question should be: How do we best love/serve/reach out to women in the name of Christ?) I immediately said "NO!".....but of course...IF it is an effective strategy. And so that is my question. Does this method of "in your face" protesting really work? I want numbers, people! Do clinics and hospitals see a decline in appointments for the procedure after protesters descend on a neighborhood? Do doctor's offices see an increase in pre-natal appointments? How many doctors have had this conversation? "Well Doctor, I was really contemplating an abortion since this wasn't a planned pregnancy, I'm single, don't have any insurance, not a whole lotta money, not really sure if I can handle the burden financially, emotionally, or spiritually...even if I decided to give the baby up for adoption. But then, some strangers standing on a corner were yelling at me and accusing me of being a criminal...so that totally changed my mind." Seriously?
We agreed that there had to be so many better ways to get the point across. How about building relationships with the woman around us? How about earning the right to be heard about sensitive topics like this? How about reaching out to girls and young women before they get to this decision point? How about teaching them how valuable they are to God? How about teaching responsibility and that sometimes the quick and easy solutions are not so quick or easy?
I think any of these choices would speak volumes to the hearts of both Christian and non Christian woman. Anybody else?
I just don't think protesting in such a way is an effective way to get people to change their hearts or minds. So, thank you for the nightmares, anti-Planned Parenthood protesters! Now go love somebody!
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