Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Guess Who?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
It was a coincidence
Tonight was "Breakfast for Dinner" night at our house. I cooked bacon, pancakes and Jason fried us some eggs. Yum yum.
Turns out...today is "National Pancake Day". How do you like them apples?
Monday, February 27, 2012
Survived the First Year
Well, we have almost done it. As of Thursday we will have managed to keep our Lucy alive for
a whole year. I guess our job is
done. Whew. Wait, you mean we’re not done? Oh well, I guess we’ll just keep going.
Lucy at one year old is a happy kid. She’s right on target with being a bit clingy
to mommy, but she’s also good at independent play and is happy at her day care
with her friends. It is strange to think
that a one year old would have friends, but she and Conner, who is much older
(13 months), really seem to connect and play together. Maybe it’s because they are developmentally
very similar and enjoy the same things, but it is sweet to see them sit and
make each other laugh. I’ve been trying
to be friendly with his mom, but we don’t seem to have the same
connection. There is another girl/mom
combo at school that is more interactive and it is possible if Lucy and Lily
become buddies that the moms might too.
Lucy is weaning herself from the bottle. She no longer has a bottle at bedtime and we are gradually decreasing the amount of formula she is drinking. Soon we will start to do bottles of milk instead of formula. My anxiety about transitioning to healthy foods that we make for her is lessening. Each time I come up with a new combo that she likes it pleases me. Soon she’ll be eating most of the stuff we eat.
Personality wise, Lucy seems to be a playful and bright kid. She’s not drawing pictures of advanced math algorithms or anything, but she clearly understands the things we’re saying to her. Her understanding of basic things like no, yes, up, bring, share, eat, all done, leave it alone, and more are spot on. It’s nice to be able to talk to her and it really seems like she’s taking it in. She plays well alone, loves to play with others, and she certainly knows how to flirt. Every trip to the grocery store is like a parade, she waves at all the people until they wave back.
In the morning, when time allows Lucy gets to
come into bed with us. I’m sure this is
common for most parents as it’s an easy was to keep that linger in bed for
15-20 minutes in the morning routine and spend time with the little ones when they
are the most rested. After the infant
phase where she just laid there, she explored the nook we created for her. Open handed pats on daddy, then on mommy, and back to daddy were common. She learned VERY quickly that a yank of the
fuzzy hair on daddy’s chest caused him to cry and cover up like a turtle. Thankfully, the hair pulling era seems to be
over. Now she actively crawls, flops
and hops around. She’ll stop for a brief
moment to give a full body hug to whichever parent is the most available. It’s
a quick snuggle and then she’s up again.
If only baby energy could be harnessed to power the world. Lucy is weaning herself from the bottle. She no longer has a bottle at bedtime and we are gradually decreasing the amount of formula she is drinking. Soon we will start to do bottles of milk instead of formula. My anxiety about transitioning to healthy foods that we make for her is lessening. Each time I come up with a new combo that she likes it pleases me. Soon she’ll be eating most of the stuff we eat.
Personality wise, Lucy seems to be a playful and bright kid. She’s not drawing pictures of advanced math algorithms or anything, but she clearly understands the things we’re saying to her. Her understanding of basic things like no, yes, up, bring, share, eat, all done, leave it alone, and more are spot on. It’s nice to be able to talk to her and it really seems like she’s taking it in. She plays well alone, loves to play with others, and she certainly knows how to flirt. Every trip to the grocery store is like a parade, she waves at all the people until they wave back.
We took a road trip this past weekend and she did very well in the car. The trip down was a little bit harder, but it messed with her bedtime routine. She was awake far longer in the car than she would have been had she been in a bed. We wore her out the next day, she played and played and explored at Auntie Jenny’s house. Lew, who is 5, has all sorts of wonderful toys – blocks and things that stack, things that make noise, and she was busy all day. Auntie Jenny also pulled out some wonderful things that Lucy’s dad had to play with too. Someone has been doing some eBay purchases and acquired the Fisher Price Airport, the airplane and a fancy street scene. They didn’t have all the people, but Lucy, Lew, Jenny and Jason had a great time.
A road trip was probably a crazy idea considering that we will be having a house full of guests this next weekend, but alas, the lure of visiting with friends can't be denied. I can clean the house later this week.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Our First Temper Tantrum
Lucy is mad and I film her. I am a mean mama. (tee hee). As you will see she recovers very quickly and is her happy self right away.
Below is a shorter video of her being semi-cute after eating.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Date Night
Jason and I got dressed up and went out to dinner for his birthday. Normally, dinner out for us is the 4:45 seating at Casa Durango, our neighborhood hot spot for burritos and carne asada. Antonio doesn't mind that we bring little miss discards cheerios on the floor and we like the food. Someday, she'll stay up past 7:00 on a regular basis and we may be able to dine out with the general population again. Until then, dinners out are either with the no-teeth set (oldies and babies) or it's s big deal that involves babysitters. If I have to pay a babysitter, I'm going to do dinner right. So, for Jason's birthday we dressed up and went to El Gaucho.
Sure, it's expensive as hell, but I got to put on a dress and the fancy shoes.
Our Lucy sitters arrived early so they could play with her so we headed to the restaurant early. We enjoyed a cocktail at the bar. We had all night to give each other love eyes so a rap with the bartender is fun. We discussed the merits of infused vodkas. (Don't be surprised if we whip up a batch for the summer.) After our cocktail hour we were escorted to our table, a lovely two top in the back of the dark candle lit section. This restaurant had a few sections that, in my observation, are seated based upon your mode of dress. The well lit section above the bar seems to be filled with the jeans and t-shirt crowd, the section we were in had the suits, jackets and ladies in sparkle gear or dresses. There is an elevated ring of booths around the perimeter of the dining area and those were occupied by request during the reservation process (maybe next time that will be my request.) There is a second level that is mostly private rooms for larger parties. I asked the waiter about the segregation of diners based upon their mode of dress and he (in his tuxedo) swore up and down that it wasn't true. However, not one t-shirt was in our section, nor have I ever seen it in my many (4) visits to the Gaucho.
We brought our own bottle of wine from our collection and were happy to pay the $25 corkage fee. We never would have paid the restaurant price for that wine, and we had been storing it for a while. It was yummy. Our dinner was wonderful, although my fillet medallions were overcooked and in spite of the dark location I could tell immediately. Our waiter arrived back at the table within seconds and pulled a flashlight from his tuxedo and took one look, gasped in horror and whipped my plate away before I could say "oh... I'll eat it". While I waited they brought me a plate of the most heavenly mashed potatoes that God ever created. I knew better than to smear them all over my face, but I really wanted to do it.
Jason and I talked like we were on an amazing first date about everything under the sun but we also gossiped about the people around us. We like to try and pick out the people on a date, the bored married couples, the people who are fighting and those that either have just had sex, or will be having sex in the next 90 minutes or so. To our right were two tables of two, a young couple with a bouquet of roses and petals sprinkled on the table and within arms reach an older couple who seemed to be celebrating a birthday - again with a small bouquet of roses. I felt bad that I hadn't thought that far ahead in requesting flowers to make Jason's birthday dinner that much more special. (I'm such a jerk.) To our left was a larger table and the couples arrived separately. The first to arrive was a couple in their late 20's, she was a lovely blond and he a dark haired dreamboat. They seemed happy and chatty with each other. However, when the second couple arrived, a brown haired woman with a man who looked eerily like the first guy the blond clammed up like someone took a crap on her skirt. (what!?) Anywho, when the older couple arrived it was clear it was the parents of the two men and the ladies were the wives. Instantly, the dark haired woman started talking and laughing with the mom and the blond didn't say another word the whole night. Everyone but her ordered appetizers, steaks and drank wine. They had a great time. She however ate salad, drank either water or a tall clear cocktail and seemed to be wishing for death. I thought how awful it must be to be happily in love with your man but not connect with his boisterous family. Frankly, the family seemed fun so the poor girl came off like she has a major stick up her butt.
We lingered over dinner and dessert and the older couple to our right finished dinner and left. I noticed that they left their roses on the table, so after a few moments I said to Jason, "I'm getting you flowers." Without even having to stand up, I reached over and pulled the small bouquet onto our table and we proceeded to talk and enjoy our night. Maybe a minute later the woman was back, in her coat, standing at her former table. The waiter arrived and she said, "I forgot my flowers, but they aren't here." HORROR. I felt badly and was terribly embarrassed. I fessed up immediately and as I handed them to her I sad "I'm so sorry, we thought you left them. Happy birthday." She looked confused, took the flowers and left without saying a word. (I'm sure I don't come off very well in her version of the story.) I turned back around and Jason was laughing at me. Clearly, my horror was humorous. I'll give him credit for acknowledging that it was a no harm, no foul situation.
A moment later the waiter arrived at our table with a new bouquet of roses in hand and pointed to the other table of two and said "that couple over there would like you to have their roses." HORROR. If you thought I was embarrassed before, imagine how that was compounded upon realizing that the folks around us saw me steal the flowers and then have to give them back. I leaned over and said "you don't want to give me your roses, I'm a common criminal." They laughed and said "enjoy!" Jason and I had a good laugh... well, he laughed and I tried to compose myself. As the evening wound down we were ready to head home and our waiter brought us the bill (horror again, but it was expected) and reminded us to take our flowers home. We were just getting on the freeway when I remembered that I forgot to grab the roses. Oh well, at least the generous couple had already left and didn't see me abandon their sweet gesture.
Happy Birthday to my special guy, next time I'll buy you your own roses.
Our Lucy sitters arrived early so they could play with her so we headed to the restaurant early. We enjoyed a cocktail at the bar. We had all night to give each other love eyes so a rap with the bartender is fun. We discussed the merits of infused vodkas. (Don't be surprised if we whip up a batch for the summer.) After our cocktail hour we were escorted to our table, a lovely two top in the back of the dark candle lit section. This restaurant had a few sections that, in my observation, are seated based upon your mode of dress. The well lit section above the bar seems to be filled with the jeans and t-shirt crowd, the section we were in had the suits, jackets and ladies in sparkle gear or dresses. There is an elevated ring of booths around the perimeter of the dining area and those were occupied by request during the reservation process (maybe next time that will be my request.) There is a second level that is mostly private rooms for larger parties. I asked the waiter about the segregation of diners based upon their mode of dress and he (in his tuxedo) swore up and down that it wasn't true. However, not one t-shirt was in our section, nor have I ever seen it in my many (4) visits to the Gaucho.
We brought our own bottle of wine from our collection and were happy to pay the $25 corkage fee. We never would have paid the restaurant price for that wine, and we had been storing it for a while. It was yummy. Our dinner was wonderful, although my fillet medallions were overcooked and in spite of the dark location I could tell immediately. Our waiter arrived back at the table within seconds and pulled a flashlight from his tuxedo and took one look, gasped in horror and whipped my plate away before I could say "oh... I'll eat it". While I waited they brought me a plate of the most heavenly mashed potatoes that God ever created. I knew better than to smear them all over my face, but I really wanted to do it.
Jason and I talked like we were on an amazing first date about everything under the sun but we also gossiped about the people around us. We like to try and pick out the people on a date, the bored married couples, the people who are fighting and those that either have just had sex, or will be having sex in the next 90 minutes or so. To our right were two tables of two, a young couple with a bouquet of roses and petals sprinkled on the table and within arms reach an older couple who seemed to be celebrating a birthday - again with a small bouquet of roses. I felt bad that I hadn't thought that far ahead in requesting flowers to make Jason's birthday dinner that much more special. (I'm such a jerk.) To our left was a larger table and the couples arrived separately. The first to arrive was a couple in their late 20's, she was a lovely blond and he a dark haired dreamboat. They seemed happy and chatty with each other. However, when the second couple arrived, a brown haired woman with a man who looked eerily like the first guy the blond clammed up like someone took a crap on her skirt. (what!?) Anywho, when the older couple arrived it was clear it was the parents of the two men and the ladies were the wives. Instantly, the dark haired woman started talking and laughing with the mom and the blond didn't say another word the whole night. Everyone but her ordered appetizers, steaks and drank wine. They had a great time. She however ate salad, drank either water or a tall clear cocktail and seemed to be wishing for death. I thought how awful it must be to be happily in love with your man but not connect with his boisterous family. Frankly, the family seemed fun so the poor girl came off like she has a major stick up her butt.
We lingered over dinner and dessert and the older couple to our right finished dinner and left. I noticed that they left their roses on the table, so after a few moments I said to Jason, "I'm getting you flowers." Without even having to stand up, I reached over and pulled the small bouquet onto our table and we proceeded to talk and enjoy our night. Maybe a minute later the woman was back, in her coat, standing at her former table. The waiter arrived and she said, "I forgot my flowers, but they aren't here." HORROR. I felt badly and was terribly embarrassed. I fessed up immediately and as I handed them to her I sad "I'm so sorry, we thought you left them. Happy birthday." She looked confused, took the flowers and left without saying a word. (I'm sure I don't come off very well in her version of the story.) I turned back around and Jason was laughing at me. Clearly, my horror was humorous. I'll give him credit for acknowledging that it was a no harm, no foul situation.
A moment later the waiter arrived at our table with a new bouquet of roses in hand and pointed to the other table of two and said "that couple over there would like you to have their roses." HORROR. If you thought I was embarrassed before, imagine how that was compounded upon realizing that the folks around us saw me steal the flowers and then have to give them back. I leaned over and said "you don't want to give me your roses, I'm a common criminal." They laughed and said "enjoy!" Jason and I had a good laugh... well, he laughed and I tried to compose myself. As the evening wound down we were ready to head home and our waiter brought us the bill (horror again, but it was expected) and reminded us to take our flowers home. We were just getting on the freeway when I remembered that I forgot to grab the roses. Oh well, at least the generous couple had already left and didn't see me abandon their sweet gesture.
Happy Birthday to my special guy, next time I'll buy you your own roses.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thoughts of the week
Lucy is feeling much better. She hates the eye drops, but we only have to do them until Wednesday. The antibiotics for her ears is a far more likable medicine. She sucks it down like candy. For the most part, she seems like herself. She's happy and eating well. Around 4:30 yesterday she stopped being so fun, but my patience was waning too. We had an early dinner, followed by a quick bath and then some more play time. I took her up to her room at about 5:50pm, drugged her, put drops in her eyes (skipped a bedtime bottle) and out she went.
The bedtime bottle is now off the table for good. Like everything else we transition I worry far more about it than is necessary. She had been taking 6 ounces at bedtime then 4, then 3 ounces of a 4 ounce bottle and then in the last week or so, 1 ounce... It is probably more accurate to say that she weaned herself. It will make our night time dental routine easier. It was a bit jolting to have a soothing warm bottle then drag her into the bathroom for a quick brush of the tooth and then back to the soothing, calm bedroom. Now we can do the teeth as part of the bath routine and simply read then go to bed.
So, Lucy is on the mend, but my other roommate is feeling like death. He has a rather nasty sinus infection. You don't need details, but he's on the same antibiotics that Lucy is on (but his comes in a pill) and thankfully I don't have to pin him to the bed to take it.
He didn't sleep last night and is now on the couch watching old episodes of The Shield. Funny, when sick, I watch Sex and the City or the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice -both share the same story but have vastly different wardrobes and there is a significant lack of the word "f*ck" in the BBC show.
Speaking of "f*ck" - did you see the Grammy's last night? In a night of national (rock and roll) mourning for Whitney Houston, Nicki Minaj was a total freak show. I think her sound is quirky and I kind of like it (not enough to buy an album, but I'm interested in her music) however I think the Exorcism of Nicki was disturbing. I know that there are a whole heap of serious Catholics who aren't over the Madonna "Like a Prayer" thing where she made out with a black Jesus who came to life due to her totally awesome music, but I think they have a new hoe to row this morning. The theme made me uncomfortable, the music wasn't all that great and then the girls spreading their legs over the heads of the kneeling altar boys was a bit much. Just WOW.
The Catholic League wasted no time in issuing a statement "Perhaps the most vulgar part was the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer. Finally, “Come All Ye Faithful” was sung while a man posing as a bishop walked on stage; Minaj was shown levitating."
They went on to rail about the current presidential administrations attacks on the church (sorry, but I don't think that all employers being required to cover women's health issues is an affront to the church) so they lost me a bit, but I understand their outrage about Ms. Minaj appearing with "the Pope" and then giving this crazy performance.
So, Lucy is on the mend, but my other roommate is feeling like death. He has a rather nasty sinus infection. You don't need details, but he's on the same antibiotics that Lucy is on (but his comes in a pill) and thankfully I don't have to pin him to the bed to take it.
He didn't sleep last night and is now on the couch watching old episodes of The Shield. Funny, when sick, I watch Sex and the City or the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice -both share the same story but have vastly different wardrobes and there is a significant lack of the word "f*ck" in the BBC show.
 |
| Going to hell soon? |
Speaking of "f*ck" - did you see the Grammy's last night? In a night of national (rock and roll) mourning for Whitney Houston, Nicki Minaj was a total freak show. I think her sound is quirky and I kind of like it (not enough to buy an album, but I'm interested in her music) however I think the Exorcism of Nicki was disturbing. I know that there are a whole heap of serious Catholics who aren't over the Madonna "Like a Prayer" thing where she made out with a black Jesus who came to life due to her totally awesome music, but I think they have a new hoe to row this morning. The theme made me uncomfortable, the music wasn't all that great and then the girls spreading their legs over the heads of the kneeling altar boys was a bit much. Just WOW.
The Catholic League wasted no time in issuing a statement "Perhaps the most vulgar part was the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer. Finally, “Come All Ye Faithful” was sung while a man posing as a bishop walked on stage; Minaj was shown levitating."
They went on to rail about the current presidential administrations attacks on the church (sorry, but I don't think that all employers being required to cover women's health issues is an affront to the church) so they lost me a bit, but I understand their outrage about Ms. Minaj appearing with "the Pope" and then giving this crazy performance.
You know I'm not a huge fan of groups that push their agenda onto the rights of others, but I also think intentionally offending them is disrespectful. You don't have to agree, but for pete sake, you don't have to sexually assault an altar boy to make your point.
As for Whitney Houston - just sad. Unfortunately, it's not overly shocking news. However, her "people" are claiming she was getting it together and had never looked better. Something is fishy (no pun intended) when you take a bath and die. Sober people don't do that unless they don't know how to stand up safely.
Speaking of bathtub safety, Miss Lucy has taken to wanting to stand up while in the tub. I will wrestle with her and put her back on her bum with a firm reprimand "we don't stand in the bathtub" , but after about the 4th time, I just pull her after telling her "if you stand up you must be "all done". I asked Jason if it was ok to tell her that that lady on the TV died because she stood up in the tub, but he says Lucy is too young to understand and that telling her fibs like that will come back to haunt me. I guess he's right. Being consistent about pulling her out of the tub when she stands is a bummer because it cuts bath time short and she's not really done playing. Hopefully it's just a phase and she'll get the rule eventually.
As for Whitney Houston - just sad. Unfortunately, it's not overly shocking news. However, her "people" are claiming she was getting it together and had never looked better. Something is fishy (no pun intended) when you take a bath and die. Sober people don't do that unless they don't know how to stand up safely.
Speaking of bathtub safety, Miss Lucy has taken to wanting to stand up while in the tub. I will wrestle with her and put her back on her bum with a firm reprimand "we don't stand in the bathtub" , but after about the 4th time, I just pull her after telling her "if you stand up you must be "all done". I asked Jason if it was ok to tell her that that lady on the TV died because she stood up in the tub, but he says Lucy is too young to understand and that telling her fibs like that will come back to haunt me. I guess he's right. Being consistent about pulling her out of the tub when she stands is a bummer because it cuts bath time short and she's not really done playing. Hopefully it's just a phase and she'll get the rule eventually.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Sick Kid
I was in San Jose earlier this week and the trip, while good for work was unremarkable and there's little to report.
The city of San Jose has banned plastic bags and now most stores are charging 10 cents for paper bags. This would be the incentive needed for me to remember to bring my own bags into the store. However, when traveling and in a rental car you have to buy the bag. I did get into a small altercation with the kid at Target who simply set my 15 items aside after ringing me up and moved on to the next customer. "Er... can I get a bag?" "Sure, but it'll cost 10 cents." "um, ok, you could have asked me." "Oh, some people hate the charge." At that point I was contemplating pay for my 10 cent bag with credit card, but opted to hand the kid a dime instead. Grrrr. I kept my fancy 10 cent Target bag and it now lives with my luggage that I leave under my desk at the office. Should I need to go to the store again, I'll have a bag with my travel stuff that I can forget to take with me. From now on it will feel just like home. I respect the movement away from the plastic bags, but for non-locals it isn't practical.
The San Jose portion of my trip was fine, the hard part was what was going on at home while I was away. Miss Lucy was sick. She had a significant throw-up event on Dad in the middle of the night, and then got sent home from 'school' with a suspected case of Pink Eye.
Jason quickly obtained an appointment with the Pediatrician and not only was the Pink Eye confirmed (apparently it was obvious) but she also had the onset of an ear infection. No wonder she has been cranky and not sleeping well. We're now on a round of oral antibiotics for the ears and eye drops for the pink eye. You have to know that she really HATES the eye drops. Thankfully, we only have to torture her with those for 1 week. The antibiotic is a 10 day event but she doesn't hate it.
She stayed home yesterday as the rule is kids must be 24 hours without fever (and one other symptom) before they can come back. Lucy and I played on the floor all day yesterday. She took good naps and was a happy camper this morning. She was excited about school which was nice to see. Apparently, Dad was solo parenting a cranky, lethargic kid who was not interested in food.
The first night I was home she was up in the night multiple times, stuffy and wanting to snuggle. I was thankful for naps yesterday as it allowed me the 45 minute rejuvenation nap needed to function for the day. Last night, she went to bed and with the exception of one moment at 12:30 where she put herself back to sleep needed no parental interventions. HURRAH!
Jason is, as everyone suspects, a great dad. He's a good doctor to our little girl, but he was also VERY ready for me to come home. Handling the sick kid is fine, but the cranky kid and a mess and medicine that you have to hold her down to administer - not fun on your own. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Lucy will be in good health when I'm on my back to back trips in March.
We also established that Lucy will transition to the big kid room soon and that it will not be around the same time that Jason and I leave her to go to Maui. I'm sure she'll be fine with grandma & grandpa but changing rooms at the same time seemed like too much going on.
I can't believe it has been a year. More on that mind blowing concept later.
The city of San Jose has banned plastic bags and now most stores are charging 10 cents for paper bags. This would be the incentive needed for me to remember to bring my own bags into the store. However, when traveling and in a rental car you have to buy the bag. I did get into a small altercation with the kid at Target who simply set my 15 items aside after ringing me up and moved on to the next customer. "Er... can I get a bag?" "Sure, but it'll cost 10 cents." "um, ok, you could have asked me." "Oh, some people hate the charge." At that point I was contemplating pay for my 10 cent bag with credit card, but opted to hand the kid a dime instead. Grrrr. I kept my fancy 10 cent Target bag and it now lives with my luggage that I leave under my desk at the office. Should I need to go to the store again, I'll have a bag with my travel stuff that I can forget to take with me. From now on it will feel just like home. I respect the movement away from the plastic bags, but for non-locals it isn't practical.
Jason quickly obtained an appointment with the Pediatrician and not only was the Pink Eye confirmed (apparently it was obvious) but she also had the onset of an ear infection. No wonder she has been cranky and not sleeping well. We're now on a round of oral antibiotics for the ears and eye drops for the pink eye. You have to know that she really HATES the eye drops. Thankfully, we only have to torture her with those for 1 week. The antibiotic is a 10 day event but she doesn't hate it.
The first night I was home she was up in the night multiple times, stuffy and wanting to snuggle. I was thankful for naps yesterday as it allowed me the 45 minute rejuvenation nap needed to function for the day. Last night, she went to bed and with the exception of one moment at 12:30 where she put herself back to sleep needed no parental interventions. HURRAH!
Jason is, as everyone suspects, a great dad. He's a good doctor to our little girl, but he was also VERY ready for me to come home. Handling the sick kid is fine, but the cranky kid and a mess and medicine that you have to hold her down to administer - not fun on your own. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Lucy will be in good health when I'm on my back to back trips in March.
We also established that Lucy will transition to the big kid room soon and that it will not be around the same time that Jason and I leave her to go to Maui. I'm sure she'll be fine with grandma & grandpa but changing rooms at the same time seemed like too much going on.
I can't believe it has been a year. More on that mind blowing concept later.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Thursday, February 02, 2012
More weddings!
Oh I love a good wedding and with a few perplexing exceptions, my wonderful and delightful friends are paired up and wedding season seems to be waning in my world. (To all the single ladies in the world, I know of the last, smart, witty, fun, single and caring man on earth... give me a call and I'll assess your worthiness for an introduction.) He's a straight as the day is long, so any of you single guys out there have to keep looking.
Any-who... back to my point. The local news lately is filled with what I see as progress in our state. I'm talking about the historic votes to allow all couples, regardless of gender makeup to marry. Unless something drastic happens it will pass the next legislative step and then the Governor will sign the bill into law. It's a darned complicated process but I'm rather excited about it.
I'm sure the signing into law won't be the end of it, there will be people who will sue, those that will suggest that a law won't be valid unless its voted on by the citizens of our state, but I say 'whooie!' We elected the folks in Olympia and their work stands for us all - just because you don't like it doesn't make it wrong. My dad taught me that. It was a blinding lesson in reality, where he told me to "want in one want and spit in the other and see which one gets full first." I had to test that theory about five times before I really figured out that wanting wasn't all that productive. I also learned that a handful of spit wiped on the couch will get you sent to your room.
I know plenty of people who feel with the most deepest of convictions that homosexuality is a sin and that allowing these 'sinners' to marry is an affront to the foundations of marriage. I don't agree, but I respect their right to believe that way. I also respect their right to pick and choose which parts of the bible to follow. Rules such as if you rape a woman and she isn't married you have to marry her. We don't stand by that one... or the penalty for adultery being death by stoning. Other non-practical rules, such as crop rotation have been clearly moved aside as not relevant to our modern society, and I doubt that all priests still don special undergarments when they approach the alter, lest the die of guilt (that's in Exodus, and thank you Google for a fruitful search of absurd Bible laws.) I don't discount that many modern churches and religious organizations still call homosexuality a sin. That is fine, for them.
Churches and religious organizations can (and should) lead their people according to their beliefs and interpretations of Gods (or whomever) divine law. Those teachings however should not extend to how laws are crafted in our modern, religiously free society. Who is to say that YOUR view of God is the same as mine or that it is more relevant or more right? Basing laws on a specific moral code is not acceptable in our modern civil government. Sure, thou shalt not kill has wormed its way into our legal system, but come on, when you murder someone you trample their civil rights just a bit. It's not only an infringement of their ability to dine at McDonalds but also ties back to the 10 commandments. However, we have not created laws that can result in capital punishment for all the commandments. I can find no civil code to prohibit anyone from envying their neighbor or their hot wife.
I support the rights of Churches to opt in or out of performing, supporting, condemning or endorsing same sex unions. They can deem me a sinner all day long for my support for that matter. However, the State (a non-religious based entity) should not participate in mandated discrimination of any kind.
The argument that a same sex union harms the fabric of or society, the basis of families or will impact the marriage of anyone else is (again I say) whooie! There have been gay couples for ages and it hasn't really harmed anyone, or impacted the fabric of society. I would argue that the feeling that these people should stay closeted or that it's ok to bully gay kids or anyone) has done more harm than loving acceptance would have done. Just as a sham marriage between two complete strangers or celebrities has no impact on my world, a union between two women in Yakima would have zero impact on me. That's not entirely true, if I knew them, and was invited to the wedding I might spend some money on a new dress, a wedding gift or two and maybe a hotel room. That is a positive impact to our economy, that's not a bad thing.
The fight isn't over, the discussion will go on for a while, but hopefully it will be resolved once and for all and we can move on to bigger and more important things.
By the way, I was trying to look up a statistic that would support a statement I thought I wanted to make about most serial killers being heterosexual males and accidentally downloaded a rather large PowerPoint presentation from Radford University entitled "Serial Killers". Should anyone important be monitoring my online activity I'm not doing research for extra curricular activities. Turns out, the report makes no reference to sexuality other than to note that serial killers have a higher rate of sexual abuse in their past than the rest of the population. Since consenting adult sexual behavior isn't abuse the point is irrelevant. Point to note, abuse and dismembering of animals is a VERY strong indicator of future deviant behavior and should be taken VERY SERIOUSLY.
Any-who... back to my point. The local news lately is filled with what I see as progress in our state. I'm talking about the historic votes to allow all couples, regardless of gender makeup to marry. Unless something drastic happens it will pass the next legislative step and then the Governor will sign the bill into law. It's a darned complicated process but I'm rather excited about it.
I'm sure the signing into law won't be the end of it, there will be people who will sue, those that will suggest that a law won't be valid unless its voted on by the citizens of our state, but I say 'whooie!' We elected the folks in Olympia and their work stands for us all - just because you don't like it doesn't make it wrong. My dad taught me that. It was a blinding lesson in reality, where he told me to "want in one want and spit in the other and see which one gets full first." I had to test that theory about five times before I really figured out that wanting wasn't all that productive. I also learned that a handful of spit wiped on the couch will get you sent to your room.
I know plenty of people who feel with the most deepest of convictions that homosexuality is a sin and that allowing these 'sinners' to marry is an affront to the foundations of marriage. I don't agree, but I respect their right to believe that way. I also respect their right to pick and choose which parts of the bible to follow. Rules such as if you rape a woman and she isn't married you have to marry her. We don't stand by that one... or the penalty for adultery being death by stoning. Other non-practical rules, such as crop rotation have been clearly moved aside as not relevant to our modern society, and I doubt that all priests still don special undergarments when they approach the alter, lest the die of guilt (that's in Exodus, and thank you Google for a fruitful search of absurd Bible laws.) I don't discount that many modern churches and religious organizations still call homosexuality a sin. That is fine, for them.
Churches and religious organizations can (and should) lead their people according to their beliefs and interpretations of Gods (or whomever) divine law. Those teachings however should not extend to how laws are crafted in our modern, religiously free society. Who is to say that YOUR view of God is the same as mine or that it is more relevant or more right? Basing laws on a specific moral code is not acceptable in our modern civil government. Sure, thou shalt not kill has wormed its way into our legal system, but come on, when you murder someone you trample their civil rights just a bit. It's not only an infringement of their ability to dine at McDonalds but also ties back to the 10 commandments. However, we have not created laws that can result in capital punishment for all the commandments. I can find no civil code to prohibit anyone from envying their neighbor or their hot wife.
I support the rights of Churches to opt in or out of performing, supporting, condemning or endorsing same sex unions. They can deem me a sinner all day long for my support for that matter. However, the State (a non-religious based entity) should not participate in mandated discrimination of any kind.
The argument that a same sex union harms the fabric of or society, the basis of families or will impact the marriage of anyone else is (again I say) whooie! There have been gay couples for ages and it hasn't really harmed anyone, or impacted the fabric of society. I would argue that the feeling that these people should stay closeted or that it's ok to bully gay kids or anyone) has done more harm than loving acceptance would have done. Just as a sham marriage between two complete strangers or celebrities has no impact on my world, a union between two women in Yakima would have zero impact on me. That's not entirely true, if I knew them, and was invited to the wedding I might spend some money on a new dress, a wedding gift or two and maybe a hotel room. That is a positive impact to our economy, that's not a bad thing.
The fight isn't over, the discussion will go on for a while, but hopefully it will be resolved once and for all and we can move on to bigger and more important things.
By the way, I was trying to look up a statistic that would support a statement I thought I wanted to make about most serial killers being heterosexual males and accidentally downloaded a rather large PowerPoint presentation from Radford University entitled "Serial Killers". Should anyone important be monitoring my online activity I'm not doing research for extra curricular activities. Turns out, the report makes no reference to sexuality other than to note that serial killers have a higher rate of sexual abuse in their past than the rest of the population. Since consenting adult sexual behavior isn't abuse the point is irrelevant. Point to note, abuse and dismembering of animals is a VERY strong indicator of future deviant behavior and should be taken VERY SERIOUSLY.
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