On Voting

So I just wanted to put my two cents in here about the election and voting and such. I wanted to relate a story that happened in my break room at work that really made me glad that I had voted. On one occasion as about five to seven people were in the break room the discussion turned to politics as it occasionally does during this time of year and everyone was putting their comments in and giving their opinions on some of the Propositions that we would be voting on during the election, i.e., Prop 8, Prop D, etc. One girl in particular was very against having Prop 8 pass (the right to gay marriage) and also for the Prop that allows animals that are raised for consumption to be treated humanely. I will not give my opinion on either of these, nor will I say whether I agree or disagree with her as this is not the point.

The point is that after all her voluminous argument pro or con she concludes her arguments with the statement, "... But I don't vote."

"WHAT!!"

How can you possibly have an opinion so strong and then give up your chance to voice that opinion when the opportunity presents itself? I admit that I was not a voter in the past because of laziness and the belief that my being registered to vote had some type of effect on the amount of times I have been called to jury duty (this I can discuss at a later date). However, I was also under the impression that since I did relinquish my privilege to vote that I had no say in things that pertained to outcomes of said vote nor could I rely on the people of this nation for the outcome that I thought would be correct. In short, I could not complain because I did not make a difference.

I have changed my ways and am proud to say that I have been a registered voter for a while. I would also like to add that although I was not present in the break room when this incident occurred, there were several (meaning all) voters who were present and in their mind enough to tell this person that her opinion does not count and that she should politely shut up.

What are you going to be?

So Halloweens is coming upon us pretty quickly and this year we have decided that we as adults, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, will dress up along with our children and take them out trick or treating. We have taken Jack out each year so far and have had Alex along this last year, but neither Andy or myself have really gotten into it. Although Andy did dress up like the Crocodile hunter last year when he was killed by the sting ray. It was pretty funny, but a little mean. (He had the tail sticking out of his chest with a little blood on it and some coming out of his mouth. Croikee!!)
This is the year that we are really going to get into it. I love Halloween. I love when the kids come to my door and they all look so cute and scary and different and they really enjoy it. I could do without the teenagers who walk around with a plastic bag dressed as teenagers. Let's try to be at least a little creative.



If all goes off as planned, I will be Princess Leia from Star Wars (the original) and will be escorted by the love of my life, Han Solo. Accompanying us will be Spiderman and possibly Venom, although we have not yet completely decided on who Alex will be. Andy wanted him to be Yoda but Jack is has his heart set on Spiderman and I thought it would be nice if his brother could back him up. We'll see soon enough, maybe we can persuade Jack to be C3PO and Alex could be R2D2. Way cute.


We bought my costume online and Andy is making his from scratch (really there's not much to it, a jacket, a white shirt and some brown pants with stripes along the seams).

Funny thing is that my friend Josie and her husband are going to be doing the Indiana Jones theme, so there will be two Harrison Fords running around together because we trick or treat together.

Nawlins'

So I took a little vacation without my husband and kids and went to New Orleans with my best friend of 15 years, Josie, and two of her Aunts and her mother. I did not get to stay for very long as my Mom was kind enough to fly in for a couple of days to help watch the kids and needed to get back.

New Orleans was more fun then I expected, but I think most of it had to do with the company I was keeping. Josie's mom and her Aunts were a riot. We kept each other laughing the entire trip. Josie and I took a latish flight to NO and got there just in time to take a shuttle to the Hotel St. Pierre to check in and hit the sack.

The next morning we got up at what seemed like the crack of dawn to us, but was really just eight in the morning there. We ate beignet's at the famous Cafe du Monde with hot chocolate on the side. (For those who were unaware like myself, beignet is a fancy french word that means square donut.)They were delicious, however, and I ate three and a half.
The next thing we did was walk around the French Quarter into all the little shops that are crammed into the 8 blocks by 12 blocks that make up this part of NO. The only thing I ended up buying was a little Alligator head and that is because I dropped it on the ground and chipped one of its teeth.

After we finished window shopping we decided to give ourselves a tour of the Garden District which is also famous in NO. Anyway, we took the trolley there and walked around for hours looking at all the mansions and old cemetery's and all the pretty iron works that seemed to adorn every house somewhere.






Of course, after we were done we got hungry and decided to walk what we thought were a few short blocks to Emeril's Delmonico's. BAM! It was a lot farther then we anticipated and we were dog tired when we finally made after about 15 blocks. They weren't quite open when we got there, but were nice enough to accommodate us until a table was prepared. We also did not have reservations (who knew?) but they were still polite enough to let us eat there. I must say that the restaurant was not as pricey as I thought it might be and the food was some of the best I've had.

I ordered the Mahi-mahi on a tomato and cucumber salad that was delicious. The portion was just right... no leftovers and I didn't feel stuffed. The waiters were great. I don't know how they put up with us because I am sure we were a lot more rowdy than they were used to. After we finished we decided to go ahead and walk the rest of the way back to the French Quarter and hit the hay.

No rest for me though, as I still had homework that I could not take a vacation from. After completing said work we went to bed at the wee hours of about 9 o'clock. That is late for someone who is normally in bed at 8 Pacific time. I was exhausted.

The next day we took a shuttle to the Oak Alley Plantation, which was just beautiful. One little weird fact I did not know but found interesting is that the people back in the plantation days were short. The average height of men was about 5 feet 4 inches and women were about 5 feet. I would have fit right in.



I thought the plantation would be a lot bigger then it was. The ceilings were incredibly high (10ft) but the rooms were very small. The house was neat though and I recommend it to anyone who goes. They don't allow you to take pictures in the house, but they have books that show the entire house.

After the tour we got to drink a Mint Julep (virgin)that was made the way they used to make it back in the day. It was deliciously sweet and minty/lemony. I understand why they drank them on hot days, they really hit the spot.

When we got back we took a horse (mule) drawn carriage tour around the French Quarter and got a little bit of a history lesson. We saw the house that Brangelina bought and the one Nicholas Cage purchased too. Interesting side note is that Nicholas Cages house is supposed to be haunted by the spirits of tortured slaves. Pretty interesting if you look up the story for anyone who is interested.
Nicholas Cage's haunted house. The top window second from the left was boarded up after a slave committed suicide by jumping out the window.

After the tour it was lunch and then more shopping at the Riverwalk. Interesting story there. Apparently there was some type of relief hand out being done by the Riverwalk and they had armed military out for crowd control, which there was none, but we were walking to the entrance and this guy with a big gun tells me to take a right and be prepared to show ID. Turns out he thought we were coming for the relief. Josie's Aunt's asked me why we were going the way we were going and I told them it was because the man with the gun told me to and I was not about to argue. We got it straightened out when I got the nerve to ask the guy with the gun which way to the Riverwalk.

We went out at night just to see what it was like and even took a walk down Bourbon street. Let me just say that clubbing and drinking really have to be your scene for you to enjoy this part of NO. We were done with Bourbon street in about 2 minutes then it was back to the hotel for some sleep. I know, we're old and can't hang out so late at night.


The next day we walked some more and just took in the sites until i had to catch a shuttle back to the airport for my flight. One thing I have to say about New Orleans is that it doesn't take very long to take in the tourist attractions. I think I saw all there was to see in just the couple of days I was there. Fun, but much like Las Vegas, it doesn't take long to be tired of it and want to go home.

I missed my kids and my husband and I barely even got to see my mom. It was a little nice to have some time away though. Who knows when I'll be able to do that again. Oh yah, next month when I go to Dallas for mandatory training. Blech.

Star Wars is not just for kids

So we went to Wally world the other day (we like to refer to it as the great Satan aka Walmart) and were looking for the Spiderwick Chronicles for Jack. He watched it while we were in Wisconsin and could not stop talking about it. Anyway, we happened upon the toy section where, o and behold, there was a giant 2 1/2 foot Millennium Falcon for sale. Lest you think this is something Jack is really into let me straighten you out a bit.

Jack does like Star Wars. He watches one of the six movies at least 2-3 times a week. He knows the story lines and the names of all the main characters and whether said characters are good or evil... and yes, he uses the word evil when describing them. Apparently bad is just not strong enough descriptively to get his meaning across. Jack was even excited when he went to his Grandma's house and found all of Andy's old Star Wars toys. It was like he hit the mother load. Of course, these are Grandma's house toys and do not come home with us... we wouldn't have the room even if he wanted to. So the toys stay there and he gets sad and really wants to bring them, but he eventually understands and gets a brand new C3PO from his grandma anyway. He talks to him like he is real and C3PO talks back via Jack and they are the best of friends until he loses him 3 days later.

Anyway, back to Walmart and the giant Millennium Falcon. Do we get it for Jack to play with or is it too expensive of a toy to bother getting him when he's so young? it is $150!! Those were the thoughts going through my head. These were the thoughts going through Andy's head: That is way cooler then the one I got as a kid. It lights up and makes sounds. It's bigger then the original. This is so cool. I bet Jack would love it. It is only $150.

So did we get it?
You bet we got it and Andy...I mean, Jack loved it!
The cockpit has lights inside that turn on when you open it up and there is even a platform that lowers for the action figures to get in and out that makes a noise when you push a button. There are about ten different places that you can push buttons for motion and sound. the back of it lights up blue when you 'start' the engine and fly. You can see here though that there is no way Jack will be ever to lift this ship up and fly it anytime soon. It is pretty heavy as well.Yes that is Alex in the background and yes, he loved it too. Mostly he liked to push the buttons on the ship and make Chewbacca and R2D2 talk and whistle.
Jack wanted to take a picture with Han Solo and his mini ship. The mini ship docks into the side of the Millennium Falcon and makes a noise when the hatch opens or closes and also when you dock or undock it from the Millennium Falcon. Good thing it came with something smaller otherwise I'd probably be carrying the big ship around while Jack tells me where we are going.
Jack wanted a picture of just Han Solo and his mini ship. I don't recall the Millennium Falcon ever having a smaller ship within itself, but I am not as big of a Star Wars buff as some in this household apparently are.
At least Andy lets the illusion of this toy being for Jack live. I thought for sure it was going to be put up on top of our entertainment center for all to see. Way to share Babe. You make me proud.

Oh and just in case anyone is wondering... we did find the Spiderwick Chronicles and Jack made us put it on immediately. Thank you cousin Jimmy for that suggestion.

Chicago...Wicked!

So we finally took our trip to Chicago so that I could see Wicked. We got into Milwaukee in the afternoon and I had felt sick all day long. The plane ride did not help me at all. My ears would not pop the entire time and they hurt when we finally landed in Milwaukee. I had planned on shopping for an outfit to wear to the play but ended uptaking some Theraflu and knocking out for about three hours.

I had a little to eat and then helped the kids get to bed and ended up there myself. I felt 50% better the next day and went to Kohl's and bought a dress and some shoes. We (Andy, Mark, and I) drove the two hours to Chicago and checked into our hotel. We stayed at Hotel 71, which is right on the river, and our room had fantastic views of the river and Trump Tower which was across from us.
We had some time before the show tarted so we took a little walk around downtown. We went to Millenium park and saw 'the Bean', which is just a giant mirrored sculpture of a weird raindrop looking thing. The reason it is called the bean is because when you walk underneath it there is an indent that makes it look like a giant silver bean.
You can barely tell us from the rest of the tourists, but Andy and I are in this picture.
This is the Milleniem Park outdoor stage. Even this is a work of art.


We walked all through Millenium Park and there was even a garden for Mark to go crazy in.

We walked on to Grant Park and saw Buckingham Fountain that was in the opening credits of Married With Children. It is much bigger then I expected and I had to stand several hundred yards away to get the whole thing in my picture.



We walked back through downtown and stopped to eat at a pub that was located right underneath the L train. It was actually nice inside even though outside it looked like a dive and you couldn't even hear the train go by.

We went back to the hotel to change and headed out to the play. The Ford Theatre was only two blocks away which was great. I had thought that people would really be dressed up to go to the theatre but apparently I am behind the times and it is appropriate to wear cargo shorts and a T-shirt to see theatre productions. Who knew?

The play was fantastic. It was so funny. The actress who played Galinda (aka Glinda the Good Witch) was hilarious. Andy and Mark both laughed out loud as well as myself. I have to admit that the play took some extreme liberties with the storyline from the book. the last half of the play was completely different from the book. I'm not going to spoil either one if you haven't read the book or seen the play, but I was very hapy with the results. We had good seats too. We were on the second level center of the stage one row back. Andy did have to switch me seats becasue some guy sat right in front of me and was too tall for me to see. Once that was fixed I had an excellent time. i did take a few pictures with my phone even though it was made very clear that we were not supposed to. I couldn't help myself though. The theatre was so beautiful and I needed something besides the playbill to scrapbook with when I got home. So the following are all illegally taken. Don't tell.

This is the Time CLock Dragon. It moves and lights up. Very elaborate.
This is the ceiling of the Ford theatre. I had to take a picture because it was so beatiful and it reminded me of a Celtic knot.
This is the wall to the left of the stage.
This is a scene where Glinda is making an announcement to the people of Oz.
Dorothy's house that dropped on the Wicked Witch of the East aka Nessa Rose.
I was trying to get a good shot of the flying monkey but it was very difficult.
The Wizard of Oz's machine that he uses to talk to visitors. It was really intricate. The head moved around and the mouth moved when it talked and you got to see it from the front and the back.

After the play we filed out with the rest of the riffraff and walked backk down Michigan Avenue to go back to our hotel. We stopped by the Chicago sign because I just had to get a picture of us in front of it.
Andy and Mark.
This is a night view from our hotel room. It was so nice. Not bad from just picking it off the internet.


The next day we had breakfast next door at a little restaurant and then checked out of our hotel. We drove to Soldier Field and spent the best part of the day going through the Field Museum. It is a very large museum and if anyone plans on visiting, you will need the majority of the day just to see everything. We got tickets to see all the extra attractions and left with a bunch of pictures and a couple of souveniers. I got a little jade frog. Andy got a stone coaster with a dragon on it. Mark got a votive candle holder made of polished rock and took another back for his mom, Ann.
Andy with a Navy plaque on the Soldier Feild wall.
Soldier Field.
The Field Museum entrance.
Two very small people in front of regular sized totem poles.

I had a good time and we got to do a lot in a little amount of time. Even though I was still sick and didn't feel well, I was able to enjoy myself. It was nice having a little time away from the kids, even though I missed them terribly. And it was good to spend time with my brother-in-law and good for Andy too. We get to see them so very little that we have to make the time quality.

We love Shamu!

So on one of the days that I had to be at work and was regretting doing a double and so tired of all the people who seemed to be so high maintenance, I got a little ray of sunshine from one of my really good friends. A passenger had purchased five city passes and had not been able to use all of the coupons that were inside. So the passenger gave my friend the coupons and he gave them to me.

The coupons left over included free tickets to Seaworld, where I have never been, and zoo or Wild Animal Park passes. The zoo I have been to so we invited my friend Josie and her husband Ricky to go along with my husband and kids and I.


We decided to go late in the day after everyone got off of work. The first thing we did is let Jack run around the Bay of Play, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He jumped on a giant air filled trampoline and ran through hanging punching bags and climbed through the biggest net/tunnel/bridge that I have ever seen. I had to follow him through the climbing maze because there were so many exits he could have come out without me knowing it and I could not have that. So there goes Mommy climbing and crawling and running and sliding and I was so tired and my thighs hurt. Jack... he still had plenty of energy after nearly exhausting me.



Alex had his fun too. He spent some time in the giant sand box and then played music on large instruments that he just loved. He was so cute running around and hitting the giant xylaphone or the chimes. He was having a ball.


We finally did go and see the exhibits, but not very many. We saw the penguins, which reminded Jack of Mumbles in Happy Feet. We saw the sharks and both kids were awed when we walked through the tunnel and saw sharks swimming on top of us. We also saw manitees, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and sea lions.

The best part of the entire night was the Shamu Rocks show. It was a show set totally to rock music and guess what?... It rocked! I loved it and Jack loved it and Alex loved what he saw of it when he wasn't trying to give our stuff away to strangers or steal stuff from the people in front of us. I'm excited that I will actually have pictures of me with my family doing something because Josie loves the role of shutterbug. I still need to get the pictures from her camera and then I will post them.
The white spot you see is part of Shamu's underbelly. It is very hard taking pictures through 3 inch thick glass in the dark. The boys loved Shamu. Jack would get so excited everytime he swam by and Alex would stomp and point.
Jack just could not keep his eyes open anymore and missed the last part of Shamu Rocks.
Alex on the other hand, wide awake the entire time.

The visit to Seaworld didn't last long but it was worth the cost of admission (FREE) and I would love to go bacck and see more shows. I do however recommend to anyone who goes that you have to see the Shamu Rocks show.

As if I was not tired enough, the next day Andy wanted to go to the beach to brush up on his swimming skills. So we all went to the beach and I watched the kids while Andy swam a few miles. Unfortunately, along with the camera, I forgot the sunscreen and I got a sunburn and Jack burned his back just a little and Alex (who had on a shirt) got a pink nose.

We did not realize we were burned until later in the day, but while we were at the beach we had a lot of fun. Alex would throw himself on the ground and swim in the sand and Jack was all over the place with his little sand trucks and digging and what not.

I dug Alex a little hole that was just his size and when he got a little chilly from being in the water and having the wind blow, I would put him in the hole and he would play and dig and just thought it was the greatest thing in the world. We call it the baby hole.

Needless to say the next day, when I had to work, I was exhausted not only from the running around, but also from the sunburn. I ached and I was tired and my two doubles the next two days were so hard. I made it through and am still so tired, but I got ot do something fun with my family and that is what matters most to me.

Late night studying... Where am I,college?

I completely forgot what it was like in high school to stay up til the late hours in the evening trying to finish your assignment that is due the next day and that you have failed to work on because you still have plenty of time. Not anymore. I have been really good at keeping ahead of my assignments for school the last couple of months but let it slip this last two weeks. I have had an excessive amount of days off in which to complete my school work but can't remember for the life of me why I didn't get it done.

Perhaps I was busy with the kids or watching TV (that is definitely not it unless Spongebob sucked me into his evil spell, i don't get to watch TV) or perhaps it was a mutlitude of chores that eagerly filled my every waking hour. I need a schedule that I can stick to.

I had planned on only working three days a week by doing doubles on two days so that I would have more time to do the things required of me; however, I have found that this plan has backfired slightly due to the increased lack of sleep resulting in a very nonfunctional inefficient me. Dishes need washing? I'll fill the sink with water and soap and while that is happening I will go do a load of laundry... whoops the baby needs changing and I need to get all these toys off the floor before I puncture my foot one more time... then the water is too cold to wash dishes and I forgot the clothes needed to be moved from the washer to the dryer and my life is constantly moving backwards when it shoudl be going forwards. By the way the assignment was due today at midnight Arizona time which is, I believe, eleven my time and I forgot about that until I turned it in and noticed that it is 20 til eleven and I am lucky that it wasn't late. Or maybe we are the same time and it is Daylight Savings...(is it on or is it off) Sometimes the same sometimes different...I never can tell. All I know is that it is dark when I go to work and dark when I come home, but I get to tuck the kids in bed and I love that.

It seems I have lost my focus lately. I have been trying hard to do do the things I need to do, but I have become increasingly stressed out and easily angered and annoyed and I try not to take it out on the kids and when I do I feel like a bad mother. I want to cook my angels meals everyday but sometimes forget or am too tired. How do they get up every day at 7 am without fail. Oh yah, it's because they don't get up at 3 am 3 dats out of the week and stay up past 8pm 4 nights a week. Charmed little lives they lead... My babies who aren't really babies anymore.

I love them too much, even when Jack tells me he hates me because I won't give him any cookies because he didn't finish his dinner. How about an apple instead? Even when Alex dumps the full glass of water for the third time in one day or drops the remote control in the toilet or throws Mommy's shoes in the trash. I still love them and they make me smile with their little faces that cannot lie. Yep, I still love them and hug them as they try to run away from me... Then I mock sadness and they come back to tell me it's okay and that they really do love me.

And it is really late at night for someone who wakes up at three so when I read this tomorrow I will ownder who posted it and why they are so crazy. I have to get some sleep.