On Thursday I took Gracie out for dinner and to the park (I missed spending time with her so I took her with me when I left school and we spent the afternoon/evening together, it was so fun!!). She was reciting the pledge of allegiance, and she got to the "one nation under God part" and said "One nation, on top of God...." and I told her that she almost had it but not quite. So she said "Oh!" and I saw the light bulb go on in her head and she started it again....
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, on the right-hand side of God...."

So much for the light bulb ;D I couldn't help it, I busted up laughing. She was so earnest about it, it just cracked me up. She messed up a few other parts, but that was the one that stuck out in my mind. She is such a cute little monkey, I adore her.

Also, the kids in my class think a Toucan is called a 'tuna can' and an Ant Eater is a 'bug sucker'. How could I not love getting paid to hear things like that?? :D

This morning was really windy so we went and bought a kite @ Walgreen's (nobody sells kites anymore!) and took Po to the park to fly it. It worked great! I had forgot how much fun it was to do that. I think it is supposed to be windy againt tomorrow, so maybe we can go do it again!! :-)

I took these of Gracie today. She was wearing her bathrobe (a gift from the Easter Bunny - she kept it on ALL day!) and was having fun outside (it was very windy!). She just did all this on her own, I didn't ask her to pose or anything. I took them around 5:00 p.m., I thought the light was really nice.

Ok, real fast entry. I spent the long weekend painting the living room with Dan (I will post pictures once the trim is done) and it is tiring! I know it sounds easy, but the walls are textured (kind of like stucco) which makes it hard to get the paint evenly distributed. Plus there are all sorts of nooks and crannies (those are funny words) and all the doors and trim need to be taped before the painting even begins. We also painted the ceiling (white) which is sucky. But it was also fun and it is looking great!!

Friday night after we were thoroughly done painting, Dan and I decided to go out to the Coffee Bean, 1. To get away from the paint fumes, and 2. Just because they have yummy drinks. So we pull up and who is there but James and Tracy [StrawberryHedgehog]! We sat with with them for awhile (and either Dan or I accidentally set off his car alarm, it was very loud and scared Tracy half to death!), and then Ken and April showed up on their way from San Diego to Tucson. Dan and I were super tired so we left the four of them there at The Bean.

Dan then took Po for a walk (thank you!). And then I think we are going to play Chutes & Ladders before I go to bed (I'm bummed I fell asleep before I got to a chance to see James & Tracy again).

The end for now :)

Yes, I'm still up. It's 1 a.m. on a 'school night' and I should have been in bed hours ago, but I'm not. I decided to work on some scrapbooking pages for Nolyn, and just stay up and wear myself out in general. Sounds like a great idea, no? I thought you were supposed to get more responsible as you got older. Whatever.

I went over to Jim & Kass' last night. I took my Pop Culture DVD Trivial Pursuit game and we played that for hours! It didn't end until close to midnight. Oi. Lakyn and I also jumped on the trampoline before the pizza came.
Annnnnd, I discovered a new favorite drink: midori sours. Jim is an excellent bartender, that's all I have to say. I downed a cosmo and 2 sours in about 20 minutes. Mmmmm num num.

I think my precious Bobo is going to come down for a visit (YAY!), and then she and I may fly to Boulder and meet Dad there to visit S&S. That would be fun :) I haven't been there in almost 6 years.

Scott, Craig and I watched 13 going on 30 tonight. It was cute, mindless fluff. Better than Napoleon Dynamite, but then again, most things are :P

I didn't know anyone actually read this anymore (hi Aja!). Hee hee. I have another journal that I have been keeping up with, hence my neglect of this blog. My bad. I'll be able to write more about what has been going on in my life in a few days ("names are being witheld pending notification of kin"), heh.

Amanda had a healthy baby boy this morning (1/28/05)!! Nolyn Pierre M**** was born in Indianapolis, IN @ 6:31 a.m. and weighed 7 lbs., 2 oz., and was 20 1/4" long. He has lots of black hair and already has his own little personality! Normally when my phone rings at 4:45 a.m. I am not pleased, but this was a very special "We have a baby!" phone call that I was more than happy to receive :)

In other news, I got adventurous yesterday and decided to take Lakyn for the afternoon as well as Gracie, and the three of us had a blast. Kass called after I picked up Grace from pre-school to ask if we wanted to have lunch with her and Lakyn (of course!). So we did. It was nice; Kass and I talked while the girls played. Then Kass needed to run around and do some work so I took Lakyn & Gracie to DQ, then to the park, then to Wal*Mart for those cheapy $3.88 picture dealies. It was hilarious, but I don't have the energy to type out all of our travails. Suffice to say I can handle two children with aplomb. It was less work than I thought it would be. It was actually the most fun I have had in a long time. Maybe when I get the pictures back I can scan one and post it here.

I think that's it for now. I will try to keep up with this much better from now on! :)

Um, just so you all know, I'm not really the colour turquoise. I was cutting and pasting HTML trying to make something work for my friend Jess, and I just left that stuff there. In case you're wondering, I was the colour black.

You are the color turquoise. A fairly tempermental
person, you're either upset or tranquil most of
the time. You can be as calm as your color.
You're a mysterious person, yet somehow
outgoing. You're balanced, simply put. You're
somewhat bold. You're generous and
sophisticated--but never ever snobby. You're
lively and rich in personality and attitude.
You're a beautiful person, aside from the fact
that you're a perfectionist and painfully
honest. But life is good to you!


What color are you? (Amazingly detailed & accurate--with pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Ok, my precious Bobo wants me to update, so here I go.
I have nothing much to say, other than I am glad she will be home soon! I know she will be sad to leave Europe & Dave, but it will be nice to be able to chase her around the house and whack her butt and whatnot again. Work was slow today. The DSL is busted (yay rain!) and the phone lines sound like crap so I had to get AT&T to fix it. That requires going through an automated system, then finally getting a human, getting a "trouble ticket number" and then waiting. Apparently by tomorrow around 11 am they should be fixed. Don't trouble yourselves guys.

Thanksgiving is at the in-laws this year. Both sets of grandparents are coming, plus Scott, Eric, and Craig & I (obviously). I am making three pies (apple, pumpkin & pecan, crusts and all thanks), homemade cranberry chutney and parmesan garlic mashed potatoes.

According to my MIL people are "killing each other" to get at the frozen turkeys at Fry's, so I think I will hold off on turkey shopping until later when the crowds have thinned out.
I'm not even going to be eating any turkey, it's not like I care :P

Ok, gotta go.
Bobo, Ferris Bueller was on the other night. It's not the same without you :) *KISSY*

DISCLAIMER: The following will most likely make some very angry. It is not my intention to offend anyone, but this is my blog and I write what I please. If you are easily offended, pro-Bush, ultra-conservative (or any combination thereof) I'm warningn you now, you probably don't want to read this. This entry is basically just for me; when people look at me in disgust wondering how I can support Kerry and they call me "unpatriotic" and a "traitor" (yes, I really have had those things yelled at me) this is what I want to tell them:

Over 1,000 U.S. troops dead.

Over 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead.

Nearly 100 billion dollars, that could have been spent on healthcare for children, the elderly and low-income families, education, medical research or low-income housing instead spent on searching for non-existant Weapons of Mass Destruction. Does it make the lie easier to swallow when they tell you "the weapons were there, but they were moved before we found them."?

No Child Left Behind sounds great in principal. Too bad they didn't fully fund it, leaving schools holding the bag when their students aren't up on the standardized tests. Lots of showy talk, not much action.

The Patriot Act. That is a good name for it, huh? "Do what we tell you or else you are unpatriotic". Scare tactics, anyone? Do you know that the Patriot Act, among other things, means the government knows what books your children check out of the library?

Flip flopping? Did you know that Bush was initially opposed to forming the Department of Homeland Security before he was in favour of it? Did you know that he was opposed to NCLB before he decided to support it? Do you remember when he wouldn't testify before the senate hearings, then he would, then he would only do it if Cheney could be there with him? Sounds an awful lot like the pot calling the kettle black.

Newsflash: Those tax cuts? To enjoy the standards of life that we North Americans have come to expect, taxes are a necessary evil. It would be nice though if they were spent responsibly on medical programs and education for instance instead of waging illegal wars on countries we have decided we don't like (Vietnam, anyone?).

Declaring war on countries we don't like. There are other countries in the world ruled by dictators worse than Saddam Hussein, but they aren't oil-rich nations, so we let them be. It's very convenient that Iraq just happens to have alot of oil under their sand.

I support the troops, I want them home. They have done an honorable thing by enlisting to defend their country. THEIR country. Why are they dying in Iraq when Iraq did nothing to us? Everyone and their dog has concluded there were no connections between Iraq and 9/11, so don't bother trying to feed me that garbage.

I am pro-choice, not pro-abortion. Pro-abortion means that I would be actively advocating abortions left, right and center. I don't. But the right should be there for women to choose. Abortions are going to happen whether they are legal or not (that has already been proven), but I would prefer they are kept safe instead of ending in botched jobs with wire coat-hangars.

Don't tell me I am unpatriotic because I don't support Bush. A democracy without dissent is not truly a democracy (that is a quote but I forget by whom). I don't have to like Bush to love America.

I meant to mention this earlier but things have been busy around here...

HAH! Ann Coulter running from a couple of cream pies? Did you see her scream and run off the stage? I laughed so hard! :D Crybaby.

You know what pisses me off? Americans flocking to Canada to get the flu shot now that they have learned there won't be enough for them in the States. The local health unit is turning them away, as they rightly should, to make sure that Ontarians who have contributed to the provincial healthcare system get them first. After all the rude comments I have received about how Canada has a (GASP!) socialist healthcare system that can't possibly be any good, and prescription drugs from Canada can't POSSIBLY be safe, NOW they decide that they want our help and our medicine? Did you know most of our flu vaccinations came from France? I thought you guys didn't like France 'cause they refused to be part of the 'coalition of the willing'. Still want that vaccine now?

If, after vaccinating every Canadian who wants a flu shot, we have some leftover THEN, I am in favor of offering them to Americans (or any other foreign national willing to make the trip) who desires one.

These are the types of foreign relations the current administration is fostering. Don't like it?

VOTE

CJ, Fenner, and CJ's parents came down to have Thanksgiving (Monday) with us. I can't believe we have been best friends for 11 years! We have celebrated a bunch of holidays together and they just keep getting better. While setting the table I chipped a wine glass (oops!), then just after her dad toasted everyone at dinner saying how lucky we are to have each other, CJ knocked over her wine glass and "decapitated" it (the top smashed off the bottom, HAR HAR!). I laughed until I almost peed my pants.

I got my hair cut & coloured this afternoon. I like it, even though it isn't a huge change from the way it was before....just a touch-up this time. Darker brown, less red, and she re-did my layers. Yay!

Tomorrow is ice-skating! I haven't been skating in years, this will be FUN!
Also I have had Tim Horton's every day since I have been here. I am so proud of myself, hah! :)

I just realized that I need to be all packed in 24 hours. Like that is going to happen. I need to pack for Craig too and all our "cold" weather clothes are stuffy and musty and need to be washed. I know what's going to happen...I'm just going to end up shoving everything in my spiffy duffel-bag-on-wheels and take it home as is. This is ridiculous; 26 years old and I'm still dragging my laundry (3,000 miles) to my parents' house.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBO!!!!!

We did cake and prezzies at my in-laws tonight since my FIL won't be around tomorrow and also Craig and I have plans (Indian food for lunch and then see Shark Tale!). I wanted to post pics of my 'loot' so far. I am a very "spoiled" girl. Since I moved down here away from my family though, I have learned what is actually important. Them. When I tell them I don't need anything for my birthday except to share it with them, I'm not just trying to be modest, I mean it. Gifts are fun and I very much appreciate it when people spend the time, effort and money to give me something I will enjoy, but nothing makes me happier than being with my family and I am SO glad that I get to see them in a few days as a "late" birthday present. I'm just bummed Bobo won't be there but I am glad she is having fun in Europe :)

Now on to the pictures...
These are the jammies that Kass got me.



This is my spa foot bath! From my MIL & FIL.



And this is my Belgian waffle maker that I got from my BILs, Scott & Eric (they also got my stainless steel KitchenAid meauring cups and spoons!).



I also got a check for $50 from Grandma Jo and Grampa Jerry.

I think I am going to go scrapbook pictures from last Thanksgiving (um, yah, hehehe, oops!) and wait for the SNL premiere!. While I do that I can listen to the lovely Mariachi music that the neighbors across the street are blaring, hah :)

I added some new links under the 'Stuff' section. Go check them out.

The Amy Goodman event went well. She is an excellent public speaker. She made some great points and got me thinking. She said, "Dissent is what makes this country healthy."

I had a Yuma for Kerry Meetup tonight. It was fun. Met a couple new faces and got to be back with some of my old "regulars". Had a good time. We had a guy come all the way from Mexico (he is an American but lives and works in Mexicali). Then Ed realized he had a key to the Democratic Headquarters so we went and raided their Kerry/Edwards gear. They had just got a big new shipment so I'm all stocked up. I even snagged a button for my dad :)

On my drive home the other night I was listening to Filter's Take a Picture and I thought, I need someone to take a picture of my life as it's happening right now 'cause down the road a few years I know everything won't be as fresh and vivid as it is right now. Then I supposed that this blog as well as my scrapbook are my life "picture".

Craig is at the Yuma Slashdot Meetup tonight. He actually ended up being the Meetup co-ordinator! (For anyone who knows Craig, that is really funny - he never wants to organize anything. Apparently he has no idea how he became the host, heh).

Off to watch the premiere of ER! :)

I saw this in a forwarded Bobo e-mail :) I know you won't bother signing it (I did) and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And just know that if you don't sign it, rest assured I will think less of you ;)

Ahhh yes, my CD case. And my Hip CD! Hehehe, but you are correct in that you are very cute and will most definitely get away with it. And it's very nice that you think I'm the best sister ever, however I think you are the best sissy ever!!! :)

How you could not hear 42 drunken highschool students partying in your house is beyond me. I would have come up with a better excuse.

Did you know that I am the co-ordinator for both the Yuma Kerry in 2004 Meetup as well as the DFA Meetup? Because I am. Awhile back Meetup sent out requests for volunteers to host and co-ordinate the local meetups. There was one other guy besides me that signed up to manage each of them. Supposedly we were to duke it out amongst ourselves who got the coveted spot (ha ha) but I got lazy and didn't contact him and about a week later Meetup notified me that I had won the prize(s). The first one isn't for a few weeks so I still have some time to get organized.

We are getting a really cool lightening/wind/dust storm here tonight. I took Po out for a walk and enjoyed the wind. It actually wasn't unbearably hot. Thought it was 105 degrees and very humid today. UGH!