I get tired of hearing people say they wish they lived somewhere else or that they no longer want to claim AZ as home. For anyone in the state, this particular legislation was talked about a long time before it passed. It certainly wasn't passed in the middle of the night it was first proposed. How many of the vocal complainers (or supporters...this rant goes both ways.) bothered to contact their representative with an opinion before the vote? Or even know who their representative is? The armchair governing (on more than just this issue) gets tedious. It's a lot easier to mock the state than it is to get involved.
I love Arizona. I don't love everything about everything that happens here or everyone who lives here, but seriously, if you hate it that much, leave. We don't have enough water for everybody anyway.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
dads are great
I stole the title and the video from Anna-Lisa. I also could have titled this post "For once, internet comments didn't make me want to bang my head on the desk." You see, I think that reading the comments after articles online is just inviting emotional distress. I once witnessed the comments on an NPR article about cooking fish in the dishwasher (odd, yes, but you'd think free of emotional triggers) descend in to insults and name-calling. Anyway. When I saw this video, I was reminded that I've heard of multiple studies showing the connection between a woman's relationship with her father and her success in life and in her own relationships as an adult. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find this article. After the article, (which is about the importance of father/daughter relationships, but also how parents can support that relationship after a divorce) the second comment in made me tear up a bit. "Very good article. My daughter knows how loved and cherished she is. I make sure of that every day," says supersinglefather. Hats off to you, supersinglefather.
After all that, here's the video I keep talking about. I love it.
Watching this here on this side of being a parent, I'm thinking my dad might not have actually been all that interested in ballet. Maybe after work, and this from a man whose work was never done, he would have preferred a nap to batting practice at the park. Maybe he brought home cartoon strips in Spanish for another reason than an abiding love for the Spanish language newspapers in the break room. I certainly thought these things were his life's passion, though. Hats off to you, too, Daddy. I love you.
After all that, here's the video I keep talking about. I love it.
Watching this here on this side of being a parent, I'm thinking my dad might not have actually been all that interested in ballet. Maybe after work, and this from a man whose work was never done, he would have preferred a nap to batting practice at the park. Maybe he brought home cartoon strips in Spanish for another reason than an abiding love for the Spanish language newspapers in the break room. I certainly thought these things were his life's passion, though. Hats off to you, too, Daddy. I love you.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
hey, look! videos!
As promised, Erin, here are some recent videos of the yahoos.
Caroline does a crazy dance (and continued to dance for almost 15 minutes after I stopped the video):
Caroline and Jonah sing one of Caroline's favorite songs. As you might be able to tell, "snap that monkey right out of that tree!" is her very favorite part.
Caroline does a crazy dance (and continued to dance for almost 15 minutes after I stopped the video):
Caroline and Jonah sing one of Caroline's favorite songs. As you might be able to tell, "snap that monkey right out of that tree!" is her very favorite part.
Monday, February 17, 2014
let's talk baby names
No, we are not anywhere even close to having a name for this child. Baby names have never come easily for us. At the moment, Josh has dubbed the baby Apple. Jonah says an apple is too small and that we should call her Watermelon. Caroline, who understands very little of what's happening on this front, has started calling me Apple.
For entertainment during dinner tonight, we were voting on a whole list of names. When I got to a name I really want to like but can't quite bring myself to love, I was curious what everyone else would say. You see, it's a name that means "she who brings happiness" and has a long, rich literary history. This is how it went:
me: What about Beatrice?
Josh: No.
Caroline: No.
Jonah: Well, it doesn't even sound like a girl's name and it's really long, so I say no.
I guess I shouldn't worry about trying to love it then.
For entertainment during dinner tonight, we were voting on a whole list of names. When I got to a name I really want to like but can't quite bring myself to love, I was curious what everyone else would say. You see, it's a name that means "she who brings happiness" and has a long, rich literary history. This is how it went:
me: What about Beatrice?
Josh: No.
Caroline: No.
Jonah: Well, it doesn't even sound like a girl's name and it's really long, so I say no.
I guess I shouldn't worry about trying to love it then.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
38 years
My parents will celebrate their 38th anniversary this week. This is the second marriage for both of them. As a child and teenager, I could repeat the words, "It was not easy to find someone to trust and love with a broken heart and beloved children, but they were blessed to find each other." But now, just one younger than my mom was when she married my dad, I can't even imagine. When I meet families in the middle of blending, I have nothing but admiration for them and for my parents and older siblings who did, and continue to do, the hard work of combining families.
After they were married for 6 years, my brother was born. Two years later, they had me. I'm glad they decided to go for it, even if it meant they wouldn't have their children raised and out of the house until well after their peers were retiring. So here's to a couple who face difficult things head-on, who love each other completely, and who raised a daughter who thinks their love story is the sweetest one she's ever heard.
After they were married for 6 years, my brother was born. Two years later, they had me. I'm glad they decided to go for it, even if it meant they wouldn't have their children raised and out of the house until well after their peers were retiring. So here's to a couple who face difficult things head-on, who love each other completely, and who raised a daughter who thinks their love story is the sweetest one she's ever heard.
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| I'm glad to be a part of these crazies. Thanks, Mom & Dad! |
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Because chores are fun when they're voluntary
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| What is this face? I have no idea, but I sure love it. |
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
around the internet
Sometimes I read something that I can't stop talking about. I tell Josh, then I tell my sister, then I find it creeping in to every day conversation with people I barely know. Here's a very random sampling of a few of those things:
14 Books to Read Before They Hit the Big Screen
This is an older article and many of the movies are already out. I have not read all of the books, but I really enjoyed the ones I have read. Does that mean they're all good? A girl can only hope. On a similar vein: 32 Books that will Actually Change your Life. I've read 4, 5, 17, 19, and 27. Only 5 of them?! Clearly I have more to read, because while some of those 5 are personal favorites and others are not, every single one has stayed with me years after the reading.
Coverflip: An Call to End Gendered Book Covers
I was surprised when I found out years ago that authors have little control over the covers of their books. Picture book authors often have little control over the pictures! I thought this was especially interesting since my brother and I shared books growing up. We read a little of everything. I never considered if he felt embarrassed by any of the covers of the "girl books." There was little to no stigma for me reading a sci-fi novel, but he may have gotten flak for some of my romances. The worst are the books that have very little romance and tons of action but by nature of a female author or main character get flowery covers. Seriously, read this article before I feel the need to write the whole thing out here.
Five Reasons Teacher Turnover is on the Rise
This article isn't all that enlightening, but I have thought about this subject extensively since Josh started teaching. In my not-so-humble opinion, the fixable solution to many of education's woes is to keep the teachers happy. (At-home support is key, too, but that is more difficult to control.) I know a pretty fair number of public school teachers, and all of them are devoted to their students' success. A little more support of the teachers themselves would go a long way to keeping good teachers in the classroom.
Are You a Good Mom?
Who doesn't feel inadequate from time to time, mother or not? My favorite part of this was that it can be damaging to keep a tally of my good/bad moments. Should I try to be my best? Sure. Should my self-worth be tied up in how many "good mom/daughter/wife/person" moments I have in any given day? Nope. That's just asking for trouble.
The Emotional Anatomy of a C-Section
I have a difficult time talking about how I feel about my children's births. Anything I say sounds ungrateful. While this woman's experience was not the same as mine, I appreciated this: "Yet I can’t help but feel that I’ve cheated somehow–that I’ve missed something important and empowering about my physical body."
But because I am conscious of the fact that the seed of that emotion could quickly blossom into dissatisfaction or blame (of myself, my doctors, you name it), I appreciated this even more: "So I find myself thinking about expectations–how high we set them, especially when it comes to motherhood, and even more especially when it comes to Mormon motherhood–and how difficult and guilt-laden they can make our lives. And I want my addition to this series on birth and rebirth to be this: Whatever it is that you are feeling guilty about, whatever it is that you are afraid you aren’t doing right, lay it down and give yourself some rest. You are enough."
14 Books to Read Before They Hit the Big Screen
This is an older article and many of the movies are already out. I have not read all of the books, but I really enjoyed the ones I have read. Does that mean they're all good? A girl can only hope. On a similar vein: 32 Books that will Actually Change your Life. I've read 4, 5, 17, 19, and 27. Only 5 of them?! Clearly I have more to read, because while some of those 5 are personal favorites and others are not, every single one has stayed with me years after the reading.
Coverflip: An Call to End Gendered Book Covers
I was surprised when I found out years ago that authors have little control over the covers of their books. Picture book authors often have little control over the pictures! I thought this was especially interesting since my brother and I shared books growing up. We read a little of everything. I never considered if he felt embarrassed by any of the covers of the "girl books." There was little to no stigma for me reading a sci-fi novel, but he may have gotten flak for some of my romances. The worst are the books that have very little romance and tons of action but by nature of a female author or main character get flowery covers. Seriously, read this article before I feel the need to write the whole thing out here.
Five Reasons Teacher Turnover is on the Rise
This article isn't all that enlightening, but I have thought about this subject extensively since Josh started teaching. In my not-so-humble opinion, the fixable solution to many of education's woes is to keep the teachers happy. (At-home support is key, too, but that is more difficult to control.) I know a pretty fair number of public school teachers, and all of them are devoted to their students' success. A little more support of the teachers themselves would go a long way to keeping good teachers in the classroom.
Are You a Good Mom?
Who doesn't feel inadequate from time to time, mother or not? My favorite part of this was that it can be damaging to keep a tally of my good/bad moments. Should I try to be my best? Sure. Should my self-worth be tied up in how many "good mom/daughter/wife/person" moments I have in any given day? Nope. That's just asking for trouble.
The Emotional Anatomy of a C-Section
I have a difficult time talking about how I feel about my children's births. Anything I say sounds ungrateful. While this woman's experience was not the same as mine, I appreciated this: "Yet I can’t help but feel that I’ve cheated somehow–that I’ve missed something important and empowering about my physical body."
But because I am conscious of the fact that the seed of that emotion could quickly blossom into dissatisfaction or blame (of myself, my doctors, you name it), I appreciated this even more: "So I find myself thinking about expectations–how high we set them, especially when it comes to motherhood, and even more especially when it comes to Mormon motherhood–and how difficult and guilt-laden they can make our lives. And I want my addition to this series on birth and rebirth to be this: Whatever it is that you are feeling guilty about, whatever it is that you are afraid you aren’t doing right, lay it down and give yourself some rest. You are enough."
Sunday, February 2, 2014
how I eat my greens
I married a Southern boy. He may have been born and raised in Arizona, but nothing convinced me of his true Southern nature more than our time in Alabama. Yes sir, yes ma'am? Squirrel hunting? Even some of the expressions his family uses are direct transplants from the South.
One thing that Josh's family eats and is popular in the South is greens. (For those of you, like me, who don't know what this means, it's a way to refer to turnip/collard/mustard greens, swiss chard, spinach, etc. In Alabama, usually collard greens.) Every New Year's day, Josh's dad's family eats greens (for wealth), cornbread, and black-eyed peas (for luck). When we lived in Tuscaloosa, collard green and black-eyed peas went on mega sale at the end of December, so it must have been more than just Josh's family.
Josh does not like greens. He will say this is not true (hi, dear!), but it is. I know because he never asks for them and never eats them. I love them. My preferred green (recently discovered) is swiss chard, but I'll eat any of them. I love them with a little butter, salt, and tons of lemon juice. Mmmm.
In fact, I just ate a huge bowl of swiss chard for lunch. Josh ate beef ramen. Maybe there's a little Southern belle eking it's way in to my preferences, too.
One thing that Josh's family eats and is popular in the South is greens. (For those of you, like me, who don't know what this means, it's a way to refer to turnip/collard/mustard greens, swiss chard, spinach, etc. In Alabama, usually collard greens.) Every New Year's day, Josh's dad's family eats greens (for wealth), cornbread, and black-eyed peas (for luck). When we lived in Tuscaloosa, collard green and black-eyed peas went on mega sale at the end of December, so it must have been more than just Josh's family.
Josh does not like greens. He will say this is not true (hi, dear!), but it is. I know because he never asks for them and never eats them. I love them. My preferred green (recently discovered) is swiss chard, but I'll eat any of them. I love them with a little butter, salt, and tons of lemon juice. Mmmm.
In fact, I just ate a huge bowl of swiss chard for lunch. Josh ate beef ramen. Maybe there's a little Southern belle eking it's way in to my preferences, too.
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