Too Close to Home

Ok, I'm watching Jay (yes, Jay, he's still got some months left), and here come the political ads. I am not into politics but there are two initiatives that have caught my attention. One is Prop 8, the gay marriage (yes, let's all guess where I stand on that), and the other is Prop 2. In my opinion neither are actual political stances. One is pretty much spelled out in the Bible, and the other one involves animals. Now, second to children, animals are my passion. They are helpless creatures at the mercy of people; meaning adults. The proposition on the ballot is involving (to simplify as I really have no idea) animals for human consumption and their humane treatment. Hens for their eggs, cows, chickens and pigs for well, thsemselves.... While the commercials are horrifying, and well, basically makes me want to go vegetarian (and I tried that, but am not into beans, eggs, tofu, or well, let's face it...vegetables so I starved)... I just noticed where the clip was from. The inhumane treatment, which was at the forefront of the news and the like was taken from the town next to us. I would like to know how, specifically, how to open a home for children (i.e. foster children, orphans, etc) and combine it with an animal sanctuary. I happen to know that there is land out in that area... basically farm areas, open lots, etc... Not generalities, as I get bogged down in the legalities of stuff. What can be done to help not only the children, but also the animals; those who cannot speak up for themselves. By combining the two, you are not only helping both as separate entities, but you are helping the generation of children look beyond themselves and help those who also cannot speak for themselves...teaching compassion for others. It is a win/win situation for both. How difficult and how expensive would it be. Helping the children and helping the animals.... there has to be a way to combine the helping. I know it's out there..... These images just horrify me, muchless the kids who watch (yes they run earlier in the day as well). I have to be able to do something for both.... I saw the People's Court today which involved a pure bred Pit Bull and it's breeding and health issues. Harvey Levin (the lawyer) pleaded with people to adopt from a shelter. He said an adopted animal would never forget. As an owner of many a shelter adopted animal I totally agree. All of my adopted animals are eternally grateful. They know where they've been and don't want to go back. By helping those forgotten animals... and yes, even some of the forgotten children, it starts a chain of positive events that can only benefit them, but ourselves as well. I'm not really good with conceptual ideas, but once I'm given a direction I'm much better at following the path and going from there.

Hello????

I believe that would be a wake up call to me. And I don't know how long this blog will be up, but we'll see. I had a brief discussion with my sister this afternoon and I was pretty much put in my place. Now, I am not saying that as a bad thing. I have had many hours to re-evaluate my advice to her, and I have pretty much realized that I am giving her advice I should have applied myself a long, long time ago. She is at a crossroads in her life (but has pretty much figured out which way to travel). I want her to go down road A, but she has found road B to be the better route. While I may disagree, (as only an older sister can do), I had to analyze why I wanted her to take road "A". I have spent a lof of time today trying to figure out her choices.... you know the analogy.... walk a mile in my shoes...blah, blah, blah.... My only hope is for her to be happy and not to make the same compromise decisions I have made.... Apparently, I am superimposing my life on her as I have come to realize. I made many choices in my life out of bending to other people's opinions and not standing up for my own life, and I want her to be able to be free to make her own choices. While I may not agree, disagree, or even have say, I have to let her make her own decisions and sit quietly by (or well, not that quietly, but I'll try). We all have to live our own life, for good, for bad, or for the ugly. It has made me analyze my own life's decisions, and well, I don't know how well I've done, but at least I am the one who made them. I have to live with the consequences, as we all have to. I may look back with many regrets, and yes, I probably would have made a hundred different decisions, but the two things I can never regret are my two children. For them, I have to thank God.... without Him I never would have had them, and for that I am forever grateful. So I realize that we do make a lot of our decisions based on how it would impact our children. While we can't live our lives for our children, whatever we do in life does impact them. Great!!! Something else we can screw up.... All we can do is...do our best, pray for it to work out, and hunker down, and hope our kids won't need years of therapy overcoming our shortcomings....

Are You Kidding Me???

Ok, so my husband is a tv addict. So we watch not only a lot of tv, but lots and lots of commercials. There are two that drive me insane. One is where a woman is talking to the female symbol on the bathroom door. Excuse me, but if you are talking to the outline of a woman, you have a lot more problems than some bladder control issues.... The other is for some sort of deodorant. It shows a woman trying to avoid white marks on her "little black dress". One way of avoiding those telltale signs is to dive from a high rise building head first into her dress. Or the other way is to use this deodorant. As the woman is pitching, face first, downward into her dress, the words "don't try this at home" appears. Hello, do you think any sane woman would do this???? Give me a break. I am really hoping that women, worldwide, have a lot more brain cells than that. Right now, those two commercials, aside from the typical political ones, are driving me crazy. Give the women of the world a few more brain cells.... the political ones, well, that's a whole other blog....

STAR Testing

My son got his STAR testing results back (a little earlier, but we are dealing with forwarded mail), and I found out I am not that bad of a teacher. Since this was a 5th grade test, he was tested on Language Arts, Math, and Science. He scored a "proficient" in Language Arts. To be honest, I am thrilled as that is his worst and least favorite subject. Proficient in this context is considered above average. Math he was way above average. In one area he got 100%. Since he is home schooled I am extremely stoked because, well, with me as a teacher I didn't expect much, especially in Math. He did really well and I am so proud of him. The interesting part was Science. He scored a "basic". He was lower in that subject than both of the others. What makes this interesting is that was the one subject I actually sent him to class for. His school has "on-site" classes you can take. I signed him up for Science because that is an area I am not comfortable teaching. A bit too complicated and lab oriented. So, ironically, the one subject he actually went to school for, is the one subject he scored the worst in. I taught the other two and he scored above average, and way above average. I do have to give credit to him because he is very smart, but overall, I'd say...apparently homeschooling hasn't ruined him. Let's not delve into the social aspects... This is a purely academic related post. He had been stressing since he took the test for his results and is extremely relieved about his scores. I am just relieved that the low areas were not something that could be laid at my feet. My inadequacies as teacher are numerous and I need all the comfort I can get.

Football

Well, my beloved 49ers lost another game yesterday and are now at 2-4. My husband's team, the Raiders, also lost yesterday, continuing another losing season for both our teams. Now, I can hear my sister groaning as she reads this, because, well, she is sports challenged, but I believe she can relate in another area. The 49ers started going downhill when it's original owner, Eddie Debartalo, was no longer in charge. He had a genius on staff who worked out budgets, salary caps, recruiting, you name it, he could pull it off. Add in the wizard of a coach, Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice, and Roger Craig (now I'm all nostalgic) and you have a winning combination. Winning seasons with some SuperBowls thrown in. Eddie owned the business of the 49ers, but he took it beyond just business. He had a true passion and love for the game and the team itself. When he lost control of the business, his sister took over to keep it in the family. She doesn't know what to do with a football team, and since it's a "man's sport" she gave it to her husband to run. He has no vision or passion for the sport. It is purely business. I believe if you have a passion for something, add in the business sense and you can't help but become profitable. Without that passion the business becomes just that - working for the business. I wish the leage would allow Eddie to come back and restore the team to its former glory. With the passion and drive it could be led to great things. With the Raiders, lose Al Davis and you have a great start to turning the team around. I know nothing about defensive strategy, offensive strategy and special teams. I just see a lack of qualified leadership at the top and it trickles down the line. If you are leading a company or business get passionate about it. You can only benefit the company in the end.

The Tudors

Well, I finished the first season of the Tudors. I have to say I am pretty happy to not have been born in that time period. Although the clothes are beautiful, people didn't seem to live long enough to enjoy them. Medical science was obviously not that well developed. Couple that with the fact that, well, if you ticked off anyone important in the realm...people just had short life spans. And wow, did they have deep dark pits in their souls to be able to come up with such gruesome ways to execute people. It seems that the ones who had the most fun in that time were the noblemen. The ladies were back in their homes while the men were partying at the castle.... and of course enjoying the services of the young ladies-in-waiting. So, I got a crash course in history. I have to say I don't remember studing about that era much while I was in school. If they veered off into "artistic liberties" I would probably be unaware of it. So I got to just sit back and enjoy the series without having to compare it to history. It was quite graphic in a lot of ways. I don't know how some of those people could sleep at night #1 those who were really back in those days who plotted the demise of innocent people for their own gain and #2 the actors who had to reinact the scenes. It would seem that only Charles Brandon and King Henry got the well, we'll call them fun, scenes. I saw the intro to episode 10 (the season finale) and could not figure out what King Henry was doing. I had to shut the dvd off as I was interrupted and so ended up having to reload from scratch. There was that intro again... This time I was like... hold it, nah, can't be. So I rewind it- and rewatch. Then I burst out laughing. Yep, he must have had a fun time filming....lol And to think they get paid for that "fun". Now I have been on a few movie sets and I know it's awkward with the many worker bees on the sets, but when I see the finalized production I don't think of that and just laugh. It was not a funny movie, but well, my mind goes in those directions. I did like the movie, but a little too graphic (violence wise) for my tastes. I am very squeamish. Yes, I will be looking forward to season 2, if only to see who keeps their necks attached to their bodies.

He Did It Again

Have you ever known someone who tries to cut corners? My step-father is like that, only he ends up botching it so badly it becomes a total disaster. He is the ultimate cheap skate. They have lived in their home since 1984, but it was originally built in 1979. He is very proud of the fact that they haven't put any money into the home, other than a new roof. Put in money, means pay someone to do the work. He put his own tile in (um, yeah), and the ultimate was the kitchen counters. Not tile, not granite, it's well, I don't know what it is. It's something my husband brought from a job site that apparently caught his fancy. It's like white butcherblock. He installs it himself and well, there's a huge seam right down the middle. (He couldn't have lined it up in like a corner, or not so obvious location). And of course, the seam continues to separate. He weatherproofed his deck, and patched rotted out wood, and let's not even discuss what they call a gazebo. He also converted their master bedroom into a "studio". Have you ever seen a kitchen sink in place of a bathroom sink. Instead of a low basin, it's a deep tub. Not a pretty sight.Now, with the economy being the way it is, he may be cutting satellite tv. He watched a Youtube video on how to make your own antennae and get tv. Sure enough, that was his project today. To test it, he disconnected the satellite. Not only did he mess up the tv, he shut down the internet. Good lord, I need to move...... I have to say that I am pretty happy to not be inheriting this house because when I think of how much money it would take to repair what he's done, well, I don't have that kind of cash.

Feeling Old

Nothing reminds you of your age than applying for a job. I had an appointment to interview today at a restaurant. Having two children and daycare issues, I'm having to think beyond traditional 9-5 work, let's try outside the box work. Now I had an appointment, but this restaurant is hiring from the ground up so they have an off-site hiring facility that is open from 10-5 and walk-ins are welcome. As I am sitting there I am reminded of my age. This would be due to the fact that everyone who is also applying cannot be beyond 25 (and that's stretching). I want to say I have the maturity and life experience rather than just years on them. But if this is the demographic this restaurant is trying to hit I'm rather doomed. Thinking young does not erase those um, we'll call them laugh lines, nor take away the creeping gray. Eesh, and I was happy with deluding myself. Welcome to reality!

America's Got Talent

Well, I just finished watching the finale of America's Got Talent and am so disappointed. I personally have nothing against the season's winner, but opera is just not my thing. I don't know how someone can sustain an audience in Vegas while singing opera. Eli, the runner up, has not only the voice, but plays piano as well. But the biggest disappointment was the #3 contestant. Nothing But Stringz was by far the most talented. These are 2 talented young people who play violins. But they play violins with an attitude. On top of that, they write their own music. These two guys could have gone in an entirely different direction with their lives, but they poured their talent into their music. I think their mother is to be congratulated. She did a great job with those two kids. I hope Eli and Nothin' but Stringz get agents. I'd hate to hear the end of those two acts. They are extremely talented. Look them up on youtube. You'll be amazed at their talent.

Solution To Financial Crisis

I was watching Jay Leno on Monday and his guest was Russell Crowe. Now, Russell Crowe is not a US Citizen, for which he's probably grateful considering the financial crisis that is going on here. He did come up with a solution to the financial crisist though. I have to say that I tend to like his solution. The population of the US at this point in time is about 300 million, and Congress is trying to pass a $700 billion bailout. His solution is, instead of using all of that bailout money to fix a problem the system created and have the taxpayers pay for it, is give each person $1 million. That would stimulate the economy. I am pretty sure the American public would get behind that one. Sure beats the stimulous package they did earlier. $300 per person, with loopholes so you can't even the entire amount. I definitely like the Russell Crowe solution. People would have money to buy up the foreclosed homes, thus saving the banks. Not charity for them. They get the properties off their books and now have money in their coffers. Neighborhoods won't look pathetic. Businesses wouldn't go under. So, Congress, I hope you were watching Jay. There is a solution out there. With it being an election year, imagine how many votes you'd get for a proposition like that.

A Raise??

As an ordinary, middle-class citizen I can stretch a dollar if I need to. I can tighten the belt even more, although I think I'm already a size 2 (financially, not physically). So, it boggles my mind that someone can't live on $17.5 million per year. That's what the Queen of England makes per year, and she now wants a raise. You have got to be kidding me. Now it's hard enough to comprehend the fact that she can't survive on that, especially since she only has herself to support. The hubby and kids each have their own salaries. What makes it more difficult to comprehend is for her to get a pay raise is, the taxpayers have to pay for it. Her income is dependent on taxes. Like times aren't tough enough with ordinary people scraping to get buy, now they are going to have to shell out more money so she can get - as Jay Leno says "dowdy handbags." I don't think a quarter of her citizens even make 1% of her annual income, yet they are expected to pay her more? Go figure.... Nice job if you can get it.