My t-shirt will read...

"I survived the DNC!"

This city of mine has been incredibly busy this past week. The powers that be assured locals that there would be no more influx here in Denver that we normally see at a Broncos game.

Oh, how they jest.

There are TONS of people on the streets. Protesting, campaigning, schmoozing, walking, eating, yelling, marching, rioting, rollerblading with hardly a stitch on them...

OK, it was just the one lady. And I liked her style, if I didn't understand her point. See, she was shouting "More ass, less gas!" which I'm sure was some relation to the argument against drilling for oil. I just don't know how to put her thought into action. Or how to run my car off it.

**sigh**

The most frustrating part of being in town during this highlight in history, is the star power, and the effect it has on me. Movie stars, politicians, comedians, they are all here! Within sight!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to chat with stare at John Kerry, who dropped by our office to give a small speech.





However, that's nothing compared to who I missed, walking out of the Hard Rock Cafe...





Oh, bestill my heart....

Prayer

Lord, work through me

To plan with wisdom

To guide with vision

To lead with humility

To listen with understanding

To work with excellence

To succeed in a way

That honors you.

~Roy Lessin

Apparently it's just me

I really thought Mercury was in retrograde this week. Every communication I've been having with anyone in particular has been particularly difficult.

People are appearing to be most thick to me.

I have wanted to tell people who frustrate me that they are dense and frustrating. But I didn't.

These types of days make me appreciate yoga. In fact, my yoga teacher put our class in meditiative shavasana today and one of us fell asleep. Like, snoring and all.

Totally wasn't me, though. It did break my concentration, however.

Which means that I wasn't doing shavasana right.

I wanted to giggle instead of just laying there, meditating in shavasana.

I did get a great workout during class, which helps to alleviate some of the murderous feelings I experienced before the class.

Yoga really benefits more than just me!

Life ain't like Ozzie and Harriet

I read a statistic recently that only 25% of families in America are of the "nuclear" variety. (That's nu-cle-ar, not like Homer Simpson's "nu-cu-lar") Mom, Dad and a coupla kids, all in the same house.

At first, I found this statistic to be kind of sad. My mind automatically wants to think that this is the appropriate family structure. Any other kind must be missing something.

I thought about single moms raising their kids. I was raised by my mom, by herself, for many years. I think I turned out okay. Bucking the statistics...

I thought about step-parents loving their blended families. Statistic shmatistic.

I thought about the new generation of grandparents raising their grandbabies, for whatever reason. Although I am eternally thankful that my grandma did not raise me while she was my grandma, I know that many of the grandparents did not have the proper choice as to whether or not they wanted to raise their grandbabies. And they're doing the best they can.

I thought about Matt Logelin, and others like him. Thrust into single parenthood without any say or choice. It makes my heart hurt.

Then I thought about what I go home to every day after work. Wait a minute, I'm not in a nuclear family! It's just Handsome and me at the ol' homestead. And it might be that way for a long time.

And I'm okay with that.

I wonder what effect watching Ozzie & Harriet (or Leave It to Beaver, or The Cosby Show, etc.) had on people who were not themselves part of a nuclear family. Did they think something was wrong with their family, because Dad had blazed out of the picture early (or, worse, stayed in it but in an alcoholic hurricane)?

Or maybe The Brady Bunch was the true trailblazer, showing that there is life after ... widowhood? divorce? Mike Brady was apparently a widower but there was never any mention of what situation Carol survived.

What's more intriguing is that that show was inspired because of a statistic from the Los Angeles Times produced in 1965 saying that 40% of marriages had a child, or children, from a previous marriage.

40% !!

But they never talked about it on the show. It was taboo.

So, news folks, don't make me feel like I'm some kind of weirdo for not having the proper American nuclear family. Apparently, it's never been that way.

Refreshment

We had the rainiest weekend of the year. It was wonderful.

It rained off and on all day on Friday and torrentially on Saturday. The flowers perked right up and welcomed the life giving water deep into their roots. The cucumbers are bulging, hanging on their vines.

The grass is greener than ever. The crickets chirrupped in the night.

It's as if each member of the land has taken a collective inhale, and then a sigh of relief and rejuvenation.

Naming rights

The men in Handsome's family named their sons after their brothers. Handsome's cousin is named after my father in-law.

While honeymooning, Handsome and I were talking about names for our future children. Thankfully, he wasn't terribly excited to continue the tradition of naming our kids after his father's family members. The proverbial well was pretty dried up at that point, with Handsome and the cousins being the last of the lineage for a while.

Being of Greek heritage, Handsome wanted a son to have a heroic name, one with ferocity and fortitude. Something like Zeus or Hades. I'm kidding, not Zeus or Hades.

Actually, Handsome wants to name his son after his grandfather: Achilles.

I'm okay with familial names. But Achilles?

Maybe as a middle name.

At the time I was pregnant with the boy, I took great pains into picking out the perfect name for him. It was a family name, incorporating my great-grandfather who came to this country from Portugal. I never met that man, but he had a cool name and I changed it enough to suit that baby.

I knew his parents would change his name when they adopted him, but I do have a birth certificate showing the name I gave him and it does still hold significance to me.

The Duchess has a post about naming of babies and how some people don't seem to realize the significance it can have for the parents.

Handsome and I have agreed on names of our future progeny, and we've been keeping those names mum for just the reasons mentioned in The Duchess' post. I'm curious if any other folks have naming insecurities or other examples of blatant plagiarism when it comes to your kids' name?

Does this banner make me look thin?

Do you like the new header up top there? Cute, huh?

I found a new site called Scrapblog (HT to Midwest Mommy!) which allows folks to create digital scrapbook pages ... for free!

I scrolled through their designs and picked one I just adore. Mixed some features around, put in my own title and voila! Personalized uber-cuteness!

This weekend we are picking up the boy and heading to Heritage Square.

Heritage Square is a unique, delightful replica of a Western village with Victorian architecture and provides an affordable, fun experience for the whole family.

The boy has never been to Heritage Square so I'm excited to take him there. There is an alpine slide which you ride by taking a tram to the top and sitting in these wheelie scooters screaming all the way down. It is a blast!

There's also amusement rides, go karts, good food and ice cream... Can't wait!

Then, another Water World day on Monday. It has been in the 90s most of July and August, so spending a day in and around the water sounds delightful!

Have a terrific weekend!

Date night with Harrison Ford

Handsome and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night.

We have a theater near our house which shows movies for $3.50 (the matinee's are $2.50). So, we tend to wait several eons weeks after a movie's release if we want to see it in the theater.

Our grocery store has coupons for the theater printed on the back of the reciept, as well, for a buy one ticket, get one free. Last night, two tickets and a medium popcorn cost us $6.50. What a deal!

::SPOILERS ahead::



I liked the fact that Indy recognizes that he's older. He's just not the young maverick he was in Raiders of the Lost Ark. That's good, shows he's human.

The action scenes were exciting, but the entire tenor of the movie was much more subdued than the previous flicks in the series.

Take the worst parts of Last Crusade and that's what made up most of Crystal Skull. It just didn't make a whole lot of sense. The chronology within the movie was confusing.

And c'mon, Spielberg, aliens? Even if the entire world knew about the theories of other worldlies coming to visit and impressing their knowledge upon the Maya, did you have to make the movie so hokey?

In the scene where the ship takes off, with the complete whirlwind of debris flying everywhere, how is it possible for Indy to just stand there and not get clocked in the head by a flyinging meso-american brick?

::Spoilers end here::



It was a great date night, though, for the fact that we got to go to an actual movie theater and eat actual movie theater popcorn. Although today, my belly is reminding me that I'm not built for actual movie theater popcorn all that often!

Anyone else have fun date nights lately? How about your own critique of the movie?

Milk isn't the only thing that does a body good

Do you ever have those stupid fights with your spouse? The ones that, while they are occurring, you're thinking to yourself, I need to blog about this to get perspective because I can not believe how asinine this is?

Handsome is the type of person who tends to run late for appointments. He just doesn't have a concept of how long a task will take him. When working at a side job (he is a plumber), he'll tell me the job will take him an hour; I'll immediately place the time at 2 and a half.

I hate to be late. I feel like my life is out of control and I get all panicky and breathless if I am running late. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but that's just the way I am.

Last night, I left work early to catch a bus which would get me home early, because I volunteer at our church youth group at 6:00 on Tuesdays. Handsome was supposed to get off work (the punch-a-clock real job, not a side job) at 4:00. At 5:30, as the bus passed Handsome's place of employment, I see our vehicle in the parking lot.

Uh oh.

I call him, get his voicemail and leave a message. Something like "hello, you're supposed to be home right now, why are you still at work, you need to come home as soon as you get this message, it's important, I love you, call me, bye."

Of course, he didn't get home until 10 minutes to 6:00. And I was late to youth group.

I must be PMS-ing because I go from zero to ticked off in no time flat. All I wanted was an apology from him saying anything like "I'm sorry that I was late and made you late."

But NOOOO. I got silence. And brooding. And evil stares.

But apparently I had no right to be angry. I got the whole spiel about how he had no intention of staying at work an extra hour and a half past his shift, it's not like he WANTED to be there. Blah blah blah.

Finally, around 9:00, he gave me the sarcastic apology for making me late. But I was still supposed to feel sorry for him for having to stay late at work (his choice, not a boss's).

ANYHOO...

I feel better for having written it all down and living through the experience. I know I cannot control him or make him on time for things. I have tried (really, I have!) to be less anxious when it comes to keeping a schedule. It's just a character flaw in me, I guess.

This morning, a daily email I receive was just what I needed to read. Here it is.

Forgiveness is good for you — in fact, it may be the most selfishly selfless thing you can do. Study after study has found that forgiving those who have hurt us isn't weak — it's actually one of the best decisions we can make for ourselves.

People who are able to forgive experience lower rates of depression and have less chronic pain and stronger immune systems — as well as better relationships. Part of this can be explained by a decreased stress response. When you dwell on bad experiences, your body registers it as stress and launches a cascade of biochemical reactions. High blood pressure and elevated cortisol levels can result.

But forgiveness is also emotional — even spiritual. Many people learn to forgive when they are older and have perhaps had to come to terms with their own mortality. As we age we gain a different perspective on our problems and, often, on the person who has caused us pain. We are all human and we all make mistakes.

However, be careful of associating "forgive" with "forget." Forgiveness does not mean you forget what happened. Rather, you direct your energy to the future and leave the past where it belongs. Don't forget where you've come from, just keep moving forward.

So, Handsome, you're forgiven. I still love you, even if you totally drive me crazy sometimes.

The girls have their own agenda

I peed on a stick today. Just to check. You know, because after tracking my temps for 13 cycles I thought that Handsome and I had finally done the trick this month.

My girls are making themselves known to me, in a way no other PMS cycle has before.

Alas, only the control line showed on the stick.

Betrayed by my boobs. *sigh*

Part of me wonders if I'm not subconciously sabotaging my chances of getting pregnant. I had wanted to be in a much better financial position before we lost all control of our lives brought a baby into the world. I talked about this with Handsome, who is 7 years older than me and apparently has his own biological clock clanging loudly in his ears.

He just really wants to go ahead, plans be damned.

But I like to plan, and I like to feel in control. I'm open to a baby, I just think I'd be more open later this year, or next year.

Yeah, that doesn't sound convincing, does it? I recognize that wanting to be in control doesn't jive very well with being open to a baby. I recognize that having a baby means that in a lot of ways, your life is truly out of control.

There are so many unknowns when it comes to babies. We cannot afford to have one or the other of us stay at home with baby. We probably cannot afford daycare either! Handsome has so many dreams of beautifying our home and yard, making it hospitable for us and a family, if that's what God plans. I can't imagine much progress being made when we're sleep deprived and totally broke.

Maybe it's just not the right time.

Is it okay that I'm fine with that?

5 things

Artified tagged me for my first meme! (Is it "may may" or "mee mee" anyway?)

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
1. file some documents at work that have been sitting on my desk for way. too. long.
2. yoga
3. finish fixing dinner (some sort of Indian chicken dish simmering in the crockpot)
4. take a walk with Handsome
5. send a birthday card

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. apples
2. peaches
3. nectarines
4. peanut butter and crackers
5. pistachio nuts

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. buy our houses outright
2. same with the vehicles
3. pay off all the credit cards
4. travel the world
5. make a healthy donation to Humane Society

What are five of your bad habits?
1. gossiping
2. procrastinating
3. sarcasm
4. spending more than I should
5. mindless eating

What are five places you have lived?
1. California (5 different houses)
2. Oregon (1 house)
3. Virginia (3 different houses)
4. Colorado (9 different houses)
5. Mexico (does 6 weeks count as "lived"?)

What are five jobs you’ve had?
1. Waitress
2. Manager at Dairy Queen
3. Customer Service at satellite dish company
4. Hostess
5. Legal Secretary

And that's where it stops. Swear! I won't tag anyone because some folks love meme's and others hate them. I think I will be a pick and choose type of person because that's how I roll.