Raves, Rants and Reflections

Well then....

2011-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

What's two and a half years between friends? I've had another baby, my older girls are big now...9 1/2 and 3 1/2 and Eric (the boyfriend) is GONE!! Gone gone gone! I haven't been this happy in a very long time. He was cheating, and is now living with the girl he was cheating on me with. Good riddance to bad rubbish. He's also *sadly* turned into the father I expected he would be...absent. Hasn't seen the kids in almost a month. Hasn't called to check on them or anything.

I'm currently looking to buy a house...so we'll see how that goes. Can't decide if I want to make that commitment or not yet. I'm excited about the prospect.

That's all for now...I promise to update more.

New job

2008-07-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've been working at my new job for almost a month now. I love it so much. I like the people I work with a lot and the work is really fulfilling.

For anyone who doesn't know, I am a caseworker/staff assistant for Senator Tom Harkin. I've always been a big fan of his and this was just such a great opportunity.

Basically what I do is help people with their VA, Medicaid/Medicare, SSA and immigration claims. I also help people with Insurance issues and travel issues. I have a huge case load and sometimes I feel overwhelmed, but all in all, I feel like I'm doing good work.

The girls are well. Searching for daycare is hell. Everything is so expensive and we don't qualify for any sort of day care help, so paying out of pocket is kicking our asses.

Eric just got some great news on the job front. He'll be a camp counselor for Rock Camp's last session starting next week. I'm really proud of him, I've been thinking it was something good for him to get into for awhile now. PLUS- HE GOT HIS LICENSE BACK! WOOT!! I'm super excited about that too. It's fantastic!

Walking

2008-05-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

My baby is walking. *sniffsniff*

She's getting so damned big already. I can't believe she'll be one next month!!!

She walks like she's had about 3 whiskey sours too many. It's adorable!!

We will be having a Wonder Pets themed birthday party, as Linnie, Tuck and Ming Ming are her best friends, after all. She loves the Wonder Pets and, while we hate their songs (they get stuck in our heads), we love the fact that she gets so excited about it.

Aspen is about to finish 1st grade. Speaking of getting big...holy crap. She is almost 7! I can't believe that, either! Time goes so fast. She's reading on a 3rd grade level (at least). I think it's higher. For example, she was reading me something the other day and didn't even stumble over the word "bouquet"! She's an awesome kid, for as bossy and argumentative as she is! lol

God, my girls are getting so big. I'm so lucky!

101 in 1001 Update #2

2008-01-28T23:28:00.000-08:00

I have received A Clockwork Orange. I will be watching that very soon.

I'm on day 2 of my week without candy. I'm making Aspen do it, too. She kinda hates me right now.

On Wednesday I will be applying at 2 restaurants that are hiring servers. Hopefully I'll get #1 crossed off my list!

On and unrelated topic, Aspen lost her 5th tooth today. During breakfast. And woops! She swallowed it! Oh well, the tooth fairy will still visit!

I'm going to get this list done, I promise it!

My progress on my 101 in 1001

2008-01-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I said I wanted to update this blog every week in my 101 in 1001 list. In addition to that, I wanted to say that I moved A Clockwork Orange to the top of my Netflix cue. I'll be able to mark one off the list very soon!

I also put in my resume for a job I'd really like to have, so if I get that one, I'll be able to mark off the number one thing on my list! Yay!

Otherwise, unemployment blows. I hate it. Aspen goes back to school tomorrow after what seemed to be an ungodly long weekend. I had to escape to the mall for a few hours today so I could take a break from the kids. It was much needed, let me tell you.

Here are a few visual updates:

Me and MuAspen "chillaxin"
Eric's New Toy

That's the update for now. Hope things are well in your world.

My 101 in 1001

2008-01-20T00:29:00.000-08:00

So there is this project some of my friends are doing. I thought I'd be a follower.

It's called 101 in 1001. It's 101 things you want to do in the next 1001 days. Here is my list. My start date is 1/20/2008, so my end date is 10/17/2010. I hope to have accomplished all of the following:

Get new job
Get an Ipod
Start walking Aspen home from school when it gets warm
Watch A Clockwork Orange
Plan a wedding
Get married
Get pregnant again
Plan super cool birthday parties for each of the girls
Have an amazing 30^th birthday
Plan a party for Eric’s 35^th birthday
Baby- proof the house
Go back to school
Get Master’s Degree
Take a road trip, just Eric and Me.
Lose 100 pounds ( 0 of 100)
Vote in November
Go a whole week with no candy
Take Aspen and Amelia to Gumbo YaYa
Learn to play bass
Take the girls to the Botanical Center
Have a monthly get together with Michelle and Kelli
Try to form a better relationship with Gail (MIL)
Pierce my nose
Get a tattoo
Plant a vegetable garden
Make fresh salsa with ingredients from my garden
Plant flower garden with Aspen
Visit St. Louis twice (0 of 2)
Get to know Moria
Treat Dean and Kelli to a night at Comedy Sportz
Get a dog
Get a pedicure
Make Christmas cookies with Aspen, Amelia and my mom
Go hiking
Go camping in Wisconsin
Get so drunk I puke (or at least want to)
Donate 4 bags of clothing to Goodwill
Wear make up everyday for a week
Have weekly game night for a month
Teach Amelia to count in English and Spanish
Get a new car
Get life insurance
Get renters insurance
Go to the dentist
Donate to Locks of Love again
Have a Lemonade Stand with Aspen
Send out Christmas cards. All of them.
Max out my Rep on BG’s for a day.
Read 20 non political books (0 of 20)
Buy new pots and pans
Go Vegan for a week
Volunteer at the DeLaCerda House
Have movie night once a week for 2 months with Eric
Paint Aspen’s nails
Take my mom to dinner and out for drinks
Go a week without TV
Join a gym
Actually go to said gym
Go out of the country
Get a passport first
Get new glasses
Make 5 new IRL friends
Buy new bras
Buy a dress and wear it to a nice dinner with Eric
Enroll Aspen in classes or lessons of some sort
Move out of Iowa
Go to 2 national act concerts (0 of 2)
Go on vacation to Oregon
Get into therapy
Have my mom teach me how to make her fudge
Knit something practical
BF Amelia to 18 months
Plan a day with Jessi and Sheridan
Send out 10 greeting cards to 10 different people for no reason (0 of 10)
Get a job on a political campaign
Color my hair a funky color
Get my legs waxed
Make compost pile
Try 10 new restaurants (0 of 10)
Have a game night with Marissa and Scot
Have a game night with Erin and Scot
Get a real Christmas tree
Go a week without eating out
Transition baby into her own room
Pay off 5 old bills (0 of 5)
Convince Eric to tell Leo about Amelia
Go to Waterloo to see Nikki once every 6 months
Go to lunch with Wicked Liz
Go to lunch with Carolyn
Update Photobucket every week
Put flowers on my Grandma’s grave
Take Aspen (and maybe Amelia) to 4 plays or musicals (0 of 4)
Take belly dancing lessons
See a professional sports event
Update my blog once a week
Coach speech
Keep up on the girls’ baby books and journals
Take an art class
Find a home for Butterfly
Mail a postcard to postsecret
Accomplish all the things on my 101 in 1001 list

GHOST!

2007-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

My home is very old. I don't know how old because I don't know where to look for that information, but it's old. It is currently split into 2 separate units. We live in the bigger side.

Anyway, I swear we have a ghost. I hear breathing and occasionally what sounds like a really low voice on the baby monitor. I see things out of the corner of my eye. These things happen all. the. time. Sometimes when I'm sitting in the bedroom and it's dark, I see a shadow move in front of my bedroom door.

I don't feel really scared by it or anything, and I almost think it might be my grandpa. I didn't notice it too much until I had a dream about him and then it seemed like it either started happening or I started noticing it, not sure which.

I hope that he's nicer in ghost form than he was in life.

Bligity bligity blog

2007-12-18T01:09:00.000-08:00

So much to say, but it's 3 am and I'm exhausted. I just baked dozens and dozens and dozens of cookies. 3 different kinds and some bars. They are all delish (of course). I found the BEST sugar cookie recipe (I don't even like sugar cookies, but I like these!) and used it. YUM!

Aspen lost another tooth. Thats 2 in a week. She freaks the fuck out when they get to that really loose almost falling out stage. She doesn't like losing teeth, but she likes the tooth fairy (a dollar for each tooth this time).

Amelia started sitting unassisted on Saturday morning. She's also creeping. *sigh* my baby is growing so fast. I can't believe how fast. I'm so in love with my kids. They seriously are my everything.

I have to find another job. Mine ends the day of the caucus. I'm sad because it's such a big change. Where will I work? Will I make the same kind of money? Will I be able to stay in my field or am I going to have to take something in retail or something equally nauseating? What about daycare? On one hand I don't want to put Mu in daycare because kids get sick all. the. time. in most daycares. She hasn't been sick yet (knock on wood) and I would like to keep it that way as long as possible. But she's also super attached to me and doesn't like to be with anybody else for an extended period of time (even her dad). That makes it tough for me to get much of anything done.

I'm so gonna crap my pants over this.

So much more to say, but now I'm going to fall asleep at this computer!

G'night!

my hair

2007-10-02T20:12:00.001-07:00

For the record, I cut off all my hair, yes I did. I also colored it red. RED RED. I love it.

Aspen

2007-10-02T20:11:00.001-07:00

Aspen started 1st grade this year. She loves it, but has had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to being the new kid in school again. She's doing well, though, academically, reading at a 2nd grade level at least.

Amelia Mu

2007-10-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

My little bitty baby is growing up! She smiles and laughs and rolls over now. She is so funny, too. She blows raspberries and drenches her onesie in spit.

She tried cereal for the first time the other day. She wasn't too impressed, but dealt with it. She's been pretty cranky for dad when mom is at work, and generally won't eat, so I thought that introducing her to something new was a good idea so he would have another option to try to get her to eat.

I love this picture of her:

My endorsement

2007-08-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

I work in politics. That is no secret. I've met almost all the presidential candidates. I've heard them speak and given them my honest consideration. I like a couple of them, but there is one that I think is the best person for the job.

My endorsement for President is for the Senior Senator from Delaware: Joe Biden (D). I really respect his decades of service and his ability to speak from the heart with a frankness that no one else can live up to. He is not the one I thought I would endorse. I also very much like Barack Obama. BUT, I think Obama often times is more concerned with what the "right" thing to say is.

The reasons I've endorsed the Senator are many. If you'd like to know more, please ask!

Baby girl

2007-08-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't blogged since before Amelia was born. She was born on 6.16.07 and weighed 8 lbs 6 oz. She is now 9 weeks old and is an amazing baby. She is not colicky, she is very mild tempered and eats like a champ. I forgot how in love you become with a baby. She lights up my already rad life.

Aspen will be starting 1st grade on Thursday. We are all ready for her to go back. She's bored and we are tired of trying to entertain her. She'll be starting fresh with all new kids and a new school. She's very excited and has already picked out her 1st day outfit.

We've also moved. Our 2 bedroom apartment had just gotten too small, so we moved to a 2 bedroom duplex in Davenport.

Life is good, here is a pic of Amelia when we were still in the hospital.

Baby shower

2007-06-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

So my baby shower was last weekend. It was really fun. Some of my family came, some of Eric's family, and a few of our friends. I'd say there was about a dozen of us plus 3 crazy little girls running around. It great to see them all. Most of them I don't get to see very often.

I got lots of great stuff, a few outfits, a boppy, an organizer cart, some diapers, and odds and ends. There was some cash and gift cards that allowed me to buy the bath tub, some wash clothes, shampoo, stuff like that. Our friends went in together and purchased a stroller for us, which is amazingly great of them. We still need a few things, like a play yard, bottles, a sling, more diapers!! But all in all, we are pretty prepared for this baby to come.

The last few days have been absolute hell because of how sick I've been. I've had some sort of sinus/throat/ear infection. It was absolutely awful. I still have lots of mucus and my throat really hurts still, but I'm starting to feel a little better. Hopefully tomorrow will be even better with no coughing. Coughing at 9 months pregnant...not cool.

Well, that's about it. Hopefully I will have a baby next time I post! :)

Baby update

2007-05-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still pregnant. I'm due in about 23 days, but I'm Ok with going in about 14. I am getting so excited. We've got the bassinet all set up and put together and I've got all the clothes washed. I need to clean out the car and take the car seat to the fire station to get it professionally installed. We need to clean and do some final prep before we bring this baby home.

So this picture is of me at about 24 weeks. I have a more recent pic, but I hate it. I feel very fat and I just like this one better.

I can't wait for my baby shower. That is June 3rd. I can't wait to see all my friends and family. They are such great people that I can't imagine feeling really prepared for this baby until I get lots of advice from all of them! I know a lot about having kids, as I have one already, but I don't know anything about having more than one child! How do I make Aspen feel just as important as she does now? How do I juggle them both and work? And a relationship? OY! I need my friends and family a whole lot.

Thats all for now. I will update again when I have something to say!

Baby blog!

2007-04-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been an update on this pregnancy for awhile, so here it goes.

I am now 32 weeks and 1 day pregnant. We don't what the baby is, but we are pretty sure it's human. It moves vigorously and rolls around a lot. It's a lot like Aspen was in utero. I am getting Braxton Hicks with this baby, and didn't have them last time, so that's new.

Eric and I started birthing classes. He got scared about the whole situation, which is totally understandable, since this is all new to him. It scares me a little too, and I've done this before. He didn't know that there was so much to do at the birth. I think he thought that you pretty much lay in bed, push, and a baby falls out. He didn't know about all the walking, the birth ball, the showers, etc.

I am getting anxious. We haven't set up the bassinet yet or put the car seat together. We did get the bedding all taken care of and we have the car seat and bouncer. That part is done, thank goodness. Hopefully we will get the rest of the things we need at the baby shower (bathtub, play yard, stroller, onesies, sleepers, bottles, pacifiers, etc).

Otherwise, things are good here. It's getting hard for me to move around, get up and down, off the couch... but I'm dealing. Trying not to complain too much, I really do like being pregnant.

Virginia Tech

2007-04-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

First let me say that I can't imagine a more horrific thing to happen on a college campus. Having spent years and years in college, I never once thought about what I would do if a gunman stormed my classroom and opened fire on my professor and my classmates, and I have a tendency to always think of the worst possible scenario in any circumstance. My condolences go out to the families of all of the 33 victims. That includes the shooter.

Speaking of the shooter, let me preface what I am about to say by saying that his actions were inexcusable, immoral, and disgusting. No one can ever justify what he did in anyway. But, I agree with his sentiments. Now, the students he killed, as individuals, had little to do with his message. But we've already been told by the families to completely ignore what he said in his manifesto and simply remember the innocent victims. While I agree that the victims should not be lost in this, I also believe that if we don't listen to what he had to say, things like this will continue to happen. It is the American way, after all, to punish the action and not work to prevent it in the first place.

His sentiments, if I interpret them correctly, are that he had been abused by society his entire life. He was made fun of, put down, ignored, neglected and treated like someone who was less than human. I do believe that he had some sort of underlying psychosis, but I can't imagine that having been shit on for his entire life could have made it any better. I'm not excusing his behavior, but lets use this as a lesson to teach our kids tolerance and embrace diversity. If we continue to spoil the shit out of our kids and keep teaching them that some people; "gooks", immigrants, poor people or people that are developmentally disabled are some how "less than" themselves, we can expect that this kind of action will continue. When parents are so displaced from their kids lives that they don't know the parents of the friends their kids are hanging out with or what their kids are into, or generally KNOWING them at all, this kind of thing will continue to happen. When kids are allowed to bully other kids for ANY reason, this will continue to happen.

Wake up, folks. This kid didn't just snap for no reason. There were many, many reasons for his actions, most of which will be ignored because he's "evil" or he's "bad" or he's "inhuman". Regardless of that, he had a point. The way he chose to express it was deplorable. No argument there. But lets think about how we can prevent it from happening again. Lets hear what he had to say. Where is the harm in that?

Baby Update

2007-01-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

So we are about 17 weeks and 3 days. This is what the baby looks like right about now. This is NOT my baby, this baby belongs to someone in Ohio, and I must also say that this is a male baby, so...just take note of that.
Anyway, we are going to try to find out if the baby is a girl or a boy on January 30th. We have our preference, but we will be happy either way. It may just take a few days to adjust.

I've been feeling the baby move for about a week. The kicks aren't very strong yet, but I do feel the flutters here and there. For the first few days it was just around my belly button, but the last few days they've been more towards my pelvis.

The last appointments have been great. I've lost a few pounds, but everyone knows that's not a bad thing for me!! Other than that, my blood work and urine tests have been just fine. My only frustration has been that my doctor is now sharing his practice with some other doctor and they keep trying to get me in with the other guy. I'm a little irritated about that because I went to Dr. Johnson because I like him, not because I want to be a part of a group of doctors. Oh well, Aspen didn't come on her own, I'm kinda hoping in a very small way that this one doesn't want to either and I have to be induced again, at least then I can chose a day that Dr.Johnson will be delivering.

We have baby names picked out, but continue to throw new ones at each other. The other one almost always says "no" for one reason or another, so we stick with the ones that we had picked out a few months ago. We will share them when we are ready.

Thats the baby update at 17 weeks. Everything is OK so far!!

Deaths

2006-12-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

So in just two days, we've lost two of the most important men in history. First, James Brown died Christmas morning. The godfather of soul laid the foundation for blues, disco and rap and with out his genius, we may have never experienced those genres of music. Whatever you think of disco or rap, they have influenced some of our most beloved performers and some of the songs we will never forget. RIP, the hardest working man in show business.

Then today, we found out the sad news that Gerald Ford has also passed. This may sound surprising coming from some one who wears her blue proudly, but our nation wouldn't have recovered from Nixon and Watergate nearly as quickly without Jerry. I think one of my favorite things about Ford was his absolute lack of coordination. I don't how many clips of Ford you could find on the internet where he is falling down the last three steps of the airplane stairs or tripping over his own feet. I think that endeared him to a lot of people. I may not have agreed with his policies or his views on things, but he was a decent guy from my calculations. RIP, Jerry.

Ok, so who is next? They always die in threes. Here are my predictions of who could be next: Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White, Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat, yeah, somebodies gonna kill that guy), or Saddam Hussien (hey, I couldn't forget the easy one!).

Did anyone else know that Lily Tomlin was gay!?!? Not that I care, I just had no idea! Wow!

Some of my favorite movies

2006-12-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

I don't remember if I have ever written about my favorite movies on here before or not, so forgive me if this is a repeat of another post. Let me say this first, I don't have a "favorite" movie, I have a lot that I really like. Here are some of them: Comedy

Drop Dead Gorgeous
Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards are the stars of this late 90's movie about a small town's Miss Sarah Rose Beauty pageant. Kirsty Alley stars as the mom of little miss perfect, Denise Richards. This is probably one of the funniest movies I have ever seen in my life. I've seen it a dozen times and it still makes me laugh. The funniest person is probably Will Sasso from Mad TV. He is just...hilarious.

Drama

The Breakfast Club

The quintessential coming of age film for my generation. Ok, maybe it was for the generation just before me, since I was 5 when it came out, but I saw it when I was little and thought that it was amazing. You probably know who was in it...Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Alley Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, etc. Great film!!

Reality Bites

Now THIS is the quintessential coming of age movie for my generation. This movie stars Winona Rider, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Stiller and Ethan Hawke. I have always loved this movie. If you haven't seen it, you need to.

Very Dramatic Movies

The Life of David Gale

A movie with a message about the evils of the death penalty. Even if you believe in the death penalty, this movie will make you think about it. Stars Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet.

Requiem for a Dream

Crazy, insane movie about drug use. Stars Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Ellen Burstyn. Ellen Burstyn plays the mother of drug user Jared Leto. Leto's character steals his own mothers TV to buy drugs. She is lonely and feels unattractive which causes her to fall into her own drug induced spiral. See this movie if you can handle the harsh realities of hard drug use. It is graphic and is by no means a feel good movie, but amazingly well made.

Oh, by the way, to anyone who doesn't know...

2006-12-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

I am pregnant. I will be 13 weeks on Thursday, and I am due on June 14th, 2007. For any of you who are paying attention, that is the first day of one of the biggest music festivals in the Quad Cities, and one of the years biggest money makers for Eric's company, Sturgis on the River. He wants me to go into labor a few days early so he doesn't have to worry about me going into labor during the festival. I want to go a few days late so that I am not home completely alone with the kids for 3 days. I don't think either of us will really have any control over that.

More than anything, we want a healthy baby, but we would both be exceptionally happy if it were a girl. We have a lot of girl stuff already, and we won't have to fight about that whole circumcision thing. Plus, I have to admit, I am a little scared of little boys. In my experience, little boys are dirty, gross, slightly (or overtly) violent, and completely obstanant. I don't know how to deal with boys and it scares me a little that I will have to figure it out!!! Girls are easy! More than anything, though, I just want a healthy baby. I will figure out the boy thing without a lot of problem, I'm sure, with the help of Eric and all my friends who have boys (Lisa, Nikki, my cousins Andee and Theresa).

We got to see it (were calling it Junebug) on an ultrasound a few weeks ago and then I got to hear the heart beat at the doctor's appointment a week later. Everything seems Ok, and the heartbeat was high (which, the old wives tale indicates it's a girl).

How exciting!!

girl boy
<--- --->

See what I mean??????!?!?!?!?!!!!!?!??!

Found a cool new singer

2006-12-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

So I was exploring MySpace and stumbled upon a really cool artist. Her name is Meg Allison and she preforms in both Chicago and Nashville (did you hear that Dad, Nashville). She has kind of a Jewel/Fiona Apple/Sarah Maclaughlin feel to her voice. I find it very enjoyable. If you would like to check her out, here is the address to her myspace page.

www.myspace.com/megallisonmusic

You should check her out, shes pretty good.

Driving

2006-11-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, many people have lots of rants about driving, but mine is not your typical complaint. The issue that I am going to tackle today is that of elderly drivers. I think we can all understand why teenagers and young adults (younger than 25) are poor drivers. They are reckless and have a "bad-ass, I'm invincible" attitude. Most of us had it too, when we were young. But they tend to grow up and grow out of it. They are put on strict restrictions when they first receive their licenses. They are (in many states) forbidden to drive at night, with friends, or if they are not driving to a school sponsored activity. They are also given much higher insurance rates and are put on zero tolerance restrictions. There are measures in place to decrease the amount of youth-caused car crashes.

However, I see nothing being done to prevent people over the age of 65 from taking the road when they shouldn't be. California has implemented some minor restrictions, like not allowing the elderly to drive on the freeway, etc. BUT, that's not enough. The elderly man who crashed his car into a busy open air market a few years ago wasn't driving on a freeway, he was driving in a business district and confused the gas peddle for the brake...for 300 yards...at speeds up to 60 miles an hour. How slow do your reflexes have to be to where you can not comprehend that your foot is on the gas and you are mowing down pedestrian after pedestrian for 300 yards?!?!? He KILLED 10 people, including a 7 month old child. I can not say "oh, well, it was just an accident, here's your slap on the wrist". I'm sorry, he knew that some of his faculties where failing him. He had to have. His family had to have known. It was not only his responsibility, but their responsibility to prevent this kind of tragedy. Independence is one thing, but complete disregard for your safety and the safety of others is something different. There are many organizations that will provide transportation to elderly persons so they can go to doctors appointments and grocery shopping. The "Christian" thing to do would be for other parishioners to offer rides to their elderly friends to church or wherever. The children of this man should have taken responsibility for him, like I'm sure that he did for them when they were children.

Look, I'm sure he is a great guy, this elderly man. I'm sure he was very successful when he was younger and a great father, but the thing is, he exercised bad judgment. And because of his bad judgment, 10 innocent people lost their lives. Mothers lost their children. For that he should be punished, ailing or not. We don't excuse drug dealers for their poor judgment. We don't excuse child molesters for their bad judgment. This really should be no exception.

This rant is complete...Until I talk about drunk drivers, drug dealers and child molesters, but those are subjects for another day.

5 more things you don't know about me

2006-11-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

I posted some things I figured most people didn't know about me about a year ago. It's time to do it again.

1. I have always liked the soggy ice cream cone more than the ice cream, regardless of the flavor of ice cream.

2. I can not sleep without a blanket, and in the summer at least a sheet. I have to be covered.

3. I have about 200 books. I have probably read 5 of them from front to back. Most are political books that I use for refrence. I used to be a huge reader, but I just haven't been much of one as of recently.

4. I have never voted for a republican. Even if I know them or they are the only one on the ballot, I just leave it blank.

5. I'm a rediculous germaphobe. Ok, we aren't talking Howie Mandel or anything, I will shake hands, but I pay close attention to when people wash their hands. I wash my hands so often during a typical day that they become very dry and start to bleed. I try lotion, but I wash so often that it never really has enough time to seep in. Then I worry that the cracks in my hands will be little germ pools, so then I wash more. Its really rediculous. But guess who has never gotten e.coli?!?!? Thats me! Thats me!

The new face of Congress

2006-11-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Please excuse my lack of postings on this blog. I have been without a computer to do this most of the summer. One of the first things I would like to talk about is what happened last Tuesday. My friends, Bruce Braley and Elesha Gayman came out winners in very hard fought campaigns. Bruce for the House of Representatives seat here in District one of Iowa, and Elesha for a house seat in the Iowa State House, making her the youngest woman to ever be elected to the state house at age 28. Congrats, guys!!!! I am so very proud to know and worked with both of you!!

I also have to say congrats to Chet Culver, Phil Hare, Dave Loebsack (after defeating long time congressman Jim Leach) and all the other Dems that were victorious on Tuesday. Some of my favorites from out of state are Claire McCaskill, Zack Space and John Tester. Congrats to those in blue!!!

Now that we've won, here are some of the issues I am most concerned about; raising the minimum wage, ending the war in Iraq (frankly, I don't care how it ends, it just needs to stop), bringing civil rights back to the United States, and either overhauling No Child Left Behind or abolishing it all together.

I am very concerned about the ethnic cleansing in Darfur. I've been saying for about 3 years that it is rediculous to be fighting 2 wars in Iraq and Afganistan that we will never "win" when people are being systematically murdered in Darfur and we turn a blind eye. I hate to blame it on racism or oil, but can someone explain to me how we can stand by and allow that to happen? The UN expects there to be a nation that steps forward with the commitment of troops and supplies before it sends any clear message on the subject. We are waiting for the UN to send a clear message before we make a commitment. Someone has to make the first step and we can't because our availability to do anything militarily is severly compromised with the shear number of servicemen and women who are currently fighting, just got back or are about to go. I think the thing to do in Iraq is divide up the nation into three distinct nations with different leadership in each with different law making bodies and everything. We need to make sure that each of the triad is compensated equally as if it were still one nation. Help build as many schools and hospitals as possible and complete the withdrawl by Jan 1, 2008. We can not be their babysitters forever. The deployment of troops to Darfur should start as soon as possible. I can not stand by and watch women sobbing over the bodies of their murdered children or men with 2 legs that had to be amputated because of the infection that set in after they were attacked. The Red Cross needs to be sent in to provide medicine and food and the US military needs to keep the peace, and with force if necessary. This should not turn into another Rwanda. If you don't know what happened there, see Hotel Rwanda with Don Cheadle. What an amazing movie.

But for now, I am keeping my eyes out for a better and more fufilling job. I am hoping to get a job working in politics this time. Governor Vilsack has formed an exploritory committee, which means, potentially, a job for me. I could commute to Des Moines a few times a week and work from home on speech writing and platform building projects.

Barak OBama is also thinking about forming an exploritory committee and I think a job with him would catapult me into a really great position. I could also commute to Chicago a few times a week, and hell, if he paid me enough, I'd move there. God knows Eric and I would both do much better in a large market.

Quick Joke

2006-10-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Joke I heard, don't attribute it to me, I'm not this cool.

Democrats prefer bookmarks
Republicans prefer to bend over the page.

Damn thats funny. Get it? Think about it. Mark Foley...pages...dirty emails...geeze you guys are tough.

Number one song on my birthday

2006-08-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my dad found this cool website that allows you to look up the number one song on the day you were born in both the UK and the US. Here are mine.

October 29, 1979
US--Pop Muzik-M
UK--One Day at a Time- Lena Martell

And it also suggests that you should look up your "life theme" which is the #1 song on your 18th birthday.

October 29, 1997
US--Candle in the Wind 1997- Elton John
UK-- Barbie Girl- Aqua

I also decided to look up my daughters birthday. This slightly disappointed me.
July 31, 2001
US--Bootylicious-Destiny's Child
UK--Eternal Flame-Atomic Kitten.

How odd.

The joys of working at Target.

2006-07-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

So, my own personal job crisis is over. I have finally found employment. I work at Target. Yes, its true. I went to college and graduated with a degree in Political Communication and now I work at Target. Heres the good news, though. It pays well and I'm in management. I use the skills I learned in college everyday. I like my job and its growth potential and I have a fairly good time there. So, I don't know what else to say today other than "Can I help you find something?"

Oh, heres what else I can say...my daughter starts kindergarten in 2 weeks. Un-freaking-believeable!! OH, and she'll be 5 on Monday. It seems like it was yesterday, you know? I can't believe she is so grown up already. She's so independent I can already feel her breaking away from me, you know? God, I love that kid.

Pre-pregnant? No, I'm not.

2006-06-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

So, another doctrine comes down the pike from the Bush administration. Apparently women of child bearing age are now in two categories. Pregnant and pre-pregnant. Women who have surpassed the child bearing years are now considered "retired", by CDC standards. The CDC has released this new categorization of women to encourage women to treat their bodies as if they are about to become pregnant. This means they recommend that women take nutritional supplements of folic acid, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions in check.

OK, that's a good suggestion for the most part, but the underlying issue is a simple one. By endorsing this credo from the CDC (who I suspect were coerced by the administration in the first place) the administration is telling women that their main concern should not be for their own health, but the health of the child they may or may not get accidentally pregnant with someday. I'm sorry, but when it comes to my body the health decisions I make are for me alone. When I am intentionally trying to get pregnant, the decisions change dramatically. I cut caffeine, up my veggie and protein intake and exercise more, and I think any responsible woman does the same. But to classify me, as a woman, by what stage of pregnancy I am in is asinine. I am a woman, not a baby machine. I am worth more than the value this administration has placed on me simply because I have a vagina. I am sick to death with this president's view that women are some how second class citizens. He has a long record of being not only non-sympathetic to women in general, but being down right malicious on women's issues from being anti-choice to making drastic changes to Title 9 regulations. This angers me and as a proud Democrat, I will stop this insanity. I will fight to put women's rights back on the agenda. I am NOT a second class citizen.

Update

2006-06-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted for awhile, but here goes.

I graduated early last month, then moved back to my mom's house. I was there for one week before we moved all my stuff out of storage and into an apartment in Bettendorf that I had wanted. My graduation party was the following week. That was a great time! I will post pictures of that at another time. I have looked for a job since I got here and have not had any success, except for a third interview for a management position at Target. I have attended some Democratic events to get to know the Dems in this area. I walked in a parade for a friend of mine that is running for Iowa State House (check her out at www.eleshagayman.com), went to a Scott County Democrats event in which Eric and I met former Senator Tom Daschle and then two days later went to an event at which Aspen and I met former Senator John Edwards. Both men were incredible gratious and awesome orators. A good, democratic time was had by all. So, other than a couple health issues, its been an intense couple of weeks since graduation. I am really hoping to get that job at Target so my life and be a little more liveable. Being broke is no fun.

Any updates for me?

Gay rights and god

2006-04-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you know, I am about as liberal as they get. I don't like guns, I don't think the death penalty is effective, I don't like abortion, but realize that people have the right to make decisions for themselves, and I believe that lesbians, bisexuals, gays, transgendered and transexuals should be afforded the same rights as everyone else. Why? Because they are people. Plain and simple. I'm tired of straight people having this holier than thou attitude about sexuality. Like they've cornered the market on virtue. Right, because straight people participate in "righteous" sex and everyone else is immoral. I find this ridiculous. I have known many woman who complain about the men they've dated and the things they wanted to engage in. If it's lewdness that we are looking for as far as sexual acts go, I think we can safely say we are all guilty in some way. We have all done something in the bedroom that may make others cringe, and if we didn't do it, we thought about it. So what now? There's always the "god" argument. Someone, somewhere decided that god thinks being gay is wrong. Sorry, I don't buy it. Just as the bible was written by man, so are the interpretations. I can't imagine that if god is what so many claim it to be (loving, accepting, forgiving) that something like sexuality would stand in the way of piety. So either someone lied about what god truly is (judgmental, harsh and unforgiving) or someone got the message wrong. For someone who doesn't particularly believe in god in the first place, this whole conversation is ridiculous. I refuse to let a book and someone else's interpretation of it control my life.

Ok, but back to the point I had originally intended to make here. I was reading about Harvey Milk earlier today. The name may sound familiar to you, but do you truly know the story? Here is a link to fill you in. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
Short story- He was the first openly gay city supervisor in San Francisco (and I suspect the country). He and the then mayor, Mayor Moscone were murdered in 1978 by a disgruntled former colleague. One of the things that really struck me about this story was that Milk was aware of the rick of assassination. So he recorded some audio tapes and famously said "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country." I love this quotation and I think it should be a message to every LGBT individual in this nation. Your silence does not gain you anything, in fact you are participating in your own oppression. People in this nation will have a harder time accepting you if they don't see your face. If they can't make the connections, they will put their foot on your face as they march for their perception of comfortability.

Cant get enough presidential bios? Good news!

2006-04-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

Today’s potential presidential candidate is senior Democratic senator from Delaware, Joe Biden. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born in 1942 in Pennsylvania. He received a degree in law from Syracuse University in 1968. While in law school, he met and married his first wife, Neilia, with whom he had three children. Neilia and their only daughter, infant Amy where killed in a car accident in 1972. His two older children, Beau and Hunter where seriously injured, but both made full recoveries. In 1977, Biden married his second wife, Jill, and they have one daughter together, Ashley.

Biden has represented Delaware in the Senate since 1973 and since then has been on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the subcommittee on crime and drugs and the subcommittee on corrections and rehabilitations. He is one of the most respected voices in the senate on the issues of crime, drugs and gun control. Biden has helped craft some of the most important crime legislation of the last 30 years. One of the most noted pieces of legislation has been the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. This places restrictions on gun production, created the Violence Against Women Act and created 50 new federal offences. It also allowed for more offences to be punished by the death penalty, they include, crimes related to drug dealing, drive-by shootings that result in death, civil-rights related murders, murder of a Federal law enforcement officer, and acts of terrorism or the use of wmd’s which result in death.
Joe on the issues; is pro-choice, supports affirmative action, supports sexual orientation being protected by civil rights law, opposes prayer in public schools, opposes school vouchers, has a mixed voting record on the death penalty, opposes absolute right to gun ownership, favors a reduction in use of fossil fuels, and wants to decrease spending on the Star Wars system. To learn more about senator Joe Biden, visit his web site.

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Today’s potential presidential candidate is former Republican speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Newton McPherson was born in 1943 in Pennsylvania. His parents seperated soon after his birth and his mother raised him alone until she married Robert Gingrich, who adopted him. He attended school at various military instillations, graduating from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia in 1961. He ran for and was elected to the US House seat in the sixth congressional district of Georgia in 1978.

Gingrich garnered himself a poor public image through a series of public events. Included was the incident in which he complained to the media that he had to exit Air Force One through the back door after attending the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin, at which time, many political cartoons had him throwing a temper tantrum, and they accused him of having a bloated self-image. He also drew ethics charges when he received a $4.5 million dollar advance on a book deal, something he’d been critical of in the past. Another interesting fact about his personal life is that he admitted to having an affair with a House aid 23 years his junior at the same time he was in a leadership position calling for the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

Newt on the issues; he favors the death penalty, is against abortion rights, is for the privitization of social security, strongly favors prayer in school, and has controversial ideas on the future of Iraq, one of which is that the US has made numerous mistakes and because of those mistakes, may need to stay in Iraq indefinately. For more information on Newt Gingrich, visit his website.

RIP, Beautiful

2006-04-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

Elaine A. (Orris ) Williams

1979 - 2006
Elaine A. Williams, 26, of Davenport, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family and friends on Wednesday, April 12, 2006, at her home in Davenport. A celebration of her life will be held Saturday, April 15, 2006, at 1 p.m. at the Runge Mortuary. Visitation will be today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the mortuary. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Davenport. A memorial fund has been established for the family at the Davenport Family Credit Union in her name.

Elaine was born August 18, 1979, in Davenport, the daughter of Burdette and Jane (Bauer) Orris. She was united in marriage to Travis Williams on July 23, 2005, in Davenport. She graduated from St Ambrose University, Magna Cum Laude, with a Bachelor of Art Degree. She taught Art at Fillmore Elementary School in Davenport.Elaine not only knew how to give love but gave her love freely. She brought out the best in her students and was able to draw out of those kids, their fullest potential and did it with great pride. She was a member of NEA and loved playing tetris and poker. She also loved photography and had a passion for turtles. The grace she showed during her ordeal will be a fond memory of her strong determination and love she had for not only her family, but, her students and friends alike.

Those left to honor her memory include her husband, Travis, Davenport; daughters, Andromeda Springsteen and Madelaine Williams, both at home; sister, Amanda Orris and her daughter, Mia, her parents, Burdette and Jane Orris, Parkview, Iowa; mother and father-in-law, Sharon and Jay Williams, East Moline; brother-in-law, David Williams, East Moline; maternal grandparents, Roy and Alice Bauer, Murdock, Ill.; special friend, Abigayle Heintz, Chiacgo; many aunts, uncles and cousins; her extended family: the staff, students and special friends at Fillmore School, and last but not least, her pet, Thom the Turtle.

Published in the Quad-City Times on 4/14/2006.
We love you Elaine!

More Presidential stuff

2006-04-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

I know your itching for more potential presidential candidate profiles, so here are two more.

Today’s potential presidential candidate is Democratic Senator from New York, Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton was born in 1947 in Chicago Illinois. She was raised by her mother and conservative father. Her father’s ideology drove 16 year old Hillary to support Republican Barry Goldwater for President in 1964. She attended Wellesley College she was the president of the college Republicans for a short time. But she was affected greatly by the death of civil rights pioneer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and she started to become more liberal, finally switching to the Democratic party. Rodham was named valedictorian of her 1969 class, and was the first student in the history of Wellesley College to give the commencement address at her own graduation. She received her law degree from Yale University, where she met Bill Clinton.

She became the first lady of Arkansas in 1978, and gave birth to daughter Chelsea in 1980. After a long career in law, specializing in children’s law, Hillary became the first lady of the United States in 1992. Hillary became very involved with health care issues and children’s welfare issues while serving as the first lady. She was also involved in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, with women of the world either supporting her as the victim of her husband’s infidelity or chastising her for not demanding a divorce. In the memoirs of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Lewinsky trial is stated to be one of the most tumultuous times in their marriage. In 2001, Hillary became the junior Senator from New York. During her time in the senate, she has served on many committees, most of them focusing on armed forces, environment and education.
Hillary on the issues; she is pro-choice, supports three strikes sentencing, supports drug treatment more than punishment, is against school vouchers, voted against tighter voting restrictions, supports universal health care ideals and is against the death penalty. For more information on Democratic Senator from New York Hillary Clinton, visit her website.

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Today’s potential presidential candidate is Republican house member from Colorado, Tom Tancredo. Tancredo was born in 1945 in Colorado. He graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Northern Colorado. He has been a teacher and a Representative in the Colorado House of Representatives before becoming a member of the US House in 1998. The Columbine shooting happened less than a mile from Tancredo’s house in Littleton, Colorado and he gained national attention for accepting money in his next race from individuals who oppose gun restrictions. He won, however, with 53% of the vote.

He has also made headlines recently with his stance on immigration. His advocacy for what he refers to as immigration reform is so offensively boisterous that he has not been welcome in the White House since criticizing George W. Bush's border security controls. Tancredo and Bush's political advisor, Karl Rove, got into a "screaming match" after Tancredo claimed that quote "if the nation suffered another attack at the hands of terrorists able to skirt immigration laws, 'the blood of the people killed' would be on the president’s and Congress’s hands... Rove [responded by calling] the congressman 'a traitor to the party', 'a traitor to the president' and warned him to never 'darken the doorstep of the White House.'" Tancredo has said of illegal immigrants, that they, "need to be found before it is too late. They're coming here to kill you, and you, and me, and my grandchildren.

Tom on the issues: he is staunchly pro-life, voted yes on banning gay adoptions, voted no on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons, supports a constitutional amendment on prayer in schools, voted no on campaign finance reform banning soft-money contributions, and supports mandatory three strikes sentencing laws. For more information on Tom Tancredo, visit his website.

Presidential woes.

2006-04-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

So here's the deal. I have been putting together this project for work that allows me to do lots of research on the 21 or so people that plan to run for president in 2008. Now, mind you a lot of this is early, and some may decide not to run after all, and we might have some late comers, but I will do my best to inform you the best I can about what I find out. Here are a few to get you excited. (They will be printed much like I read them on air, FYI.)

Today's potential Presidential candidate is Republican Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. Willard Mitt Romney was born in 1947 in Detroit Michigan. His father was a former governor of Michigan and a Presidential Candidate. Romney received his BA and was the valedictorian of his graduating class at Brigham Young University. He went on to get a further degree from Harvard. He is married with 5 sons. Prior to his tenure as governor, he was the CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee in charge of planning the 2002 Winter Olympics, taking charge after the bribery scandal. Romney took office in Massachusetts in 2003 he says he plans not to seek reelection, but has had many successes as governor, including creating the stiffest drunk driving laws in Massachusetts history with the passage of Melanie's Bill, he participated in repealing the retroactive capital-gains tax, and offering an initiative to provide health insurance to all citizens of Massachusetts without raising taxes.

According to Wikipedia.com, Romney aimed to duplicate a successful program in nearby Maine, so in September 2005, he submitted a bill to the legislature to deliver $100 laptops to all children in Massachusetts. This project would cost $5million. Additionally, Romney began advocating better pay for math and science teachers nationwide.

Mitt on the issues: Romney opposes gay marriage and civil unions while supporting domestic partnership rights and denouncing discrimination against gays and lesbians, is personally opposed to abortion, but supports current laws that regulate it, is for reinstating the death penalty in cases that include terrorism, the assassination of law enforcement officials and multiple killings, supports three strikes sentencing, and is for raising the minimum wage. For more information on Governor Mitt Romney, visit his website.

*******************************************************************

Todays potential candidate is Democratic Senator Evan Bayh. Birch Evans Bayh III was born in 1955 in Shirkieville, Indiana. He is a career politician, and has served as Indiana's Secretary of State, then Governor, and presently serving as Indiana's senator since 1999. He is married with twin sons. Bayh came to the Senate with a huge following in Conservative Indiana. His fiscal responsibility and attention to social programs and improving schools made a positive impression on both sides of the fence. He signed the groundbreaking 21st Century Scholars Act in 1992, legislation which says that every child growing up in Indiana who is eligible for the free lunch program in a public school, graduates from high school with passing grades, and signs a pledge not to experiment with illegal drugs, is entitled to a full college scholarship to a public university of his or her choice. By the end of his second term, Bayh had an approval rating of nearly 80 percent. His tenures have been virtually scandal and criticism free.

An issue that Bayh feels strongly about is fatherhood. He introduced The Responsible Fatherhood Act is an extension of his work to reduce fatherlessness as Governor of Indiana. Bayh's administration held one of the first national conferences on responsible fatherhood, removed marriage penalties in government programs and used grants to promote responsible fatherhood. While governor, Senator Bayh also more than doubled the amount of money collected for child support payments. On the issues: has repeatedly voted yes to include sexual orientation as a hate crime, has a mixed voting record on abortion, has voted no on increasing penalties for drug offences, voted yes on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and has a pro union and pro senior citizen voting record. For more information on Senator Evan Bayh check out his website.

I will try to get them up as often as possible, and I am doing 21 of them, so there will be a lot. Have a good day!

No time today

2006-03-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

Hey all, just wanted to update and let you all know that I am alive and well. This show (Dead Man Walking March 1-4, tickets still available for Friday night only, all other nights SOLD OUT) is making me crazy!! 3 more nights, 3 more nights! Last night was crazy. I managed to flub one of my lines and completely forget another one. Beautiful. Anyway, it won't happen again. Opening night is always the worst for me and I typically mess SOMETHING up. Plus I had someone wish me luck yesterday and I didn't spin around three times and spit over my left shoulder, so that's why it happened anyway.

Ok, I gotta go. I just wanted to let you know I will be updating next week.

peace

Yet another reason I don't eat meat

2006-02-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

There are SO many reasons why I don't eat meat, and why I refuse to feed it to my daughter. Here is another one.

Meat producers have started to spike the meat sold in supermarkets with carbon monoxide to improve the look of the rotting piece of flesh. CARBON MONOXIDE. Yeah, that stuff that you are supposed to get detectors for. It's also why your not supposed to let your car run in the garage...it can KILL you.

Have we gotten that desperate? Can't people just deal with the ugliness of their meat? It's not pretty, so sorry to tell you. It's a piece of the flesh of an animal that begins to rot as soon as the animal expires! No matter what you do, it can't look "good".

Ok, so to be fair, the amount of carbon monoxide they are using isn't thought to be harmful to your health. Frankly, I don't believe it, as "they" have been wrong before. That's not even really the point. The point is that the carbon monoxide makes the meat stay pink for weeks and not turn brown, like it typically does. This means, in plain English that the meat you expect to be fresh in your meat case at your grocery store, could actually be WEEKS old. This is unacceptable. You could be feeding your children meat that would have been thrown out weeks before, but because of carbon monoxide treatment, looks perfectly good.

The FDA has, in essence, shrugged at the request to label the packages in which carbon monoxide treatment has been used. It apparently thinks that the grocery stores will do a good enough job remembering how old each steak is. Please, please, please, my meat eater friends, be careful what you buy and where you buy it. If you are going to continue to eat meat, please try to buy organics. They may cost more, but the benefits far out weigh the consequences. And, really, what costs more, organic meat or a burial plot, funeral and headstone after you die of food-bourne illness? Just a thought.

To read more (trust me, I cant make this shit up) visit one of these links.
MSNBC
Washington Post
The Boston Globe
NY Times

So much to say and so little time

2006-02-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

I really have many, many things I want to talk about today but I just don't have the energy or the stamina to do it. I am pretty tired and have just been feeling all around weird the last few days. Maybe its the weather. Maybe its the aliens who have kidnapped my brain and won't bring it back with out a ransom of 6 gold bars, 31 paper clips and a box of swiss rolls. I've got the gold bars and the paper clips, but couldn't resist eating the swiss rolls. So here I am brainless...might as well join the Republican party now that I've lost my brain (see, no good at neutrality) and go buy an SUV so I can be like everyone else. Yea. Ok, so off I go.

But first, I just learned that I am religious! Who knew? I took this quiz and it told me what I am! Here are the results:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (86%)
3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (84%)
4. Theravada Buddhism (84%)
5. Secular Humanism (84%)
6.Neo-Pagan (77%)
7. New Age (71%)
8. Mahayana Buddhism (70%)
9. Taoism (61%)
10. Nontheist (58%)
11. BahÃ¡'Ã Faith (56%)
12. Jainism (56%)
13. Reform Judaism (51%)
14. Orthodox Quaker (49%)
15. Sikhism (49%)
16. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (45%)
17. New Thought (43%)
18. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (42%)
19. Scientology (39%)
20. Hinduism (36%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (36%)
22. Jehovah's Witness (32%)
23. Orthodox Judaism (30%)
24. Islam (23%)
25. Seventh Day Adventist (23%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (15%)
27. Roman Catholic (15%)

I am most amused by this because I was baptized Catholic! LMAO. Whew. Yeah, thats funny. Heres the site if you wanna try.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

Have fun with it!

My job so far

2006-02-03T14:14:00.001-08:00

So, I'm sure that all 2 of you reading this know that I an currently interning at a radio station here in Cedar Falls. So let me tell you how that's going. I have to do beat calls every morning, which is rather tedious, in my opinion. There is never any news, which is good in all senses of civility and community, but it makes me feel like they are a waste of time. Oh well, its not like it takes a lot of time to do or anything. I call 3 police departments and 2 fire departments and say "Hi, this is Jessica from KCNZ radio...is there any news today? No? Ok, thanks." Takes me all of about 5 minutes each morning (thats with the inevitable "uh...I don't know...hold on...."*1 minute later* "nope, nothing.") So, its really not a big deal at all.

On the other hand, I have already conducted 2 interviews. The first I made the contact, set it up, wrote the questions and conducted it all by myself. Well, OK, Scott had to help me with the sound equipment and the recording, but other than that...all me baby!

This is Dave Franker, my very first interview and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He is a Lutheran minister and a former Army Chaplin. He is the accidental mayor of North Liberty. He didn't run for mayor, nor did he campaign for mayor. No money was spent and no mud was slung. The citizens of North Liberty mounted their own campaign (going door to door) telling their fellow citizens of North Liberty to write in Dave's name. He resisted their efforts at first, but then gave in and only provided them with two things. First, a list of his political record, so they could give out accurate information about him. And second, instructions to not speak negatively about the other candidates. So with only a write in campaign, he unseated the incumbent mayor. What a great story of progressive, grassroots politics, and frankly, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. I have actually met Dave, and we took a political training program together in 2004. It was a great time and I enjoyed every minute of it. I knew he was going places!

My second interview I did in conjunction with my supervisor, Scott. Mike Whalen made an appearance up here in Waterloo at a gas station and we went there and had an interview. I asked Mike why we should vote for him and what sets him apart. I also made him clarify his answer because he said that he hadn't spent his whole life in politics, so that made him better. I pointed out that Waterloo lawyer Bruce Braley hasn't either...so whats the deal? He said that his major platform issue is job creation and that if "I needed brain surgery, I'd go to a brain surgeon, so if we want to create jobs, lets go to someone who has actually created them." I could share my opinions on what he said, but now that I am interning for a media organization, I should censor myself and my opinions, especially since my supervisor (who probably wouldn't honestly care, but his boss might) knows how to find my blog if he wants to read it. So, if you want my opinions about any interviews I conduct, just let me know. I will be happy to share, but not on this public forum. I will try to remain as neutral as I can. Those who know me that neutrality is not my strong point, but I will do my best.

Anyway, off for now. Love to all-
Jessica

History

2006-01-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

My dad posted this pictures on his blog, so I thought I would rip them off and show them on mine too.

This is a picture of my Great-Grand father and 3 of his 4 children. My grandfather is on the top left. Yeah, the short one. I'm sad to say that I never met any of the men in this picture and that honestly makes me sad. My great-grandfather was a hemp farmer and apparently made very good money at it until, in 1937, the US government out lawed the cultivation of hemp in favor of the big petroleum newest money maker...nylon. My grandfather, from what I understand, was pretty strict and unfailing. He was 20 years older than my grandmother.

This is a picture of my grandmother, who from what I understand (I never met her either) was a scrappy little thing. My dad said that back in the early 70s when she was in her late 40s she beat the crap out of my uncles wife (never got to meet my uncle either) for calling her a bitch. My uncles wife was about 25 years younger than my grandmother. Maybe thats where I get my kick ass and take names attitude. Her parents (nope, didn't meet them either) are in the front and she's in the back row, right. She's pretty, don't you think?

Anyway, I thought these photos were pretty cool. I like to share pictures of them and hear stories since I missed out on having grandparents for the most part. My mom's father was alive until I was 22, but he wasn't a good influence. For example, when my daughter was born his first question was "is it black?" I was so angry that he never saw her. Regardless if she was or not, it wasn't the health of the baby or my health that he was concerned with, it was what he thought people would think of him if he had a black child in the family. My daughter is not bi-racial, but I couldn't allow that sort of racist thinking in my daughters life, so I cut my ties with him. He died awhile later. His parents were alive when I was younger, but my great-grandmother on that side was the type of person that would look you up and down, loudly proclaim how fat you were getting and ask you in the nicest, most serious voice if you wanted another piece of pie. She thought she was higher on the social ladder than she really was because she did the hair of the socialites in the Quad Cities ( yes apparently back then, there were socialites in the Quad Cities). Her husband was very quiet. Convinced me that the reason he wore and eye-patch was because a bird came down and plucked out his eyeball. Weird. They slept in separate bedrooms for the whole time I knew them. That's weird too.

I found the COOLEST website.

2006-01-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php?s=1&u=g0&lang=EN

__________________
__________________

This website is so wicked. OK, what you do is upload a picture of yourself (headshot works best) and it scans your face then tells you what celebrities you look most like. I did myself and Aspen. I look most like Sania Mirza (the first time I've ever been told I look like someone Hindi! And a tennis player!), then, in descending order, Alicia Keys (are they crazy? I look nothing like her!), Neve Campbell, Maryl Streep (come on!!), Chelsea Clinton (what?!!?), Patricia Cornwell, Anna Lindh, Romy Schneider, Elisha Cuthburt (wow...thanks!! Shes hot!), and Celine Dion (OK, now I'm offended).

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____________

Aspen looks most like Shirly Temple, then Ninet Tayeb (I can totally see it, though, can't you? They have the exact same nose, mouth and eyebrows. Hey, if she grows up and looks like her, that's cool, look at her, she's beautiful!) then Katie Holmes, Emma Watson, Katherine Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Jodie Foster, Renee Zellweger, Romy Schneider and Audrey Hepburn. How freakin cool.

I dont know, I can kinda see it in some of the photos of the people, but like me and Alicia Keys? Ok....whatever dude. I also think its pretty funny that I resemble a Hindi tennis player and my daughter resembles a Jewish singer. How wierd.

So then, I put in the only photo I could find online of my boyfriend that would work...and...hahahaha...wow. They couldn't find anyone who really, REALLY resembled him in this photo, the number one was only a 51% match, but I had to laugh because three of the people he hates most in the world came up...George Bush, Anthony Kedis and Britney Spears... I can assure you, however that Eric looks NOTHING like any of them. I got a good hearty laugh, though. I need to get a better picture before the next time I try that.

Anyway, its a good time waster. Let me know what you all come up with!

See ya!

So sorry

2006-01-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

Hey all...I am alive, I assure you. Sorry I haven't updated, been busy with no comp. Although I am not sure how many of you even read this thing.

Anyway, holiday break was good-ish. I don't know some parts of it were really good, some not so good. Getting to spend time with my daughter and my family? Good. Being at my moms while she's in Kuwait not so good. Getting to spend time with my boyfriend and watch him jam out like a rock star? Good. Arguing with my step-father over discipline styles? Not good. So there you have it. I will save you all the details of all the stuff Aspen got, she got lots of stuff and is very excited about having more stuff to spread around her already too-small room. She's been being very mouth lately and trying to pull her weight around, so we've been trying to work on that over break, but I didn't get a lot of help from my step-father who proclaimed that she shouldn't have to do things for herself because she's still a baby. Wow. I didn't know, they didn't tell me that in all the parenting magazines I read. I thought at 4 years old she could do things like get dressed, go to the bathroom, brush her teeth and wash her hands all on her own. Apparently I'm mistaken.

So last Saturday, I went to Coral Ridge Mall with my friend Nikki (for those of you who don't know, its Iowa's largest mall). We took the kids (her 2 and my 1) and shopped. It was fun. Then on the way home it was about 11pm or so and we were driving the speed limit at 70mph in the left lane when what we thought was a dog at first jumped out of the median. I realized as we hit it that it was not a dog but a coyote.
Not, however this kind of coyote;

Which, quite frankly we would have found far more amusing. "So we were driving along and this coyote jumps out of the median, ends up flat as a pancake against the side of the car, and gets up and waddles away...freakin hilarious! Ha ha ha meep! meep!!! Haha haha haha"

And it wasn't even Peter Coyote, actor extrordinare, who has appeared in such amazing movies as; "The Hebrew Hammer", "Baja Oklahoma" (TV) and "Suddenly Naked". Who, sadly, would have ended up with the same amount of haha's at the end of that story.

No, no. It was this kind of coyote. Who sadly has a broken neck now and was drug by the police officer off the road by its tail. Its lying along 380 south of Gilbertville if you want to see it. Nikki and I have been asked the following questions about this incident; "Whatd you go and hit that coyote back there for?" and "Why didn't you skin it and bring it back?" and (my favorite) Nikki was asked TWICE "Are you sure it wadn't a deer?" Uh....yeah. Were sure. Idiots.

Anyway, so that was a fun experience. School's started and I have a news internship at an AM Sports station here in Cedar Falls. I also have a part in our schools production of "Dead Man Walking", 3rd rehearsals tonight. I also am in a class where I have to do 25 hours of community service. My poor boyfriend isn't gonna see me as much as he'd like, but I will make as much time for him as possible. Here he is...he's gonna hate this...lol.

This is when he was playing with The One Night Standards, now he plays solo, and his music is really awesome. He's got talent, I'll tell ya that.

Peace and love, ya'll.

Finals are almost over.

2005-12-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

I have one more final to take and then I am done with this semester and I can move on with my life. Jesus, thank god. I am so tired of everything. Although I have to admit the semester flew by yet again. I dont know if I think I learned a lot, but I know I had fun with some of my classes. Social Protest was awesome, but anything taught by Cate is amazing. I've learned more from her than I've learned from all my other collegiate professors combined. Ethics was dumb and boring. Glad it's over. Democracies was so heavily theory based that I wanted to pull my hair out. And Quantitative Reasearch methods? Sucked as much as it sounds. Ahhh, vacation. The most exotic place I'll be going is Illinios. Oooooo, how exciting. Oh well.

Still looking for an internship. I know I'm being considered for 2, so thats good I guess. Anyway, I won't be around a whole lot over the break, but I will try to post updates when I can. OH! By the way, I got a part in a play! Yea!!

Yes, in Dead Man Walking, and no, I'm not playing the nun. Anyway, more on that later. Have a great holiday!

One more thing...Aspen's holiday pics!!

2005-12-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

Awww...shes so damn cute. For those of you that get holiday cards from me, you will be recieving the last photo... I'm a little low on money or I would order more. Especially the photo that would be #3. I love that one.

Anyway, happy holidays!!
Jess and Aspen

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Things you don't know about me

2005-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

So oddly enough this morning I woke up thinking about the weird little things about me that my friends don't know. So I decided to enlighten you on just a few. So, I bet you don't know:

1. I love, love, LOVE zydeco music. For those of you unfamiliar, its also called cajun and it's area of origin is Southwest Louisiana. I don't know what it is about it, but I love it, especially in street fests and on the street in New Orleans.

2. I set my alarm clock to the most obnoxious music I can find (here it's Mariachi) and then every morning I hit snooze 4-6 times. Ask Eric...he loves it when I do that.

3. I know every word of Alanis Morissettes first album "Jagged Little Pill". EVERY WORD.

4. If you google my name in quotes it says I ran a marathon back in '99. I came in 21st out of 95. Yeah...thats about right. It also has me listed as a "key" supporter of Howard Dean. I'm "key". Thats hot.

5. I make the best...THE BEST spinach and artichoke lasagna. You can ask Eric about that one too.

Ok, so there you go. Now you know things about me you could have never guessed.
Thats all for today as I have a final in 45 minutes.

Dubya

2005-12-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I havent ranted about Georgie lately, so here we go.

The other day, Howard Dean, chair of the DNC, made a comment about the perception held by the government that we are going to "win" the war in Iraq as being "just plain wrong." To which, Bush is now responding (half the time he just ignores everyone from the DNC, especially Dean).

"I know we're going to win," Bush told reporters at the White House. "Our troops need to hear not only are they supported, but that we have got a strategy that will win."
Really? Ok, so why don't you share your master strategy with them so they can win and come home where they belong. Well?? We're waiting! They may need to "hear" it, but if it's not true, why lie to them?

Secondly, a comment from my buddy Ken Mehlman (RNC chair):
"I think that it sends the wrong message to our troops, sends the wrong message to the Iraqi people -- who [on December 15] are going to vote in elections -- and it certainly sends the wrong message to the enemy," he said. Can someone define who the enemy is these days, because I really am not sure. First is was Bin Laden, but since we can't find him, we've given up. Then it was Saddam, then we found him and he's on trial. Then it was the insurgency...is it still them? I'm unclear.

What a guy. I cant believe I didn't vote for him!

I dont have the time today to complain about him as much as I would like. I will add more later AND more interesting pictures of our...uh..fearless leader. How 'bout mindless peter? That sounds better to me!!!!!!!!

Found this joke...oh so good.

2005-12-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which, as you can imagine, created a quite impressive set of callouses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail, and because of the nature of the Indian food in his diet, he had bad breath. This made him.....

*wait for it*

A super calloused fraigile mystic hexed by halitosis.

STRESS!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-12-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, I can honestly say that I have never wanted to quit college more than I have in the last few weeks. I'm tired of class, I'm tired of homework, I'm tired of being broke, and most of all, I'm tired of old friends saying "You're STILL in college?", "You haven't graduated yet?", and "when can I stop asking you how school is going?". Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Yes, I am 26 years old and still an undergrad, and I am not graduating until May. But heres the shittiest part...its a week and a half before finals, Im broke, my cars broke and Christmas is at the end of the month. Oh joy. I'm stressed and when I get really stressed, I procrastinate even more (yes, apparently it is possible to be MORE of a procrastinator than I usually am). So yeah. I have a huge paper, a test, 6 assignments, a smaller paper and a group project I know nothing about all due next week. Then, the next week is finals.
All I have to say is in 2 weeks this semester will be over and I will only have to go through finals week one more time in my life and never again. Thank god, because let me tell you...I am so tired of this. I want a job so I can sit behind a desk and not have to think for about 6 months and get money for doing it. That would be awesome. I cant wait. I just have to get through the next 2 weeks first.

Music

2005-11-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ahh music. I love it and I am surrounded by people who work with it (my dad works in radio and my boyfriend is a sound engineer). But here's the thing, people shy away from non-mainstream music until someone they know drops it in front of them like a cat does with a mouse. "Here, I found this, and I love you, so here." Consider this post your mouse.

I like to share my thoughts on everything, so I figured that music should be no different. Some of these bands you may have heard of, some of them you may not have. None of them are local bands, all of them have CDs available to purchase either through an online source or in a store. Away we go. (And they are in no particular order).

Death Cab for Cutie

This is one of my absolute favorite bands of all time....ever. This band is hot and are getting more popular every day. :( Which means they will go mainstream and I hate it when they do that! Then I don't feel special anymore, I don't feel like I discovered them on my own (which I did with Coldplay and Maroon 5 before they hit it big). But, they deserve all the money they are about to earn.

Here are 2 cool things about Death Cab For Cutie (DCFC): 1. They release on vinyl (which I have a new appreciation for), and 2) they are going to be playing a show in Chicago in December with the psychedelic Furs and Hot Hot Heat. I would remove a body part to go to that show.

Favorite Song: "Movie Script Ending"

The Killers

I am assuming most of you have at least heard of this band. They have scored with a couple songs: "Somebody told me" and "Mr. Brightside". This is another one I discovered on my own and a few months later KABOOM!! This is one of Aspen's favorites as well. She loves this band almost as much as I do and is constantly asking to listen to them.

Cool things about the Killers: 1) they also release on vinyl, and 2) Brandon Flowers (the lead vocalist) has the most ridiculously mesmerizing eyes. I don't know what happened to that kid as a child, but I honestly feel like he's looking into my soul when I see him on tv. Huh...amazing what some good eyeliner can do!

Favorite song: "Mr. Brightside"

Dar Williams

This chic...wow. This chic rocks. I have loved Dar for years and I wish that more people knew about her music. She has a very folksy sound to her, but not tooo folksy. Her music is smart and socially conscience, which you know I LOVE!! Her 1996 CD Mortal City is one of my all time favorite albums.

Cool things: 1) she is playing a show in St.Louis in April that I hope to go to. I think I might faint. 2) Another one of my favorite artists: Ani DiFranco, appears on Dar's latest album "My Better Self".

Favorite song: "Christians and Pagans" (which, subsequently, is one of my favorite holiday songs).

Keane

Keane is an interesting band. They are not a traditional band because they don't play with a guitarist. They got their start playing Oasis, Beatles and U2 covers in England in the late 90's. They then transitioned into playing originals. They are also a band you may very will have heard of, they are somewhat popular on the radio and MTV.

Cool stuff: 1) they have done a lot of charity work, trying to eradicate world hunger and poverty. That alone makes them F*cking cool. 2) The very first album each one of these guys bought: Tom (vocals) Michael Jackson, Thiller or Bad, Richard (drums) Depeche Mode, Violator, and Tim (piano) INXS, Live Baby Live. They had good taste even when they were kids...can't say as much for me. Mine was Tiffany. Cringe if you must.

Favorite song: "Somewhere only we know"

Dashboard Confessional

Yes, they are emo, and these guys are really popular in college towns, including this one. I wish they would come play here. That would make me happy. Some of their stuff has been pretty popular and they have songs that have done well like "Swiss Army Romance" and "Vindicated" (which was from the Spiderman2 soundtrack).

Cool: Dashboard Confessional refers only to Chris Carrabba as he originally intended it to be a solo project, 2) MTV picked up on Dashboard Confessionals popularity and started playing the video for "Screaming Infidelities", then made Dashboard the first non-platinum act to get its own episode of Unplugged (fittingly, the DVD release of the special was later certified Platinum).

Favorite song: I have two and I can't decide "Vindicated" and "Screaming Infidelities". Oh how I love them.

There you are. Your first 5. I will try to do another 5 each month. Enjoy your mouse. :D

Wanna blog?

2005-11-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the suggestion I read about getting a blog started.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

That will give you something to start off with. So, just to show you how to do it, here's mine.

Book: The Rural Life by Verlyn Kinkenborg.
Page 123, 5th sentence:

"A tendril of wild cucumber spiraled upward from the branch of a peach tree." Now, seriously? I couldn't make that shit up if I tried.

Try it, its fun.

Sites I've found over the years that I really really like

2005-11-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

So I haven't figured out how that whole links section works, so I will devote a blog entry to telling you all where I hang out on-line. Things I've found that are pretty cool and mildly amusing, just for you. How special.

http://www.sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com/

As you may have guessed, it expresses the hatred of some people (including me) for Bill O'Reilly, who, in my opinion, is one of the most dangerous men on television today.

The next one is www.airamericaradio.com

Why do I love it so? First of all, Al Franken is a god. I would lick his shoes. Second, the commentary is smart, entertaining and informative. Third, its radio! Yes, it is ok to put down the MP3 player and listen to that pretty FREE sound that comes out of your alarm clock. I just wish it was in my market. :( (*BUT ITS IN DAVENPORT!!!!!! WKBF-AM 1270 AM*)

Heres another good one:

http://www.populist.com/

Read the article about the Dems who are whining about Dean not coddling their balls enough. F*ck them. Give us your money, let us do our jobs and shut the f*ck up. Until you decide to actually WORK in politics, don't criticize the strategies (that are WORKING, by the way) of those of us who have an idea of what we are doing. Thanks.

Anyway, for all my liberal brethren out there, you now have lots of stuff to read. YEA! That's what liberals do!

My birthday

2005-11-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

OK, so I am fully aware that my birthday was over a week ago, but I wanted to share with you all what I did. Last week was a little too hectic to sit down and do this, so with 14 minutes before class starts...away we go.

First, on the night before my birthday (Friday, October 28), I went to dinner by my mom, my step-dad, my daughter and my boyfriend. We went to Biaggis and it was good.

The next day (my actual birthday, October 29th), my boyfriend and I went to dinner at Habeneros (my favorite Mexican place). It was also GOOOOOOOD. But before that we had gotten a phone call from one of Eric's (my boyfriend) friends. His band was playing and they desperately needed a sound guy. So...we went to Lumpys (the place we first met...don't laugh) and he ran sound for the band, who are called Katalina. Check them out at www.katalinamusic.com.
Here is a pic of some of them: thats Terry, Shannon and Josh.

After that, we went to an independently owned theatre in downtown Rock Island called the Rocket Theater, which is owned by a friend of Erics. In which we saw:

Oh yeah, we did the Time Warp and yelled "SLUT" every time Susan Sarandon came on the screen. It was good times. After that, we went to Eric's cousin Jimmy's house. That was a crazy party. We didnt stay long.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. Thanks baby!

Modern Art

2005-10-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure why the subject of modern art popped into my head today, but it lingered long enough for me to feel compelled to write a blog entry about it. Let me first say this: I LOVE ART. I have always loved it and I can't get enough. If I ever thought I could make money owning an art gallery, I would do it. I like lots of different genres and artists. Art is like visual music to me. I can like Fiona Apple and Johnny Cash and its OK. I can like Korn and Portishead. It's all ok. There are many genres of art, just like music. Impressionism, surrealism, cubism, Art Nouveau, modernism and pop art are all genres of interest for me.

Brief overview you ask? Sure, pencils ready, please.

Impressionism

Impressionism is generally equated with the usual suspects: Monet, Manet, Renior, Cassat and Degas. However, this is an artist who wasn't as famous. Her name was Eva Gonzales (1849-1883). This piece is called "Woman in White" and was painted in 1879. What is impressionism, you ask? Why, according to answers.com, it is defined as: "A theory or style of painting originating and developed in France during the 1870s, characterized by concentration on the immediate visual impression produced by a scene and by the use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light." This paintings tend to be on the realist side and are painted as the artist sees them. Many of our most treasured pieces are from this genre.

Surrealism

Salvador Dali (the artist of this piece) is probably the most well known surrealist painter. Others in this genre are Frieda Kahlo and Max Ernst. Surrealism definition also from answer.com;
"A 20th-century artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter." This is good stuff. You hang it on your wall and your friends go "...really? Eggs?" Oh yeah, I love it.

Cubism

The most famous and most prolific painter in this genre is who you are looking at right now. No, not her, that's the model. This is a piece done by Pablo Picasso in the 1950's. Definition please...
"A nonobjective school of painting and sculpture developed in Paris in the early 20th century, characterized by the reduction and fragmentation of natural forms into abstract, often geometric structures usually rendered as a set of discrete planes." This is a fun genre to work in. I have plans to pick up my oil pastels over Christmas break and bust out a little cubism up in here.

Art Nouveau

I cant tell you who designed this particular piece, but I think its pretty damn cool. There really aren't any really well known artists in this genre that I know of, and I am by no means an expert, I just like the stuff. You are begging for a definition, I can feel it.

"In design Art Nouveau was characterized by writhing plant forms and an opposition to the historicism which had plagued the 19th century. There was a tension implicit throughout the movement between the decorative and the modern which can be seen in the work of individual designers as well as in the chronology of the whole. Its emphasis on decoration and artistic unity links the movement to contemporary Symbolist ideas in art, as seen in the work of the Vienna Secessionists, but the movement was also associated with Arts and Crafts ideas and, as such, Art Nouveau forms a bridge between Morris and Gropius (recognized by Pevsner in his book, Pioneers of the Modern Movement, 1936). "

Modernism

Modernism takes many forms, and many artists are considered to be modernist painters. For example, one of the U.S.'s most famous female artists is Georgia O'Keefe. Most of us have seen her flowers and other pieces and can easily identify her work. Another one? Cezanne. He helped mold the movement. The evolution in his pieces is amazing. This particular artist, though is Jasper Johns. He can also be included in the next category. He just died a few years ago, but created quite the library of work over his lifetime. If you are interested at all in modernist or pop art, Jasper Johns is a good place to start. You know what time it is:

"Modern Art is a general term, used for most of the artistic production from the late 19th century until approximately the 1970s. (Recent art production is more often called contemporary art). Modern art refers to a new approach to art where it was no longer important to literally represent a subject (through painting or sculpture) -- the invention of photography had made this function of art obsolete. Instead, artists started experimenting with new ways of seeing, with fresh ideas about the nature, materials and functions of art, often moving towards further abstraction."

Pop Art

Pop art is another genre in which people can identify it when they see it. I can safely say that at least 90% of the people reading this blog have seen pieces done by Andy Warhol. Keith Haring is another famous example of this style and Jasper Johns fits in this category also. This particular piece is done by Tom Wesselmann. He does a lot of nudes, and some of them are a little cartoon-looking. Their vivid colors and simple lines make them appealing to the eye. Mister definition if you please:

"Pop art is an artistic movement that is a rejection of abstract expressionism and aims to return to figurative art while incorporating themes and techniques from mass culture. The term was coined in 1956 by British critic Laurence Alloway but didn't entirely stick until well into the 1960s. In the meantime the movement was being called Neo-dada, a name which reveals some of the thinking behind this type of art. There is a strong influence of Dadaism in Pop art. "

Thanks for reading. You're welcome. Today's lesson in art history will be $50. Thanks.

Death of an Icon

2005-10-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

One of the most important women in history died last night and she was one of my personal heros. Her name was Rosa Parks. She was not just a tired black woman who wouldn't give up her seat on a bus. She was an activist. She was putting her body on the line for social change and refused to give up not only her seat, but her dignity. In a time when white people had continually robbed African-Americans of their rights, their freedom, and often their lives, Rosa Parks had had enough. For those of you who don't know her like I did, here is a brief history:

Rosa Parks was born in Tuskeege, Alabama in 1913. She grew up poor. She became a seamstress and married Raymond Parks in 1932. They became active in the voters league in the 30's and 40's. In December 1943, Parks became active in the American Civil Rights Movement and worked as a secretary for the Montgomery, Alabama branch of the NAACP. She continued as secretary until 1957 when she left Montgomery. Just six months before her arrest, she had attended the Highlander Folk School, an education center for workers' rights and racial equality.

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Parks refused to obey a public bus driver's orders to move to the back of the bus to make extra room for whites. She was arrested, tried, and convicted of disorderly conduct as well as of violating a local ordinance.

The following night, 50 leaders of the African American community, headed by the then relatively unknown minister Martin Luther King, Jr (pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama) gathered to discuss the proper actions to be taken as a result of Mrs. ParksÂ arrest. What ensued next was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The entire black community boycotted public buses for 381 days. Dozens of public buses stood idle for months until the law legalizing segregation in public buses was lifted. This event helped spark many other protests against segregation. Through her role in initiating this boycott, Rosa Parks helped make other Americans aware of the civil rights struggle. Dr. King wrote in his 1958 book, Stride Toward Freedom, "Mrs. Parks' arrest was the precipitating factor rather than the cause of the protest. The cause lay deep in the record of similar injustices...Actually no one can understand the action of Mrs. Parks unless he realizes that eventually the cup of endurance runs over, and the human personality cries out, 'I can take it no longer.'"

In 1956 Parks' case ultimately resulted in United States Supreme Court's ruling that segregated bus service was unconstitutional.

Afterwards, Parks became an icon of the civil rights movement. Unable to find work and at the urging of family who feared for her safety, in 1957, she moved first to Hampton, Virginia and then to Detroit, Michigan. She worked as a seamstress there until joining the staff of Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) where she worked from 1965 until 1988.

The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development was co-founded in February 1987 by Mrs. Rosa Parks and Ms. Elaine Eason Steele in honor of Rosa's husband Raymond Parks. The institute runs "Pathways to Freedom" bus tours introducing young people to important civil rights and underground railroad sites throughout the country.

She served as a board member for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

She continued to reside in Detroit until her death on October 24, 2005. She had been diagnosed with Progressive Dementia in 2004.

*Excerpts from Wikipedia.com*

I loved Rosa Parks. Not only for what she did for the African-American community, but what she did for all of us. She made a statement that changed the world. Yes, there were others before her (Mary Church Terrell, Lucy Parsons, and Ida B. Wells, just to name a few) and I am sure there will be many to come after her. I hope I can be one.

Rest in peace Rosa, we will pick up your pen.

Hurricanes

2005-10-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here we go, again. Wilma cometh. What's up with this? What could possibly be the explanation?

Global Warming!!!

Yes, the Reagan administration blamed global warming on cow farts, but really, the blame lies in us. With our cars and our factories and our complete and utter disregard for the environment. We give no thought to how our lives affect the lives of creatures around us. We never think about how litter, toxic waste, and gas emitions might harm the earth. Well, here you go. Hurricane after hurricane. I don't have the energy for this!

New subject:

Aspen goes in for dental surgery tomorrow. Truth be told...I'm terrified. I'm so scared. I know its irrational and dumb, but I am...Irrational and dumb. Everything will be fine, Im sure, but that doesn't stop me from worrying! She's going to have a bunch of cavities filled and some crowns and stuff put on. Hopefully that will help some how in insuring the health of her next set of teeth.

Harriet Miers

2005-10-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, obviously Bush didn't learn from his past mistakes (yet again). Many times he and his administration has nominated people to posts that they are not qualified to handle.

*case 1: former FEMA head, Michael Brown-"While attending law school he was appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee of the Oklahoma Legislature as the Finance Committee Staff Director, where he oversaw state fiscal issues. His background in state and local government also includes serving as an assistant to the city manager with emergency services oversight responsibilities and as a city councilman." Taken from his official bio on the FEMA website. The problem is, he was never an assistant to the city manager with emergency services. It's worded to make individuals think that he had decision making capabilities and such, but he did not. He was the city manager's administrative assistant (secretary). He was also the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association (IAHA), from 1989-2001. After numerous lawsuits were filed against the organization over disciplinary actions, Brown was forced to resign.

This guy was fit to hold millions of lives in his hand? He couldn't even handle the politics of horses, let alone immediate hurricane relief. I am still pissed about Katrina, but my anger doesn't lie with Michael Brown as much as the man who gave him the job.

*case 2:Current Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove- Oh Karl. I have so much to say about Mr.Rove. First of all, in 1970, Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Illinois Democrat Alan Dixon and stole some letterhead, which he used to print fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing," and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters. He admitted to this in 1999.

Secondly, on August 10, 1973, as a protege of Donald Segretti (later convicted as a Watergate conspirator), in the midst of the Watergate Scandal, Rove was the subject of a Washington Post article titled "Republican Party Probes Official as Teacher of Tricks." The article, which was sourced to tape-recorded conversations, reported how the 22-year-old Rove and a colleague had been touring the country giving young Republicans "dirty tricks" training, complete with stories of derring-do such as the incident at the Dixon headquarters. Rove was questioned by the FBI. Rove's contemporary Lee Atwater signed an affidavit stating that the admissions caught on tape, including the Dixon incident, were made merely "in jest." The Republican National Committee investigated and exonerated Rove, who blames political opponents from his chairmanship race for spreading false allegations. Watergate veteran and Republican critic John Dean corroborates the investigation of Rove during Watergate: "...Based on my review of the files, it appears the Watergate prosecutors were interested in Rove's activities in 1972, but because they had bigger fish to fry they did not aggressively investigate him."

Thirdly, Rove dropped out of the University of Utah in 1971. The man couldn't hack classes at the University of Utah, but gets one of the most powerful jobs in the world? WTF?

Fourth, and this is the funny one...In 1976, Rove married Houston socialite Valerie Wainright, who divorced him in 1979 (reportedly due to his homosexuality).

And here it is...his "professional" record (I use that term loosely). Here we go:

1986 William Clements, Gubernatorial campaign

In 1986, just before a crucial debate in the election for governor of Texas, Karl Rove claimed that his office had been bugged by the Democrats. The police and FBI investigated and discovered that bug's battery was so small that it needed to be changed every few hours, and the investigation was dropped. Critics suspected Rove had bugged his own office to garner sympathy votes in the close governor's race.

1992 George H. W. Bush presidential campaign

In 1992, "Sources close to the former president George H.W. Bush say Rove was fired from the 1992 Bush presidential campaign after he planted a negative story with columnist Robert Novak about dissatisfaction with campaign fundraising chief and Bush loyalist Robert Mosbacher Jr. It was smoked out, and he was summarily ousted" (Esquire Magazine, January 2003). Robert Novak provided some evidence of motive in his column describing the firing of Mosbacher by former Senator Phil Gramm: "Also attending the session was political consultant Karl Rove, who had been shoved aside by Mosbacher." Novak and Rove deny that Rove was the leaker, but Mosbacher maintains that "Rove is the only one with a motive to leak this. We let him go. I still believe he did it."

2004 George W. Bush presidential campaign

Rove has professional ties to the producers of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth television ads that quoted Kerry reporting stories in front of Congress that he had personally heard from U.S. military personnel in Vietnam who "had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads," "randomly shot at civilians," and "razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan." Another ad from SBVT accused Kerry of lying to win his Vietnam combat medals.
President George W. Bush thanked Rove in his 3 November 2004 acceptance speech, just after defeating John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, calling Rove "the architect". A few months after the controversy over the Killian documents during the 2004 campaign, it was suggested (by liberal Representative Maurice Hinchey(D-NY), among others) that Rove might have planted fake anti-Bush documents with CBS News. Allegedly, his motivation would have been the hope that CBS would rush to report the story with unverified documents, thereby deflecting attention from Bush's avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War. Rove has denied that he had any involvement.

Of course he denies any involvement. Its Karl Rove for god sake!

So back to the beginning. Harriet Miers. I shouldn't have to say much about this. First of all, she's never been a JUDGE! That worries me! She's a Bush crony and has been for years. I believe she would be the most activist judge on the court if she were to be confirmed. Hopefully she will not be. The Democrats won't support her and a lot of the Conservative Republicans have reservations about her also. Hopefully they will go with thier guts and not confirm her. She's dangerous and her confirmation spells the end of reproductive rights, individual rights and privacy. It also ushers in the probability for us to binundateded with religious propaganda at every turn (the 1commandmentsts in courthouses, prayer in schools and even MORE god in government). Yea. So those of us who have belief systems outside the church get our civil liberties stepped on even more. Welcome to America.

Sorry Harriet, go back to Texas.

My beautiful baby

2005-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Here she is! Isn't this such a cute picture of Aspen? This was right around her birthday and Eric and I took her to Jungle Bungle (its a large playground type place, but indoors). She's such a ham for the camera, she always poses. I think this one is so cute because of the look on her angelic little face and the vibrant colors of the balls around her.

So, an Aspen update. She is learning so much. Right now she is really interested in math, so we've been doing a lot of these exercises: "If I have 3 apples, and I give you one, how many do I have left?" and "If I have 5 toys and you give me 2 more, how many do I have?". It's pretty cute. She's really good at it, too. She also likes to learn about geography. She likes to write, count, read and play. She's growing up so fast...I can't believe she will be in kindergarten next year. What's up with that?

She LOVES to talk on the phone (I thought I'd get a few years before that really started) and play with her dolls, watch TV, and read her books. Eric and I took her to feed the ducks last weekend and she had an AMAZING time. She had SO much fun, especially because after all the bread was gone, she got to play on the playground for about an hour. She loves the park.

She's such an amazing kid, I am so lucky to be her mom.

Jessica Simpson

2005-09-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

I really hate Jessica Simpson. I think shes a bitch (not in the good way) and I think she is horribly dumb. I think there are places for people in this world, and the only place I can think would be good for her is asking me if I want fries.

I found this picture and wanted to share it with you all. I wanted it to make you all as happy as it made me. I'm so glad she is going to be just like the rest of us someday...in her million dollar home.

I hate her. Chicken or tuna...for god sake.

Love

2005-09-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

**Warning: this will be so sweet and sappy that it will give you a cavity. You've been warned.**

This picture is of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, for those of you who don't know. This picture has always represented true and pure love. It seems to me that John is so in love with Yoko that he can't let her go. He's naked and he's opened himself totally to her. I've always said that I wanted to be loved like that.

I am finally with a man that makes me feel loved like that. I feel like no matter what I do, he will love me and stand by me. I feel that he is proud of what I do and who I am. I feel so loved every second of everyday. He makes me so happy but there is no way for me to convey just how much.

I got an email today from my really good friend, Megan. This is what it said:

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you. Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says,".....that's her."

But what Megan didn't know is that I already found him.

No matter what, baby, I love you always and forever. You are what keeps me sane. You'll never know just how important to me you are. I love you, Eric.

Not feeling good

2005-09-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all--

Not much to talk about today. Aspen woke up coughing and crying last night and ever since then I've been fighting a stomach ache and a horrible back ache. Went to the doctor today, Aspen may have either allergies or asthma, we aren't sure yet. As for me, he gave me stomach acid reducers, which I admit, I probably need (wouldn't suprise me if I had an ulcer). But the back ache is, at this point, torture. I think I will go to the chiro again tomorrow (just went on Tuesday) and get adjusted. I don't know though, this is completely muscular. I'm doing 2 loads of laundry right now and I am in agony.

But anyway, tomorrow my fabulous boyfriend and I are going to Comedy Sportz in downtown Rock Island for some improv hysterics. Then we will take a walk at VanderVeer to admire the fountian. There may be some tacos in this equasion somewhere also....he cant get enough Sancho's tacos. It helps that his cousin runs the place.

Then on Saturday, we are going to take Aspen bowling during the day and then Eric will be playing one of his last shows with his current band, The One Night Standards. Then he will be moving on to his own music, and let me tell you...its amazing. He's got so much musical talent that I'm still suprised he isn't famous composing soundtracks.

Well, as I am about to slit my wrists because of the rediculous pain in my back, I should close for now. I cant wait to see my Chiro!!

*Sorry about the spelling today, my spell check isn't working.*

The Hurricane

2005-09-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me the other day how I felt about the response to the Hurricane. This is what I told them:

I think there are a few parts of Bush's response that could be discussed. First of all, he was on vacation (as usual) and doesn't read the paper or watch the news (he's stated that on numerous occasions). He may very well have had no idea what was going on outside his personal bubble. He's called bubble-boy for a reason.

Secondly, Bush had no vested interest to ensure the safety of the residents of New Orleans. These poor black Americans are not a part of his base. I honestly think that Bush has a 2nd grade attitude when it comes to helping people. The "you didn't help me get elected, so I'm not going to help you" mentality. He works on a ledger. The columns have to be even, and these poor people didn't do anything for him.

Thirdly, the 82nd Airborne can get anywhere in the world in 18 hours or less. There is no reason they couldn't have been in New Orleans that day. The United States dropped relief supplies on Bande Ache the day after the tsunami hit. People in New Orleans had to wait 4-7 days for WATER.

What is the reason? If its not race or class, what is it? A woefully unprepared government? A president who promised us a safer environment to live in after 9/11, and failed us...AGAIN? A president who hires the former director of the Arabian Horse Association because he was old chums with his first presidential campaign manager? A man who had absolutely NO qualifications to do the job?

The blame needs to be sprinkled around, the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, should have had his city better prepared for this. The governors should have had a plan of action. However, the federal government has a duty to protect the citizens of this nation, whether it be from terrorists or activist storms, it is the duty of the President, the house, the senate and the supreme court to work in our best interest. Bush did not. Its become increasingly evident that Bush works first in self-interest (vacation time), second in the best interest of his friends (Mike Brown) and lastly for the people he was elected to serve and protect (the citizens of New Orleans and the gulf coast). It is no secret that while New Orleans is an amazing city, it is poorer than poor. A lot of these citizens had no car to leave the area, and no where to go once they were gone. Many of the elderly people were scared to leave the only home they have ever known to go...and end up somewhere. Many of us judge the victims of this hurricane. Well, they knew they were living below sea level, they should have done something about it. Ok...what? They are the poor people who can barely make it by, let alone pick up and move to another city. The school system in the poor areas of this country are not set up to support the foundations of a college education and these people are not afforded that opportunity. They didn't do this to themselves anymore that people in California do it to themselves by living on a fault line or the people of the northeast do it to themselves by living in the path of blizzards or people in the Midwest do it by living in tornado alley.

Our president and his administration failed us, again. What now?

Ode to Jenaleigh

2005-09-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Oh Jenaleigh,

You've become like a daughter to me
To our duo, you have the key.
You burned my bras in the street
A bigger feminist, I'd like to meet.
Busy busy as a bee
Its my friend, Miss Jenaleigh*

(Are you happy, Jena? He he.)

Monday...

2005-09-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

So this is the first post of my new blog. How exciting. I cant wait for you all to read this, as I am not good at keeping up with most of my friends and family, so this way, you can at least read what is going on with me, and hopefully you will set up your own blog so I can keep up with you.

So right now, I am gearing up for speech to start the first weekend in October. This year I will be doing at least 4 events. The first is called ADS, which is short for After Dinner Speaking. It is basically a humorous persuasive speech. Mine is about the misconceptions of Desi/Hindu culture in America. Its still being developed, but let me tell you, I came up with the greatest Michael Jackson joke for it. Ha ha! It makes me laugh just thinking about it.

The second event I am doing is Duo, which obviously I have a partner for. Her name is Jenaleigh and is just awesome. I like her a lot. In the duo she plays my daughter and steals all my bras to burn at a feminist rally.

Third I am doing a POI, which is Program Oral Interp. It is a compilation event in which we can draw literature from many sources and surround one main theme or event. Mine is called "Reliving the Death of Emmett Till". The story of Emmett Till fascinates me and I want everyone to know all about it. It's the event that I really get to teach people something.

Last, I have been told to try Impromptu. AHHHHHH!!! I am not a limited prep kinda girl. In this event, you are given a quotation and you have 7 minutes to read it, analyze it, structure a speech making your argument and give the speech. Sorry, I like to go into a round knowing what I am going to say. Oh well. Its worth a try.

So, that's speech...Aspen is growing like a weed! I will be sure to post pictures of her on here as often as possible. Shes so damn smart. We've been doing addition and subtraction lately and she totally gets it. Good for her! We will have to just wait and see if our public school system can keep up with her!

My boyfriend and I went to a campaign event for the candidate I am working for here in Iowa's 1st district last weekend. That was a good time. Looks like Eric and I will be working pretty hard for Bruce. His website is www.brucebraley.com. You should go if your interested at all.

Well, I think that's all for today. I will try to keep up on this better than everything else I do!