NaBloPoMo "Z"

Z is for Zyzzyva



And so, with the last entry in the online version of the American Heritage Dictionary, we conclude our NaNoBloPoMo Letters theme for the month of April. We now return you to our regularly scheduled blogging without obligation.

(It's a type of weevil, in case you were wondering.)

Obama in 30 Seconds

15 finalists were announced today in MoveOn's "Obama in 30 Seconds" ad contest. These finalists were chosen from over 1,000 submissions which together received 4.7 million votes.

To check them out and vote for the People's Choice Award, click here.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries. ~T. DeWitt Talmage

One of the very few reasons I had any respect for my mother when I was thirteen was because she would reach into the sink with her bare hands - bare hands - and pick up that lethal gunk and drop it into the garbage. To top that, I saw her reach into the wet garbage bag and fish around in there looking for a lost teaspoon. Bare hands - a kind of mad courage. ~Robert Fulghum

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison, Beloved

Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother. ~Moorish Proverb

My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart - a heart so large that everybody's joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation. ~Mark Twain

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

NaBloPoMo "Y"

Y is for You and Me




Who went?
You and I.
You went.
I went.
You and I went.

Who joined her there?
You and I.
You joined her there.
I joined her there.
You and I joined her there.

With whom did she go?
You and me.
She went with you.
She went with me.
She went with you and me.

For whom did she try?
You and me.
She tried for you.
She tried for me.
She tried for you and me.

NaBloPoMo "X"

X is for X-actly




I am exactly where I need to be
I need to be exactly where I am
I am a blessing manifest and
I can undress the moment naked
Time unwinds beneath my mind
And from within I find
The kind of beauty only I can find

I am exactly where I need to be
I need to be exactly where I am
I am surrendering so willingly
To be the perfect me inside
This now and truly
How else could it be
Destiny she blesses me
Destiny she blesses me

And when I try to fight or run
I only wind up back at square one
And when I think I know what's best for me
Fate, she takes me back
To exactly where I need to be

Lyrics are estimated (double-check me, Qacei!). Original lyrics by Amy Steinberg, who will be performing for an exceptionally grateful audience at LIFE is Good 2008.

Listen to the entire song

NaBloPoMo "W"

W is for Whoops



I forgot to blog. Or rather I remembered to blog but procrastinated. Or rather I prioritized my day in favor of spending time with the birthday boy. Yeah, that's it.

NaBloPoMo "V"

V is for Very Odd



Tonight was our immediate-family celebration of Frank's birthday (which actually takes place tomorrow). MJ and Chloe accompanied us for a Thai feast (way more dishes than we could eat, followed by coconut ice cream) and helped me to present a couple of gifts to the birthday boy, but then they got a better offer: a sleepover at Grandma's.

"That's okay," said Frank. "Your mom and I can have hot dinosaur sex in every room in the house."

The girls then proceeded to tell us in great detail what rooms, and what surfaces in those rooms, we are allowed to use. It was rather surreal.

But I figure what they don't know won't hurt them.

---

On another "odd" subject, have you read Dean Kootz' books about Odd Thomas? We recommend them highly.

Friday fill-in

1. When I fell in love I was probably in a swimming pool! (Frank was one of the dive masters for my SCUBA certification course.)

2. I get really impatient for summer when the flowers bloom and it heats up outside because it doesn't heat up much or fast enough!

3. Oh no! The internet connection is down, and I'm cut off from my tribe, and I can't read blogs, and I can't post, and I can't check mail, and I can't look at traffic, and I can't Google anything, and I DON'T THINK I CAN HANDLE THIS!!! ... Oh, I just needed to ask Frank to reboot the modem.

4. Soap is the craziest tv show ever. Or maybe that Japanese one with the guy who puts firecrackers up his nose.

5. Cheese and apple slices make a great meal!

6. As long as somebody else does the work, I can really admire a garden.

7. And as for the weekend, it's all about Frank and his Very Special birthday!

NaBloPoMo "U"

U is for Unschooling (of course)




Some of my favorites:
If you give a kid a Nintendo by Mary Gold
I Am What I Am by Anne Ohman
They only have 2 chores... by Joyce Fetterol
Moving a Puddle by Sandra Dodd
Scooping Up Life by Ren Allen

And, okay, one of my own:
Accepted by Ronnie Maier

Thursday 13

13 Monetary Wishes

1. I wish we hadn't had to spend nearly $900 getting brakes, shocks, and transmission fluid for the van. 2. I wish I could give Randi the $12,000 she needs. 3. I wish my country were not more than 9 trillion dollars in debt. 4. I wish I could still go to a matinee at the movies for $4. 5. I wish I could still get a pack of Sugar Babies for a quarter. 6. I wish I could still buy a gallon of gas without having to hand over an arm and a leg. 7. I wish I could buy a Prius. 8. I wish the guy who bought the boat would experience a windfall and pay us off all at once so I could quit administering the loan. 9. I wish I could pay for the teen sites and just have done with the need for organizing them. 10. I wish I had one of those magic purses that always contains the exact amount one needs to pay for whatever one is purchasing. 11. I wish I could give Frank the birthday present he really wants (a week in the Caribbean with me, followed by a week in the Caribbean for the whole family). 12. I wish I could stop wishing for money. 13. I wish I were independently wealthy. (No, #12 didn't last long.)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

NaBloPoMo "T"

T is for Team Transitions



I'm still waiting to hear whether my team at work will be able to open up a full-time position for their favorite temp (me).

The Seahawks have released Shaun Alexander. I can't say I think it's a mistake, but, given the track record for Seattle trades, I wonder if we might live to regret it.

Mariners closer J.J. Putz is back on the roster. Frank and I were there for the action Tuesday night when he strutted back onto the field and got the job done against the Orioles. Unfortunately, the M's dropped the second game in the series last night.

The Sonics are leaving town. (yawn)

NaBloPoMo "S"

S is for Sweethearts



My buddy Steph took this amazing photo near her house in Athens, Georgia, where they, unlike many of us, are actually having spring.

The amorous two are a couple of anoles.

NaBloPoMo "Rr"

Rr is for Rrrrolling Our R's




Foreword
When I learned what Spanish I learned, "rr" was presented as its own letter in the Spanish alphabet. The difference between "r" ("ere") and "rr" ("erre"), I was told, was the amount of roll they get when spoken. Most r's get rolled at least a little in Spanish, but that double-r really gets rolled. Thus, "pero" is one word ("but") and "perro" is another ("dog"), and you tell them apart when spoken by how much tongue flapping goes on.

However, during my research last night, I discovered that the Real Academia Española does not include "rr" in its official Spanish alphabet. I wouldn't presume to criticize la Academia and do hereby acknowledge the superiority of their command of and authority over the Spanish language.

But for the purpose of this blog post, I'm pretending they don't exist.

The blog post
I am the only one in my family who can rrrroll r's. Frrrrom what I've rrrread, Spanish-speaking childrrrren learrrrn this skill earrrrly and easily, so I suppose I didn't rrrroll enough r's at my girrrrls while they werrrrre toddlerrrrs.

(Yes, this too is all my fault!)

Surrrre, they have otherrrr skills. MJ can fold up herrrr tongue so it looks like a 4-leaf cloverrrr, and she can make swan necks with severrrral of her fingerrrrs. Chloe can walk on herrrr toes without benefit of toeshoes, and she can get tearrrrs to squirrrrt forrrrcefully out of herrrr tearrrr ducts.

Still, I sorrrrt of thought any kid of mine would be able to rrrroll a decent r. Ya know?

But therrrre's hope! I've found this lovely little tutorrrrial for "anyone" who would like to add r rrrrolling to theirrrr rrrrepertoires.

You can thank me laterrrr, girrrrls!

NaBloPoMo "R"

R is for Rant



MJ came to work with me today, a brief post-Mayer appearance to confirm in person that, yes, I really am one of the only two people who are taking a "very serious" issue seriously.

So, here I sit at my desk, actually ready to leave for once before the carpool lanes open up to all traffic, with my very own carpool buddy in attendance, and...

wait for it...

There are no traffic jams.

I hate that damn Murphy.

NaBloPoMo "Q"

Q is for Quixote and Quotes



"He was spurred on by the conviction that the world needed his immediate presence."

Never realizing what a service she was doing for her blog-crazy mother, Chloe claimed last night that she could see Don Quixote standing in one corner of the basement. And her margaritas were of the virgin variety!

"Apparently, he had a very good time."

When we awoke this morning, our kitchen was a wreck due to our blender-concoction free-for-all last night. After shopping for a few hours during the day, we decided to forego our trip to the Mexican restaurant and have homemade margaritas instead. (There was no way we were foregoing those.) The rock-like ice cubes and frozen strawberries put up a good fight, but (after some, er, negotiation between Frank and me) were eventually pummeled into submission. Several times.

"His venture sounds like a banana peel awaiting its victim."

About midnight, Fergus decided he wanted more margarita. Woe! The adults had consumed everything all of the strawberries. So, Ferg and Effie and I trooped to the kitchen to see what we could come up with. Concoction #1 was a banana and strawberry-kiwi juice slushie, but Effie is not overly fond of bananas, so we dumped in a few spoonfuls of blackberry jam. Still too much banana, but Fergus liked that one pretty well, and the rest was distributed to some grateful teenagers. Concoction #2 was a strawberry milkshake for Effie and then a strawberry-and-apricot milkshake for Fergus, Chloe, and MJ. That one was a huge hit. But as mentioned above, the kitchen didn't fare so well.

"Here I am, rock me like a hurricane."

Did you know that, after a few margaritas, I am a natural at Guitar Hero? I have no doubt Craig will be posting incriminating evidence.

"You weren't so good, but now you are."

This last quote is from Fergus, apparently won over to the Ronnie side by smoothies, stories, and some tickles.

NaBloPoMo "P"

P is for Par-tay



The Mayers are here!

The action so far has included a Guitar Hero battle between beginners MJ and Chloe (currently tied at 87% accuracy on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"), a couple of mini-snowball fights (no, not Sno Ball, snowball), wine sipping, slap-bracelet experimentation, a reading of Seven Silly Eaters, and bonding over of our enjoyment of Firefly.

Now we're off to T. Joe's and Half Price Books.

Good times!

California Dreamin'

I made it home. It took 78 minutes, pretty much twice my usual commute time.

I passed the time by looking at the amazingly huge snowflakes and by listening to the soundtrack from Forrest Gump. Needless to say, "California Dreamin'" was the track that resonated with me today.

That, and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head": I did me some talkin' to the sun...

I saw one car heading north with me that had a solid 3 inches on his roof, probably closer to 4. He must have been parked on high ground all afternoon.

Here at home, there's what we call "a trace."

Getting home might be a challenge

These are from a couple of the traffic cameras not far from our house. The stopped cars on the right in the second image? Yeah, that's the side I'll be driving on.

Friday fill-in

Our nonrestrictive theme today is margaritas. The result is that I sound like a lush. :-)

1. The last time I lost my temper I stormed out of my office building and went straight to the margarita bar next door! (not really, but I've been tempted a time or two)
2. Waiting for the work week to be over so I can get on with the margarita drinking is what I'm fed up with!
3. The next nonfiction book I'd like to read is 101 Margaritas by Kim Haasarud.
4. Playing with Effie and Fergus and drinking a few margaritas with Craig and Gillian is what I'm looking forward to.
5. If you can't get rid of the skeleton[s] in your closet, get your guests so drunk on margaritas that they don't notice them!
6. The best thing I got in the mail recently was a book from Amazon that had nothing to do with margaritas.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to welcoming our guests, tomorrow my plans include margaritas and a lot of unstructured fun, and Sunday, I want to play!

NaBloPoMo "O"

O is for Occipital




I have nothing to say. I just thought this was a cool picture. The occipital lobe is in blue.

To see it animated go here. It revolves! It's really cool.

O is also for overwhelmed, something I feel from time to time. But using my occipital lobe to look at some other O things can help me calm down.




Oranges. Mandarin Oranges. Christmas stockings and Christmas joy and the sweet satisfaction of being able to get into an orange will little fuss.







Outdoors. Any outdoors will do. Except maybe Seattle's outdoors. Snow is in the forecast again. Argh!








Out the English way. An escape with charm.








Oregon Country Fair. Enough said.








Octopus. Diver thrill, gentle sea monster. Or is it?







Olbermann. One of my current heroes. So nice to have someone saying so many of the things I want said.







Oliver Wood. Sure, I'm old enough to be his mother, but that doesn't mean he's not cute.







Olives. Love 'em.






Opals. Love them, too, but mostly they're on here because whenever I see one, I think of Steph.