Made Up Words

Nirvana. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Tolerance.

Increasingly in my life, I believe “tolerance” is a made up word. Cain killed Abel because he was “intolerant” of the way Abel worshiped God. Abel chose a different way and Cain killed him for it.

Having a belief system (whether someone else agrees or not) does not make you intolerant, ignorant OR phobic. A&E has the ultimate right to do as they choose with shows under their umbrella, but I DO believe it was an unwise business decision. A&E cashed in on the Robertson family and their way of life. It is illogical to suddenly have a problem with part of their belief system because a certain part of it isn’t PC. It is illogical to believe a family who has been unapologetic about their faith will suddenly apologize or shy away from talking about what they believe to be truth.

My belief system is this: man without God is a broken thing. Scripture says that with God all things are possible. The reverse, then, is also true. Without God, NOTHING is possible. We are incapable of showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness OR self-control without God. Period. The end.

 

PS. For the record: All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6

I am a broken, disgusting, dead thing. But, because of CHRIST, I have been remade. All of us are broken, disgusting, dead things. My life choices. Your life choices. Broken. Disgusting. Dead. But for Christ. Amen.

Today’s Spam posts

Who ARE these people? And does anybody actually fall for this nonsense?

 

 

 

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How do you spell snopes.com?

Yes.

What do you mean Lincoln didn’t invent Facebook? I read it online?!

That Soapbox Was Getting Dusty. (Rant – be warned)

**Note – if you are sensitive to this issue, in favor of over-legislated public education, you should probably click away from this post. There are LOTS of happy, mommy posts to laugh and smile at. Or, you could always click on the category, “I’m a Dork…and your point is.” You’ve been warned.**

Chicago Teachers Strike

Pathetic. Senator so and so “urges a quick resolution?” Really? How nice. She got her name in the paper. The LEGISLATION that starves school districts to death (funding) and ties a standardized testing noose around their necks is to BLAME for this; not teachers. Not school districts. Kids lose because BURRO-crats are running education.

School districts put measures in place because they are staring at a “federal intervention” shotgun in their face. If a district doesn’t perform at some ridiculous standard (a standard that completely disregards REAL children), they will deny funding and even shut you down. They don’t give a damn about kids. Or teachers. Or schools. Or scores. It’s all talking points and campaign sound-bytes. It’s popular to slam public education.

What people FAIL to accept is that there are PEOPLE who make up those classrooms. People. Not buildings. Kids. Teachers. People who spend their entire lives dedicated to OTHER PEOPLES children. These people are worked to DEATH. They are buried under BURRO-cratic paperwork, unfunded federal and state mandates (you HAVE to do this – or we’ll come in and make you do it – but, oh yeah, you don’t get any extra funding) , children with social/economic/emotional/learning issues that would make your head spin – every single day of the year. These people work HUNDREDS of hours of overtime. Buy supplies for the children who come to school with nothing. Keep food in their classrooms to feed children who have NOTHING else.

This senator wants a quick resolution? Fund schools appropriately. Pay teachers for PROGRESS. And STOP wasting everybody’s time with “accountability standards” that do NOTHING about improving education for all children and everything about creating a culture of fear and anxiety. Create the learning objectives to create a top-notch workforce and support children who choose higher education OR workforce preparation, then GET THE HECK OUT OF THE WAY and let the professional educators decide what’s best for the children in their classroom/school/district.

End of rant. *stepping off soapbox*

Spit and polish…and nothing else?

Increasingly, I’ve been wondering if national politicians are anything BUT talking heads (and money).

It takes ungodly sums of money to run a national campaign. (Obama’s spent almost $300 MIllion so far, and Romney’s spent a little more than half that). I can’t even imagine what all that money looks like (advertising, mostly). You wonder what they would be capable of if their staff was redirected to raise money for a worthwhile charity; like Habitat for Humanity, United Way or Communities in Schools. Shoot, the total amount raised this year could completely revolutionize education. Can you imagine what school districts could do if they had constituents who could be counted on to give and give and give, like politicians? And, for the love of Mike, isn’t the work schools do far more important than some guy in a suit with an American flag on his lapel, or some sharp-dressed and sharper-tongued woman – promising change we can believe in, or the “right” kind of change or some other promise nobody but the candidates themselves believe will actually come true?

And then there is the talking head. Is there actually any substance to these people? They are surrounded by people telling them the right thing to say and how to say it in a compelling way. People in my field (even though I would be so out of my depth with any of them) make a living “advising” others around us (read=influencing behavior). Those with scruples are working for the best message; one that will clearly explain the heart and soul of an issue. There are many, though, who seem to be motivated by something else. What that something is, exactly, I don’t know – having never been IN that world. It’s so easy to sit back and throw stones. (trust me, I’ve been pelted with rocks by people who don’t know me OR what I do)

My argument that these politicians are all talking heads and they are so message and talking point driven, you can almost see the cards flipping in their eyes when they are asked a question. People (like me) make a living anticipating questions and preparing for interviews. Everything they can think of to keep their candidate from saying something stupid; a monumental task, apparently. This article, from the Chicago Tribune, talks about some of the more memorable gaffes from this campaign (so far).

Two of my favorites, from both sides. *rolling eyes*

It seems to me that, when these guys go “off message,” they can’t stop themselves from saying something stupid. It’s probably the only time we get to see anything resembling the real guy or lady under all that spit and polish.

I’m not saying it’s not a good idea to have people around you who will help you craft a message. (shoot, that would be advocating the end of my career field) I think it’s a great idea to have somebody who makes a living thinking about words and the affect they have on people. But it’s important that the person uttering those words have some input – the words must be their own. Otherwise, you get the talking points and hollow messages that get screwed up the minute the person behind the curtain stops pushing the buttons.

Hm…. Something to think about this voting season. Are you giving money and voting for the guy/gal you like/believe in, or are you voting for the spin doctors behind him/her?

 

Soylent Green

Linky Linky to this VERY strange movie

I had an interesting epiphany this morning.  We do not know we are starving until we taste real food again.

For [fill in the blanks], we’ve been “too tired” to go to church. We’ve had too much to do. We’ve been over-extended/-committed/whatever. (and we were) We, legitimately, were running on fumes. Munchkin and I had Oliver! and Coach started soccer season. I had SO many work obligations I brought it home a lot of nights; against my personal commitment not to. Goals made at the new year still hang, unstarted (is that a word?) on the door.

Church was effectively shelved. A two hour commitment, once a week, was crossed off the list, in favor of a little more “rest.”

What we didn’t realize at the time was that we were also shelving two hours of concentrated family time; one of our family goals. Time to pray together – also a goal . A church where we could plug in – another goal. Two hours a week, dedicated to reminding us and reinforcing the kind of family we want to be: friendly, patient, kind, healthy, praying, and on and on. So, by eliminating that two hours a week, we effectivly hobbled our ability to meet almost every one of our family goals and many of our individual goals.  Yes, that two hours were freed up but we were starving our family of fellowship, community, encouragement from the outside, accountability to something bigger than ourselves and a group connection to our Savior.

[Enter the Soylent Green metaphor]

Soylent Green is a movie that came out in the 70s and, according to wikipedia: much of the population survives on processed food rations, including “soylent green”. It’s a weird post-apocalyptic movie that came out in the 70s. People don’t eat real food anymore. They eat this soylent green stuff.  It tastes better than other food rations and is more nutritious.  After a VERY long story line (hello, 1970s, I know all the drugs slowed down your processing speed but it doesn’t translate well to future viewers), Charlton Heston’s character discovers this soylent green is made of PEOPLE.  When people die, their bodies become this processed “food.” People don’t even know what they’re eating. At some point, Heston’s character aquires some steak and it’s like a treasure. It’s so valuable, they hide it until they are ready to eat it.

[return to today]

This morning, for the first time in months, Coach and I went to worship service. At our church. When Brother Andy began to preach, any sense of lingering tiredness fell away and we were just caught up in this sweet fellowship with each other, with the others in the room and with God.

It was during this time I realized I’d been starving for real food. Making myself be content with processed and manufactured rest, over time, my spirit grew quiet as my flesh began to “forget” what real food tasted like. Not that my spirit went away or was less present – I think it just waited for my flesh to get. a. grip.

Suddenly, my attempts to free up our time seemed laughable. Like I could re-create this feeling without spending the time in the pew.  Like I really wanted to. My spirit laughed; not in a mean way, but in a joyful way. Making a joyful noise took on the proportions of the delighted oohs and aahs when Mom presents the family with the Thanksgiving turkey. We feasted on the scripture (Romans 8).

And, not for the first time, I said to God, “God, why did it take me so long to figure that out – the answer was right in front of me the whole time…” And I’m sure God just shrugged His shoulders and said, “I don’t know, but I’m glad you’re back.”

It was good.

We rested in Him.

We were filled.

That’s just stupid

“Yes, someone is making fun of me over this, publicly, and inciting others to make fun of it. What? No, I can’t say anything. Because I have to take the high road. It’s an unwritten code of conduct that I and many of my colleagues cannot stand up for ourselves. We have to remain silent and take it because they have the “right” to publish lies and twisted assumptions about us because we are semi-public figures. If we do say anything, if we ask those people to stop lying, to stop spreading their parasitic negativity, then we are the ones who are wrong.” – dooce.com.

When did it become ok and even expected that people should be allowed to spew slander and attack personal creditability and integrity when something doesn’t go their way?

That’s just stupid. I’m just sayin’.

were you singing that just now?

Have I mentioned Coach and I are a match made in Heaven?  No, really.  We are like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump would say. 

Besides all the great compatibility things that we have in common, my very favorite thing about our marriage is how much we laugh.  All the time, I tell you.  He tells horrible jokes a lot of the time and we have our own ways of laughing about it.  (I’m the funny one, Dear.) 

What’s fascinating though is how often we do things together.  Now, I don’t mean go places together or spend time together.  I’m talking about simple stuff, like saying the same thing at the same time, SNIFFING at the same time, yawning at the same time (not one of us yawns then the other – I mean, literally, at the same time) and a million other things. 

Last night, I’m sitting on the couch and he in his chair.  I’m playing Harry Potter and he’s fiddling around on his computer.  All the sudden a certain praise song pops into my head and I start singing it.  He looks at me and says, with a very astounded look, “were you singing that just now?”  Apparently, it was in his head too!  We had not heard this song on the radio.  We had not heard it on TV.  It spontaneously popped into BOTH our heads AT. THE. SAME. TIME! 

I just love that!

—-

So. I had several very random and bizarre dreams last night.  In one of my dreams, we’re back in my grandfather’s house.  (which is currently being occupied by his horrible widow; a woman who, immediately after the funeral, shut us out of her life and the home my mother and brother grew up in.  She now allows a man, to whom she is not married, to live there with her, in my GRANDPARENTS’ HOUSE.  She dishonors his memory by her very presence and I am disgusted to say she was ever part of our family.)  Ok, sorry…  So, Munchkin and I are in my grandfather’s house and I’m going into the kitchen when I notice a giant frog in the floor.  In the dream, I tried to find a big tupperware bowl to cover it up so we could safely get it out of the house when it starts hopping around Munchkin, trying to get away from all these people!  Well, the frog is hopping, and Munchkin is hopping (and squealing) and I’m standing there, with this big bowl in my hand.  Then I woke up.  I don’t know what they mean; I’m just reporting the news, folks.

My second dream had a different tone. 

We were at Mother’s house and had all laid down for a nap.  When we woke up, we noticed several walls of the living room had been BLOWN OUT and a house down the street had a target on it.  I told Mother to call the insurance company because you can’t stay in a house with no walls.  (logical – now here is where it just all falls apart into weirdness)  Mother says we should call the police because, obviously, somebody blew up her house and the house down the street was next!  So, we call the police but the FBI shows up.  They say there were reports of an american flag in the sky over the house about the time of the explosion (how we slept through a BOMBING is beyond me but that’s my dreamlife, I tell ya) and this was domestic terrorism and we would have to all be questioned. 

Then, this lady (the human equivalent of Roz, in Monsters Inc.) sets us all around a low Asian-style coffee table (I told you it was odd) and starts asking dumb questions that I can’t remember now.  What really took the cake was the fact that the FBI agents, one of whom was Brad Gunn, a coach at the High School, discerned the explosive device was cleverly hidden in a baseball they found mostly blown up in the front yard.

Where does my brain come up with this stuff?

Well, it’s 7:45 and I’m going to start getting ready for church.  (that means I’m going to have my first bowl of cereal)

Speaking of cereal – funny thing.  I went to the store the other day and picked out three new boxes of cereal: Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Life, and Frosted Mini Wheats.  YUMMY.  My only problem is I can’t decide which cereal to eat.  I think cinnamon toast crunch gets the nod this morning.  THen, I’ll have a bowl of life cereal later this afternoon and finish off the day with frosted mini-wheats for dessert.  Hey, it’s better for me than oreos and milk.  And, babycenter says the baby needs extra calcium right now so, by golly, I’m going to give it to her!  🙂

I joked yesterday all this cereal makes me a “cereal killer.”  As those words were coming out of my mouth, Coach said, “just don’t say killer after cereal.”  Told you we’re weird.

Saturday!

So much ambition, so little motivation. I woke up this morning, thinking, “today would be a great day to finish packing Munchkin’s room.” That was an hour ago, and I’m still sitting at the computer. *sigh*

I am going to do it today – no messing around. Well, I’m going to eat breakfast first and then put on some kind of clothing and get Coach to get boxes out of the car….

Ok, I guess I have a few things to do before I can get started.

Wish me luck!

Projects that aren’t mine but become mine

You KNOW how much I love those. 

Projects that aren’t mine but become mine

You KNOW how much I love those. 

drivel

MPAA Rating:

PG-13 for brief war violence, sexual content, language and smoking.

 

Really? SMOKING is now making it into MPAA rating information?  ROFL

A little better today

Today was better.  I slept to a non-offensive hour of 8am and felt better for it.  I got up, expecting the cable folks to arrive before noon; only to call and learn that they’d entered the ENTIRE day as the window.  *sigh*  He finally arrived around 4pm.  Oh well.  He was very nice and he hooked the cable up in about 20 minutes. 

I have TV again!  You never really realize how much you’ve grown to love the incessant drone of bad tv until it’s gone.  *laugh*  I mean, I totally missed the season finale of “America’s Best Dance Crew” and I have NO idea who’s been eliminated from the house on “Rock of Love 2.”  Sheesh.  I hate admitting I even entertain that second show.  It’s SO stupid.  The only thing I could even stretch to imagine I have in common with the people on there is that we are all HUMANS (although there is enough silicone to really push that on their part). 

Anyway, back to today…  We went to IKEA this evening and picked up chairs for my dining room table and shelves for my bedroom.  Hopefully, before the end of the weekend the boxes of books will be empty and broken down; their contents resting peacefully on the newly installed shelves.  God help us – I’m going to assemble something. 

Dating is stupid.  Have I said that?  *laugh*  On again, off again.  I think my enthusiasm for the project waxes and wanes with the cycles of the moon.  Right now, on a scale of 1-10 on the dating enthusiasm scale, I’d say I’m at about a 4.5.  Not quite enough to throw my hands up and commit to old maid-dom, but not enough to really shake the trees to see what kind of apples fall out. 

I’m tired.  I am not prepared for sunday school tomorrow and I think I’m teaching the entire dang lesson.  Which, had I found out BEFORE today would have been great but I only read her email (sent at 4pm yesterday) today.  I know she has my phone number.  So, now I’m scrambling to come up with more activity and structure for 12 rambunctious 1st graders. 

*YAWN*

I quit – I’m beat.  I can barely keep my eyes open to type and I still have to take a bath and figure SOMETHING out for sunday school tomorrow.  ‘night

Why am I awake?

It is 2am.  Why am I sitting here with my eyes open?  Ug.  I’ve resorted to an old sleeping standby:  The Chronicles of Riddick.  I’ve seen it so many times that I can turn it on and be asleep in fifteen minutes.  Now, I know that sounds like I’m stamping BORING on this movie but I am SO not.  It is visually very fun to watch.  Because I’ve seen it so many times, I can close my eyes and “watch” it in my head.  To recreate such detailed pictures tires my brain very quickly so I fall asleep really quickly. 

I know that’s strange but it works.  Here’s hopin’.  ‘night, folks.  No, really.  I’m going.  Now. 

.

.

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Ok, now I’m going. 

Moving Day

The furniture movers came yesterday and they were FAST!  They were really nice and they were really careful with our furniture.  I can honestly say it was the smoothest move I’ve done in a very long time.  Today, K and I finished up with “little stuff” and the art.  Golly, man, all that “little stuff” worked out to be 7 more boxes that, had I done just a little less watching out the window and more packing, the movers would have moved for me yesterday.  Nevertheless, we got it done.  I have one more trip to the old house planned tomorrow, to pick up the paper and bring my hanging clothes. 

For reasons that continue to baffle human understanding, the person formally known as “J” (not my brother) has been banished from our universe – never to return.  I will spare you the gory details but, in short, I made a very disturbing discovery on Thursday that precipitated a complete severance. 

Anyway.  It’s not like there was much to go on anyway – he’d been gone 15 months and we “dated” sporadically prior to his departure.  He never met my family and for that singular reason, they never liked him.  Fair enough. 

My brother said the entire saga with he who must not be named is like a really long historical novel.  You spend a lot of time on this really indepth story that appears to be at least partially based on true events.  But you get to the end and it’s crappy.  (well, he used another word but you get the point.)  Rather than get really bummed out about a fictional story, you put the book back up on the shelf and go get you another book. 

*laugh*  So, I guess I’m single.  *sigh*  Whatever. 

The move was good.  Hardest work I’ve done in a VERY long time.  I’m already getting sore.  Tomorrow, I’m going to be hating life.  *laugh* 

Goodnight, friends. 

Has it really been a year?

I’m sitting here, watching these amateurs sing their hearts out on this show called, “Bathroom Divas.”  These are amateurs who want to be opera singers.  Some have lots of training, others – NONE.  They are going through something called Opera Boot Camp; three-weeks of intensive vocal and dramatic training.  I’m enjoying it immensely and then it hits me, oh my gosh – it’s been a year since I sang.  A year.  We opened “She Loves Me” a year ago this weekend.  And I’ve been quiet since then. 

*sigh*

sheesh

Chinese fortune cookies – in English AND Spanish.  Wow.  I have opinions but I shall withhold them for my inner child. 

ps. Wayne Newton is a horrible singer.  Just thought you should know, k?

Boy, That was FAST

WOW.