I have sinned: it's been six weeks since my last blog post

Boy, have I ever been busy! I wrapped up my semester this week, turning in a paper on Tuesday. After that, I grocery shopped (bare cupboards) and today I wrapped presents for my kids. Santa is being pretty generous again this year.

So what about W dodging the shoe? How funny was that??? I mean, yes, it was an assault on the President of the United States. I get it. Yet, I can't stop laughing about it. It reminds me of playing Wii Fit, trying to dodge the soccer cleats and panda heads. I get whacked by those freakin' cleats every time I play.

So, what else will I do with my time? I finally started the David Sedaris book I borrowed from my best friend, Christine...oh, let's see...about a year ago. Me Talk Pretty One Day...you should check it out. Very funny stuff. I also plan to get rid of a lot of shit I have accumulated over the past few months (years) and move my desk downstairs. Right now, it's in the bedroom and it's a catch-all for all my crap. I am unorganized enough as it is, so getting rid of the clutter will help to calm things down around here. Maybe...

The kids have two more days of school until they are off for TWO WEEKS. Holy moly, I have to keep them entertained for two weeks. Wish me luck. I have a full month off (woo hoo!) so I really hope I can do a little sewing, a lot of reading, and a whole lot of house cleaning. This place needs a good scrub.

Thank you, America, for an Obama victory

WHEW!!! I am so glad this is over. Now we have some time to breathe, at least for two years until it starts all over again.

I am so grateful that we have elected Barack Obama as our 44th president. I cannot wait until January 20, 2009, when he takes over in the driver's seat. Too bad he is inheriting a clunker, with bald tires, a hole in the muffler, and a busted transmission. President-Elect Obama has a lot of work to do to fix up this vehicle we call democracy so we can get ourselves back on the right track.

I can once again believe the United States is admired abroad. I truly believe the results of this year's election made the rest of the world look at us in a whole new light. Believe what you want, but it matters what other nations think of us. What we do in the U.S. has a profound effect on nations worldwide. If we do not have the respect of our own allies, imagine what our "enemies" think? Now that we are getting some of that credibility back, things will look better everywhere.

Sure, maybe I am looking at this with rose-colored glasses. But I have to! Otherwise, I will drive myself mad and turn into a bitter, cynical, crabass. I'm already crabby enough when I haven't had my coffee, so nobody wants that. I have to look at this in a positive light because, based on this country's violent history of slavery and oppression, I am finally seeing the old die-hard racism fading as citizens age. They are starting to die off, and that has been shown in the statistics of who voted for Obama and who did not. The demographic breakdown speaks for itself.

We are not there yet, and maybe we never will be in my lifetime, but every little step we take to end racism and prejudice in this country will make us all better off.

Gateway to Change

Barack Obama made an appearance Saturday in St. Louis under the world famous Gateway Arch. Here is a sample of what you missed if you were not there. About 100,000 people came to see him, and another 75,000 saw him later that afternoon in Kansas City. He is amazing.

This is why I love Jon Stewart

Boy, do I love it when I see evidence of flip-flopping in the Republican party! In case you missed it, you must watch this video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, aired Wednesday night (9/3). You will see Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and others contradicting themselves regarding the issues centered around Sarah Palin and her family. My favorite is O'Reilly's comments...he is such a jackass. This is beyond hypocrisy, really. And before you get bent out of shape, the Democrats flip-flop, too...it's just so much more fun to catch some of the righties doing it!!!

It's a small world after all

I am convinced that there are truly six degrees of separation between any two people. Pick any two people and somehow they can be connected within six other people. It works for Kevin Bacon so it must work for everyone else. This is why I am convinced...

My daughter started 3rd grade this week and is a student in Mrs. B's class (my son has Mrs. B as well, but a different Mrs. B). Anyway, I started classes this week, too, as a junior in college. I have a professor named Mr. B so I asked him if he was related to a Tracy B. He replied, "Yes, I am." I then asked him how they were related and he said, "She's my wife." I could not believe it! I told him about my daughter being in his wife's 3rd grade class this year. How incredibly weird is that?! When I told my daughter about it, she almost started to cry because she was so excited that our teachers are married to each other. She thinks it is super cool. I joked with her that Mr. and Mrs. B will probably talk about us during dinner time, just like my daughter and I will talk about Mr. and Mrs. B. Luckily, both of our teachers seem to be incredibly nice so it should make an interesting few months for us.

The night before kindergarten (and 3rd grade and junior year)

My kids are headed back to school tomorrow (and so am I) and they are so excited to go, especially my son who is entering kindergarten. My daughter is jazzed to see all her friends again on a daily basis as we never seem to have enough opportunities during the summer to see everyone. My son is excited beyond words because he will have his favorite teacher, the same one my daughter had when she was a kindergartener. Tonight, we all read The Night Before Kindergarten together and we will all head to the elementary school tomorrow with new backpacks, packed lunch boxes and tons of school supplies. I have the camera ready to take lots of pictures and I have the tissues ready for all the tears - both sad and happy - that I will shed. I can't believe my baby is in elementary school already, yet I am elated that he finally is! It will make my life much easier now that both kids are in the same school during the same hours. I have my classes scheduled around their school days so I am all set this year. As for me, I have a jump start on my classes...reading textbooks and taking notes like a true nerd. Yes, I am a great student and it has turned me into one of those geeks with color-coded notebooks and highlighters in every shade imaginable. My husband laughs at me but I know that he is proud of all of the students in our family...especially our kindergarten boy!

UPDATE: Monday morning, 8/25

My son was so excited to start kindergarten that he got up in the middle of the night, got dressed in his school clothes, and went back to bed. When we woke him up this morning he was fully dressed (except for shoes). We got the kids off to school today and he is on a cloud right now. Now it's time for me to shove off because I have class in 45 minutes...

Jesus and the workplace don't mix

Yesterday, my husband had an encounter with a man who claimed that Jesus sent him to "spread the word" to P (my hubby)...and this encounter happened at work. WTF!!!

This is my husband's email to his boss after the encounter. I sent this on to a couple of friends who are mental health professionals and both have said that this is a sort of "warning sign" of something worse to come. Names/locations have been replaced with dashes:

I just had one of the weirdest and most uncomfortable experiences at work - ever. Sitting here getting my day started someone comes up behind me, "Hey ----, I wanted to give you a message..." I thought it was ---- since he was speaking with a low voice, but no, it was some guy who works at ---- who I said hello to in the hallway when I walked in, but I didn't recognize him as anyone I have ever met. He had a ---- badge, but I couldn't see the name, he wore a white tshirt, jeans with a walkie-talkie on the pocket, and looked to be in the maintenance division - I'm guessing more building than garden. Anyway he told me that god had told him to come by and give me this message (insert flashing red light here), something about the meaning of life. He proceeds to crouch down and pull out a small piece of paper with the message on the top, and 3 tabs on the bottom labeled 1, 2 and 3. At this point I'm trying to be polite, he explains the first part, but I'm more trying to understand what's going on, or where the hidden camera is filming my reaction. He covers the basics like jesus is the son of god, god loves me and the way to heaven is through jesus (note that he didn't ask me if I wanted to go to heaven, which I think is completely presumptuous, but I digress). At the end he told me that he just wanted to share this with me like I could share things with him, like he could share directions to his house with me and I could share mine with him. I'm not sure if this was a metaphor for his sharing or a suggestion that I tell him where I live, regardless my patience had run out. At this point I'm just staring at him trying to decide how I want to end this. He was either at the end of his sermon or sensed I was, so he got up thanked me and left.

Anytime I've only had 1 cup of coffee in the morning I'm not 100% there yet, and while I wouldn't have been critical or engaged him in a debate, I would/should have told him I wasn't interested as I've unfortunately had to do before. I guess since I was at work and he's an employee here I felt like I shouldn't be rude. Regardless, I'm no more enlightened but a bit more peeved than I was before I talked to him; do I really look like that much of a sucker that you can just come up to me and tell me what I should think about such things?! I can only assume I'm the one he picked to fulfill his quota for the day. While I'm glad he thinks he has the answers for his life, I've already figured mine out for myself. Of course I would never be as brash to tell others to agree with what I think about the The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is, so I don't think I would have brought that up, but still, dude should keep for Sunday, or at least when he's not at work if you know what I mean. If they figure out who this guy is I would like HR to explain this to him, and I would like the opportunity to drop him an email explaining my above points. Let me know how I should follow up with this, I'm actually getting a bit more pissed as I drink more coffee.

So...how would you react to such an encounter? I told my husband that he should have given the dude directions to the freeway and told him to jump in front of the first semi he saw, insisting that Jesus would save him. I'm sorry but people like this are real assholes. Save it for your church buddies who give a rat's ass because I DON'T!

ATHF fan by association

I am not sure why but my husband is a big fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the very strange cartoon that runs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Because he likes the show so much, I surprised him with DVDs from the first two seasons for a gift last Christmas. Somehow I became addicted to the show...it runs during my down time when I am ready for bed but not quite ready to go to sleep. I watch it before I finally shut off the television even though I should go to sleep at least an hour earlier. It is the most F'd up show I have ever seen but I love it. Carl is my favorite, of course. I love the flashback scenes when he has hair...actually a mullet, to be more precise. I also love the show Squidbillies with the big cheese Dan Halen and the caps that Early wears. That is a pretty F'd up show as well, but I absolutely love it. If you are ever bored and need something completely insane to watch, tune into Adult Swim. It will leave you scratching your head but your funny bone will certainly get tickled.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Politicians are cheaters!

By now we have all heard the news regarding John Edwards and his extramarital affair. It seems that the media is having a field day with this now, saying that his career is kaput and insisting that Barack Obama keep a safe distance from the cheating senator during the upcoming Democratic convention in Denver. Am I the only one who finds this to be ridiculous? If this were the case, there would be no politicians at either convention!

Everyone seems to be forgetting that Obama's opponent, John McCain, had an affair while married to his first wife, cheating on her with his current wife. Oops! I found this commentary on the Huffington Post on this issue and decided to share it. The author, Cenk Uygur, hits the nail on the head.

Me so tired...

As I mentioned in a previous post, my husband is a computer geek. This is his hobby and his occupation, so he attends DEFCON in Las Vegas every August (at least for the past few years, anyway). He is there now and from there he is off to Canada on business. He would go to DEFCON anyway but somehow it is "job related" so he gets to go on the company dime. Fine by me except that means I have the kids all to myself for the weekend. The timing this year is not the best, either, since he has to go to Canada as well...right after DEFCON. The result: ten days with the kids...by myself.

Please understand that I love my kids more than anything in the world (next to my aforementioned husband, of course). They truly are great kids and they make me laugh, smile, and cry all at the same time. My husband and I made some great babies, that is for sure! (wink) I have to admit, though, those kids drive me up the wall at times. My daughter insists on always getting in the last word (she takes after me) while my son turns on the water works when he does not get his way. I am convinced that boys mature much more slowly than girls because my daughter got over that (at least on a genuine basis) a looooong time ago. She still "cries" in an attempt to make me feel bad but I see right through it. Long story short (too late!) my boy was crying about Daddy being gone, saying things like "He doesn't want to be here with us" and "How can he like his job when it takes him away from us? I want Daddy to rub my back...he's the best and he is the only one who can make me fall asleep." I know first hand that this last statement is not true as my boy fell asleep tonight as soon as he hit the pillow.

To sum things up, I am tired. So why am I still yammering on here? Good night!!!

My latest favorite band: the Shins

My husband is a geek by trade but he is also a geek by hobby. He loves computers, video games, and music. He has introduced me to many excellent bands, both famous and not-so-famous. He even proposed to me at a Guided By Voices show at Austin's late, great Liberty Lunch in 1997. It gave a whole new meaning to "GBV! GBV! GBV!" to say the least.

Perhaps my favorite band he ever turned me on to is the Shins. He kept talking about the band and told me, "You'd love them." He knows my style...singer/songwriters, great harmonies and melodies, poppy but not really popular. It wasn't until my friend Kelly burned me a copy of the soundtrack for Garden State that I really heard the Shins. Then last year I loaded Wincing the Night Away onto my iPod before going on a trip with my girlfriends and I was hooked. God, they are a great band and have the best songs and harmonies. Once I returned from my trip, I loaded up the rest of the band's repertoire onto my nano so I could let it all sink in. Now I can't get enough of them. I am a Shins addict. Their best song: Australia. A close second (tie): So Says I and Kissing the Lipless. Can't wait to see them once they hit town again...their last show sold out before I even knew about it.

Back to school

It's that time of year again...back to school. Both my children and I head to school on the exact same day this year, August 25th. My girl will be in 3rd grade while my boy is headed to kindergarten...look out, Mrs. B., he's a handful.

I am starting my junior year in college and I am much older than my classmates. I attend during the day while my kids are in school so I go to class with a bunch of 18-to-22-year-olds who apparently have better things to do than stay awake in class. I have to tell you, if I had gone at 18 I would have blown it off, too. But now that I am going 20 years after I should have gone I take things very seriously. So far I have pulled off an overall GPA of 4.0 and hopefully I will be able to keep up the streak through my last two years. We'll see...

Thankfully, I have a very supportive husband who keeps the kids busy when I have to study. It is tough for him sometimes but he is a good dad and does a lot of fun stuff with the kids. I know he wishes that I could participate in their many outings but I truly love school and I need to have time to myself after being so busy with the kids all the time...even if that time is spent in a library studying. I have been a SAHM (stay at home mom) since my daughter was six months old and it is the hardest job I have ever had. It is also the most rewarding, fun, and exciting job as well.

I'll keep you posted on my grades (and how my kids are doing in school as well). They are both smart and clever so they should be pretty successful in life. As long as they are happy and healthy, that is all that matters to me.

Sweet Sydney Sue

Recently, my family lost our dear pet dog. Sydney was ten years young and had been fighting canine lymphoma for a year and a half. About a month ago, we discovered that the cancer had spread to her blood...so now she had leukemia as well. At that point we knew we were out of options. My husband and I were with Syd when she was put to sleep. We just hugged her tight and stroked her head until she was gone. It sucked to see her go but we know we did what was best for her.

She was our first dog...we got her about six weeks before our wedding. She became our first "baby" as well. We went to a friend's party and met Sydney there (we named her after the city in Australia and the character on Melrose Place). She was a stray who started following a friend while she was jogging in San Antonio, Texas. Our friend brought the dog home to Austin with her and took her to the party to see if anyone would be interested in taking the pup home. We were interested and the rest is history. We believe she was an Australian Cattle Dog (ACD) otherwise known as a blue heeler. Man, she was a good dog.

Both of our children have always had Sydney around so this was especially difficult for them. We still have two other dogs (we are dog lovers) and they have both adjusted to life without Syd. I still find myself calling for her...I guess old habits do die hard. Rest in peace, sweet Sydney...we miss you.