Helicopter Parent of the Echo Generation.

Last night, I innocently went over to relax on Vinnie’s Couch…hoping to catch some tunes and glean some knowledge of his tuneage. Instead I sat straight up and entered the fray.

Bond’s Big Leather Couch
“Where Are We Going”

A couple days ago on Dr Blogstein’s Radio Happy Hour a multi-faceted debate began. It spilled over onto the blog sites of the parties involved and subsequently to the comments of those postings.
(sykes and plaisted)

I’d like to be so bold as to issue a Comment Challenge to a few fellow bloggers whose opinion I am curious of. (this is sorta like a Meme...can I get a ruling from the Queen?) If you are so inclined…please surf over to Bond's Couch and comment on the subject.

Linda ~ Are We There Yet?

Hammer ~ When Your Only Tool is A Hammer

Christopher ~ Death By Children

Kat ~ My Single Mom Life

Should we bubblewrap our kids protecting them ever feeling pain, loss or suffering?

Should we insist on all things being equal…eliminating competition and forbidding recognition of individual or team achievement?

Should we encourage our kids to take advantage of their attributes, skills, and knowledge to strive to be the best they can be…and be ranked higher than their peers?

Should we provide classes, lessons, tutors and coaches to give them the edge…to a point where they have no real free time to actually be a kid?

What do YOU think?

Thursday Thirteen ~ veintetres

desired male attributes
(working my way thru the alphabet....backwards)

mindful
muscular
melodious
media-savvy
movie-watching
mistletoe-hanging
merry-go-round-riding
mountain-climbing
mystery-reading
midnight-loving
morning-loving
moon-gazing
manly-man

I've never read this one....

I found this over at Odat's....
me? loud? laughing....

You're A Prayer for Owen Meany!
by John Irving

Despite humble and perhaps literally small beginnings, you inspire faith in almost everyone you know. You are an agent of higher powers, and you manifest this fact in mysterious and loud ways. A sense of destiny pervades your every waking moment, and you prepare with great detail for destiny fulfilled. When you speak, IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS!

Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Lunch at Pleasure Point

Heads or Tails ~ Hobby

Miz Skit (aka Barb at Skittles Place) has gotten her tail in gear and heads up a Tuesday challenge called: Heads or Tails. If you don’t know her site….WHERE have you been?

This week’s assignment is to give your readers a headsup about your hobby….or if you chose to turn tail and run…to write about something that rhymes with hobby. (knobby bobby in the lobby looking kinda slobby…..I dunno…sheesh)

This morning I have come to the shocking realization:
I do not have a hobby.

It had never occured to me before....but I don't actually have a hobby. I take pictures, and collect paperweights. I have been known to quilt, sew clothes and truly enjoy needlework. But I do none of these with the frequency that would constitute a hobby.

I know people with hobbies….and I thought, “hey….maybe I could write about them” ….scrapbooking, kayaking, and bow hunting for elk each came to mind. Sigh….I really don’t know enough to write about any of their hobbies.

I watch sports. I enjoy travel. I listen to a wide variety of music. I love movies. I research in depth that which interests me. I blog a little…and read a lot. I am never without a book. But no one who knows me would consider any of those my hobby.

I think that I would like to have a hobby….
I just don’t know what that would be.

Thursday Thirteen ~ veintedos

desired male attributes
(working my way thru the alphabet....backwards)

noble
naughty
note-taking
nature-loving
nuptially-minded
new year-celebrating
nimbus-rider
neighborly
nocturnal
net-surfing
nipple-kissing
news-knowing
nerd

Wordless Wednesday ~ weird web

Heads or Tails ~ luck

Barb at Skittles Place has been tossing a coin...challenging us to write about a time in our lives when we had been lucky.

My mind has been pinballing today.

I wade through several different stories about luck in my life….but the thoughts bounce back and forth and just when I’m on to something…my logic kicks in and I come back to the fact I don’t actually believe in luck.

Or…maybe….I just don’t trust my luck.

I think of luck in my life in a similar fashion as I do being fortunate.
I was so lucky to get that parking spot.
I was so fortunate to get that parking spot.
How unlucky that guy spilled his coffee on me.
How unfortunate that guy spilled his coffee on me.

I have been very fortunate in my life.

Luck and Gambling go hand in hand.
I am not much of a gambler
I have been known to take on risk, it's not the same.

Casinos send me into some sort of sensory overload. If I stay more than an hour, I get really, REALLY tired and lethargic. So…I don’t gamble much. The time I do spend gambling is at the Roulette wheel. A very wise and experienced gentleman taught me how to play Roulette in a cruise ship casino a few years ago. People think I am very lucky at Roulette. Nah. I am well taught.

Luck is prevalent in card games…I am rather lucky at Poker.

My Gramma and Grampa taught me to play.

There is that old saying:
“lucky in cards…unlucky in love”
Guess THAT explains a lot.

Then again, my grandparents were married for over 67 years. The truest love story I have ever known. No debilitating medical or mental issues EVER. Both of them very lucky at cards…and VERY lucky in love..

If I had a choice….
perhaps I’d prefer to be unlucky in cards.

How come “luck” is of a feminine persuasion?
Bitch.

Manic Monday with Mo ~ deal

“what’s the deal?”

I use several poker phrases in my everyday vernacular:
“the dealer passes”
“like drawing to an inside straight”
“ante up”

This weekend I kept asking “What’s the deal?”

I was lured on an unexpected road trip. Truly enjoyable…but completely unplanned. On Saturday….with about ten minutes notice….I left my house at 6:30 IN THE MORNING.

It started out innocently enough. Deep cajoling voice “c’mon huh-ney …come with us and watch me shoot…it’s a beautiful morning…we’re only doin' half the course…you love it out there.”

Yeah….with the voice and all, he made it sound appealing. EVEN THOUGH it was the ever-lovin' crack of dawn. Six-fifteen in the AM. I wasn’t dressed. I hadn’t checked gmail….let alone Reader. I hadn’t hunted a single photo with the theme “Two”…and more importantly… I hadn’t even come close to consuming my required dosage of caffeine. Apparently that was my first priority.

Cup and saucer ain’t gonna work, so I climbed up on the kitchen counter to dig out that souvenir coffee thermos I was given at my daughter’s office. (I hate drinking coffee out of plastic by the way.) Then....and only then did I agree to go. In record time I throw on jeans, tshirt and windbreaker…pulled my hair into a ponytail…grabbed my camera, a book, pair of sneakers….and walked out the door.

I was under the impression we’d be back in three hours. Plenty of time to surf my Reader, do the laundry, take a shower….and all the usual.

We didn’t get back until 8 o’clock on Sunday night.

"So…um….what’s the deal?"
This is me trying to be easy going.

Ten o’clock Saturday morning (after three hours of watching my beau with his bow)…we're on the freeway…no traffic…because we are going AWAY from Santa Cruz. Lots of tourists and day trippers headed to the beach…..not us. “So…um…what’s the deal?” translates to “where are we going?”

The first time I asked, “what’s the deal?” the answer was Gilroy to visit a place call “Predator’s Archery.” (If I was more clever and less lazy this is where you would be clicking on a link to play that creepy banjo intro from Deliverance. )

The second time I asked, “what’s the deal?” the answer was “Fashion Outlets in Gilroy” to stop by In N Out for lunch. (he KNOWS this is a favorite) I will confess I also got a really cute dress at Jones of New York…cause I was being SUCH a good sport.

When I came out of the fitting room he said, “Jeremy called and wants us to come to dinner.” At this point my, “what’s the deal?” meant “what’s the plan?” as in “where are we eating…who’s gonna be there…when…why” …and so on. Jeremy lives an a hour and a half away….in the opposite direction of home.

After midnight “what’s the deal for tonight?” is yelled across the table over the music of the band and the blare of the twentysomething crowd….and now means “it is too late and we’ve had too much to drink to make the 85 mile drive through the mountains to Santa Cruz.”

Half past eight in the morning (after sleeping on an air mattress with foam pillows) I skip past “what’s the deal?” and proceed directly to: “Here’s the deal…either wake up and take me to Peet’s NOW or I’m gonna abscond with your keys and go on my own.”

A large Sumatra with an add shot later…”what’s the deal?” could best be translated as “If you don’t come up with a plan, I will” and was correctly interpreted as a warning. (Usually this happens when a group of people are milling around waiting for someone to take charge…and it is painfully apparent I’m gonna have to step up to fill the void.)

But hey…I’m smiling sweetly and open to suggestions…which included extending the road trip to visit his son’s work, and the complex where my daughter’s new home is being built. Basically the deal was a Sunday drive of about 225 miles…a fair deal…considering there was something in it for the both of us. We stopped for tacos…always the way to my heart. And we even made it home in time to watch Extreme Home Makeover. All in all…it was a pretty great...deal.

Check out the Manic Monday with Mo and his minions.

surf city's movin' north

Damn... I don't even have the words....

Thursday Thirteen ~ veinteuno

desired male attributes
(working my way thru the alphabet....backwards)

objective
openminded
opinionated
observant
oral
orthographer
old school
outdoorsy
outrageous
offense forgiving
olallieberry picking
orgasmic
once-upon-a-time-kinda-guy

time is running out....

I know it's not a 911 emergency...but have you seen that little contest goin’ on at Linda’s “Are We There Yet?” ?

In true SuperMom fashion she is proudly promoting her ArtMunkey Amanda’s Artistic Intoxication. This online store features her original graphics on mugs, cards, shirts and more. Truly unique gifts or a little treat for yourself. I’m a big fan of little treats for myself.

I wasn’t going to enter the contest....until this afternoon.

Little Missy (who is starting her second year of college) came in dragging and bitching after her first day of torturous soccer practice. Several hours of drills and scrambles after months (and MONTHS) of not doing a whole lot of working out really slammed her. She started the day tired cause after being up late I woke her at dawn. Little Missy was featured in the local rag today and I felt the need to read the article out loud to her. (per Linda this shameless bragging on your kids is required per the parental contract under paragraph 52, subsection 12b) To make matters worse, she is working the evening shift at Orchard Supply.

My friend had arrived just as The Mo Show was ending and asked Little Missy how she was feeling. She came out of the kitchen eating a cracker and said, “like death”. I flashed on Amanda’s Mug with the caption, "I feel like death, eating a cracker". Irrefutable proof that blogging is taking over my mind.

Wordless Wednesday ~ manzanita

walk like a Mo-gyptian

~ Don't be "gypt" ~

check out the Mo Show on Blog Talk Radio

Listen today at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Pacific time

go directly here for all the details

or catch the achieves at anytime

Heads or Tails ~ uno ~ Beginnings

Barb over at Skittle’s Place is kickin’ off a new Meme called: Heads or Tails

This week’s theme is “Beginnings”

There are beginnings looming in my immediate future…but I’m holding off. Hesitating to begin.

I am well aware of what needs to be done. I know exactly where the threshold is that I must cross. I step up to it...with the door open and objective in sight.

Yet I hesitate.
Not stagnate, or procrastinate, or constipate.
Not from fear, or laziness, or lack of knowledge.

I stand at the threshold with God’s hand on my shoulder holding me back.

It’s just not time to begin.

Manic Monday with Mo ~ drop

I came across it by surprise while searching through all the junk, eyes scanning for those tiny pliers, fingertips probing way into the back of the drawer. Feeling a piece of paper all shoved up into the corner…I tugged sharply….ripping it some on the way out.

Distracted by the task at hand, moving aside books and papers trying to find that damn tool…it took a few seconds. Finally glancing down, I came to a complete halt. Shoulder and arm slack…my hand dropped to the desk. My fingers clutched so tight the paper crumpled in my grip. In no way prepared to confront the visual, all other thoughts dropped from my mind. One long deep breath eased silently through my lips. Out of nowhere a drop splashed. Releasing my grasp I used the sleeve of my sweater to wipe it away.

I didn’t even realize it was happening until the teardrop fell onto the photograph…and then another. Like a gentle wave the emotions crashed over me. Molten water overflowed my eyes forcing those slow heavy teardrops…hot teardrops drawn down your face by gravity. Breathing slow and shallow…flooded by memories smothering me from all else.

Gently I ran my hand across the photograph pressing out the creases. Not-so-gently I shoved it into my back pocket. Without intent...walking across the room... raising my sleeve again...wiping the drops from my face.

I stood at the fireplace staring at the crack left in the stone by the last earthquake. Dropping another log onto the flames I realized this was the last of the cord we had chopped and stacked together. As the log caught sudden heat hit my face drying the last teardrop. Reaching behind me I pulled the mangled photograph from my pocket. Reaching slowly across the hearth….I held the photograph over the blaze…and just….let it….drop.

me and the middle finger

I saw this over at Skittles Place...
I thought I would be the middle finger!

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

Photo Hunting ~ row

I'm sorry....this just seems like too much work...

The Rock Chick

Let’s rock The Rock Chick’s World!
Send Life is RANTastic to the A-List.

Jessica is a way cool woman who I stumbled across while surfing the blogworld.
Her friend, at This Eclectic Life...is conducting a little raffle with real live prizes....check it out

Thursday Thirteen ~ veinte

desired male attributes
(working my way thru the alphabet....backwards)

peaceful
patient
pet loving
pain healing
porch swinging
parenting
picnic packing
prayer offering
panty removing
passport holding
parade watching
pillow talking
poker player

Wordless Wednesday ~ stairs at The Point.

you got some 'splaining to do...

....if you don't listen to the Mo Show!

Today at 4pm Pacific Time on Blog Radio

Check it out

listen tonight...or at your leisure in the achieves

This great MoShow ProMo was created by Janna!

check her out for all your graphic needs!

take a moment....give a listen...

My real life (non-blogging) friend Frank,

shared this with me this morning.

If I Die Before You Wake

performed by Dustin Evans

written by Dustin Evans, Rick Tiger, Dave Brainard

currently serving us and their country in Iraq.

Manic Monday with Mo - Lie

I may not tell you everything…
but everything I tell you is golden

Why is that not enough?

I admit, I omit.

Not to lie. Not to deceive. It’s not always appropriate, or necessary, or mandatory to divulge every little detail. Often it is just not their concern.

Have I ever lied? Of course. And with a bit of shame I hesitate to write that I suspect I will probably lie again at some point in the future. (heavy sigh) It won’t be hurtful or dangerous. It won’t be of substance.

What has happened to our right of privacy? Why do people think they have a right to know everything they ask? (you should be aware I believe privacy is becoming a major cultural issue…it is rapidly becoming a commodity of our time…but that is my rant of epic proportions)

Are there lies of omission? Sure. Withholding required or valuable information from another to take pleasure in their misfortune or to intentionally deceive them would constitute a lie.

I was a bit blown away to discover (on wikipedia) various categories for lies…and “sins” of omission from the Catholic church...for example Thomas Aquinas who perpetuated that all lies were sins…although hey…humorous and useful lies were venial sins…and the malicious ones were mortal sins. Damn. (or Damned as the case may be.) Its gotta be tough to be Catholic. If I were Catholic…I’d be in big trouble. Praise the Lord, I am not. (smile)

Nevertheless, I usually don’t tell everything. I don’t make a big deal out of it. I don’t do so with malice. If you ask me a direct question, I will give you an honest answer. I will not attempt to mislead you…or allow you to believe details that are incorrect. If I don’t feel like sharing some tidbit, I will tell you so.

I may not tell you everything….
but everything I tell you is golden

wild child wisdom

a few months ago I embroiled myself in a mess with my sister, who is seven years younger. I had some stuff going on in my life....I completely confided with my kids, but only partially with our mother....and not at all with my sister. Her anger and hurt at my refusal to provide her with all the intimate details of my life, led to rehashing twenty-some years worth of instances and issues that she thinks I should have handled differently. The conversation ended badly with me admitting I did not consider her part of my "inner circle" and telling her she better get use to the fact I will never be a sister of the "Hallmark Card" variety. At times, I do not argue fairly. I absolutely have zero bandwidth for discussion from her on how I parent...or other choices I make in my personal life. She has since stated publicly that I do not want her to be part of my life....and has refused to be present where I am....except for major family events and holidays.

My Mama suffers from this greatly. So... I suggested we all might want to go out for coffee or breakfast or something. Try to rebuild some communication. (Can't we all just get along?) I have some ownership in this after all. Once we had a place and time...my defense mechanisms start to kick in...and true to form I confide in my daughter who sent me the following:

You need to have an intermediate level of indifference in regards to your sister.

You need to be the better person no matter how childish she acts - but NOT trumpet or tout the fact that you are being the better person - that negates it.

You can defend yourself and lies against you, but you need to be mild mannered in your defense, no matter how hard she tries to get your goat.

Tonight is not an open bitch session for the two of you. You are getting together to make things easier for your mother, and that should be your focus, not justice for yourself against your sister.

Not all problems need to fixed tonight - or ever.

You and your sister do not need to be best friends. You just need to have a feasible relationship to be in the company of one another for you Mother's sake - remember your Mother? - who is sick and aging?

Do not attack, and don't defend (much).

If she comes at you saying something that is not true about how you feel, or what you've said or done - do not focus on how she is wrong or lying or confused or whatever. Instead, reiterate the correct point or whatever she is screwing up.

and watch your eyerolling and sighing!!!

by the powers invested in me....

Barb...over at Skittles Place....has bestowed upon me this regal honor:
If you’ve never stopped by her carnival of blogging…do so! Be patient…it takes a while…go have a cup of [fill in your beverage of choice] while its loading…cause it is totally worth the wait! She covers the entire spectrum of blogging….and it is written from her heart.

Here I am straightening my tiara...donning my sequins…and digging around in my dresser drawer for that “wand” I keep for special occasions (yes Miz Skittles….you KNOW the one I mean…)

Performing the perfect pirouette to point out my picks for the prestigious Blogging Princess Award....

Princess of Podunk (aka The Empress of The Sarge)
Many of the blogs I read have come to me via Miz Bee and her protegee The Sarge. (Their life and love remind me so much of my own grandparents.) Humorous, Patriotic, Thought-provoking, and News worthy reads have been discovered there. If you listen to The Mo Show archives you can hear her naughty southern drawl.

Princess of Halloween (aka Melsdream)
There are several realms Mel would be happy to dance around. Flutterbys…mismatched socks…and words of wisdom. But for some reason I reckon Princess of Halloween is her true calling. More than once I have printed out some little bit of Mel-insight to read again later. If you look at her little pic….you will notice she already has a wand of her very own….

Princess of Perseverance. (Desert Songbird)
Currently hanging with the InLaws this musical Mom writes heartfelt snippets of her life. Even though she battles a life threatening disease, her posts most often encourage and celebrate her friends in blogland. The comments she makes on others posts give you a clue to her thoughtful manner and rather risqué sense of humor.

As newly crowned sovereigns…covered in iridescent fairy dust…you must twirl off and designate three more…

Thursday Thirteen ~ diecinueve

desired male attributes
(working my way thru the alphabet....backwards)

quotable
quiescent
quenching
quick-thinking
qualm-soothing
quagmire-navigating
quake-savvy
quilt-sleeping
quarrel-avoiding
quandary-solving
qualified
quiver-inducing
quantum theorist

Wordless Wednesday - Paperweights