Happy Independence Day!

This is me standing outside the National Archives last October. No pictures may be taken inside, of course, because the flash is not a good idea for the precious documents stored there. It was a pretty thrilling day for me, seeing the Delcaration of Independence, the Magna Carta, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights... handwritten by those who are long gone, but who did so much for this country, and who have inspired me for years!

It's going to be a quiet day here in the LeftLeaning house since both DSD and BabyBoy have to work. I am going to work on my book review and continue to prepare for the company due in next weekend.

I hope your day is wonderful and blessed with laughter, love, and some great food!

A Brief Hello!

Back to work, back to school, very lazy about posting during the holidays, that is me in a nutshell. But our Christmas was filled with family (some of which I actually like) and our New Year celebration was filled with alcohol and good friends without a hangover on Saturday.

On top of that, apparently Penn State wanted to lose the Outback Bowl more than the Gators did, so Coach Meyer finished his time with the Gator Nation on a high note!

I am STILL working on the post about DC and the blogger meet-up. It will happen.

But someone (I don't remember who) asked me to post the analysis I did of Jon Stewart's Rally Speech. The analysis was for my speech class and (reading back over it) I think (with a great deal of false modesty) I did a pretty good job.

That will be the next post.

I would like to post about the upcoming end of the world also, but maybe someone already has?

Happy 2011 To Each and Every One of You!

The Post Where I Eventually Wish You a Happy Holiday!

On the way home from work on Tuesday, the NPR station out of Tallahassee was being flaky, so I was flipping through the dial looking for some Christmas music and came across some Talk Radio program that I had never heard.  The host was a guest host or something, and the discussion was on this newly proposed Constitutional Amendment where the states could vote to overthrow the Federal government.  What?  That isn’t what is being proposed?  Maybe not, but it sure seems like the states want the right to tell Washington to “Go to Hell!”  Or at least be able to say, “We don’t have to have health care if we don’t want it.”  Which, of course, is where the idea of and the push for this Amendment started.

But I digress.

The host went off on what he called “the allegedly fiscally responsible Republican party” and lambasted my beloved state for the monstrosity it just spent millions on for the Florida Supreme Court.  He said he didn’t want to allow Florida (he was in Tampa) to spend his tax dollars if they couldn’t do better than that and he wanted callers to tell him why their state was better.

Of course no one could.

But the next caller didn’t even try.  He just said Hi and started being critical of the new law passed to allow more inspections of food.  Apparently this new law is going to cost the taxpayers over a billion dollars a year.  Wow. 

But I don’t mind an extra billion being spent to ensure my food is safe, even as I plan to try to grow more of it at home myself.  (TRY being the operative word here)  I don’t mind an extra billion being spent to ensure equality.  I don’t mind an extra billion being spent on AIDS research. 

I do mind when extra billions are put into the hands of those who already have more money than they or their descendants will ever need, but the long term unemployed can go EFF themselves.  I do mind when extra billions are spent propping up wobbly dictators, but our military with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) cannot get the best cognitive care available because it will run over $50,000 per soldier/sailor/airman.  And then many trillions are spent sending in the troops to take out those dictators once we no longer find him (or her!) useful, but still no money for TBI rehabilitation.

Still, it is the holiday season, whether your holidays include Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan, Winter Solstice Celebrations, or just a couple of extra days off work and I would like to think that I can count my blessings. 

1.  Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is now just a fading nightmare for many.  It is not yet perfect, and it will take months to allow gay service members to live their lives openly and honestly, but it will happen now.  I hope this is a sign of the equality to come.

2.  My taxes are not going up.  With DSD still out of work (he has completed 2 years of unemployment) things are getting a little tighter and I don’t think we could afford a tax hike right now.

3.  My step daughter and I have patched up our relationship and I am enjoying this grandparent thing.  And my growing friendship with her.

4.  I can see the end in sight for my Bachelor’s Degree.  About 18 more months and I can make the walk.  It is going to be work for those 18 months, but I will have that degree.

5.  The Republicans didn’t win the House.

6.  W is still no longer President.

7.  Health.  Mine.  DSD’s.  My in-laws who are in their 70s.  My parents who are in their 60s.  The children.  A friend’s mother lost her battle with cancer last night.  My heart breaks for the family even while I rejoice in the health that we have.

8.  All of you in blog land who stick by me even when I have no time for you.  Who post the things I wish I had written.  Who make me laugh and cry and so thankful.

Happy Holidays from me to you.  I hope yours are the best ever.

Getting There and Thankful For It

I am in the last two weeks of this term and ready for it to be completed. I have one last speech to give tomorrow night, which is 99% complete. The Powerpoint is probably only 35% complete, so I have work to do tonight. I am looking forward to it, since it is about college football and (even though I have not blogged about it much this year) I do still love college football AND my Gators... even when they suck!

So, finish the speech and the Powerpoint, write one paper about a speech given by someone else (imagine, I chose Jon Stewart's end of Rally speech) and take two final exams. Hooray! I am ready.

Our Thanksgiving was fun. DSD's oldest boy decided he wasn't coming for dinner if he couldn't bring his dog... who has never met any of us OR Lola. It would have been a nightmare. He wasn't missed. A friend who normally comes brought her mother and her mother's boyfriend. SleepyEd is our nickname for him. They arrived at 2 and he had to be awakened for dinner... at 3. Then he was in the kitchen with BabyBoy demanding dessert before most of us were done with dinner. No offers to help with the cooking or the cleanup. He then proceeded to go BACK to sleep until time to go. WOW!

There was a slight discussion on taxes and how unfair it is to raise taxes on the rich, but it was held outside of my hearing, because they were afraid they weren't going to get dinner if I overheard probably.

Still in a funk, but I am blaming it on hormones and exhaustion (and the exhaustion can be partially blamed on the hormones and the fact that I am not sleeping).

So for the rest of you in a funk. Read this. It is a really beautiful story. It may not help your funk, but it may give you a nice happy tears cry.

AND, I just received an Email from the NewYorkTimes saying that the Senate passed a bill on food safety. 75-25. Huh. Bi-partisan? Must be something wrong.

Happy Holidays

From our House to Yours! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Hanukkah! Or just Please Enjoy Your Time Off!

Let Freedom Ring

I wanted to write something inspirational on this lovely day where we remember those who started this great experiment we call the United States of America. I wanted to write beautifully about the Declaration of Independence and how we see it now, 233 years later.

I just don't think I have that kind of talent, or that kind of time, since we are headed to the lake shortly. But Mustang Bobby does. Read his thoughts and then, if you have time, read the Declaration. We aren't perfect, but we are the best experiment going.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Happy Birthday America.

Happy Father's Day!

Originally published in 2008.


To my dad, who is the absolutely most wonderful dad in the world. Sure, we went weeks without speaking to each other during my teen years. Sure, he told me (at the top of his lungs) I was making a mistake when I decided to marry the X (and he was right!). Sure, he could be tardy when I needed a ride and managed to find SOMEONE he knew everywhere we went (no joke, we were on our way down a ski lift in Gatlinburg, TN and there was a guy at the bottom calling my dad's name!)

But he was always there. Everytime I did anything, whether cheerleading, band, chorus, softball, basketball or the time I was picked to do my Helen Keller in 6th grade in front of the PTA. And he is always there to this day. I could pick up the phone right now and say, "Daddy, I need ..." I would have it if it was within his power.

My wish is that every little girl have a Daddy like mine. The world would be a much better place.

I love you, Dad.

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom did not have the easiest life growing up. She was the youngest girl of many children whose parents were... well, they sucked. She was not shown love, respect or taught how to love or respect others. She wasn't really raised; she just survived.

She swore that when she had children their lives would be different. She was going to be a good mother.

And she has been. She has been the best mother that any girl could have asked for. She has been there for me every single time I have needed her or thought that I needed her and many many many times when I didn't know that I needed her. She never got beyond a high school diploma. She never made millions. But she definitely attained her goal of being a good mother.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you!

Crafty Mom! ****Updated**** Now contains a picture of my project

I am normally not a crafty person. I don't mean that I can't be sneaky and sly, people, I mean, I do not 'rag' my walls (whatever the hell that is) and I didn't know what decoupage was until I was in my late 30's and I still have never tried it. And am not really sure WHY anyone would.

Now that does not mean that I do not appreciate those whose talents fall in the arts and crafts arena. Shel, who normally does her blogging on Yah Sure, You Betcha!, also has a blog on scrapbooking and I have been there and I have no idea what she is talking about. But everything is very nice. Many people paint, scrapbook, do beadwork, etc and thoroughly enjoy it and that is wonderful, but my interests have never run in that particular direction.

Last month when BabyBoy had his theatrical debut, I wanted to do something for him. Flowers seemed lame, since, you know, male. Not into flowers. So I wrestled with the whole thing and then contacted MustangBobby, because he is a playwrite and spends a lot of time in and around the theatre. He had the brilliant suggestion of having BabyBoy's program matted and framed. Genius!

But I went to the conference at Disney, came home to Thanksgiving and never got it done. I figured it would be ok, I would have it done for Christmas. No problem. Buy a frame. Buy a matt. Done.

Only finding the correct size matting proved impossible. So then I was looking at custom matting. $$$$$$$ And I wanted to get him more than just the one gift!

There had to be a solution.

And I found it. I bought an inexpensive 16x20 frame, poster board, construction paper, scrapbooking glue, and some really adorable scrapbooking thingys (I'm certain there is a correct term for them, but I have no idea what it is). BabyBoy's girlfriend managed to snag some pictures of him on stage and I set to work.

And this was work! Which picture should be prominent? What colors should I use? White background? Yellow? The red that was orange, I don't care what the sign said?

The entire thing took HOURS and more trips to the arts and crafts store than I made during the entire year I planned my wedding.

But it's done. And I am so proud of it! And I hope he loves it. I really wanted something that would commemorate his first role in a real play and that showed him how very proud I am that he is following his dreams. I don't know if I managed to convey all that, but I am very ready for Christmas morning when he opens it.

I hope you managed to find, buy, create that perfect gift for your loved ones. And I hope your holidays are the best ever.

The LeftLeaning household wishes you and yours Happy Holidays and a very, very Happy New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone

I was reading what I wrote last year on Thanksgiving and realized that (with a few minor changes) everything still applies. So here is last year's list of the things I am thankful for, slightly updated.

An awesome 19 year old son
A wonderful husband
Great parents, Ozzie and Harriet had nothing on my Mom and Dad (although I would bet money that my dad is louder than Ozzie ever thought of being).
Fabulous friends (you really find out who your friends are when the tent is late on your wedding day)
Super In-laws... at least the ones I have met.
A job I thoroughly enjoy.
A lot of great co-workers (not all, but then life can't be perfect)
A nice house
The fact that the elections are over!
Great blogs
Hope, that my son will continue to grow as a man, that my husband and I have many years to be together, that anyone reading this feels as blessed in life as I do right this minute, that the newly elected President of this country will do as great a job as we all expect, that peace will happen in my lifetime.

Happy Thanksgiving. Let's all remember that not everyone is as lucky as we are.

Thank you

To those who have served in whatever capacity to allow our country to remain free.

To those who have supported them, you are heroes also.

To those who are working so hard to protect our men and women in uniform by bringing them home.

What Was I Thinking?

Ok, I know what I was thinking when I signed up for this class. I was thinking it was going to be an extraordinary amount of information in a very short time and that I was going to spend a lot of time studying in the month of July. I did not know about the 10 page paper requirement and, for some reason, I thought the lectures would be delivered in a clear, consice, coherant manner allowing me to take notes to use to study later. What a concept.

Sadly, the instructor is not very good. He reads from old lectures and then just throws random definitions at us that don't seem to fit anywhere in the lecture. He is from somewhere in the NE and he talks FAST. I get about every fourth word and I am a pretty good note taker. So I have a recorder that I am using to tape the class. This means that I get to live through the lectures twice and that takes away time from actually studying the notes. Add that to the 10 page paper requirement (I have just over 2 pages so far) and I am spending a lot of time in front of the computer, but not doing anything fun. :-(

I did manage to get away on the 4th and go with BabyBoy to see "Hancock." This has been a tradition for us since the divorce that we watch a movie on the 4th of July, because normally there is no one else there. The place was packed this year. I actually enjoyed "Hancock" because it is funny. I give it an A+ for hilarity and a C- for storyline (although that is probably a little generous).

I hope everyone in BlogLand had a wonderful, fun, happy & SAFE Independence Day.

A toast to this country of ours and to hoping that things are better next year.

Happy Father's Day

To my dad, who is the absolutely most wonderful dad in the world. Sure, we went weeks without speaking to each other during my teen years. Sure, he told me (at the top of his lungs) I was making a mistake when I decided to marry the X (and he was right!). Sure, he could be tardy when I needed a ride and managed to find SOMEONE he knew everywhere we went (no joke, we were on our way down a ski lift in Gatlinburg, TN and there was a guy at the bottom calling my dad's name!)

But he was always there. Everytime I did anything, whether cheerleading, band, chorus, softball, basketball or the time I was picked to do my Helen Keller in 6th grade in front of the PTA. And he is always there to this day. I could pick up the phone right now and say, "Daddy, I need ..." I would have it if it was within his power.

My wish is that every little girl have a Daddy like mine. The world would be a much better place.

I love you, Dad.