Thursday, September 30, 2004

Debate Night!

I just wanted to add that I am super-duper hyped about the first presidential debate tonight! We will be having a few friends over to grumble, eat chinese food, and drink beer. I really have absolutely no idea what to expect tonight, despite all the meaningless speculation and expectation-talk I've been hearing on the radio and reading online. I think that at this point it's getting down to make it or break it for Kerry though so we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Nothing like getting all riled up and yelling at your tv on a Thursday night!

Fun and Sun

Here are a few photos from our vacation last weekend:


jason in the floatie
Jason thinking he is just so funny.


tracey and ava in the pool
Me and Ava relaxing in the pool.

walking on the beach
Our post-hurricaine walk on the beach.

footprints
Juliana's footprints in the sand!

If you would like to see the rest of our photos you can find them here.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Weekend Good. Homecoming Hectic.

I feel like reverting back to caveman speak right now- grunting once for affirmative, twice for negative. But more on that later. First of all, vacation was fantastic! Highlights included enjoying dinner and beers while watching the sky turn funny colors over the water as Hurricaine Jeanne moved onto the Florida mainland. (This was enjoyable and not terrifying since Naples was well southwest of the actual storm.) Also notable was a beautiful post-hurricaine walk along the Gulf, collecting shells and skipping through the waves. Two tasty meals out were enjoyed along with one lousy one (note to everyone, if you're ever in southwest Florida- DON'T EAT AT NOODLES ITALIAN CAFE unless you want mediocre food and rude service!) Ava adjusted wonderfully to travelling. She slept like a dream and was hap-hap-happy the entire time (except for one incident involving a turtle floatie pool toy that was apparently too scary for her.). Juliana enjoyed being whisked away into the land of mega-bubble baths, makeup and candy treats. So much, that she was very sad to leave and I think is still angry at me for taking her away from Grandma Joanie. We even arrived home to a spotless house because I'm just so disciplined like that.

Today, however, I could have done without. Ava, who slept fifteen hours a day in Florida in her comfy-comfy little playpen suddenly decided that she slept enough on vacation to last her until next Tuesday. Juliana, being jet-lagged and grandparent-free now has returned to her usual tricks. Sassy sassy girl! I know she's just over-tired and sad that she had to leave the land where she is the center of attention at all times but I think my voice is ready to give out from lecturing and time-out giving and counting to three a hundred and fifty times today. Thankfully my TIVO was at work taping stuff for me all weekend so I'm now going to go upstairs and see what wondrous treasures it is holdng for me. Couch. Television. Bed. Now.

Score One For Comedy Central!

The folks at Comedy Central were annoyed when Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly kept referring to "The Daily Show" audience as "stoned slackers." So they did a little research. And guess whose audience is more educated?

Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research.

O'Reilly's teasing came when Stewart appeared on his show earlier this month.

"You know what's really frightening?" O'Reilly said. "You actually have an influence on this presidential election. That is scary, but it's true. You've got stoned slackers watching your dopey show every night and they can vote."

Comedy Central executives realized, and O'Reilly acknowledged, that he was poking fun. But they said they didn't want a misconception to persist.


I watched that episode of O'Reilly and about choked when he pulled a completely made-up statistic out of his bum that 87% of people who watch the Daily Show are drunk while watching. I was so happy to see this new little blurb in the news today! The whole article is here.

Oh yeah, and we picked up Jon's new book this weekend. Whee!

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Bob Wiley, Eat Your Heart Out

Well, I really should be packing right now instead of on the computer, but I just wanted to pop in and say I'M GOING ON VACATION TOMORROW! Of course, this is a family vacation to Florida to visit my grandparents with our children in tow but it's a VACATION nonetheless. A real live, honest-to-god vacation. Oh, and by the way, did I mention I'm going on VACATION tomorrow? Tomorrow we will vacate! I'm vacating! How many times can I say the word before it loses all meaning? There will be much documentation of said vacation so look for pictures in the next few days. Now, I must pack. Ahoy!

(Just so you know, I just saw the movie What About Bob? on tv the other day for about the hundredth time and it keeps getting funnier every time I see it.)

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

"I'm through with love, I'll never love again...."

Well, this past Sunday was spent helping my sister-in-law and her daughter move out of her now-ex-fiance's house and back into her parent's house. Super fun for all! Wait, not really. I feel really bad about the whole situation but mostly I will never understand how a person can go from "Yes, I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you because you are my favorite person in the whole world and I never want to be without you" to (with no explanation) "Um, I don't think this isn't going to work." Yeah. Either you must be a completely cold, unfeeling person or you never understood the significance of the whole thing in the first place. I'm thinking the latter.

Saturday, September 18, 2004

This Breaks My Heart

Ever since the day I found out I was pregnant with Ava, I became a lurker on a couple of message boards for women that were expecting babies in December 2003. It was through the December 2003 Babies board on babycenter.com where I first read about a family with an adorable little baby girl named Allie who was diagnosed with leukemia this past spring. I have followed her story all summer through the mother's online journal and I was incredibly sad to read this week that baby Allie passed away. I can't even imagine what a horrible thing that must be to go through for those parents. This is the link to their online journal, but I'm warning you, don't read it if you aren't ready to cry. It really is heartbreaking. I will never understand why things like this have to happen.

Friday, September 17, 2004

Good Mail, Good Times

I got my voter registration card in the mail! Yipee!! I was starting to get worried about it since I sent my registration info in about a month ago and hadn't heard anything back yet. However, I found a site yesterday where Cook County residents can check whether or not you are registered to vote and where your voting facility is located at and I breathed a sigh of relief to find my name listed. Thank you Cook County election department! Can you imagine if after all my whining and complaining about the government if something had gone wrong and I was unable to vote in the election? Egads. Well, all is good and I am ready to go. Now, if only I was registered to vote in Wisconsin, then we'd be talkin'.

Other news: I have been asked to dance in a piece that will be performed in February of next year! It's actually the same piece I performed in over a year ago for Motivity, but the choreographer has been asked to show it again so that means yay! Big fun for me! I don't have a lot of details, only that I will be starting rehearsals again soon (and scrutinizing the video from the last show since I seem to have lost almost all memory of what I actually did in the piece.) I'm excited to work with Sasha again and to perform with the other three girls since we got along so well and really had a great time creating it together the first time around. Plus, this time I can guarantee you I will not be ten weeks pregnant and trying to hide it from the world when I perform. Sigh. It will be so nice to dance again and I really miss performing so I'm completely excited about this.

Plus, a little taste of Juli and Maddie's art show, opening this October:





Sunday, September 12, 2004

Hee Hee

Smurf Name Generator

If you type in George Bush, you get Naughty Smurf, while John Kerry is Fictitious Smurf.

Hours and hours of amusement, people. (And if you must know, I am Junkie Smurf).

Other good ones:

John Ashcroft: Hannibal Smurf
Donald Rumsfeld: Talk to the Hand Smurf
Condoleeza Rice: Fundamentalist Smurf
Bill Clinton: Pimpin' Smurf

Thursday, September 9, 2004

French Toast Sticks....

Do you know what it means that I now have a child attending school within the U-46 school district? It means that I get to order food from Market Day! It seems like just yesterday that my mom was ordering me chocolate chip cookie dough from them. Mmmmmm..... pre-packaged goodness that is soooo bad for me.....

Wednesday, September 8, 2004

Scare Tactics? We Got 'Em!

��It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States," Cheney told supporters at a town-hall meeting Tuesday.

Because if Bush wins, terrorism will go away and there is no way we will ever be attacked again. Am I right? Be afraid people, and never forget it.


Plus, more funny Alan Keyes news!

Tuesday, September 7, 2004

Hate Fest, Schmate Fest: Whoopi Ain't Got Nuthin' on Zell

Week old news, I know, but since I only watched smatterings of the RNC last week I didn't see the hilarious footage of Zell Miller challenging Chris Matthews of Hardball to a duel until over the weekend. OH MY GOD THIS WAS FUNNY. What is wrong with Zell that he couldn't handle being questioned on some of his talking points? Easier to take the "shut up" approach O'Reilly style, I guess. There are less words to remember at least. I didn't think I'd ever say this but lately I'm really really liking Chris Matthews more ane more.
But anyway, I don't think my jaw could have hit the floor any harder after watching his speech last Wednesday. Anyone remember just a few months ago a little Hollywood fundraiser for Kerry in which everyone had a hissy fit over some dirty jokes Whoopi Goldberg told referring to Bush? I seem to remember the words HATE-FEST being repeated over and over the next day until they were practically tatooed in my brain. And those were celebrities taking part in the bashing. The fury unleased last Wednesday was by actual government officials, and it was applauded. Can you imagine if the DNC had had a night like this one? I can:

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!

I don't really care about a little bashing and sniping on either side, but stop boo-hooing about it when it happens to you. Both sides are guilty of it and to accuse your opponent of a holding "hate-fest" and then turning around and having one of your own on national television is just a little bit hypocritical.

I probably would continue to be angry about this if that whole dueling scene hadn't played out, thus causing my head to practically explode from laughter. That really made my day.

Sunday, September 5, 2004

Blah.

I'm very disappointed in people lately. Just really appalled at how weak they can be. That's all I have to say. Once again, I find myself realizing how incredibly lucky I am.

Thursday, September 2, 2004

...

" Throughout his political career Bush has adamantly denied that he got a Guard pilot spot through preferential treatment. That, despite the fact Bush was jumped ahead of a nationwide waiting list of 100,000 Guard applicants, while achieving the lowest possible passing grade on his pilot aptitude test for would-be fliers, and listing"none" as his background qualifications."

Ben Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Texas, claims to have pulled strings to get George W. Bush (along with other young men from wealthy families) into the Texas National Guard in 1968. He will be the focus of an upcoming story on 60 minutes this week.

Swift Boat Veterans? Pshaw. Let's see if anybody cares though.

Also, is Alan Keyes part of some social experiment that the Republican Party is conducting? Even the republicans don't want anything to do with him! They would have better to just concede the Illinois Senate seat to Obama and try the next time around but instead we have crazy old Keyes running around calling gay people selfish hedonists. (Of course a lot of people in the party probably agree with him- they're just not saying it out loud.) The people at the RNC this week are trying so hard to make people believe they are moderates and Keyes is spitting in their faces! It amuses me, and frankly I need something to be amused at after hearing this week that the Republican party's new platform calls not only for a ban on gay marriage but is against civil unions and any legal right for gay partners as well. Plus, before the ink is even dry on this documnet they start parading Rudy Giuliani and Arnold around like they are even close to being an accurate representation of what the party stands for. And they said the Democrats we're being deceptively optimistic and patriotic at their convention? Honestly, I haven't been able to stomach any of the convention coverage this week, although I've done a lot of reading about it. I know I really should watch since I watched the DNC last month but honestly, at this point there is really nothing anybody, anywhere could ever see to make me vote for Bush. I think somebody would have to tell me that Kerry eats babies in order for me to even consider rethinking my decision. (And don't you think somebody right now is trying to spin something Kerry once said into "He wants to eat babies!) So I will continue to run and hide in the bedroom when Jason turns on the convention again tonight, sticking my fingers in my ears and singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" until it's safe to come out again- or at least until it's time to watch The Daily Show.