Painting the Country Red...

As a conservative, I am quite happy about yesterday's election results. HOWEVER I'm a bit concerned about them, as well. The Tea Party really showed itself to be a powerful force on election day. Keep the momentum moving. Don't cave. Don't let the mindless politicians who are completely disconnected from reality take control again. Let people know that there are ways to affect change, and socialism isn't it.

I can totally see the Tea Party becoming a viable third party and putting forth its own candidates in the near future (maybe even the next Presidential election). All I have to say is good job Tea Party guys and gals. Thanks for going out there and protesting when I didn't have the nerve. And thanks for helping to affect real change on this country. There is a swelling of pride in our country thanks to you and I think that things are going to start getting better very soon. Probably not 100% better, but better nonetheless.

Kisses on your heads, Tea Party. Muah. You rock.

Another topic is that of my friend, Melissa Haluszczak. She ran for Congress in Pennsylvania's 14th district. She lost with only 28% of the vote. HOWEVER...she WON 28% of the vote. In a region that is VERY Democratic and VERY liberal. In a completely grassroots campaign with very little funds, Melissa got out there and worked her butt off for every single one of those votes. I'm proud of Melissa, and what she's done. I hope she doesn't give up on a political career in the future.

OH Mannnn...

Okay, so I'm at Mission Day yesterday and my phone rings. It's Beanie's school. I answer and the school secretary says Beanie has a bad stomach ache and she wants to come home. No vomiting or anything like that... Yet.

So I leave Mission Day and hightail it over to pick up my sick baby. She is sad-faced, sitting in the office. I sign her out and we head for the door.

When we get outside, Beanie looks at me and says, "mommy, I have to tell you something." She starts crying. Holy crap, something is REALLY wrong here.

She starts telling me that she saw, posted on her new principal's door, a newspaper clipping of her (principal) being handcuffed and taken away to jail. Beanie continued to tell me (through sobbing tears) that she really didn't have a stomach ache...that she was scared and didn't know what to do, and wanted me to come and take her home where she was safe. She said that her principal was arrested for murdering one of her students at her old school and that she was only in jail for one day. She said that she told her friends at school what she saw and her friends said they were going to call the cops. One friend's dad is a police officer and she said she would tell her dad when she got home.

I looked at her and said, "there's no way..." I grabbed my iPad and Googled my heart out. Nothing. I asked Beanie for more info, and she said that's all there was. That she had been arrested and that the school raised $700 to post bail.

Something smelled fishy.

So I calmed her down best I could and told her that I would call the secretary. I did, and explained to her what was wrong, that Beanie saw something on the principal's door and it scared her. The secretary thought for a minute...

"Oh my goodness..." she said, "the principal did a fundraiser at her old school for MS. They 'arrested' her and the students had to raise money to get her out of 'jail'".

Wow.

So I thanked the secretary, asked her to address this with the other students, and hung up. I then asked Beanie if she read anything else on the clip under the picture. She said just that her principal was arrested for murdering a student (maybe it was funny to her last school, but not to kids that don't know her yet) and that her students raised money to get her out. I explained to Beanie what it was and she just stared at me.

"THAT'S STUPID!!!!! WHY THE HECK WOULD THEY DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT???????" she yelled. She's humiliated and was highly embarrassed to go back to school today.

So my baby has now learned a valuable lesson in tainted journalism. And in alternative fundraising.

My birthday

I have to say that this year's birthday was a good one. Shock and awe. Was wished a happy birthday first thing in the morning. That was a great departure from previous years when it was either completely ignored or forgotten. I went to church and our priest led everyone in singing Mnohaya Lita (many happy years) for me AND Happy Birthday. I typically don't like people making a fuss over me too much, so I normally don't say anything about my birthday to anyone at church. Thanks to Facebook, everyone knew and they sang for me. I felt the huge love behind it, so it was worth the tearful moment of embarrassment. LOL! I came home and there was a present for me (first season of True Blood on DVD) and cards and a cake. Dinner was made (frozen pizza, but I am NOT complaining) and the kids fell asleep early. I had the night off! WOW. Aside from a bit of schoolwork, I was a free woman! :-D Oh, and BTW, 57 people wished me happy birthday on FB, which REALLY made my day. :-) And yes, I thanked each and every one of them individually. It meant a lot to me that people took the time to say happy birthday and it is only right for me to say thanks.

So being 39 isn't so bad. I'm going to enjoy this last year of pre-middle-agedness ahead of me before I'm really a grownup at 40. GAH...40. But that's still 362 days in the future and I still have 362 days left to enjoy the last year of my 30s.

HOLY SWEET FLYING FARFIGNUGEN!

Why, oh why did I agree to this grad school madness? Why is it that every other sane person in this world, and in this program, has not one iota of difficulty with this? Why does everyone else post these eloquent masterpiece posts, while mine look like a doddering idiot wrote them? I frigging used the X FILES as an example in one of my latest posts, answering a question on truth. It said:

Maybe I'm dating myself here, but the phrase "The Truth is Out There" reminds me of the '90s television show, The X Files which, I believe, makes analogies here that I can use to speak to this prompt. The premise of the show was that two FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, sought to prove and alternatively disprove the theory of the existance of paranormal activity. Agent Mulder theorized, based upon personal experience and collected evidence, that paranormal activity existed. Agent Scully, on the other hand, sought to disprove Mulder's theories (based on her own beliefs) and was unable to see the parallels between what they encountered (evidence) and Mulder's theories. Her personal beliefs (or disbeliefs) got in the way of her seeing what Mulder viewed as the truth. Eventually, Mulder was able to convince Scully that his theory was true. The truth was out there for him, he knew what it was, but it took a while for him to prove it. And in the end, reshaped what Scully saw as the truth.

The same holds true in real life. I agree that there is truth out there, but it is relative to the person seeking it and, therefore, impossible to prove conclusively to everyone. Even scientific theory cannot present absolute truths. There is always another means of testing, another antidote, another species found that can alter or disprove a truth.

Personal prejudices and beliefs sometimes get in the way of finding a truth, or can alter it. Be it a personal belief or someone else's. Conversely, the same prejudices and beliefs can, in essence, become truth to the person holding them and, through the use of effective communication or propaganda, can become a widespread truth to the people hearing it.

Am I freaking insane? My professor has yet to comment, but I've noticed a few other people referencing TV shows from Dinosaurs to Hawaii 5-0. Hmm...am I starting a trend? Or just so insane that the other insane people are following me? LOL.

Hello there, it's been a while...

Beanie performing her lines at the PMT showcase
at the Byham Theater in May, 2010

The craziness of school starting is finally starting to wind down and fall activities are kicking into full swing. So before I start blogging about my experiences with Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Kyiv Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, Band and the myriad other activities the kiddos partake in, I thought I'd write a quickstart guide to my life outside of summer vacay.

My stuff:
Aside from the day-to-day work stuff, house stuff and personal grooming, I've begun a graduate program at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in Communciation Studies. I'm three days into the program and am confident that I can do this. Homework at lunchtime, while Beanie is doing HER homework and in bed at night should work. Did I mention the EIGHT papers I have to write this semester? Two 20 pagers and 6 smaller papers. GULP. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...Eyes On the Prize, baby...

Beanie's activities:
Pittsburgh Musical Theater
Beanie takes classes all day on Saturdays with PMT (she's been with them since she was 6). It's an excellent training ground for aspiring performers (and aspiring kids in general) in musical theater, dance, voice and acting. They produce broadway performers, professional actors and, more importantly, generations of children who are poised, cooperative, graceful, confident people who are natural public speakers. They perform their end of the semester showcases (like a recital) twice per year at the Byham, in front of a crowd of nearly 1,000 people. Last year was her first show and she was a villager/rich person in Once On This Island at the Hazlett Theater. She loved every minute of it, despite the I-N-T-E-N-S-E rehearsal schedule. PMT is amazing in that they attract incredible talent, hone it, and use it in amazing ways to produce professional-level productions in the Cultural District (namely, the Byham and the Hazlett theaters). They give their students amazing opportunities and I'm so very grateful to them for the experiences they have provided to Beanie. She has opened up more, grown as a person, become more graceful and vocal and understands dedication and hard work more than I could have ever taught her. This year is a BIG season, the 20th anniversary, and they are going to do some HUGE productions...Phantom, Hairspray, Cats, Seussical, and Beauty and the Beast. Auditions will be in a few weeks and Beanie's working hard on her audition piece.

Kyiv Ukrainian Dance
Beanie is a Ukrainian dancer. I was a Ukrainian dancer. My mom was a Ukrainian dancer. My grandmother was a Ukrainian dancer. Beanie is the FOURTH generation to learn and perform with this amazing folk dance group. I can't tell you how incredible it makes me feel to know that my children are learning about their heritage and carrying on a family legacy. Budgie is starting dance this year, as well. The athleticism involved with Ukrainian dance, especially for the guys, will truly help him with his sports.

Band
Beanie decided that she wants to be in the school band. W00T. She wants to play the flute, which means that there will be practice every night, added on to her 40 minutes of homework per night. Yee haw. Can't wait for THIS one. We are going to do our homework together every night and I can see it now...

My reading: And the crux of the juxtaposition of the perpendicular pretenses

Beanie: TWWEEEETTT

My reading: and the horticultural bias of the nanobots

Beanie: TWEEEEEET

My reading: in the hemispherical stratosphere is non-negotiable

Beanie: HONNNNKKKK

My reading: in many non-isopheric horcruxes.

Beanie: MOMMMM How do you empty the spit, again?

Did I ever tell you that I have an aversion to spit?

Yeah, this is gonna be FUNNNNNN!!!

So until next week when all this craziness starts, I'll be enjoying my last few minutes of freedom...and my last frozen margarita of the summer this weekend.

Have a happy Labor Day, everyone.

ARRRRR Tis Pirate Island it be...

I'm all for imagination play. Or as Spongebob says, Im A gin AAAAAAAAA tion. :-) On Sunday after church, Budgie decided to take out his ImagiNEXT pirate set (about $300 worth of toys, but who's counting) and play Pirate Island in the backyard. Not knowing what Pirate Island was, and thinking he would play in the NICE CLEAN GRASS I let it go and finished doing laundry.

About an hour later, I hear the siren's cry of the excited four-year-old.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!! Come see!

I put down the socks I was matching and went outside to look.

Budgie had constructed the most AMAZING play scenario I'd ever seen. In the sand under the swing set he had dug out a lake, with smaller inlets where he could pour water to keep the lake full. He had placed his enormous pirate ship in the water, set up the cannons, put out his crew, set up the island for attack, buried his treasure chests and even populated the "jungle" (a patch of crabgrass) with dinosaurs and other animals. It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Beanie and Budgie played for HOURS with that setup.

And after everyone else had gone to bed, and my chores were done for the day, I went out in the dark and squirted sand from every square inch of the toys, including the cracks and crevices of the pirate ship. Under normal circumstances, I would have been pissed off that my spouse left the toys in the yard in the muck to be ruined or for me to clean up. But this ONE time it didn't bother me so much. I was happy that my kids had such an awesome time and used their Im A gin AAAAAAAAA tions to the point of literal exhaustion.

Yesterday, while I was at work, Pirate Island made another guest appearance. And sure enough Mom was out there AGAIN hosing off the cast of characters again, in the dark, while everyone else slept. And you know what? It didn't bother me a bit.

Are we Almost There Yet?

SIGH.

When summer first starts, I'm a happy camper. No dragging Beanie out of bed at 6:30 so that she and I can fight over the bathroom and what uniform pieces she is going to wear that day (I thought uniforms made this go away???? LOL). No packing lunches. Nothing. Just two (hopefully) sleeping kids when I roll out of bed at 7:00 and into the shower and out the door by 7:30.

I've grown lazy. I've only had to care for myself in this time. The kids' teeth are brushed while I'm sitting at my desk at work, reading emails. Their breakfast is eaten while I'm most likely in a meeting. But that is soon to end, my friends...soon I will be wrestling Beanie for pole position at the sink while yelling at Budgie to quit eating sissy's Lunchables.

Oh, the Lunchable dilemma is another story for another time.

Beanie received her school bus notification postcard in yesterday's mail. Bus number 57, arrives at 7:25 a.m. sharp on August 30!

sigh.

I guess this means that I'd better go and get her replacement pieces of uniform she outgrew this summer. I swear she's grown 6 inches...

And I'd better get myself ready to start school. Yup, I'm taking the leap and restarting my master's program. Gotta get it done and now is probably better. Before dance and football and music theater and...and...and...begins to encroach on my few remaining free hours.

So what is the point of all this?

1. stream of consciousness
2. School starts soon. Budgie starts next year so this will be his last year of freedom.
3. I am tired of people blogging about the oil spill and the Obamas and everything else.

There. All this AND it's Friday the 13th. Whoopee freakin' doo!!! *looks up at ceiling, waiting for a tile to fall on my head*