All that you shouldn't talk about

My dad once told me if you wanted to keep a friend you shouldn't talk about money, politics, and religion. My dad is so smart, but I need to have a political moment... I know, I know, I know.

Here it goes: what is McCain thinking? Could his choice for VP be more idiotic? The whole point of politics is playing The game without acknowledging you are playing The game. It's like when my mom and I would sit at Fiesta Mall between Body Shop and the cookie store and talk shit about people. We would "lose" if people saw us staring or making comments. Thin metaphor, but I like it. Clearly he is pandering to the Hillary voters unwilling to commit to Obama. Why else would he pick Palin over Ridge or Lieberman?

People don't always vote for the VPs, but I think in McCains case people should look carefully at his selection because of his age and health. One of the major gripes against Obama is his lack of experience, but we could potentially have a less experienced person if McCain were elected in to office and (god forbid) his fifth bout of cancer is the fatal one.

On a side note, was there an earthquake today or was that the evangelicals falling off their chairs when Palin was announced as McCain's running mate?

New Shoes

Good sale:

Just bought six pairs of shoes for $100 (2 for Jeff, 4 for me). 6pm.com is having a fantastic sale. Women's Sketchers are $25 and men's Adios are $20. They have a great clearance section and any order over $100 has free shipping. This place is better than Zappos.

Congrats Jeff!

Burdette, the cabinet company Jeff works for, has been going through a lot of changes in format--pretty much like any business. Needless to say, whenever this happens I get nervous. Jeff always tells me I have nothing to worry about, but I can't help it. He is such a loyal and knowledgeable employee; he has been there for over nine years, since he was in high school. Despite the fact the owners seem to love him, I know that it is a private business and they can do whatever they want, whenever they feel like it.

Jeff called me this morning and asked if I could talk. He told me he had been pulled aside by his GM to talk about his position--my stomach bottomed out, I wondered if he had been fired. It was good news, though. The GM told Jeff that he appreciated his energy and intelligence and was moving him to supervise a different, larger part of the shop. Before, he was supervising delivery and QC. It was nice to hear someone openly praising him and backing it up. It isn't a promotion per se, but a much cooler lateral move.

Now he'll see about a raise. Jeff went salary this year and it nearly killed us...

I suppose I should mention...

I finished the Twilight series. O-!-M-!-F-!-G. What a ride. Loved 'em. I bought The Host, which is Meyer's "adult" book...though I wonder how "adult" a Mormon chick's book can be. I'm not going to start it right away, I need a Meyer break.

I just started Ophelia, by Lisa Klein. It's another YA (I must be regressing), but I teach Hamlet and I have been told by credible sources that it is a great interpretation/retelling/? of the play.

I am going to read Brideshead Revisited after that and then I will get to The Host. From there I will resume reading from what I now officially refer to as "the stack". Which, if you are a reader, you know those are the books you have bought with sincere intentions of reading, but the titles are now obscured by a fine layer of dust. Yes, I will get to you soon, my darlings.

I have to admit I have not read like this for a long time. I was telling my friend, Julie, this morning that (serious moment here) reading makes me sad because it reminds me that I am not writing. Sometimes while I am reading I get inspired to write and other times annoyed because I could write the passage better. Does this make sense? I used to love to write and now I don't do it...at all. Well, except for blogging. If you note how often I blog you will see why I need to get back on the writing bandwagon.

Round 2

Severe diaper rash? Check. Snotty nose and nasty cough? Check. Throwing up, etc? Check. Scratchy throats? Check. Multiple runs to Walgreens? Check.

I need bleach, Febreze, and Lysol wipes...Stat. Everything has germs.

Mancave my butt

I don't get the whole mancave phenomenon. Seriously. Why do guys need a place to go watch movies, play video games, and get some "R & R"? The last time I checked I was doing the laundry, making dinner, shopping for groceries, tending to sick people, grading papers, cleaning the house, and so on and so forth. Not that Jeff doesn't help, but you know what I mean.

I know some people will say that I get the kitchen or other rooms to decorate , but really think about that.... it's just more space for me to work. I don't get a freaking room for relaxation!

Are wives so intolerable and life so unbearable for men that they need a room with wood paneling, overstuffed chairs, and a big screen TV? (That was a rhetorical question btw.)

Hmph.

Read up, bitches!

I was devasted to hear that the next HP movie is being delayed until next SUMMER, but overjoyed to read this. Twilight is coming a whole month earlier to theatres!!!

Katy, do you have enough frequent flyer miles to come for a GNO to the movies? I'm not kidding.

PS- I finished the first one last night and am already halfway thru the second. I am going to have to buy the third and fourth today since the school library is overrun by teenage girls lusting after the books.

I've succumbed

I was late on jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon, which is probably a good thing since I only starved for the last four books. I can't imagine how people waited as patiently as they did if they started at the beginning.






I started getting wind of the Twilight series a year or so ago from students wanting to share their latest find with their favorite English teacher. I admit I blew them off since YA isn't my cup of tea. Then my co-workers started talking and then friends started talking. I put it on "the list" of books I needed to read, but the line is long and I figured I would get to it in order.


After four straight co-worker demands, countless slack jawed stares from disappointed students, a nod from Perez Hilton, and a partridge in a pear tree I went to the school library last Tuesday and checked out Twilight. I wasn't eager to start reading since I was prepping for classes, so the poor book bounced around in my school bag for the week. Then my friend Katy blogged about starting to read the book and I decided to make the plunge--if she was going to force herself to do it, then I would too.


Last night I ignored the stack of essays shrieking my name and picked up the damn book. I went to bed 130+ pages in to it, which isn't saying much since I read fast, but says enough since it was a school night. So far, I have read 230 more...yes, while I was at school. Let me explain: I am a horrible teacher who rearranged the lesson for a couple classes to read a book. Good thing I am an English teacher, huh? Actually, I was aiming to grade the essays that I ignored last night, but... No excuses.


I checked out the second book since I know I will finish the first tonight. I don't know what will happen if I finish that one this weekend. Yes, I do, I will go buy the third. I will buy all of them eventually, since books I love are like my children and deserve a place in my home.

If I can do it, you can do it. The good news is the series is finished, so you can read all the books in a row. The other good news is that they are making movies of the series, the first one coming in December. (I will be organizing a movie night if you want to go...so far, part of one.)


It isn't great writing, but the characters are truly interesting. This is seriously the best character development I have read since The Time Traveller's Wife (another must read). I almost want to stop reading now because I am afraid for what will happen. I have had my heart broken by the HP series, I don't know if I can handle any more carnage. But, then again, they are vampires.

Gross

The boys are sick, and I mean Sick. B didn't keep much down Friday thru Sunday morning. Now he has some type of cold or it could be allergies. Who knows? Jeff has some type of stomach flu or food poisoning. Who knows? I wasn't feeling well all day Sunday, but it could have been the weather or my exhaustion.

Either way it goes, B is being kept at my parent's house tonight so I can take care of Jeff. Now I have this ominous feeling that anything I touch in the house could make me ill. Of all the times to get sick, the first week of school with the kiddos is definitely not a good one.

Bleh.

Playing hooky

I went back to school today, but I would rather not talk about that. Instead, I would like to share my Monday. Jeff took the day off to hang out with his favorite wife and child. We just got back from Oregon the day before so we were still in that post vay-cay fog and I was trying to forget I had to go to work the next day. Jeff and I are not very spontaneous, so planning a day out is horrible. We always have good ideas when we aren't planning a day out. I swear I should come up with a journal of day trips, family activities, date-nights, etc. since we just end up going to Old Chicago and talk about how boring we are. Anyway, if you ever stumble across some cheap, fun outing, I will add it to the list of things we would like to do.

We decided to try a restaurant that has Jeff's name written all over it: Chicago Hamburger Company. It specializes in hot dogs and hamburgers in, you guessed it, Chicago style. Or, as Jeff says, the way it should be.
Gotta love a place with no high chairs.
B's sexy face.
Overwhelmed by the possibilities.
This place is in Phoenix, 40th and Indian School to be exact, so we wanted to do something else in that area. We almost went to the Science Center and then the Heard Museum, but it didn't seem worth it with Jeff's knee and B being so young. So after lunch we looked for a park on the GPS. As it is 105 degrees with an abundance of humidity, the park wasn't packed. We pulled up at the same time another young couple with a toddler did. We chit-chatted for awhile with Valentino and Dominque (not kidding), and admired their son, Atreyu (again, not kidding), who is a month older than B.



I think we were only there for fifteen minutes before the sweat factor was out of control. We decided to head home since B was getting grumpy.
Really grumpy: nasty face
Totally grumpy: ignoring me
He fell asleep for a bit, check out the hair
I know this isn't a super exciting post, but I don't think you understand how dedicated Jeff is to his job. It meant a lot for him to take the day off, especially after missing time to go Oregon. Even more so since he knew that I was struggling with going back to school and our day out really took my mind of things.

Flamily reunion in Oregon*

*I know family is spelled wrong, it is an inside joke. Warning: LOTS of pic.

Jeff, Bradley, and I took our one and only family vacation this weekend. We went to Oregon for a semi-formed family reunion. We were missing half the clan, but it was still a lot of fun. Lots of pictures (it's what the Japanese do best), tons of food (Jeff I still need that Mexican salad recipe), and mucho laughs.

Jeff, B, my parents, and I arrived on Friday and did a bit of sightseeing before heading over to cousin Traci's house for a BBQ. Since most of our family is out of state, B hasn't met everyone. He was able meet some new cousins and catch up with some that he met last summer when we traveld to Portland. He had fun with Hannah, who is 15 months older than him.

(trying to be tall)

B and Nanners

B and Hannah!

The next day we went to the farmer's market in Lake Oswego. I hate that we don't have a fm close to us. The veggies were so fresh and cheap! There were also beautiful flowers, fresh donuts, and great people watching.


Keiko and Dad

Eating donuts

In Lake Oswego, leaving the farmer's market

Messing with street art

After that we headed over to the Westover house to gorge ourselves on food. As a native Arizonan I am a Mexican food snob. I am highly skeptical of attempts made by those residing outside of the Southwest. Jeff W. proved me wrong in a big way. I am still drooling over his guacamole. The rest of the Hasebe family (who could make it) showed up. All the aunts and uncles (AKA the inner circle) made it and a few more cousins. Bradley was totally spoiled with toys, books, and clothes by his Auntie Lois, Yudman cousins, and Westover cousins. After lunch we visited, lounged, and napped...basically waiting for the next meal.




Jeff, Dad, and Uncle Norman

One of the coolest people ever...Jenna!

Crazy cousin Julie

And we took tons of pictures. It was pretty absurd, though standard.

Bad light, but good times

Just after waking up from a nap (B, not Jeff)

He hates grass

Auntie Lois, Hannah, Traci, and B

Bradley and Brandon...the coolest big boy cousin

Then the "formal" pictures.

Part of the "flamily"


The baby picture


The inner circle

My pictures might not be very pro, but we were very lucky to have Jenna take some pictures of us. I can't wait to see them! We did some traditional shots, but she also did some avant garde pictures, too. Jeff loved those because he didn't have to smile. More to come on that photo shoot.

Unfortunately, we had to leave early the next morning, so the fun ended there. We had such a wonderful time, from the weather to the company, it could not have gone better. Like I needed another reason to be depressed about starting school in a couple of days... There is nothing like being in 70-degree weather, with some of my favorite people, to really drive home the dread and doom. Need proof?


What you don't see is the sheen of sweat covering him.

When we got to our car, it was over a 100-degrees.

We can't wait to go back and visit. We are actually thinking of taking another trip to Portland and then driving up to Seattle. Fingers crossed...