Tuesday, March 30, 2010 by Dana.

I like to consider myself as being liberal, but I guess I won’t go so far as to call myself a Liberal. Damn bleeding hearts now want to prevent a Cuban restaurant from serving rabbit on Easter.  Rabbit is a common menu item in many countries, and just because someone has a soft spot for rabbits doesn’t mean a restaurant shouldn’t serve them.  It’s not like dog or cat is on the menu… geesh!  What’s next? No roast duck because little ducklings are cute on Easter?  I suppose a 3-egg omelet is out of the question on Easter too?

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Monday, March 22, 2010 by Dana.

We’ve had a wet winter in the Sonoran Desert, which has led to some of the greenest “carpet” on the mountains that I’ve ever seen here.  Our hike on Sunday morning was beautiful.  I snapped this photo, which included a lovely patch of yellow wild flowers near the top of the ridge.

All the lush vegetation yields more insects à more lizards & birds à more small mammals & snakes à more birds of prey & larger mammals, such as this coyote roaming the streets near our house.

So what is the downside?

1.       More risk to house pets from birds of prey and coyotes.

2.       Huge risk of wildfires when the heat comes this summer.

3.       My allergies (and everyone else allergic to pollen) going crazy.

All in all… the downsides are no biggie, don’t you think?

Posted in Weather, Desert, Suburbia | Print | No Comments »

Monday, March 8, 2010 by Dana.

Last night I gave my own personal commentary on Twitter as I watched the Oscars.  If you missed it or don’t follow me on Twitter, here is a summary in reverse order (first tweet at bottom, most recent tweet at top), so you may want to read from the bottom up. 

• Hurt Locker puts a hurting on the others! Bummed that I haven’t seen it yet… and @Karen_Kline just turned the channel to Big Love. #oscars

• ZOMG! Is Jesse James crying in that cut-away shot? #oscars

• I think @Karen_Kline might go back to brunette to just to get more “you look like Sandra Bullock” comments. #oscars

• Props to the ceremony planners for the cool introductions of the Best Actor nominees #oscars

• Baldwin & Martin in snuggies! Best infomercial moment of the #oscars

• Avatar special effects made Sigourney Weaver look hot again - of course it would win! #oscars

• WTF? Interpretive dance routine from Napoleon Dynamite? Will you get to Best Pitcture award soon? #oscars

• Demi Moore, why did you skip the John Hughes tribute? And why did you let them paint you orange like Sarah Jessica Parker? #oscars

• Winner of sound something? Is that the villian from Die Hard? You’re brother squealed when I broke is F’ing neck! #oscars

• Half way through… lost 1 follower, gained 1.  #oscarcommentary

• Can you say condescending bitch? Nobody still knows who are.  What was your name? #oscars

• Mo’nique can probably give Mo’lovin. But wouldn’t want to piss her off - Mo’slappin! #oscars

• Don’t know what to say? Start with “Thank you!” And this guy is a writer? #fail #oscars

• Delightful squeal (from me this time) for Rachel McAddams #oscars

• Yes! Love the new Cottonelle Roll Over! 72% of us can’t be wrong! #oscarcommercials

• Couldn’ t they have done Best Make-up off the air? Did they just owe Stiller air time? #oscars

• Roger Ross WIlliams ran down to the stage from the back like he was the next contestant on The Price Is Right! Bid well! #oscars

• I think me and several million others killed imdb.com looking up some of this movie history and such #oscars

• Ok.. no knocks about John Hughes! I grew up with those movies! #oscars

• I have to see the Hurt Locker now. Just because I want to know why it has such a lame title. #oscars

• Do you feel extraordinary when you have diet coke WITH Jack Daniels? I feel invincible after 4 & asleep after 5. #oscarcommercials

• Another delightful squeal from @Karen_Kline “oohhh Chris Pine” #oscars

• Randy Newman tried to stack the deck with 2 songs! Nice try! #oscars

• Squirrel!!! #oscars

• More squeals of delight from @Karen_Kline for Ryan Reynolds #oscars

• I didn’t see a single movie from the Best Actor category. They must all suck. #oscars

• I like the bald Jeff Bridges from Ironman, but this facial hair is better. #oscars

• And this is Alec Baldwin. Classic! #oscars

• Shouldn’t they have gay men dancing in support of Neil Patrick Harris’ opening song? Wait… they’re there. #oscars

• Kathy Ireland! Even hotter than when in Necessary Roughness! I just eye-F’d her but she didn’t notice me through the camera #oscars

• Meryl Streep would be the coolest mom! You know she would totally party with you & probably drink you under the table! #oscars

• Good to see Kate Winslett being thinner than the fat Cameron Diaz, even if that Revolutionary Road movie sucked! #oscar

• WTF? Miley Cyrus is in the top 100 influential women? Too many sheep out there if you are a woman and influenced by her. #oscars

• Sadly, only 133 followers and my 13 yr old gets to see how witty I can be tonight #oscars commentary

• Cameron Diaz looks like she has been eating all of Sandra Bullock’s meals this week. Looks 20lbs from her Shallow Hal weight. #oscars

• Why is Sarah Jessica Parker colored orange? Is she the anti-Na’vi? #oscars

• Wife (@Karen_Kline) just squealed with delight, “Ahhh Ryan Reynolds! ” as he got 1.23 seconds of camera time #oscars

• Sandra Bullock did the “don’t eat for 1 wk before the Oscars” diet. Quick, someone give her a cheeseburger before she passes out!

• 5 min til I start tweeting about Oscar events you all watched an hour ago! Follow me if you are also slow

• The AZ timezone sucks for watching live events. I get to watch everything an hour everyone else is done talking about it.

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Monday, March 8, 2010 by karen.

I just heard about a school in Denver that is rejecting a preschooler due to the fact the child has 2 moms.  http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/22769137/detail.html

I understand the catholic religion pretty well and while same-sex relationships are deemed inappropriate along with many other lifestyle choices, it just seems ridiculous.   I attended catholic school for 8yrs and was raised catholic continuing to attend mass into my mid 20’s.  I was married in the catholic church and had my children baptized.  I was also one of 3 sisters to become pregnant before marraige.  We were still accepted into the church and our children were accepted as well.  Even after a divorce, the church accepts you.  I remember attending school with kids who’s parents were divorced or going through a divorce but they were still able to attend the school.  I am confident there are lesbian/gay teachers in this country working at catholic schools but perhaps the demand for quality teachers is so high the church over looks them.  Where do they get off to simply choose who they are going to throw stones at?   I assume divorce is so common that it is simply accepted in the modern church.  How long until same sex marraiges/relationships are allowed in the catholic church?

Lesbian moms, why even bother to enroll your daughter at a catholic school?  You should know better.  Perhaps the education quality is the reason, but there are many other high-priced education facilities for your child to attend where you and she will be accepted. 

Posted in Sex, parents, school, kids | Print | No Comments »

Sunday, March 7, 2010 by Dana.

Don’t stay at “historic” hotels if you want comfort, a nice bed, and a shower that does more than give you a warm water mist… and don’t eat the chef special because it just might be the nasty, old meat they are trying not to throw away.

Last night the wife and I drove up to Prescott from sunny Phoenix to party on historic Whiskey Row with our friend’s band. This time we decided to stay at the historic Hotel St. Michael just 2 doors down from the bar where our friend was playing.  We arrived around 8pm and checked-in to our 8’ x 10’ room with a view of the brick wall of the building next door.  We split the chef special at the hotel’s Bistro, washing it down with dirty vodka martinis.

We made it to Matt’s Saloon to have a drink with our friend’s band on their first set break. Over the 90 minutes, we danced and drank a little. Then at the start of the third set, the wife got sick.  Something came over her quickly, so we marched back to the hotel on the corner.  She fell asleep trying to make her tummy feel better, and I fell asleep next to her.  Then I developed the same stomach cramps with a bad headache sometime in the middle of the night.  We now think we both picked up some mild food poisoning from the meal we shared at the Bistro.  In the late morning, we rolled out of bed and hit the road after a quick shower.

The point of all this background information?  Now you know why you should not stay at “historic” hotels if you want comfort, a nice bed, and a shower that does more than give you a warm water mist… and don’t eat the chef special because it just might be the nasty, old meat they are trying not to throw away.

We’ll go back to staying at the Wyndham from now

Posted in Music, Disturbed, Weekend | Print | No Comments »

Thursday, March 4, 2010 by karen.

Public school in Disturbia isn’t quite the same as in a rural area.   Modern school, itself isn’t the same as it was 15yrs ago. 

My 4th grader has racked up 24 tardies this year.  Many are to be blamed on myself, however, it shouldn’t be overlooked that regardless of who’s fault, that number is absolutely absurd!  Today would have been #25 but he just stayed home instead.  I believe I was ‘played’ by him.  I understand he didn’t feel well upon waking up most likely due to the abundance of sugar he consumed yesterday.  It has been determined he has a sensitivity to sugar and highly processed foods.  He was up way past his bed time due to having trouble sleeping from the sugar.  Congrats to him for baking the cake on his own and making the frosting from scratch.   Kudos to me for actually having all the ingredients in the kitchen! 

He informed me he wishes to be home-schooled again and questioned why everyone in school is so immature.  I chuckled as he is probably the most immature boy in his class but I quickly learned his view of immaturity is quite different than mine.

In AZ, the schools are required to submit the students to standardized testing known as AIMS.  His scores last year were good.  I want to see what his scores are this year before deciding to home-school again.  I suspect they will not be as good as last year’s.  I am weighing the pros and cons.    

My goal as a parent is to raise my children to be happy, self sufficient and successful in their future whatever that may be.  I do not measure success in dollars. 

Home-schooling isn’t just a way to ‘get by’.  He was learning more last year and retaining it. The AIMS scores proved it.  Home-schooling has a stigma but it is becoming more & more common due to resources making it easier. 

Posted in parents, school, kids, Disturbed | Print | No Comments »

Thursday, March 4, 2010 by Dana.

As a youth baseball coach for the past 16 years, this crime really bothers me.  Good umpires for youth baseball are hard to find, and nearly all of them take more crap from parents eager to relieve their glory years through their boys.  You never hear a parent yell to their son, “be a good sport and accept the call that was made”.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Payson-couple-accused-of-pocketing-money-paid-for-Little-League-umpires-86294562.html

So you have these underpaid umpires that range from high school kids to out of work parents to retirees, and they agree to be heckled and harassed for $25-$30 per game… to later be cheated out of their money by a couple of greedy scumbags.  Based on the mug shots showing the extra chins, they must have been using the money to dine out at the waffle house way too much.

What are your thoughts?

Posted in sports, Crime, Suburbia, Disturbed | Print | No Comments »