Oh, My Blair Witchian Nightmare

Dad piled us kiddos into the car and hauled our excited little munchkin minds to see the scariest movie ever...Halloween:O I swear to you right here and now, I watched that entire show through my sweater, which was pulled up over my eyes. SO. SCARED!

Toss in a couple more Halloween's, a few Friday the 13th's, a Nightmare on Elm Street...add a dash of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and blend with just a pinch of Blair Witch Project...and you get a full fledged fear of the dark:O Yes my friends, I am just a wee bit scared of the dark.

Husband likes to get out of The Big City every once in a while. We stay at a house on the beach in Michigan. There are about 40 steep, narrow, concrete stairs through the woods to the beach. During the day...it's just a long walk to the beach...At night, it's my Blair Witchian Nightmare!

It took me three nights to work up the nerve to walk to the bottom of the stairs...but I did it...Doesn't everyone make a horror movie on vacation?;)

24

Not To Worry...

I made it back from the land of no internet...Yay! I also faced a fear (yes, I am afraid of things...well everything...OK not everything...just somethings)

If I can get this darn video uploaded, I'll share with the class...Come back tom. M'kay? I promise...I'll get my sh*t together. This post is basically so my Mom knows I didn't fall into the cave that is where we go in Michigan.

Do you ever get those "why haven't you posted?" calls from your Mom? I'm OK Mom, just editing video...More tom:)

Pointless Fun

*Disclaimer* There is no point to this post...whatsoever.

You can blame The Bloggess for that.

She introduced me to this site. Holy too much photo manipulating fun for one person to have, Batman!!! Do you know how much time I've wasted playing? Way. Too. Much!

At first I thought..."Let's just have a little fun." Seriously, a girl can dream...right? Who wouldn't want a tattoo tribute to them from Becks?

The best part would be that it would so p*ss off Posh...who'd be all "who is this gorgeous woman, my Husband has tattooed on his body?" "I'm after you Nap Warden!"

Whatever...I think I can take her.Then...I thought..."Let's think bigger!" Yeah...Nap Warden on the new $100. I like that idea:)

Whew...all this big thinking has lead me to a coffee break (well...tea) Oh...product placement...there's a good idea!Yeah, Angie's a trend setter...everyone's gonna want a Nap Warden tee...I do!How about a Nap Warden gallery show? (what are you lookin' at kid?)Better yet...the Woman Behind the Warden show...(now we're packing 'em in)Not sure how I feel about being a cover girl...(somewhere along the lines they'll expect me to be a role model)In the end...there's the eventual backlash from a life in public...Maybe I'll just stick to blogging...

I told you this post had no point:P

But it sure was fun...I think I want a Warden Tee...D*mn you Angie for being such a trendsetter!

27

No Internet!

That's not a vacation, it's torture my friends!!!

I'm running back and forth between Michigan, and Chicago this week:P It's not fun...I mean, it should be fun, but Husband wanted to leave on Monday...he had business in the city Wed and Thurs, so we had to do the mid week drive back to Chicago, and then we'll turn around and go back out to Michigan on Thursday. This is just not easy...add two toddlers into the mix, and you got yourself a big mess!

Oh, I forgot to mention there is no Internet and no TV...Why don't you just rip my arms off, I'm sure it would be less painful:O

*sigh* Anyways (am I the only one who segues into something completely different with "anyways"? I love my *sigh* "anyways...")

*sigh* Anyways, lately Miss Peach has become obsessed with the making of babies. Is this like a turning 4 phenomenon?

She asks: "Mommy, where do babies come from?"

I respond: "Babies come from Mommy's tummy."

She buys that for a while...then...

She asks: "Mommy, how do babies get out of Mommy's tummy?"

I respond: "Mommies go to the hospital, and doctors help take babies out."

This suits her fine for a while...then...

She asks: (and you knew this was coming...) "Mommy, how do babies get into Mommy's tummy?"

Ummmmm....I got nothing....

I respond: "Hey, did you want some ice cream?"

So far...distraction is the best way to respond to this question ("look accessories!")...

What is my 4 friendly answer my friends?

24

6 Legged Zombie Swarm

Blech. We've got these teeny tiny ants who have taken up residence in our house:(

Being that I pride myself as kind of a neat freak, and a minimalist...Ants are really not something I'm prepared to accept. (there aren't supposed to be bugs in the city...the h*ll bugs?!?) I think the tiny terrors are climbing up the vines outside the house and in through the window...To quote The Little Man..."they are grody-odegens!"

I decided to spray the baseboards of the house to get rid of the 6 legged zombie swarm invading my house. So, I said to my Husband...

Me: "I bought some ant spray...I think you should take the kiddos out, so I can spray the baseboards of the house." (sensible...right?)

Him: "You know, if we just kept food in the dining room, there'd be no food for them, and they'd just leave."

Me: "Are you saying it's my fault we have ants because I let the kiddos snack in the living room?"

Him: "No...I'm just saying, if there wasn't any food around, they wouldn't stay."

Me: "So, I'm like some Viking...throwing turkey legs around, attracting ants?"

Him: "Honey, I never said you were a Viking."

Me: "So, you think when you leave for work...the house turns into a Medieval Times feast...jousting and food with reckless abandon?!?"

Him: (loooong pause) "Honey, why don't I take the kiddos out, so you can spray the baseboards for ants:)"

When will he learn to just agree with me from the get go?

26

My Imaginary BFF's

In the imaginary world, on a typical morning, I would get a phone call from gal pal Heidi Klum...

She'd say: "Hey girl, you and the kiddos up for the zoo today?"

I'd be like: "I'm in!"

She'd say: "We'll meet you there...Auf Weidersehen!"

I'd be like: "Sounds great...wiener stains!"

Then we'd hook up at the zoo and chat about the fabulous gowns that hot new designer "X" just sent us, and swap Jimmy Choos while kiddos watched the camels spit.

Eventually, you know we'd run into Tim Gunn...

He'd be like: "You girls are about town, and you didn't call me...This concerns me..."

We'd come back with: "Tim...we were totally gonna call you to hook up with us after the zoo!"

He'd be like: "I'll meet you girls at the All You Can Eat Cake Shop down the road in an hour...carry on!"

Then the kiddos would play themselves out and fall asleep at the All You Can Eat Cake Store, while Heidi and I try on all the shoes Tim picked out for us. Yay...BFF's!

Imaginary world rocks!

24

Ghosts of Dating

My mantra on my travels through single girl hood was "boys. are. dumb."

I said this because I could NEVER explain why they said what they said, and did what they did.

Here are some of the guys I met along my way to Happily Ever After...

Inside Weeknight Guy- This one is really a personal fav. of mine. I had a gal pal named Lana. (You know that girl, who totally acts like a dude.) That was Lana...she was all about the deed and getting out before any cuddling. Until she met I.W.G. (inside weeknight guy).

Basically, Lana fell head over heels for I.W.G. You guessed it, he would only see her inside on weeknights. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out dude has got something else going on...right?

Well, I lost touch with Lana (she always kind of weirded me out, I felt like I was hanging in the men's locker room when I was with her)

Flash forward...I'm at a Halloween party. Batman was hitting on me. My only rule for Halloween is NEVER meet a guy on Halloween. NEVER! Well, I broke my rule. (find me a guy who doesn't look good in a Batman suit) Batman pursued me relentlessly...and I finally gave him my number (HUGE mistake)

I knew the second I saw him in street clothes, no dice pal. I was like (in my head) "can't you just take me to McDonald's and call it a night?" Bah...I went on the date...only to figure out...

HE WAS INSIDE WEEKNIGHT GUY!!!

It took me weeks to get rid of him. Yes I was immature...I did the whole not answer my phone deal. Looking back now, why didn't I just say "Hey I.W.G. I'm just not that into you." or pull the full on Marsha Brady and say "Something suddenly came up."

Oddly enough, he then ended up hooking up with one of my best friends "just to get back at me" I never understood what that meant? I went on one date, never kissed him, and he had to get back at me...Hello crazy!

Conan O'brien (I'm just not ready for this guy)- No, I did not date the actual Conan O'brien (just his twin)...(OK, not actually his twin, but a guy who really, really looked like him)

Anyway...did you date this guy? We went on the most awesome date. Dinner (no I don't remember the place) after dinner, he took, me to The Old Man Bar (no it is not named The Old Man Bar) The old man bar is actually a bar where old men hang out and drink. You know the place...kind of a dive nothing going on but drinking and TV (dark...humid...a bit stinky)

It was such an odd place to go on a first date...and yet, we talked the whole night away in The Old Man Bar...then he walked me home, and planted one single kiss on me. I thought it was the perfect date, and I had no doubt Conan would call me. I waited...and waited...and WAITED. Conan. Never. Called!

WTF Conan!

I saw him at a party weeks later. Do you know the line Conan fed me? I know you do...it's a line that guys use even today (not like it was that long ago, but men are so different now...you got metro sexuals, and sexting, and facebooking, and Tweeting...How do you date today Sissy?) Bah...I'm off track...Line pahlease Warden...

"Blah, blah, blah (not actually blah, blah blah just pointless drivel about how perfect I am but...)...I'm just not ready for this now."

What is that crap?!? Sissy has been fed that line as well. Ummmm...you're not ready to date a fabulous girl, and you'd rather date idiots and bimbos? Oh...I get it...NOT:P

Wedding ring and a gun in a safe guy- 'Nuff said. (Nutter nutter peanut butter) Seriously...he opened a safe, and showed me a wedding ring in a box...next to a gun...aaaaaand scene!

Talking to Sissy about the guys she meets, is what stirred up these bumps in the memories of dating road. She tells me stories that blow my mind...and of course leads me back to my initial revelation..."boys are dumb:P" (except Husband and The Little Man)

I like, so do not miss dating:P

23

I'm Movin' Out

When I was single girl in the city...I lived in the sweetest pad. It was my two bedroom, vintage, doorman, corner facing slice of cheesecake in the sky...(loved it, loved it, LOVED IT)

Easily, the hardest transition to being married, was moving from my single girl sanctuary to living in Manland (Seriously...Manland is a filthy place where socks and underwear are free to roam in their natural habitat). Manland has now given way to Toddlerville:O (You know...the place where diapers and Cheerios rule the roost) Oh where oh where has my pristine single girl sanctuary gone?

Coincidentally...my single gal pal Sissy has moved into my heavenly park front pad (same building...different unit). I am so HAPPY for her!

Miss Peach and I decided to stop by and check out her new scene...Oh, my little Pixie is such a big girl at times. I kid you not, the first thing Miss Peach did was head for the closet.Oh how my girl LOVES to accessorize.

Miss Peach: "Mommy...I love Sissy's closet...It's so cozy!"

Me: "OK my little Peach."

Miss Peach: "Mommy...I want to LIVE in Sissy's closet!"

Me: "Oh Miss Peach...Mommy is barely ready to let you go to preschool. She is so not ready for you to move into Sissy's closet:("
Miss Peach: "It's OK Mommy...You'll still have The Little Man;)"


(Oh...that sound was my heart falling onto the floor...Why is my Little Peach growing up so fast?)

31

Roar of The Little Man

We went for a walk around the block the other night. Just Mommy and The Little Man. He really is growing up so fast (sniff, sniff)

Two men came up behind us on the sidewalk...out of nowhere...

The Little Man: "RAAWWWRRRRR!!!"

The two men: (acted scared, and hustled away) "What a big roar..."

The Little Man: "I scaywed dem away Mawma! Did you see? I scaywed dem away...all da way back to deyw hauwse!"

He was protecting his Momma...just when you think they can't get any sweeter...(sigh)

19

Secrets of Mommy Bloggers?!?

Blah, blah, blah:P I'm late to this party. Gah...I am so mad at you CBS 2 News at 10pm for getting me so whipped up that I have to jump into this sack of weasels:(

You've all heard about pay to play (no I'm not talking about our former Governor)...I'm talking about the legions of "Mommy Bloggers" hypnotizing the masses into buying products, simply by mentioning them on their blogs, and then laughing, Bwahahahah (wringing our hands like Mr. Burns) all the way to the bank...c'mon...all of us are doing it, right? NOT!

Truth be told, I don't typically watch CBS news. (I get my news from Jon Stewart) Yet, Monday night, there I was happily blogging away, while watching a rerun of CSI Miami (Hi Horatio!)...when up came a teaser for the news...

"Next up...The Secrets of Mommy Bloggers!"

Hey...wait a minute...technically, I'm a Mommy Blogger. What's my secret? I didn't wash my hair today, I parked my kiddos in front of PBS Kids to finish a blog design, Miss Peach was sleeping in the same Princess dress she wore all day...Had the stealth reporting of Dorothy Tucker found me out? Tell me Dorothy...what's my secret?

All Mommy Bloggers are dishonest product whores, and the FTC is gonna get us. Yep, that's the nutshell summary of the 2 part story The Secrets of Mommy Bloggers. It infuriates me that out of the hundreds of thousands of "Mommy Blogs" out there, we all get lumped into the blogging for cash and reviews category!

It might interest you to know Channel 2 that not only have I never done a product review on my blog, but a large majority of the Mommy Blogger demographic is not blogging for pay. Do I have ads on my site...yes. Do I ever blog about them...no. Does it affect what/how I write...no. Last time I checked, you Channel 2 News have advertisers on your site. Does it affect the way you report the news...I'd like to hope not.

I don't want to get into a debate on whether advertisers on your blog, or pay for reviews is OK. I'll break it down right quick for you. Yes, it's OK to have ads on your site. Yes, it's OK to do product reviews (if that's your thing) as long as you say "XYZ Company sent me this product, and here's what I think..." How easy was that?

What I'm all fired up about is...you set us up Dorothy Tucker. You lobbed up an easy ball to smack it in our face. I'm purposely not linking to the woman you talked to in your piece because I think you put her in a bad light. You made her sound like she'll write anything on her blog for pay...and I don't think that is the case. Seriously, you did a two part series and talked to exactly two Mommy Bloggers...TWO! The Mommy Blogosphere is a VAST space, and you shined a light on a small part of it, and acted as if that was the whole. To say I'm disappointed does not do my feelings justice. (tssk, tssk...yes, I just tssked you!)

Blogher was literally blocks away from CBS. There were over 1,000 Mommy Bloggers there. Why didn't you talk to the folks who started Blogher? How about talking to the Blogging With Integrity folks? Where was the investigative reporting here?

It might interest you to know that I am a mother, a blogger, and I get paid to design blogs. Yeah, I left the work force, had kiddos, learned a new skill, and put my two design degrees to work. Where is the sell out? Oh wait...there isn't one:P Yeah...not all of us Mommy Bloggers are sell outs...SHOCKING, I know!

*now excuse me while I go hide under my desk and wait for the fallout...(closing my eyes and hitting publish...)

62

Horse Thieving 101

Have you heard about this idiot hockey player Kane? Let me tell you...it's ALL the Chicago news can talk about.

Here's the deal 20 year old kid inks a deal for $875,00 a year to play hockey for the Blackhawks. (sweet dough, right?) Idiot was with his cousin in a cab in Buffalo around 4 am. Fare is 13.80, and they decide to beat up the cabbie since he didn't have the 20 cents change. Stupid. Stupid. Stoopid!

Here's the thing...it's not about the money ('cause even a $1.20 tip would have been cheap). When I first heard about it...I was all...

"I hate these entitled, spoiled rich athletes, who think they have no rules because they can dunk a puck through a goalpost with a bat!"

"I'm sick of it!"

"Way to ruin your NikeConverseUnderArmourWheaties sponsorship palie pal!"

Then I thought a little more (while I was pushing kiddos in the stroller...yes, that's all I do)...

I know EXACTLY the comment my mother would leave if I ended the post here. See...it's not about the money. It's about being 20 something...and bad decision making.

Would you like to see what the headline would have been had I...a) been famous and b) been caught?

(yes, this is the actual picture of my drunken a** on the fiberglass horse, I'm in front)

Yeah...this was my 19-20something bad decision (which seemed perfectly sane at the time of the crime).

I and a few friends drove to Boulder for quarter pitcher night (yes, quarter pitchers...nothing good can come of that). On the way home, we passed a horse ranch. I have no idea why, but next thing I knew...my denim mini skirt was hiked up around my waist, and I was shimmying up a pole with a ratchet in my back pocket.

Yes...we stole a life sized fiberglass horse! I have no excuse for this (other than pitchers being 25 cents, seriously who's idea was that?)...and thank the Good Lord that we were not caught. 'Cause horse thieving is a crime...even if it's fiberglass:P

Now...I kinda feel sorry for this poor schlep Kane (not too sorry, I still think he's an idiot). Who didn't make bad decisions at 20? I cringe at the messes I might have gotten in had I had a million bucks in my pocket.

*edited to add...Yes, I think beating up a person is WAY worse than stealing a fiberglass horse. My point here is, I don't blame the million dollar sports contract. I think it is the age that is in charge of the bad decision making. This young man beat up another individual, and should be punished to the full extent of the law.

62

Princess Power!

Miss Peach: "Mommy, are boys stronger than girls?"

Me: "Absolutely not...Who told you this?"

Miss Peach: "Some boy at the playroom said he was stronger than me, because he was a boy."

Me: "What did you say to him?"

Miss Peach: "I said nuh uh...showed him my guns...and ran off to play with some girls. They're more fun!"Well played Miss Peach;)

24

Don't You Forget About Him

It was as if John Hughes had been watching my life in high school...and then went away, and made movie after movie about it.

The movies he made about adolescence (whether it be writing, producing, or directing) spoke to me...and to say that they spoke to me doesn't even begin to portray how they affected me.

Think about it...I was a girl with divorced parents, living in a trailer and driving a car nicknamed The Crate. I had a crush on a Country Club boy named Briggs who owned two cars (VW Scirocco, and Convertible VW Rabbit) and had an indoor basketball court IN HIS HOUSE! If that isn't a John Hughes movie...I don't know what is!

Movies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink gave me the courage to hope that maybe the underdog CAN get the cute guy. Seriously...how else was I able to drive that piece of sh*t car to school and park it next to all the convertible Mustangs every day of my high school career? To say it was hard, does not do it justice...and somehow, John Hughes got it.

The image of Samantha leaning over the birthday cake to be kissed by super dreamy Jake Ryan, or of Andie running into the arms of Blaine in the parking lot at the prom...gave me hope....hope that I could be myself, and still be accepted.
Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club said "When you grow up, your heart dies." I feel like a piece of my heart died yesterday...or at least a part of my adolescence.

The Tribune, and The Chicago Sun Times both reported that John Hughes had become a recluse, and left the movie business after becoming stuck in a rut. I have always thought there was more to it than that...after I read this post, (seriously, go now and read it, I'll wait) I know he was the man I thought he was. (How amazing is that post, btw?)

John Hughes, your movies gave us all hope, the courage to dream, and to not be defined by our stereotypes...thank you for being the voice of my generation.

19

Facebook 101

First...How cool was it when Bill Clinton and those journalists stepped off that plane? So cool! I will admit, right here and now, I cried. I have been following the path of these poor women since March when the North Koreans seized them. When Laura Ling said they were told they were being taken to a meeting, were lead into a room where they saw Bill Clinton standing there..."they were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare was finally over." Wow.

I just couldn't start my post without saying...Bravo President Clinton...Bravo!

______________________________________________________

Moving on...You all need to explain Facebook to me. There, I said it, secret's out...I don't get Facebook...and you're all there. All of you!

Let me start at the beginning (I'll be quick) I messed around with MySpace, figured out how to design my page (looks nice, right?) then "poof" folks asked me to design their MySpace pages...Yay business!

Then, I figured out Twitter...designed my page (looks nice, right?) then "poof" folks asked me to design their Twitter pages...Yay business!

So...ages ago, I set up a Facebook account and quickly found I couldn't edit the look of my page. Well boo hiss on that:P I tossed Facebook in the junk pile and never looked at it again...only to find that folks I recognized were sending friend requests.

Yesterday, I was bopping around the blogosphere, when I clicked through the "networked blog" widget on someones site. I checked to see if my blog was listed (it wasn't) so I went through the steps to list it. I needed a Facebook account to do this.

Holy, to my surprise ALL of you are there, Batman!!!

WTF? All I do is Twitter...what is the difference between Twitter and Facebook? Are you all doing both? Seriously, Facebook 101, class in session. I'm listening...enlighten me on Facebook...please...I need help...

Seriously...poke me, nudge me, post on the wall...what the heck am I doin' here?

23

Ohmommy Made Me Do It

Ugh...blech...patoey:P I curse thee Ohmommy for making me dive into this pool *shaking fist in the air* (I kid, you know I love)...

If you are not aware, Ohmommy lit up the blogoshpere over the weekend with this post, followed by this post on the proposed Obama health care plan.

Now, I DON'T pretend to know what the answer is, and NO I have not read the proposed plan. That being said, I need to address some of what I read both in the posts, and in the comments.

First...one of your commenter's Karen (who I can not link to since she left no link) I believe she is a nurse, said...

"I'm sorry, but I must live in a bubble...

The pediatric patients,that I encounter everyday and care for regardless of their sex/race/financial status, receive free treatment, from a team of people that sincerely care and make sure they receive the attention they need/deserve. The children receive this care regardless of their idiotic parents that refuse to get a job, because life is better living off the benefits they receive from our government.

Vaccinations for their children must be hard to pay for when there are acrylic nails, cigarettes, and alcohol to be bought."

There seemed to be a general consensus that if you had insurance and a good job, it was because you worked hard, and if you didn't it was because you were lazy. I wish life were that easy. (please know Karen that I mean no disrespect to you, I am not walking in your shoes...it may be that way from where you are standing)

What I do know is...the day I went into the hospital to have Miss Peach for reasons completely beyond our control, our insurance was yanked out from under us (illegally)...the. day. I. went. in. That was followed by a 9 day stay in the NICU for Miss Peach.

I am a hustler, I have and will continue to work hard all my life. Husband is the smartest, and hardest working man I know, and we got knocked off our horse. The timing could not have been worse, and it was completely out of our control. That said...we came home from the hospital, having to sell our house to pay a $28,000 hospital bill. (that was not the only factor for selling the house, but it weighed in) I still consider myself lucky that we had an option. I know there are many folks out there who don't have options. To make the assumption that those people are lazy or unwilling to work is not only naive, but it is elitist. How can anyone make that assumption about anyone else without being in their shoes? Is it true in some cases? Probably. In all cases? Absolutely not.

I also can't help but notice the problem you Pauline, and some of your commenter's have with the idea of doctors being paid by salary.

"...work as hard as you can in school and get into Harvard Med School and then work even harder; but, it actually doesn't really matter because you will get paid the same as a non-specialist"

Is putting doctors on salary really the end of the world? I'd be willing to bet many people go into medicine to actually HELP people, and not simply for the monetary gain. Let's say we did put doctors on salary...would that really be the end of the fine medical care that many great hospitals in the US currently give?

I find it interesting that two of the three hospitals in your question...

"Name three hospitals in the United States. Easy, no? John Hopkins, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic."

currently pay their doctors by salary rather than procedure or volume based (The Mayo Clinic, and The Cleveland Clinic).

They pay medical doctors a fixed salary that is unaffected by patient volume. The thinking behind this is to decrease the monetary motivation to see patients in large numbers and increase the incentive to spend more time with individuals. Salaries are determined by the marketplace salaries for physicians in comparable large group practices. So, it seems to me that these hospitals are ahead of the curve...

I know I don't have the answers...I'm even pretty gosh darn sure Obama doesn't either. That said...I know where we are now is not good enough. When Burgh Baby said...

"My mother died of breast cancer because we did not have the means to pay for insurance or any health care."

I know that is not what we as Americans should settle for. Why do we either have to choose what we have now, or adopt what Europe or Canada have? Why can't we as Americans expect something more...something better...for everyone? I'd like to think more hospitals can adopt the kind of practice being done at The Mayo Clinic. I'd like to think that doctors will be able to practice medicine in an environment where they are able to treat the patient rather than throwing expensive tests that may not be necessary to make more money.

Perhaps I'm asking for too much? Perhaps unicorns will fly out of my a$$ and it will start raining gumdrops? I do know one thing...change will not happen until we come to the table and start talking about it. It seems to me, that's where we are now. Let's get this one right.

31

That Toddlin' Town

There are many...MANY things that run through my brain during the day...

"Is my DVR in some cosmic universe where they are showing new episodes of Dirty Sexy Money? I thought they canceled it...am I the only one watching new episodes? Will this happen with Lipstick Jungle as well? If so...I'm going to marry my DVR..."

"Why did the mother at my play date keep talking about moving closer to a ski hill, when she hasn't skied in over 10 years? Why is skiing so important to a non skier?"

"I have a GREAT idea that involves approaching a real company (BIG) how can I get more followers so I look like a big gun??? Do I have to appear to be a big gun to be taken seriously?"

"What color scheme should I use for the blog I'm designing with The Golden Gate Bridge? Should I run the header all the way across? Do I do that too much???"

Not exactly deep thoughts...ya know:P It's my life...that's what bounces around in my head...until lately...

About a week ago, I was pushing the kiddos in the stroller (I swear if I renamed my blog, I'd call it Stroller Tales) As I walked along, I noticed an enormous deep red stain on the sidewalk. It startled me. I walked along slowly looking down, the red stain was followed by drops, and bare footsteps walking away...To me, it looked as if someone had the sh*t kicked out of them. I knew it was blood...but I kept thinking "this has to be some kind of prank...someone must have done this with red paint to make it look like an attack...this kind of thing doesn't happen in my neighborhood..."

The bloody footprints kept leading us down the path we were going...so did the droplets. I have heard about people being attacked for their shoes...but that couldn't be why I was now seeing bloody footprints walking away from the scene of a heinous aggression. Not in my neighborhood...

Flash forward to last night...

The news reported a series of attacks, frighteningly close to us. Men had been approached in the early morning hours from behind, brutally beaten, then robbed. In all cases the beatings continued after the robbery. I know the bloody footsteps I encountered were from an attack that wasn't, for whatever reason, reported. The scene that played out under our stroller was exactly what the newsman reported.

I am not naive. I know that living in a major metropolitan area comes with crime. That said, when the crime happens in your front yard, it makes you want to run...

Wanting to run, for me, involves moving to Vail. When Husband's company failed, and we had to sell our house, there was a HUGE part of me that wanted to pack it in and move to Vail. It's my happy place.

Right now...my city is sick (quite frankly, the whole darn country is sick). The Mayor is so obsessed with his Olympic dream that he refuses to spend money to fix the problems of the present...opting instead to save all the money on dreams of Olympic rings.

For the here and now, that means the highest sales tax in the nation, a jobless rate higher than the national average, and unfortunately escalating gang violence and crime.

If I were the uber blog designer to the stars (making enough money to support our family) I'd move to Vail in a heartbeat. I think if Husband could do his job from the mountains...he'd probably move in a heartbeat as well. The fact of the matter is...that ain't reality:P

I'm not throwing a pity party here. I know, I have it easy. I am in one of the safer areas. When crime breaks out in this neighborhood, the police take it very seriously. I know these perpetrators will be caught.

It's just for the short term...there is a piece of me that is scared, and I hate that feeling:( I love this city...I just wish I knew how to fix it...or at least had the confidence that the folks in charge, were doing what is necessary to fix it.

26

Big Bird?

10