And, in case you don't feel like watching the whole thing right now, here's just a couple of my absolute favorites:
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Grand Canyon
It's been a month since my trip and I still haven't posted any photos! I put together movie/slideshow with what I consider the best of the photos. Unfortunately, I think almost all the photos are good, so my first version was more than 20 minutes long and wouldn't upload! So I created a shorter version (<5min). I keep meaning to sort the photos (they're a bit out of order,) but I'll post this and update it if I ever make improvements.
And, in case you don't feel like watching the whole thing right now, here's just a couple of my absolute favorites:
And, in case you don't feel like watching the whole thing right now, here's just a couple of my absolute favorites:
Saturday, June 27, 2009
MJ -- Just My Opinion
Wow. Michael Jackson died. Shocker.
Do you hear the sarcasm?
It's not that I don't respect what he did for the music and entertainment industry, or that I don't think he was extraordinarily talented, or that I don't think it's profoundly sad that he died. (It's profoundly sad when anyone dies.) It's just that I really feel that what was sad was his life.
MJ was clearly emotionally disturbed. He exhibited bizarre behaviors, he had severe self-image problems that led to anorexia and severe self-mutilation (yes, all that disgusting plastic surgery was a form of self-mutilation,) and he was addicted to drugs. What did people think was going to happen? Why do we wait until something tragic happens to decide to mourn? Why didn't all the people that profess to love him try to save him?
I know, I know, it's really not that simple. When someone is alive, his life is private and not for us to intrude. Everything only becomes public and sad after their death.
But honestly, MJ's death was not a shock to me. I have been sad about his life for a long time. I certainly hope that he is at peace now.
Do you hear the sarcasm?
It's not that I don't respect what he did for the music and entertainment industry, or that I don't think he was extraordinarily talented, or that I don't think it's profoundly sad that he died. (It's profoundly sad when anyone dies.) It's just that I really feel that what was sad was his life.
MJ was clearly emotionally disturbed. He exhibited bizarre behaviors, he had severe self-image problems that led to anorexia and severe self-mutilation (yes, all that disgusting plastic surgery was a form of self-mutilation,) and he was addicted to drugs. What did people think was going to happen? Why do we wait until something tragic happens to decide to mourn? Why didn't all the people that profess to love him try to save him?
I know, I know, it's really not that simple. When someone is alive, his life is private and not for us to intrude. Everything only becomes public and sad after their death.
But honestly, MJ's death was not a shock to me. I have been sad about his life for a long time. I certainly hope that he is at peace now.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Take Her Advice!
Steve overheard the kids talking this afternoon. Owen was telling Sierra that his friends were going to be going to Kindergarten next week (we think he meant next year at a different school) and he wouldn't have any friends at school anymore. Sierra said, "If you just say 'hi' to people, then you'll make new friends!"
She's a genius!
She's a genius!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Mother's Day
I had a good Mother's Day. We took the kids to the Natick Collection Mall to have pictures taken with their cousins and Grammy. Then we had dinner with all of them. The kids were well behaved the whole time and they both ate their dinner. You can't ask for more than that.
But wait... there is more. Here are photos of the gifts they gave me. Every year at their pre-school, every kids paints a silk scarf. They each pick three colors and the scarf gets pinned down to a long piece of rice paper, which becomes the card/wrapping paper. Here's what I got: (Click on the one with the rice paper scrolls so you can read what Owen answered to "What is a mother?")
But wait... there is more. Here are photos of the gifts they gave me. Every year at their pre-school, every kids paints a silk scarf. They each pick three colors and the scarf gets pinned down to a long piece of rice paper, which becomes the card/wrapping paper. Here's what I got: (Click on the one with the rice paper scrolls so you can read what Owen answered to "What is a mother?")
Monday, April 27, 2009
Levitating Charm
Yesterday we went to my nephew's birthday party, which was a Harry Potter party. The activities were extraordinary -- buying wands and capes on Diagon Alley, attending a sorting ceremony complete with talking sorting hat, taking a potions class, practicing Quiddich, reading tea leaves in devinations class, and having a feast. While buying a wand they got to try out the levitating charm, "Wingardium Leviosa," and a lighting charm, "Lumos." (My brother-in-law rigged up a candle light to a remote and a coke can on a string so the kids could make the charms "work" with the right wand. Cool, huh?)
Later on, after dinner, Sierra went to the bathroom on her own. My sister-in-law went in there a couple of times asking if she needed help, but she said "no." She was standing on the potty stool with her pants down in a puddle of her own pee, repeating over and over, "In gardium mariosa!"
I believe she may have been trying to levitate her pee into the toilet....
Later on, after dinner, Sierra went to the bathroom on her own. My sister-in-law went in there a couple of times asking if she needed help, but she said "no." She was standing on the potty stool with her pants down in a puddle of her own pee, repeating over and over, "In gardium mariosa!"
I believe she may have been trying to levitate her pee into the toilet....
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Tenth Good Thing About Nikita
1. Nikita picked me at the animal shelter.
2. She always used the litter box.
3. She played fetch.
4. The tip of her tail had an inch of orange and white stripes with the cutest white tuft at the end.
5. She was so soft and loved to be scratched in the downy fur behind her ears.
6. She was affectionate and snuggley (but not annoyingly so.)
7. She helped me through a very hard time in my life.
8. When I had kids, I thought she would be jealous and spiteful, but instead she was fiercely protective.
9. She was my friend.
10. Nikita is in the ground and she’s helping grow flowers. You know, that’s a pretty nice job for a cat.*
*Taken from “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” by Judith Viorst.
RIP Nikita. You were loved. I will remember you fondly. You are now at peace.
2. She always used the litter box.
3. She played fetch.
4. The tip of her tail had an inch of orange and white stripes with the cutest white tuft at the end.
5. She was so soft and loved to be scratched in the downy fur behind her ears.
6. She was affectionate and snuggley (but not annoyingly so.)
7. She helped me through a very hard time in my life.
8. When I had kids, I thought she would be jealous and spiteful, but instead she was fiercely protective.
9. She was my friend.
10. Nikita is in the ground and she’s helping grow flowers. You know, that’s a pretty nice job for a cat.*
*Taken from “The Tenth Good Thing About Barney” by Judith Viorst.
RIP Nikita. You were loved. I will remember you fondly. You are now at peace.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Permission to Think About the Unthinkable
I took the cat to the vet today. I took her about a month ago because the vomiting and loose stools seemed to be getting out of control. At that point she was sneezing a bunch, but the vet didn't seem to make much of that. Since then, her sneezing has seemed to turn into some sort of upper respiratory infection, she sneezes all the time, she's lost a tooth, her mouth is irritated, and now suddenly there's a whole bunch of mucus coming out of her mouth and nose. Plus she's not eating (probably because of the mouth irritations) and she lost a pound in a month. The vet says she has a heart murmur.
It's hard to know what this all really means without a lot of expensive testing. But I don't really want to spend a lot of money prolonging the life of a cat that's really lived a good, long, mostly happy life and whose life is really not very high quality any more. I told the vet that I really just want to make sure she's comfortable. At that point he gave me the option of putting her down. (And, of course, waterworks that I am, I started crying.) So anyway, we decided today to give her shot of antibiotic for whatever infection she my have, give her intravenous rehydration, and switch her diet to wet food to see if she'll eat and gain any weight back.
So now, after the vet opened up the discussion of putting her down, I feel like I have permission to think about it and really examine the cat's quality of life and comfort to evaluate when is the right time. The thought of it makes me feel horribly sad, guilty, and, at the same time, a bit relieved.
There's a lot to think about, including how to discuss this with the kids. Steve thinks that we shouldn't let them know that we're ever choosing to end the cat's life, in case they think we might do that to them. Perhaps we might tell them that we're bringing the cat to a place where they care for very old animals until they die. (Kind of a stretch of the truth -- a very long stretch.) It's not that we want to completely avoid the topic of death, just anything that might scare them into thinking they might die in their sleep or that we might choose to get rid of them. Has anyone had experience with explaining such things to their kids?
I have to say, writing this down just now has felt very therapeutic. I hope there's no one reading this that takes offense at how I am caring for my cat. I really just want to do the most humane thing. She has been a dear friend to me for almost 17 years.
It's hard to know what this all really means without a lot of expensive testing. But I don't really want to spend a lot of money prolonging the life of a cat that's really lived a good, long, mostly happy life and whose life is really not very high quality any more. I told the vet that I really just want to make sure she's comfortable. At that point he gave me the option of putting her down. (And, of course, waterworks that I am, I started crying.) So anyway, we decided today to give her shot of antibiotic for whatever infection she my have, give her intravenous rehydration, and switch her diet to wet food to see if she'll eat and gain any weight back.
So now, after the vet opened up the discussion of putting her down, I feel like I have permission to think about it and really examine the cat's quality of life and comfort to evaluate when is the right time. The thought of it makes me feel horribly sad, guilty, and, at the same time, a bit relieved.
There's a lot to think about, including how to discuss this with the kids. Steve thinks that we shouldn't let them know that we're ever choosing to end the cat's life, in case they think we might do that to them. Perhaps we might tell them that we're bringing the cat to a place where they care for very old animals until they die. (Kind of a stretch of the truth -- a very long stretch.) It's not that we want to completely avoid the topic of death, just anything that might scare them into thinking they might die in their sleep or that we might choose to get rid of them. Has anyone had experience with explaining such things to their kids?
I have to say, writing this down just now has felt very therapeutic. I hope there's no one reading this that takes offense at how I am caring for my cat. I really just want to do the most humane thing. She has been a dear friend to me for almost 17 years.
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