Urban Sprinting

Have a good weekend!!

Clarification...

I guess my powers of comedy need fine tuning......

I want to say for the record that I AM SURE that they did know who Sting was, in fact I don't know anything more about this situation other than a comment that was said in passing by College Roommate (who will now wear the title of MOST AWESOME COLLEGE ROOMMATE ON HIGH for letting me exploit this story) about a year ago. When I saw a press blurb that they were opening for The Police (combined with my 6 year old telling me that they had a new album coming out -- MY SIX YEAR OLD people!!) I created that whole conversation in my head and just put them in the role of "silly young people who don't know about anything but Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan". I had the conversation in my head because it 1) I clearly really wanted to avoid my laundry and 2) It blows my mind that they get to hang with him again when they WEREN'T EVEN BORN when he was in his heyday. They didn't have his posters on his wall, or sing the songs or any of that stuff (I can just see teenage College Roommate and Wendysue on the bed, singing away). In fact, what brought on this whole train of thought was a conversation with my husband that that even though they get to be in the music/Hollywood scene, most of the people they would know and hang with are not my era, I am too old for it and we wouldn't know who they were anyway (unless they were Barney or on Nick Jr.). It all changed perspective when I put it together that the people that I idolized as a young person get thrown into that mix too. They can have their Hillary's, Lindsay's, Paris and Laguna Beach, but when it comes to Bono and Sting, that is when I start to get a little starstruck.

Of course they knew who he was. You don't get to be as talented and successful as they are on their own and together without knowing about the ones that came before you. They all have worked very hard for many years to earn their skills. They seem to be smart guys and I am sure that Rock Star Brother sang the songs right along with Doctor Brother and College Roommate, after all, what younger sibling doesn'tidolize their older siblings and want to do/copy everything that they do? So, because I didn't make it clear enough, the conversation was ALL in my head. Several of you (bless you) were quick to come to their defense. Also, you were all quick to point out the the person that we REALLY care about is College Roommate because she is our favorite. I just started daydreaming and vomited it all onto the screen.

I didn't use people names or band names because that isn't the point and we all know who they are anyway. We wouldn't want College Roommate, or the Sistah or Doctor Brother to think that we are like the rest of the people out there that skim over the amazing talents and skills and educations that they also have to find out about their brother (but don't think that means I am going to stop wanting the celebrity gossip lowdown......). To most of us, he is THEIR brother, they aren't Rock Star sister/brother. The rest of you that don't know them in person have no idea that they HAVE a Rock Star Brother......see?

I stand by the point of the last post. I want College Roommate who loves Sting so much to be able to go see both her brother AND The King of Pain on the same stage. If I had the money I would fly her out there with me and we would do it together and let the husbands deal with the kids. Truly. How cool would that be? And I still want her to ask about the names....... Fuscia? Seriously.

Have a good weekend!

ROOOOOOOOOXANNNNE....

A few posts ago I wrote about how College Roommate and I loved Sting back in the day. Sting, Shawn Colvin, David Grey, Indigo Girls and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were the soundtrack to my college life. All music influenced by College Roommate and her way cooler friends.

One day, Rock Star Brother met the man himself before a show and Sting was all "I love your stuff, you guys are brilliant! I know brilliant because I used to teach English and be a waiter, so I am intellectual AND down to earth. I mean brilliant in the British way and the smart way, that is called a homonym (I don't know if you heard, but I used to teach English)." I'd like to believe that Sting takes advantage of learning opportunities like this.

Rock Star Brother was like "Thanks Dude!! I had no idea we had fans that had receding hairlines, I thought it was soccer moms and 14 year old girls"

At this point the publicist had to intervene "Um, this is Sting........of Police fame. No? Lets see, he plays the lute and wears tight pants, has typical blond male pattern baldness and writes lyrics that are studied in 12th grade English (he WAS an English teacher you know....). Still nothing? He was the previous incarnation of you guys.... tight pants, screaming girls, but instead of the Jesus-esqe facial hair you seem to be sporting, he went for the skinny, close cropped anemic look, same soulful lyrics, and he gets LOTS of press about his sex life.....still nothing? Did you see the Disney cartoon Tarzan? How about LiveAid? Every Breath You Take? ANYTHING?"

Rock Star Brother and crew were all "Have we seen you on MTV? I don't think we have. If you are actually a rock star we would have seen you on endless rotation on VHI, MTV or on YouTube. Even Sanjaya is getting airtime and his is most certainly NOT a rock star. Come to think of it, I know that we have never seen you with Jessica Simpson, Kirsten Dunst or passed out in Lindsay Lohan's VIP booth at Bungalow 8 . Seriously, I am not sure that you aren't just some weird dad that wandered backstage.... WHO LET THIS GUY BACKSTAGE?" Scuffle ensues.

b

But, since everyone knows that in order to stay hip and cool and employed, folks in the public eye should listen to their publicist (ehm, ehm, TOM CRUISE...I am talking to you....). They eventually believed the publicist when he told them that Sting earns $2,000 a day from the royalties of "Every Breath You Take." After the show Sting and Rock Star Brother all went out for Magnolia cupcakes and ordered Jimmy V's.

Scene. Strike the Set (should I strike this, Corky?)

OK, I might be projecting a little bit here (and even though I didn't use the band name, I don't need a million emails from the Kids Choice Awards set saying "how dare you say that about theyaresoawesomeyoudon'tknowwhatyouaretalkingabout band!!" I get enough hate emails about the adoption stuff). I know that they knew who Sting was because at least one of them had an older brother and sister that had great music taste. We all know that since they are all men, they probably just grunted at each other and THEN went to Magnolia for cupcakes. I just wanted to follow up in this because guess who is opening at least one date for The Police Reunion Tour?

That's right. Rock Star Brother (and those other guys).

Before this, his profession served the most useful purpose of allowing him to pass along celebrity gossip and distributing SWAG (and take his parents to the Grammy's) and tickets to the occasional sold out U2 concert. I am going to HOPE, HOPE, HOPE that he somehow manages to get his siblings backstage at that show and they can meet The Police in person. And then I hope they blog about it. And I want them to ask Sting why he filmed his son's birth and put it in a movie? No one wants to see that. Also, speaking of celebrity baby names, Sting is the proud papa of Fuscia, Coco, Micky and Giacomo (pronounced Jock-ee-mo for you non-Italian speakers like me who always wondered how to pronounce that....). His other boys are called Joseph and Jake. I need to know if naming half of his children stripper names and the other half Bible names is his commentary on the social complexities and internal dichotomies of our increasingly global and self involved society. Or was it the drugs? The whole naming schizophrenia just proves to me that he is so complex (AND he used to be an English teacher).
p

Anyway, enough about Sting and Rock Star Brother. It is a beautiful spring day and I am sitting in front of my open window, smelling the jasmine and avoiding my laundry and my cranky children. I may never have been an English teacher or played the lute or named my children after strippers (but I DID name one after a Bible guy) or have a Rock Star Brother or a blog that gets one million hits or even has any sort of focus, but I am lucky. I DO have a sweet daughter who lost an upper tooth and now has an adorable lisp, I DO have two friends and sister who just had a baby and several more due any minute (and who knows, maybe they will give their kids stripper names, IF WE ARE LUCKY!!), I have a giant piece of quiche that is full of tomatoes and goat cheese in front of me (it always comes back to food with me) and the prospect of Thursday Night TV ahead of me. I have commenter's on my blog that make me laugh and give me a form of socializing that my ever-sickly children deny me these days. I DO have my own handsome, skinny, blond Sting-esque husband who takes really good care of us (hi honey) even though he has to work about a trillion hours a week. I DO have a sweet son who loves his sisters and a baby that thinks that I am hilarious.

pp

Don't kid yourself. I would consider trading the lot of you for seats to that concert, but I am counting my blessings today. College Roommate, call me--I need to verify some celebrity gossip.......

Today I had to go to Walmart...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Guess how many black people I saw?

cheep, cheep, cheep

You got it.

I spent one and half hours braiding this sweet girl's hair so I could walk into Walmart with my head high and bask in the kindly smiles of all the ladies that usually feel the need to tell me how to do her hair. I wanted to see the secret "wow, that lady sure did her little baby's hair really well" look on their faces. I waited for THOSE ladies stop me in the diaper aisle and say things like "those parts!! They are so straight....so even, you must be the best mom in the world" and "look at the skill in those twists... and the elastics all match, did you go to college?"

Oh well.

The good news is that I got enough diapers and forumla that I won't have to go there (and therefore braid her hair) for another month. Whew.

But look how well she is sitting now? Hurrah for Nori.

What is yours......

Come on.....you know you want to do it.....

Your Celebrity Baby Name Is...

Boo Moxie

What's Your Celebrity Baby Name?

Observations from a weekend...

Norah's newest trick........now she just needs

to learn to eat from a spoon.

Greetings Internet,

How was your weekend?

We had three whiny, snot factories in our house this weekend, shocking I know, that my kids would be sick (and by whiny snot factories I mean, two kids are teething and one has either a cold or allergies or both...). But, I think that everyone is well enough to GO TO SCHOOL today, except the babies who don't go to school, but they might be well enough to sit in front of the TV--so same thing.

We learned a few things this weekend. First, if the baby takes a nap and sleeps on BOTH sides of her hair, she wakes up looking much like Arsenio Hall in the early 90's. There is nothing more groovy than a high top afro with a mullet. It is slightly LESS groovy to take the baby to church with such a hairstyle because every black woman on earth will show up and tell you to DO THAT BABY'S HAIR. Previously this has only happened at Walmart (I only go there if I absolutely have to because I hate it so much). I do what I always do in these situations, I invite them to my house to help me get my kids ready in the morning. Just getting them out the door and having shoes on everyone is a huge accomplishment in my book. With church we take a few steps further and they actually need to be dressed up and fed. If anyone wants to come to my house and do hair then they are welcome. I might even offer them a bowl of cereal, but maybe not. They might only be offered a Diet Coke. I have no shame, I will take any and all help getting hair done in the morning. As well as the dishes and laundry. So far none of my critics have felt the need to do this. Bummer. If they are not willing to HELP me then they can zip it, and I invite them to do so. I learned that I need to get better at doing babygirl's hair and finding the time to do it before we go to church or Walmart.

Another thing that I learned is that both of my children like show tunes, but if given the chance they will brawl to the death over whether to play Josh Grobin (Lu) or Aerosmith (Jacob). Huh.

I learned that the harder I try to have a fun afternoon with my kids where I am, you know, actually interacting with them, the more things will fall apart. Yesterday we made a cake. I could tell you that it was fun and we all bonded, but I usually save my lies for my weight watchers and other children's behaviour while I am babysitting (it is always "great, they were great!"). The truth is that we ended up making a mess, the kids fought the whole time over who got to do what, a glass was shattered on the floor and we managed to spill coco everywhere. By the time the cake got into the oven I had taken a vow to never, ever look at a chocolate cake again. I am sure I will break that vow, but not without picturing coco covered shards of glass sticking out of the cake and myself eating it with a symphony of screeching children in the background.

I learned that I still love Sting. I was watching a rerun of "Regis and Kelly" and saw him doing an interview. He was talking about how he is learning to play the lute. The LUTE? You and I both know that if the average teenager decided he wanted to play the lute he would be mocked mercilessly. But somehow on Sting it is SEXY! What is it about that skinny, balding crackpot that makes me so giddy? Who cares, I'll take it. I remember listening to Sting CD's in college with my best friend/roommate. This same roommate has a little brother who grew up to be a rock star. One time when rock star brother was about to have a show, Sting showed up backstage to tell the band how much he loves their music. How is that possible? I am going to watch and see if Jimmy V starts whipping out the lute during his shows. You heard it here first people.

I learned that potty training my son is going to be a much different beast than my daughter.. She was happy with a few cheers and the promise of a sticker. Jacob wants the hard stuff. Stocks, bonds, maybe some futures. He is not going to do ANYTHING in that potty without some major incentive. Not even peeing on Cheerios did it, and this kid loves to pee on everything! Advice? I am looking forward to eliminating one set of diapers from the daily routine. When I eliminate the cost of the diapers, I can start getting pedicures again. Sadly, I am not the one who needs incentive. I think that Diet Coke will do the trick.

I learned where my cleaning lady has been stashing all the sippy cup lids. Seriously, every time she would come all the sippy cup lids would disappear. I would look EVERYWHERE, but apparently not everywhere, because there was one tiny cupboard, behind the trash can, that seemed like the logical place to put them. Cubby found them. Truffle pig. I could have just asked her where they are but there are two things wrong with that. I am kind of afraid of her (she has taken on the role of my sassy Latin mother.... she likes to tell me what to do) and we don't actually share a common language. I bet you didn't know that someone could tell you what to do in a different language. They can and it is scary. Now, I just try not to be home when she comes. Problem solved, except for the sippy cups.

I also learned that the time has come again for behavior boot camp. It must be the spring that brings on my most inventive parenting techniques. This one I actually got from my friend Suzi.... You know how sometimes as a parent you slack off on discipline and pretty soon the kids are working it? It starts with them taking longer to obey. This quickly turns into backchat. Before you know it you come down for breakfast and you find the kids passed out on the couch after a long night of videos with apple juice hangovers battling the sugar highs. As you watch the glow of the television reflect off the homemade Sponge Bob tats that have been clumsily applied to their cheeks you realize that the time has come. No? This is just my kids? Right. So, coming up will be a post on behavior boot camp, which is a distant cousin to The Last Resort .

What did you learn this weekend?

What does it mean?

Today, I was driving down the road behind a brand new BMW convertible with a 50'ish, beautiful and hip woman driving it. The vanity plate read:

PDY FACE


What does this mean? I immediately thought it meant "potty face" (shows you who I spend the most time with). It could also mean Pretty Darn Young Face? Hmmmmm, any other ideas? I hate vanity plates for this reason... I can't figure them out.

I also saw a guy riding one of those bikes with the GIANT front wheel (higher than my car....) and a transvestite (or transgendered, not sure) woman (that means a man dressed as a woman) walking home from the store. His/Her daughter is in my daughter class. They are a really nice family. He/She has really long hair and always wears some type of hat and has GREAT shoes. I want to know where she gets them in her size because they are awesome.

Also, I forgot that today was early release day and didn't pick Lu up from the bus. She walked home from the bus for the first time EVER and burst into tears the minute she got in the door. I have instilled the fear of "bad guys" in her and it really shook her up. Bad Mommy. I was distracted by the licence plate, the bike and the shoes.

All in a day here in suburban San Francisco.

What a day...

My baby sister had her baby yesterday (she was due next week), I called to tell one of my BFF's about it and told her that she needed to go into labor now (she is due the same day as my sister) and about an hour later she DID go into labor and had her baby this morning!! The world has a new little boy (named Hugh... both of my very best friends have a boy named Hugh...) and a new baby girl (as yet unnamed...). Congrats to the families. Now, Carina, you just read this, so YOU need to go into labor within the hour too!! :-)

We actually have a funny joke in our family. This same baby sister had baby Lily two years ago at the end of September.... two weeks later Jacob was born and we stole all her thunder. Then, my other sister got pregnant and she had baby Thomas in July and three weeks later we got Nori and stole all the thunder again. This time, we have been joking that now that baby X is here, we need to hustle and get a baby in the next few weeks. That seems to be how we do it. So, the family joke is that every time one of the sisters has a baby, Rebecca adopts another one. Ha, ha. Derek does not think that joke is funny AT ALL (he thinks that we have enough babies thankyouverymuch.... not forever, just for now). We will put our papers in again as soon as the next family member announces their pregnancy. :-)

I do have good news though, we finally got all our clearances approved and we have a court date!! Friday the 13th of April will be a lucky day in our household this year. We get to go to court and finalize Miss Norah's adoption. She will be official. We are so excited for this day. This week in April is a big one for us, we finalized Jacob on April 8th and had our religious ceremony on the 9th. We got engaged on April 3rd (so we are coming up on the 10 year anniversary of our getting engaged.... awwwww) and we will finalize N this same week too. We also closed on our condo that week (as long as we are talking about life changing experiences..). We like to keep it all in the same week. We even drew the same judge that we had for Cubby.

Anyhow, this is a very special and important day for us. It is the adoption equivalent of coming to the hospital to see the baby. Wanna come? I will let you all take turns wrestling Jacob during the hearing......

** update.... we have a name for my niece. Wren Kimberly, it was between that and Samantha. The funny thing is that another one of my sisters married a guy with the last name of Wren. They have a son named Sam. I do know that MAK has always like that name... so welcome baby Wren.

Cooking Day...

My kitchen counters are decorated with Lulu's artwork. The one on the left is called "My Mom" and the one on the right is called "My Treasures" (Jacob, a rainbow and a key).

One morning last week, as I was busily trying to edit photos of Mexican orphans that need sponsors, I actually allowed the children to be in the kitchen. This is traditionally a "no kid zone". Mostly because the computer is in here and Cubby's favorite game is to run up to me, pretend to give me a hug, and then at the last minute spin around and turn off the whole system on the CPU. The little stinker. He knows that it makes Mamma act really funny and crazy. He laughs and thinks the whole thing is hilarious.

Hence the rule.

Lauren isn't allowed in because she gets into the fridge and doesn't close the door. This also makes Mamma act really funny and crazy. I used to dream about being the kind of mom that taught her daughter to cook at an early age, but I am going to have to leave that to the Grandma's. She just makes messes. Right now the only one that is allowed in the kitchen is Norah. When she starts be distructive then she is banned to.

I have started to bend this rule recently because when I don't, Jacob picks up anything he can find and throws it over the dog/kid gate (the only one that can keep him out) into the kitchen. He usually starts with the dining rooms chairs and works his way down to the toy baskets and Derek's piano music. This doesn't usually bother me, but the last time he did it he broke one of our fancy IKEA dining rooms chairs and then used the pieces of bang the gate, like a prisoner. The prison idea was so accurate it made me laugh. Then I rembered that sometimes prisoners are so motivated to get out they will dig thorugh solid cement. Since Jacob has yet to figure out that if you put the chair up to the gate (rather than throwing it over), you can climb over the gate. I don't want to give him any motivation since I prefer to leave this an unexplored skill.

The other day when I let the kids in the kitchen, they decided to "cook. " At first I didn't realize what they were doing, but as I started to listening in, I was really touched by how cute they were playing together. This is honestly the first time I have seen them play together. Usually Jacob just wants to do whatever Lu is doing and then she screams until he goes away. This day has been 2 years in coming. Also, they have NEVER played with the pretend kitchen as long as they did here. They worked and worked and talked and played. Lu would venture outside to get "ingredients" while Cubby manned the grill. It made my mamma heart proud AND I got my work done.

Disclaimer, Jacob is only in a diaper in these pictures. I guess this is my official application to Trailer #4 in Whitetrashville. This kid wants to be naked all the time. Yesterday after naptime I found that he had gotten out of bed, taken off his diaper and put it in his garbage can and then crawed BACK into bed naked. I consider keeping him in any type of clothes a victory. And yes, Lauren is still in her jimmy jams (pj's).

I give you

Gatronomique..

I let the kids use whatever they wanted as long as it wasn't a knife. If you look closely at the little silver box by the bread Cubby is flattening, you will notice that those are the controls to the stove. Just push the button and you get all the heat you want. Child friendly, huh?

I was informed that these are "hard boiled rocks". Sounds delish.


This is the menue. I find this funny because Lu can write and spell. I guess this was faster. I was told to check out the "pepsi salad" and "yummy noodles".


Serve them up Cubbo!

Nice war paint on his cheek. That is yogurt

Lauren, ever the patient supervisor, is always ready to smile for a picture...

Lauren goes in search of ingredients outside and comes back succsessful. This is Egg Salad Soup.

Jacob goes looking for ingredients of his own

He leaves no source unchecked. That garbage can is a microcausim of my life, eggs, cookies, Diet Coke and a diaper. That says a lot about me.

Jacob is watching the master work her magic

Stirring the Hard Boiled Rocks is hard work...

Jacob checks his orders..... (note that the ottoman he is standing on into the kitchen because he threw it over the gate earlier in the morning)

Salt makes everything better, even bark

Or just on it's own

This the best part. Lauren made this sign for the resturant.

It reads "Pancake Fest, the rest Royalty" I don't know what that means, but she chanted it the rest of the day. The bottom one says "Pancakes are Royalty, Royalty Rules....... Go, Go, Go, Pancakes"

Check it out...

Today was my last day posting at Design Mom Design Mom I brushed off my soapbox and did a big long post about ..... well just check it out to see. Yesterday was International Day of the Woman and I took inspiration from there....

Have a great weekend.....

What is ....

I have been asked about some of my micro loan projects by various friends and blog readers. I have been touched and overwhelmed by the desire to help. I have been putting off giving the info because I am involved in starting up a new charity so that we can better supervise these projects and also to be able to provide thorough follow up. The goal was to have the website up a long time ago so that I could direct you to that. Things never happen as quickly as we would like and we had another deadline of today to have it live. That isn't going to happen. We have high hopes that it will be up in the next week. I will put it on my sidebar and I welcome ANY and all donations and help in generating support for these projects. Here is a little bit of info on the projects. If you or your family, or your church group or school are interested in sponsoring one of these projects and you want more information than is on this post, please send an e mail to me at rebeccakbingham at yahoo dot com. Also, understand that these projects are just the product of myself and Suchi. We are doing the best we can to make sure that we are providing sustainable income and strongly discourage handouts.

What is Jacob's Oven?

The oven project was started by my good friend Justus Suchi Obidah. He is the Kenyan director of Reach the Children in Nairobi. He is also the religious leader of a congregation in Nairobi. He wanted to provide a way for women in his area to be able to earn a sustainable income. The goal was to provide a charcoal burning oven for the women of the area (not just church members) to use to bake goods that they would then sell in the market. The women provide their own fuel and batter. The oven is housed in the church building where it can be locked up and protected. Many of these women don't have homes large enough to accommodate such a piece of equipment or the means to keep it safe. I love that this project helps them not only be self sufficient but more efficient when they do it. All the have to do is sign up for a time to use the oven. It has been running day and night since we got it. I call this project "Jacob's Oven" because I bought the first one in honor of my son, Jacob.

We want to build more. The total cost of the oven (including having it transported and set up in the church) is 350$. You send your money directly to Reach the Children and you can get a tax deduction for the donation. You also can name the oven if you want. We have an agreement with the LDS Church in that region that they will allow the ovens to be housed in their permanent buildings. All the women of the area will have access to it during the week, provided that they sign up for a time slot. This is a great and easy way to provide sustainable income. We will provide a follow up report at least once a year to let you know how it has been going and who is using the oven. Here are some pictures of my last report.

The oven

The molds for the cakes

This is where they burn the fuel

Making the batter

The finished product

What is the Bike Project?

This is another collaboration of Suchi and myself that Reach the Children has agreed to oversee. Currently, Suchi and I are doing this as a pilot program (and we don't have a name yet, so let me know if you can think of one). If it is successful (and we hope it will be) the new charity will take it over and totally oversee it. The goal will be to offer the bikes to families that have orphans in their home. We want to provide incentive to these families to take in the local vulnerable children and orphans and give them enough income to help these kids stay in school. In our pilot group there are many families that have opened their homes to children that no longer have a family. There are also some families that haven't done that yet, but that have a goal to do so in the future. Finances are often a factor in why familes that want to take in extra kids don't. If you don't have enough food for your own family, it is not likely you will bring more people into the home. Our goal is to provide them enough extra income from the bikes to make it possible for them to help out more of the children in their community.

For the pilot program, Suchi has identified and screened 30 families in one of the poorest communities in Kenya (and that is saying something). The bikes will provide income for the family in two ways. The bike can be used as a "taxi" or to do deliveries. They can make up to three dollars a day doing that. It also gives them transportation for kids to to go school and to provide easier and faster access to the family farm plot, which is usually located several miles outside of town. The family can grow food for themselves and to sell in this plot. Many hours are wasted walking to and from the plot. The bike will not only help them be more efficient with their time, but it will allow them to harvest and transport more of the food because it can be transported between the plot and the home in larger quantities.

A local market in Uganda

Each bike costs 60$ (this includes transport and administration fees). When you sponsor a bike you will get a picture of the family that you are helping and an update on them once a year. I have a whole file full of pictures and descriptions of the families but it was sent to me from Africa in some kind of program that I can open with Word, but I can't copy or export the pictures to post here. I can send you the file if you want to see it.

We have about half of the bikes purchased and are eager to find sponsors for the other half so we can get this pilot program off the ground.

Thanks for your interest and we hope to work with some of you soon.

Bubbles and Cousins....

This week our cousins came to visit......

Aunt Cyndi brought a bubble machine gun thingy (Walmart 4$)
It was magical...........


...partly because it was so fun to see the boys be impressed,
but partly because Cubby played with his cousin Sam so well. It
is the first time we have seen him be social and SWEET at the same time!

The bubbles smelled like Oranges, but the boys found out that

they didn't TASTE like Oranges....

If you haven't had enough of me yet.......

I am guest posting over at Design Mom this week. Come over and take a look. While you are there you can leave a comment too. Please, please, please, pretty please? I am a bit nervous for this one.....

I will post here too this week. Coming up on Ignore the Crazy "Chinese New Year in Chinatown" and "Lauren saves her brother from being sold to the Gypsies on eBay". Stay tuned.....

Bono visits Oakland...

Dude... I missed him.

He came to bring attention to the rise in HIV/AIDS rates by inner city back women. It is higher than Africa. The women often are infected by heterosexual men who either don't know they have HIV/AIDS or that DO know and don't tell their partners. Oakland, and nearby Richmond, pretty rough towns. There are many streets I won't drive down in the daylight. The point was made that many residents are former inmates at the prison. In prison the rate of AIDS is five time higher than the general public.

It is so sad. Because it is Oakland, and not Africa or even LA, they don't get the funding and ARV's that they need.

Right in my back yard.

In other sad news, a second trial is starting on my husband's uncle's murder case. He was a young dad, a bishop (volunteer clergy in our church), a coin shop owner. He was robbed one morning right before Thanksgiving and then shot and killed. It was all on the security camera. If you read the
article you can see how much hard work went into breaking this case. I am thankful for the people who, although in prison them selves, gave vital information that helped put these people away.

That wasn't a very happy note to leave you on for the weekend huh? Have a good one anyway.

EARTHQUAKE!!

We just had a medium one. It was a 4.6 (or something). I felt it and one aftershock.

When we lived one town over we used to feel them all the time. In the almost two years that I have been in this apartment, I haven't felt one (which is ironic because we are sitting, literally, a few blocks from a fault).

It's nice to remember we are still in California.

Do you know who these bloggers are?

As another fun example of how small and strange the blogging world is, check out this picture.




It was taken about 17 years ago when I was living in another country as a "student". I was a very skinny (no fair) 18 year old who was taking some time off school and doing a few service type projects in another country. I met another really great person there and then our paths parted ways. And then she found my blog. First we realized that we shared a religion, adoption and HOLY COW a baby steps friendship a million years and half a world away. That mystery blogger is on the left. I am in the middle (oh, how I remember that sweatshirt, I wore it every day and rarely washed it. But that is because we didn't often have water at the flat, not because I am disgusting...). On the right is my old friend Marnie, who I miss and need to find and wish that SHE would find my blog.

More tomorrow on how crazy (and awesome) our blog connections are, especially to those of us who are surrounded by little people all day....

The first person to guess who the blogger is gets a special treat in the mail (NOT a parcel bomb but thanks for the idea GcQ...). Hint, she is on my blog roll, but doesn't post pictures of herself very often.