LIKING Someone, 101

I work in an elementary school that has 4th-6th grades only. Sometimes I am confused as to whether or not the kids are there for an education in academics or romance. Here's what I've learned about young love in the millennial generation of tweens:

1. You MUST, AT ALL TIMES, repeat, ALL TIMES, LIKE someone.
2. You must NEVER reveal who it is that you like.
3. Except after engaging in a week-long guessing game with the rest of the students.
4. Guessing game rules are as follows.
5. All girls make up code names for all boys within the 3 sixth grade classes. These names are patterned after various cartoons and children's programs.
6. Girls announce as a group, that Girl X has decided who she likes.
7. Boys beg to be told. Girls announce, by use of code name, who the lucky boy is.
8. Boys spend entire week guessing who "Kermit" is. Girls deny every guess, even if it's right.
9. Boy who happens to most like Girl X finally pulls her aside and says, "Am I Kermit?" If he is lucky, she says "YES". If he is not, she laughs at him and then tells all her friends that Boy Y likes her.
10. Boy Y then denies liking Girl X. Girl X is hurt, so reveals "Kermit's" identity. Kermit is thrilled to "be liked", although he doesn't exactly like Girl X. But because it is cool to LIKE and BE LIKED, he says he does.
11. Boy Y and Girl X then proceed to avoid each other at all costs, unless the contact comes through messages sent via mutual friends.
12. After two weeks, they break up.

I did not make any of this up. And I see it repeated on a consistent basis. And I field questions on the confusion of it all. And I thank the heavens that I am thirty six years old. And I don't have to call my love Kermit.

AWWWWKWAAARRRRD....

In A Take-Charge Kinda Way...

Go read this awesome post by my friend. She says it all so well.

*Seriously, Kristine? The WHOLE pan of cinnamon rolls???

Tunesday: Wish You Were Here

I don't care who you are, what you listen to... you HAVE to like Pink Floyd. You just have to. It's in my rules.

Really though. When I think of "classic;" of groups that have been around since before I was, and whose music will be around even after I'm gone... it's not the Black Eyed Peas or Miley Cyrus or Rascal Flatts. They have their time, but their time is limited. Pink Floyd, up there with the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Eagles, just made music that made people feel stuff. And given that the feeling came for most through a ridiculously thick haze of drug-induced numbness, that's pretty impressive.

This is my all-time favorite Floyd tune. I love it. It's haunting yet it makes such a statement. It screamed against politics and war with such a quiet fortitude, that people listened. It has an almost confusing symbolism, but I am convinced you can read it without chemical assistance. You just want to lay in a hammock and soak it in.

One of the biggest disappointments of my life was being a week early in Berlin. You may or may not recall that Roger Waters did a benefit concert in 1989 titled... what else... "The Wall." The Berlin wall had just come down and it was crazy. We were in Europe on vacation for the summer, only we hit Berlin one week before the concert. I couldn't quite convince my dad to reschedule the entire trip so I could catch the show. If you have some time, check out that album. It's fun. I had the cassettes from it but my brother stole them from me while I was on my mission. Jerk. But I forgive. Anyway, Sinead O'Connor's rendition of "Mother" is absolutely unique.

WARNING: TOO MUCH PRIDE- MIGHT BE ANNOYING!!

Do you ever have those moments where you are so proud of your kids? Where you think, "Wow. I must've done something right along the way, because this kid is pretty great."?
Mika's football team has lost every game this season. It's his first time playing tackle, and he is learning as he goes. But in spite of a frustrating season, he has a really great attitude.



Sometimes he punts, sometimes he plays wide receiver, or cornerback. He is enthusiastic, and quick to offer a positive word to his teammates. Make no mistake, he does his fair share of grumbling as well. But he is genuinely an optimistic kid who gives a great effort.


He practices 2-2 1/2 hours every day with his team. They watch game videos on Friday nights. They travel about an hour every Saturday for their games (curse these rural areas!), practice for an hour before the game, and then play. On top of all that, he is getting super grades, scoring off the charts on his tests, and still involved in his Scout group.



It would be easy to be angry and frustraed by losing every week. Sometimes he is. But he still keeps at it with a real determination that makes me proud.

He is one fantastic kid. Way to go, Meex!!

Tunesday: You and Me

When I fell in love with my husband, this song was huge. He was in Iraq. I was extra emotional and sensitive for about a million reasons. This song, even though it was ridiculously overplayed and a tad bit bubblegummy, sort of snatched us both up in the whirlwind of newfound romance.

Sometimes on the blog, I write about what a super guy he is. I think he was starting to become concerned that people think he's just about perfect. I offered to write a post detailing his flaws and annoying habits, and list the things about him that really bug me. Instead, he sent me this email:

Can I have Tunesday tomorrow? If so the song is "You and Me" and here's my post:
This may come as a shock to some but I am not Mr. Perfect. As a matter of fact, I am far from it, but I am trying. I would love to say that I am trying because I will be a better person for it, but the truth of the matter is that my lovely wife deserves more. The closer I get to being perfect, the happier she is and that is all that matters. This is our unofficial song and I share it with all of you as a glimpse of what a blessing she is in my life and the love I have for her.

We're a normal couple. We enjoy each other. We do fun stuff. We talk. But we're not always the cheese and mush you see on the blog. We argue. Sometimes we even fight, and it ain't pretty. But in the end, it's me and him. We love each other, and we make it work. Thank goodness there are so many songs to help us express that. This one may not be a must-have for EVERYONE'S library, but it is in ours.

Nutritional Yeast or Steroid Burgers?

I recently "met" my first vegan. She seems extremely nice and I am learning things I didn't know. First of all, vegans aren't actually annoying. Although the cartoon above is kinda funny.

I didn't really know what the difference was between a vegan and a vegetarian, so I asked her.

She explained that vegans avoid anything that was derived from animals. Of course, that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to know more. Like the following:

1. Why is milk bad? Milk is natural. Is breastmilk off-limits for the vegan?

2. Why is honey bad? Jerry the Bee taught us a lot about what happens when bees and humans cease to codepend.

Those were the first questions I had for her. She answered them with what I assumed was behind the whole practice: prevention of cruelty to animals.

Of course, the website she sent me to was horrifying. But I couldn't imagine that all the meat and milk we consume comes from these terrible mass-marketing farms. So I asked another friend, who majored in Animal Agriculture, and who eats a lot of meat that she raises in the pasture near her house. I also zipped around online a bit, just to read up on it all.

What I learned was this: there are a lot of really strong opinions out there. I don't doubt that there are places that are filthy, disgusting and inhumane. And frankly, it's not impossible that I've unwittingly eaten meat from such a place at some point in my life. But I have to have faith in the federal government's ability to enforce guidelines and regulations, and ensure that most places are meeting a certain standard. The way I see it, everyone is entitled to their philosophies and opinions. If someone wants to live a vegan lifestyle, I think it would be an adventure at the very least. If someone wants to raise their own livestock to feed their family, again... one individual's adventure. Neither lifestyle works particularly well for me, so I have to have confidence that what I buy from my supermarket is brought to me via safe and ethical agriculture.

I am intrigued and fascinated to learn about vegan cooking. It is truly a skilled art. I am equally fascinated that I have a friend who knows how to slaughter, preserve and prepare an entire cow. I would fail miserably at either attempt. People are cool. I love diversity and really appreciate a variety of opinions. As long as no one's hating. Keep that in mind when you comment.

Tunesday: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

This is our family anthem. One night a few years ago we happened to be in Utah. Bountiful, specifically. Up on the east side in the mountain, driving around at sunset. This song came on our ipod, and we cranked it at full volume, rolled the windows down, and drove around with five kids and two adults singing at the top of their lungs. It is one of my absolute favorite memories.

I miss my stepkids this week. It's really hard to love someone very much, and have to be mostly removed from their lives. I know they feel the same way. We are always hopeful that time will improve the situation, and that as they get older, they will become more independent in their abilities to communicate with us. Until then, there's hope and faith in the ability to see over high mountains.

While the Cat is Away

For the past two years, my husband has had to go away the first weekend in October to do some military stuff with cadets from our side of the country. The first year (2007), I stayed very busy here at home. The second year (2008), I had the weekend from hell when I tried to join him on his adventures. So this year, I opted to stay very busy here at home once again. Here's how it's gone so far:

1. Spent a little time with my new BFF's, Kathy and Kate. Kathy, Kate and Khandrea. We're like three peas in a pod. We cut each other's hair with the weedwacker so we can all be twinners. Except there's three of us, not two. But tripleters doesn't have the same ring to it.

2. Since I don't choose sides in marital disputes, I also helped Jon barricade his front yard from the filming crew at TLC. Can you even believe the way they've exploited that poor man's children? I support his role as a caring, involved father. I too want to stop the trainwreck. Kumbayah, Jon.

3. Visited with Paris for a moment. Not sure which was worse... the disgusting, overindulgent latte or the weird, shimmery top. Paige... she stands as a voice of support in your anti-leggin debate.

4. Interviewed Whitney. She offered me some pot, but I told her I only buy from Bobby. I did download 8 tracks off her new album though. I recommend you do the same. She's gotta finance rehab somehow. Plus, if you don't, Cissy might come into your house and strong-arm you into doing it anyway.

5. Reminded Mariah that she will ALWAYS be a diva. Even though she "left it at home" for her critically acclaimed role in the new movie Push, she confessed to me that she was still demanding Evian on the set. I assured her the public would not love her any less for showing her hideously ugly natural face with us.

*I lied to her about that last part...

6. Kanye and I had a chat about manners. We also chatted about how much is too much when it comes to Tanqueray before the show. Held a brief therapy session in which he role-played apologizing to a Barbie doll. Then I finished shaving his head for him, since he missed a few spots the first time.

7. Lastly, declined an offer to come work for Dave. In the end, I decided it was just too creepy.

So there you have it. Tomorrow we'll be busy with football games, and then the man will be home again. Thank goodness, imagine if I got lonely enough to take Dave up on his offer???