A Look Back!

In 2008 . . .

I spent time with family. I saw my father for the first time in a long time, my daughters saw him for the first time in even longer.

I made new friends and you know who you are . . .

My Mom won three blue ribbons in a Pie-Off.

My beautiful wife became a Roller Girl and turned a beautiful 40 years old.

We went camping and created fun family memories.

I went to San Francisco with LeLo for BlogHer ‘08. I made more friends there and you know who you are!

I became a college student and completed three terms of school earning a 4.0.

My daughters each turned a year older.

I took my mother to Pride.

I was given great opportunity for new experiences with fabulous people.

I was reacquainted with some long ago friends.

I loved well, laughed a lot, had a few obstacles, and grew.

Photos are here!

I am so very grateful for every blessing and fortunate event in my life this year. I hold dear in my heart each of you who has touched my life and continue to share special moments with me and my family. I am truly a lucky and thankful woman.

My heart is full.

XOXO

Roller Girl

HG needs to pick her Roller Girl name, today. We have some ideas but suggestions are very welcome. Don’t post them here in the comments however, as the names need to be Top Secret! E-mail them here.

The First Day of a New Week of a New Year

Sunday is the first day of the week. Did you know that? Sometimes people get a little bit confused and think that Sunday is the last day of the week, the seventh day of the week, but it’s not. God made the world in seven days and declared that on the seventh day there would be rest, and that would be Saturday. Sunday was the day he made the heavens and the earth; did you know that? I wonder then why Sunday is part of the “week end?” Shouldn’t it be the “week beginning?” Not to be confused with a “weak beginning,” which is completely different and really has nothing to do with God.

Speaking of weak beginnings.

David Gregory is doing a good job on “Meet The Press;” he’s no Tim Russert, but I like David. Today he interviewed an adviser to President-Elect Obama about Obama’s decision to have Bigot Rev. Rick Warren be part of the inauguration. Warren, an active anti-gay proponent supported Prop 8, which stripped rights away from an entire segment of the population and likens homosexuality to pedophilia. Obama has defended his decision, with an almost Bush-like arrogance.

How does that make you feel Kathryn?

Obama was the best choice for president and I have absolutely no regrets supporting him in this election. I still look forward to the next four years and hold high hopes that a progressive agenda will evolve out of the mess that we’re in right now. But this hurts.

Am I disappointed? Yes I Am. Do I feel dismissed? Yes I Do.

Frank Rich ran an Op-Ed piece today in the New York Times, it’s here, go read it.

I’m glad that Rich addressed the issue, and I don’t think that enough gay people have stood up and expressed their outrage over this decision. It’s a slap in the face and even if there is some kind of ulterior reach-out-to-the-religious-right motive it’s a lot to ask of a group of people who A.) Supported Obama and B.) Are suffering right now as a result of the passage of Prop 8 and other Anti-Gay laws.

Shouldn’t Obama be throwing us a bone right now? Give us a little something to try to heal our bitter-sweet wounds? Instead he’s thrown a little salt in those wounds and that makes it a little difficult to see the “greater good” of this decision, if there is one.

Openly gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson had this to say in Rich’s piece,

“I’m all for Rick Warren being at the table,” he told The Times, but “we’re talking about putting someone up front and center at what will be the most-watched inauguration in history, and asking his blessing on the nation. And the God that he’s praying to is not the God that I know.” (emphasis mine.)

That’s not the God I know either.

I don’t believe that God made the world in seven days and I don’t believe in God in a regular God-believing kind of way, but I do know this: Whatever God is, it is not hold hate. I was once told that God is not able to understand anything but love and the only energy that God is able to respond to is loving energy. Wrap your head around that a little bit. God knows nothing but love; what a concept. No wonder so few people, even those who dedicate their lives to serving God, don’t know God. If they did people like Rev. Rick Warren would not stand up and equate my loving, committed relationship with my partner to my marrying my father.

Obama not standing against this type of bigotry is the same as accepting it.

The GLBTQ community has been active and loud during the last several months, why are they being so quiet right now? If McCain had won the election and chose this man to bless the nation on inauguration day, the GLBTQ community would have had a LOT to say. Do we give a pass to Obama?

I don’t.

Post Holiday Post

The December 25th Holiday was a success. My family was all here plus my brother’s lovely girlfriend. there was snow (I think I mentioned that.) There were gifts, I got an iPod. Prior to the other day, I was the only person in the free world who did not have an iPod. Now I do. I also have a new digital camera (a little one for my purse,) which I love and I have other things. Socks. Gift card to Ulta, a book. Good stuff.

Today I have a fever. This does not thrill me. I don’t like being sick and I especially don’t like having a fever. Typically when I get a fever, I cry. A lot. Sometimes I’ll cry and cry and cry and whine and cry some more and I don’t think that it’s very pretty; my usual body temperature is low so even a small fever for me is traumatizing, which means trouble. Crying trouble. Lucky for me there is a “What Not To Wear” marathon on today, which may help with the crying. I do love me some Stacy London.

I think I’m sick because I don’t have any rubber boots and my feet have been wet from the Arctic Blast. I would buy some rubber boots but no rubber boots exist in the entire Portland Metropolitan Area. Maybe my BFF neighbor Judy or Melissa Lion can find me some rubber boots in California and bring them home to me? Do rubber boots exist in California? It never rains or snows there, right?

Back to Christmas.

We went to see Benjamin Button; it was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, very compelling story about the human experience in life. It was a bit slow, but a wonderful story.

Also HG gave us a family gift. A gift for the entire family. Guess what it is? Guess.

A week in Waikiki this summer.

Isn’t she great? The girls are excited and so am I. One week in a beautiful place with my beautiful family with absolutely no risk of snow or need for rubber boots. We’re staying in a penthouse condo two blocks from the beach. Sunny beach. With sand and warm ocean.

My oldest daughter Mikayla figured it out as soon as she opened her stocking and saw that it had sunscreen in it. She said, “We’re going somewhere aren’t we?” Damn kid, why is she so smart?

I’m lucky. I’m blessed. It was a good holiday. Magical. Cold and wet, but magical.

One more to go and we move in to a new year. Each year of my life gets better and I have no doubt it will just continue to get better. And 2009?  My 40th year on earth. I may not be getting any younger, but I am happier and all of that is much better than being young. I’ll take the happy, even if it comes with a few wrinkles and grey hair (and saggy boobs and cracking knees and other unmentionable things.)

I’ll take it.

I survived

Happy Holiday!

I am so pleased that we didn’t have to hear about the “Christmas Wars” this year. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying Happy Holidays as it is a very inclusive term, which can apply to everyone equally. I’m all about being inclusive, so Happy Holidays it is for me.

We still have snow.

I know those of you who come from my home state, (Megan, Bryan, Sandra, Ellen, Brent, Ali, etc.) are probably not at all impressed with my rantings of our winter Arctic Blast, but let me tell you all something (and the rest of you who live where there is snow all winter long, blah, blah blah,) this snowstorm is different. Why? Well, because this is the most snow that the Portland Metro area has seen since 1968. Do you know how long ago that was? Yeah, forty years.

Add to that the fact that We Don’t Have Any Snow Removal Thingys Nor Do We Salt Our Roads and you have a big freaking disaster.

Today I drove HG to work. Six miles away and I nearly spun off the road at least five times, and I drive an SUV. That is because all of that snow, which has been falling by the foot, is still on the road, being packed down into ice with every passing driver. It’s not fun people, that’s all I have to say.

My brother and his girlfriend are coming out to our house tonight to stay through Christmas because we are expecting some more snow tomorrow. Brilliant. I guess we’ll all get to know my brother’s girlfriend pretty well. I feel sorry for the poor girl, she can’t get to her parent’s house because of the damn roads and now she’ll be stuck with all of us for Christmas. I hope we don’t get on her nerves. I made up DD#1’s room for them and my mother said, “They’re sleeping in there TOGETHER?” Geez Louise, he’s 25 years old. I told her to put a sock in it and she shushed.

So I cleaned for my houseguests and now I’m exhausted.

Snow storms are exhausting.

If I don’t make it back to The Internet tomorrow, I wish all of you a wonderful Happy Holiday filled with love, laughter, wine and good cheer. I hope that each of you who reads this greeting will take a moment to think about all the blessings in your life and make a promise to do just one thing during the next week to help someone who may not be quite as blessed. I’ll be thinking of that too and I hope that with all of our thoughts and prayers and energy together, something magical will happen.

After all. Isn’t that what this time of year is really about? Magical things happening to ordinary people.

I don’t know about you, but I believe in Magic with all of my being, and I know that good things always happen to people who hold that magic in their hearts.

I’ll be waiting to hear what magical things happened to you!

Arctic Blast Part 4

I lied about not writing about the weather. We are in the middle of a snowstorm, Portland Style. We have about 6-8 inches in The Scary Suburbs.

See–

La La La La La

I’m not going to write about the weather. I think that our weather is bi-polar and I’m not going to give it any attention. Around these parts, the beautiful Pacific Northwest it is very difficult to predict weather and it changes hour by hour. Basically when a certain weather man on a certain station (KGW) says on the 11 o’clock news on Thursday that it is going to snow 14 inches on Saturday, really what he is saying is that he has absolutely no idea whatsoever what the weather is going to be like on Saturday.

Today HG and I went Holiday Shopping. We visited Costco, Target, Marshall’s and Joe’s. We are basically finished with the exception of a few items I couldn’t buy with HG present and of course food for Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner.

The joy of the holidays? I’m not really feeling it this year. This week stuck in the house with my kids fighting and complaining and wanting stuff made me just a wee bit crazy and now I feel guilty that we didn’t do more “fun” stuff while they were off all week, but really how are you supossed to do “fun” stuff when everyone is fighting?

Did I ever mention that I am basically an only child?

This Sibling Rivalry, Bickering, Complaining, Arguing, Hitting, Slamming Doors on People, Pouting nonsense is very foreign to me. And frankly, I could do without it.

I started to write some examples of what was heard at my house these past five days but I can’t bear to remember it so I will refrain.

For the most part, my kids are very wonderful and I’m blessed, blessed, blessed that they are all three happy, healthy, and all around good people. But. I swear sometimes that they purposely try to do things to completely push me over the edge and they can’t seem to get along for more than five minutes at a time, which completely pushes me over the edge. And they can’t follow instructions. Instructions like, “We’re leaving in ten minutes, get all of your stuff ready to go to your dad’s house and your snow stuff and put it in the car.”

Maybe they need more vitamins.

Maybe I need more vitamins?

I really need Tuaca.

Arctic Blast: Part Three

The snow has begun again. It’s kind of weird wet snow that is falling in large flakes and then turning to wet yuck as it hits the ground.

The kids are home from school. Again.

HG took my car to work and we’re kind of stuck here. Again.

Holiday Shopping to Date? None.

But, (I’m trying to focus on my blessings) I was able to sleep in every morning this week and I get to snuggle on the couch with my youngest daughter, Gingy is really cute refusing to go outside in the winter weather, and I may bake some cookies later.

I think that’s all.

I have not received any cookies or Tuaca yet? Is it coming?

Snow Day: Day Three

No school, Day Three.

It’s not pretty.

Gingy doesn’t like the snow.

It doesn’t look like there will be school for the rest of the week.

I haven’t started my Holiday Shopping.

Help? Send cookies, and Tuaca.