Maybe You Are an Alcoholic…

October 15, 2008

Think of drinking alcohol as smoking a cigarette. We as mothers and fathers know the dangers of second hand smoke to our kids. What are the effects of drinking in front of kids? Where should and shouldn’t there be alcohol served? Who should be the ones to know not serve it at inappropriate times?

I recently attended a 3rd birthday for my friend’s daughter at her house. Between my daughter, her daughter, the little neighbor boy and a few relative kids, there were about six kids all together there. My friend seemed to have thought and planned the party well. There were toys for the kids to play with and even a bounce house. The kids were having fun and the adults were in their own conversations. When someone asked me what I wanted to drink, I asked what they had. They said in the cooler on the floor there is coke, diet, cream soda, corona lime and Bud.

ALCOHOL? Served at a 3 year olds party? Yes, there were adults, but it wasn’t a party for them, it was for the kids. And the alcohol was in arms length for the kids to get. This was odd to me, and with my daughters 2 year old party around the corner, it became clear that serving alcohol at a kids place is unsuitable.

After celebrating her birthday, I decided to get some family members together to take my daughter to Chuck E. Cheese’s for the first time. We were thrilled to see her having so much fun, until a gentlemen walked by us with what seemed to be a beer; and sure enough, beer was on the menu.

Is this okay to serve beer or any alcohol around kids so young? Where are all the clear judgments of people and parents and authority going?

Don’t Wear White!

August 19, 2008

I have heard that wearing white on your wedding day is strictly for those who have not had sex before marriage or don’t live together ahead of time.

I have heard that if you wear white on your wedding day and you are not a virgin, you are lying, because you are not “pure.”

Well, I say, wear whatever you want. It is your wedding! You are hopefully only going to have one wedding. If you want to wear white, where white. You want to wear blue, wear blue. If you want a nudist wedding, go… in you birthday suit.

A wedding is about one thing and one thing only, the love between a man and a woman, those two people proclaiming that love to one another in front of their families and friends. It is not about your clothing, a wedding is not a fashion show. It is not about sex, a wedding is not a porno. It is not about your kids, a wedding is not a daycare center free for all.

A wedding is your wedding. And if someone tells you not to wear white, I say wear one as white as snow.

So wear white, and I am not talking about after Labor Day!

Are You My Soul Mate?

August 19, 2008

Whatever happened to the old fashioned way of meeting someone? When did our world get so desperate for love that they had to go to eHarmony or Match.com in order to meet the person of their dreams?

I have heard some weird ways people hooked up. But what I don’t hear is, “I met this guy in the produce aisle after we reached for the same apple, and he asked me to coffee.” Isn’t that the kind of love you would rather pursue? Instead we would like to talk on the phone or the internet to a person we can all most be positive looks nothing like he or she said. Things can be deceiving. Reading a profile can lie to you.

The latest story I heard that blew my mind was: a guy goes to local gay bars. Not because he is gay, but because he wants to hook up and find true love with a woman! He said that lots of women have gay friends and they will go to gay bars to hang with them.

I can tell you there is no way I would go to gay bar, and if I did, it sure wouldn’t be to find love in a straight guy.

Another person said that the reason they don’t want to meet a guy and get married is because they haven’t found “Mr. Right” yet. When I asked how she was looking for him, she said, I stay home, Mr Right will find me.

Let me tell you men and women, if you think that right person for you is going to come to your front door and you are going to live happily ever after, you need to wake up!

If someone comes to your front door and says they are your soul mate, you call 911, because that is creepy!

Don’t get me wrong, I am sure online dating or finding your soul mate through a phone service works for some people, but realistically, we rely on our phone and internet for everything nowadays, that we are almost becoming lazy. If we center our lives around these two contraptions, we are setting ourselves up to become hermits.

Think about it, we can do our banking, buy groceries, find any information possible to do anything we want, have anything shipped to our homes, talk to whomever, see whomever (webcam), rent videos, work from home and even download music and movies. Soon there will be nothing left for us do outside our homes; we will all become strangers to the outdoors.

So why don’t we forget about the online dating services and do things right? Get to know someone face to face and not through a computer screen or telephone line.

Poem for 2008 Summer Beauty Pageant

For the pageants, there is an "About Me" section that the contestant is to fill out, however, since Tarrah is so young, they ask that the parent writes something. I of course, choose to write a cute poem:

I am almost two

Let me tell you what I can do…

I may be small

But I am growing with everyday.

I love to bat my eyes and smile

And do not have too much to say.

Mommy and Daddy make me laugh

In many different ways.

I love to sing, dance and clap,

That is how I praise.

I like to clean with my talking vacuum

Or dust the TV like I’ve seen mommy do.

I help with the laundry, water the flowers

Just so I can get a kiss and a thank you.

I can show you my nose, eyes, ears,

Hair, head and toes…

I try to dress myself

In anyone’s clothes.

I love all my family,

I know they love me too

From the longest blondest hair

To the tip on my biggest toe in my shoe.

Hidden Baggage

July 28, 2008

I know when I can’t get away with something in front of my significant other. Usually it is about spending money. When I come home from spending time with someone, and I am usually sporting a plastic bag from a store in one hand, I always feel like I cannot bring it into the house.

I have hidden my bags quite well, stuffing them in my car before entering the house, leaving it with the person I was shopping with until a later date when we could bring it home when he wasn’t around, I’d stuff it in a different bag so he wouldn’t be suspicious, and I have also crammed it in my purse. I guess there are no lines drawn in the sand for me when it comes to hiding something I feel guilty for having.

I have made plans to act like it wasn’t mine if he caught me with it; make it out that I grab it by accident out of my friends’ car. I have spent numerous hours coming up with excuses in case I was caught or could hide it anywhere and had to bring it in.

I have to admit, half the time, it isn’t my money being spent. Usually my mom or friends by things for me and I just have to bring it in. You would think he wouldn’t get so uptight about things when I am not spending our money.

“Women tend to buy clothes, make-up and personal indulgences like pedicures, while men tend to hide big-ticket items," says Tina B. Tessina, a Long Beach, California, psychotherapist and author of "Money, Sex and Kids: Stop Fighting About the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage.". "They spend more on gambling and the stock market and fantasy football and porn. They don't hide their spending in the closet; they hide it on the computer."

And after reading this little quote, my whole world changed. I had wondered why he spent so much time on the computer!

Saving Claws or Saving Skin: No More Scratches

July 14, 2008

Boston Cinder Red Sox Allen (quite the name), the newest member of our household is quite the feline. He is a Tasmanian devil that had to be put under control. I am all for declawing, especially if you are 100% sure that the cat will be an indoors cat and have no access to the outside world. That is his life here, no access to an outside opening, unless he is perched in a windowsill.

Boston, being a kitten at the time we got him, was like any other kitten, playful and unaware. He would play, day and night with whatever moved. And as he played, he was unaware that his claws were little weapons attacking our skin. With a toddler in the house, we had to find an alternative to leaving him with little knives on his paws. If you read Saving Claws or Saving Skin, you remember my hassle with Soft Claws.

I really would have loved to find a better alternative that would take my worries away for good, but the only way I could be sure that my daughter would be safe from scratches would be declawing. Granted, Franny Syufy had said this would be an “irreversible decision,” I felt it to be the very best decision for my little feline.

Now, more than a month later, my kitten Boston is free to play without supervision. I have no more worries that he will be hurting anyone including our other cat Mickey Mouse Vincent. They both have been declawed and the only one with an advantage is Mickey, who still has her back claws, but doesn’t use them.

Declawing may not be right for every one’s feline, but if you think that it is right for you, then speak with your vet.

2008 Afton Fair Beautiful Baby Girl Pageant

July 10, 2008

They were head to head the whole day. One waved to the crowd, the other turned in circles. One danced, one sang; the talent competition was tough and they weren’t even required to perform a talent. Not even old enough to put a sentence together with words, the girls fought it out for the crown in their evening gowns. One in green the other in a flowered pattern, the two tried their best to impress the judges.

But in the end, there was only one trophy accompanied by the winning crown and sash that would name the winner of the 2008 Afton Fair Beautiful Baby Girl Pageant. Who would win over the judges? Would it be the little blonde girl who stole the judge’s hearts with a kiss, or would it be the shy brunette girl? With a moment to spare while the judges tallied the votes, the two girls stood holding hands like they were best friends. And the winner is… Tarrah Rayne Allen.