Adventures in Adolescence: Grades, Goals, and Gullibility

My thirteen-year-old daughter is not what one would call "studious" or "academic" or any of those other words she deems to be completely nerdy. She is smart, but she would prefer that no one knows that. This trait has clashed often over the years with my parental tendency toward high expectations. So when it appeared she was finally making an effort, I did what any parent would do. I became completely gullible.

Having wracked my brain for ways to inspire my smart but (let's be honest) lazy teenager to work for better grades, I did something I swore I'd never do (which pretty much describes my entire parenting experience): I offered her money for A's.

Even that was met with lukewarm effort, until recently. Suddenly, she just had to have a hoodie from what is apparently couture du jour for middle school girls, Victoria's Secret (already there are so many things wrong about this). "Under no circumstances," I flatly told her, "will I ever spend $50 on a hoodie of any kind. If you want one, you have to pay for it yourself."

How she sees it.

How I see it.

So I was actually a little pleasantly surprised when A said she was going to stay after school for tutoring to help bring up her math grade. This was a first, and I was only too happy to see a new level of dedication from her, even if it was about the hoodie and not about grades. She stayed after school a couple of times, and her new display of discipline engendered happy visions of college and career and an eventual empty nest.

Well.

Well, well, well, well, well.

The following week, I received this delightful voice mail from her Social Studies teacher:

"I just wanted to let you know," she said (she has one of those wonderfully dry voices), "your daughter has served detention twice in the last week. The detention forms have a very suspicious parent's signature. I gave her the opportunity to tell me the truth, but she only admitted it when I threatened her with a dean referral. Because she did finally admit that she forged the signatures, she has been given only a detention, so you should expect to see the form from her tonight." And so on and so on. It was quite lengthy, detailed, and informative.

Sigh. The voluntary tutoring was so out of character for her, I should have known. Hope springs eternal. Apparently.

To A's credit, her conscience just about killed her, and the girl who never cries was crying that night. Of course, I had to ascertain whether she was sorry for forging my signature or for getting caught, but since she looked pretty sorry in general, I believe that she really was sorry for doing it.

As for the grades, well, unless things dramatically improve in the next few weeks, she's going to fall short of her Victoria's Secret hoodie goal. But that's in her hands.

The moral of the story: Kids always stay true to character. Always, always, always. Meet any changes with deep suspicion. ;-)

Caucus Experience

Hubby and I just came back from our first ever caucus experience, and it turned out to be a lot more interesting than I expected.

We met at a large local high school, where I'd say some 20+ precincts convened. Based on the number of votes, I estimate a total of 550 people attended at that location. Each precinct was in its own classroom. In my precinct, there were 30 of us. It doesn't sound like a lot, but the room was full. But still ... 30 is not a lot. The precinct consists of I'd say about 500 homes. If roughly 1/3 of them are registered Republicans, then less than 20% of eligible voters showed up. And actually, if you assume there are two voters per household, then it's more like 10%.

Anyway, the first thing we did after the Pledge of Allegiance was to cast our votes. In our precinct, it went 16 for Romney, 8 for Gingrich, 4 for Santorum, and 2 for Paul. (I think. I'm only off by one or two in any case.) They announced the whole building totals as 280+ for Romney, 160 for Santorum, 80 for Gingrich, and 28 for Paul. I'm going from memory, so numbers are not exact.

Let me just say, this method of voting is wide open for voter fraud. In our classroom, we made sure to match up the number of votes to the number of people, but it is easy to see how a less vigilant precinct could cast more than one vote per person. We were handed slips of paper for voting and pretty much responsible for passing them around ourselves. Anyone could have taken multiple ballots without being caught.

After the vote, we were not done. I figured out the reason for caucuses vs. primaries, and it is to give people an opportunity to volunteer for other things. Things like precinct leaders, delegates and alternates. A delegate is someone who will attend county, judicial and congressional conventions here in Colorado and vote on which Republicans will be put on the ballots. An alternate is just that--someone who votes if a delegate doesn't show up.

We were supposed to come up with 4 delegates and 4 alternates. It took a while, but we finally got them. (Say hello to your new alternate. Hi!) Five guys put their names up for delegate, forcing a vote, so they all got to say a little bit about themselves. That was the most interesting part. They ranged from just a regular guy who had done this before, to an attorney who is wanting to get involved in politics, to military vets who just want to serve, to a college senior who wants to put this on her application for law school. And little old me, a housewife. :)

A few people tried to figure out what the caucus is all about and why we are doing it this way and what happens next and how the delgate path works, and pretty much, no one had the answers. No one really knows what the heck is going on, only that we knew where to show up to vote. So, um, Colorado Republicans? You might want to work on your messaging.

Anyway, it was an enlightening experience and even a little fun, once people started opening up a little. Hubby has a gift for making people open up, which involves egging them on until they turn purple faced and burst out. But once that was out of the way, people started talking at least.

If you haven't done it, you really should. Civic duty and all that. And not so bad.

And the candidate I support is...

Ugh.

I've been putting this off, but I guess it's time. The Colorado caucus is this evening and I'm going to be attending to cast my vote.

So what does a Republican do when none of the candidates is particularly appealing? The guy I initially supported, Rick Perry, has dropped out, so that leaves Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul.

And just looking at that list makes me feel irritated. It's not that these guys are the best the GOP has to offer. There are a lot of well-qualified, staunchly conservative, charismatic, smart and prinicpled Republicans out there, but none of them has decided to run. That in itself just kind of pisses me off.

But let me just point out, this primary race isn't about these four guys anymore. It's basically become a battle of the Republican Party versus Conservatives.

Before I explain that, let me categorize the four candidates as I see them.

• Ron Paul is not really a Republican, he's a Libertarian. He runs as a Republican because Liberatarians don't win elections. But pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth is right in line with libertarian beliefs. I agree with Paul probably about 75% of the time, but it's the areas I disagree that I can't live with. Not the least of which is his isolationist foreign policy.
• Rick Santorum is the social conservative candidate of the race. He appeals to the Evangelical and Catholic portions of the Republican party. He's loud and proud about his social conservativism, and there are a number of voters who are going to respond to that. When it comes to fiscal policy, however, the waters are a little murkier. And considering that the Tea Party (whoever they are) gained traction on fiscal reform, this is an area that could hurt Santorum with conservatives (among others).
• Newt Gingrich is sort of the consummate Republican conservative politician. He has some personal problems (charisma being one of them, though the same can be said for all four), but he has a basically very clean conservative record--both fiscal and social. This is why he has been the sort of de facto conservative choice, although obviously he is having problems gaining traction since the Florida debates. But while conservatives may be willing to overlook some of his unfortunate personal choices and personality problems, the general election will be another beast altogether.
• Mitt Romney is the guy the Republican Party has decided to support because, theoretically, he can win Independents' votes and beat Obama. Also, he hasn't made enemies within the party like Newt did, apparently. Mitt is not a conservative. He is running as one in order to win primaries, but he is not, never has been, nor ever will be a conservative. He is a moderate, and his record consistently proves it. He also has lots and lots of money, something that Republicans know is required to win a general election.

Okay. So.

In my opinion, this primary race is about the Republican party and how they value conservatives. Oh, they pander to conservatives for sure, because they can't win without them. But they are pushing a candidate who can only be described as "Democrat-Lite" because "anyone but Obama" is their goal. Which is fine, except, they've calculated all this based on "electibility." The Republican party is telling us that Romney is the only "electible" candidate.

Frankly, I don't think any one of them is electible. I'm very pessimistic about anyone's ability to beat Obama. Why? Because this race is about one thing--MONEY. And Obama has one billion dollars to spend. So far. In order to beat him, Romney will have to run a very expensive and very smart campaign. Unfortunately, I can't remember the last time the Republican party ran a smart campaign.

(If he is smart, by some miracle, he will make the campaign about three things: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. If he lets the Democrats sucker him into focusing on social issues like gay marriage--and that's exactly what they'll try--it will be over.)

If you're wondering about 2010 and all the wins we had then, keep in mind that they were mostly "Tea Party" candidates who were supported at the grassroots level, not by the Republican party. And sometimes even undermined by the party. Interestingly, in Florida, an attempt is currently being made to redistrict the two most vocal and conservative Congressmen out of their seats--by the Florida Republican party.

Here are some fun numbers for you. 40% of voters in this country self-identify as conservative. Only 21% self-identify as liberal, and 35% are self-described moderates. (The rest don't care, I guess.) In order to win elections, Republicans need to win over only about 11% of moderates. By contrast, there are more registered Democrats (42 mil) than Republicans (30 mil), and the Republican party has shrunk since 2008. That doesn't mean the Democrat party has grown (they have also declined); rather, the "Independent" status has grown. And this is in spite of the highly motivated conservative activism that occurred between 2008 and 2010.

So what this basically means is that conservatives are leaving the Republican party because it is not conservative enough. Which is soon to include me, most likely. I'm not interested in being part of a Democrat-Lite party. Moreover, I'm sick of the attitude of "You're stuck with the candidates we choose; conform or your only other option is worse--Obama." And it works to a degree because conservatives really are terrified of four more years of socialism under the Democrats.

But I've had enough of the bullshit. As with everything in this country, the politicians work for me. If the Republican party wants my support, they're going to have to start listening to the base, and the base wants conservative candidates. I'm not afraid of losing to a more "moderate" or a liberal candidate, because I think anyone with a strong Constitution-first message can win support, enough to win elections. It the wishy-washy ones that nobody likes, and Mitt Romney personifies that like no other. He's getting fewer votes in the primaries this year than he did four years ago, even though he's winning, because no one cares about him. They know what he's about, and they don't like it. Yeah, they'll vote for him in the general, but only as an anti-Obama vote, not as anyone to be excited about.

And that's what frustrates me. After the 2010 victories, I really thought that the 2012 election would be a shoo-in. People were so fired up two years ago, and it has resulted in ... Mitt Romney? Damn it!

Anyway, I will be voting tonight, and not because I'm fired up but because it's what I do. I have never not voted. But the chances are good that I will not vote in the general election simply in protest. I am only one voice, but I am sending the message that the GOP better wise up. Soon.

(Sorry I didn't answer the tease in the title. But I bet you can figure it out.)

Proud, Pissed, Disgusted

One of the reasons I haven't blogged lately is that I've been in a rather cantankerous mood lately, and I don't like to blog when I'm angry. It doesn't turn out well. It's about a lot of different things. But today I am making an exception, because frankly, someone needs to speak out, and a little righteous indignation is called for sometimes.

I'm PROUD to be pro-life.

I'm PISSED that my tax dollars are funding abortions against my will.

I'm DISGUSTED with the Susan G. Komen Foundation for caving to pressure from the radical left.

I had decided yesterday to give a donation to SGK in thanks for doing the right thing. Now they will never see a penny of my money--or anyone else who supports Planned Parenthood or any other abortion-providing service.

Let's get something straight here. To be anti-abortion is NOT to be anti-woman. And I should know, I am one. To take it further, it's not to be anti-feminst, either. I'm all for equality of the sexes, and I thank my foremothers for the work they did to provide it to me.

But to suggest that the killing of innocent lives is somehow against feminist principles is outrageous. I've heard all the arguments, and yet I still cannot wrap my mind around it. How the HELL did we get to a place in this country where the most egregious form of slaughter--the killing of the innocent--somehow became okay?

Yeah, I'm mad. I'm furious. Look, I'm not some pro-life nutjob who goes around making that my pet cause. I don't go to pro-life rallies. I don't protest in front of abortion clinics. I don't condone the murder of abortionists, because it is just that--murder. I don't even read pro-life literature or visit their web sites or anything. But I know what life is, and I know that babies are treasures, not impediments, and I know that killing someone just because you can't really see it is wrong.

And I don't need to justify that to anyone. I know exactly what an unplanned pregnancy is all about, and I know exactly how radically a baby can change a young woman's life. I also know how babies get made and how important education is and also how important support is. So if you want to fight with me about all the reasons abortion should be okay, SAVE IT. I've already heard all the flimsy arguments, and I don't buy them.

But you know what I'm really mad about? I'm mad that when Komen cut off funding for Planned Abortion, they got excoriated--scorched-- by the pro-abortionists. The attacks were Over. The. Top. But that's not what I'm mad about. That's to be expected. That's how they always operate. No, what I'm mad about is the absolute silence by so-called conservatives and pro-lifers when Komen caved and changed their minds today.

Look, I get it that people don't want to rock the boat. As a professional conflict-avoider myself, I understand the desire to fly under the radar and live life quietly according to one's beliefs.

But the message that is getting sent is ... nothing. No message has been sent by the pro-lifers of my acquaintance, and I'm stunned. Disgusted. Angry.

Where is your voice? Where is the outrage?

Why I'm a Republican

...or rather, why I'm a conservative, to be more accurate.

With the elections coming up later this year, and all the nonsense going on in the Republican primaries, it's only natural that I would want to discuss politics on my blog from time to time. It's a subject I became interested in in 2000, and I follow things more or less closely depending on the political climate.

Oh God. These are our choices, folks.

Before I get into all that, though, I thought it would be helpful to explain exactly why I'm a Republican. Since many of my friends are Democrats, this might help them understand where I'm coming from; also, I'm hoping a few of my more open-minded readers might hold back on the knee-jerk reactions they sometimes may feel when they hear that word.

More than a Republican, I'm a conservative. It just happens that the Republican party most closely resembles my political beliefs. I might explain later, however, how the GOP may just be losing me, and many like me, if they don't stop the stupidity. But that's another post.

At the absolute core of my political beliefs is the value of liberty. Liberty is the concept on which we must hang all policies of government. Liberty as we Americans know it was a radical movement at the time the Constitution was drafted, but it has proven to be the basis for greatness. We are great because we are free. As we lose our liberties little by little, we will consequently lose our greatness.

This eagle doesn't need the government to know his greatness.

Some may argue that compassion is more important than liberty, but I would argue that liberty is the greatest form of compassion.

The video at the link (no embed available, sorry) contains the answer of a prominent and articulate Republican, John Bolton (former UN Ambassador) to the question, What is the greatest misconception that most Democrats have about Republicans?

He says (emphasis mine):

“The core misimpression is that a fundamental belief in liberty and its implications is somehow cruel and uncaring. When in fact, liberty is absolutely central to the most massive economic change in the history of the world that has brought more concrete material advantages to people in the last few hundred years than in millennia before that. And that understanding liberty means you have to value the possibility of failure as well as the possibility of success. Because if you don’t have failure as an option, you’ll never have success as an option.

It’s not lack of compassion that drives many Republican policy preferences, it’s a belief in the inherent importance of individual self-worth and not being dependent on external factors like the government.”

So, to paraphrase, conservatives recognize that success and failure go hand in hand. Liberty allows even the most fallen to rise.

Where does that leave us with the less fortunate of society? Conservatives believe that helping the needy is an individual mandate, as opposed to a governmental one. It's very easy to say "let the government take care of them," because it requires very little personal sacrifice. I believe that anyone with a compassionate heart will make personal sacrifices to help the needy, whether it's through money or time.

This article gives evidence that conservatives are indeed more involved with the needy on a personal level than are liberals. An example: "People who reject the idea that "government has a responsibility to reduce income inequality" give an average of four times more than people who accept that proposition."

I don't say that from a position of moral superiority, but to show how a difference in philosophy is played out in reality. Our family does give regularly to non-profits and charities, and believe me, I would love to give more if we could afford it. If the government would cut entitlement programs (most of which I disagree with) and return to us more of our own income, I could give more money to local programs that I really have a heart for reaching the unfortunate in our area. And that's not just theoretical.

A natural outgrowth of my belief in liberty is my belief in small government. I believe the Founders envisioned a small federal government, with more power going to the individual states. In the last 235 years, the federal government has grown much too large and deals with things that are really none of its business. Let people decide how they want to live within their states, but leave federal government out of our personal lives and business. Whenever the federal government tries to "help," it ends up doing more harm than good.

Of course, the larger the government, the less personal freedoms we have. The more money they take from people, the less people have for themselves. A large government tends to treat its people as dependents, and of course a fundamentally American value is that we are all in charge of our own lives. It is up to me and how I live my life whether I am a success or failure, and government needs to stay out of the way. We don't need more government to ensure our liberty; we need less of it.

Government does have legitimate roles, of course, and that is why I'm a Republican, not an anarchist or even a libertarian. While I have some libertarian tendencies, I believe government does provide some protections that are necessary and vital. I just think that government has become too invasive lately, and that capitalism, which relies on liberty, needs the freedom to do its job. When the markets are allowed to work, everyone benefits.

That's a somewhat libertarian view of things, however, when it comes to things like marriage, abortion, the legalization of drugs, etc., my opinion of protection goes to the conservative Republican side of things rather than libertarian.

For example: I don't care (or want to know) what goes on in the bedroom between consenting adults, and practices that repulse me should not be illegal as long as they are consensual, but for legal purposes I believe marriage is between one man and one woman.

Anyway, there you have it. No mean-spirited jerk here, just someone whose political beliefs are rooted in the concept of liberty. As the primaries continue and things really start to get ugly, I'll share my feelings on the whole GOP situation going into the 2012 elections. You might be surprised. (Then again, maybe not.)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy birthday to my mom!

I chose this picture because that's what we had yesterday. Angel food cake with strawberries and cream. Yum.

I might get in trouble for revealing her age, so I'll just say that today is one of the Big -0's. A milestone. Considering that I'm 35 and her middle child, she's not that old at all. Of course, she's always looked younger than her age anyway. What I'm trying to say is, she's got a lot of good years left.

I'll stop before I really get in trouble.

Now I realize that lots of daughters are close to their mothers, so maybe it's not all that unusual that I consider her my best friend. We don't talk on the phone every day, or even every week, (Digression: I don't get people who do. What the heck do you talk about all that time?) But when we do talk, it's kind of like sinking into a comfy old chair ... comforting and familiar.

What I love most about our relationship is that she is probably the only person on earth with whom I can completely be myself. I don't have to worry about how she'll judge me, or if she'll still like me if I say something un-P.C., or if a disagreement will be the end of us. I don't have to be "on" with her like I am with almost everyone else. Of course, she's better than most people in that she almost never says anything hurtful. How she does it, I don't know. I certainly didn't inherit that trait, much as I wish I did.

Mom is also the most disciplined person I know. When she sets a goal, she almost always achieves it. She sticks to daily routines like glue. I really admire this about her because, again, I'm not like that at all.

I have never known a single person who doesn't like Mom. Not only is she gentle and kind, but she shows a genuine interest in everyone she meets. She can learn more about someone in five minutes than I have in five years.

Perhaps the most amazing thing is she has faces just as many hardships as the rest of us (if not more), but never has anything tarnished her character. While I know how she really feels about some things, she still is not bitter, cynical or sarcastic. At the same time, don't be fooled by her gentle nature; she is the strongest person I know. You can't go through the dark places in life and maintain your goodness without strength of character, and she has it in spades.

Oh, we don't share everything with each other. There are some things you just don't tell your mom, ever (and vice-versa). And I do have a wonderful non-related best friend as well. But Mom is someone who "gets" me and loves me anyway. I am thankful that God saw fit to bless me with such a wonderful mother.

I love you, Mom!

High Tea in Denver

While the name "Tea and Bonbons" did not originate with an actual connoiseurship for tea, I do enjoy drinking tea from time to time. A bigger tea drinker is my mom. She's into all the loose-leaf, this-and-that varieties, steeping times and what have you. I'm a teabag dunker myself. Despite my laid-back approach to tea, I really enjoy tea and its trappings as long as someone else is serving.

A few times a year, Mom and I will go out for tea together. And since her birthday is coming up soon, my gift to her today was to treat her to high tea at a local teahouse we hadn't tried before. We went to The Denver Tea Room on Colfax, and let me just say, what a wonderful little gem. It's tucked away in The Holiday Chalet, a fabulous Victorian bed and breakfast scrunched between pawn shops and liquor stores on the notorious Colfax strip. While the neighborhood is sketchy, the B&B is anything but.

And I'll be honest ... I'm a sucker for diamonds in the rough.

They completely won me over with the semi-private room they had for Mom and me.

It was a surprising and cozy change from the more formal teahouses. The rest of the team room was a communal area holding only four tables. Again, small and intimate and very welcoming.

This tea room serves a traditional English tea (we've learned that there are many types of tea service, everything from Chinese to Americana to places that cater to hipsters). I ordered a mild black tea, and Mom ordered a cherry-flavored white. I personally don't like flavored teas, with the exception of florals like jasmine or peony, so I stick with the various unflavored blacks, greens, whites and oolongs. Mom is more adventurous than I, and we've tasted some unusual teas together.

The best part of high tea, in my opinion, is the food.

What we have here is

• Herb Cucumber Sandwich
• Spinach Tomato Crustless Quiche
• Mini Beef Wellington
• Sweet Potato Tarts with Coconut Crust
• Pear & Stilton Crostini
• Cream Scone with Devonshire Cream
• Holiday Sweets

All of it was to die for. Soooo yummy.

If you've never been to high tea, I recommend it as a fun way to bond with your female relatives or friends (and British and/or tea-loving males, if you happen to know one). It's a little bit different experience than many Americans are used to. I do have to warn you though -- it's not cheap. It's really an indulgence. You'll pay a lot of money for not a lot of food, but of course the experience is part of the price.

For the ultimate in classy high teas, you simply cannot go wrong with the Brown Palace. They're the gold standard in Denver and I find myself comparing all other tea houses to it. The Denver Tea Room is a very good place as well, and probably my favorite find so far. It's not quite to the Brown Palace standard because a) the environment is less formal (which can be a good thing); b) the sketchy neighborhood; c) smaller selection of teas; and d) fewer food and dessert offerings. However, I really enjoyed the intimate atmosphere and the teas and food that were available were absolutely delicious. Because it's a family operated place, the staff is more personable than you'll find at a place like Brown Palace.

If you like an Asian-inspired experience, the Ku Cha House of Tea in Boulder is a great choice.

Have you been to a tea house in the area that you enjoyed? I'm always ready to try out a good recommendation!

Beware of Teenager

Oh, not really. At least, not this week.

Today is a momentous one for our family...we got our first teenager! My oldest daughter turned thirteen today and so this post is in honor of her.

Modeling the t-shirt I gave her...which she loves!

I've been thinking of what I should say about A, and it's not easy. Out of all the kids, she's the hardest to pin down. She can't be pigeonholed, and maybe that's a good thing.

Challenging authority is not new to her just because of her age. She was born protesting everything--loudly. I recently read an article that kids who argue with their mothers are less susceptible to peer pressure, so I am praying that is true. Actually, it's easy to see how that could be true. She's never been gullible a day in her life. That girl won't be pushed around, stepped on, or steamrolled, that's for sure. It's not easy being the one dealing with her, ah, strong personality, but I'm totally okay with her being strong with others.

I do, however, pray for her future husband. May God grant him the patience and perspective he will surely need.

Being the eldest child, A is the one who was supposed to fulfill all her parents' fantasies about having genius-level intelligence, being extraordinarily talented, driven to be the best, and all those good things. I naturally assumed she'd be a lot like me, participating in everything available, from music to sports to spelling bees.

While I still believe she is intelligent, she has absolutely zero interest in proving it to anybody. She could get straight A's...if she wanted. Which she doesn't. She could excel in something (anything?), but she won't. Competitive activities are her worst nightmare.

Around the time she was 10 or 11 I finally came to accept this about her. It was hard. I mean, I didn't understand why she wouldn't just try. Leaving behind my expectations has allowed me to see her for who she really is. Which still isn't something that's easy to describe.

Here's what I know: she has a lot of friends. People really like her, and there must be a good reason for it. She loyal and nice and ... something I never used to place a lot of importance on ... FUN. That's right. She loves to have a good time and people are drawn to her. That's awesome. Her best friend wrote a tribute to her on Facebook that barely sounded English, but it was touching. I'm glad to know she is such a good friend.

She also has a very good eye. Whether doing something artistic or just dressing herself, everything she puts together manages to come out looking good.

She's beautiful. People say that doesn't matter, but of course it really does. That's something we non-beautiful people say to make ourselves feel better. I don't know if it's wrong to be proud of having beautiful children, but I am. Partly, I'm just a little awed that it happened because I have no idea how.

If I had to describe her in one word, it would be "irrepressible." As in, cannot be repressed. Usually it means that no matter what kind of influence we try to exert on her, she is always herself. She is comfortable with who she is. Sometimes, she's irrepressible when we try to discipline her, and at those times I'm not so appreciative of that. Other times, she's irrepressible in her humor. Other times, it means no matter how we've tried to get her to conform to our ideals, she absolutely refuses. She's kind of like a buoy: no matter how you try to push it down, it'll always bounce back to the top, exactly the same as it was before. I suppose that's why I finally gave up trying to make her more like what I thought she should be. Her resistance was not futile. It was irrepressible.

And that makes her irresistible.

Being thirteen, she often claims that I don't "understand her" at all. And because we have such different personalities, that may partly be true. (Though I understand a lot more than she thinks!) I may have cared a lot about grades and joined everything I could in school, but I am none of the things I described above. And believe me, there were a lot of times I'd wished I were more like her.

She surprised me by deciding not to have any friends over on her birthday. She never explained herself, but apparently she just wanted family around her today. My parents came over and hubby made his always awesome burgers, and we just kind of hung out. Well, she spent most of her time on Facebook. Now that she is thirteen, I finally let her join. Two hours into it half the middle school had sent friend requests. She had fun playing on there, and the rest of us had fun watching the Broncos win.

Gratuitous Tebow picture
My boyfriend...or my future son-in-law. I can't decide.

Let me just say...that game was AWESOME. Even if you're not a Broncos fan, which I'm not (Go Pack), you have to appreciate a game like that.

Anyway, I just want to tell my daughter that I love you, and I'm proud of you, and I'm glad you're irrepressible. If designing you had been left up to me, I would have messed it up big time! You're perfect just the way you are.

God Save My Son...

...because I am about to go medieval on his skinny little ass.

I realize if you're my Facebook friend you've already heard about this, but it is too aggravating a story to limit to status updates. And I! Need! To! Vent!

Here's the back story: I am applying to a graduate program at UCD to get my teaching certificate and eventually my Master's. I've completed everything in the application packet long ago (and, by the way, why must applying to college be a part-time job in itself?), and all I had left to do was the essay portion. I guess I work better under pressure, because I've been putting it off, but now it's crunch time. The application deadline is January 15 and I've got only a few days left to finish.

No big deal, really, because the essay is only about three pages and isn't a terribly difficult subject to write about. So I was feeling very good about things last night, as I had sat down and written some really good stuff. I came up with all kinds of bs that sounds great in an essay. The words were flowing, and I had the power of my convictions behind my words. In short, it was good work. As as former writer and someone with an English degree, I know what good work looks like. All I needed to do was some tweaking and polishing, and it was good to go.

Then. THEN.

My son had to write a story for his Destination Imagination challenge, so I said sure, he can use my laptop. And here's what I am very sure what happened, despite the fact that I never got a straight answer out of him.

Instead of clicking on the Word shortcut on my desktop, he clicked my essay shortcut, which was written in Word, and so he thought the icon looked like Word. Here's what he won't tell me--what he did when he saw all my writing on the page. I can only assume that he deleted my writing so he could start with a blank page, and the proceeded to write. Dinner time came and I told him to stop now, and he said, "But how do I save it?" I started to reply but then said, "Never mind. Just close the lid and we'll come back to it after dinner and I'll show you how." Well, apparently he just went ahead and saved the document. When I went to look at it after dinner, I noticed the top of the window carried the file name of my document. My stomach dropped.

After checking the file for any sign of my writing--any at all!--I went in a panic to super-computer genius, my hubby. He tried and tried to find an older version of my file, but no luck. Well, we found an older version of the file ... the version I made before I started any actual writing. What's infuriating is that if I had rebooted my computer this morning, he could have restored my computer to the reboot point. But guess what? I rarely reboot my computer (it's a pain). I just close it and let it sleep. Also, it's been quite a while since I've performed a backup. That may not have helped me unless I'd backed up last night, but still. It's way overdue, obviously.

So here I am, attempting to write my essay again. Except I'm not writing, am I? I'm blogging instead. In my defense, I must vent before I can move on. I'm feeling angry and sick and frustrated, mainly because what I had written just 24 hours ago was so good it will be hard to replicate. I almost never cry, but I really felt like it for a while there. (If I feel like crying, you know it's bad. Ha!)

Don't worry, my son faced no bodily harm. I did tell him he'd better stay out of my sight for a while.

Just had to vent. But don't worry, it could be worse. I was thinking about blogging about politics. So you lucked out (for now).

Christmas Card Follow-up

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope your 2012 is off to an auspicious start. As opposed to a suspicious start. That would not be good.

We had a wonderful new year's, which started with our annual New Year's Eve party. We're not the super-cool kids on the block, planning zany themes or games or even a music list. We just invite friends, put the food out, and hang out together enjoying each other's company for a few hours. It is always fun because, of course, our friends are awesome. Yesterday was recovery day...I only wanted to nap. But I didn't. I laid around on the couch watching a lot of football, but no sleeping. I'm also very proud of myself for getting all the Christmas decorations down yesterday. Last year it took until mid-January, so this is progress!

Anyway, on to the original reason for my post.

If you've been reading for a while, you know I am the Crazy Christmas Card Lady. Apparently, I am not alone, because it is my third most popular post. I even had someone google "Crazy Christmas Card Lady" on my blog, which totally cracks me up.

So I was putting everything away yesterday, and as I do every year, I took the time to go through the cards we'd received, reading them one more time before putting them away. (Actually, I throw most of them away. I'm not nutty enough to start saving them forever. Yet.) We got some really beautiful cards, and since beauty is meant to be shared, I thought I'd scan my favorites and share them with my dear readers.

5th Place
This card comes from the parents of my daughter's best friend. I picked it because, personally, I find it difficult to find religious cards that are attractive. This one, with the simple foils of copper and silver, depicts the Three Kings elegantly. Plus, I love the foil look, as you will see.

4th Place
This card come's from my husband's co-worker and simply meets the cuteness factor that I'm such a sucker for. Mice in real life are disgusting, but on Christmas cards? Love 'em. What's cuter than Christmas mice and dogs? As demonstrated in this card (all of them, actually), I also prefer simple. When it comes to any kind of art, less is more, for me. I'm not a fan of cluttered up highly detailed pictures. This type of drawing is right down my alley.

3rd Place
These top three cards I like so much that it was hard to put them in order. This card was from a good friend of mine, and I like it, again, for its simplicity. And I really like the silver and red foil together. It's just an all-around pretty card.

2nd Place
This one almost won, but not quite. It's from friends of ours, and the wife is very crafty. She did not make this, however (it totally would have won if she had--bonus points!). But it's easy to see how it appeals to her crafty nature. First of all, the card meets the ultra-cute standard. This card goes the extra mile because it's original in shape and uses felt, buttons, ribbon, etc. Also, the base folds out so it stands up just like a snowglobe! Love!

I looked up the brand because both this card and the next one are Burgoyne cards, and I thought I might try to find some for myself to send in the future. I ultimately figured out that these cards are probably sold in Costco. So if you're looking for awesome cards, that's a great place to start.

1st Place
This card is from my husband's boss. It is not "cute" or even all that "creative," but I picked it as my favorite this year because it is just beautiful. My scanner did not do it justice, so I had to photograph it. Every time I looked at my cards this season, this one just caught my eye. I love the monochromatic scheme, the elegant pinstriping, and the foil tree and border that reflects the rainbow back at me. Plus, the paper is a much higher quality than the others. For me, this is the ultimate in class and I love it.

Clearly, having favorite cards does not make the senders my favorite people, and I enjoy getting all of them. So thanks to everyone who sent, if you're reading this. I treasure them all!