February 7th has come and gone...and with it the one year anniversary of this blog. I believe that calls for a gift of paper, don't you think? Although, I suppose paper would be somewhat contradictory to celebrate the anniversary of an online journal.
It is hard to believe it has been a year already, but I seem to say that about a lot of anniversaries these days. We've covered a lot over the past twelve months...lost teeth, visits with friends and family, music, a golden anniversary, communing with nature, the loss of a loved one, a historical election and even a Super Bowl run. It's been a fun ride and I appreciate the comments from our loyal followers.
Be sure to stay tuned for more Desert Doer antics. I suspect I'll continue to have plenty of inspiration.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Flabulous Flashion
I guess with two daughters the odds were pretty good that we'd have at least one fashion hound. I just didn’t expect it so soon.
Emily has never been overly concerned about what she wears. When she was younger, she would simply wear whatever I picked out. There was a short period of time that she didn’t like anything with buttons, but other than that, I can’t think of any fashion cunumdrums for Em. Now that she’s older, she just pulls out whatever is at the top of the drawer and she’s off.
But Megan. Oh, Megan. She’s a totally different creature. Since she could talk, she’s been much more particular about what she wears. Last winter…it was her Dora Crocs with everything. Once the weather cooled down and we convinced her to wear Princess sneakers, they could only be worn without socks. Then there was the period that only short-sleeved shirts would do.
These days it’s more about her self-declared desire to look “flabulous” (That's how she says fabulous...it has nothing to do with annoying cellulite). She picked out her own pretty red dress for Christmas. If we’d let her, she’d have worn it every day of December. As far as pants…jeans are her favorite. Or as she calls them, “blue pants”. One particularly grumpy afternoon I asked what had caused her bad mood. She responded with, “Because I don’t look flabulous”. “Really? You look fabulous to me,” I respond. “But my pants are not blue Mama.” Oh. Well how could I argue with that?
I have even been subjected to the flabulous test. One morning she declares, “Mama..you look flabulous today!”. Why thanks Megs. As she directs a critical gaze to my pants she says, “What color are your pants?” “They are brown,” I respond. “Oh, well your pants aren’t flabulous, but your shirt is." Well then. Perhaps I can bring that up with the dress code policy writers at work.
She isn't a complete diva about it. After all, she will settle for wearing other colored pants…but they just aren’t as flabulous as good ol’ blue denim. And so it begins. She is four going on fourteen.
Here are a couple shots of her in her favorite “flabulous” outfit…making some “flabulous” poses.
Emily has never been overly concerned about what she wears. When she was younger, she would simply wear whatever I picked out. There was a short period of time that she didn’t like anything with buttons, but other than that, I can’t think of any fashion cunumdrums for Em. Now that she’s older, she just pulls out whatever is at the top of the drawer and she’s off.
But Megan. Oh, Megan. She’s a totally different creature. Since she could talk, she’s been much more particular about what she wears. Last winter…it was her Dora Crocs with everything. Once the weather cooled down and we convinced her to wear Princess sneakers, they could only be worn without socks. Then there was the period that only short-sleeved shirts would do.
These days it’s more about her self-declared desire to look “flabulous” (That's how she says fabulous...it has nothing to do with annoying cellulite). She picked out her own pretty red dress for Christmas. If we’d let her, she’d have worn it every day of December. As far as pants…jeans are her favorite. Or as she calls them, “blue pants”. One particularly grumpy afternoon I asked what had caused her bad mood. She responded with, “Because I don’t look flabulous”. “Really? You look fabulous to me,” I respond. “But my pants are not blue Mama.” Oh. Well how could I argue with that?
I have even been subjected to the flabulous test. One morning she declares, “Mama..you look flabulous today!”. Why thanks Megs. As she directs a critical gaze to my pants she says, “What color are your pants?” “They are brown,” I respond. “Oh, well your pants aren’t flabulous, but your shirt is." Well then. Perhaps I can bring that up with the dress code policy writers at work.
She isn't a complete diva about it. After all, she will settle for wearing other colored pants…but they just aren’t as flabulous as good ol’ blue denim. And so it begins. She is four going on fourteen.
Here are a couple shots of her in her favorite “flabulous” outfit…making some “flabulous” poses.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A dream come true.
On August 28, 1963, a man delivered a speech on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. It is the birthday of that same man that many of us are enjoying a day off for. I find something poetic in the timeliness of that man's dreams coming to fruition tomorrow. Regardless of political party, I hope that we can all appreciate a dream, likely beyond his expectations, come true....
Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's speech,
"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's speech,
"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The masthead stays...
That's right! The Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl, baby!
Steve and I enjoyed the game first hand. The stadium was amazing. The crowd was often deafening. It was even nerve racking at the end. But they pulled it off and it is a bit surreal.
We owe a large amount of gratitude to our friends the Chungs. They added our two girls to the mix of their three girls for the majority of the day so we could take part in the festivities. I was told that the noise at their house was deafening at times too...and it had nothing to do with the football game.
CONGRATULATIONS CARDS!!
Steve and I enjoyed the game first hand. The stadium was amazing. The crowd was often deafening. It was even nerve racking at the end. But they pulled it off and it is a bit surreal.
We owe a large amount of gratitude to our friends the Chungs. They added our two girls to the mix of their three girls for the majority of the day so we could take part in the festivities. I was told that the noise at their house was deafening at times too...and it had nothing to do with the football game.
CONGRATULATIONS CARDS!!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Chiliad Celebration
While we were celebrating the new year, our blog received it's 1,000th visitor. January 1st someone on the cox network in Phoenix linked over from my Facebook page. If you can identify yourself..your prize will be 1,000 goldfish crackers. Or grains of rice. Your choice. I apologize about the limited selection...we haven't heard from our potential sponsors yet. Thanks for the loyal readership. It continues to be a fun outlet for me and beats talking to myself..
Friday, January 16, 2009
All aboard!
I’m going to make a confession. I am an Arizona Cardinals football fan. I know I haven’t talked about it much and some people outside of AZ might even use the term “bandwagon.” By definition, a bandwagon is “a popular trend that attracts growing support.” Trust me, there is nothing popular about being an Arizona Cardinal fan. And it’s certainly not attractive. On the contrary, being a Cardinal fan can really bring out the ugly in people. Otherwise civilized people will scream profanities and throw tantrums. I’ve seen it…and it is ugly. A more appropriate phrase for what’s happening in Arizona is that the fans are “coming out of the woodwork.”
We moved to Arizona just before the 1997 football season so we haven’t been waiting as long as the Arizona fans that have been cheering for them since they arrived in 1988. Nor as long as, believe it or not, the fans that still linger from when they were in St. Louis. But we’ve been cheering for the consummate underdog for twelve seasons of football. There were times they made it so hard…you wanted to walk away. But just about every off-season brought some new glimmer of hope. There was second-round draft pick, local ASU hero, Jake Plummer. In his second season, Jake carried the Cardiac Cards to that historic moment in team history…when we beat the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card game. Of course that was followed by more seasons of disappointment. The promising first round draft picks that didn’t pan out. Another glimmer when Dennis Green arrived in 2004…bringing along Edgerrin James a couple seasons later. Yet the letdown continued.
Cardinal fans have become so accustomed to disappointment that instead we would hope to not be humiliated on national television. Does anyone remember the Monday Night Football game between the Bears and Cardinals. It is best if you forget.
Yet we’ve remained loyal and ridden the rollercoaster of emotions. And this year it has finally paid off. We are the NFC West Champions. For three weeks we’ve listened to the naysayers. They’ve said that we are the worst team to ever be in the playoffs. We are in the worst league and didn’t deserve to be there. But here we are…one game away from the Super Bowl and this city is covered in Cardinal red. It is the middle of January and we’re still in the game. We haven’t had to settle for which other team to follow through the play-offs. For that I am thrilled for the team and the faithful fans. And if your team is out of the playoffs and you’re debating who to root for…go ahead jump on our bandwagon. We’ve got plenty of room.
We moved to Arizona just before the 1997 football season so we haven’t been waiting as long as the Arizona fans that have been cheering for them since they arrived in 1988. Nor as long as, believe it or not, the fans that still linger from when they were in St. Louis. But we’ve been cheering for the consummate underdog for twelve seasons of football. There were times they made it so hard…you wanted to walk away. But just about every off-season brought some new glimmer of hope. There was second-round draft pick, local ASU hero, Jake Plummer. In his second season, Jake carried the Cardiac Cards to that historic moment in team history…when we beat the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card game. Of course that was followed by more seasons of disappointment. The promising first round draft picks that didn’t pan out. Another glimmer when Dennis Green arrived in 2004…bringing along Edgerrin James a couple seasons later. Yet the letdown continued.
Cardinal fans have become so accustomed to disappointment that instead we would hope to not be humiliated on national television. Does anyone remember the Monday Night Football game between the Bears and Cardinals. It is best if you forget.
Yet we’ve remained loyal and ridden the rollercoaster of emotions. And this year it has finally paid off. We are the NFC West Champions. For three weeks we’ve listened to the naysayers. They’ve said that we are the worst team to ever be in the playoffs. We are in the worst league and didn’t deserve to be there. But here we are…one game away from the Super Bowl and this city is covered in Cardinal red. It is the middle of January and we’re still in the game. We haven’t had to settle for which other team to follow through the play-offs. For that I am thrilled for the team and the faithful fans. And if your team is out of the playoffs and you’re debating who to root for…go ahead jump on our bandwagon. We’ve got plenty of room.
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