On second thought...

I think it would be an honor to have the President of the United States give the commencement speech at my high school graduation, and even cooler if it was Barack Obama giving the speech. The school that I coach at is one of six top schools that could get chosen to have President Obama give the commencement speech this May. I talked to a few people that are in that district and or work at that school and they made their opinions known that they did not want Obama to come to their school. Their only reason was they don't agree with him politically and "I don't like him". I quickly said, "well, I do.." and wanted to make sure everyone didn't appear to be sheeps agreeing with only those who spoke the loudest. I didn't want to keep my mouth quiet like I might in some other cases because I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable. But when they were being so over the top on their disagreeing with the possibility I had to say my opinion too.
Here's my problem, these were the same people (mixed with a lot of other people) saying if you don't support George W. Bush then you are unpatriotic, but if you don't support Obama, then you're a Republican. It seems to be very hypocritical and somewhat ignorant. Not only that, the school district is a very wealthy one, and about 95% of the kids in this area have had a very privileged life thus far. Also, 93% of the kids graduating will be going to college. Perhaps President Obama should be speaking to 1,700 kids that might appreciate the value of his message much more. The ones that truly need that inspiration and hope for tomorrow. To hear about first hand, the realistic work that it takes to achieve almost anything, the ability to have compassion for others and then do something positive about it, and the power to not rule by fear and bullying behavior no matter how much someone else wants you to.
Although, it might be nice to have him come here and let those irrational jerks shut up for a few minutes, and let him see that he does have support through this very red state. However I know some people are already wasting their time planning pickets, and boycotts and forcing their kids to swallow the same garbage they continue to believe despite reality.

At the end of the day you can believe what you want, and I will do the same. The easiest thing we can do is agree to disagree with respect and hope that those choosing to be ignorant will still gain some insight at some point in their lives. Regardless of any political party, the desire to see our communities and this country go in a positive direction should be the goal. Showing that it's important to be a good person and educate yourself rather then cling to a title that you don't quite understand. I do know one thing, it will all work out, and we've all got much more important things to worry about. Like, here's hoping the rain helps my newly planted garden grow...

Lemon out.

Garden time....

Our garden space started like this...


After a fun trip to the store with my dad, we picked out some wonderful flower plants and vegetables. A few hours later our garden is starting to look very lovely. I have been wanting to do this for a while now, and I am very excited to see what will thrive. I love the idea of being able to step outside our front door, pick a few veggies and get to eat them for dinner.











We have two new colorful flowers, basil, two types of tomatoes, squash, green peppers, and organic lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, radish and a third set of tomatoes. Love it !

Food Inc.

Have you seen it yet? If not, do yourself a favor and see it! It lowers the veil from the food corporations of America and their intent of bigger, faster, and more money. Scientifically changing the genetics of chickens so they will grow bigger white meat areas in order to gain a larger profit, never mind the fact that these chickens are kept in the worst possible conditions, most never seeing sunlight, and all only able to take two steps before the collapse back to the ground because they can not handle the weight. It is completely eye opening and charges this desire to become more educated on such an important issue, the stuff you CHOSE to put into your body. Where does it come from? How are the animals raised and treated? How does the system work that treats the factory workers almost as poorly as the animals? The biggest thing I got from this movie was that the companies produce the things the majority of customers want. If you don't buy it, it will eventually go away (this is how the tobacco industry lost a ton of money). Not only that, but if you show the demand for better quality food, the product will continue to show up at your grocery store. Buying local is HUGE, think about the journey each one of your items has to travel (typically 1500 miles to reach your plate) unless you truly buy locally. Think of it this way; every time you buy a product, you are adding a vote to keep that product going.
I rarely eat fast food but this movie makes me never want to eat any of it ever again. It takes a conscious effort to care, then to educate yourself, and yes sometimes the extra dollar to make the change. Personally, I think it is and will continue to be completely worth it. And even our very small attempt at a garden (about to include tomatoes, basil, lettuce, peppers) makes a difference. Make the change, one bite at a time.
:)
http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-issues.php

Concert

Hey! Last night my sister and I went to see Ani Difranco live in concert. This was our second time seeing her, and she is awesome. She is and always has been very brave with her open and honest lyrics, she is an activist and fights for women and gay rights and she puts on one heck of a show. Ani has some very sweet slow songs, some of which I have fun attempting to play on the guitar, while others shake the stage and I stand in awe as the beautiful sounds swing by. We started the evening with dinner out to a delicious restaurant and then made our way to the show. The opening act was a man named Buddy Wakefield. He is a poet and performs with a sweet intensity. He spoke about the difficulties of his childhood and he too, yearned for better treatment of all human beings.

As we fought our way to a decent spot in a standing room only floor, one tall person after the other, followed by someone with big hair, each would take their sweet time blocking our view. I tried to guard my pregnant sister as people pushed passed, not to mention the geniuses behind us that lifted their friend into the air when she wasn't ready. Not cool. I spent my time swaying opposite directions as the person in front of me who happened to be my same height. I managed to see 1/4 of Ani's body throughout the show, luckily it happened to be her face, or her guitar which is also amazing to watch as she frantically moves her tiny hands up and down the neck of the guitar while her other hand beats rhythmically against the guitar. As I sway to the right I get a perfect view of the stage, sway to the left I can still kind of see but then I get a wiff of the young man standing next to me, a mixture of sweat and smoke. A few minutes later we find ourselves in a slightly better location yet the girl in front of me is carrying a bag half her size and the bottom of the purse is pointed my direction. As the purse slid across my forearm my germaphobe side immediately imagines all the disgusting places the bottom of that purse has been laid (bathrooms, taxis, etc.) My mind jolts back into the music and I am present again.

There is a woman around my age standing about four people in front of us and she is the most physically into a show I have ever seen. She jumps and sways, shifts her body with every beat. She shot her hands up to the sky as if she was having some religious experience, and actually to her, I think she was. At first you might be annoyed to stand right behind her due to all the sporadic movements continuously blocking your view of the stage, but every time I looked at her, I couldn't help but smile. She was being so open around all these strangers. She was so touched by the music she didn't let any insecurities hold her back and I thought that was great. Usually I will sway, tap my feet, and occasionally do a little dance at a show, but nothing compared to what this woman was doing. After all that people watching it is so easy to get caught up in what other people look like, their clothes, their hair, accessories, but this woman made the experience completely about the music and I found it to be refreshing.

So then I wonder why do we even go to concerts? To fight the crowds, smells, germs, I could go on.... But then I get goosebumps during one of Ani's glorious tangents about the government and women's rights I remember I go to shows for inspiration. I want to see this artist perform live and support the brave work she continues to do. She speaks her mind, she cares about where the direction of our world is going and how people are treating one another, she wants equal rights for all, she cares about the Earth, plus she makes rockin' music. You definitely don't have to agree with her views and I am sure there are plenty of people who despise her because of her views, but isn't that what it's all about? Figuring out your own path, exploring what you believe to be true, and ultimately (hopefully) creating a journey where not only you are happy, but you care about the people next to you and you wish them a life free from suffering.

And now I wonder, what makes you inspired? Where do you find it?

Neti what?

Matt has bad allergies and today his eyes started to get blood shot because of them. After dinner out at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants (that always makes us think of the delicious food we had on our honeymoon) we went to CVS and bought a 'neti pot', ya know one of those tea pots that you drip water through your nose in order to hopefully clear out all your sinuses (I always think of Dwight Schrute using it on the first season of The Office). Of course we had to document this unusual new purchase in use.





I was trying my best to be supportive. Not too sure if the neti pot did it's job or not, but let's hope so !


Also, while at CVS we found an adorable dog bed that I thought was the perfect little size for Ellie. The second we bring it home I put it on the ground and encouraged Ellie to get on it... within thirty seconds she walked by it and Jaxon quickly placed himself on top of it and has not moved since.

Apparently it will be Jaxon's new bed as Ellie is reluctant to give up her spot on Jaxon's oversized bed.

Happy Easter!

We woke up kind of early this morning and took care of a lot of house work, cleaning, and we got out some more spring clothes (it felt nice to pack up some sweaters and to get rid of some other clothes). We went to church with my mom and Steve then spent the day at my mom's house eating a delicious meal (grilled salmon, asparagus, sweet potatoes, rice and pasta, SO good! We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and playing with my brother's new dog. He is SO tiny but soooo cute. My brother originally wanted a bigger dog, but I think he (and his girlfriend) fell in love with this little guy, and he just couldn't help himself. It's funny when you first get an animal like a dog and when you don't have kids yet, you ask questions as if they just had a child... is he sleeping through the night? how's potty training going?

He is a very sweet pup, and hops like a gazelle through the grass until he wears himself out. Also, the weather was gorgeous today! I hope it stays like this throughout the week. Hope you had a nice day!

Have you ever felt...

like the people you are with don't really 'get' you? I was at a dinner with the other coach's that I work with and this is the third year I have worked with these women. Each year gets more comfortable and we all get in some sort of a groove working side by side, however I have known from day one that I don't have a ton in common with these other women. We don't like the same t.v. shows, we don't spend our time talking about similar things, I am sure we don't listen to the same kind of music, and overall these things hinder the level of conversations we can really have. The past few days I have noticed that sometimes when I am in this particular group I tend to laugh at things that I normally would not laugh at. Also, I will come home with stories to tell my husband about something funny that happened at practice, but as soon as I repeat the story at home, I quickly realize that it was not that funny at all. Does anyone else do this? It's like because of your environment your sense of humor gets temporarily warped. So then I have to end the story with not only 'you shoulda been there...' but a 'guess it was funnier at work' or even a 'the sunshine made me feel dizzy and it made things even more funny at the time'...
Cut to dinner tonight, one of the coaches makes a little sarcastic remark to another nothing statement and the whole table erupts in laughter. Right after that, one coach proclaims to the other 'you are now my funniest friend.... it's so nice to have a friend that is funny too, because i have to be the funny one all the time and now i finally have someone who can be funny!'

Let this sink in for a minute...

Now, I don't think this was a kick to my ego AT ALL. But I will admit that I have spent the last 15 years or so trying to make people laugh and have been pretty successful at it. I know there are plenty of people funnier then me, but I will give myself credit when it is due. I am not great at math, I will do anything but file my own taxes, I like cleaning but HATE dusting, I immediately throw away almost all directions to anything because I won't take the time to read them, I am a semi-germaphobe, I am awful with geography but I continue to try to get better at it..... all of these things are tiny pieces of me, but the point is I do some things well and other things I need to work on. Comedy, is not one of them. I can make people laugh. And when I was surrounded with things that I found un-funny but next to people that couldn't stop laughing, I just... I was .... appalled. Not to sound too dramatic, but I was. I almost felt like it was a competition that I never signed up for. Yet I was ready to compete.

(Next, the funky bass sounds from Seinfeld play as this rapidly turns into the next episode)