April 2010

Fragmented Fridays

by UnknownMami on April 30, 2010

Pardon my French, but last night was a BIOTCH! And not my biotch! I got an email right before my daughter’s bedtime about a large crib recall and what do you know, my daughter’s crib was on the list! Of course, I did not feel comfortable letting her sleep in it anymore since one poor child has died. I’m pissed that she ever slept in it. (Click HERE to see if your crib was recalled.)

That meant that the bedtime routine was out the window. She was exhausted and actually trying to climb into her crib. She NEVER wants to be in her crib, but of course last night she did. I tried to get her to go to sleep with me, but she was so excited about being in the big bed that all she wanted to do was play. Long story short, very little sleep for the entire family.

This morning I woke up and felt like the center of the universe. I had a husband snuggling my right side, a daughter snuggling my left side, and a dog curled up at my feet. It was sweet. Then I realized that the center of the universe has very little room to move. The worst is when the center of the universe has to go pee; it disrupts the entire universe.

I got a lovely email from Raymonde of Everyday I walk with You, pointing out in the most diplomatic manner that I had misspelled a word in the title of one of my posts. She hoped I didn’t take offense. OFFENSE?! I’m grateful. I use spell check, but spell check does not work on the title bar and even though I proof, my eye often do not see glaring mistakes. So, that you Raymonde for saving me from further embarrassment.

My husband works at a theatre from 12-8pm, which means that by the time he gets home Put Pie is asleep. When the theatre is dark (between plays) he gets off at 6pm. This week we’ve been meeting him at the train stop which is right by the park. It’s been so nice to have a few moments together as a family before Put Pie goes to bed. I believe the Universe is abundant so I’m just going to put this out there: I wish that my husband could get a job that allowed him to come home earlier.

I wrote a post that for this blog is a tad controversial (I may have lost a follower over it, or maybe they dumped me for other reasons). I am not a political pundit and I try to stay away from politics, but sometimes I feel so strongly I have to say something. The reason I’m bringing it up again is that I was nervous about posting it, but even the people who disagreed with me were remarkably respectful. I just wanted to say, “Thank you for being so civilized.” I think it’s important that we be able to express opposing arguments without attacking each other.

I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I am prolific as f@$k right now! I keep writing posts and saving them to publish on future dates. The post ideas just keep coming. I don’t post every day (except for this week) so pretty soon I’m going to be about a month ahead on posts. Weird. Maybe it’s Spring in my brain and my thoughts are blossoming. Whatever it is, I like it.

And that’s all she wrote!

Have a great weekend!

Hosted by Mrs. 4444

Having a hard time leaving a comment? Email me.

{ 0 comments }

WTF Arizona?!

by UnknownMami on April 29, 2010

Arizona passed a law that criminalizes illegal immigration by defining it as trespassing. The law empowers the police to question anyone they have a “reasonable suspicion” is an illegal immigrant. Reasonable suspicion? What exactly constitutes reasonable suspicion? Living while under the influence of brown skin? Getting caught speaking a language other than English? I’m pretty sure that a light-skinned, blue-eyed person won’t raise too much suspicion, even if they are an illegal immigrant, but a legal brown-skinned person might.

WTF? Supposedly the law spells out that police cannot question someone on their immigration status based “solely on race, color, or national origin”. Does that mean that as long as race, color. or national origin is combined with some other reasonably suspicious illegal immigrant behavior like eating corn tortillas instead of flour then it’s okay? I’m sorry, but this is some kind of bullsh$t and it terrifies me.

I am not the only one who is upset by this law. Some are calling for boycotts of Arizona. In Phoenix there have been swastikas drawn on windows with refried beans. I rarely speak of politics here, but some things are too important to ignore. This affects all of us, not just some of us.

First they came for the socialists,
And I did not speak out-
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
And I did not speak out -
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
And I did not speak out -
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me -
And there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)

Click HERE to view the language of the actual bill.

{ 56 comments }

The Disappearing Face

by UnknownMami on April 28, 2010

My mother’s face has always been beautiful, not just to me. She has always been the kind of beautiful that people notice, the kind of beautiful that opens doors, the kind of beautiful that you can trade on, but to me that beautiful face has always been the one I looked to when I needed the kind of comfort that only a mother can provide.

Awhile ago, my mother’s face started slowly disappearing. At first it was not as obvious to others as it was to me. It started around the eyes. The skin around her eyes was permanently tattooed so that she would always appear to have eyeliner on. Most people didn’t know because they’d never seen her without make-up. But I had, I had the distinct and rarely granted pleasure of seeing that beautiful face without make-up, until one day I didn’t.

The eyes kept changing. I never knew if I’d be looking into pools of blue, or hazel, or green, but I knew I would rarely see eyes so dark brown that they are almost black. I knew that those soulful gorgeous eyes of my childhood would no longer be what I gazed into when I looked at the beautiful face of my mother. Instead I would be forced to look at an artificial color created by a contact.

It didn’t stop there. One day she came to visit and when I saw her face I started crying! Ridiculous tears of a child in her 30′s throwing a tantrum because the lips that had kissed boo-boos away, that had sung off-key, were now inflated to absurd proportions.

Now, I have no idea what my mother’s face will look like the next time I see her because she has had elective surgery to remove what she considers the ravages of time. I’m losing that beautiful face! I actually ache over this loss, I cry, I complain, I mourn. I know it is her face to do with as she pleases, but why can’t anyone understand that THAT face is mine too. No one asked me if I was willing to say goodbye to that face. I will always miss that face.

My Mami & Me.

Having a hard time leaving a comment? Email me.

{ 3 comments }

My Big Beautiful Brown Eyes and GlassesUSA

by UnknownMami on April 27, 2010

For those of you that have been around for awhile, you are well aware of all the issues that have been plaguing my Big Beautiful Brown Eyes. For those of you that are new, the short version is that I developed corneal ulcers and was told I could no longer safely wear contacts without possibly losing my vision or my eye. The choice was clear: glasses for me from now on. As luck would have it, I was contacted by GlassesUSA and asked if I would like to review a pair of their eyeglasses. Seriously, it’s like the Universe called them and told them I needed new stylish glasses. I couldn’t say, “YES!” fast enough.

Shopping for prescription eyeglasses can be a bit daunting and overwhelming, but since I was shopping from home I felt comfortable taking my time. I also found it extremely helpful that the website provides the dimensions of the glasses. I prefer a larger, bolder frame. If I’m going to wear glasses, then I want to make a statement with them. I decided to get these:
When the glasses arrived, I can honestly say that they were WAY nicer than I expected. I thought that because they are so reasonably priced that perhaps the quality would be lacking, but I was wrong. They are great! I love them and I have been wearing them since I got them.

I liked them so much that I actually went back as a paying customer and bought another pair of glasses online. The prices are great! The pair I bought for myself look like this:

I’m not as crazy about the ones I bought for myself, but that’s only because I like the other ones so much. These are nice, but don’t look as funky on me and I’m all about the funk right now. Still, I love having options.

You might also be interested to know that GlassesUSA donates all of their returned glasses to organizations that redistribute them to people who can not afford vision care.

Oh and in case you are wondering what I look like in my new favorite pair of glasses, here’s a picture (it’s not the best, but it will have to do):

I think they make me look like a sexy librarian with a paper bag over her head. What do you think?

If you’d like to buy your own pair of glasses from GlassesUSA you can use the coupon code: Mommy5 for 5% of your final order. The code never expires.

I received a pair of prescription glasses in exchange for this review. There was no other compensation. These are my honest opinions.

{ 0 comments }

I Comment Therefore I Am

April 26, 2010

Welcome to another edition of I Comment Therefore I Am, where I put together a post from comments I’ve left on other blogs. Below are some of my favorite posts from the previous week and what they inspired me to say. I’ve always felt that the media should be progressive, but for the most part [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Sundays In My City

April 24, 2010

San Francisco, CA I showed you mine, now you show me yours. Share your city/town/suburb/you name it! If you link up, please link back or post the Sundays In My City button either in your post or sidebar to let people know that other bloggers are sharing their communities too. Happy trails! Let’s travel the [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Fragmented Fridays

April 22, 2010

I am the Top Blog of the Week at Speaking from the Crib! It is always nice to be recognized by your peers. I think we should all keep a notebook where we jot down our accomplishments, compliments we receive, random acts of kindness and the like that have come our way, that way when [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

We Like Them!

April 21, 2010

I was given the opportunity to review an item from CSN Stores and although they have an enormous selection with over 200 stores, it was pretty easy for me to decide on an item because we happened to be in the market for glass storage containers. We want to eliminate plastic storage containers that leach [...]

45 comments Read the full article →

And the Winner is…

April 20, 2010

The winner of the $50 Amazon e-gift card is: Multiple Personalities! Congratulations!  Thank you all for playing and helping me celebrate my blogiversary!

0 comments Read the full article →

I Comment Therefore I Am

April 19, 2010

Welcome to another edition of I Comment Therefore I Am, where I put together a post from comments I’ve left on other blogs. Below are some of my favorite posts from the previous week and what they inspired me to say. Ann at AnnOnandOn was given an award where she has to list 10 honest [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries