Misspelling

Today I was working with a student on categories. I would roll a Scattergories die and it would come up with a letter, and I'd tell her to think of all the animals, or foods, or places that began with that letter. When she rolled a W I just told her to think of all the things she could that started with W since I figured it would be a tough letter.

She did surprisingly well. I was letting her write her lists on a dry erase board since she loved writing on the dry erase board, and when she was finished her list looked like this:

WING
WEB
WANG
WALL

I looked at her list for a moment before saying, "Wing, web, good job! But, um, what were you trying to write for that third one?"

"Wagon," she said cheerfully.

"That is not how you spell wagon," I said.

Yeah. Not at all.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

I haven't gotten my hair cut since March or April. This isn't because I was growing it out for any purpose...I just didn't bother to get it cut. My hair had gotten pretty long and was driving me crazy, so I decided to get it cut.

I figured that since I had longish hair I should donate it. Unfortunately my ponytail wasn't donation length (ten inches for Locks for Love, eight inches for Beautiful Lengths). Then I found an organization called Matter of Trust that takes hair of all lengths and uses it to make mats that soak up oil at oil spills. I was happy that my seven-inch ponytail would go to good use. I was also happy because if short hair didn't suit me I could just say, "Oh, I cut my hair short because I wanted to donate it." Then people would think, "Oh, how noble!" instead of, "Jeez, what a jacked up haircut."

I got my hair cut today. I think I like it.


Here's the side view. I'm not wearing make-up, so you also get a stunning view of my freckles. Lucky you!


This is my ponytail.

It really freaks Mike out, so part of me wants to keep it around the house instead of donating it. I thought I might have the best of both worlds if I could donate it to my bald son.


But that didn't work out too well.


So I guess I'll mail it off.

Someday I would like to donate my hair to Locks for Love or someplace like that. But I guess the oil spill project is pretty cool too.

Philo's new favorite toy...

philoonface
Originally uploaded by Lucky Haskins

...is my face.

Meme

A is for age 28
B is for beer of choice: None, I’d rather have a Smirnoff “malt beverage.” But if I have to drink beer, I take Miller Lite.
C is for career: Speech pathologist
D is for your dog's name: I don’t have any dogs, but my cats’ names are Lucky, Edison, and Juneau
E is for essential item you use everyday: computer
F is for favorite TV shows: House, Law & Order, Girls Next Door (shut up, it’s fascinating)
G is for favorite game: Scrabble, I suppose, or Monopoly
H is for Hometown: a small rural town in Wisconsin
I is for instruments you "play: I used to play saxophone, but now, nothing
J is for favorite juice: Grapefruit
K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: Nobody’s right now, it’s too early
L is for last place you ate at? A local Chinese restaurant (although I didn’t eat “at” the place, I had delivery)
M is for marriage: Yeah, I’ve got one
N is for your middle Name: Mary (how Catholic!)
O is for overnight hospital stay: When I had Philo. That was actually three nights, I think, because I spent the first night in labor at home, and the second night in labor at the hospital, and then spent two nights there after he was born.
P is for people you were with today: Nobody yet, it’s 6 AM
Q is for quote: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” – Philo of Alexandria (I didn’t name the kid after him, but I did find out about him after we chose the name, and he was a neat guy!)
R is for Biggest Regret: Nothing really
s is for sex: Female? I don’t get this question.
T is for what time you woke up today: 6:07 AM
U is for underwear you have on now: Yep!
V is for vegetable you love: Potatoes!
W is for worst habits: Procrastination
X is for x-rays you've had: Only on my teeth
Y is for something yummy you ate today: Cookies Mike made (yes, cookies for breakfast)
Z is for zodiac sign: Sagittarius

You know you have a problem...

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has a blog about how drinking is a part of Wisconsin's culture.

Maybe I'm a bad Wisconsinite, but I haven't had a single drink in over a year...pregnancy and breastfeeding will do that to you.

I do miss it, though.

NOT AMUSED

Mike and I went to Target on Halloween and I saw this display. I was not amused for two reasons.

1. Christmas? Seriously? It was Halloween night. I know that the last quarter of the year is basically a long holiday season but October 31st is too damn early for Christmas items.

2. Those red things are snowball makers. Kids scoop up snow and use them to make perfectly round snowballs. Come on, when I was a kid getting your hands wet was payment for getting to see your personally crafted snowball smash upside someone's head. Kids today can make their own snowballs.

Seriously. Society is crumbling.

To the Republicans in the crowd

Hey guys. I know that right now most of the country - 349 electoral college votes' worth, to be exact - is celebrating and you're just standing around thinking, how did this happen? How did McCain lose? And I know that most people aren't giving you a lot of sympathy because you voted for a party that has stood guard while this country took a nosedive. However, I do feel for you. In the past two elections I learned how much it hurts when you believe something so strongly and the rest of America decides to elect a guy who is the antithesis of your beliefs. It hurts, and it's scary, and I'm sorry those feelings might be preventing you from celebrating with the rest of us.

However, I think that there are a few things that even the most Conservative folks can take away from this election.

First of all, what a historic election this was. Say what you will about African-American voters turning out to vote for Obama solely because he was black...a lot of white voters cast their ballot for him too. Would this have happened fifty years ago? I don't think so. Would this have even been possible one hundred years ago? No way. In the span of one lifetime things have changed so much for the better.

Secondly, so many peoples' faith have been renewed in the democratic process. Yes, they didn't come out to support your side. But people got involved in the process, and that's always important. Maybe next time they'll come out to the polls for you.

Finally, it shows that anything is possible. Obama really is a Cinderella story. Yes, he spent a ton of money in this campaign, but that money came from us, people who believed in him. When people rally together for a cause they can make things happen. That's the founding principle of our government. Yes, it didn't go your way this time, but the process worked as it should, and that should be a good sign.

So take heart, Republicans. Enjoying being a part of this little bit of history. And if you want, come on over here and celebrate these things with us. Mike and I are still giddy about the Obama win.

My newest addiction

Last weekend Mike was cleaning the apartment while I watched Philo and asked me to turn on some music for him. "Channel 915 has good music," he said.

"On the TV?" I asked.

It was indeed on the TV. I hadn't realized that our cable gets channels that have no programming at all except music. It's not even music videos, it's just music, like the radio except you see pictures of the artist on the screen. Our cable can do lots of things that I don't know about, like get me episodes of Trick My Truck through On Demand, but this really intrigued me. I flipped through the channels until I found a channel that made me gasp in joy.

It was all 90s music.

I love 90s music. One of my favorite radio stations occasionally has all 90s weekends and I listened happily. But now I could have all the 90s music I want all the time! I'm listening to it right now. The music is nothing award-winning - stuff like "Push" by Matchbox Twenty, "Barely Breathing," by Duncan Sheik, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, and "All I Want" by Toad the Wet Sprocket - but it all makes me gasp and ask Mike, "Remember when this song was out?"

Listening to 90s music is kind of bittersweet for me. For one thing I'm aware that I'm listening to music from a previous decade, and if I keep this up Philo will eventually laugh at my music the way I laughed at my parents' music when I was a kid. But mostly when I listen to 90s music I feel the way I did when I was in high school and at the beginning of college. It's that feeling that the world was wide open, both thrilling and scary, a time when I felt achingly isolated and also connected to something so much bigger than myself, a time of possibilities and uncertainties and potential. Maybe it was the hormones or maybe I just wasn't as jaded, but everything was more intense and exciting and important then. I miss it.

So anyway, I'm happy that I found the new channel. Even if it will make Philo laugh at me someday.