Saturday, November 29, 2008

Black (hearted) Friday 2008

I was in a state of depression all day yesterday. It began when I flipped on my favorite morning news site and was slapped in the face with the two inch redline proclaiming the death by stampeding of an innocent WalMart employee. Greed kills...again.

What have we become?

Monday, November 24, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving, BBB


No, that's not the Better Business Bureau. It's my friend Patty somewhere in the heartland, to whom I affectionately refer as Bread Basket Brat. We met each other on Thanksgiving weekend, 1998--two Christians in an AOL pagan chat room trying to demonstrate the love of Christ to some very confused young people. We started IM-ing and emailing back and forth--we belonged to a virtual pen pal group long before the days of blogs and social networking sites--and then exchanged real, 3-D letters and phone calls. BBB and her hubby visited us here in California while on their 15th anniversary trip. While Irish and I have yet to make it to the land of the billowing wheat fields for a return engagement, I still hope to someday. She, admittedly, has been much better at communication than I. Now that we're both blogging, I feel like I can "reach out and touch" my friend any time. I love visiting her little Net nook and reading the parts of her revealed there.

So Patty, for all the times I thought of writing you but didn't (yet we still stayed friends, thanks to your persistence) here's a sincere prayer for the warmest and most blessed of Thanksgiving Days for you and all your tribe. I'll think of you when I don't undercook the turkey this time. Thanks for being there and loving your WCW* anyway.


*West Coast Wacko, in case anyone else is reading this.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Only when I shouldn't



The life and times of an insomniac: I can sleep anytime I ought not; particularly during an important meeting, at the supermarket, at church, or 1 p.m. almost every day. Along about 9 p.m. I get a second wind that's more like a nor'easter. I could easily sit up till 4 in the morning or so and blog, write emails and letters to the editor, leave pithy comments on message boards, or play StumbleUpon. Unfortunately, there's the nagging fact that most life takes place during the time when Big Yellow lights up the sky. Being the building manager, I have to be up and available. So I must take the little girl within by the scruff o' the neck and drag her off to bed, just when she wants to have fun. But no, Sharon, you can't start a movie at 10:42; and you can't have another cookie; and you can't start another art project. Stop. Put down the crayons, turn off the computer, and off to bed with you. Now!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Why it matters



Election '08 is over; I can go outside and breathe the clean campaign-free air once again...at least until the inauguration. I had my reasons for not supporting Barack Obama, but am obligated to pray sincerely for him as our new president. (Who knows, maybe if I'd prayed more for George W. Bush he may not have blown it so badly--or at least my attitude would have been better about it.) And I do pray for him. He will need all the prayer he can get.

I said the air is clear. That's not really true, as the opponents of Prop. 8 won't accept that we the majority of California voters want to preserve the traditional institution and definition of marriage. They're behaving like thug-brats who will stomp their feet--in our faces, mind you--until they get their way. Regardless of one's opinion concerning homosexuals and their rights, our constitutional democracy should be respected. If you lose, as the Republicans did in the national, you shouldn't get to whine for a sympathetic judge who'll overturn the results. I imagine that's what will happen here. Our governor mole-in-chief encourages that very thing. (As my friend says, "They voted for The Terminator; what they got was Arnold Schwarzenegger".)

Aside from my Irish, whose presence and love have been my earthly salvation for 36 years, I have two glorious bright spots in my life: Christian, almost 2; and Jeremy, 7 mos. It sounds self-absorbed, but they are the main reasons I still care what happens to this country. I can't resolve the war in Iraq or fix the cruddy public education system or the national health care crisis or smite corrupt politicians and unfair "journalists" (oh, if I only could!) but I can swing a giggling little guy up to touch the chandelier; or let him touch a drool-covered finger to a bright board book page; or rock and soothe him till Mommy (our daughter) comes back. And I can teach him "Jesus loves me, this I know".

Lest I forget: Camila. She's our young friend from church who comes over on Thursdays and goes to AWANA with me. I get her a lot during vacations and school breaks, too. She's so much a part of our family that it's hard to remember sometimes that she has a mom and lives somewhere else. She knows where everything in our house is and goes right for what she wants--the privilege of the beloved.

Here's to the boys; and here's to sweet Camila. Sorry we didn't leave this world in better shape than when we found it. We haven't given up, though.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Dear Congresscritters

Yes, YOU. Comfortable-for-life shiny shoed "public servants":

Judgment Hall comin' up on the right.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Dear WaMu

It was so good to hear from you. We know you've been pretty distracted, what with going bankrupt and being swallowed up by JPMorgan Chase and all--and yet you found time to send us an invitation to use some special checks to max out our new $6K line of credit. Please don't get me wrong: we appreciate your thinking of us in such a difficult time. It's just that, you see, we finally got completely out of debt. Yep, we don't owe you or anyone else a dime! (It's exhilarating!) I wish you could celebrate with us; I'm sure you would if you weren't so awfully preoccupied. I suppose you miss us. Truth is, WaMu: we don't miss you, and we'll be passing on that generous offer. Have fun with your new overlords owners.

Regards,
Sharon

Thursday, September 25, 2008

From me, to me

Dearest Sharon,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting that Dove bar back on the shelf this morning. You know how hard we work! Remember: the holidays are coming.

Fondly,
Sharon

Monday, September 15, 2008

Greetings from Plate Jungle

That's my new name, or the moniker I 'd carry if my last name were Palin, according to the Sarah Palin Name Generator. A much-needed moment of levity in the most contentious presidential campaign in my lifetime (Harry Truman was in the White House when I was born).

Well, at least I'm not Zipper Window or Freestyle Blitz.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The other men in my life

Christian AKA BooBoo AKA Papas:

and his little sidekick Jeremy AKA Munchkin AKA Munchie:


And that's what's been keeping me occupied!

Shout out to Alina who made them possible. ;)

Friday, September 12, 2008

Honda brinka revelation

Our daughter's lovely tricked-out Accord, the one she proudly negotiated herself and still had 4 years of payments on, was stolen from out front of her apartment, used in two crimes, and reduced to an ashy, black carcass to remove the evidence. Good news: the babies' car seats were not in it at the time, and Triple-A paid for junking the rubble. Further good news: Daughter Dear now understands why her stodgy parents advised her not to buy the number one stolen vehicle in America, and is now looking for a used midsize SUV.

But I'm not saying anything.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Pledge to remember


7 years ago today. Have we learned anything? Can we so quickly forget?

Thursday, September 04, 2008

A thousand words

Give or take a few:

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Resurrection

Is it time to blow off the spider webs, kick out the earwigs, reline the nest and start again? Why not? I'm not getting any younger, after all. So after a year and a half, I'm resuming the Eyrie. It might be more of a Twitter than a blog for a while until I get back into the swing of spouting off...though goodness knows there's enough spout-worthy stuff around.