Major update: And how could I forget our Erin’s birthday. Actually, I remembered on Facebook, but not MT this morning. Happy birthday, chica! -Elisa
What’s up?
I wrote a blog post for MomsRising about a California assemblyman who used Black Friday to collect signatures from shoppers to place a ballot initiative to overturn the California DREAM Act. The discussion in the thread is interesting. I went head-to-head with an anti-DREAMer with major English grammatical issues. Please read and tell me how you think I did.
Safeway apologized to the family of a 4-year-old girl who was “banned for life” by a security guard after he caught her shoplifting, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The security guard was fired.
An Ohio third-grader who weighs more than 200 pounds was taken by the state and put in foster care, according to ABC News.
Our favorite bilingual children’s song writer, Jose Luis Orozco, has a new website to help children become bilingual.
What else is in the news? What’s up with you?
Happy birthday, Erin!
It is lovely Erin’s birthday today, hope it’s a great day!
Yes, happy birthday!!!
We love ya, girlfriend!
Happy Birthday!
Oh yes!
Have a wonderful day!!!!
Thank you
for the birthday wishes, Lisa and everyone else!
It’s going to be a good day; I can feel it:-)
Happy birthday!
Have a great day and a super year!
Have a great one!
Wishing you a Happy Birthday and a fabulous year!
I hope it was a good day
Happy Birthday, Erin, and many wishes for good things in the coming year.
Hapy birthday Erin!
Hope you have a lovely day! (And thanks for the heads up, Lisa!)
wish me luck
I have an interview for a transfer back East at 1:15 my time. I feel good, and thanks to Vera97 (?) and Ides for helping me with my kick ass resume and cover letter.
Please get me out of here. The morning radio show (which was voted Best in the City last week) spent all morning talking in some detail about one deejay’s intestinal issues while another deejay shrieked and begged them to stop.
Good luck!!
I hope you do very well and that the result will be what you are hoping for. Sending good vibes.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Hope it works out the way you want–I’m sure you won’t have trouble impressing them.
It’d be nice to have you on this side of the country, where they only eat placenta on morning radio shows (OK, that instance was probably 10 years ago, but I suspect that you can always find the gross-out if you try).
It’s such a relief to be going into a situation
where my inner Jersey girl is not going to scare the heck out of them. I tend to intimidate people who are from less forthright parts of the country.
LOL
I know what you mean. GL!
heheheheheheheh
KWYM!
girl…
You must scare the pants off of the Australians, because they can barely handle my Virginia self!
hahahahahahahah
Well, I think I’ve officially intimidated a Kiwi guy who’s the dad of another kindergartener in Jess’s class. The guy knows I’m from NJ and for the past few months, he’s made little snide “jokes” about NJ, which I mostly have shrugged off and smiled. I mean, really. The guy comes from Middle Earth – you gotta cut him some slack.
But one afternoon, I was prickly as hell and he just went one too far. So I looked at him, said “Do you want to throw down over Jersey, then?” and, for the first time in about a decade, did a shoulder roll. Srsly. He stepped back and I smiled and said “I’ve had three hours of sleep, four cups of coffee and today is not the day to joke about NJ.”
He gives me space now.
snort…
Kiwis shouldn’t give anyone grief about where they’re from. Seriously. The place has 40 times more sheep than people and they don’t believe in the use of vowels. Add to that putting our Prime Minister on the wives’ bus (because where else would a female go?), and they should just keep their mouths shut.
that’s what I’m saying
until they shave those little Hobbit feet and let wives on the bus, they should just be quiet.
I have to ask
What’s a shoulder roll? Is that one shoulder or both or what? And it means something like “we’re throwing down”, or something like that?
No, seriously. I can’t picture this.
Of course, when I saw My Cousin Vinny with a friend from Pittsburgh (which I know isn’t Jersey), I asked him if anybody really has an accent like that. He just laughed and laughed, completely incredulous.
yeah, kind of
it’s sort of a loosening of the shoulders to prepare for what’s coming. Which is absurd, because I’m not a violent person and I’ve never gotten into a fight. But it’s a definite “we’re throwing down” move. Weird. I was channeling some weird atavistic vibe.
3 hours of sleep
will do that to a girl. Heck, I might start channeling that on 3 hours of sleep. It sounds effective
.
well, it touched a nerve
There are three things you can’t poke too hard at when I’m sleep deprived – my immediate family, my extended family and my homestate.
I am, you know, sort of proud of my twisted, dysfunctional, criminally minded state. (If y’all haven’t gleaned that before!) It’s worth bagging on, but not every freaking time you see me. Especially not on three hours sleep.
yeah I understand
Being from California, sometimes the ignorant commentary about California, usually from peeps who have never been here, or you know, went to Universal Studios once or saw Baywatch, is just so old and so lame.
another cultural note
I thought Australians are all bad ass, what with the teasing and the footy and etc. No?
Well…
It’s kind of different. They insult each other because that’s just how the humour rolls. They wouldn’t actually get all up in someone’s face and do a Jersey “throw down”. That’s far too much effort. But constant snotty comments? Oh yeah. But they’re not meant to be snotty. Insults are how they show they like you.
gotcha
That would take some getting used to. But the next time I’m in Australia, I won’t throw down over a petty insult
.
It took me a long time.
I was convinced that everyone hated me for about eighteen months. Then I finally got it. Things that would be seriously rude in the US are just fodder for teasing a friend.
mind you
I think that’s Perth. Melbourne is a little bit more gentle. But still, you’re not wrong in that the Aussies say things teasingly that I’d consider seriously rude.
You will do great!!!
Tell us all about it afterwards!
Best of luck!
And apologies to Anu
I think I became FB friends with Anu and Ides on the same day, so I mixed their user names up. It was vera97 (or whatever her new name is!) and Anu who helped me.
I’d say “maybe next time”
but I’m too busy crossing my fingers for you and sending go get ‘em vibes!!!!
Good luck!
Exciting.
Good luck!!!
I’m so excited that you have the interview and hope you kick butt!!! They’d be crazy not to hire you! Hope that they get you an offer quickly
Is this “THE” interview or is it a staged process?
Good luck!
93! Sorry.
I knew it was in the 90s but before my study-abroad year (1999) but I couldn’t remember exactly.
Most places only do one interview for jobs like this, but some have instituted a two-stage process where the interview is followed by a test run of sorts, where you go work there for 2-3 days. We’ve started doing that here and I have to say, I’d never want to go back to hiring people without it.
This is the first time I’ve ever had an interview where I’m sure that I am absolutely the best candidate–and I don’t even know who else has applied. I hope I’m not being overconfident, but I think really the only issue is whether I’m going to like what the interviewers have to say. I hope they want someone who’s going to make a lot of changes in a short amount of time, because they need it. (I think they’re open to it based on their announcement.)
Good luck
and keep us posted!
Fingers crossed
I hope that you like the interview and that they realize what an awesome hire you’d be.
I do think that, when possible, the idea of doing a 1-3 day “test” run is great for hiring. But, unless you want that option here, I hope they just hire you
Good luck!
Fingers crossed for you.
Best wishes!
Hope it all goes exactly the way you want it to.
Good luck!
And um, top-rated morning radio shows? aren’t they like that everywhere?
Yeah
I fear you won’t escape crass morning DJs. But that’s no reason to give up on a better job in a different location!
It’s not a question of crass
That’s the problem. They weren’t trying to be crass. They were just having a normal conversation about why Donnie had been out the day before and was he feeling better and was it a cold or allergies or what, and could they do anything to help … I suppose it was even a fine conversation to have with one’s friends, just not on the radio with half the state listening!
Deejays who are trying to be crass, I would just not listen to.
my radio has these buttons on it
They’re really effective – stuff like this never ever leaks into my car.
Still not the point
I stopped listening as soon as they took a break for the traffic report—they were still on the subject when I got out of the shower, so we turned on the classic rock station in the car.
My point is: the last time I listened to the equivalent top-40 morning show in New York City, they were interviewing Sarah McLachlan. It’s not a question of whether I listen to it or not–it’s a question of “What is the best morning radio entertainment available in this city?”
Ummm…
Sorry, but morning show radion DJ’s are like that all over. They do nice interviews sometimes, but mostly it’s lame ass teenage babble. Apparently it appeals to someone out there, because I haven’t been anywhere in the English speaking world yet where it wasn’t a standard.
Here they do it with a nice dose of sexism added in.
Trust me, it’s not the same.
Albuquerque isn’t the only place I’ve lived, you know. I listened to NYC morning radio shows every morning for 5 years before I moved here, and before that it was Washington, DC morning radio stations, and before that it was New York since I got my first clock radio at the age of 11. DC is a notch below New York, but Albuquerque isn’t even on the same belt.
I trust your judgment!
There are crass DJ’s and then there is everyday TMI. If you are not doing it for shock value then it falls into the latter.
I only listen to NPR in the morning (I don’t need traffic or weather) but when I used to listen to other morning radio shows, if it wasn’t Bob and Tom, it was super fluffy and annoying but not gross and weird.
Chiming in very late
to say
EAST COAST???
NEW JERSEY??
Those are wonderful words…..maybe I get to meet you and Expat….oh, and
good luck with the job interview, but I’m excited if you guys end up on this coast!
Hope it went well!
Jose Luis orozco
Elisa thank you so much for the book, cd and DVD set! My kids are absolutely enthralled by the DVD! They watch it over and over, and ds can actually sing some of the songs!
There is a mouse in the wall
and it’s driving the cat nuts. She sits next to the wall with her eyes dilated and whenever it moves she pokes at the wall.
Anyone ever had this happen? I don’t know what to do about it other than hope it goes away.
oh yeah
We’ve had it for years, and I don’t think it ever does go away unless you’re willing to put out traps, poison, etc. (which we’re not, since we don’t want to run the risk of harming our cats) or pay for an exterminator (which we can’t really do).
Hoping it goes away is our MO, but obviously it doesn’t work very well. :) It does get worse in the winter here, although I doubt that makes much difference where you are. Lately I’ve been hearing them skitter along in the wall right behind our bed, which is a little creepy.
One actually showed up outside the wall this weekend–he ran back and forth in front of our entertainment center several times when the kids were in the living room. I’m embarrassed that I like seeing them, because I think they’re cute, and I vaguely hoped that he wouldn’t end up as food for our calico. She kills regularly outside, but it’s harder, somehow, when they’re not “anonymouse” and you’ve actually seen them.
Hee!
I’m the same way. Unless they get into the cabinets, then the cats can have them.
You need to cut a hole in the wall
And let the cat do what she was born to do.
LOL!! n/t
You know that cat
is just dying to get in there.
A poor little bird flew in our house once by mistake and before we knew it, my dog jumped up seven feet in the air and killed it in one snap of his jaw. Best day of my dog’s life.
I love it
He must have been so puffed up and proud! We had a Cairn Terrier (like Toto) back when I was growing up, and he was a rat dog until the end. He stalked the dishwasher for a week once, and my mom finally pulled it out and found a rat’s nest full of rat babies. Ugh. But he was so happy to do his job!
That’s so funny
Our dog is a Cairn Terrier, just like Toto!!!!
Total rat dog.
That IS event funnier
I can just picture his stout little body shooting up to get that bird! Thos dogs are SOLID.
So funny that you said that!
Yes, they are solid. Scrappy too.
Wiki
Wikipedia has a fun little write-up on Cairns:
Cairn Terriers
Fun facts:
Left pawed. Who knew? This is a mark of a dog who is superior at scent-related tasks.
Cute
I kind of feel bad for him that he doesn’t get to hunt rats on the moors all day, but whaddya gonna do. He had his big day anyway!
Growing up
we had a cairn/poodle mix. I guess she was more poodle because I never saw her chase anything.
I just checked his paws
He is left-pawed! I never realized that before. That is so cool!
Wow, he must really feel stifled being a spoiled house dog.
How’d you do that?
I’m having fun picturing how you might figure that out. :)
: )
I just asked him to give me “Paw.” He will not give paw with his right paw, only his left. I also threw a ball around with him and when he needed to manipulate it with his paws, he used his left paw dominantly. So interesting.
Wow
I’m gonna see about my girls, so interesting!
Unfortunately I’ve trained mine
to “shake” with her left paw and “paw” with her right. This is going to take some more work.
I’ve read that most dogs are left-pawed, and that ambidextrous dogs are harder to train.
Hmm
Wiki said left-pawed dogs are superior at scent-related tasks, so I am assuming there are right-pawed dogs that aren’t. Regardless, he is a special left-pawed snowflake
I had a really dumb dog before this one. She was a shih tzu. She couldn’t be trained to do anything. But the was the best dog in the world. Affectionate, trustworthy, easy-going, didn’t bark, cuddly, cute, fluffy, just awesome. Smart dogs are a pain in the neck lol
aaaw, I love Cairn Terriers
My mom had a Cairn from when she was single until I was about five. Thistle. She was a lovely, smart, frisky dog!
What a cute name!
Our was Baxter. He was a spitfire! We also had a Westie, Bailey, who was the quintessential loveable airhead. They were a very cute Highland Terrier couple.
aw, Baxter
that’s adorable. While I love our Astro, terriers have a special place in my heart.
Astro’s one handsome guy!
It sounds like he’s a great fit for the family. DH is slowly coming around to the idea of having a dog.mI asked himif he wanted a dog or a third child, and he flat out said A DOG.
Love Westies
We’ve got them again
Last year was the first time they ventured into the living room (only saw droppings before), but I am so done. The side of the house where they get in is next to our neighbors’ garage, and the kids never go there. Still, DH doesn’t want to put poison in case someone’s pet (we don’t have a pet & neither do the neighbors) gets it. But I think I’m going to sprinkle some along the foundation and not tell him. I’m so sick of it.
find the holes?
Can you find the holes in your house and try to patch them? They sell that spray foam stuff, I think it’s called Great Stuff. You can seal around holes like under your sinks around the pipes, anywhere that they might be coming in through. We did it when we lived in Philly and were infested and it was great.
Is there part of you that thinks
ha ha! Not my problem anymore, suckas!
because I might do that.
Not to belittle your anxiety over this it seemed like the house caused you a lot of heartache even before the mortgage interest rate went up…
Ha! That’s true
Although we are still here for the winter, and I don’t want the little creeps leaving turds all over.
It’s true we were never really happy here. We always intended to get out in five or six years. I guess I should’ve been more specific with the universe…we’re out in that timeline, but I’d preferred if we could’ve sold.
Woke up panicky today.
After spending the day talking to a colleague who is actively working on her exit strategy because she’s sure the institution is going to close and then the evening talking with DH who is worrying that his school is going to close, I spent the night worrying that we’re going to be lose our jobs, the house, etc and be forced to move back to Missouri. Went to the gym and tried to meditate a bit this morning but so far I’m just barely holding on.
Ugh ugh ugh.
you need a dose of Kelly
a few years ago I worried about losingmy job and she said “so, if you lose it, you’ll go on unemployment, and we’ll figure it all out… and if we lose the house we’ll get an apartment… “
Kelly has twice had to claim bankruptcy in her life, she’s lost her home before and rebuilt things twice… so she’s a good realistic “eh.. you know what? it’s not the worst…” kind of antidote for needless worrying..
Yeah
I’ve been down this road before, but I was a kid and it was hellish. I don’t think I’d be half as concerned if it was just me- or just DH and I. I just really, really hate the idea of putting the kids through that. Harry is just the age I was when the wheels came off for my folks the first time. I’m loving his childhood so far a lot more than I loved mine at that age.
yeah I get that
but you’re not your parents and Harry isn’t you…and you’re smarter and more in control… but spinning your wheels over it won’t help…
Absolutely
So I’m going to try not to think about it.
Yeah
My mom was always in a panic mode over losing her job or not having enough money and had this constant fear that anything different or unexpected would cause the end of the world. It made life very stressful. I mean, it sucked being poor, and not ever having new clothes, or even shoes without holes in the toes. But what was worse was this constant fear that hung over everything. She was never, don’t worry kids! It will be OK! I mean, she called us from work–ME! when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, from work, crying because she got laid off. That’s nuts.
When we had our financially disastrous 2010, my husband was your Kelly–I was vey worried (not in front of the kids!!! After they went to bed.) and he was all, eh, as long as we’re not dead, we’ll live
.
I think parents’ attitudes make all the difference. I have had friends who moved a lot and shopped at Goodwill as kids, and they aren’t nearly as scarred as I am, because their parents didn’t let their stress rain all over their children.
yeah exactly
Kelly is just what I need to keep me grounded enough to know we’ll survive anything that happens.
Bingo
That’s horrible.
It really is up to the parents to keep it together in front of the kids. These worries are not their worries.
I need to keep repeating this to myself
The kids have heard too many conversations about job search stuff – Isaac is mostly clueless but Mira asks about moving and where we’ll be. Once she overheard one conversation and questions from other adults, then DH and I were even more careful about not having conversations in front of her, but she also continues to bring it up. With all the travel we’ve both had because of this, it’s also been harder than I expected to keep them unaware. But hopefully we’ll have closure soon and can start to address whatever is happening next… And in the meantime I need to keep reminding myself to focus on them and keep my calm when I’m with them. And save my personal stress for other times
In good news, DH and I were concerned that our anxiety was sensed by the kids (which I’m sure it is) and has been hurting them (e.g. making them more nervous, emotional, etc.). And while both kids continue to be emotional (I think that’s genetic), we got Mira’s report card yesterday and she’s clearly doing great at school. I need to make sure I keep asking her for her “best three things a day” so I hear about this good from her and not just from her teacher!
heh
Although I’ve never lost a job or had a real financial disaster at any time in my life, I worry about stuff like this often. It’s sort of a family joke (though for me, absolutely serious) that I won’t play Monopoly because I simply can’t understand why a game about financial jeopardy and bankruptcy is at all fun. This is the stuff that privately keeps me awake at night, not an activity to be shared with my kids. :)
I try really hard
to keep it off the kids’ radar but putting attention on being grateful for what we have and helping out people who need it when we can. Mostly during the day I don’t have time to think about it when they’re around- crazy busy has that benefit. It’s the 3 am wake-up call that gets me and when I’m alone in the car of sitting in my office alone.
I get that
I actually considered putting a post-it note on my nightstand that said, “Liquidate the 401K, sell the car.” Because I would come up with all these terrible financial what-ifs, and really, I just needed to remember that there are ways out of it. And also, “There are no debtors’ prisons anymore.”
Honey,
call me. After 4, when my worries wake me.
monopoly money
One time when I was a preschooler, my dad was out of work and my parents were having a conversation in the kitchen, I left the room and came back in tears with the money from the monopoly game to give to my dad. My parents seemed to think this was adorable and liked to repeat the story, but I was certainly not left with any warm fuzzy impressions from this time. I don’t have very clear memories of this age but I definitely remember worrying about whether we had enough money for food. They did try to shield us from the stress, though. I thought everyone’s mother diluted the milk.
Is there something is wrong with me?
I never worry about money. We have enough now, but that is only a very recent development, and we are still paying off student loans and mortgages.
I can relate
I get pretty freaked out about being one disaster away from total financial ruin, too. But Kelly has a point…..we’re survivors; the reality is a lot more doable than the nightmare. Hopefully you won’t have to find out that for yourself in this case, though.
I know, I know
You hate Katherine Heigl. Me, I could never really understand, since I like her just fine. But really–this is hilarious.
I’m letting Simone and Milo knock off school today so we can see Santa without a huge crowd.
I don’t get the hate, either
She gets so much bad press on the gossip blogs! I like her just fine and I like that she is built like a normal woman. She has a strong look to her, unlike so many of the teeny waifs in Hollywood.
Hilarious indeed
and I like her well enough. She’s awesome in this – I didn’t realize she was so funny. Haven’t really watched much of her since the Denny era on Greys, and it was like, please give this woman some decent material!
card list
I will be sending out the holiday card exchange list later today. If you haven’t already let me know that you want to be on it, there is still time.
if you were on it last year, you’re still on it unless you tell me to take you off. As always, the card list comes with no pressure — send some, send to all, email, snail mail….whatever you feel like/have time to do.
Which reminds me
if anyone wants to email us a card, we do have a shared account that goes to both of us.
It’s on GMail and the user name is from Walt Disney’s saying “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” (Take that, spiders!)
Can I still be on there?
I’d love to be added if there’s still time!
Email me
And I will forward it to everyone.
Happy Birthday Erin:
May your special day be full of joy, and happiness, along side your family, and friends.
Elisa
I think your original blog post was great.
I think you let “Sandy” get under your skin and responded to him/her in a snarky way that allowed him/her to get snarky and mean back again. Your points are wonderful and (I have no doubt) factually correct, but when you sound dismissive or sarcastic, it just fuels the meanness.
At any rate, I don’t understand anti-DREAM. I understand “anti immigration” even though I don’t agree, but anti-DREAM seems like going out of our way to punish someone who has tried very hard to do the right thing. What motivates a young person to do the right thing, then, if they are going to get punished anyway?