Say … and I think … ?

1. Signature :: I love the way my mother signs her name, she has a beautiful signature. My signature is somewhere between my father’s and my mother’s. Sloppiness and Elegance.

2. Olympics :: Michael Phelps of course… simply amazing. He has made the 2008 Olympics extremely exciting.

3. 100% :: Organic. My family is gradually making the switch over to organic foods, more expensive but particularly the meats are better quality and healthier than meats in the average grocery store.

4. Damn! :: This is classic folks. Florida Evans in Good Times accepts that her husband James is gone:

5. Gold :: Medals. Medals. Phelps. Medals. Phelps.

6. Fresh and natural :: The food at Whole Foods Market are always fresh and natural. I love this grocery store. A little pricey but definitely worth it.

7. Fraction :: A part of the whole… then I started thinking about a piece of cake and now I am thinking about making brownies later. I get distracted easily.

8. Hurry :: Seems like in the mornings, I am often hurrying to dash out the door to work. In my opinion I am a lot better than I have been in the past. The hardest part is mentally getting myself ready and motivated for work.

9. Summer :: The summer seems to have gone by pretty fast. I hope that I can take a trip to London next summer.

10. 29th :: I believe the twins last field trip is on August 29th, going to Incredible Pizza.

http://subliminal.lunanina.com/um/ind/week_290/

Technorati Tags: Michael Phelps, Unconscious Mutterings

I have not given any updates on the children and their hearing issues in a while, so here we go. The week of July 21, Keisha had her follow up visit to her ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor. We were concerned about whether or not she was also going to need tubes like William. Although the hearing test results could have been better, Keisha’s ENT determined that it was not bad enough to require tubes. He then asked for us to come back in six months with a follow up appointment. We were at one out of two then… William had his surgery on July 25.

Unlike the previous two surgeries William had for his ears (August 2006 - partial adenoidectomy, myringotomy and tubes, June 2007 - adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy and tubes) this surgery solely involved tubes.Thank goodness because I did not have much leave to take off from work although I will always do whatever it takes to care for my son, i.e. arrangements with work, share days off with JT, help from family, etc. The surgery was outpatient care and only lasted about ten minutes after preparation (general anesthesia). William was able to return to school on the following Monday.

Although William’s medical charts go wherever he is treated, I always make sure that the staff is aware that William has sickle cell disease. William is very healthy, but I want absolutely no surprises at the hospital if anything comes up. The entire staff was friendly, understood my concern and was impressed with how I was able to quickly recall dates and events of William’s health history. I know my son’s medical history better than my own.

The procedure was smooth as anticipated and prayers were fulfilled. The nurse called us into the recovery room and I immediately grabbed William and held him tightly in my arms. I love the feeling of my children in my arms… the endless love, nothing compares to that. William was a little groggy after the surgery but we expected that. Then JT got in on the hugs for the father-son love. I took a couple of pictures of the Kodak moments for the family archives. We stayed about twenty more minutes or so then we headed to McDonald’s to get breakfast to go, Schnucks to get medicine for JT then home. William’s follow up visit is on September 11.

Three weeks later, I see a drastic improvement in William’s hearing. I have even noticed that both William and Keisha are stuttering less. JT and I are still looking and asking around for programs with speech therapy assistance for our children. I heard about a program that therapists can come to your child’s school and assist them during school hours. I hope that we qualify for this because that would work well with our schedule.

Since March things have been very hectic in the household for my family’s health but all in all, things have gradually got better and I know we made the right decisions.

Technorati Tags: doctor, ENT, health, hearing, Keisha, speech, William

Some days like today… I really want to get Far Away. Figuratively and Literally.

I love this song and these lines represent my life so much it is not even funny:

I wanna do the things we used to do.

Say the things we used to say.

Just like everyday, all day….

I don’t wanna forget all the love we captured the day we met.

We both keep saying that we wish that we could go back to those days when we played with each other just because. The days when we stayed up all night having a philosophical discussion or bummed around all day playing Zelda, only getting up to eat and go to the bathroom. Where did those days go? They nearly seem like a fading shadow in the field. You know I do not have a good memory anyway so I am trying to hold on to whatever I can.

On days like today, I sit in the rocking chair in my children’s room (by the way, why are they still cleaning up… it has been an hour!) and I listen to one of my favorite songs by Kindred the Family Soul. After listening to it about five times, watching the video two times and writing some of my thoughts… I am feeling a lot more calm than I was an hour ago. Breathe in Breathe out.

Technorati Tags: Kindred the Family Soul

Thank you to a friend of mine that emailed this link to me a few hours ago: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gG5KD4

According to the Barack Obama headquarters, you will receive an email the moment Barack makes his decision (for Vice President) or you can text VP to 62262 to receive a text message on your mobile phone.

I opted to receive an email because 1. email use is not a concern with my unlimited data plan with AT&T and 2. I have my email pushed to my mobile phone with emoze so I will receive it almost instantly. I only have 200 text messages in my plan so I try not to use them as much as emailing.

If I get the email during work I will have to find some way of celebrating with minimal crazy stares directed at me. John McCain, does your campaign have anything up your sleeves other than those crazy commercials?

Counting down the seconds…

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, elections, United States, Vice President

Say… and I think…?

1. Month to month :: How many more pay checks before I am eligible for a raise?

2. Adjusted :: My children are used to waking up early Monday through Friday because we go to work and school, therefore they have a hard time with adjusting on the weekends and sleeping in later.

3. Prank :: Rihanna Gets Punk’d

4.  Mop :: I have a traditional mop, but I prefer my Swifter Wet Jet for the kitchen floor.

5. Clarity :: John Mayer - Clarity

6. Parenting :: The most difficult and challenging duty of my life, but I would not trade it for anything in the universe.

7. Glenn :: John Glenn comes to mind.

8. Fingerprint :: United States Federal employees are required to give a fingerprint before employment.

9. Pineapple :: I love pineapple glazed boneless chicken breast.

10. Attorney ::  A friend from college comes to mind first.  After graduating from college she went to law school in Chicago.  We did not keep in touch but I think about her a lot.

http://subliminal.lunanina.com/um/week_289/

Technorati Tags: Unconscious Mutterings

A friend of mine forwarded this on to me in an email.  I already know who I am voting for, but here are a few reasons why you should not vote for John McCain.  Interesting stuff.  Watch this video:

Technorati Tags: 2008 election, John McCain, youtube

Dear Missnexus.com readers,

Right now, Fox News is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign, un-American, suspicious, and scary. They’re trying to send Americans the message that our country’s first viable Black candidate for President is not “one of us.”

I’ve joined on to ColorOfChange.org’s campaign to push back on Fox, publicly demanding they stop their race-baiting and fear mongering. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll go to their advertisers and the FCC. I wanted to invite you to sign on as well. It takes only a moment:

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=1815-298172

Here’s what happened recently:

After Senator Obama won the nomination, he and his wife gave each other a “pound” in front of the cameras. Fox anchor E.D. Hill called the act of celebration a “terrorist fist jab.” Then last week, a Fox News on-screen graphic referred to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s baby mama”–slang used to describe the unmarried mother of a man’s child. It was a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative cultural stereotypes about Black people, an insult not only to Michelle Obama but to women and Black people everywhere.

After each of the incidents mentioned, Fox issued some form of weak apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face, apologize the next day, then slap them again on the third? It means the apology is meaningless.

These aren’t one-time incidents–they’re part of a pattern that continues no matter how often Fox is forced to apologize. Fox has a clear record of attacking and undermining Black institutions, Black leaders, and Black people in general.

If we don’t push back now, we will see more of the same from now until November. Please join me in helping to bring an end to Fox’s behavior.

http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/?id=1815-298172

Thanks.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, E.D. Hill, Fox, Michelle Obama

1. Of television programs that aired before you were born, what’s your favorite?

I Love Lucy of course.

2. What person of historical significance was from your neighborhood or city?

My favorite poet: Maya Angelou.

3. What’s a story that’s often been told about someone in your family in the years before you came along?

How my Papa got a pea stuck in his nose when he was little. Hilarious story.

4. Which of previous generations’ dumb mistakes (in deed or thought) baffles you the most?

Keeping secrets in the family. Never a good idea.

5. What aspect of life in the good old days would you love to see a return to?

Eating dinner together as a family every night. Spending quality time together as a whole.

http://www.friday5.org/?p=116

Technorati Tags: Friday Five, memories

Dear missnexus.com readers,

LaVena Johnson was 19 years old, serving in Iraq as a private in the Army, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned–by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called it a suicide and closed the case.[1]

For three years, LaVena’s parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they’ve been met with closed doors or lies. But together we can help achieve justice for LaVena and other families who have suffered similar tragedies.[2]

Will you join me in standing with the Johnsons and calling on Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to investigate the Army’s cover-up of Lavena’s death?

http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/?id=1815-298172

Thanks.

1. “The cover-up of a soldier’s death?” LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html

2. “Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?” CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/

Technorati Tags: Henry Waxman, House, LaVena, military, politics

Several weeks back I tried Fring on my phone after researching for services where you combine AIM, MSN, Yahoo, etc. I did not care for the service and it did not seem to work. About a week and a half ago after a suggestion from a friend, I tried Fring again and I love it now. Fring.com provides a free download for this application and it works on many different kinds of mobile phones. You will need to visit the website to find out if your phone is compatible.

Take a look at the widget above. This widget shows you when I am online via my mobile phone.

Probably the two things that I love about Fring the most is 1. It has Skype built in and 2. I do not have all the extra charges that my wireless phone provider would normally charge me for each text via AIM and MSN (whic was pre-installed program as bloatware on my AT&T Tilt). By the way… I deleted all of this bloatware several weeks ago. Absolute garbage.

So if you have a compatible phone, be sure to check out Fring.com now. I think you will enjoy it. There are even Fring add-ons for Facebook and a Gmail notifier (which I do not use because I have emoze, but still nice that it is available).

Technorati Tags: AIM, AT&T, chat, download, Fring.com, IMs, mobile phone, MSN, Skype, smartphone, text, Tilt, twitter, Yahoo