When Horse Girl went to bed tonight I read 86 Years: The Legend of the Boston Red Sox by Melinda Boroson to her. When we were done she started to talk to me about Curt Schilling and how he played with a bloody and hurt ankle. She said to me "He is a great man. He is a brave man." Yes sweetie he will always be a guy I admire....he put everything on the line in that game...he might never have played again, but he push himself farther then anyone else would push him....and that is something I admire in a person.
Currently Schilling is on the disabled list....with an injured shoulder who knows how long he will be on the disabled list and I don't care he will always be the Red Sox designated hero. I also know if the team really needed him again like they did in 2004 he would push himself again. It is nice to know he is able to take a break and let himself heal.
I am pleased to know that Horse Girl seems to understand hard work and dedication are qualities that I value because she so clearly understood what Schilling has done for the Red Sox.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I need to get this bumper sticker
I just saw this on a car when I was coming back from swimming this morning. I need to get it. :-)
Monday, June 25, 2007
A couple odds and ends
I just had a couple little odds and ends that I thought I should post.
First thing when I was away a guy at the hotel didn't believe I was old enough to be Horse Girl's mother. He was all upset about Horse Girl getting breakfast all by herself, even though I was right next to her. When I told him I was her mother he didn't believe me. Then I told him my age. He did a double take and said "Good work." So I guess being sixteen at heart sometimes shows through to the people looking at me. ;-)
The one of the other things is that a few posts ago I said the only thing I could think of that I have been doing longer then Studying Russian History was swimming. I came up with something else. I have been listening to the band The Police for longer time then I have been studying Russian History. I have always been a big fan member of their Fan Club and all that jazz and I will finally be seeing them in concert on July 29th. I had long given up hope when it came to seeing them in concert, but luck prevailed. :-)
The last thing is that Fly Guy got me this book, Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy, by Anna Politkovskaya and the forward by Anne Applebaum. Anne Applebaum wrote this great book on the Gulags that I have read. It is well written and researched. Anna Politkovskaya also wrote a great book about Chechnya which I have read and really helps a person understand what is going on there. Anna Politkovskaya isn't a historian she was a journalist for Novaya Gazeta....a very good one at that. She was murdered in October 2006. Since 2000, when Putin came to power, there have been 12 Russian journalist murdered while working stories Russian politicians, mafia and oligarchs didn't want worked on, that is including Anna Poltikovskaya.
Any how I really look forward to reading this book on Putin. It is a few years old published in 2004, but Putin hasn't gotten any better, he just has gotten worse so it will be interesting to find out what she wrote.
First thing when I was away a guy at the hotel didn't believe I was old enough to be Horse Girl's mother. He was all upset about Horse Girl getting breakfast all by herself, even though I was right next to her. When I told him I was her mother he didn't believe me. Then I told him my age. He did a double take and said "Good work." So I guess being sixteen at heart sometimes shows through to the people looking at me. ;-)
The one of the other things is that a few posts ago I said the only thing I could think of that I have been doing longer then Studying Russian History was swimming. I came up with something else. I have been listening to the band The Police for longer time then I have been studying Russian History. I have always been a big fan member of their Fan Club and all that jazz and I will finally be seeing them in concert on July 29th. I had long given up hope when it came to seeing them in concert, but luck prevailed. :-)
The last thing is that Fly Guy got me this book, Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy, by Anna Politkovskaya and the forward by Anne Applebaum. Anne Applebaum wrote this great book on the Gulags that I have read. It is well written and researched. Anna Politkovskaya also wrote a great book about Chechnya which I have read and really helps a person understand what is going on there. Anna Politkovskaya isn't a historian she was a journalist for Novaya Gazeta....a very good one at that. She was murdered in October 2006. Since 2000, when Putin came to power, there have been 12 Russian journalist murdered while working stories Russian politicians, mafia and oligarchs didn't want worked on, that is including Anna Poltikovskaya.
Any how I really look forward to reading this book on Putin. It is a few years old published in 2004, but Putin hasn't gotten any better, he just has gotten worse so it will be interesting to find out what she wrote.
Music Camp and my alma mater
History Girl went to Band Camp today....it takes place at the university I got my BA at. It was weird to pick her up because memories came back. I have a strange relationship with my alma mater . When I first was applying to schools when I was in high school I never even thought twice about USM, because it was local and because it was where all the losers went. Even though one of my closest friends went there but she went because of money issues. She was ahead of me in school so when I was a Senior in high school I would spend the night with her at her dorm...we would hang out and she was the first person to show me what was to become the Internet....the university was on Bitnet and I used Bitnet relay which fostered my love of communication over computers. My friend was a music major so the place I had to pick up History Girl from was the building I hung out with my friend. So I have many fond memories of the University.
When it was time for me to go to college I ended up going away to New York to go to school. I ended up in an abusive relationship while I was there which really negatively effected my performance in school...not surprising at all. I have dealt with the issues with the abuse, but I still can "see" the carpet that I woke up seeing when I came to after a beating. It was a short pile tan carpet and it smelled like a new carpet, there were dark spots that it took me a bit to realize was my blood. I was able to the hospital with some help from some friends. Turned out when my boyfriend found out that I had left he went on a rampage...I have heard different stories about how he had a knife with him or how he had a gun with him and he asked friends where I was, but nobody would tell him where I was.
dropped the ball about getting me a computer for the test that day. This After a few years I hadn't gotten my feet back under me, I felt like I was stupid and a failure and stuff like that. I had met Fly Guy and he knew I was smart and he encouraged me to do whatever seemed right for me. I decided I had to get out of New York. I wanted to get back to school. The only school that would take me with the grades I had was USM and I was excepted on probation...I can't remember if I had to get Cs or better or Bs or better or they would let me go. Well I made dean's list ....I made dean's list nearly every semester I went to USM....I seem to remember not making it when I took Asian History because I didn't like that course. I had amazing professors.....I had this one who was very excepting of my learning differences she even let me use her laptop for a test once because the Office for Students with Disabilities professor was the hardest History professor in the department. People told me I was insane to have her advice me for my Senior Theses...I was told she never gives anything higher then a B- when she was grading Senior Theses....I did mine on the Shoah (another term for the Holocaust which I rather to use...why is another blog posting) and homosexual men. I ended up getting an A on it.
During my time at USM I worked hard because I need to prove to myself I could do it and there was a major cloud over me because of what I had dealt with a few years before. So when I go to the campus I have all these feelings. Remembering the fun I had with my friend when I was in high school. I remember my time in New York. Remembering the gratitude that I felt for being given a second chance. The feeling of sadness because I don't feel like I lived up to my expectations.
So all these feelings swirled together when I drove on to the campus to pick up History Girl. Because of that I didn't handle her saying she didn't like band camp. I think she is just tired and once she settles in she in she will like it. At least I didn't yell at her....I just told her that I didn't want to talk about it now and we could talk about it later. Well she is yelling at Horse Girl....time to break it up. :-)
When it was time for me to go to college I ended up going away to New York to go to school. I ended up in an abusive relationship while I was there which really negatively effected my performance in school...not surprising at all. I have dealt with the issues with the abuse, but I still can "see" the carpet that I woke up seeing when I came to after a beating. It was a short pile tan carpet and it smelled like a new carpet, there were dark spots that it took me a bit to realize was my blood. I was able to the hospital with some help from some friends. Turned out when my boyfriend found out that I had left he went on a rampage...I have heard different stories about how he had a knife with him or how he had a gun with him and he asked friends where I was, but nobody would tell him where I was.
dropped the ball about getting me a computer for the test that day. This After a few years I hadn't gotten my feet back under me, I felt like I was stupid and a failure and stuff like that. I had met Fly Guy and he knew I was smart and he encouraged me to do whatever seemed right for me. I decided I had to get out of New York. I wanted to get back to school. The only school that would take me with the grades I had was USM and I was excepted on probation...I can't remember if I had to get Cs or better or Bs or better or they would let me go. Well I made dean's list ....I made dean's list nearly every semester I went to USM....I seem to remember not making it when I took Asian History because I didn't like that course. I had amazing professors.....I had this one who was very excepting of my learning differences she even let me use her laptop for a test once because the Office for Students with Disabilities professor was the hardest History professor in the department. People told me I was insane to have her advice me for my Senior Theses...I was told she never gives anything higher then a B- when she was grading Senior Theses....I did mine on the Shoah (another term for the Holocaust which I rather to use...why is another blog posting) and homosexual men. I ended up getting an A on it.
During my time at USM I worked hard because I need to prove to myself I could do it and there was a major cloud over me because of what I had dealt with a few years before. So when I go to the campus I have all these feelings. Remembering the fun I had with my friend when I was in high school. I remember my time in New York. Remembering the gratitude that I felt for being given a second chance. The feeling of sadness because I don't feel like I lived up to my expectations.
So all these feelings swirled together when I drove on to the campus to pick up History Girl. Because of that I didn't handle her saying she didn't like band camp. I think she is just tired and once she settles in she in she will like it. At least I didn't yell at her....I just told her that I didn't want to talk about it now and we could talk about it later. Well she is yelling at Horse Girl....time to break it up. :-)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Back from being away
We took a trip to see my in-laws for this past week. I love my husband, but I am not sure how he can be related to his mother. About 17 years ago Fly Guy's mother became a Jehovah's Witness....so I am going to call her The Witness.
The last time we saw The Witness it was August and she and her husband (not Fly Guy's Father...she and Fly Guy's Father have been divorced for about 34 years) came up to see us and the girls. They also brought their grandson. Well to make a long story short there was an altercation between History Girl and the cousin and The Witness...History Girl didn't want the cousin following her into the bathroom and The Witness saw the History Girl closing the door on the cousin and The Witness yelled at History Girl because she felt that it was wrong for History Girl to do that to the cousin....personally I don't think a 6 year old boy needs to be in a women's bathroom with his 10 year old female cousin so I think History Girl was right about having the door close. I ended up yelling at The Witness in the hotel restaurant telling her off for acting that way towards History Girl. So The Witness and her husband left Maine earlier then planned. History Girl has held a grudge against her grandmother since then and feels that The Witness hates her.
Fast forward to this trip. We thought it would be a good thing for History Girl and The Witness to spend some quality time together. The two of them made plans on what they wanted to do together for the last day of our trip so History Girl would feel good about her relationship with her grandmother. Well the two of them were about to head out on their adventure and The Witness said she couldn't been seen with History Girl because she was wearing a skort. Well History Girl wears skorts all Summer and is the main part of her wardrobe. The Witness said that History Girl needed to change because she can't be seen with History Girl. The Witness isn't making herself clear, but she is upset and saying stuff that seemed to be attacking History Girl and not the clothing she was wearing. The Witness asked Fly Guy if he would make History Girl change and he said no since he saw nothing wrong with the clothes she picked to wear and that they were the same clothes she had been wearing all week long. History Girl is very upset now and says she doesn't want to change because she picked this outfit out just to go out with her grandmother. (It was a new shirt and her favorite skort.) Fly Guy, both girls and I ended up getting in the car and leaving.
It turns out that Jehovah's Witnesses do not allow their members to wear skorts because they look like mini skirts, but they can wear skirts and shorts, but a skort that is a combo of a short and skirt is wrong.....HUH? The thing is that Fly Guy and I both think skorts are great for girls because they can play without worry that their underwear will show....so to us a skort is modest, to The Witness a skort is slutty. This could have been handled so many different ways then the way that it was handled. That The Witness could have taken History Girl clothes shopping first thing and they could have picked out an outfit that worked for both of them or The Witness could have been more clear about what was the issue and we would have been willing to work with her to make her feel ok, but The Witness seemed to be attacking History Girl as a person and that made Fly Guy and me upset so that made things really bad. Any how clearly that History Girl's and The Witness' relationship wasn't repaired and was made worse. *sigh* So we aren't sure what we are going to do yet. I am not sure if The Witness really knows why we are upset. We will see how this shakes out.
On top of this the Fly Guy, The Witness' husband and I were talking about Horse Girl learning differences and he said that people make too big a deal out of dyslexia and that it isn't that big of a deal because people grew out of it. ARGH!!!! I am a guest in his house....I wanted to scream and yell and tell him what a fool he is. I instead just ignored it. Maybe I should have dealt with it differently, but I knew I couldn't do it with out being angry. *sigh*
Well I am home safe and it is time for me to curl into my bed and read until I fall asleep since I haven't slept well in days.
The last time we saw The Witness it was August and she and her husband (not Fly Guy's Father...she and Fly Guy's Father have been divorced for about 34 years) came up to see us and the girls. They also brought their grandson. Well to make a long story short there was an altercation between History Girl and the cousin and The Witness...History Girl didn't want the cousin following her into the bathroom and The Witness saw the History Girl closing the door on the cousin and The Witness yelled at History Girl because she felt that it was wrong for History Girl to do that to the cousin....personally I don't think a 6 year old boy needs to be in a women's bathroom with his 10 year old female cousin so I think History Girl was right about having the door close. I ended up yelling at The Witness in the hotel restaurant telling her off for acting that way towards History Girl. So The Witness and her husband left Maine earlier then planned. History Girl has held a grudge against her grandmother since then and feels that The Witness hates her.
Fast forward to this trip. We thought it would be a good thing for History Girl and The Witness to spend some quality time together. The two of them made plans on what they wanted to do together for the last day of our trip so History Girl would feel good about her relationship with her grandmother. Well the two of them were about to head out on their adventure and The Witness said she couldn't been seen with History Girl because she was wearing a skort. Well History Girl wears skorts all Summer and is the main part of her wardrobe. The Witness said that History Girl needed to change because she can't be seen with History Girl. The Witness isn't making herself clear, but she is upset and saying stuff that seemed to be attacking History Girl and not the clothing she was wearing. The Witness asked Fly Guy if he would make History Girl change and he said no since he saw nothing wrong with the clothes she picked to wear and that they were the same clothes she had been wearing all week long. History Girl is very upset now and says she doesn't want to change because she picked this outfit out just to go out with her grandmother. (It was a new shirt and her favorite skort.) Fly Guy, both girls and I ended up getting in the car and leaving.
It turns out that Jehovah's Witnesses do not allow their members to wear skorts because they look like mini skirts, but they can wear skirts and shorts, but a skort that is a combo of a short and skirt is wrong.....HUH? The thing is that Fly Guy and I both think skorts are great for girls because they can play without worry that their underwear will show....so to us a skort is modest, to The Witness a skort is slutty. This could have been handled so many different ways then the way that it was handled. That The Witness could have taken History Girl clothes shopping first thing and they could have picked out an outfit that worked for both of them or The Witness could have been more clear about what was the issue and we would have been willing to work with her to make her feel ok, but The Witness seemed to be attacking History Girl as a person and that made Fly Guy and me upset so that made things really bad. Any how clearly that History Girl's and The Witness' relationship wasn't repaired and was made worse. *sigh* So we aren't sure what we are going to do yet. I am not sure if The Witness really knows why we are upset. We will see how this shakes out.
On top of this the Fly Guy, The Witness' husband and I were talking about Horse Girl learning differences and he said that people make too big a deal out of dyslexia and that it isn't that big of a deal because people grew out of it. ARGH!!!! I am a guest in his house....I wanted to scream and yell and tell him what a fool he is. I instead just ignored it. Maybe I should have dealt with it differently, but I knew I couldn't do it with out being angry. *sigh*
Well I am home safe and it is time for me to curl into my bed and read until I fall asleep since I haven't slept well in days.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Cycleing
7 years ago I bought my first bike in years. It was a Univega Beach Cruiser, single speed with coaster breaks. I was so out of shape I weighed about 250 lbs. I had trouble making it up the smallest hills because of how out of shape I was. I was able to turn things around. Lost weight and work out and stuff like that.
Tonight I went on a bike ride with my family...I rode the same beach cruiser and we went on the same trail that used to cause me problems....now I have no problem biking that trail. It made me happy to see the difference in how easy it is for me now.
Last year I bought a Masi Alare that link shows you this year's model last years model is red...so my bike is this really nice red and black. ( Here is a photo of someone else's 2006 Masi Alare. I have clipless pedals and it is so lightweight. I love my bike it is so fast. I know there are better bikes out there, but when this fish wanted a bike that was a nice bike for me to use for Tris this fit the bill and I have fallen in love with it.
There will always me a soft spot in my heart for my beach cruiser because that is what I used when I started to get fit again. I don't see me getting rid of either bike anytime soon.
Tonight I went on a bike ride with my family...I rode the same beach cruiser and we went on the same trail that used to cause me problems....now I have no problem biking that trail. It made me happy to see the difference in how easy it is for me now.
Last year I bought a Masi Alare that link shows you this year's model last years model is red...so my bike is this really nice red and black. ( Here is a photo of someone else's 2006 Masi Alare. I have clipless pedals and it is so lightweight. I love my bike it is so fast. I know there are better bikes out there, but when this fish wanted a bike that was a nice bike for me to use for Tris this fit the bill and I have fallen in love with it.
There will always me a soft spot in my heart for my beach cruiser because that is what I used when I started to get fit again. I don't see me getting rid of either bike anytime soon.
Disappoinment
Well today I got the call we have been waiting over a year for....the call from the Scottish Rite Learning Center with a space for Horse Girl this Summer. It turns out the space is only 1 hour twice a week right in the middle of the day for six weeks.....the same six weeks she has Summer camp. It was so hard to say no, but Horse Girl has the right to be a kid and do Summer things...if it had been more of a camp type thing (lasting all day or at least most of the day) or taking place at either the end or begining of the day....I would have grabbed that space so quickly. I am just so dissapointed. The Scottish Rite Learning Centers are the best place for kids with Dyslexia they have all the most current ideas and they have people who are just trained to work with Dyslexic kids. I so want Horse Girl to get in. The woman I talked to said most likely Horse Girl will get a space this Fall. In the mean time, Fly Guy and I continue to donate money and raise money for the Learning Centers in hopes they can hire more teachers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
