You Learn Something New Every Day

For years, I have wondered what the purpose was of the little metal plate below the faucet in my bathtub. And now I know.

It's a mirror. For babies. So they can check out how cute they are naked. Anja loves to look at herself in the bathtub mirror. She is very cute. The sperm donor and I think she looks like a little Buddha because of her round tummy.

And while she's doing that, Mommy is singing this song to the tune of Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie." We have dedicated it to the Flashy Quackers.

Oh ducky when you flash like that
You make me want to crawl after you
Swimming ducky
Swimming ducky
Swimming with my duckies in the bathtub

Oh ducky duck
You know I like to go swimming with you
Swimming ducky
Swimming ducky
Swimming with my duckies in the bathtub

The Class

I thought of this book as I was driving home the other night. I started a writing class, so for the next three weeks I am meeting with a group of people who are also struggling to find a way to express themselves. I mentioned in a previous post that my grandmother kept a scrapbook filled with everything I ever wrote. I mean everything. I used to write stories when I was a child. I am an only child, so I developed very extensive characters, perhaps in hope that they would become real to me. I took a creative writing class in high school. I think I may have been going through a dark period at that point...lots of depressing poetry and a first-person account of dying in a car accident (on which I received an A, thank you very much). She also kept all of these papers I wrote in college. And then I didn't really write in a creative fashion until I started this blog, even though my mother and grandmother would say "You should write again." Anyway, I received this giant book as a Christmas gift from my mother. And there were many things in that book about which I had forgotten. I actually wrote a children's book once. About a cat and a pie. I read it to Anja a few times, but she is too busy with crawling and standing to mess with any books right now.

So receiving this giant book was perhaps the motivation for signing up for this class. I've never viewed myself as a writer, although I have been a person who writes for years. Our assignment for this week is to write about a photograph from our childhood. We wrote about the photo for a few minutes in class, but, as usual, my mind got way in front of my hand and the result is a bit like what happens when you rear-end someone - everything stops without much warning. But I have a week or so to finish it up. And maybe I'll turn it into a poem - I actually have lots of ideas but I need to stick with the assignment before I get all carried away.

I hope maybe I'll start writing more in the near future. And more beyond this blog, although this is a good testing ground. I have found a struggle in being something more than a mom. Maybe this is something I can call my own.

All Of You May Now Address Me As...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Serene Highness Lady Nissa the Foamy of Durdle Door Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Thanks to zombie.

Our Tribute To Barbaro

Barbaro the Horse died last week. For those of you who are not die hard equestrian fans, Barbaro won the Kentucky Derby last May in dramatic fashion. Two weeks later while running in the Preakness Stakes, Barbaro broke his leg, an injury usually considered to be a fatal condition for a race horse. Barbaro's leg was pinned back together and all were optimistic. However, complications soon developed and, last week, his owners decided his time had come.

I have to be honest here. I have never been a horse fan. I can count on one hand the number of times I have sat upon a horse. I never owned a stuffed horse. I never wanted a pony. I don't think I have even fed a horse a carrot. I went to some horse races once and I won a few dollars, but I was bored: the races only lasted a few seconds and the periods of time between races seemed to last an eternity.

Anja was just over one month old when Barbaro was injured. I remember we were driving around one day and we heard a story on NPR about the surgery to repair Barbaro's injured leg. NPR reported that Barbaro returned to his stall after his surgery and ate some hay. I found that really amusing and commented to Anja that after I had major abdominal surgery to deliver her I was taken back to my room and given clear liquids. For the next several days, I would look at her and say "He ate some haaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" and she would smile. Every time I said "haaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy" she would smile. So we named the toy horse in her play gym Barbaro. Later I attached little stuffed Barbaro to her stroller so she would have something to play with while we went on walks outside or to the mall, rather than grabbing at everything around her. Barbaro still sits there, hanging from her stroller strap.

I still don't think I will ever become a big horse fan. But I don't think I will ever forget Barbaro. Lots of people have paid tribute to Barbaro for his beauty and his speed. I want to thank him for letting my little baby smile at his story and for letting her play with his little purple likeness.

In The Star Trek Universe...

You would serve in starfleet as a Lieutenant. Your current assignment is in Security/Tactical.

Any of the following positions could be available on a Starship:
Security Systems Management
Weapons Officer
Torpedo Room Officer
Chief Weapons Officer
Security Chief

Behind every mission is the need to feel safe. Security personnel are always the first to arrive, and the last to leave. They understand that danger can come from any direction and are always prepared for the fight that may never come. Through this dedication, loyalty and attention to detail they give us this feeling of safety. We all appreciate this because underneath it is hope. The hope that we should all learn from our mistakes, face our fears and live long enough to appreciate the beauty the universe shows us every day.

Live long and prosper...take the Star Trek Personality Test