Saying Goodbye

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Coleman_Goodbye_Header

Last Wednesday was a sad and happy day for the Crazybananas crew. Our good friends the Coleman’s are moving to Denver, and it was the last chance we’d have to say goodbye. It was a sudden move, due to a job transfer, and while I know it will be good for them in the end, I have to say I’m pretty sad for myself. Nicole and I have known each other since preschool, and it was so nice having her in my city. She always knew the best local haunts, and was one of the first people to really get me excited about living here (I’ve written about a few of the places she introduced me to, including Powell Gardens and the drive-in movie theater). Nicole is also an incredible photographer, and I will miss having her around to document our lives (you can see photos Nicole has shot of our family here, here and here).

But most of all, we will miss having friends around with kids the same age as ours. Since we had Lu a bit younger than most, we continue to struggle with finding people we can relate to that have kids the same age. Of course we love all our parenting friends, but Nicole and Ben were the exact same age as us, and their daughter Haven is only two months older than Lulu. It was really nice having someone that related to our struggles as young-ish (not so young anymore) parents, especially early on. (Click here for some adorable photos of the girls first playdate way back when…)

In the past few years, even though they lived in another part of the city and we saw each other only once a month at most, Haven and Lulu because such good friends, and it was fun watching them grow up together. Miss Anna, their younger daughter has grown into such a lovely little girl as well, although it still blows my mind when I see her and realize she’s not a baby anymore. I can’t imagine how much the girls will change before we see them again.

So last Wednesday we all got together at Little Freshie on the west side and enjoyed some snow cones and iced sodas. I was afraid Lu would be sad, but I think the concept of moving is still a little out of her reach. Plus, with Skype and Facetime, I’m sure we’ll still be seeing their pretty faces often.

Goodbye, Coleman Family! We’re going to miss you like crazy, but we promise to come visit you in Denver. Say hi to IKEA for us!

Coleman_Goodbye

It’s the 3rd of July…

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Why are you reading this? Why aren’t you headed off to some lakeside cabin or beach cottage to celebrate the birth of our country? Aren’t you a patriot? SOCIALIST!!!

OK, you might just be stuck at work like me. I mean, whoever invented holidays occurring on a Wednesday should be soundly scolded. Trent and I both have to work Thursday and Friday, not to mention today, so we aren’t headed anywhere for this big holiday. Our plans include sleeping in, sparklers and grilling out in the backyard. We might even head to the pool, but that’s only if things get crazy. So in case you’re the only person in your office and need some links to get you through the day, I’m here to help!

July4

Best 4th of July Playlist: An Evening In, By Maggie Mason

Best 4th of July Party Idea: A Backyard Movie Night (Tutorials here or here)

Best TV Series to Catch Up on During Your Day Off: The Newsroom just started on HBO, so I, of course, won’t really get to watch it until next year when it comes out on DVD, but you can catch the first episode online. It’s pretty dang good so far. P.S. This preview is TOTALLY NSFW so don’t watch at the office without headphones (just language stuff, nothing smutty).

Best Back-up Series in Case You’re Like Me and Don’t Have HBO (waaaahhhh): Thanks to Netflix I have finally started in on the first of the many seasons of Friday Night Lights, and good lord, it’s freaking fantastic. The below preview has some spoilers, so don’t watch if you’re like me and are catching up five years later…

Best Firework Photos So Far: Photos of the Kansas City Country Club’s exhibition this weekend are at Ramsey’s Blog

Best Fun Beach Read (even if you’re miles from a beach): Messy, by the Fug Girls

Best Swimsuit for Moping at the Local Pool Instead of on a Yacht Somewhere: The Poppy Bikini over at J. Crew.

Best Grilling Tip I’ve Found and Used via the Internet: How to Grill a Steak

(Photo from July 4, 2011…when we actually had the good sense to take a few days off. Harumph.)

A Few Thoughts on North Carolina

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One of my goals for 2012 is to try and be a more positive person in every aspect of my life. My ongoing quest to be happier has led me to the knowledge that while I can’t help being a sarcastic (and according to my husband, a snarky) person, trying to look on the bright side of things really does put me in a better mood. I know, I was surprised as you are. I’ve never really been a “lalalala life is wonderful lalalala” kind of person, so it’s been a challenge, especially when I get overwhelmed at work or my husband leaves the kitchen a mess or my kid cries for 20 minutes straight because he can’t figure out how a doorknob works. I mean, it’s a DOORKNOB! Evolution, where art thou?

But, in general, I’ve been doing an okay job. And people have noticed. I “look happier.” I “seem lighter.” I am “less of a bitch.” Sounds harsh, but it’s true. I’m better, and it has a lot to do with my new outlook. I have cut out things that I know will set me off. For example, I refuse to even look at the TV in the lobby of my office, because I know Fox News will send me in to a tizzy. I have pretty much stopped listening to NPR, because the political news makes me sick. If I have a call from someone who I know will put me in a bad mood, I hit ignore and wait to call back until I’m hyped up on happiness.

But here is my worry: Ignorance is not bliss. Just because I’m not acknowledging the insane wackos of the world doesn’t mean they disappear. Just because I am sticking my fingers in my ears and humming the theme song from the Smurfs doesn’t make them stop spewing hate, it just makes them scream louder.

Gay Marriage Protests

{Image via jvadnais on Flickr}

I had a conversation with a co-worker today, and our main issue was understanding how this could happen. How can 70% of North Carolinians really vote against equality for all. Completely ignoring the moral issue at hand, how can a political party whose ENTIRE MANIFESTO is all about getting government out of the personal lives of the people, PUT THE GOVERNMENT DIRECTLY INTO THE MOST INTIMATE PART OF PEOPLE’S LIVES!? I really, really don’t understand.

My consolation is that I (who live in one of the most conservative states in the country, one that teaches school children that the world was created out of fairy dust by a bearded white guy 2,000 years ago…in public schools) literally don’t know a single person in my group of friends that is anti-gay marriage. And most of my friends are conservative. It’s a non-issue. We may disagree on heathcare or religion or taxes (usually all of the above), but we agree exclusively on this topic. Unfortunately, agreeing isn’t enough.

I am turning 30 later this year. I am no longer a member of the “youth vote.” And yet, amendments like those that passed in North Carolina yesterday still happen ALL THE TIME. Hey, my generation, where were we? We all get upset and angry and annoyed, but are we just forgetting to do the one thing that matters? Voting? Are we allowing the aging and ignorant population that preceded us to outvote the rights of our friends? I just don’t understand. I don’t.

I retweeted this last night, when I was too angry to form coherent sentences:

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OK, guys. Let’s stop pants crapping. Let’s grow up and fix this. Because if we don’t do something, we’ll have no one to blame, but ourselves.

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To get involved:

– Join the Human Rights Campaign
– Join Moms United Against NOM
– Join GLAAD
– Register to Vote
– Watch this video of the late Mauice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and gay man, who passed away yesterday, right before this sad vote happened. He was an incredible man. An incredible gay man who apparently doesn’t count in North Carolina. Makes me sick.
– Say something. Don’t just sit quietly and accept this. Get out there, whether it’s on the internet or in person or on a street corner like a crazy person, and say “Fuck this. I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Tag, You’re It

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Tag. She's it.
Lulu Plays Tag

Oh dear, I’ve done it again. There is too much, just too much going on, and instead of taking care of anything, I’m just over here in the corner rocking back and forth. OK, not really, but I am most surely overwhelmed with things both awesome and awful, which apparently leads to some major writers block.

Trent in his amazingness finally succumbed to a few years of nagging and surprised me this weekend with a new iPhone, just over two years since my last one was ripped from my hands in favor of an Android (blech). Already I’m finding it easier to blog and take photos, and I’m hoping that means I get back to this space a little more often.

Every few months I find myself wanting to delete this blog completely and start over with a clean slate. And every time I’m glad I don’t do it, because this space, this silly little blog has become a time capsule of my life. I’m trying to start a habit of journaling on a daily basis, but this place has served as my real time journal for almost eight years. That’s incredible! Some days I find myself lost in the archives, wanting to remember it all, and realizing I don’t have to, because I wrote it here.

So, even though right now I really don’t want to, I will type out a few words and hit publish. Because in a few years, I’ll be glad I did.

In Memoriam

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Star Trails Algonquin Park
Photo by Warner Strauss via Flickr

Yesterday I heard the news via Twitter, as I hear most news lately, especially the sad kind. Susan had passed away. While it was not totally surprising or shocking, that didn’t stop the tears, sadness and overall feelings of loss of a woman I’d never even met in person. A woman whose blog I started following years ago, very soon after she was first diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I’ve written about Susan before, as she was a nursing mom, with a son only a bit older than Lucy and an infant who was still breastfeeding. She could have been me.

But really, she was so very her. A brilliant scientist who worked for NASA while raising her two courageous boys and fighting that bitch, cancer. She was open and honest, and she refused to stop fighting. She started the blog “Mothers with Cancer,” which has given support and supplies to mom’s all over the country. She promoted the “Army of Women,” which supports research, a cause she so desperately fought for. Even though she had every right to feel dejected and focus solely on herself, she spent so much of her time working for others. Other women. Other moms.

I simply cannot fathom what her boys (7 and 4) and her husband are going through right now. The thought of it makes me burst into tears.

In lieu of flowers, Susan’s family is asking donations be made to the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Foundation. IBC is a type of cancer that is under-researched, and almost always fatal. The disease presents itself much differently than traditional breast cancer and is often found in nursing mothers.

Or, if you can’t afford a monetary donation right now (I hear ya), do something awesome today. Teach your kids to count stars. Hold open a door for someone. Tell someone you love how you feel. Take a deep breath and be grateful. Just like Susan always did.

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