Things I Would Grab in a Hurricane

You know every since Hurricane Katrina and her sister, Hurricane Rita tore through the Gulf of Mexico people in Texas are always a little on edge when it comes to hurricanes because we have been thisclose to experiencing the devastation that our cousins in Louisiana and Mississippi experienced 3 short years ago. Whenever there is a disturbance in the Gulf we make sure our tanks are full of gas (after taking out a loan!!) and that we have our contingency plans mapped out in case we have to haul ass out of State (it would take you six months to get out of the State so, we all just head as far North Texas as we can)!

Well, the last time we vacated for Rita’s impending arrival I was at a loss when it came to deciding what priceless mementos I should cram into the trunk of my car. Let me stop here and say I am a total nostalgia geek! I have saved everything from ceramics that my late maternal grandmother made me in 1986, my 8th grade memory book, volleyball trophies (and I wasn’t even a starter on the team) photo’s GALORE, and even locks of my son’s hair from his first haircut.

Now I should clarify and say that because I am such a neat freak all of these items are neatly stored away and if you were to come to my house its cozy and somewhat minimalist appearance might shock you. . .there are no photo’s nailed up on the walls or stacks of old newspapers turning yellow in the corner. But there are certain things I just can’t seem to part with just yet.

Anyhoo. . .back to the topic at hand. I’ve thought about it and if I only had time to grab a few things (with the idea that everything else would be loss and this doesn’t include my husband and son) I would snatch up the following items:

1. My purse- contains the plastic loot, my drivers license and my phone
2. My passport- I might need to leave the country and grieve over the loss of my material possessions (might as well grab my son's while I'm at it)
3. Three photo albums (childhood pictures, some travel and my wedding) - the photo’s weren’t digital so this is all that exists
4. My laptop- all of my digital photo’s and some important documents are on my hard drive
5. My Chi flat iron- If nothing else I might be able to PAWN it if times get hard
6. The Power Strangers- the only way I'll have some peace

7. Underwear- we might be stranded somewhere for a minute

Amazing, that’s all I could really think of that I would be lost without. My priorities aren’t as screwed up as I thought. Since Hurricane Ike is hovering in the Gulf like he’s looking for Tina, I might need to start packing tonight!

Next Avengers

My son has been in total superhero worship mode for the past few months. Superman, Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, Transformers and of course his beloved POWER RANGERS. So, Friday when I stopped by Hollywood Video to pick up some new releases I also decided to get one kid-friendly movie for him. After picking my selections (Street Kings & National Treasure 2) I immediately focused my attention on the cartoon superhero section.

Their selection was scarce to say the least not to mention he had already seen most of the movies on the shelves. So, I wander back around to the new releases thinking maybe there would be something worthwhile yet not extremely violent for him to watch. I picked up a DVD case for an animated "movie" called the Next Avengers. It's a story about the children of the Avenger superheroes: Captain America, The Giant, Black Panther, Black Widow, etc.- yeah, I never heard of them either- just Captain America. Anyway, I figure he would like it since it was dealing with superheroes not to mention an old (as in aging) Incredible Hulk and Ironman were on the cover.

I take the movie home and of course he wants to watch it as soon as I show it to him. So, we settle in an began to watch it. I have to admit I was actually planning on reading while HE watched the movie and I would provide the occasional, "wow" "that was awesome" or "cool" in response to the action on the screen that I missed. But instead I actually started watching it and it was GOOD! Really good!

The animators did a great job with the action scenes and the story line was really good. Turns out all of the kids were orphaned (their parents lost a major battle and died- what a twist- superheroes dying) and they were raised under the radar by their "uncle" Tony Stark (yeah, IronMan- he's like a 60 years old). They find Bruce Banner (the Incredible Hulk) hiding out in the desert and need his help to help defeat the evil that has taken over the world. And although Bruce is about 70- the Hulk is still the strongest superhero alive and boy does he prove it! I thought it was a bit overkill (no pun intended) for him to rip someone in half (robots) and pound them over and over with boulders. But I guess he was trying to prove a point.

Anyway, it was a great cartoon and if you have an aspiring Superhero on your hands, he or she will love it! (BTW- I think this maybe debuting on the Disney channel or Jetix pretty soon. If it hasn't already. . .)

Don't Believe the Hype

I've said it before and I'll say it again. . .I consider myself to be pretty involved and engaged when it come to politics in this country but that's not why I started this blog- to debate or promote my views. HOWEVER I am compelled to throw out factual information in the face of bullshit. (Note: This is from a credible unbiased Associated Press writer.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

P.S. If the audience at the Republican National Convention is any indication of WHO McCain and Palin are representing then I think we all know what needs to be done. . .

Eight is Enough

My new guilty pleasure is watching the show Jon & Kate plus 8 on TLC. OMG! Have you seen this show? There’s this couple, Jon & Kate, who started off with twin girls and they wanted one more baby and ended up having SEXTUPLETS! Yep, that’s SIX kids, three girls and three boys. So, now they have EIGHT kids! The twins are 8 and the ‘tuplets are 4. Straight madness!!!

But the thing that intrigues me is how freaking “calm” Kate seems to be despite the fact that she has EIGHT kids under the age of ten!!! She appears to be a typical mom, cooking, cleaning, playing around, teaching, loving and disciplining her kids. But did I mention she has EIGHT kids. I refuse to believe she is not on drugs. Valium, Paxil, marijuana. . .SOMETHING! I have ONE child and from time to time I just want to turn up the Nyquil bottle.

I know there’s probably some extra’s on hand helping out or something- there has to be. But typically when they show Jon and Kate going somewhere alone (which is hella rare) her sister, Jodi takes care of all EIGHT kids plus Jodi (I think that’s her name) takes care of her own four kids. That’s a total of TWELVE kids!!! AGH!!! My sister would be like, “Um, I gotta wash my hair, I’m not gonna be able to watch them-ever!”.

But what I love most about the show is the REAL relationship between Jon and Kate. There is no pretense. She told him the other day, I love you but sometimes I can’t stand you. And he smiled and said, “The feeling is mutual”. Ha ha! I mean I think I’d be pretty bitter too if I didn’t leave well enough alone with TWO kids and then to have SIX more! I swear if my son would have been a twin I would have been like, “Okay, tie up my tubes right now!” She’s also prone to giving him “love taps” across the head every time he makes a sarcastic comment, which he does quite often.

Another endearing thing about the show is the close relationship between the kids. One episode had Jon taking the boys on a “boys only’ excursion and the little sisters all came over and hugged them and gave them kisses and told them to have fun. It was the cutest thing! I was sure they probably staged it but they all seem to be very affectionate towards each other that is when they’re not throwing toys and antagonizing each other. Even the older girls, Cara and Maddy seem to be taking all the chaos in stride.

Jon and Kate did this thing that I thought was pretty cool but I wonder how often they will be able to do this- each kid had their own special day where they were they got to spend time wherever they wanted with their parents ALONE. So, it was like they were an only child for a few hours and Jon and Kate got to imagine how life would be if they only had one kid.

I guess the reason I really like the show so much is because it takes parenting to a whole new level and it helps me to put things in perspective. My house is a calm, peaceful, RETREAT in comparison to the daily pandemonium that household!

New Initiative

After doing some research and watching programs on television advocating for the reduction of our carbon footprint on the Earth, our family has decided to start recycling plastic containers.

We drink a lot of bottled water and my husband drinks a lot of Gatorade, even my son’s Juicy Juice containers are recyclable. I’m sure a better option would be to get a filtration system to avoid buying plastic water bottles and we could get reusable containers for our water. But you gotta crawl before you can walk. . .

So, we are setting up a slim garbage can in the garage for plastic bottles. We’ve explained this entire initiative and why we’re doing it to my son and he’s quite excited. Although he initially thought we could recycle everything plastic including bags, which is a no-no. Once a week I will drop the containers off at the large center in our neighborhood on my way to work. I’m hoping this is a habit we can start and keep!!

This is just a small step (one of many) we plan on making in the coming years to do our part to help save the planet. Here are some recycling facts from http://www.earth911.org/:

--In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each, but only recycled an average of 23 percent. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.
--Bottled water costs between $1 and $4 per gallon and 90 percent of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label.
--According to the Beverage Marketing Corp, the average American consumed 1.6 gallons of bottled water in 1976. In 2006 that number jumped to 28.3 gallons.
--It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars.
--Eight out of 10 plastic water bottles become landfill waste.
--In 2007 we spent $16 billion on bottled water. That’s more than we spent on iPods or movie tickets.
--Plastic bottles take 700 years before they begin to decompose in a landfill.
--If everyone in NYC gave up water bottles for one week they would save 24 million bottles from being landfilled; one month would save 112 million bottles and one year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.

Fairy Tales

The Princess and the Frog is an upcoming animated musical feature film currently being produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and based upon the classic fairy tale The Frog Prince. It will be the first traditionally animated (2-D) feature film in Disney's animated features canon since 2004's Home on the Range. The film is set in New Orleans during the 1920s Jazz Age, and Tiana will be the first black Disney Princess.

While it seems this might be a GREAT thing for us. . . there are critics who say the Disney story is too-little, too-late and that the story line is full of racist elements. I say to the critics: SHADDUP!!!!! And I say this mainly because the majority of the critics are black folks or “well meaning” white folks who have appointed themselves our representatives.

First of all, Disney is the ONLY Company that has even thought about, considered or put into action any type of plan to include a diverse group of characters in their portfolio. Why didn’t some of these critics come up with the idea or beat Disney to the punch? Why haven’t black owned studios or television stations created programming or movies that cater to little black girls to show them that they are just as beautiful (even more so) than Cinderella.

There are even critiques about the storyline, which takes place in the 1920’s in New Orleans. People who got an early taste of the film were “shocked” that there was a plantation owner and that the main character was a chambermaid and that her name was Maddy. Um- correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t that pretty much how things were in the 1920’s in the South?!?!? So as not to offend (and to protect their bottom line), Disney tweaked the story line and now the plantation owner is a “sugar cane farmer” and the main character while still a chambermaid her new name is Tiana.

Again maybe I’m crazy but I thought ALL the Disney princesses were poor or down on their luck before they become “princesses”?! That is the Disney formula!!! Rags to riches. Wishing on a star and making your dreams come true. Who cares if Maddy/Tiana is a maid or that she lives on a plantation? As long as in the end she gets the damn prince and they live happily ever after!!! Seriously people, there are much bigger fish to fry and other issues that need our immediate attention. If we could get people as engaged in protecting the lives and education of our children as they are with fighting over the image of an imaginary, animated character- then we’d probably make some serious progress!

I think it's going to be a great film and has the potential to be a classic just like the others. But what will probably dictate it's success is whether or not Black folks go out and support it like they should! Check out the trailier: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/

Phenomenal Mama of the Year

Lately it seems I have been struggling to keep up. Struggling to get everything crammed into a short 8 hour day. And our last excursion seemed to wipe out what little determination I had left. As much as I enjoy this blog and as committed as I had become I also found it becoming a struggle. A struggle to post something worthwhile. A struggle to even sign on in the evenings after to work and connect.

But last night I was given a burst of energy. Renewed motivation and a hot topic to discuss: Mrs. Michelle Obama. A Phenomenal Mama for the ages!

I almost did myself a disservice by not watching Mrs. Obama because I was tired and it was getting late but I felt drawn to the television as she took to the stage in her vibrant turquoise dress, with her perfectly coiffed hair and infectious smile. So, I copped a squat and turned up the t.v.

I felt riveted and a bit emotional throughout Mrs. Obama’s speech. There is something about her that’s almost Oprah-esque but she definitely has a certain flair all her own. She’s very quick witted, intelligent, and articulate (the Anglo’s favorite word) but she also possesses this down to Earth “sista” quality that reminds you of your best friend, aunt or co-worker who tells it like it is. . . . although she’s the closest thing we have to black “royalty” she also comes across as very approachable and able to relate to the masses.

But the thing that I admire most about Mrs. Obama is her absolute adoration and devotion to her children. It is so apparent that she is a nurturing, attentive and engaged mother. I admire any woman that can juggle motherhood, marriage, work, etc. and make it seem effortless but to do it on a world stage with so many people watching and so many people judging. . .that to me takes some serious confidence and courage. I have been on Team Obama since the beginning and not only am I rooting for Barack Obama to become the next President I’m also rooting for this family to continue to be strengthened throughout this process (and his presidency) so that all Americans can see the shining example of what a family is supposed to be and what really matters in this life.