In my last post, I invited people to ask questions. So, since Esther LOVES to ask me questions all the time, she sent me a whole bunch via email. I am starting to answer few. It will take me awhile to get through all of them. None of them are going to be all that well written, just me, typing a response as I think it, so if it doesn't make any sense, forgive me!

how are you feeling about Saturday's meet?

I am answering the easy question first! Sort of like a warm up. I got an email with info about the meet today. It looks like for the 200 back and 200IM I will be swimming with all 50+ woman most likely. Ha Ha!

http://www1.recreation.rutgers.edu/images/customer-files/SCM_2008_PsychSheets.pdf

I am excited and nervous about the meet. It is the 'Zone Championship', so I think they are going to be a little more strict about starts/rules etc., so I can't be all twitchy on the blocks like I guess I am. My first event is the 1500m. I think I can go quite a bit faster than my seed time. It was a time I swam in a workout when I was tired and didn't do any flip turns. But, I have never done flip turns for that long before. What if I miss the wall again? What if it makes me tired?

For the 200 back and 200 IM I am just worried about being tired and about being cold after sitting for a few hours after the 1500. I am excited to race both of them. I think it will be a good meet and I am glad it will be a short drive. I am trying to get some people to watch. Freddy says it is too early (for the 1500), maybe I can talk him into the later events. I think I got a maybe out of you (Esther). It will be more fun having people there with me. I think if I had a swim team like most of the other people there, I would enjoy going a lot more.


"For years I have just adopted what my husband or boyfriend or whoever the male influence was in my life at the time thought and went with that opinion." where do you think this came from?

This is a hard one! I have a need to be perfect, to please everyone, to be liked. Or at least I used to. I think I have been this way most of my life as it was the role I took in my family. I needed to be perfect and to make sure that I did what every one wanted to make sure to keep everyone happy. I couldn't upset the balance or upset anyone. And even though my Dad was very quiet and mild mannered, he was definitely the dominant personality in the home. To me, he made the decisions and opinions came from him and that is where my ideas were supposed to come from. When I was an adult and moved away from home, I think I just looked to my boyfriend or husband for ideas on what to think on a lot of things because I didn't want to cause any problems in the relationship and wanted to be liked. What I realize now, is that I really have missed out on many opportunities to form my own personality, and times when I have been uncomfortable, it was because I didn't really have a sense of who I was or what I thought.

After I posted this I was thinking more about it and I realized I was missing something. This really comes from when I was around 8 years old and I learned not to speak out or voice my opinion or talk about my feelings from my family. My oldest brother was/is mentally ill and was very violent at the time. It has always been very difficult for me to talk about. At the time I didn't understand and was angry about the situation and voiced my anger. I learned in several ways not to voice my dissatisfaction with the situation. And I think that is where a lot of this started.

when do you think you were happiest?
Right now, I am moving into one of my happiest times of my life. Another time was the summer after my senior year of college. I was living in Eugene, OR and was getting ready to head off to grad school. I wasn't working and had no responsibilities. I took the summer to do exactly what I wanted. I woke up when I wanted, enjoyed the beautiful summer weather in Eugene by biking and running. I ate ice cream and fresh fruit every day. I made sure to go to all my favorite places in Eugene as many times as I could so I could capture those memories forever. I spent time with my boyfriend Dale which was one of the healthiest relationships I ever had.
Here's a picture of Hendricks Park in Eugene. I used to love to run up here. It's a tough run up to the top, but you get a great view. There are gigantic trees everywhere. In the spring there are Rhododendrons all over. Then I run down the other side of the hill down Skyline Blvd past Pre's Rock and stop and pay my respects.

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No, the real need in this campaign is for Palin to step up and prove to the American public that she could step in and be President of the United States in a moment's notice if needed. If she can play to that demographic, the Democrats and even an increasing number of Republicans who doubt her qualifications and abilities, then she may make the same impact that she had right after the Republican National Convention.

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For some, life could literally become a cakewalk. In the days of enslaved labor, there were plantation songs dances created by the slaves. One of these dances was the . This was a lampoon of the European ballroom dances that their masters held. Every movement in the dance was overexaggerated in the slaves simulation of the white ruling class their style of dance. All of the mannerisms of the privileged were emulated as well. Although these were satires of their masters, the slaves owners sponsored these contests which were originally called chalk-line walks. The winner of these slave contests would get a cake as the prize. Hence, the name cakewalk was born. It is also believed that the american expression that takes the cake came from the cakewalk. But something far more special to American culture had its roots in the music that accompanied the cakewalk dance.
Ragtime music is akin to the two-step cakewalks. If you love jazz, then you know that rags were the precursor to this great American art form. There was a wonderful movie called Ragtime that traces the life of Scott Joplin who is known as one of the greatest composers of ragtime music. Cakewalk music is the forefather of ragtime. Here is a link to a great website that discusses the history of the cakewalk. (http://www.basinstreet.com/cakewalk.htm). These dances were  generally held on Sundays as a form of recreation for the slaves. It was also a form of entertainment for the folks who were the caricatures,the slave masters. Cakewalks may have been a early form of black humor as well. The slaves may have taken some delight in the opportunity to poke fun at those who kept them in bondage. During those slave contests, they were able to imitate the lavish lifestyles that they had no part of. Lives that were filled with such negativity were able to find some humor in it due to these cakewalks. At least, that is the belief. There is another school of thought when it comes to the subject of cakewalks. The cakewalk may have been a source of humiliation. I think it may have been a bit of both depending on who the participants were.
There are some who can find some hilarity in life no matter how downtrodden they are. Some people dont let circumstances control their outlook on life and others do. Isnt it ironic that we define as an easy victory? In actuality, a cakewalk was a difficult strutting dance invented by slaves who had an arduous existence. For those slaves, life was a cakewalk on special occassions Sundays. It was an interruption from the strenuous work in the fields. From those cakewalks, many American traditions art forms emerged. For more information on how minstrel shows sprung from these slave dance contests go to  :http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF0204/Watkins/Watkins.html Lastly, the cakewalk is a very painful reminder of slave life for many blacks especially during the civil rights era. Many feel that it gives credence to stereotypes of blacks that have persisted since slavery until the present. is the one stereotype that could have been enhanced by these cakewalks. A  is a black slave who whites defined as at ease with his life of servitude. The laughter comradery present at these cakewalks helped advance the claim that blacks were comfortable being slaves. This was not the true position of blacks. Slavery was an absolutely miserable lowly life. Even though the cakewalk may have started out as a parody of whites, it ultimately became a parody of blacks as it evolved into minstrel shows. There is more detailed information on black stereotypes here(http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/coon/ ) The historical challenges that black Americans faced gave birth to some great forms of artistic expression like blues jazz. Who would have thought that the history of American music sprung from a .

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I have been turning the Nebraska child abandonment cases over in my head since I heard about them last week. First, two children were abandoned--a mother abandoned her 11-year-old son at one Nebraska hospital and an aunt left her 15-year-old nephew at another. Both adults indicated they couldn't handle behavior problems. Next, Gary Staton, widow and father of 10 dropped off nine of his children because he could not afford to care for them any longer and feared they'd become homeless. He said he believed the children would be better off without him.

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For example, how should one understand a prominent Black Republican Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, actively working to disenfranchise and exclude largely poor, largely Black communities from voting in urban precincts of Ohio? Or what about a comparison of Columbus voting areas like Upper Arlington where a majority of affluent white Republicans had no problems or waits to access working voting machines and predominantly Democratic, working class Black areas like Franklinton that had long lines and broken machines? These and similar voting problem stories from Ohio point to a systemic crisis that continues today.
So why are we still talking about voting and race in Ohio? The reason is two-fold. First, there are a number of people who believe the outcome of the 2004 election was directly linked to election manipulation for political purposes. Secondly, there was a clear and troubling pattern of voter disenfranchisement that mirrors racial and economic divides in the state. The major counties where voting problems occurred (Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery, Lucas, Cuyahoga and Summit) were all urban areas with large communities of color. In other words, when voting problems occurred, they were almost always linked to the voters race.

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Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been slowed by a hamstring injury the past few weeks but he said today that his legs are absolutely under me now 100 percent.The past two weeks Ive been feeling good but I havent been Adrian, he said. I feel real good now. My legs feel fresh, bodys feeling good. I expect to keep improving and help make big plays for our offense.
I really feel like me being out there 90 percent, 95 percent, I can go out there and run full speed. As far as opening it up and really shifting to another gear, I havent been there. But Ive been able to go out and get away from guys still so it hasnt affected my game. But me just being 100 percent, no tweaks, just feeling good, feeling fresh, like I felt when we started the season, its a good feeling inside. Reports out of New Orleans are that the Saints lost rookie defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis 2-4 weeks because of a right medial meniscus tear. Ellis had started the first four games.
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said safety Madieu Williams possibly could play Monday. Williams returned to practice last week after being sidelined early in training camp because of a neck injury.
s hard to simulate live contact in practice, Frazier said. We really dont go live contact in practice so you have to gauge how hes progressing and put him in situations just to see if hes going to respond without turning his head. Will he go and face up a running back or receiver in practice?
What Ive noticed is a guy who doesnt seem to be afraid. Hes moving around well. Hes getting to his spots. His conditioning is obviously a little bit off. But his movement looks the same. The biggest question mark for him is contact.
His confidence is gaining and so is ours. Hes really making progress. Hes so close. This very well could be the week we get him back on the field.
Update: Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch has NOT been fined by the league for roughing-the-passer penalty against the Vikings Gus Frerotte on Sunday. Vanden Boschs helmet struck Frerotte in the groin area, and great pain ensued, especially among the cringing TV audience. Frerotte called the hit a cheap shot but apparently it was within the rules.

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promised changes in the squad against Porto.
I think some shock therapy is in order as also a policy of performance based selection. Gallas and Toure are a few inches short in size and in confidence. It is clear that the central pairing is not working. Arsenal looks very vulnerable in protecting against set pieces. Against Fulham, Gallas was once again the culprit conceding the ball to Hangeland for his game winner. Gallas can sit this one out with Djourou filling in his spot.
Up front we need someone quicker than Adebayor and RVP. Vela should get a start. Samir Nasri will be back and should replace Eboue. Aaron Ramsey should partner Cesc in place of Denilson having proven his distribution skills.
But this bemoaning the lack of height in central defense is too simplistic and convenient. If that were indeed the case, then Senderos would be on the first XI of every top team.
What we have in Arsenal is a reactive defense which lacks height. Yes, height can compensate for such lapses but every seasoned defender will tell you it is inattention and a lack of focus that cause these dangerous situations to occur in the first place. Also as a unit, pairing is of utmost importance. Between Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder, we had 13' of central defense for Germany which looked out of depth in the semifinals against Turkey and then the finals against Spain in Euro 2008. That is why John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho are the best in the business. They know what it takes to distribute the threat on set pieces and force the attack to go around them.
I remember matches last season when Arsenal would go a goal up and then concede the match because Toure and Gallas would commit bone headed fouls or leave a player open. In particular, the match against Chelsea sticks out when Gallas handled the ball and Toure failed to cover Drogba. Even Clichy was part of this folly. It was not a lack of inches that failed to keep Hangeland, Geovanni, and Cousin out. It was poor defensive instincts that let us down.
Yes, I am saying it like it actually is. We need a smarter defense. One that can snuff out threats before they hurt us. Gallas and Toure have fallen short collectively.

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Excerpted from Slate: Fannie Mae and the Vast Bipartisan Conspiracy,  Jack Shafer, Sept. 16, 2008
* * * * *
My POV:
Slate leans left, so I find its revelations particularly note worthy.  Repubs are dirtied by drinking from the lobbying trough.  Dems own the CEOs and folks who raked off the uber-dollars.  A pretty disgusting picture Read the full article (link below) for names of players and more context.
* * * *
Article Highlights
The blowup and bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by taxpayers was foretold so many times in the last three decades by critics of the two federally chartered and subsidized mortgage giants that not even the data-searching powers of Nexis, Factiva, and Google combined can total them.
The Wall Street Journal editorial page deserves a special commendation for hammering these two outposts of corporate socialism, not that the pages many warnings over the years helped avert disaster.
Mae and Mac—especially Mae—were just too nurtured by the Washington establishment  an  influential network that extends from the highest reaches of the Clinton Administration to the ranks of conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The bipartisan network provided the essential cover Fannie Mae needed to run its scam.
* * * * *
The key to Fannie Maes survival was the patronage operation it ran.  For years, high-level jobs at Fannie Mae were lucrative prizes for lawyers, bankers and political operatives waiting for their next U.S. government post.
Now that the jig is up, lets meet some of the bipartisan warriors who fought for Fannie Maes right to plunder.
At the top of the list we must place Franklin D. Raines, chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae from 1998 to 2004. Raines, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton.  He  was forced to leave Fannie Mae in 2004, when regulators discovered it had broken accounting rules in an effort to conceal fluctuations in profit and hadnt maintained adequate risk controls. The New York Times reported two year ago that regulators have said that of the $90 million paid to Mr. Raines from 1998 to 2003 at least $52 million—more than half—was tied to bonus targets that were reached by manipulating accounting. Raines agreed to a $24.7 million settlement with a federal regulator in exchange for charges being dropped, but he admitted no wrongdoing.
Next up is Jamie S. Gorelick,  Deputy Attorney General during the Clinton administration. Although Gorelick had no background in finance, she joined Fannie Mae in 1997 as vice chair and departed in 2003. For her trouble, Gorelick collected a staggering $26.4 million in total compensation, including bonuses.
Republicans also proved willing to serve Fannie Mae. Robert B. Zoellick, current head of the World Bank, has served President Reagan, President Bush 1, and President Bush 2 as a trade representative, deputy secretary of state, deputy secretary of the treasury, deputy chief of staff, and so on. Zoellicks  title at Fannie was executive vice president in charge of lobbying, public affairs, and affordable housing. According to a July 23, 1997, report in the American Banker, Zoellick has used his close ties to Republicans in Congress, such as Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, to defend Fannie Mae from new taxes.
Moving back across the aisle, lets say hello to Mr. Democrat James A. Johnson, who ran Fannie Mae from 1991 to 1998, served as vice chairman from 1990 to 1991, and earlier worked as a managing director at Lehman Bros. and for Vice President Walter F. Mondale. He made news earlier this summer when he had to resign as vice-presidential-candidate vetter for Barack Obama as new details emerged about loans Mr. Johnson received from mortgage lender Countrywide Financial  Mr. Johnson has made Fannie Mae both a launching pad and a landing strip for officials moving in and out of politics and Government in Washington. Johnson earned nearly $21 million from Fannie Mae in 1998.
But Fannie Mae is nothing if not ecumenical. According to the Associated Press, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have spent $170 million on lobbying in the past decade. Fannie Maes 51-member lobbying stable includes former Reps. Tom Downey, D-N.Y., and Ray McGrath, R-N.Y.; Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic political strategist and former congressional aide; and Donald Fierce, a longtime GOP operative. Freddie Macs list of 91 lobbyists includes former Reps. Vin Weber, R-Minn., and Susan Molinari, R-N.Y. The AP notes the Fannie Mae ties enjoyed by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis and Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., who helped in McCains veep search. According to Politico, McCain economic adviser Aquiles Suarez worked as Fannie Maes director of government and industry relations, and McCain finance co-chairman Frederic V. Malek spent time on the Freddie Mac board.
* * * * *
The bipartisan Fannie Mae gang appears to have broken few, if any, laws. Their crime was to have practiced—without any thought of the consequences—access capitalism, which Michael Lewis defined in the New Republic as a neat solution for people who dont have a whole lot to sell besides their access, but who dont want to appear to be selling their access.The scandal in Washington isnt whats illegal. Its whats legal.The abiding lesson here is what happens when you combine private profit with government power. You create political monsters that are protected both by journalists on the left and pseudo-capitalists on Wall Street, by liberal Democrats and country-club Republicans.

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One of the highlights of the debate between John McCain and Barack Obama was the obvious disdain John McCain holds for Barack Obama. The fact that the moderators had to ask the Senators to look at each other, even though McCain was the person responsible for the poor body language proves the double standard that Obama must tolerate on a constant basis.

And McCains disrespectful comment, "Senator Obama just doesn't seem to understand." makes me wonder if McCain suffers from the same sense of entitlement that we saw in the primaries, from a slew of Hillary supporters. Here we have a distinguished graduate of Harvard Law School being told by a dummy who graduated at the bottom of his class and who benefited from his father's coattails that he "just doesn't understand." ?

The word that comes to my mind is McCain suffers from the entitlement syndrome. He acts as if he is superior to Obama, and yet, seems to feel the need to undermine Obama's intelligence. This is a symptom of a serious personality disorder. The symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder are remarkable similar to the body language and verbal assault that McCain displayed towards Obama at the debates.

The list of symptoms of Narcissitic Personality Disorder are listed at the Mayo Clinic's website:

# Believing that you're better than others
# Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
# Exaggerating your achievements or talents
# Expecting constant praise and admiration
# Believing that you're special
# Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
# Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
# Taking advantage of others
# Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
# Being jealous of others
# Believing that others are jealous of you
# Trouble keeping healthy relationships
# Setting unrealistic goals
# Being easily hurt and rejected
# Having a fragile self-esteem
# Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional

The symptoms of anger, power, the constant need for praise and admiration, even his pick of another empty headed beauty queen as running mate are frightening in their manifestation of someone who is running for the President of the United States.

Senator McCain's pick of Sarah Palin, and his need to feel attractive and powerful, are not actions that someone who boasts, "Country First" would take. His false suspension of the campaign, while impeding the process of bailing out the stock market, his inability to look at Barack Obama, while holding Obama in contempt at the same time, all point to a serious problem with a candidate whose most treasured credential is his time as a POW during the Vietnam War.

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Turmoil was supposed to release a new album sometime soon, but it probably just got moved back a bit further again as frontman Jon Gula recently quit.

In talking with Lambgoat, he said: "Turmoil has been a big part of life for many years, essentially half of my life. I really wish I could, but I just can't devote 100% of myself to Turmoil anymore. I've got too many things to attend to right now, and I didn't think it would be fair to our fans, or to the rest of the band, to delay the inevitable."

"I'll understand if they carry on with someone else. I'm not sure if I would call it 'Turmoil,' going forward, but I support whatever decision they make. Obviously, they've got to do what's right for them."

Too bad. A new Turmoil album just wouldn't sound quite right without him.

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I guess we are officially a sporting family now. Hannah took taekwondo for a couple of years, but we had a hiatus of nearly a year. Now she is in a school, with more serious belt testing and more stringent protocols -- all very appropriate for her age.

And sparring. She got her gear a few weeks ago, but has been faltering a bit at practice. She won't keep her hands up -- one of the toughest details for a newbie, but one of the most basic recommendations. She backs away from the other guy's kicks -- a natural reaction. She spent some time thinking about and working on her form, especially her kids, lately, but still, I was worried about the big Best of the Bestsparring tournament that was held at her school last night. Iwasn't worried she'd get hurt -- she's had the wind knocked out a time or two, and a couple of the other kids have been knocked down. (Not to mention the winces Isee from the brown belts, practicing their board-breaking.)That's all part of the sport, and learning how to fall down, how to recover from a blow are good things to know. The layers of foam swathing arms, hands, feet, shins and head pretty much protect them from any serious lasting harm.

I was worried she'd be upset and frustrated. Like her mom, Hannah has a low tolerance for disappointment; and like both her parents, she is very ready to pin blame for any setback on her own shortcomings. Resilience to the ups and downs of competition is one of the truly helpful things people learn from sports, and it's a lesson more of us could have internalized better.

In any case, I needn't have worried. Hannah won her bout, and was philosophical about her team's overall loss in their first round. We lost to the team that won the trophy, she said later, and that's pretty good! I know she'll have personal losses ahead of her, and I know she'll have to learn how to weather them. But at least for now I know that she can handle the loss of the oh-so-gleaming trophy with equanimity.

The main thing that surprised me about the evening, though, wasn't about Hannah at all. It was about me. I really, really liked it. I had a great time, and when the tourney was over and the kids were running around, eating cupcakes and playing free form tag (with the little ones, Zeke among them, pretending to spar like the big kids), I was wishing the sparring had gone on longer. Icheered myself hoarse -- literally. Iyelled for K. and S., two of the girls who often are in class with Hannah, and I cheered for the small fry to beat the lanky teenagers and bulky grownups (they did, as often as not). I hollered for Hannah's crush, N., to pound the guy twice his size (he didn't). If I didn't know the kids' names in a bout, I yelled anyway:Good kick! or Way to go!

This, apparently, is what's it like to be a sports fan. Interesting.

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Cedar has really been the perfect puppy for the entire time we have had him.
Yesterday, he decided to thank us for feeding him so well by redoing the landscaping in our frontyard. Today he continued to work on the landscaping and decorated the porch.
Let me explain.
Cedar loves the porch, and we see him leave it only to go to the bathroom and to chase Max Molly around when they come out.
We originally had him on a really long "chain" so that he could be on the porch or out in the yard, but not make an escape in the woods surrounding our yard. This did not really work very well, because our porch has a column that Cedar could not figure out. He wrapped the chain around the column over and over. So, now he is free in the yard. At first this idea sent my blood pressure skyrocketing, but after seeing how well he does staying in the yard, my anxiety has been somewhat relieved.
Chain-free and able to roam as he pleases, he still stays on the porch - just as before.
Yesterday when we came home, we saw that there was a spot right in the middle of our landscaping with a big, gaping hole and the tell-tale dirt piled around. Cedar was sitting on the front porch, as always, with not even a speck of dirt on his nose. It is as if he was saying "Hole? I have no idea what you are talking about."
Today, the hole has grown. Again, Cedar sits on the porch like an innocent, sweet puppy with no clue as to how the hole appears to be growing.

Also today while we were gone, someone went to the edge of the woods and grabbed as much of Max's hair as he (or she) could. Then he (or she) scattered this hair all over the front porch.
(Sidenote - Max's hair is from when we shaved him last night. Apparently, J dumped it at the edge of the woods thinking that it would discourage some wild animals from coming up in our yard.)
We know Cedar did it, of course, but we have yet to catch him in the act or see any remnants on Cedar himself. I guess we are going to have to catch him on video tape. Sneaky puppy.

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I guess we are officially a sporting family now. Hannah took taekwondo for a couple of years, but we had a hiatus of nearly a year. Now she is in a school, with more serious belt testing and more stringent protocols -- all very appropriate for her age.

And sparring. She got her gear a few weeks ago, but has been faltering a bit at practice. She won't keep her hands up -- one of the toughest details for a newbie, but one of the most basic recommendations. She backs away from the other guy's kicks -- a natural reaction. She spent some time thinking about and working on her form, especially her kids, lately, but still, I was worried about the big Best of the Bestsparring tournament that was held at her school last night. Iwasn't worried she'd get hurt -- she's had the wind knocked out a time or two, and a couple of the other kids have been knocked down. (Not to mention the winces Isee from the brown belts, practicing their board-breaking.)That's all part of the sport, and learning how to fall down, how to recover from a blow are good things to know. The layers of foam swathing arms, hands, feet, shins and head pretty much protect them from any serious lasting harm.

I was worried she'd be upset and frustrated. Like her mom, Hannah has a low tolerance for disappointment; and like both her parents, she is very ready to pin blame for any setback on her own shortcomings. Resilience to the ups and downs of competition is one of the truly helpful things people learn from sports, and it's a lesson more of us could have internalized better.

In any case, I needn't have worried. Hannah won her bout, and was philosophical about her team's overall loss in their first round. We lost to the team that won the trophy, she said later, and that's pretty good! I know she'll have personal losses ahead of her, and I know she'll have to learn how to weather them. But at least for now I know that she can handle the loss of the oh-so-gleaming trophy with equanimity.

The main thing that surprised me about the evening, though, wasn't about Hannah at all. It was about me. I really, really liked it. I had a great time, and when the tourney was over and the kids were running around, eating cupcakes and playing free form tag (with the little ones, Zeke among them, pretending to spar like the big kids), I was wishing the sparring had gone on longer. Icheered myself hoarse -- literally. Iyelled for K. and S., two of the girls who often are in class with Hannah, and I cheered for the small fry to beat the lanky teenagers and bulky grownups (they did, as often as not). I hollered for Hannah's crush, N., to pound the guy twice his size (he didn't). If I didn't know the kids' names in a bout, I yelled anyway:Good kick! or Way to go!

This, apparently, is what's it like to be a sports fan. Interesting.

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Orange You Glad It’s Halloween, Amber Brown?: An “A Is for Amber” Book. By Paula Danziger. Illustrated by Tony Ross. Putnam, 48 pp., $13.99. Ages 4–8, younger for reading aloud.
Grandmas Trick-or-Treat: An I Can Read Book. Story and pictures by Emily Arnold McCully. HarperCollins, 48 pp., varied prices. Ages 4–8, younger for reading aloud.
By Janice Harayda
Early readers illustrated books for children who are starting to read on their own often fail for the same reason that many picture books do: An author-illustrator draws better than he or she writes or vice versa. Or, if the words and pictures come from different people, the writer and artist are mismatched.
The late Paula Danziger’s popular books about the elementary-school student Amber Brown owe much of their success to Tony Ross’s entertaining pictures. Ross’s line drawings resemble those of his countryman Quentin Blake in their ability to evoke many moods in a believable way. And the sure-footedness of his pictures may help to explain why Danziger was able to spin off the “A Is for Amber” early-readers series from her orginal chapter books about Amber Brown.
The chapter books follow the upbeat, pun-loving Amber as she deals with events such as her best friend’s move to another state and the divorce and new loves of her parents. And the early readers are, in effect, an extended prequel to them. Along with the chapter books, these easier books offer a welcome alternative to Barbara Park’s novels about Junie B. Jones, who at times acts like a charter member of the Future Sociopaths of America. Amber has high spirits that she expresses without the unrepentant nastiness that characterizes much of Junie’s behavior.
But I was at first confused by the early reader Orange You Glad It’s Halloween, Amber Brown?, which I picked up after having enjoyed several of the chapter books. Why does Amber notice, as she prepares Pumpkin Day at school, that her mother and father haven’t been getting along? Have her divorced parents gotten back together? Why is Justin, her best friend who has supposedly moved away, decorating pumpkins with her? And why does Ross’s art look different?
With help from the Internet, I sorted it out: I was reading an installment in the six-book prequel about events that occurred before the divorce and Justin’s move, a newer series with simplified color art by Ross instead of the black-and-white drawings of the original. No doubt all of this will be less confusing to children, who will read the early readers first, than it was to me. And Orange You Glad Its Halloween, Amber Brown? has many of the virtues of the chapter books, particularly Amber’s engaging first-person narration. But the added backstory as in so many prequels is just padding.
Grandmas Trick-or-Treat comes from an author-illustrator who won the Caldecott Medal for Mirette on the High Wire, and it may appeal anyone who has wondered: Why do so many children’s books still show grandmothers stereotypically baking cookies? This is the fourth book about a girl named Pip and her two grandmothers, Nan and Sal, whose clashing personalities drive much of the humor in the series. Proper Grandma Nan goes trick-or-treating with Pip in her street clothes a miniskirt, striped tights, and dangling earrings. Playful Grandma Sal wears a mummy’s costume. But the two women team up to outfox a bully who taunts Pip on Halloween, showing that people with different temperaments can work together.

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We've waited for this moment for four years.If you think we played hard the last seven games, just wait until Sunday.

-- Deron Williams

I love that.That's what we needed, and that's what it is all about.

The US bested a very tough Argentina team this morning in a game that appeared to be a blow-out in the beginning.Indeed, it was only after Argentina's best player Manu Ginobili went out of the game that the US's lead started to slip away.At one point, the US was only up 8 in the third, and even sitting for a good while up by 14, the lead didn't feel safe.In the end though, it was the US beating the defending Olympic champs and returning once again to play for a gold medal.

Final score: 101-81

The US faces Spain again for the championship game on Saturday night at 11:30pm PDT.Now remember, the US has already played Spain the tournament and beat them by 37, but this game is for everything so I'll look for both teams to bring out their best.

Go USA.

Similar posts: moms soccer

Have you ever been to a velocity dating event? If you have got got you'll understand the conception of velocity networking.
At a velocity dating event you acquire to ran into an atrocious batch of people in a very short space of clip and the thought is that first feelings count, if you hit it off with person and experience that you have things in common then you can ran into up again later and take more than clip to construct a relationship.
Speed networking is the concern equivalent in that you a given a set clip period of time (2 or 3 proceedings for example) to do initial contact with other concern people. Just adequate clip to exchange basic information about your concern and the service that you offer as opposing to an in depth discussion
The positive points about velocity networking are that you acquire the chance to ran into and exchange concern card game with a relatively big figure of other concern people and at the same the clip bounds military units you to travel on and get rid of the possibility of being stuck talking to the same individual for a whole event.
For me, there must also be an informal networking session at the end of the event where you can take clip to ran into again with other people that you felt you were edifice a resonance with. In this manner you can begin the human relationship edifice procedure rather than it just having finished with the exchange of a concern card.
In these types of event it's vital to have got mastered the fine art of effectual usage of concern cards. When you complete a session you may well have got a heap of card game and happen it hard to be able to set a human face to the card at a future date. This is one ground why my concern networking tips below are indispensable to making the most of velocity networking and velocity dating alike.
1. Before you make up one's mind to go to velocity concern networking events take clip to understand the format. Are it all velocity networking or is there free networking clip too? If you understand the formatting you'll travel better prepared and do more than of the event.
2. Part of the above is about apprehension how much clip you have got with every other person. If it's short-change then you really necessitate to have got a well practiced and mulct tuned 60 secs presentation. If you've got a spot longer you can maybe afford to travel a small more than in depth.
3. You may be required to follow a set docket in your meetings such as as your name, your concern sector etc etc. Knowing this in progress will assist you pattern the right topic substance prior to the event.
4. Speed networking when there is a fixed docket is a very comfy manner to ran into new people so return clip to place those people that you don't already know.
5. Don't be in too much of a haste to give your pitch, allow the other individual talking first, in this manner if there are any "common areas" that you desire to exploit, you can then accommodate your pitch to suit.
6. Brand good usage of concern cards. When you exchange card game take clip to read aloud what is on the other person's card. The other individual will see this as involvement on your portion but most importantly it will assist you retrieve the human face and the name at a future date. You can also utilize the concern card to do notes. This is an of import point when designing your ain card game - do certain that the background is a visible light coloring material so that anyone can do short letters on your card.
7. Considering point 6 - don't bury your concern card game and a pen!
8. Don't loose clip searching through concern card game to happen your own. Brand certain that you have got got a topographic point for those that you have collected and for your own. I utilize two separate pockets in my jacket or coat.
9. Finally, if you experience you have got something more to state to person and that there could be a synergism - do it clear! Now is not the clip for polite conversation, be direct and allow them cognize that you would wish to have got a additional meeting and suggest a day of the month and time.

Similar posts: moms soccer

I have my very own personal shopper!!

I recently received a very nice order for large denim tote bags and the smaller purses like what I made last Spring which will be for Christmas gifts. I mentioned to my hubby Sunday that I needed to keep a lookout at Hancocks, Hobby Lobby and Wal Mart for denim to be on sale. He replied that he had to do a posting in Batesville this week and did I want him to go to the big fabric warehouse that is there. To which I replied, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

Yesterday he went to Batesville to do his foreclosure sale posting at the courthouse (he is a 3rd party posting provider for a local attorney) armed with samples of denim and a sample of the craft stiffner/interfacing that I use in the bags. The amount of fabric in this store is mind boggling and the prices are fantastic. He bought denim for me but they were out of the stiff interfacing that I need.

When he left Batesville, he went on to Heber Springs to do another posting at the courthouse there. While at the courthouse, he asked to see a telephone directory so he could see if there were any fabric stores. He found Quilter's Corner Fabric and they had the stiff interfacing that I need. He brought me her business card and said she would be happy to mail some to me whenever I needed more.

He is the greatest!.

Similar posts: moms soccer

We've waited for this moment for four years.If you think we played hard the last seven games, just wait until Sunday.

-- Deron Williams

I love that.That's what we needed, and that's what it is all about.

The US bested a very tough Argentina team this morning in a game that appeared to be a blow-out in the beginning.Indeed, it was only after Argentina's best player Manu Ginobili went out of the game that the US's lead started to slip away.At one point, the US was only up 8 in the third, and even sitting for a good while up by 14, the lead didn't feel safe.In the end though, it was the US beating the defending Olympic champs and returning once again to play for a gold medal.

Final score: 101-81

The US faces Spain again for the championship game on Saturday night at 11:30pm PDT.Now remember, the US has already played Spain the tournament and beat them by 37, but this game is for everything so I'll look for both teams to bring out their best.

Go USA.

Similar posts: moms soccer

The designers: the late Gianni Versace and Donatella Versace
The stars: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Catherine-Zeta Jones, Jennifer Lopez
The look: (According to New York Fashion) – King and Queen of the European disco scene, screen vixen eating up the red carpet.

If thats the image that the label has to live by, what more should you expect but the best from Versaces Spring 2009 Collection at the Milan Fashion Week.

Similar posts: moms soccer

I have my very own personal shopper!!

I recently received a very nice order for large denim tote bags and the smaller purses like what I made last Spring which will be for Christmas gifts. I mentioned to my hubby Sunday that I needed to keep a lookout at Hancocks, Hobby Lobby and Wal Mart for denim to be on sale. He replied that he had to do a posting in Batesville this week and did I want him to go to the big fabric warehouse that is there. To which I replied, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

Yesterday he went to Batesville to do his foreclosure sale posting at the courthouse (he is a 3rd party posting provider for a local attorney) armed with samples of denim and a sample of the craft stiffner/interfacing that I use in the bags. The amount of fabric in this store is mind boggling and the prices are fantastic. He bought denim for me but they were out of the stiff interfacing that I need.

When he left Batesville, he went on to Heber Springs to do another posting at the courthouse there. While at the courthouse, he asked to see a telephone directory so he could see if there were any fabric stores. He found Quilter's Corner Fabric and they had the stiff interfacing that I need. He brought me her business card and said she would be happy to mail some to me whenever I needed more.

He is the greatest!.

Similar posts: moms soccer