Bucket List #2!

As many of you know (by many I mean the one person who reads this--my husband), before our first kid we made a bucket list of all the things we wanted to do before we start trying. Glad we got it done in time because the trying sort of lasted only 1 week. Yeah. The timing and conditions were perfect apparently.

Tony and I are thinking we might want to "try" again in about a year and so it's bargaining time. Hey, I will be carrying his child for a full 9 months and then a year of breastfeeding with a baby and a toddler after. Bargain BIG TIME.

So here is our new bucket list so far (a bit pared down from the first one which included a mediterranean trip and vegas trip). These are things we want to do as a couple and as a family this year:

1) Professional family photo shoot
2) Champagne brunch (Jessica is allowed to go crazy)
3) Tasting dinner
4) A weekend trip with Tony, Connor and me with no events and commitments--just time to enjoy together
5) Pretend City when Connor is 1.5 years old
6) spa day (massage, facial)

Man, we have really calmed down since we had a baby--still having fun though!

I've Been Very Busy

This guy is high maintenance...happy 3 months Connor! And yes, thats his real hair. And yes, he's that big. I make super serum apparently.

Cheapening Good Times

Many of you might remember the show "Good Times" by Norman Lear. Norman Lear made great, thought provoking shows that also did well with ratings. He promoted thoughtful citizenship.

The people he hired in Good Times were also thought provoking people. Notably John Amos and Esther Rolle (James and Florida Evans). They found that J.J's catch phrase "Dy-no-mite" cheapened the premise of the show and they were not tolerant of it. Of course the producers thought that catch phrase and the buffoonery of J.J. was what the American audience wanted. Maybe in the short run, but in the long run by removing the strong black father and the understanding mother the sitcom quickly fell in ratings. It turned out American actually did want a strong and conscientious storyline.

Here is what John and Esther said before they got fired (John) /left the show (Esther):

1975 interview with Ebony magazine--Rolle:

"He's eighteen and he doesn't work. He can't read or write. He doesn't think. The show didn't start out to be like that...Little by little--with the help of the artist, I suppose, because they couldn't do that to me--they have made J.J. more stupid and enlarged the role. Negative images have been slipped in on us through the character of the oldest child."

From Amos:

"The writers would prefer to put a chicken hat on J.J. and have him prance around saying "DY-NO-MITE", and that way they could waste a few minutes and not have to write meaningful dialogue".

Now think of the integrity it took for these actors to make these statements. They have a hit show and they were being paid very well, however, they would not sell out their integrity for it.

The whole thing about Good Times is that they had a very strong father figure who would never leave no matter how hard the times got and a very strong mother figure who was also a devout Christian. They got written off by killing the father when he finally got a permanent job and by having Florida Evans run off and leave the family in AZ to marry an atheist man. She found this against the very character of Florida Evans. She returned in later seasons as the show was failing and they asked her back. She insisted that she would have a greater say in the storyline, JJ would be more respectable, and that the whole running off the AZ and marriage storyline be erased as if it never happened.

One thing I liked about the early episodes of Good Times is that they always took the high road even though it meant staying poor and living in the projects. Like when James could have gone to Alaska for a year for a very large salary but it would mean leaving his family to pursue the money. In the end, he realized the family needed a father. I think of the shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and TMZ and wonder if there is a place for Norman Lear productions today? Is the power of choosing integrity completely lost in the media today? Has "everything can be bought" become a real value or a truth?

The Growing of My Little Bug

It's been a year since I last posted. Bucket list came and went and now we are 7 months pregnant. We came back from the Mediterranean and voila! Success

Here we are at the twilight of one chapter of our life...





Here we are now at the beginning of another chapter... (4 months). I'm much bigger now but seeing as I am in bed all day, I refuse to let Tony take a picture of me.



So how has pregnancy been you ask? The first 5 months were spent vomiting and being nauseous and I have been on bedrest since week 25. So it's kinda been like house arrest. Actually maybe worse than house arrest. Connor has been kicking steadily which is fun unless he starts kicking in earnest. I always try to get Tony to feel but it's like Connor plays tricks on him. He stops kicking as soon as daddy comes over.

Here is Connor at 20 weeks...this is not the best picture of him but I apparently erased the good picture of him and I am not allowed to go down the stairs to get it by myself so this is all you get. The space cookie he looks like he is eating is his hand.



I'm into the 28th week now and my daily activities consists of sleep, cross-stitching (don't ask Tony bought the kit for me) and trying to write on my laptop qhile laying on my back. I was trying to make a brief history of MRH but I realized pregnancy gives you a really bad memory. You can read about how it is going at the link. Our new house is up...yay!

Bucket List

Before we have children we (Tony and I) have a "bucket list". It's stuff we feel would be difficult for us to do/have after we have children. Not that I know if we will be blessed with one, but something we are hopeful for.

I think on the whole Tony and I have travelled a lot and lived pretty adventurous lives. Kinda travelled out actually. Been all over the globe, every continent except Antartica, did adventure, did luxury, etc. We also are pretty content with the things we have experienced together. These are the remaining things we wanted to do together though:

Bucket List:

1) Get a sports car (Tony's) -- completed
2) Go to Disneyland and relive childhood -- completed

3) Go to Vegas! Fun and freedom! -- Set for first week August

4) Have nice wine/ tasting menu meal at Michelin restaurant -- Set for Vegas week

5) Go on wonderful romantic vacation to Europe -- Set for November

Also, we are going to go to Pageant of the Arts in end of July. After that I feel pretty good about our next adventure I think! So thats our bucket list!

No Sympathy.

Was reading comments by people on the three young hikers who have been jailed in Iran for the last year. Many of the comments which had high scores of "thumbs up" were along these lines:

"DUH lets go hike near the border of Iran and then next week we'll go to the border of North Korea..bunch of idiots...no sympathy for these fools..."

Why are we so cynical and...mean? No sympathy for being jailed in a foreign country with no idea if or when they will be released? I also saw the same for the journalists who were in N.Korea last year. Smart? Perhaps not...but...no sympathy? Hurts my heart it just seems too arrogant.

Marital Bliss

I'm not hoping for it, but I am afraid I might have annoying progeny. Was thinking of last night's conversation in bed... it went approximately (most, if not all, words are different) like this...

Me: Sweetie? How many kids do you want?
Tony: Huh? Sweets, I am really tired...have to get up for work tomorrow. Can we talk about this tomorrow?
Me: Oh okay! Sure! I understand.

...

Me: So...do you think we should do anything with the furniture in this room? Or should we keep it the same?
Tony: Huh? Sweetie...I really need to sleep. Are you not tired? Are you wide awake?
Me: Yes.
Tony: Oh...why don't you read?
Me: Great idea!

...zzz....zzz...

Me: Sweetie! Do you know what Dr. Gundry says in this book?
Tony: ARGGGHHHHHH!
Me: Oh! Did I wake you up?? Okay...will be vewy vewy quiet! Promise!

Hmm...it's inevitable. I will have annoying offspring.

I LOVE Parties!

Was trying to re-evaluate my political stance, as I do every year to see if my views have changed. I found out I agree to all the parties! I pick D! All of the above!

From party websites:

The Republican Party, like our nation's founders, believes that government must be limited so that it never becomes powerful enough to infringe on the rights of individuals.

The Democratic Party is committed to keeping our nation safe and expanding opportunity for every American while protecting our civil rights and liberties.

As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others.