Why Congress Needs to Watch More Dora the Explorer

The five year old's in Congress would be well-advised to get their shit together and start working with each other to solve our nation's issues or they'll find themselves without a job, er, but with a nice pension and cadillac insurance for life. How's that for irony? Jack the country up, get fired and live comfortably!

I do follow politics, or at least what I can garner from the nightly news, internet and magazine articles. I can tell you how many branches of government we have and name them, I know who the president, Speaker of the House and Senate Majority leader are; I know the main differences between the two main parties and I know what's going down now. I try to stay informed on current issues that affect not only my life and my families, but also our community and our country. I am an American and love this country and despite everything our government is doing wrong, I still believe that we are the greatest nation in the world. That's why I have a few suggestions for those who are trying to run this country. Let's call it my little contribution to our members of Congress.

It involves watching more Dora the Explorer. In the beginning, I tried to steer my 3 year old away from the show, not because I don't like Dora. She's adventurous, self-sufficient, bilingual and makes friends easily. It's just that I remember the mind numbing song from Barney who was popular with kids some ten years ago and I didn't want my daughter to be scarred for life with another "in" cartoon. But like most parents, I caved and now Dora rules my DVR and my dinner prep time. I've learned more Spanish by osmosis than I ever did in High School. Oh, wait, I took German. Anyway, I digress...

If any of you are unfamiliar with Dora, let me give you the gist...Dora is a young girl who loves exploring the world around her. She has a backpack that could hold an elephant, an umbrella, a life raft, a tube of super glue, duct tape and just about anything else you can imagine. AND it doesn't weigh you down! I want a backpack like that, I NEED a backpack like that. She has a monkey sidekick named Boots who follows her around on her adventures,because everyone needs a sidekick. Look at the Lone Ranger? Anyway, I digress again... Dora also carries around a cool ass map that gives her directions to anywhere she needs to go. I need one of those too even though my phone does a pretty good job of directing me around! So with a map, a monkey and a kick ass backpack Dora explores her world solving problems. All in 30 minutes! Congress NEEDS her efficiency!

So let's review...

Dora is a nine year old(I'm guessing)who knows right from wrong

She helps people and critters without any self serving purpose

She uses the tools she is given to solve problems

She uses her time wisely

She thinks things through before she does something

She can add and subtract

She gets along with people

She explains things well and in simple, matter-of-fact terms

She never makes fun of Swiper or calls him names even though he makes her life hell

So Congress, break out your DVR's, gather your buddies/gal pals and some pizza and brew and watch a couple of Dora episodes. Maybe it'll give you a new perspective on how to NOT run our country into the ground.

A Place to Be

I watch as the moon glides across the cloudless sky, it's reflection dappling the waves that gently roll across the beach. The sand is left smooth by the waning tide, leaving bits of shells and smooth stones for the beachcombers in the morning. I delight in the wind that blows through my hair, sending a chill down my sunburnt arms. It's salty breath caresses my cheek softly, stirring the scrub in a symphony of gentle tones. I can feel this place settling into my bones, washing away all the small inadequacies that make me human and leaving me with an unimaginable and grounding peace. Here is a place to stir all the senses, a place to remind us of the awesome beauty that is around us if we just stop for a moment and really look, listen, feel. A place to just be.

So I've....

been taking classes to become a 3rd degree/Master Reiki practitioner. I have the final attunement on Sunday. So what is Reiki? I've been asked this before and the best answer is it's an Eastern holistic method that is used for relaxation with added health benefits. I got interested in it in 2003 after hearing the term from a friend. I googled it(or whatever we did before google) and after much searching found a day spa that offered treatments. I was interested in taking classes to be able to do it but wanted to see what was involved before I laid down the cash. Up front, I'm a big skeptic. I'll tell you, it was amazing!! Everyone's experience is different. My entire right side had a pins and needles feeling, but not the bad kind like your leg was waking up after falling asleep. I could feel the energy rolling through my entire body and I had an overwhelming feeling of happiness and rightness in the world. I was sold and took the 1st and 2nd degree classes within 2 months of each other. I let several years slip by, as often happens in life, and just started practicing again late last year. I started searching for a Reiki master a couple of months ago and finally found one who has been practicing for 20 years. He is an amazing teacher and a gifted healer. During one of the classes he gave me a treatment. The feet are an important energy point as this is what grounds us to the Earth. When he treated my feet, I could feel energy pulsating up through my legs into my torso and wrapping around my ribs and lungs. It was such a strong sensation that it took my breath away for a minute. After the treatment I felt grounded and at peace. I do self treatments daily and it has made a huge difference in my attitude and in how I feel. I don't hurt when I get up anymore and my stress level is minimal. Here's to Sunday!!!

Test

Testing again

So I'm writing a Book...

I've read hundreds, possibly thousands, of books. Some were really good, great character development, good plot and so on. Some were average writing but great storyline. And some, well, some I really tried to get through and had to give up because it just wasn't happening! So, I'm thinking, hey, it can't be that hard, right? I love to read, I have a pretty decent imagination and I've decided recently that I'm going to finish things I start. So I've got a plot, half the characters and a decent start on the first full chapter. And I've realized, writing isn't all that easy. The story sounds really good in my head, but I'm having a hard time translating it to the written word. I can see the places and people in the story, but my hangup is fully describing the scenery without boring the reader. I will not give up though! I am finishing this thing! I may put the first chapter on the blog...worst case scenario is it'll put you to sleep!! "The only two mistakes on the road to truth are not starting and not going all the way."

Do Chickens have Large Talons?

Some of my all time favorite movie quotes...

1. "Do chickens have large talons?" Napoleon Dynamite
2. "It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting *ideas*, and *thinking*..." Gaston, Beauty and the Beast
3."That's gonna leave a mark." Tommy, Tommy Boy
4."It's where I keep all my things. Get a lot of compliments on this. Plus it's not a purse, it's called a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one. "Alan, The Hangover
5."You've always been crazy, this is just the first chance you've had to express yourself." Louise, Thelma and Louise
6."I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry
7."You have that sharp, useless look about you." Vivien, Pretty Woman
8."I rode through the rain! I'd - I'd ride through worse than that if I could just hear your voice telling me that I might, at least, have some chance to win you." Mr. Knightly, Emma
9."I picked a helluva day to quit drinkin'." Russell Casse, Independence Day
10."You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them." Princess Leia,one of those Star Wars movies

Memories of Home

So I have lived in Kansas City Missouri for just over 12 years now and while it is a great city I miss my home state of Michigan. I guess you would say this is home now and to some degree it is since I have a family here, but truth be told, I will always be a Northern girl.

Growing up, my family lived on a small inland lake about 10 miles from Lake Michigan. I say small because, well, Lake Michigan is big enough you cannot see the other side; to me that is a big lake. Paw Paw Lake is approximately 10 square miles and if you asked the kids, they would say it was rather large. Being landlocked in the great state of Missouri, I pine for those days when I could walk out of our house and jump off of our dock into the cool, crisp water. I remember jetskiing with my sister all day during our summers and lounging around the fire pit my Dad built in a rather large sandbox in our yard! I remember spotting for my Mom as she would pull my Dad slalom skiing behind the big blue beast and hours spent waxing said beast under the watchful eye of my Father. My Grandpa taught us how to ski when I was 10 years old. We had a pair of pint size skis that were bolted together and I don't think I've ever been prouder than when I actually stood up without falling back over. It got even better when I could slice through the wake behind the back of the blue beast.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I think it has to do with autumns spent raking leaves, again under the watchful eye of my Father. Back then, we would pile them up by the road and burn them. Nothing smells better than burning leaves.

Winters in Michigan can only be described as serene. The town I grew up in received large amounts of lake effect snow. We would get dumped on regularly, but I loved it. I learned to drive a stick shift into a snowbank and how to properly remove the car from it. My friends and I would do 360's in the parking lot of our high school, that is until I almost hit a parked bus. School was rarely called off due to snow. Michiganders know how to drive in it and the county had salting down to a science. School is called off in Missouri if there is a slight dusting.

I remember biking with my sister and Dad while my Mom was at work. We would pack a lunch and bike the 10 miles, or at least it felt like it, to Lake Michigan. We'd eat our lunch on the beach and pick up rocks and driftwood. I loved those rides and the sand, which is unlike any I've walked through on the East or the West coasts. Now when I visit my parents, I soak in those walks along the beach and carry them back to Missouri...

Afton and I at the Zoo!

My Favorite Poem

The Road Not Taken...
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost