Beat the Drum, and Hold the Phone

Let me take a short break from the doom and gloom of the world to proclaim one of the sweetest phrases in the universe: "Pitchers and catchers report."

Everyone in Cleveland

who wanted to piss on this guy's grave can start lining up now. Just sayin'.

It's All Relative

I'm getting so tired of the idea that I must somehow be able to "relate" to people who are running for office. Especially since, who could I probably be able to relate to best? Bipolar people! Let's run somebody who's mentally ill for president -- that's a GREAT idea!

I also like pets. We've always had cats as they fit our lifestyle better. Hmmmm. The last president to have a cat as a pet was Clinton. And the cat got dumped on someone else as soon as they left the White House. So, scratch that.

I'm a mom, but I don't want to see a president wearing mom jeans ever again!

I'm terrible at sports, but I would like to have a president who doesn't totally embarrass himself throwing out a first pitch. On the other hand, I really don't care what the president's ESPN basketball picks are.

Which reminds me, I also do not want to see any more presidents or first ladies on any reality shows, awards shows or sports shows. You know what's reality? Unemployment, high gas prices, massive inflation.

Abundance of Riches

Here's something positive! I am concentrating more and more on my love of vintage fashion, and indulging this interest is so much easier to do now than it would have been probably even ten years before. There is an abundance of antique fashion plates, old photographs and even pictures of vintage clothing online, so that I can do research from my own home. No need to be near a big-city library and scroll through endless microfiche, or sit in a basement going through dusty old reference books. I probably would never have been able to see vintage clothing that was up for sale, before the internet. Someday, I would still like to take some classes in vintage fashion, but until then, I can learn and study a lot on my own.

How has the increase in the frequency and availability of media helped you enjoy something in your life? Here's another example: today one can watch even preseason baseball games on television. Interviews with players and managers, details about trades, it's all so much easier to find out things and watch things happening than ever before.

Making Sense of Exercise

I never really got into the concept of "exercise," at least the idea of lying on the floor and waving your arms and legs about. It was supposed to be good for you, but it wasn't fun and I didn't see much real point in it. Now that I've seen the Dancer taking ballet, jazz and tap, I've seen her incredible growth as a dancer, and all of the exercise she does makes sense. I prefer ballet barre work to the warm-up exercises she does in jazz, but it's all preparation for a greater end: the beauty of dancing.

I see now that this was probably my real problem all along. I had no greater end to work toward. I was not good at sports; could never have been good at sports. Not only am I under 5'4", but I also have relatively short legs (27" inseam.) And relatively short arms, and small hands. No one ever told me this stuff, though. I knew I wasn't tall, but for the rest, I just felt clumsy and awkward. Without a specific activity to pursue, my interest in exercise merely for exercise's sake decreased rapidly as I grew older.

However, after taking mother-daughter dance classes with the Dancer, I realize that I enjoy dance. Of course, I'll never be "good" at it, but it's something that I can do on my own, as opposed to a group sport, and much less expensive than something where you have to join, like a YMCA for swimming. (Not that I am a good swimmer, either.) And you can do it all year long, which matters in northeast Ohio! The real break-through for me, though, is why I hated exercise, and why it seems to make sense now.

BTW, my daughter's dance studio has started offering Zumba for adults, but I don't think I'm up to that, yet!!

Life's Little Oddities

For a desperately needed mental lift for the Evil Genius, three members of the Evil Genius family went to our nearest Winking Lizard restaurant. As we were seated, surrounded by large televisions, I was irked that the baseball game on was between the evil Red Sox and the even eviller Yankees. So we get the game on our TV turned to the Indians. Heaven. So there I am watching the game, eating a delicious Angus burger, jamming to a cool song (it was Pulling Mussels by Squeeze if you must know) and I realize my husband and the Dancer are not really into the game (or the music.) Not only that, but I start watching a preseason football game on another television involving the Evil Team that my husband roots for, and he's not interested in that either. I love Mr. Evil Genius more than anyone else, but not only am I the biggest sports fan in the house, but the man of the house isn't really all that big on sports. Heh.

Oh, and my family really hates it when I jump up and down screaming while one of the Browns runs into the endzone. Yelling and sticking my hands up in the air when an Indians player goes yard is slightly more tolerated.

I've Got the Vapors

Okay, so if it's against regulations to have a gun in an NBA locker room, then the suspension two players received for bringing a gun in was correct. But does that mean people need to be so sensitive to every bit of language that can be used to describe gun use? Even if guns are not allowed in the locker room, the NBA acted to discourage this particular behavior, but that does not mean guns should not be allowed anywhere, ever. So why should language like "not leaving anything in the chamber" be so upsetting? Oooh, even talk about a gun gives us the vapors. Perhaps, just perhaps, people should receive gun training in high school or something so guns are not so "big and scary."

Why Women Live Longer Than Men

Sure, it worked *this* time.
h/t Innocent Bystanders.

Let's Use Our Heads

I've been gone for so long, I have a lot to talk about, but I just want to express my frustration with something I just saw, and that irks me every time I read it. That is the old canard "Baseball/football/basketball players make millions, so why can't teachers/libraries/other good things?" Okay, let's think about this. Does a classroom or a library serve tens of thousands every day they are open? Does a classroom or library earn huge revenues from television? Do classrooms or libraries sell $7 beers and $3.50 cotton candy to their patrons? Do people buy jerseys and hats from their favorite library? Professional athletes get paid so much because the money is there. People pay to have the MLB or other networks to watch their favorite sports. How exciting would the Library Channel be? Yes, stadiums are subsidized by taxpayers, but so are libraries and school buildings. And I'm sure we spend more on state and local taxes than we have on the sporting events we have attended this year, although we watch lots of sports on television. I'm not arguing that teachers and libraries are not worthy causes, just that they don't have the enormous revenue base that professional sports do. Close our state libraries down to two, like we have two professional baseball and football teams in Ohio, and I'm sure those libraries would be the most wonderful since Alexandria. But who would want to drive potentially hours and fight with half of the state to use said library? We need a sense of proportion on this. Unless we're talking forced confiscation of earnings, which I am adamantly against, people should get paid based on what gets brought in. Sports just have a larger fan base and therefore a bigger revenue base.

Lacking Words

Life is not exactly dull here, and I'm still keeping an eye on the world at large, but there isn't anything recently that has inspired me to share it. I'll post a few notes just to catch readers up with life in my little world.

Wildchild (who I may rename the Dancer) is disappointed that there are no dance classes in August. She'll be taking ballet, jazz and tap this fall and is looking forward to it. In some ways, she reminds me of the character of Posy, from Ballet Shoes, who "lived for nothing but her dancing classes," and "could only say and understand things with her feet."

The Scientist is going to horse camp for five hours a day all this week, and is enjoying herself except for the snotty girls. She's learning more about horses, which she enjoys; she loves animals. She has also made a new friend already, although who knows if she'll see her again after horse camp. The girl is living with her father right now, but will go back with her mother after the summer, and I don't know if the mother lives near. Obviously there are lots of larger issues with divorce, but I feel frustrated with how hard it is for my girls to maintain friendships with children of divorce; it seems like a good bit of their "free" time is spent away with the other parent. It just occurred to me that if I had been younger when my parents divorced, I could have lived through the same thing, and I would have hated it. As it was, they divorced when I was in college, so I was independent in the view of the state.

We haven't done much Olympics watching around here. Mr. EG is almost anti-Olympics, being interested in very few sports and thinking the Olympics are over-hyped, so it's not on when he's home. I should find a schedule somewhere and find out when the equestrian events are on for the Scientist, except that she's gone five hours a day, and most of the riding seems to be already over.

I've often been rather skeptical of the "God provides everything you need" crowd, not because I don't trust in God's Providence, but because it often seems to be used as a reason to give more to the church than you can afford, and "trust God" to make up the shortfall. However, Mr. EG's car just died, and the problems are not worth putting more money into with this vehicle. We had just gotten a substantial amount of money from the government that we were owed, so we were able to afford a "new" car without taking out a loan, which does seem rather Providential.

So, I guess I found some words after all. Perhaps I just need the discipline to force myself to post more often!

Homeschool and Sports

Heisman winner for 2007, Tim Tebow, quarterback for the University of Florida, was homeschooled through high school. Apparently, there was some controversy during his high school years, due to the fact that he was homeschooled but was playing on the high school football team, even though this was legal by Florida law. He and his mom did have to move into an apartment to get him playing on the high school team he wanted, but how many parents have made such sacrifices to get their kids into a better academic environment?

It probably won't be an issue for our family, but I do think homeschooled kids should get the opportunity to take part in extracurricular school activities such as sports and band. I've read about homeschool sports teams, and sometimes they do very well, but I just don't think there are enough homeschoolers here in the Cleveland area. It seems strange in such a large metropolitan area, but in searching for local homeschool groups it seems as though most of Ohio's homeschool groups are found in the rural areas. Perhaps more parents in this area, who would otherwise homeschool, take advantage of the many parochial and private schools.

Hot Friday Night

Nothing says fun like playing miniature golf on a Friday night. They turned off the lights right after we left! :)


Of course, we missed the Cleveland Indians' big comeback tonight. When we left the golf course the Indians were down 11-7. I turned on the TV at home right after the Indians won the game in the 9th inning, 12-11. Oh well. At least we keep beating Detroit. And speaking of, the Indians are playing the Tigers at home again tomorrow night, and there will be big screens outside the Q right next door showing the Cavs-Pistons game, as the game is played inside. Cleveland should be hopping tomorrow night. Go Cleveland! Beat Detroit!

Get This Party Started

Hey ya'll! Through the lovely Kate, I found The Ultimate Blog Party, hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom, and decided I wanted to take part, 'cause I love a good party! I'm going to *try* to do something interesting every day with the party theme; we'll see how it goes.

My name's Barb; I'm married and have two lovely daughters, the Scientist, who's 11, and Wildchild, who's 8. When I'm not homeschooling them, I try to find time and energy to sew and cross-stitch. I usually end up sewing for my daughters

and dolls, theirs and mine!


I also love roller coasters, music, ice skating and reading a good story. I'm looking forward to having a good time this week. I can use something to lift my spirits!

A Change of Pace

So, I was surfing around YouTube while looking for something in particular, and I found this television clip. If you don't want to watch, basically it's a discussion of the current trend of college women's basketball teams having members of the men's team scrimmage with the women's team during practices, and the pros and cons thereof.

I don't talk about sports too much, although I enjoy rooting for Cleveland professional sports teams, as much as one can enjoy watching your team find ways to lose. My body is definitely not made for serious athletic pursuits, and my daughters have other aptitudes as well. But as far as basketball goes, I've always had a fondness for girls' high school basketball. This is probably partially because my mother played basketball herself for Lutheran High, back when girls were only allowed to play half court ball, so as not to strain their delicate constitutions.(!) Also, I attended Lutheran West High School, where the girls' basketball coach, Karen Wittrock, is the winningest girls' basketball coach in the state of Ohio, with over 600 wins and less than 200 losses.

This video, however, offers some interesting things to think about beyond the realm of females playing basketball. For starters, the coaches talk about how it is great for the women to be playing basketball against the men, because the men are "bigger, stronger and faster." Okay, hold on. Aren't women and men supposed to be absolutely equal in every single way already? No?

It also brings up issues related to Title IX, wherein legislators attempted to create desired results by mandate, in this case, making sure women had absolutely the exact same opportunities to play absolutely the exact same sports as men, whether the women want to or not. Of course the result, as so often happens when legislators try to force their own visions to come to pass via a law, seems in my not so humble opinion to have hurt more than it helped. For updates on the follies of Title IX, the International Women's Forum seems to be the best go-to site I have found. In the case of the issue we're currently discussing, the argument is that benefits to women athletes from Title IX are being erased, as second-string women's players get less playing time while the first-string women are playing against the guys. As is to be expected from a brief television blurb, this issue is not resolved adequately. One coach says, actually, all the women get more playing time under this new practice. This makes no sense to me, since who would the first-string women be scrimmaging against, if not the second-string women, if the men were not there?

Overall, I found this issue intriguing because the thing I like about women's basketball, particularly at the high school level, is that it is different from men's basketball. Women are different from men, and while I think women can excel in athletic pursuits, women are different physically and this may result in different things. Women's softball has its differences from men's baseball. Women figure skaters have cut back on the relentless pursuit for more rotations in jumps, opting for difficulty in combination jumps instead. Jumps require a certain level of upper body strength to muscle the body through the jump, and men do have the advantage in this area. I saw all the serious knee and ankle injuries to the girls who played basketball while I was in high school, and I wonder if the goal of playing more like men will only make this worse, or if better conditioning and new conditioning techniques will offset this. While I don't think girls should be limited to half-court ball, and I like the idea of girls and women in basketball being more aggressive for the rebound or on defense, I don't think changing their style of play to be exactly like men is something that should be striven for. Anyone else out there have an opinion?

Peace

Ahh, peace, sweet peace. The kind of peace you get when you're really, really exhausted, so that your body kind of shuts down and you don't care about anything except the feel of the blanket around you and your head on the soft pillow. There is a slight nagging worry about why you've been feeling constantly tired lately, but you can push that away, for now. Restful for the mind, bad for blogging.

I'm glad the Bears made it into the Super Bowl, because my sister-in-law is thrilled about that. She's been a Bears fan for ages. Now if only this mojo thing I have going (the Cards, the Bears) would work for one of my teams! Or maybe I need to find someone else with mojo to root for my teams.

You Gotta Love...

a man who cooks! My husband found this pizza dough at his last trip to the grocery store. (Yes, he grocery shops too!) So he and the girls had a fun time rolling out the dough, spreading the sauce and cheese and artistically placing the pepperoni. My husband is a born cook, and also well-trained by his Italian grandmother.




C.C. will be donating a lot more money to Strikeouts for Troops after tonight's game, won't he? Go C.C.! Hey, we have to salvage what we can out of this Indians season. Like being the ones to knock the White Sox out of the playoffs. Oh well, there's always the Browns the Cavaliers!

In a Snarky Mood

Like the Indians don't have enough problems, one of the members of the bullpen gets arrested. Honestly, I don't understand all the drinking and drugging with these pro athletes. And running away and hiding in the bushes? What's up with that? And all the news over LeBron James' mother's DUI arrest, and getting driving privileges restored to get to work. Hello, when your son is LeBron Freakin' James, why not just get mom a car and a driver? Not that I think the court should have ordered that. But seriously, when you or a family member is making so much it's like you're printing out money in your basement, why not just get a limo when you're going to get plastered? As for the NFL, it could almost stand for the National Felon's League.

And to complete my snark for the day. The Amish: Doing Jobs Americans Won't Do.

People to See

Elizabeth over at anxiouscontentment posted about her meeting with a high-ranking volleyball player. That got me wondering if there was anyone well-known who I would like to meet. Don't know if it's a good or bad thing, but I couldn't really come up with anybody! After some thought, I thought maybe Barbara Bush, so she could sign the shirt with her picture on it I got from Glenn Beck's store. Plus, she just has a great name! :) Although I think part of my idea might have come from the fact that my niece got to meet George Sr. and Barbara in Maine over the summer. I can't think of any famous people I admire who are still alive! Kind of sad, really.