it's been a while dad

today marks one year since my dad passed away. not really sure how i feel about it or even how i feel about how i feel. i wonder if i'm supposed to be sad? crying? melancholy? mournful?

i definitely miss him, but there was such a sense of relief that he no longer had to fight to stay alive and that i could let my mind rest.

my mom went to visit him today down by the river and she told me that he really likes the wind chime that we put up a few weeks ago. "not too loud and not to girly," she reported :) i decided to spend part of my day doing something that my dad would have done - volunteering at the food bank. delivering lunches and dinners for meals on wheels was one of his great joys in life.

maybe i'll cry tomorrow, but today's been a good day just the way it was.

harry and pippa 2012

i'm starting a campaign to marry off prince harry and pippa middleton. they make a striking couple!

in the name of the father, son and holy spiggot

i didn't get up at 4:00 am, but i have now watched the royal wedding. while it was beautiful, i couldn't help but be completely distracted by my thought that i seen this whole thing once before. no, not the nuptials of charles and diana (although i did get up to watch those - the difference between a 10 year old body and a 39 year old body, i guess); rather one of my favorite movies of all time -

four weddings and a funeral

indulge me before you disagree.

beautiful main characters? check!

goofy rectors? check!

gay friends? check!

john hannah? check!

alright. maybe the pictures haven't convinced you, but watch this scene from four weddings and a funeral and then tell me that i'm wrong.

the wedding of
bernard geoffrey st. john delaney and lydia jane hibbot

there's another great scene where everyone is singing "jerusalem" by charles hubert hastings perry and the camera keys on the characters who are less than impressed with everyone's singing - just like what happened today at westminister abbey.

i rest my case and andi mcdowell and hugh grant should immediately seek royalties from today's broadcast because it was a ripoff!

god save the queen.

* i didn't want to taint my analysis with pettiness, but someone HAS to talk to the archbishop about those eyebrows! i know he's sort of a big deal in the church of england and all, but he was marrying the future king and queen. he didn't have to cut them, but a little gel wouldn't have hurt.

yeah for friends and family abroad!

a cousin living in japan and friends living in guatemala and mongolia mean that i have an international readership. they're not my first repeat multinational readers though. last year i had a frequent flier from nigeria who needed me to help him cash a check. he was such a nice young man!

the prayers of righteous PEOPLE availeth much!*

check kristin's fb page in just a few minutes and you will see that your prayers have worked! she is FINALLY profiled with a current picture!



*with all respect to james, narrowing the prayers to just one righteous man was far too limiting. this took all of us to get her to replace that head shot from 2003!

hey mom! what if ...

... i told you something that irritated you ...







... i said we're not going on any more boat rides today ...









... you won and we did take yet another tour
of annapolis harbor!

bet wonder woman wishes she had some

back in october i traveled to the great state of kansas right around the same time that the tsa launched that full body scanner. turns out though that kansas - really missouri because the airport's in that kansas city - did not have access to said full body scanner so everyone wearing clothes that were not form fitting was subjected to a front-of-the-hand pat down. i was one of those people since i was wearing a dress. i was a little irritated because i felt that the policy targeted women. to save them the trouble of putting on the rubber gloves, i quickly lifted my dress up over my head to expose absolutely nothing as i was wearing the dress because i liked it; not to hide contraband.

flash forward to today. i was returning to dc from my mom's house in upstate new york. i intentionally wore a sports bra because the substantial under wire on my traditional braziere always triggers a pat down. i made it to the magnetometer and ... it buzzed. they brought me over to the search area and the tsa agent asked if i had any metal to which i replied ...

nothing but my titanium nipples.

true story.

just like me playing with barbies kept me straight

there's in uproar in the conservative press about a j. crew ad where an employee relishes the fact that her 5 year old boy likes to have his toes painted ... pink. the outrage is that this ad will encourage kids to be gay, or dare i say, trans!

so many flaws to this theory that i don't even know where to begin; so i won't.

when you need to make a choice

apologies in advance to those who end up saying - huh? - but it's one of those "you either get it or you don't" and explaining it won't make it easier to understand or any funnier once you understand ...

the scene: non-profit organization board meeting

the context: having a discussion to determine whether or not we should revise our board membership requirements; one suggestion was to extend the definition of "mennonite" to include other mennonite churches other than hyattsville or even to other anabaptist traditions

my response: "i'd rather have a like-minded atheist than an evangelical anabaptist"

classic line if i must say so myself - so i do!

not a win for women's reproductive rights in the district of columbia

obviously i've watched the last few days of news with keen interest; after all, it's been my livelihood at stake. and like many americans, i was irritated to think that the right to show up, do my job and earn a living was pinned to an attempt to legislate through the budget process. but in the end, common sense won out when obama and the democrats, my people, stood firm in their commitment not to agree to any deal that defunded planned parenthood. the rider disappeared and the democrats and obama agreed to the proposed budget cuts and proclaimed a hard-won social victory on behalf of womens' reproductive freedom. but was it really?

no. while defunding planned parenthood did not happen, the newly approved federal budget deal contains a provision that the district of columbia may not use LOCAL funds to support a low-income woman's right to choose. that's right, congress - both democrats and republicans - , with obama's approval, has told the tax paying citizens of the district of columbia what they can and cannot do with their local tax dollars. where's the national outrage over that?! i'll make it easy - there is none.

can you imagine the federal government telling arizona that it can no longer spend its local dollars to enforce its undocumented worker policies? of course not, because it would never happen. first, the arizona congressional delegation would band together to prevent it and other states would begin the cries of states rights. but, that's what happens when you're not a state, when you don't have a vote and when the only representation you have is a city government that no one takes seriously because it's such an embarrassment.

taxation without representation is alive and well!

we're real tax-paying citizens - not some faceless enemy

the possibility of a federal government shutdown is becoming more and more real as the hours pass. while i've definitely been one to make jokes about being a fed, i do so in jest. i know how hard we work every day - to serve, protect. the work we do is noble and worthwhile - my job exists for the sole purpose of ensuring that infants, toddlers and students with disabilities get the access to the same education as their typically developing peers. doesn't really seem like a waste of money to me.

and yet we have to listen to people talk and write about how we're lazy, unproductive and unnecessary. they talk as if we're this random group of people who are somehow unaffected by the faltering economy. in reality, we're tax payers just like the rest of them and are impacted as well.

i could go on and on and on, but steve ressler said it better over at the huffington post.

attention! boehner's seeking day laborers!!!

the government shutdown is getting close and the administration is raising the stakes. around 8:00pm all cabinet agencies received notice that the administration is planning for a shutdown.

the message makes clear that POTUS doesn't want a shut down and everyone in the administration appreciates our dedication. now i know who to blame when i am barred from going to work and stop receiving a paycheck - going straight to boehner's office and will be seeking work as a day laborer. spread the word and come and join me!

you know your mom loves you when, ...

... , after asking her to walk just a few more feet because it's good for her, she pointedly states -

fuck you! i hate you!

ah the joys of having a saucy mom!