Monthly Archives: January 2010

The fifth grade kids raised $2300 for UNICEF. It was their plan, because “President Obama told me that I could change the world”.

And they did. They changed the world, and we (the parents) watched and cheered and allowed them to be children. Because really, if you let them, children will change the world.

They changed mine. But now my daughter wants to know what happens when there’s an earthquake here.

“Not much”, I tell her. And I lie, “sometimes our houses crack, but we build differently here in Los Angeles. Our house survived the 1994 Northridge quake”. I didn’t tell her that the Northridge Mall fell down, or that it was pre-dawn on a holiday, or many people would have died.

I don’t tell my kids that their Dad’s apartment building crumbled into rubble in the 1994 earthquake, or that I drove around the city with a gun in my lap because the LAPD was on tactical alert, and I’d rather risk arrest than being alone in a devastated and eerily quiet city. I didn’t tell my daughter about the Bel Air Market that price gouged on baby formula and milk, or that there were no batteries for sale, because the stores quite simply ran out.

Instead I tell her that Mommy is very prepared. I have cash, water, food and (just in case) guns. I tell her that Daddy is young and strong and can take care of us no matter what, and that I would walk barefoot through the streets to get to them if need be.

I think she believes me. But really, that LemonAid stand is more hopeful than I.

Today in Kansas the trial begins.

People will say that Scott Roeder isn’t a murderer, but that he was protecting the unborn. Listen to what they are saying.

I’m not going to argue about when life begins, but I assert that in addition to murder, this Scott Roeder hunted Dr. George Tiller and traumatized a community.

I understand not believing in abortion, it’s a very personal decision. Here’s the problem. Women need abortions for a variety of reasons. Without physicians like Dr. George Tiller your daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and aunts will die. Women will never stop having abortions, women will simply stop having safe abortions.

If you believe in life, you absolutely must condemn the actions of Scott Roeder. If you believe in choice, you absolutely must condemn the actions of Scott Roeder.

It’s worth noting that Operation Rescue moved their offices to Wichita in order to shut down Dr. George Tiller. Although they didn’t pull the trigger, they fanned the flames.

Alexander woke up this morning and told me he had a sore throat and an upset stomach. He was whiny.

Here’s the thing about Alexander, when he’s really and truly sick, he’s never whiny, he’s just tired and snuggly. My little boy was a big mess of jangled nerves this morning. I sent him in to talk to his Dad. My husband is able to pull information out of anyone, he’s a listener and a questioner. He’s a great Dad. Nothing.

Alexander was very tight lipped. I think school is okay, but something has him nervous or anxious. He’s also a tight lipped kid. It’s a little tough when you want to get information out of him, but I suspect he’s just the guy for the NSA.

I’m nervous for him now too. I wish I could spy on him at school today just so I can see him laughing and playing with his friends. You know, so I know he’s okay.

No, I’m not kidding. We all really want to know.

The last few days have been rainy here in Los Angeles. In addition to rain, there’s been wind. Enough wind to leave my house without power for 24 hours.

In some ways it was awful, but in others it was great. 24 hours without computers is really quite lovely. 24 hours of candlelight, monopoly, reading books, puzzles and time with my husband and kids is really fun. It’s fun because I have shelter, and security. I don’t have any great needs beyond the obvious.

Today I had a lunch and we raised some money for the UNHCR (The United Nations Refugee Agency), as I’ve discussed before, they are close to my heart. My friends and I were able to raise $330 while enjoying each other’s company. It was lovely. PUR, 10 Again Clothing, Mogo and The Game Truck were all on hand to support us, and I want to both thank them and introduce you, my readers, to these terrific brands.

At the same moment two charities who I wholehearted endorse are vying for a million dollars from Chase. You can give them a million dollars without paying a cent.

I’m not kidding.

With the click of a mouse, you can vote for Friendship Circle and for Trisomy 18 Foundation. Both of these links bring you to pages where you can quickly and easily vote. It takes just a second and it could change lives.

Friendship Circle is a non-profit dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals with special needs through critical life skills training, promoting advocacy in the general population through our strong volunteer core and play-therapy based programs that pair teens and special friends together to form a life-changing bond of friendship.

And Trisomy 18? Well, it’s one in 3000 births. If you mention Trisomy 18 a few times people will whisper, “oh, I had a baby die of that” or “my sister lost a baby…” but everyone knows it’s incurable, because there’s no research being done. You can change that.

Today I’m asking you to take a moment, you get to vote for 5 charities, please stop and vote for Friendship Circle and for Trisomy 18 Foundation. It only takes a second, and I promise, you’ll feel terrific.

Really, it could happen to anyone.

You could conceivably get very stoned and hide your marijuana in a really great hiding place. Then, the next day, when you are not stoned, you might forget where that really great hiding place is.

But it could be worse, because your whole upstairs might stink like weed, and your children might have had that stupid drug education class where they liken marijuana to heroin.

So you could be airing out your house on a very cold day, searching for a stash of marijuana that you can smell but you can’t see. Apparently you can hide things very well, but you can’t seal a ziploc bag.

But I’m not saying it happened to me.