Coffee 5.7

Welcome Company Girls!

What a week!  I worked a double shift last weekend.  I do overnight parties at the zoo.  I arrive at about 5 pm and leave about 11 am the next day.  I do get to sleep, usually about 6 hours of bad sleep.  I did that Friday night and Saturday night.  And I'm doing it again this weekend.  The money will be nice!

I've been following the flood in Tennessee, the NYC attempted bombing and the oil spill, as well as the meltdown in Greece.  Oh, and did you know that Iran now has a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women?  Isn't that special.

On the homefront, we have 3 more weeks of school.  Tuesday is my older son's field trip.  I'm going to be a chaperone.  Guess where we're going...the zoo LOL.  And yesterday, all of the district's third graders went to the high school for a presentation by....the zoo LOL.  He has a diorama due on the 19th.  It's on the rainforest and must include all 4 layers with at least one animal in each layer.  I think it's cool.

I am looking forward to summer.  To kick things off, my middle brother and his family are coming for a visit from the 4th through the 10th of June.  His wife is from India and her mom and nephew from India will also be with them.  And of course, they'll have their two precious children.  This aunt can't wait to see them!  Since my older one's birthday falls that week, we are going to...the zoo LOL.  I have free tickets and they'd all like to go and my boys are excited, so we'll go!  Then that evening, I've invited family over for dinner and cake.  Just an easy dinner of tacos - everything can be prepped in advance.  I need to come up with some meals that can be either vegetarian or not.  Sister-in-law's mom doesn't eat any meat.  SIL and her nephew will eat chicken and turkey.  I have plenty of ground turkey.  I've got tacos that one night and I can do pasta with meatballs on the side on another night.  I want to give them a taste of Texas and stay within their dietary restrictions.

Mother's Day is Sunday.  I've just asked my husband to help the boys do some picking up while I'm working this weekend and I would be very happy with that as my gift :D  I'm not a flowers and jewelry kind of girl.  I'm happiest with a kiss and a hug (and maybe a meal at a restaurant).  Do you have plans for Mother's Day? I've heard of some moms planting a special plant.  Some get breakfast in bed.  Some love chocolate.  And there's nothing wrong with the bling if that's your thing.

I wish all of you a special Mother's Day!  Whether you are a mother of your own child or a mentor, you are special!

I love the USA...too much to remain silent

Check out this article by Michelle Malkin regarding some high school students wearing clothing with the American flag on it on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo - a holiday that isn't even really celebrated in Mexico).

Seriously?  It's disrespectful for a citizen to wear something that has the flag of his own country on it while he or she is in their own country?  Really?

Let me state this loud and clear:  I am all for LEGAL immigration.  It has nothing to do with the race or nationality of any individual.  It has everything to do with people coming here and working to be a part of our culture.  I enjoy people coming from other countries, becoming a part of our society and adding their rich traditions.  I am not for people coming over here trying to make the USA into their country.  Let me add that I also think that people that want to come here and be a part of this great country, we should let them!

It's kinda funny (not haha, but ironic) to me that Americans have the reputation that they do in other countries (rude American tourist), but we aren't supposed to think badly of anyone that comes here and refuses to go by our standards.  I've traveled to other countries and have thoroughly enjoyed learning about other cultures.  I know full well that if I were to ever move to another country, I would need to assimilate.  Assimilation doesn't mean losing who you are or throwing beloved traditions out the window.  It means taking on some of the traditions of your new home and embracing it.

Jan Brewer in her own words regarding the new immigration law in Arizona.  And here is Arizona state senator Sylvia Allen in her own words.

I love my country.  I really love the USA.  I believe that we can do so much good in this world.  And I am tired of being called names because I love my country.  Or because I'm white.  Or whatever reason.

I needed to get that off of my chest.

UPDATE:  I am listening to one of the boys being interviewed on Mark Levin's show.  Other students were wearing shirts with the Mexican flag and nothing was said to them.  Some of those students said negative things to the students wearing US flags (who did not respond to the attacks)...and nothing was said or done to them.  If the flag of the US is offensive to you, then maybe this isn't the place to be.

Dishwasher - Convenience or Not?

I am considering getting rid of our dishwasher.  


Hear me out...


My 87-year-old grandmother has never owned a dishwasher.  She cooks 3 meals a day (always has).  If she can survive, so can I.


I know that there are great dishwashers out there.  Mine is not one of them.  I basically have to wash all dishes before they go into the dishwasher.  Talk about irony!  If there are any crumbs or anything on a dish when it goes into the dishwasher, it will be there when it comes out.


I can probably handwash my dishes in the time it takes me to rinse and scrape them before loading the dishwasher.  Plus, washing dishes would be a great character-builder for my sons.  And it may give us time to talk if one of them is responsible for helping me each evening.  That would be nice.


If I remove the dishwasher, I can use that space for storage.  Rather than add a cabinet, I can just cover the space with pretty fabric on a tension rod.  It would be a great place to keep potatoes (dark).  I could also store some larger kitchen devices there (breadmaker, extra large Tupperware-type bowls).  Or maybe I could create a shelf and put the microwave on top and storage on the bottom.  Talk about freeing up counter space!


Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I want to get rid of it.


Am I crazy?