How a 4 Year Old Thinks

I love my 4-year-old.  Even when he's being difficult.  I love him even more when he says insightful (and just plain cute) things.  He's funny when he tries to be grown up (although it wasn't funny at the time).

I was trying to sleep in yesterday.  I made my room dark so I could sleep in.  Yeah right, I should have known better.  When there's kids, you're not going to sleep in.  Period.  So while I was unsuccessfully trying to sleep in, my son jumps into bed with me.  He wakes me up and says "I'm hungry."  I tell him "Go ask Becki to get you some cereal" (ha yeah, I know - I should be doing it).  He gives me a stern look and says "But Mommy - it's morning.... see?" and points to the very little light that's coming in through the window.  "There's light so it's morning... and morning means you HAVE to wake up!"  I couldn't argue with that so I got up.

I've been using the counting system with Logan and it works 95% of the time.  One day he wanted some ice cream.  I told him no because he wouldn't eat dinner.  Guess what he said?  "I'm going to count to 5, you have to give me ice cream."  He got a spanking and hasn't tried to count with me again.

Retelling this story as interpreted by someone at church:

We were at drama rehearsal and the director was talking about a scene that will take place in a church (and pointed to the stage where the church will be built).  Logan turned to a hearing person at church and said "How can that be church?  This (pointing to our floor) is our church.  How can he take this whole church and put it in there?"  I got a good laugh.

The extinction of theme songs

While I was growing up I had a secret pleasure.  I thrived off TV theme songs.  I remember being proud of the fact that I could recite the whole theme song of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and I remember thinking I was all that because I could "rap".

Theme songs were the bread and butter of TV.  Theme songs does for TV that junk food does for your mouth.  You just can't help but go "wow."  You could watch your TV shows week after week and not ever get tired of the song that introduces the spectacle that you'd be watching for the next 30 minutes or an hour.  Now, when I watch TV, I can't help but feel incomplete.

Producers have done away with TV theme songs to make room for more ad time.  They have also shaved off a few minutes of each episode, but that's a whole 'nother thing to complain about.  What used to be one of the best things about TV has been reduced to about 10 seconds of perky music, or for most shows nowadays, nothing.  

The reason that theme songs were created was to make time for credits (after all, you DO have to credit people for their work, right?).  This also gave the viewers an added bonus of enjoyable TV moments.  I guess the reality of all this is that when it comes down to it - money matters.  In an effort to earn more  cash, they've lost sight of the thing that perhaps drew in and kept their viewers.  Maybe this is why ratings are lower?

I remember way back when the theme songs lasted for about a minute while images of the actors and their names flashed on the screen.  I remember way back when I laughed or smiled before the show even started.  I remember being eased into something gently rather than have something thrown in my face.  It was the equality of easing slowly into a hot tub, savoring the moment rather than just jumping in.

Not only have they pretty much eliminated theme songs, they've also messed with the credits.  They are usually shown during the opening scenes of the TV show, but who actually watches that?  I know I don't.  Some TV shows have credits stashed at the end, running through them quickly in a 1/2 window while the other 1/2 is showing an advertisement.  I've even see TV shows run through the credits so fast (in 5 seconds or less), that you'd have to pause to actually be able to see what they were.  Pretty sad.

Not all is lost, though.  There are a still few TV shows that have theme songs, but I wonder how many seasons they'll go before they wise up.  True Blood, Dexter, United States of Tara are among a few that are still clinging to the old tradition.

I give it just a few more years before theme songs become completely extinct, and before that happens, I'd like to acknowledge some of my favorites..

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - a nice rap that catered to their African American audience, and also tasteful enough for us "whites" who like to feel involved.

Saved by the Bell - a classic.  Enough said.

Growing Pains - a great "family" song about loving, smiling and getting through hard times together.  How can you not like that?

Doogie Howser - the perfect perky song.  It doesn't get any better than that.

Can you come up with some of your own favorites?

Busy Summer

It's been quite some time since I have written something.  Actually, it's been a long time.  I look into myself and ask for forgiveness, a forgiveness that will probably never be given.  I try to absolve my lack of writing with self-assuring excuses.  "I have a full time job now, which I love, that's keeping me pretty busy", "I no longer live alone (although the kids were gone almost the whole summer), therefore I have somebody to do things with", and the clincher, "I actually have a life."

My life today is a complete 180 from what my life was like a year ago.  OK - a little over a year ago since I just recently celebrated my one-year anniversary at my job.  My life one year ago looked like this:  No kids (they stay with their father every summer), no job, and no money.  I also lived alone in a 3rd-floor apartment.  I didn't go out much.  I escaped into computer games a lot, and I mean a lot.  I also found peace in writing because then I could complain to something/someone and ultimately, it gave me something to do.  After almost 7 years of being married and being a housewife, I had enough of staying home.  I wanted out.  I think at that point it was quite possible that I could have been tested insane.  Maybe.

In August, I received a huge blessing.  I was offered a job.  For those of you who know me most likely already know this story - so I'll make it short.  A temporary job on minimum wage turned into a full-time job that came with a huge raise.  This full-time job has been keeping me insanely busy - especially this past summer.  I can't complain (although, I do at times).  The pay is enough, I love being busy, I feel worthy and needed, and above all, I have a job.

All good things come with a catch.  Sadly, this means I have less time to do what I'd really like to do.  And when I finally get the time to do what I want, I'm dumbfounded at the time I have on my hands, having forgotten (and then remembering) what it was like to HAVE time, and I end up doing nothing at all, because I want to cherish being able to do nothing.

So - in short, I've been slacking off and I hope to make it a habit to write regularly again.  We'll see.

Next on my agenda: my trip to Colorado!

Colorado and Las Vegas - here I come!

I'm so excited!  I just booked my flight to Colorado!  For more than a year now, I've been planning a trip to Las Vegas to attend the first World Expo hosted by DeafNation.  The original plan was to drive up there with Jon and to make lots of pit stops along the way to see grand sights like Grand Canyon and Route 66.  Somehow, the plan evolved to Jon driving up to Colorado to spend time skydiving (and floating in a tunnel!) and hang out at a Deaf Pilot's convention thingie.  Of course, I'm always up for adventure so I thought it would be so cool if I met Jon there to explore Denver for a few days before we road-trip it to Las Vegas.

After we're done with Las Vegas, we'll (hopefully) see the Grand Canyon on the way back and I'd REALLY love to take Route 66 back towards Texas.

Gears are turning in my head already - what I should pack, what I might need to buy, how to plan the road trip back to Texas, what I want to see, what I want to do and most importantly - how should I preserve the memory!?  Of course, the answer's easy enough - take photos, lots and lots of them!  However, if you know me, you know I have lousy memory sometimes.  Chances are that I would forget where I took that photo, what day I took it and why.  So - I think I'm going to bring along a binder with page protectors (the sleeves you put papers in).  I'm going to drop in momentos like tickets, receipts, maps, brochures and anything else I pick up along the way.  I'll also (or at least try) to make notes on some photos.  The end result: a snappy scrapbook!

Over the next few days, I plan to do lots of research.  With Jon out of town, I'm sure to have a lot more time on my hands (but I will definitely be happy when he gets back).  I'm going to be looking into shows that I might want to see in Las Vegas (maybe America's Got Talent is hosting a show there while we're in town!), things I want to check out (maybe the Titanic exhibit? I'm a fan... and maybe the MGM lions, I hear that MGM has a habitat for them).  So many things to do, so much potential and so little time...

Did I mention I'm excited?  Whoo-hoo!

Still Lost

*Note: This is late, but better late than never...

One of my all-time favorite TV series has come to an end.  I enjoyed its entire 6-year run.  Although I became extremely frustrated at the writers from time to time, it was eventually worth it when the questions were (eventually) answered.

I looked at Lost as a "one step forward, two steps back" TV show.  Whenever one question was answered, much more were brought forth.  Guess that formula worked - millions of us kept watching every season to see what would happen.

The finale wasn't what I was expecting.  In some ways, it was satisfying - an excellent way to wrap up 6 years of confusion.  However, bits of it was disappointing.  I decided to compile a list of why I'm still "lost."  There are still tons of questions that went unanswered and if I'm going to watch something as confusing as Lost for 6 years, I'd expect answers to each and every one of them.

I stumbled across this website and this website had the same questions I had.  What was up with the polar bear, how did it get on the island?  Apparently, I wasn't paying attention.  What was the Man in Black's name (and what's the deal with witholding that information from us)!?  Why was Widmore so invested in the island?  What happened to Walt when he was kidnapped?  Each character was "assigned" a number - a number that was part of the combination to prevent the island from going into electromagnetic "whatever" - but the show didn't explain why that character got the particular number.  And what I'd really like to know is whether Ben is really good deep down inside or if he's just nuts.

Anyway, this website answers covers some questions that I had and others that I didn't think of.  Unfortunately, it doesn't answer ALL my questions.  Guess we're all just meant to be doomed to wonder about the little stuff...

http://screenrant.com/lost-finale-explanation-kofi-61464/

Fierce Guard Dog

See the chicken?  Look closer.  Yes, that chicken.  That juicy bit of chicken from McDonald's, a very rare treat for me.  I'm guarding it from that annoying black dog who'll eat anything, including cat poop (which makes Mommy's job a whole lot easier).

Apparently I didn't do such a hot job of guarding it. This little rascal got to it as soon as I stepped away to attend to a private matter.

She's fast. Very fast. And oh so very annoying.

When I realized that 12am stole my chicken, I chased after her and gave her a lickin'.  Too bad Mommy didn't get a chance to get a picture of that.  THAT would have been cool....

Biggest Loser, Season 9 - Finale

Highlights of the Finale:

Daris now has a girlfriend.  If he was still overweight, would that girl still be interested in him?  Probably not.

Koli is just as obnoxious.  I think that when he lost all that fat, he also lost some brain cells.  What was he thinking, wearing pink pants and that ugly grey jacket!?  Ew!  During a flashback, Koli commented that he never valued himself because he was so overweight.  Well, I think he values himself a tad bit too much now.  I'll say it again - it's ok to be proud, but there's this teeny little thing called tact and down-to-earth appreciation (look at O'Neal, Mike, Daris... the list could go on).

Daris won America's heart and votes - he made it into the finale.  However, now that I think about it - I think we made a mistake...keep reading to find out why.

Three previous contestants returned to watch the finale - Erik, Danny and one other.  They looked great, especially Erik!  He won the title of the Biggest Loser when he was there, gained almost all his weight back and is now fighting to lose that weight.  He has lost 150 pounds to date.  He's supposed to come back to the next season's finale and show us that it can be done.  Sure - we already know it can be done.  The question is - can he keep it off?

All season long, we've been waiting to see how Shay turned out.  She was given a sweet deal by Subway.  For every pound she lost (in between last season and this season's finales), she would get $1,000.  She ended up losing 52 pounds for $52,000.  However - it isn't over yet.  Subway said that if she ran a marathon with the Subway dude at the end of the year, they'll double that money.

Yeah - I bet Shay was thinking "Oh damn, it's not over yet!?"  She had that fake smile on her face.  Now I am actually starting to feel bad for her.  She's probably sick of all the media attention, take her money and live her life.

Now - we went through the weigh-ins of 19 contestants that went home.  Some were shocking and some weren't.  Some accomplished their goals, and others did not.  What was extremely surprising (and rewarding) was Darrell taking Sherry's spot while competing for the $100,000.  Sherry weighed in early on and held on to the winning spot for about 9 weigh-ins.  When it seemed like she might just end up winning the prize, Darrell comes on and beats her by 2 pounds.  Darrell was marked as the sickest man on campus when he arrived and has since then pulled a complete 180.  It's amazing how many of them turned their lives around.

Koli ends up winning the $100,000 at home prize.  Here's why I think we made a mistake by voting Daris into the finale.  If Daris had been the one that joined the 'at-home' people, he would have been the one to get the $100,000 instead of nothing.  Now Koli has $100,000 and his ego has multiplied by 100,000 as well.  Oy vey!

For about a few weeks now, I swore that Daris would end up winning the title of the Biggest Loser.  He never caused any trouble on campus and he looks so great.  He weighed in first and lost at least 48% of his body fat.  That is a huge feat to accomplish - especially in 7 months.

Ashley weighed in second and shocked the nation by beating Daris by 2 points.  She still has more weight to lose - I wonder if she'll keep losing weight now or if she'll slack off a bit, now that money isn't on the line anymore...

I hate pink.  I loathe pink.  But if I ever gain weight and go on the Biggest Loser, I will ask to wear the pink shirt.  It's good luck.

When Mike came out from behind the white screen, four jaws dropped in my living room.  He is looking to be the favorite contender to win the whole thing.  He obviously has lost so much, but can he beat the magic touch of Pink?

Right before they weighed in Mike, the trainers talked to him, Mike handed his mom a white rose and they talked about his time on campus.  During that dragged-out moment, Ashley was standing there with a look on her face that said "ok enough - shut up and let's go!"  It's ok Ashley, I would have felt the same way.

Mike needed to lose more than 256 pounds to take the the position from Ashley.  He ended up losing 264 and won the title of being the Biggest Loser.

If Mike could do it, anybody can!

Don't forget to tune in next week for Jillian's series.  Even though I'm not too crazy about her, I'm curious enough to watch.

Biggest Loser, Season 9 - Episode 18

The show opened up with fantastic highlights of the final four.  It's hard not to become invested in them, we have seen them at their worst, saw them get beaten by Bob and Jillian, and now we are seeing them emerge as completely new people.  The world is their oyster.

The final four goes home for 30 days and then will come back to see how well each of them did under the pressures that daily life brings.  We'll find out which two makes it above the yellow line, and which two will fall below (and beg America for compassion and their votes to put them in the final three).

We watched as each of the four contestants went home to their family and friends.  They all weighed in to show their peers how much they've lost on campus and received standing ovations.  At Koli's welcome home party, Sam wore a funny white shirt that said "I (heart) Koli Bear."  Sam definitely looks different back at home - kind of a gangsta.  While on the scale, Koli mentioned that at the first weigh-in (at home), he promised that he would make it to the final four.  He did.  Now he is making another promise - that he will win the entire thing.  Careful, Koli... don't get too far ahead of yourself.

Ali announced that they would each be doing a marathon, just like they did when they first got to campus.  However, the first marathon they did was on bike.  This time, they would be going on foot.  How fun!

At Mike's home, the family was gearing up for their usual Sunday dinner.  Mike suggested "how about some good old spaghetti and meatballs?"  J almost jumped at the screen and said "no no no!"  How could Mike lose 204 pounds on campus just to go back home to his usual spaghetti and meatballs?  Big mistake!  But alas, Mike was playing it smart.  He lectured his mom on how ground turkey is leaner and has more protein.  Instead of carb-heavy noodles, he suggested wheat noodles.  Seriously, like his mom didn't already know that!

A little while later, Ashley called Mike to talk about the upcoming marathon.  Again - are they dating (or at least crushing)?

Bob and Jillian visited the remaining four contestants at their hometowns.  Bob didn't go to California where Koli lives - he had to fly over to Las Vegas because Koli was hiding out and working out 24/7.  He admitted to Bob that he wanted to 100% focus on the show and that he wasn't ready to be thrown back into life just yet.  Wasn't that the purpose?  To give a 30-day trial to see just how well they could handle all the daily stresses at home and still continue to make healthy choices and lose weight.  It's better to learn to handle it now than later.  Home is taking a heavy toll on each and every one of them.  There's lots of pressure to eat with everybody else, drink and to stay out late.

The marathon started off cold and rainy but turned out to be a nice day.  Daris commented "it turned into a nice day so hey, might as well go for a run!"  My favorite part of the marathon each year is to see the previous contestants come back, run alongside the current participants and to give encouraging words.  I wondered who would come on this year.  I was hoping for Mike, who was a brown team member from two seasons ago.  But then "J" says nah, he showed up last season, doubt he'd show up again.

Well, what a shocker - Mike showed up and ran alongside Mike (how funny!).  Matt from one of the early seasons came on and ran with Daris.  Ali (a 2 or 3-time returning marathon supporter) ran with Ashley, and both are members of the Pink team!  Sione ran with Koli, which was fitting because they are both members of the gray team and both are Tongan.  Mike, Matt and Sione looked like they gained weight.  It was a little disappointing to see - especially Mike because he's so handsome and young and as for Sione, he became a personal trainer so it's disheartening to see him let go a little bit.

Daris beat Tara's record time of 4:55 by completing the marathon at 4:02.  The way he's going, he could become a professional marathon runner in no time.

The weigh in was short compared to all the other weigh-ins in the past.  Instead of weighing in 10+ people, we only had to weigh in 4.  The two people who makes it above the yellow line automatically makes it to the finale.  The two people that falls below will have to plead with America to vote them into the finale.

Mike lost 23 pounds in the 30 days he was at home.  Not too bad, considering he probably didn't work out as much as he did at the gym, had to make all his meals himself, probably ate out a few times, etc.  Mike is now 299 and finally out of the 300.  This marked the first time ever in his life that he was under 300 (that is, once he got over).

Koli lost 13, which was disappointing to the trainers.  He could have lost that much in a week.  Even though he was in hiding in Las Vegas, he still didn't lose as much.  Smart decisions have to start somewhere and real decisions start at home.

Ashley lost 18 and is automatically in the final 3.    With Ashley in the final 3, Koli is pushed down below with Mike right underneath him.  Now it was down to whether Daris would lose enough to put him Mike and above the yellow line or fall down below with Koli.  If you thought that Koli's weight loss was disappointing, you'd be devastated by Daris' weight loss and the fact that he not only lost zero pounds but gained 2.  He got a serious beating from the trainers.

Daris and Koli begged and pleaded with America to vote for them.  Daris promised that he learned his lesson and that he'd do so much better from this point on and he will not disappoint us.  Koli basically said the same thing over and over throughout his mini-speech.  Just let him be in the finale so he can win.  Yawn.

Who did you vote for?  If you voted for Koli, I'll hunt you down and smack you.

Vote Orange!