Ode to Stem Cells

I am so upset about Bush's Veto....

I wrote this last year for a show

ODE TO STEM CELLS
By the Grace of God, we found you
Hidden, deep within the well of our mortality.
Our spirit.
By the Wiles of Man, we have embraced you
The knowledge of nature that is awakened within you.
Our essence.
To extend our fleeting, minuscule existence
Determined by God, now by Man or by God through Man
The ailments of yore and the impending plagues
alleviated and exacerbated within the human frame.
By the Physics of Immortaliy, we comprehend you
But we can never grasp the truth of the venture.
Our moral fiber
For we cannot reach to the heavens only imagine.

Stuck at home...

I just can't seem to turn the TV off. My daughter has been ill for the last week and we have been stuck at home. Normally, I would be outside with her or on a playdate with other moms and babies. But, we have been here and tomorrow we get to get back out in to the world. Yippee!

In our "confinement" I have watched a lot of TV and movies. I have all these books, but every time I try to read - she wants to know what I have in my hand. I wasn't worried about having the TV on too much, but now my daughter is actually starting to WATCH it. She is sucked into her "baby crack" aka Baby Einstein videos -- but now, she's even watching the news with me. This is bad.

So happy we're getting out of the house tomorrow...

Speed demons

Yes, another walking the dog tale...

There is no sidewalk where I live. So, when I put the baby in the carrier and walk the two dogs, I have to be careful around certain bends in the road. I don't mind the traffic - there is not that much. Plus the majority of drivers, slow down and move to the side as to not even get close to us... But there are others who drive 35 or 40 mph in this residential district. They seem oblivious to people walking on the road. And its not just me walking - there are kids playing and joggers and other folks with their dogs. Sometimes I have to suppress the urge to throw the dogs' poop bag at their windshield.

Dogs

I have two of the best dogs on the planet. Yes I am bias in my views. I recognize that to some people my dogs are ill-behaved and crazy. But I love them. They get a long walk every morning. I follow the rules, I have them on leashes and I pick up their poop. They love their walk and I love to walk with them. But, some people don't. The first time we walked our dogs in our neighborhood, one of the dog marked a rose bush - well the owner of said rose bush came running out and yelled at us. How dare we let our dog near his house. (Please note there is no sidewalk where we live and there is a lot of wildlife). We nicknamed this man "the grinch" and make sure we walk in the middle of the street when we pass his house. So, today I actually saw him for the first time since the yelling incident (which was at least 2 years ago). I had my daughter in a carrier strapped to my front and both dogs on leashes. He was trimming his roses. There were three little boys on bikes riding up and down the street. He scowled at them. Then he saw me and just stopped and watched me walk by. No hello, no "f you", nothing. Just his had on his hip with his rose clippers. I felt I was seeing a Stephen King character in the flesh. He finally went back to pruning after we turned the corner - I could hear the clippers. And yes - I made sure he wasn't coming after me. My husband and I have often mused at leaving him a present -- no, not a poop on fire in a bag present - but a nice gift. Grumpy people like that can sometimes be very lonely and therefore ornery. Maybe he just needs someone to love.

But back to the days stroll...

As we walked we came across a Rottweiler, very nice dog. But, he was off his leash, hanging with his owners in the front of his house. He startled us by jumping out of a bush - and his owners promptly called him back. Damn near gave me a heart attack. That is a big problem in our literal "neck of the woods" - people don't mind the leash laws, nor do they care if their dogs wonder around. Could this be why the grinch hates dogs?

I've brought a bunch of strays home - called their owners and had them picked up. Thank goodness I've done that because one of our dogs got out when we were in San Diego and a good Samaritan called us. Karma points are good things to build up. During the heavy rains and thunderstorms we had this year - dogs were getting out all the time. This is why our dogs stay in the house when we're not home...

Today's contemplations

Today I contemplated the following (not in this order)
1. Lunch.
2. Why people hit their brakes when they see a cop giving someone a ticket
3. Why my dog has no will power when in comes to chicken
4. Breakfast
5. How I am going to get my daughter to sleep the night in her crib.
6. String theory
7. The final Jeopardy answer
8. Who Shakespeare actually wrote the sonnets to
9. What color to dye my hair
and
10. What to do with my life...