I have to say, I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that once she begins puberty, she will be replaced by another "pure" child.

And Hillary:

His name is Pretty Boy Bam Bam, and he is 5 years old.

1. CWF (Crazy White Female). One middle aged woman thought she had the right to ask T to unplug her computer in the Atlanta airport (our layover spot). "How long will you be using this outlet"? WHAT? The best was when I took it upon myself to point out where the other AVAILABLE outlets were, and THEN she said "I'm not gonna walk over there to use those". Then Bitch, you must not need an outlet.

OH NO SHE DIDN'T! Now, let me just say that I will always be a "round the way girl". You can wallpaper my home with degrees, and I will always be ready to kick somebody's ass-period. Especially when faced with overt racism, classism, and persons that exhibit this type of entitlement. This lady took me back to a time in my life where only whipping your ass would have made me happy. Thank God for T, because I can't say that I would not have responded like 'back in the day' had she not been there to hold me back. Then the bitch had an attitude and walked away like she was wronged! Hell to the NO.

2. TLD (The Lap Dance). I don't know what it is about T, but no matter the state, time of day, or location, she always manages to get unsolicited lap dances!

The funniest thing about this is that when we sat down at this particular bar on Bourbon Street, we were sitting on very high stools, and the first thing I said to her was "You'll be safe from any lap dances here!" Apparently not. At least this lap dance came with a marriage proposal.

3. THG (The Hand Grenade). The best drink I have ever had. It took me about 8 hours to drink it all.

I would have finished sooner, but I didn't want to show up at my caucus meeting jacked up! That would have been inappropriate, SI?

4. BS (Bourbon Street). The BOMB. What else can be said about a street encompassed by music, history, culture, happy drunk fools, and drink kiosks?

Did you know that Bourbon Street is the only street in the states where it is NOT illegal to have open drinks outside of drinking establishments? And the architecture isn't too shabby either.

5. TR (The Riverwalk)The Riverwalk was great. It houses over 140 shops, and some delicious gumbo that can be enjoyed al fresco while you look at the river.

The gumbo was almost as good as the fried dough. Yeah, I know it's got a fancy French name, but here it's called pizza frite, and in my old neighborhood, they are called zeppoles; bottom line-it's fried dough cover in powdered sugar, and it is DELICIOUS!

6. ACD (Awesome Cab Driver). On our way back from Bourbon Street, T and I were lucky enough to have a cab driver that gave us a history lesson on New Orleans. For example, New Orleans is home to the largest cathedral in the states.

And, he was so sweet, that after telling us as much history as he could fit into that short cab ride, he asked me what I was bringing home to my daughters, then he proceeded to give me the beads that he had around his rear view mirror for M.

7. N&D (Nickeled and Dimed). The Hilton is no joke. Not only do they want to charge $200 a night to stay there, but they also expect you to pay $15 a day for internet service, and $10 a day to go to the health club. The hotel is gorgeous, but damn. And of course, there was the $20 breakfast buffet.

And they wonder why grad students have to be food hoes.

8. G, W&R (Gumbo, Weather and Restaurants). The two reasons I was so excited to get to New Orleans was to eat Gumbo and bask in the sunshine. Both lived up to my expectations. The gumbo was great everywhere and the weather was so warm I was sorry to come back to Syracuse. The Palace and Houston's were both terrific places eat, although I was surprised to get my first bowl of gumbo in a tin cup! The Palace had a jazz band playing while we ate, and it added a wonderful element of authenticity to the place.

It was great to be in a place where there is such an obvious element of culture everywhere you go. I can't wait to go back for pleasure! And of course, being there just validated my desire to move South.

These are just the most memorable moments; there were many funny moments that I probably will recall after this entry is published, and some that are just best kept off the blogosphere. Either way, the trip was great, and I hope I get to see San Francisco next year!

The artist is Stacey Orrico

According to this article...
"If partners are going to stay together, they need a love that bonds them to each other without the distraction of passion. That's not to say that people can't stay in love, or that those couples who say they still feel romantic are imagining things. These people, however, are the exceptions, and nearly all relationships must settle and cool. Long for the heat of early love if you want, but you'd have to pay for it with the solidity you've built over the years. 'You've got to make a transition to a stabler state' says Barry McCarthy, a psychologist and sex therapist. If love can be mundane, that's because sometimes it's meant to be".
And, of course, it will only be as mundane as you both want it to be, right?

Sometimes I think the old fashioned way is the way to go-after all, I am a hopeless romantic. Then again, creating a mysterious blog/journal would be like sending (God knows how) many people a virtual message in a bottle. Stay tuned.

I love Time magazine. Each week they have very compelling articles, but what I am beginning to realize is that it's the visual rhetoric that snags my attention. Every cover is done is such a clever way, that it's hard not to become intrigued with what the actual articles are about. This week, they use the i-phone and spell out the topic; best inventions of 2007. This is especially clever because the i-phone was chosen as the best invention of 2007. Whatever they are paying the creator of these covers is worth every penny. But isn't it interesting that we seldom think about who is behind the visual rhetoric, or the hours it must take to come up with those ideas? But I digress...

The best inventions seem to center around saving our world, and in fact many of the inventions ( the most interesting ones to me, anyway) deal with fuel, and different ways to get around. They have cars and buses that look like nothing we've ever seen and run on bio-ethanol, and MIT has come up with a City Car that they claim is the cross between private and public transportation, and it's electric. There's even a new plane called the 787 Dreamliner that promises to use 20% less fuel than other planes its size (it seats 250 passengers). We won't see this until 2008, though, so don't call your travel agent just yet. The most promising for my money is the car that runs on compressed air. Made by Tata Motors in India, and according to Time, the cars run on cold air, and the only thing that comes out of them is colder air! That's what I call progress-and that's not all.

The inventions span a few more categories; space, robots, entertainment,law and order, living environment, architecture, fashion, computers, and health. I have taken the liberty of choosing 1 favorite from each category.

Space-Spandex Space Suit ( no more looking wierd while cruising the cosmos)

Robots-the Weed 'Em and Reap (not just a catchy name, but a useful tool for farmers)

Entertainment- Digital 3-D. Does this mean we don't have to wear those strange glasses anymore?

Law & Order- StarChase Pursuit Management System. This will allow officers to flag vehicles with a laser gps device, eliminating the dangers of a high speed chase for the cops. I know-we can have all kinds of conversations about how this can go wrong, but I have to believe that there are some good cops out there!

Living-Espresso Book Machine!!! YES! this little machine can churn out a 300 page paperback on demand, for $3 a book, and is currently available. My sense is that they are only sold to libraries, but who cares? Maybe more kids will take an interest in spending their time at the library, even if it is just ti check out the new tech toy.

Environnent-Erasbale Paper. Yes, E-R-A-S-A-B-L-E! Any text printed on this paper (and with the appropriate printer, of course) disappears after 24 hours. Tree huggers of the world-get happy!

Architecture-San Francisco Federal Building-not aesthetically appealing, but makes sure that 85% of the work space receives fresh air and natural sun, while maintaining a comfortable temperature with minimal air conditioning.

Fashion-Transformers! High heels that can be transformed from stilettos to flats!

Computers-WildCharger- a cordless cellphone charging pad that goes everywhere with you, and can charge your phone in the same amount of time as a wall plug can.

Health-Blood Simple-a machine that can take your blood and convert it into "O" type blood (universal donor), so that your blood can be used for anyone that might need it...impressive indeed.

Those are my choices, but check out this issue and see for yourself; it's time well spent.

I remember the first 2 times I was in labor...I wanted my Mom! Of course, by the third pregnancy I was smart enough to have her in the room with me, and she even got to cut Marina's umbilical cord.

I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that there is a very big gap in the information being communicated, and the gap is simply this: what about the agitator? What responsibility does he bear? What consequence is he expected to pay for his actions? Oh wait, I forgot-he's white, in a racist state currently undergoing the biggest demographic whitewash in history. What was I thinking?

Forget Waldo...where's JUSTIN BARKER<