Mullet Over

For anyone reading this who has not heard, Target and Best Buy have used their newly found right to political speech in the form of campaign contributions to a homophobic gubernatorial candidate in their home state of Minnesota. This does not sit well with me for numerous reasons, but the one that has me boycotting both stores is the hating on gay people. Ick.

Both corporations claim that by supporting Re. Tom Emmer, they are supporting the pro-business part of his platform. Apparently, after the election Emmer will be split into pieces and only the corporate sponsored bits will get to play governor. All joking aside, the wanton disavowal of social responsibility that is inherent in such a statement really rankles. Why is that? And then it hit me:

It is a mullet.

Target and Best Buy are all about their business up front, but they don't see any reason to give up the gay-bashing party in the back. They can tuck the ponytail into their collars for press conferences, but they aren't fooling anyone. If they say, "It's not really a ~real~ mullet," then we take a look at the company they keep.

And this Emmer guy, he is all about the mullet. Respectable talk about tradition and love of family in the front with a big (and I suspect permed) fear/hatred of gay people in the back. Given that this guy's "Social Values" statement on his website deals entirely with other people's bedrooms and weddings, he's not even trying to fool anybody. Target and Best Buy are either slicked back party dudes or they are terminally stupid. I suspect it's some of both.

It was big news when Iran banned mullets. (Really?! Whatever.) Red-blooded Americans everywhere are welcome to wear mullets with pride. Enjoy those mullets! Defend them! But remember, Target and Best Buy, as much as you love that mullet, and as cool as it seems to you, a whole lot of the rest of the world thinks it's tacky. Really tacky.

I'm steering clear of that mess. Because, when it comes right down to it, I choose to party with a classier crowd.

Mother's Day 2010

This Mother's Day, I am especially grateful to be a mother. Not that I really took this motherhood thing for granted before, but this time around the day is especially sweet and oh am I grateful to wake up in the morning to big, shining blue eyes and a brilliant gap-toothed smile.

Elise was given a complete set of Little House on the Prairie books as a gift this past week, and she has been soaking in the stories at every opportunity.

Imagine my surprise to come downstairs this morning to find my girl writing a special story for me for Mother's Day. Photos above, transcript to follow:

House on the Prary
From Elise to Hether

Thar was once a famly who lived in the woods mary Lora mom dad cary susin and Jack the bulldog thay Bilt the house out of logs. (continyous on bac)

And every day thar was lots of works of all kinds. each day had its one job
monday mending
tuesday tending
Wensday washing
thursday Bakeing
Friday churning
weekens relx

the end

Love Elise


And that, in a nutshell, is the best Mother's Day of my life. So far.

Keeping up with the big news

There is not a whole lot of news here other than that we are having a good day today. I will probably not be putting much here for awhile, but for those of you who'd like some cancer updates we have a separate place for that:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/goteamsteingruebl

Thank you for checking in, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled silliness eventually.

Hard times ahead

Hi there, family and friends. As just about all of you know by now, we've been having some tricky health issues here. Elise started limping back in February, a little more than a month later it was decided that her leg was broken, we stayed off of it, and then started physical therapy. But she just wasn't getting better. And then this weekend, she suddenly got very much worse.

Elise is now being treated for leukemia. Just like that, the very hard months behind us come into perspective, and the months ahead begin to take shape in ways that none of us anticipated or would wish. Preliminary reports indicate ALL, but we're awaiting a bunch more test results before anything specific can be told.

It is still very early in the process, but I want everyone to know that Elise is in the very best place for her care. And we love her doctor and think you will too. And we love the nurses here. If you've got to be a kid with leukemia, you want to be right where we are at this moment. For me, the thing that really says it all is the way each new shift of nurses conversationally asks us where we're from. As in, "How far have you had to travel to get your beautiful little girl into care at this facility." We are so lucky to be local.

Until we have a more clear diagnosis, (we are learning that there are a lot of different shades of this disease), we won't really know what treatment will look like. For now, Dr. Judy (I told you I love her) tells us to anticipate 6-8 months away from school and pursuing a pretty aggressive treatment. In about 3 weeks, we will be in the market for cute hats. We'll be doing less intensive therapy for 2 years after our initial course. Elise will be immune compromised for much of this time, so Beaker is shopping for a new local(ish) home and all visitors will be required to be up to date on their vaccinations. That means all seasonal flu and H1N1 as well. There will be times when we can not have visitors, but during the times that we can, we are expected to keep our social calendar full. And we're counting on all of you to help us with that. :-)

Once I have a better idea of what we are up against, I will start compiling a list of things that we will need help with. This mostly applies to local friends (it's hard to water my plants from, say, the suburbs of Paris), but right about now if you are feeling as powerless as we are there are a few things you can do.

1. Vaccinate. Elise and thousands of kids like her are counting on not dying from things like measles and whooping cough while they fight cancer. Unless it's a specific health risk to you or your child, just vaccinate. Please.

2. Give blood! Find somewhere to do this if you can. Interestingly, they don't want our blood for Elise because it is apparently counterproductive to treatment. I am so grateful to the person who donated the blood that Elise got today-it is making so many things possible for her right now, including some of the first pain-free sleep she's had in months. It is a beautiful gift.

3. Consider joining the marrow donor registry. We won't know how far Elise's treatment will take us in the coming months, but if she needs a transplant I sure do hope the marrow is out there and waiting. I've been on the registry since the mid 1990s, and once came close to being a match for someone. Andy joined a few months back, largely because it seemed like a good idea. And it is! If you can do it.

4. Elise loves silly stories, postcards, pictures, everything. She will be feeling dramatically better in about 3 days, and will really really need a break from all of the movies, video games, books, magazines and weirdo doctors. If you'd like to send something along, organize some sort of collaborative storybook or other such fun, please do! And, if you don't have our mailing address, drop me a line and I'll provide.

5. If you must research, consider the source. My preferred source of solid information is www.caresearch.org. Our doctors are doing a bang-up job of detailing options and helping us access information and support. We have no need for second guessing or anger at the doctors. Again, we are very, very confident in our doctors and I'm really counting on all of our friends to help keep a positive focus on Elise.

That is about all I have in me for the moment. I'll update (Facebook, blog) as we have more information and I'm able to sit and type it out. We love you, our marvelous support network.

Healthcare Related Unfun

It took month, but the doctors finally figured out the reason our girl has been limping and wincing in pain since Valentine's Day. A hairline fracture of her femur! Yikes. Either she has a very high tolerance for pain or this is minor and will heal up now that we can actually treat her for it. I may have a rant about non-communicative doctors at some point in the future, but for now I'd rather focus on helping Elise with her freshly painted GOLD crutches.

Newspaper Fail

Andy caught this one in the Mercury News last weekend, and we just had to share. Why is this nice lady smiling about a fatal wolf attack? And are crabs really appropriate here? (This one is for you, Joe!)

Birthdays at School

Believe it or not, there were 4 birthdays in close proximity to one another in Elise's class this month. Four! So, we moms decided to do pizza and cupcakes in honor of all four, all at once. The girl whose mom made cupcakes was justifiably proud (they were delicious) so don't go trying to outdo her. Mostly because most school districts nowadays don't trust anyone to make food for their kids, and homemade anything is verboten. But very delicious. Pizza from Costco also hits the spot.

Why, Sharks? Why?!

Andy and I like to think we're very clever. We might be. We had a brilliant plan to take Elise to a Sharks game for her birthday. So, we picked a non-school night near the big day and bought tickets. The Sharks were hosting the Chicago Blackhawks, and it was going to be a big game.

It was big alright. Whatever you do, don't try to zoom in on the scoreboard in this picture-it will just make you sad. Unless you're the mean, spiteful type that likes to see a perfectly good hockey team go down in flames.


In spite of a truly abysmal showing by the Sharks, we all had a great time. One of the fans in front of us turned around at the end of the game and told Elise that she had been the best part of the whole game. Couldn't have said it better myself!

Thanksgiving with the Whites

For a second year in a row, our good friends Dani, Brad and Rista invited us to share Thanksgiving with them. The food and the company were wonderful, and it was a Thanksgiving in the grandest sense of the word. This year was hard because Dani's mom Trudy was not with us. We missed her.

I didn't manage very many pictures as we were all busy talking and laughing and eating, but here are some good ones of the girls!


The tradition of an olive on every finger, as begun at last year's dinner:


Our hostess "Olive Fingers" Rista. Note the beautiful feathered placecards-she made those and we kept ours they're so cute.

After dinner, while the grownups talked about boring stuff, the girls played with their new Three Muscateers Barbies while mostly ignoring Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

Hope your turkey day was as well stuffed with friends and good cheer as ours was!

Woefully Behind

It appears to be nearly a month since the last time I wrote anything here. Of course, not much happened. Like Thanksgiving, or our girl turning SIX. I blame it on the disorganization of my electronic life.

I was spending a lot of time on Facebook and then decided it was a waste. So I tried Twitter again for a little bit. That was dumb too. I like the longer format of blogs, but I don't think I've so much as looked at my reader feed in a month, so maybe I don't like blogs as much as I think I do. The long and the short of it is that the pressures of interacting with all of the different social media have proven too much. Very few emails are getting answered, phone calls returned, etc. Maybe I'm preparing to hibernate?

Regardless, there will be several entries immediately following that should bring all and sundry up to date on what we've been doing here!

Yesterday was Monday

I'm pretty glad to see the other side of that one, all things considered.

We started off well, but things devolved when I went looking for the camera so I could take a picture of the awesome note Elise wrote for her teacher. It was really cute. I have no picture to show you. Why? Oh, our new camera, our shiny new camera, has gone missing. The theory, after a day and a half of turning the house topsy-turvy, is that it fell into the bin of newspapers to be recycled, and is on its way to a sorting facility. It would be a wonderful and stunning surprise to find the thing, but I'm not holding my breath. This whole thing is making me blue enough already.

Then, to add insult to injury, I discovered a dead hummingbird on our back step. It had clearly flown into the sliding glass door at top speed and broken its neck. Its little tongue was sticking out, and it was still warm when I found it. And leaving an alarmingly large puddle of blood for such a little thing. This morning, I spent a lot of time outside with Daisy, listening for the hummingbird who has sat in the tree near the garage and scolded us from the day we moved in. It was very quiet.

So, now that I've mourned the yuck that was Monday, I'm on to Tuesday (finally, at 2pm) and ready to get back at it.


***********MAJOR UPDATE***************

Wouldn't you know it, but I did put the camera in a special place to keep it safe. Finally found that place just now, and am a happy camper. Doubly so because there is a hummingbird busily screeching away in the back yard. I usually have a real problem with Wednesdays, but today may well change my mind...

Live, Mixed Martial Arts

After a lot of roughhousing on the ice during tonight's Sharks/Blues game, Randy and Drew made the best ever announcement of an upcoming sporting event at the Pavilion.

"Live, mixed martial arts return to the HP Pavilion," said Randy.

Hahahahaa, Andy and I said to one another. We're looking forward to the next home stand. Hahahaha. Oh wait-you mean actual mixed martial arts, not hockey? Give the fans some notice, wouldja?

Oh, and if you haven't met the elements with TMBG yet, you should. We can't get that song out of our heads here. Science is real! At some point I will share the deep mathematical thinking their Here Come the 123s album inspired in Elise. Somebody remind me...

Sharks!

Elise has been desperate to get to a Sharks game this season, and I "finally" obliged for the 7th home game of the season. (Man, they've been on the road a lot!) With Andy out of town most of the week, and two days off of school in the middle of the week besides, it seemed like the thing to do.

And was it ever! I love going to the Pavilion with Elise. She really gets into the roar of the crowd, the cheering, and the junk food. Now that I think of it, maybe we'll have to cut back on the junk food part of the experience. At any rate, we had some serious fun.

We started with a little pre-game show at home. Note how Elise is standing next to her new favorite player, #41 Jed Ortmeyer:

We also got a pic of her with Brody Brazil, but that was an accident and will not be posted publicly unless the guy stops acting like such a gung-ho nitwit during the broadcasts.

Moving on...

Game-wise, the pertinent facts are these:
The Sharks played the Nashville Predators, and whumped them 4-3 in what seemed a strangely lackluster and sloppy performance from where we were sitting. It was great to see Devin Setoguchi (#16) back on the ice after an injury. We got to see Greiss between the posts, and wow does he give some confidence.


Here is one happy kiddo before the start of the game:

No, honestly, she's overjoyed but getting sick of Mom trying to get a decent pic and would like me to put the camera down already so we can get all excited and start eating hot dogs.

*****
Holy moly-I started this post a virtual lifetime ago, and now have completely lost my train of thought. Hmmmmm... I think I'll throw some pictures on this baby and call it a day. Go Sharks!

Daisy gets a second haircut

My oh my it was time for our girl to have a haircut and a thorough bathing. With all of that curly, wonderful fur on her feet, she was getting to be quite the mud sponge. Stinky, too.

I called up Nancy at Just 4 Paws, and she showed up right on time with plenty of compliments for our fuzzy puppy. I love her awesome trailer setup.


Everything went smoothly, and we now have a gorgeous, fluffy puppy. Behold!

And yes, that is the stick from a lollipop sticking out of Elise's mouth. Halloween candy will probably make her teeth fall out. Note how Elise also looks a little rummy. Slightly later bedtime on Monday, and she's feeling it by late afternoon. Luckily, she gets to go to bed early. Daisy is not so lucky. Apparently, training and grooming in one day are a lot for a dog...

Halloween at Home

This year, we had the fantastic good fortune to share the holiday with our good friends the Whites. It's their tradition to have soup for supper, and then head out on the town. We were invited, as were Geetha and her roommate Sarah. The girls whirled and twirled and played as the grownups chatted. Then, we sat down for an absolutely amazing dinner. I mean really amazing. Scrumptious. The part that was most amazing? Elise actually ATE SOUP. Heavenly!

The trick or treating was a stitch. The girls were so much more confident this year. It was hard to keep up with them. Luckily, we always knew just where they were from the chants of "Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat!"

Oh, and that sweater Elise is wearing? Grandma Char made that for Elise some time ago, and it happens to be perfect. With the sea critters on it, everyone thought it came as part of the costume.


Dancing with the magic palm fronds:

Yep, that dancing is hard work alright:

And here we have papa in his chef suit (and pneumonia that we didn't know he had) and mama in her vintage housewife duds:
Finally, after a long night of trick or treating, Elise enjoyed the fruits of her efforts with her daddy.

Halloween at School

It took me awhile, but I've finally got pictures from halloween stuck on this here computer machine so's I can share 'em.

Personally, I don't imagine that the kindergarteners would have been too excited to do much with the day if they hadn't been encouraged to come in constume, party, and parade. Me, I'd have been in some sort of sugar/excitement induced coma by noon, but as you can see here this did not appear to be the case for the brave mermaids, princesses, superheroes and vampires of Ms Mena's class.

Elise was a mermaid, as was her BFF. The kids were all so cute. First, we were treated to a wonderful singalong. Then, the classes took turns parading around to show off their lovely costumes.


Being wrangled by the flamingo in charge, Ms Mena.

The guy Elise will most likely marry someday, provided he stops playing so many rough games:


A mermaid and a bevvy of princesses take their seats and prepare to watch the parade:

Up next: Halloween at home and around the neighborhood!

Blog? What blog?

Well, folks, Facebook has finally done it. Enough of the login, comment, "like", post options have broken that I'm giving up in disgust (at least for now). So hey, maybe I'll blog!

In about 10 minutes, I'll be heading to Elise's school to work in the library for two hours. Budget cuts only allow for a part time librarian, so you can imagine the kind of help she needs. Holy moly. It's a marvelous way for me to start the week, though. I love getting to know the kids and seeing them smile when I ask about what they're reading. I'm even getting in to shelving, but it's an uphill battle because of the backlog.

The other thing going on is that I'm trying to get another mobile grooming appointment for Daisy because the fur on her legs is getting so long that it soaks up an amazing amount of mud at the dog park and in the back yard. I'm getting tired of bathing her, and so is she. Mwahahahaha.

Happy Monday, folks!

Shiny New Dining Chairs

What do we do here at Steingruebl World Enterprises when it's hot and miserable outside? Well, mostly we complain and get all grouchy with each other. But today we had a better idea!

A few months back, I bought upholstery fabric off eBay that ended up being about $7/yard after shipping and all. Our dining chairs have been looking scummy, and I figured I'd fix 'em. How scummy were they, you might ask? Oh let me show you.


And if that was not scary enough, here's the close up:



So, yeah, we needed a change.

Ta dah!


It's going to be really, really, really stinkin' hot this week. Really hot. I am not planning any other home makeovers, though. Unless someone has a cheap and easy to follow plan for installing your own central air conditioning...

Who's that dog?

I have to admit, I love doing dog-related stuff. This one was a necessity, so I don't feel too badly about indulging. Daisy wasn't too matted, but she had some long, curly fur on her that needed the attention of a qualified professional.

Luckily for us, there is a mobile dog groomer in town! Wahoooo! This is a good thing as Daisy tends to get a little excited when there are other dogs around. (We keep reminding ourselves that we meet with the trainer next week.) So, today was Daisy's lucky day.

Here she is, trying to simultaneously lick Elise and pose for a picture:



That Daisy is fast -see how loooooong her fur looks when she's on the move?


And, here is a more reasonable "before" picture that really shows off the furriness with which she was so encumbered:

Isn't she just a gigantic fluffball? She looks more like a bear than a dog, really. Everyone thinks that she's a bigger girl than she actually is, given the extra 3 inches she had all around. The following picture was taken right around the time Paula (the groomer) mentioned that Daisy is a lot like a chia pet. She kinda is.



I love the clippers with an attached vacuum hose. Can I get one of those for our house so I can do Andy's hair inside without a huge mess? I'm glad Daisy got a bath in the truck (as well as the haircut) because ohmahgoodness that was an amazing amount of fur.

But look! Here is our Daisy in her natural environment-resting under the dining table. Note how well camouflaged she is here:


And finally, because every beautiful doog needs a pose outdoors too, I leave you with this picture of our freshly bathed Daisy:

Terrorism Today

Yup, it's September 11 again. I don't like this day, for a lot of reasons. The biggest one, though? It has given us the collective notion that violent acts of wanton destruction are the sole province of wacky religious fanatics. Specifically Islam based ones. Today is a good day to think fond thoughts toward your Muslim friends and remind yourself that people with brownish skin aren't universally out to get you. Really. Be friendly, give a hug, share some love. Please. And visit the nice people at WhyIslam while you're at it.

And now, I'd like to call attention to more recent terrorist attacks on US soil. The sick bastards calling themselves the "Earth Liberation Front" like to do all kinds of stupid, dangerous, destructive things. Their most recent attack came on September 4th, when they destroyed radio towers in the Seattle area. This wasn't front page news-it was buried somewhere in the backwaters of my local newspaper. Sure, nobody died this time. But these people are terrorists, and I denounce their actions. They are a disgrace to the environmental movement.

Let us also remember the terrorists who kill doctors and wage campaigns of harassment and constant threats against the doctors they don't manage to kill. Today is a good day to remember George Tiller and all of the other doctors and their families who are beset by evil, evil terrorists every day.

Finally, remember the victims of what's-his-name who killed people in Oklahoma City and that guy who sent bombs in the mail. Oh yeah, and that stupid anthrax thing. Terrorism is NEVER justified, no matter how "right" you are and how "wrong" your victims are. It is cowardly.

So yeah, those guys 8 years ago caught our attention. Let's use their stupidity to our advantage and claim it for what it is: a reminder that NO act of terrorism, whatever it is called, is acceptable or tolerated.