Yup, it is tough to wrap your mind around something as big as losing your congressman. Of course, most people do not even know who their congressman is. But, truly, this man has really been there for me, for his constituents. He is really one of the good guys.
Way back when, those of us working on the Hill used to trade horror stories about the Member (that's what MOCs are called - the Member) and I had NOTHING to share. Oh, okay, I had one, but I rarely shared it because it would have embarrassed him and he is so nice and not to be embarrassed. More important was the horrific situation when he totally saved my butt on a plane from Denver to Sheridan, WY and then from Sheridan to Gilette, WY.
More on that later. :-) Oh and I have really good one on a certain Pennsy Senator and his issues - ridiculous and hysterically funny.
TG
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Jim Saxton
My former boss Jim Saxton is retiring from the House of Representatives. This is such a huge blow for New Jersey in general and Ocean and Burlington Counties in particular. Over his long-spanning career, he has made his name known in several ways, especially in terms of armed services. I have been constantly impressed by his ability to ensure that NJ's targeted military bases have not only been removed from the BRAC list, but also with the way he has fought to expand their missions to make them even more efficient.
But overall, he was truly a really great boss way back when I worked for him. He has seen me through workplace bumps, my marriage to my wonderful DH, the birth of two out of three children, and even wrote me a recommendation for grad school just this past year.
I am so sad he is going. Had I known this was in the cards, I would have talked to him much longer during the last fundraiser he had in September. Wah! OK, that was immature, but I truly fear for NJ's seniority in the Congress.
My plan is to hold a huge "Saxton Alumni Party" before the next general election, so we can all toast him and roast him and just laugh and laugh. And cry for this huge loss for NJ.
ThatGirl
But overall, he was truly a really great boss way back when I worked for him. He has seen me through workplace bumps, my marriage to my wonderful DH, the birth of two out of three children, and even wrote me a recommendation for grad school just this past year.
I am so sad he is going. Had I known this was in the cards, I would have talked to him much longer during the last fundraiser he had in September. Wah! OK, that was immature, but I truly fear for NJ's seniority in the Congress.
My plan is to hold a huge "Saxton Alumni Party" before the next general election, so we can all toast him and roast him and just laugh and laugh. And cry for this huge loss for NJ.
ThatGirl
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Ah, the innocence of youth
After an especially long day of lit dropping before the notoriously lowest possible vote getting election for the NJ cycle, I was pleased to come home and cook dinner for my fellows. While waiting for the fish to become golden (we are having orange roughy) youngest son was reading his favorite comic - Foxtrot. The punchline was: Hey ashtrays can be tricky. He turned to me and asked "What's an ashtray?" OO-HA!
Yay for children who have no clue what an ashtray is or even what it is for.
Yeeha. :-)
TG
Yay for children who have no clue what an ashtray is or even what it is for.
Yeeha. :-)
TG
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
As the World Turns
Graduate school has been quite the adventure. I completed my first class, "Public Management", in mid-August and while we were leaving the classroom, the Professor told us to enjoy our summer - what little was left of it. I can't speak for my classmates, but I sure did enjoy!
I figured that since I live at the Jersey shore, I would do something novel and GO TO THE BEACH. 11, 9 and I went for a full Sunday, then the whole family went the next two days. I found out that my bathing suit does not do sand well and I had such a lump, I looked like a guy in drag, except for the breasts, of course. The only way to remedy it was to put on my sundress and remove my bathing suit a la Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, then empty out my bathing suit of the 17 pounds of sand that were piled in the inner lining. The tough part was getting the suit back on without flashing anything a la Britney. Somehow I managed, maybe because I wasn't drunk and lolling all over the place?
The 4th and final day of my summer vacation, we went to Hurricane Harbor - http://www.sixflags.com/hurricaneHarborNJ/index.aspx - which is about 40 minutes from our house, so much farther than the ocean, but so much less sand! I was amazed at what fish my children are. All three had no problem swimming the entire length of the lazy river. With the exception of 11's amazing disappearing act on a regular basis, it was a great time.
But now, we are all back at school, tans fading, tomato plants giving their last fruit, the dogwood leaves already starting to change.
Ah, the fall. My favorite time of year!
TG
I figured that since I live at the Jersey shore, I would do something novel and GO TO THE BEACH. 11, 9 and I went for a full Sunday, then the whole family went the next two days. I found out that my bathing suit does not do sand well and I had such a lump, I looked like a guy in drag, except for the breasts, of course. The only way to remedy it was to put on my sundress and remove my bathing suit a la Jennifer Beals in Flashdance, then empty out my bathing suit of the 17 pounds of sand that were piled in the inner lining. The tough part was getting the suit back on without flashing anything a la Britney. Somehow I managed, maybe because I wasn't drunk and lolling all over the place?
The 4th and final day of my summer vacation, we went to Hurricane Harbor - http://www.sixflags.com/hurricaneHarborNJ/index.aspx - which is about 40 minutes from our house, so much farther than the ocean, but so much less sand! I was amazed at what fish my children are. All three had no problem swimming the entire length of the lazy river. With the exception of 11's amazing disappearing act on a regular basis, it was a great time.
But now, we are all back at school, tans fading, tomato plants giving their last fruit, the dogwood leaves already starting to change.
Ah, the fall. My favorite time of year!
TG
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Brakes only work if they are ON THE GROUND
So 7 wanted to ride the scooters down the hill, a short hill, nothing like what I did back in the day on my much less reliable skateboard (although to him, perhaps it would appear the same). He had on his bike helmet but we couldn't find mine, so I told him I would just not crash. Right? Right!
So we push ourselves up the hill, then down we go down the hill. I am picking up speed, since I outweigh a 7 year old, go figure. I start to pump the brakes...the suddenly discovered to be barely existent brakes. The pace does not slow much. I am not sure what to do, so I turn toward a patch of grass ('cause if you are going to crash head first, grass is softer) and after that, who knows what truly happened except for my head banging into the grass and dirt, blood pouring out of the corner of my eye, a dent in my forehead, dirt and road rash (from GRASS!) on my shoulder and both knees. Luckily, my husband is napping this afternoon so I could clean my sorry self up in the shower before he could freak out about it.
I am not sure a helmet would have helped except for the whole "you look like a prize fighter who lost" thing. While my eye is hurting badly, my shoulder is by far the worst of all injuries. Thank heavens I don't need it for my spin class tomorrow, much.
I just wish I would stop bleeding.
So the moral of today's story is to never use a scooter without checking its brakes first. That thing is HISTORY - and it's 9's so he is going to be pissed until he sees my battered face.
ThatGirl
So we push ourselves up the hill, then down we go down the hill. I am picking up speed, since I outweigh a 7 year old, go figure. I start to pump the brakes...the suddenly discovered to be barely existent brakes. The pace does not slow much. I am not sure what to do, so I turn toward a patch of grass ('cause if you are going to crash head first, grass is softer) and after that, who knows what truly happened except for my head banging into the grass and dirt, blood pouring out of the corner of my eye, a dent in my forehead, dirt and road rash (from GRASS!) on my shoulder and both knees. Luckily, my husband is napping this afternoon so I could clean my sorry self up in the shower before he could freak out about it.
I am not sure a helmet would have helped except for the whole "you look like a prize fighter who lost" thing. While my eye is hurting badly, my shoulder is by far the worst of all injuries. Thank heavens I don't need it for my spin class tomorrow, much.
I just wish I would stop bleeding.
So the moral of today's story is to never use a scooter without checking its brakes first. That thing is HISTORY - and it's 9's so he is going to be pissed until he sees my battered face.
ThatGirl
Friday, July 20, 2007
The artsy-fartsy day
Today, I took a well-deserved day off from work and completed an ambitious schedule. My DH has been with the boys daily since the July 4 holiday, so he took the chance for a day off to do whatever the heck he wanted.
My neighbor, who is the art teacher at the local elementary school, had never been to the Grounds for Sculpture (www.groundsforsculpture.org) so we made plans to take her, her 10 year old boy and 11, 9 and 7 over to visit.
After grad school last night, I woke up early to hit the gym. My BOSU step class was not what I imagined and I felt gypped - and it hurt my knees a bit to try to master the BOSU. Tomorrow morning is TKO, an insane class that is sooooooo hard and rewarding. After the BOSU class this morning, I picked up some food (shrimp, pepperoni, cheese chunks, a hoagie, capri suns, ice for the cooler) and packed everything in my minivan then we trekked across the state to visit.
This place is beautiful. We walked for hours while the boys alternated between shouting out in the joy of discovery and being just plain mean to each other. Oh, the joy. My absolute favorite painting of all time is Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" which is replicated in life-size sculpture at the Grounds, right on the river. We had to cross Monet's bridge to get there, so it was a double whammy. All I could think was how pleased I was to share this with an art teacher who had never been there.
While we examined the Luncheon sculpture, my neighbor took pictures of me pretending that I was invited to the party. In retrospect, they look rather incongruous, but it was fun at the time. If I ever figure out how to put in photos, you all can see it for yourself.
A very rewarding day off, even if I didn't make it to the beach.
ThatGirl
My neighbor, who is the art teacher at the local elementary school, had never been to the Grounds for Sculpture (www.groundsforsculpture.org) so we made plans to take her, her 10 year old boy and 11, 9 and 7 over to visit.
After grad school last night, I woke up early to hit the gym. My BOSU step class was not what I imagined and I felt gypped - and it hurt my knees a bit to try to master the BOSU. Tomorrow morning is TKO, an insane class that is sooooooo hard and rewarding. After the BOSU class this morning, I picked up some food (shrimp, pepperoni, cheese chunks, a hoagie, capri suns, ice for the cooler) and packed everything in my minivan then we trekked across the state to visit.
This place is beautiful. We walked for hours while the boys alternated between shouting out in the joy of discovery and being just plain mean to each other. Oh, the joy. My absolute favorite painting of all time is Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" which is replicated in life-size sculpture at the Grounds, right on the river. We had to cross Monet's bridge to get there, so it was a double whammy. All I could think was how pleased I was to share this with an art teacher who had never been there.
While we examined the Luncheon sculpture, my neighbor took pictures of me pretending that I was invited to the party. In retrospect, they look rather incongruous, but it was fun at the time. If I ever figure out how to put in photos, you all can see it for yourself.
A very rewarding day off, even if I didn't make it to the beach.
ThatGirl
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Turtle
In New Jersey, you are allowed to own a turtle, but you are not allowed to buy a turtle. It is one of those idiosyncratic laws that makes New Jersey such an amusing state to everyone but its residents.
This morning, on the way to work, I saw a teeny, tiny terrapin turtle in the roadway, so turned around in our parking lot here at the reserve and went back to save it from certain doom. I jumped out of my minivan and started to cross the street when a big truck rumbled up and crushed it dead. It was horrifying to see the little turtle, hunched over and alive one second, flipped over with limbs sticking out dead the next second, blood smeared on the road.
What a way to start the day!
:-(
This morning, on the way to work, I saw a teeny, tiny terrapin turtle in the roadway, so turned around in our parking lot here at the reserve and went back to save it from certain doom. I jumped out of my minivan and started to cross the street when a big truck rumbled up and crushed it dead. It was horrifying to see the little turtle, hunched over and alive one second, flipped over with limbs sticking out dead the next second, blood smeared on the road.
What a way to start the day!
:-(
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