In the Bleak Midwinter . . .

So the traditional folk song goes . . .midwinter, I guess, is a time when folks start to get a bit depressed and hopeful towards the arrival of spring. Not me.

Nothing bleak about this winter . . .Amanda and I are having a great time. We have gone on more snowshoe trips this winter than we can remember, and the snow keeps falling. We had a small storm yesterday, a bigger storm today, then a four hour lull in the action, then more snow tonight into tomorrow, then snow showers on Friday, then a bigger storm on Saturday night. The only downside is that I have been sick for over a week (with what is probably Bronchitis, but I wont go to the doctor until tomorrow . . .long story) and I havent been able to play (or work!) outside like I like to--or need to.

Do you get the "midwinter blues?" I'm funny I guess; I am happiest and most content in the winter, and I think its because its "the quiet season." I like to be "still" and "homebound," and winter is the season to do this. I can stay in and sit by the fire or read a book and I dont have to feel guilty about it. Plus, if I DO go outside to enjoy the crisp, cold weather (like I often do on my winter runs and snowshoes), I virtually have the world to myself, because everyone else is, well, sitting inside by the fire reading a book. The summer is both too crowded and guilt-ridden a season for me. Everyone is outside, and I find my experiences are less "meditative." I know this sounds wicked hippy-ish but part of why I love being outside is to get fresh air and renew myself. Also, during the nicer weather, I feel bad if I sit inside and watch TV or something . . .I feel society's pressure to "get out" and enjoy the beautiful day. And I dont like that.

I know I joke about "restless leg syndrome" (even though I think I have it), and one might think I would poke fun at this "seasonal affective disorder" thing too . . .but I really think it exists. For me anyway.

I admit it: I have lots of trouble with the seasons changing, I become depressed (especially when spring comes), and I sleep like crap. Its weird. As I have written before in a previous post, when the snow melts, its like ending a relationship with someone. The same is true of the seasons; I'll miss winter when she goes for I feel she brings out the best in me . . .

What do you do during the winter? Winter activities are way different than summer activites--in both the work and recreationsl sense. How do you spend your time? This is what I (and Amanda too) have done to pass the time . . .

• Watched season 1 and 2 of NCIS on DVD
• Watched season 5 and 6 of "All Creatures Great and Small" on DVD
• Pursued therapy because I spend good, God-given time watching "All Creatures."
• Cried about the writer's strike, since I havent been able to see my "Unit." (keep minds out of the gutter, perverts!)
• Read books about Chocolate Chip cookie murders, voodoo priests, Delta Force, the Irish potato famine, and Maine's logging industry
• snowshoed, ran, and swam laps at the Holiday Inn
• conversed with several naked geriatrics at the same place
• flirted with several half naked coed geriatrics in the hot tub
• moved 2.5 cord (so far . . .but we're still going) one piece at a time from the yard to the shed to the garage to the mudroom to the house
• hopelessly tried to empty the ashes from the firebox without making ashes from the firebox airborne to stain ceilings and walls
• thought about stripping wallpaper and painting walls
• endlessly poured water in the cast iron steamer atop our stove, only to STILL wake up with a bloody nose each morning (almost . . .or lately, it seems anyway)
• felt my baby son kick around in his mother's belly
• talked to my son about Chinese food we'll eat together in 2 or 3 years
• held Amanda's hair back as she's thrown up
• dreamt about June 6 . . . .

What do YOU do??

Us

Hi. Amanda here.

Okay -- here is a great picture of Jared. Isn't he handsome? He's my favorite.
Also, here is a picture of me WITH my shirt down.

Happy?

February Birthdays

Grandpop, Lynne, George, Keith, and Michelle all have birthdays in February. Soooo . . .to celebrate grandpop, Lynne, and George's birthdays (the rest live in NJ) we all went out to Mexican food at Cancun--upon our recommendation! Amanda and I met people there after our "baby appointment." Everything looks great with mumma-to-be AND Callum/Charlie. In fact, Amanda has gained seven pounds since last month--still, its not a lot, but as long as she is eating (which she is), there was no concern from the midwife. Also of note was today Bjarni (our midwife) measured Amanda's stomach for the first time--since now Amanda HAS a stomach. The heartrate was great at 150 bpm, although Bjarni thought Callum/Charlie was being "fresh" because he kept kicking her when she tried to measure the heartbeat. Fun.

Our second trip to Cancun was as fantastic as before. I tried "Carnitas" tonight, which is like Mexican pulled pork (subbing BBQ sauce for a wonderful Mexican spice rub). Below, we're all sitting at the table enjoying our drinks and our homemade chips and salsa . . . .

Grandpop, George, and Lynne all enjoyed kiddie-pool sized margaritas and sangrias. Below, you can see how Ensign Walters and George "truly suck."
The lady enjoyed a combo of a taco, a cheese enchilada, and a chicken enchilada. Sadly enough, she could not partake in the sangria festival with her mom. Oh well . . .in about a year or so mumma. I'll hold the baby while you "hit the sauce." A good meal at Cancun. But it wasnt the same eating nachos without Nacho . . .we missed you Mel.

Will we have our 5th snow day tomorrow? It looks like snow and sleet and ice . . .hopefully I didnt jinx myself. . ..

Presidential Meanderings: Charm's the Thing

Presidential Meanderings

Let me first say that, as a registered Republican, I will undoubtedly and aggressively support Barack Obama in his candidacy as president should he get the nomination. He is stronger than any other candidate—democrat, republican, or whatever. More on that in a few minutes . . .

The presidential election process is such a funny thing to watch in our American culture, and I would guess that the whole affair is exclusive to, in fact, the United States (meaning: this stuff doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world). Essentially, since the fall, we have been watching pasty white old rich men (and one half-man named Hillary) try to create false ethos with their constituents; it is the epitome of awkwardness, and I become so entertained. “Ethos” is the word Aristotle used for describing a speaker’s attempt to create rapport with their audience; in other words, ethos is when we try to “identify” with whom we are speaking. A classic case would be when the first Bush (the one who “really” got elected) campaigned in New Hampshire for the primary and abandoned his rich Yale suits for jeans and an LL Bean red flannel shirt—obviously he was trying to fit in with “everyone in New Hampshire” because they all dressed like that.

You see rich, un-charming politicians hopelessly and awkwardly trying to fit in. Mike Huckabee plays bass in a sub-mediocre version of “Johnny B. Good.” John Edwards goes down south, wearing jeans and a sport shirt (oh . . and a newly done 400 dollar haircut) to talk to poor voters. Romney lies about how he’s been a hunter all his life, even though he’s never hunted. Hillary Clinton MUST be the candidate of the Latino voters, since, on her visit to LA last week, she ate tacos with the city’s mayor—wow Hillary, you must REALLY identify with Latino people. As a side note, I heard a story on NPR last week about how one of the LA newspapers has an inter-office bet to see which one of the candidates, when visiting LA prior to Super Tuesday, will be the first to (ridiculously) don a sombrero in a futile attempt to make themselves look appealing to Latino voters.

We laugh, but are we being duped? Let’s face it: when the whole election comes down to it, its all about charm, isn’t it? This may sound cynical, but what exactly does a president DO?? They are all the same; they all do relatively nothing on their “own.” They surround themselves with a cabinet who basically does all the leg work. Congress does a lot. And, for the 4 days that they Maine legislature is in session, I bet they do some real work too (like Peter Mills writing REALLY important legislation so brave and selfless VFWs can’t “bet” on their Cribbage games at VFW halls). When it all comes down to it, I believe the function of the POTUS is to charm us; he should possess the ability to calm, inspire, instill hope, exude confidence, and convince us that he is equipped to handle the job. Obama does this.

You may take offense to this, I realize, because you don’t want to admit that Americans are so shallow that we should vote on charm. But, I would argue, the whole election process is flawed in that it presumes the notion that Americans, as individuals, aren’t intellectually or emotionally “equipped” to handle electing a president on their own. This is why . . .well . . .we aren’t allowed to DO IT on our own; we have the Electoral College to “help” us because we’re so inept (sarcasm meant here). Eight years ago Gore won the “popular” vote, meaning that more American bodies voted for him than the idiot. But the idiot got elected because he got more “electoral” votes.

Obama is a charming and believable candidate; he has the stature, the rhetorical ability, and confidence to be president. I believe what he says more than any of the other candidates—maybe I’m just mesmerized by him, but so what? What else is there to go on with any of the other candidates? Do you realize that if Hillary is elected president, then at the end of her first term it will be 24 straight years where we’ve had either a Clinton or a Bush in the white house? Are we England now? We do not live in a Monarchy folks, even though the Clintons and Bush’s seem to think so. More so the Bush’s. Obama is a breath of fresh air. He is new. He has hot girls who like him. And I think you should vote for him.

22 weeks and counting...

Hi. Amanda here.

I decided to write a quick blog and post some pictures of myself. I am not vain, but I know that there are family and friends who do not get to see me often and they want to know how my "belly" is progressing. Well, here it is! As you can see, it is just a little basketball. It looks a lot bigger to me, so when I saw these pictures that Jared took, I was surprised at just how little it still is!

We have our next appointment with the midwife on Monday. I'm anxious to see how much weight I've gained over the last month. At our last appointment I had only gained 1 pound. However, on a recent snowshoe with Jared I remarked how I felt very sluggish; like I was dragging around an extra 15 pounds... who knows, maybe I am!

Two funny posters (and podcasts too)

These "demotivational posters" made me laugh out loud when I saw them on the internet today. I know its totally sophomoric, inapproriate, and stupid . . .but hey, lighten up.

So this evening I have been upstairs by the fire browsing some of the awesome podcasts that iTunes has to offer--not only are they fantastic for school lessons, but also they are completely free. The first rule of thumb is this: you absolutely do not need an ipod to get podcasts. Simply download itunes on your computer (its free) and then just start exploring. Podcasts are video or audio "shows" that you can download on your computer. For example, you can download a Sesame Street podcast. You can also check out a National Geographic podcast. There are thousands of possibilities, for every taste. NPR (national public radio) has a pretty comprehensive set of podcasts, from great shows like Prairie Home Companion and "This American Life" to NPR news stories, all categorized by "story of the day," "best of politics," "religion," "pop culture," etc. Its all pretty interesting, and it will (hopefully) open some new doors for my English classes. In addition, they are just fun to listen to, even if you dont teach seniors (mike has seniors too!!)

Amanda is at orchestra rehearsal and I am about to go lie on the couch (as instructed by Sally) and read my book . . .and hopefully kick this strep throaty-coldy thing in time for the snowstorm on Friday.

Do you see this?

This is my keyboard, which I keep downstairs in the den. I've got a great, cozy spot in which to write, play, and sing. But all I've been able to do for TWO months now is look at this keyboard--the same way you're looking at it right now. My instrument is not working, and the part I ordered (a simple adapter cable . . .that was not in stock) has taken a ridiculous amount of time to ship--I ordered it on January 2nd, and it just shipped out three days ago or something. So, literally, I have not played my keyboard since my last concert which was on November 30th . . .and even then I had to use the music department's Roland (I should point out, however, that I deliberately put the word "keyboard" instead of "instrument" in this sentence because I know someone like Ortiz or Ponch would write 'I know you just played your instrument this morning . . .wah wah wah' or something like that). Anyway, songwriting and performing is such a huge part of my life--a part that, ironically enough, many people I am closest with don't often get to see--and it is driving me crazy that I cannot play my music. Hopefully the adapter will arrive tomorrow or so.

In other news, Amanda's belly is getting huge, and I am going to the doctors because I think I have strep throat. Oh and our driveway and garage is heaving unbelievably because of the all the cold days and the previous "warm spell." And oh yeah, the writer's strike is killing me to. And I cut my lip and it hurts. And Thomas is eating sardines tonight and its disgusting. Oh and I dont always use contractions because I'm lazy . . .but I also dont write in fragments. And I think that's all. Have a nice day