Fun Monday - Bedside

Whew - we made it past the anniversary of Fun Monday, and it's still going strong with this week's hostess being AOJ & The Lurchers! The assignment this week was to show our bedside tables.

However, Roger has already packed all the stuff on his "bedside table," which also happens to be our computer desk:In a few weeks, after our big move, he will have a REAL bedside table, as will I. My bedside table is a very tall dresser - and it's a total pain to reach my alarm clock in the morning. It also serves as a dumping place for The Offspring's stuff - and a resting place for my jewelry:I have several beautiful jewelry boxes, but it's SO MUCH EASIER to just grab something out of an open box than to physically open a drawer, you know? Or heaven forbid, LIFT THE LID of a jewelry box. I'm too lazy busy for that.

Go check our some interesting bedside stuff! Oh, and I've volunteered to host next week, so check back here tomorrow for your assignment. I promise, it will require your MIND...and no photos, unless you need them to illustrate your assignment.

Belated Meme

I really am horrible at meeting any self-imposed meme deadline, but this one was pretty easy. Don't worry, I will still finish my "re-posting" first meme, as well as my other meme...but not tonight.

I LOVED this one, and I was tagged by Mimi Lenox for "The Band Meme." Being a musician and all, I actually was thrilled with the results. Here were the rules:

You are about to have your own band's CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter.

Go to:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
I'm going to be HOT on the music scene!

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Whew! It got a little heavy in here this week, or was it just me? Dang those extra tacos I've been eating...

Well, if I wasn't having enough of an identity crisis already, I'm wondering what the heck is happening with my kid. She is a camera whore (yeah, I'm gonna get the "2008 Mother of the Year" award for calling my daughter a whore). I recently found these "self-portraits" on our home computer. First, we have "I Only Have One Good Eye" Kid:

(Honestly, I like this picture - but is this my kid?)

Next up, she is pictured here on the right - looking LIKE AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL 14-YEAR OLD GIRL. The kind that makes a mom think, "Yeah, I'm doing okay - she is using the right cleanser, she is wholesome, she has self-confidence, and she hasn't been smoking crack in the girls' restroom at middle school."And THEN?

Then...

I'm not sure if this is creativity, or if she is secretly following the doctrine of Marilyn Manson. I might need to check her room for dripping candles and instruments of torture. I also might need to locate the cat.Yellow eyes?

Where's my baby?

Pondering My Discovery

So...how does one react to the results of a DNA test? My heart rate became elevated the second I saw that my results had been posted on the Genetree site. At first, I wasn't really SEEING the results...just scanning hurriedly, trying to find out WHAT I WAS. I saw the phrase "Haplogroup A2," which meant nothing...and finally found the link to the ancestry page. That gave me the "dot-map," which had dots of all the people in the database who matched (some exactly, some partially) my mtDNA profile. All in one place - Guerrero, Mexico.

Mexican.

I am part Mexican.

It took a minute to sink in. Instantly I realized how desperately I had wanted to be Italian. I thought it would explain the parts of my personality that make me feel at home with my Italian friends - which are the same parts that make me feel like a weirdo around my adoptive parents.

I feel ordinary. Not b/c of the specific ethnicity, but now? Now there was no mystery. Yes, it's only a part of the DNA picture, but I had erased that aura of "not knowing," of asking people what they thought I could be. The excitement of hearing the theories. The look in people's eyes as they tried to puzzle over my features. Now, that parlor game is over, and I am no longer an enigma.

I raced to Google this "Guerrero" and found pictures like the one above. It is beautiful country. My mind immediately began planning a family vacation there - just to walk among the people - to see if I felt a connection. Synapses firing wildly, I pulled up photo after photo...and then realized I needed to take a deep breath.

My husband's immediate reaction to the news: "Oh, no!" Wasn't sure how to take that at first, but he explained that he felt I wanted to be more exotic, and he was hoping I was partially black.

My kid's reaction was much the same. Maybe as a result of the negative media attention surrounding the illegal immigration issue - but she felt "common," even though she has all sorts of other bloodlines on her father's side.

I went to Walmart a few days later, and looked closely at the Mexican population I encountered. I look so different - sure, most of them are not tall people, but they are so dark. I have to tan for months to be that color. A friend informed me that the Mexican people are NOT all like the immigrants that I have seen. I felt ignorant. And then I thought about the Miss Mexico contestants in the Miss Universe pageant.

As I struggled to assimilate this new "identity," I felt as if I had been haughty and imperious in the past. Am I supposed to look at the illegal immigration issue in a different way? I didn't think I had discriminatory thoughts - but I had secretly resented their actions.

I took Spanish for two years in high school, and two years in college. I retained very little of it, and yet it was an easy language to learn. Romance languages are. But I never felt a "connection," does that make sense?

Should I learn the language again?

I wondered more about my mother. I thought more about the blonde man who carried me into that gas station restroom and left me. And I'm looking at my world differently today.

Fun Monday-versary!

Wow - has it already been a YEAR since this Fun Monday thing started? Look what you've done, Vicki! But I have met great bloggers along the way. It is only fitting that the "ideator" of Fun Monday is this week's hostess. Vicki made it easy by allowing us old-timers a break, and helping the newbies see what we were all up to a year ago. All we had to do was link back to that first Fun Monday post, and then repost our VERY FIRST BLOG POST EVER. Piece of cake. Well, actually, two pieces of cake.

Even though I sometimes doubt people like "clicking back" on links, I'll do it this time. HERE is the first Fun Monday post from Tiggerlane. I like it mostly b/c it features two things: our land before we started building our new home, and a sign that Arkansas Songbird gave my husband one Christmas.

And, here is my first post ever, about what else? Football! I have no idea how to make the comments show up, but there were only five that first time.

The title: A Timid Toe Enters the Blog Pool, published January 5, 2006. And I just now realized I totally forgot to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of my blog. Darn.

Okay, so I really don't want the world to know THAT much about me. Especially the 'net world, which seems populated with various sickos (much like my REAL world!) - but this seems as good as any outlet to vent my frustrations about things in general, and even if I'm the only one getting anything out of this, so be it.

Ah - a personal online diary. I can handle this! Maybe my daughter will read it and weep one day. At least I own my own company, so anything nasty I say about my job won't get me fired!

On to the topic of the day: as an Aggie who is extemely loyal to Texas A&M University, it was exciting to watch last night's game. Torn between rooting for a Texas team (having grown up in that lovely football state) and the USC Trojans (having family from So. Cal. and having been born there), I chose to root for USC. But I was tickled to receive this in my email box, and actually thought of getting one:

Now...do you think the Texas Longhorn fans would do the same for us Ags if WE made it to the Rose Bowl? I'm not sure.

Ags have a great heart, and to be honest, Vince and the boys deserved last night's win, even if they DID have a few plays (lateral-pass-with-one-knee-down) handed to them. Vince has true potential in the NFL - here's hoping he will go this year, and not risk getting injured and miss his chance in the big leagues altogether. Wonder if he and Reggie could both save the Houston Texans?
Now that the big game is behind us, saw varsity's horns off!!

Go celebrate Fun Monday-versary!

The Answers You Didn't Expect

I appreciate all your guesses about my heritage! What a diverse answer set - I was impressed! Now...on to the results.

mtDNA. That is what my recent DNA test analyzed, which is maternal DNA. This passes down from mother to child, with little or no alterations in the sequence. However, these rare mutations allow scientists to assign people to "haplogroups". Members of a haplogroup are descended from a single common female ancestor who first had that particular collection of mutations. Haplogroups are usually assigned a geographic location based upon the location of the current population.

My results came back that I am a member of Haplogroup A2. Haplogroup A is found throughout modern Asia. Haplogroup A1 is found throughout modern Asia, while subgroup A2 originated in Siberia. Archaeological evidence suggests that the founders of modern Native American populations migrated to North America from Siberia over a land bridge across the Bering Strait, tens of thousands of years ago. These people populated all of North, Central and South America.
I read all this in my results, including information that I have the same mtDNA as at least six other people on the planet, who are in the Genetree database. They were all born in ONE place - every single one of them - the State of Guerrero, Mexico, home to Acapulco, and the silver mining town of Taxco. I have actual names of some of these people, but knowing that there could be literally hundreds of thousands of people within this mtDNA haplogroup - I'm not going on a man(or woman) hunt.

So, there you have it! I suppose I can say that I'm most likely "half-Mexican." Surprised?

Please Be Patient, My Blog Friends

I know, you KNOW I have the results. But I've been swamped and away from the computer for most of the day. Tonight, we have company coming, so I have to make my little weird house look presentable.

However, I WILL reveal the DNA results - but first, I want you to take one last guess about my heritage.

Remember - I had dark skin and kinky, curly hair as a baby:And later, it got VERY long - as my teeth grew wider and wider apart:I had a tiny, petite, NON-curly haired baby:Who is growing up to look somewhat like me:Oh, yeah - and did I mention that I straighten my hair? I also have NEVER colored or permed it - I'm all natural:Last tips - I'm 5'3" with tiny wrists and long fingers. I gesticulate wildly when I talk. I'm VERY animated.

Now, guess away - one last time!

Fun Monday Addictive Web Sites

It's that time again! Now, I got my DNA results back, but in honor of Fun Monday, I'm going to wait to post them for a few more days. So, check back...

-Ann is this week's hostess, and she said, "I want to hear about a web site and not just about any old web site. I want to hear about a web site that's changed your life. A web site that you can't live without. A web site whose inventor you'd like to see win a McArthur Genius Grant."

For me? That web site would be PostSecret. It features real secrets, sent in by real people. I can't wait for Sunday to roll around, b/c that's when new secrets are posted, like this one:Not all the secrets are funny. Some are shocking, horribly poignant, or make me want to cry. I have seen so many of my own secrets posted that I feel comfort in knowing that I am not alone. The PostSecret project has grown so large that I'm sure you're familiar with it. The band All-American Rejects even featured some of these postcards in one of their music videos:

I hope you have a chance to browse this site at least once, and I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't find yourself with a Sunday addiction.

Now go check out all the other participants!

Dear Lord, Please Forgive Me

Okay, you know I'm a music lover. Though in the past, I've tried to turn my readers on to current finds, such as Jamie Cullum, Blue October, or even the recent more-commercial offerings of Linkin Park. But guys, this was too hella-good to NOT share. Or hella-bad.

I know in advance this is going to pain you - but as much as it hurts, please stay with this, until the 3-minute mark.

Meme? What Meme?

You know you're a bad blogger when you take over a MONTH to finish ONE MEME. The Lovely Karina tagged me a long time ago to repost five previous posts, and how many do I have done? Two. Plus, I still haven't commented on all the Fun Monday participants, nor have I responded to all your thoughtful comments on my own blog. I suck.

But I'm catching up, and maybe Karina will forgive me. So, at the risk of getting even more google hits for "Urine Therapy" on my blog, I give you the following story, which originally appeared in August 2006, sans photo:

I'm gonna lie. So, now you all have fair warning. I'm gonna tell a lie for the rest of the day, into the evening.

I guess it's been a ton of stress that caused it - and I'm going to share the truth with YOU, the faithful stranger on the 'net - I have a growth. You can forget the photo, 'cuz it's not gonna happen. Basically, I have a THING on my chin - to the left of my bottom lip. What looks like the beginnings of an "innie-zit," know what I mean? Those zits that don't really come up to the surface? But you can feel them there - like the stranger in the dark, lurking around, ready to pounce...one of THOSE. A non-approachable, non-squeezable, can't-find-the-point-of-release zit.

Only I don't think it's a zit anymore. Usually, a zit won't make your entire chin feel like it's been pumped with Novacaine, or make the lip that is at LEAST an inch above it swell, giving you a lop-sided smile. I HAVE had the occasional throbbing zit, but this thing is like a facial fetus with it's own heartbeat.

I've been told, "It's a boil." I've been told, "It's a cyst." And I live in the South, so I've been told to put every imaginable pultice (poultice?) on the thing, even a remedy including urine that IS NOT MY OWN. Not gonna happen.

The Nurse/Husband/Father of My Child is concerned, but his treatments include lots of antibiotics, epsom salts and hydrogen peroxide. That just gave the "non-zit" lots of little nasty white things on top, but still nothing poppable.

I woke up thinking it would be better this morning, but alas, I have Quasimodo-lip. So I'm gonna lie, b/c I have to stand in front of a college class and teach tonight. Who wants an instructor with a BOIL, or a CYST or even a ZIT???? YUCK!

So...it's a spider bite. Pass it on.

Fun Monday Parasites

Lisa has outdone herself as this week's Fun Monday hostess - check out the special logo for this week! Be sure to stop by her place to check out all the participant's pet photos. She wanted to know what kind of parasitic creatures dwell in our homes, consuming mass quantities of food and requiring frequent vet visits. I hope no one cheated and used something from i can has cheezburger. At least the following photo is REALLY our cat, Whiskas. Don't know if she'll make the site, but at least they let me submit her:

Most of you have seen our dog, Lucky Loo Poo Woo, but I had to share the photo we took of our first Halloween with him. This was when he was about 6 months old, at a time when I was still buying him dog sweaters.Now he prefers to wear ice cream cartons.

Remember when my daughter's boyfriend gave her crabs a while back? She named one of them "Romance" and the other "Sanity." Romance was a bit unhealthy and didn't survive long. For a while there, when people asked about the crabs, I would tell them, "Romance is dead, but Sanity LIVES!" And Sanity is still with us. Of course, I don't call the crab Sanity. Just like Poo Woo, I gave it a new name - "Crabilicious." I have no idea why I call it that - I just do.

One of my agents borrowed my good camera, so this is all I could show for now. Now go check out all the other Fun Monday participants!

Getting Closer...

You know, it's been a while since I really updated you on the house. We are now looking at a February 1st completion (though the contractor says it will be sooner), which will be about 6 months from our starting date. Whenever I pull up to the house and see all the trucks in the yard? I know someone is working.One of the things that we needed was a lot of "fill" for the back part of the house, to divert water. Instead of trudging thru mud to the back door, we have a gravel path.Let's take a peek inside, shall we? (BTW, if you really want every nauseatingly detailed photograph of every light fixture in every room, feel free to visit my flickr site.) Here is an example of the sconces in the upstairs bath and Amber's bathroom:The bonus room has a cool Monte Carlo ceiling fan and lots of track lighting. Roger should definitely be able to see his musical equipment!The can lights are operational in the living room, and more Monte Carlo fans are installed. Each row of can lights is on a separate dimmer switch. And yes, I played around, dimming rows, undimmming, and making all the the appropriate "oooh" and "aaaah" sounds.So, where are the boys today? Ah...working in the garage. The MESSY garage. Scraps of concrete board, tile, trim - so much clutter. The Virgo in me cringed when I saw their working conditions.It must have made them cringe, too, b/c they cleaned it all up that afternoon.

Now, most people that you see crawling around in dumpsters aren't so savory. Me? I like to still consider myself savory. When I realized that ceiling fan boxes would make good packing boxes, I dove. In my dumpster. And found that the boys got a bit too enthusiastic in their cleaning. I managed to save my shower stuff.I think my shower might look a little funny without it. I am LOVING the tile, just so you know.The tile man did a great job around the whirlpool tub - I really liked his design. He will be repeating that around the backsplash in the kitchen, with a few light tiles thrown in as accents.Most of the house photos have been of the BACK of the house, since that has been our only access route. Well, no more! I now have a driveway! From the road we will be using! Yippee!Dirt and rocks have never excited me so much in my life.

So, How Was Yours?

For one last time, we celebrated New Year's Eve at our old home. Even though I am excited about having more than one bathroom in a house, our old home is a cozy place for friends. And we don't have to worry about messing stuff up. Luckily the kitchen in the new house is NOT separated by walls from the main living area, b/c guess where folks tend to gather? Then again, that might have something to do with the carnage going on against several alcoholic beverages. Everyone loves to see a disaster in the making. Trust - there were many more corks on the counter as it got closer to 1 AM.At some point, many of us were glued to the television, watching Robbie Maddison jump the length of a football field on a motorcycle. Dude broke a world record. For insanity.Later, our annual lighting of what are the only legal pyrotechnics in the city limits of our town. Next year at this time, we will be living 2/10th of a mile OUTSIDE the city limits. Hehehehe! No one was injured as we enjoyed sparklers on the lawn. Even though it was FREEZING outside.As for the new home, we got tile...it is still waiting for the dark-brown grout (for hiding dirt), but I couldn't resist sharing a photo now.
Hope you had a great New Year's Eve...and that all your football teams won!