Why listen to me? I'm just your mother.....

I sat and watched him all night, eating like a puppy who has just discovered a new food. I can't count how many times I gave him "the look". He kept on putting the food in his mouth. When the food is good, sometimes it is hard to stop. Ice cream, cookies, cake , pie He reminded me of the kid from that Charlie and the chocolate factory, you know the one who got stuck in the Chocolate River tube because he was so fat? yeah. that kid was MY kid on Christmas. He rolled around on the floor like a drunken midget and finally found his way to bed (he camped with me because i knew what was coming but decided that i didn't want a repeat of the Jimi Hendrix episode) So he blew chunks around 1am. all i have to say is yuck, yuck, yuck and double yuck.*sigh* His uncle and i did some direction to help him clean up. i had to stay clear of the bathroom for at least 15 minutes because of the smell. *sigh* I have found that you can only nag so much then you just have to wait and see and hope that they learn. Let's just pray he did... Goddess
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Change is good... all the time

If you watch nothing else in your life with a mission for change, watch this 20 minute clip with a direction of where our wisdom may work for us. in my personal experience, this is how i feel. this “game” that i am forced to play in order to do what is right some days knocks the wind out of my sails. i operate on the idea that we need a huge change in not how we live, love, and work, but in WHY we do it. last night during our family meeting, we touched on grandma Melernea’s gold kaiser card. Barry Schwartz talks about the janitors who have the wisdom to do their jobs well with the intent of offering caring service to others. when i think of my grandmother and the fact that she did housekeeping for as many years as she had when others ask if she is a doctor, the answer should be “no” with a reply of “better”. like the janitor who cleaned the floor in the room of the comatose man TWICE because the father who had been sitting vigil for 3 months didn’t see it done and was upset; like the housekeeper who did not vacuum because another family who had spent a great deal of time in a waiting room were asleep; and for the janitor who stopped mopping the floor so that a patient who was trying to regain strength could walk the halls. we have to remember that so much of what makes this world a fantastic place comes from those who society looks at as the bottom of the pickings pile. we should never give up hope that doctors, lawyers, politicians, and yes even businessmen on Wall Street can reach for greatness by being more like janitors and housekeepers and persons who work with the public and do their jobs well and with wisdom simply… because… it … is … right Goddess
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start watching this at 1: 45 This one will bring tears to your eyes! i see music as the saving grace for our nations of the world. just … imagine… Bobby McFerrin walks into a UN meeting and leads them in this demonstration of togetherness and cooperation. no need for interpreters, armed guards, lobbyists, nuclear weapons….. just hearts and sound. music from within. why is this so hard to imagine? now listen to it again from the beginning with your eyes closed and see this happen. if we all do this… it will Goddess

m m m m myyyy UTERUS!

Amen halelujiah!

His name is PRESIDENT Obama. Not Obama!!!

Where did you learn your manners? Had a conversation the other week with some buddies on FB… i was taking issues with people referring to the POTUS by his last name only and i got some feedback that didn’t change my mind but gave me even more reason to appreciate the people whom i interact with on a daily basis. read on… my thoughts were all over the place good thing this blog is titled “Ramblings of a single parent goddess. if you want to disrespect, drop it like you are talking about your dog, but out of respect for the office of the president of the united states, we have to set the example. i think it goes without saying that the use of the word “nigger” (to be fair, this goes for “spic”, “wop”, “kike”, and a bevy of other derogatory statements) has fallen into the cracks of abuse… abuse meant with no disrespect. isn’t it funny how that phrase “and i mean no disrespect” is often followed by a disrespectful comment? even though it may be said that it is an unkind word and people chose to use phrases like “the ‘N’ word” in an attempt to save face, when a child hears it at home, they will eventually use it out in the street. what a child learns is from the adults in their world and that is not specifically mom and dad. we should be painfully mindful of the fact that Mr. Obama is President Obama and respectfully use the proper name. should we remain firm in our dedication to tossing doo doo at our president, we may want to use something more like. “that old goat President Obama” but then again, we wouldn’t say that about our momma, big momma, grand daddy, or even a priest or teacher for that matter. i heard it on NPR today. the hosts and guest on the show referred to the president by his proper title, but you could tell which callers were not particularly fond of our president. they referred to him as ‘obama’. now if it was your pet, you could say it like that……. “Dammit, obama shit on the rug again!” i am guilty of heading down that path with former President Bush 2.0. I was corrected by a child who no longer wanted to hear his parents shout at the TV. i admit, i was disrespectful and i meant it but i wasn’t thinking about the repercussions that my child was experiencing by my rotten minded attitude toward a person in that office. i think i am just rambling and this probably belongs on my blog, but i am feeling a little bit fed up today with all the shit talk. **** now for comedic purposes, i would suppose we have to let certain things go for the sake of artistic expression; perhaps in the case of Felonious Munk and his “Stop it B!” video blogs. but i still believe that when you watch his entire clip, he is talking serious mess but still refers to the President as President Obama…….. http://youtu.be/ tRmZ9zH-mYM check it! i’m just saying… **** **** and yes i am talking about that “something” that i hear in the way the president is called. i am just as guilty as the next person using a name without a title. it is just that little something that i sense and i get bent out of shape. i don’t nitpick certain people because they are civilized and bring up good points. but if i hear a disrepectful tone i do reserve the right to ask for clarification. with that said, it is the “something” that i heard in a person’s tone that brought to mind a person wrinkling their nose, raising a corner of their lip and running for the Purell when talking about President Obama. **** have i mentioned that i love that my friends are made up of such a diverse group of people?
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Goddess Rambles about Charter Schools

i do see some successes in the charter schools in my area. there are populations that have been painfully under-served. in my case, Black students... yes i know there are many other students who fall into this niche, but i will only talk about what i know. the goal in the school was to give everyone a chance at a quality college-prep educational opportunity. the downside is the proposal was fought like it was the plague. we had a school, the school was empty. we were not shuffling kids about, we just wanted a place for OUR kids... and we take everyone but hear me out. We had to go grassroots to lift enrollment. we pushed in our churches and through our families and we now have to turn children away. our schools are some of the highest in the state of CA at least if not in the nation for charter schools. now that the schools are doing well, other want to sign up. i was on the waiting list for at least 3 years before my son was admitted. if we could open another school, we would be able to increase enrollment. our high and middle school are on a campus that has the ability to house roughly 2000 students, we have half that. it is almost as if we are being set up to fail because we are successful. there are other schools that have closed down. why not take them over? some points that frighten people. 1. non-union teachers 2. unconventional methods used to educate (sure they don't fit the norm, but they work for certain students and we have studies to back that up) 3. makes other schools in the district look bad (my solution to that is for the regular public schools to step up and make the changes necessary for success for ALL of their students) because a great deal of this is from the perspective of a parent of a gifted child in a public school where there was no GATE program, no instinct from teachers so overwhelmed with extremely high student numbers and lack of funding to manage their classrooms effectively (i rarely fault the educators and i don't fault them in this case either) , I felt i had no choice but to step out of the neighborhood school to help my child succeed. His teacher suggested in the 4th grade that i pull him and try to get him in charter. it is a tough call for administrators, educators, parents, and in many cases even the students. i truly believe that charter schools can be the catalyst for change in the educational system of America.
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The 5 Best Toys of All Time!

1. Stick 2. Box 3. String 4. Cardboard Tube 5. Dirt 'nuff said Goddess

The Cold's Prayer*

*recited in a rhythm close to "The Lord's Prayer" Our head cold, who art in sinus, how did you get so bold? Thy dripping nose thy ice cold toes Theraflu and Nyquil's in the closet. Give us this sneeze our daily dread and forgive us our coughing as we forgive those who have coughed against us And lead us not into the ER but deliver us from dry tissue noses for thine is the hot tea, the vitamin C, the Zicam Now and forever. Amen.
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Ceeelooooooooooo Whyyyyy? do y'all think he's "Crazy" now?

my initial reaction on NYE… cee-lo green messed up some lyrics. the world may actually end tomorrow. maybe he did an Xtina moment and flubbed the lyrics. anthems sometimes draw so much charged energy that you can’t help but flub the lyrics. this is a guy who, at some point in his recent resurgence as a pop icon, stood on a stage dressed as a star wars cast member singing about how we think his ass is crazy! all i could believe was that he made a mistake. i was sitting at my SIL’s that night when he came on and what she said stuck with me…

“I hope he practiced”

well… cee-lo changed a word in the Lennon song “Imagine” and i can only believe that Yoko rolled over in her sarcophagus on new year’s eve. folks are mad because what was deduced versus what he actually meant to say didn’t mesh. He meant no harm. ahem, and i quote,

“Yo I meant no disrespect by changing the lyric guys!”

i was married to a devout Lennon worshiper (and i am not saying that lightly), and i couldn’t even think of a joke about the man without the fear of having to scrape my soul off the floor after the tongue lashing i would have received. i still believe that sometimes you have to change the culture to change the Culture (emphasis added. dissertation to be submitted later). the huge idea of religion being a little something for everyone is what might lead one to believe that we need no organized religion at all. i would like to believe that is what mr. lennon meant. if we all had a perfect religion, we would have billions of little churches set up. * cee-lo decided that a slight grammatical change might change the Culture. gotta start small man. next time, baby steps although i know what you meant. rodney kind got a load of crap and people still tease about his simple statement too…

“can’t we all just get along?”

Can the Lennon’s legions be accepting? probably not in this lifetime, but i think my man Cee-Lo is gonna be just fine. Goddess *this is all my own opinion, so it may be true or not. similar to how religion might work better for all as truth on an individual level. Watch it for yourself
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