Patriotic at Heart

There are two things lately that disturb me every time I see or hear them. I never thought of myself as overly patriotic but it is the only explanation to explain the way that I feel that I can think of. In honor of Veteran's Day, I'm going to vent.

The first is a "green is the new red, white, and blue" bumper sticker that I see on a car in the pick-up line at Ben's school. I recognize being green as a movement worth throwing some weight behind. We're trying to be more green ourselves, but we're not going overboard with it. We've started gardening, composting, and E's wearing cloth diapers, but I'm still buying disposable wipes and lunchables. It really bugs me that they recolored the flag because so many people over the years have fought and died for what the flag represents. Something inside me wants to jump out of my car and peel that sticker off the car every time I see it.

The second is the end of a chorus of a perfectly lovely Christmas song that came out last year.

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me
- How Many Kings by Downhere

I love the lyrics and melody right up until the last two lines. The melody seems to emphasize and separate them from the rest. I, again, remember all of the fathers who have lost (and thus given up) their sons and daughters for my freedom. When I hear these lines, my heart argues with the song.

So there they are folks, the two things that prove to me that I am patriotic and care about the troops and their families. How do you feel about these and are there any other things that bug you?

I Watched Twilight

Let's forget for a moment that vampires are imaginary creatures and pretend that they aren't. In Stephenie Meyer's book series, she chose to ignore the basic premises that all vampire legends up to this point have been built on. (It's like choosing to ignore Scary Movie rules, right? Big mistake.) Sunlight makes vampires sparkle? Really? Sparkle like a fire because everyone knows that vampires burst into flames in the sun. Crosses? Vampires can't stand them but there's one in the entrance way of the Cullen abode. Only way to kill a vampire is to rip them into pieces and burn them? Again, sunlight, sharp pointy wooden sticks to the heart, and lobbing off their heads have been known to do the trick. Vampires have no reflection and can not be photographed. Oh, and perhaps the biggest one, vampires CANNOT enter your house to watch you sleep or anything else unless they have been invited in...a life saver on many occasions.

The fundamental rules of vampires were so often broken that it made me lose sight of the story line which was redundant. This whole love angst between a vampire and a human has been done...Buffy and Angel. It made me miss Buffy more. Fact is, I've been working my way through the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Hulu. Bella and Edward are all like kill me I want to be a vampire/no you don't. There is nothing really that is keeping them apart except themselves. So far, I've found Bella to be all help me/save me. Buffy was the slayer and could totally stand up for herself except for the few times that she died. The relationship between Buffy and Angel (and later Spike) couldn't happen because of the whole vampires gotta bite/slayers gotta kill factor.

I'm not going to argue the evils and qualities of a book series based upon watching a movie (I've put holds on the unabridged books on CD from the library) because there's so much in the books that must be taken into consideration. I am reserving the right to comment on those later.

Thus being said, I still miss Buffy.

I Let My Son Dress Himself...

...and we get the most interersting combinations when he layers.

As Seen on a

White Castle sign:

Happy St. Patrick's Day

B: It's good that God made the grass green because on this day everything is supposed to be green.

On a side note, I am blessed that Ben has teachers who LOVE what they do. Today, Miss Molly went "golfing" and I got greeted with a "Top 'o the Morning to ya!" from her twin sister Bridget from Ireland.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!