"I kissed you in a style Clark Gable would have admired- I thought it classic."

Sold out. Sad face. Sad face. Sad face.

"Mommy, do I know your Mommy?"

That was Audrey's last question before bed tonight. I was so happy when she asked me. I told her that she doesn't know my mommy, which is her grandma. "I have two grandmas?" I said yes, but my mommy died so you don't see her. Here's the rest of the conversation:

A: Did she have black or blond hair?

ME: She had black hair. You get your blonde hair from Gran-E (Dan's mom).

A: What was her name?

ME: Jill. I have a picture of her.

A: Can I see?

ME: Yes. (Then I went got a picture of me and mom right before she died when I was 19; Audrey was able to recognize me. I also showed her a picture of mom and Grandpa.)

A: Grandpa!

ME: Yes, Grandpa is my daddy. And she (pointing to picture) was my mommy. GranE is Daddy's mommy.

A: Tell me more about her.

ME: She as very funny and silly, like us. She was a teacher just like Dawn and Michiru (Audrey's teachers). She was very smart and loved to read before bed every night. She loved to play cards. In fact, she taught me "Slap Jack" (which I incidentally taught Audrey about an hour before).

A: Tell me more.

ME: We liked to sit in her room and watch a funny show called "Love Connection" together. It was about a man and woman going on a date and then telling everyone about it. Sometime they fell in love and other times they couldn't stand each other. Mom and I laughed at it so much. Also, the host would also say, "We'll be back in 2-and-2" right before a commercial. (I showed her how he held up two fingers and flip flopped them.) My mom and I used to say "I'll be back in 2-and-2" all the time to each other. Sometimes she'd ask me to get her some ice tea and I'd say, "Sure, I'll be back in 2-and-2."

A. Tell me more.

ME: You know how you sometimes call for me at night? Well, I did the same thing, but when I was older (teens) and I needed her I'd go into her room and try to wake her up by whispering, "mom." I'd get slightly louder each time, but without fail, she always screamed when she woke up. I startled her. It was so funny, but also kind of scary.

A: Tell me more.

ME: She had four siblings- three sisters and one brother. All of their names start with a "J." Jill, Jane, Judy, Jaki, and Jerry.

A: All Js! That's funny!

The lights were out during the whole conversation and I was tearing up the entire time. What a moment.

WTF, Rhianna?

Rhianna, where are your best bitches? Amy, Seja, Jen, Wendy, Lisa, and Sarah would tie me down before they'd ever let me near a guy who beat on me (which has never happened, thankfully). And I'd do the same for them.

Ladies, if your guy lies, cheats, or beats on you, he WILL do it again. 100%. Get help right away.

Penn State Punishment

Thank you to the NCAA for handing out an appropriate punishment to PSU:
$60 million fine; money goes to child sex abuse awareness
4-year bowl game ban
Scholarship reductions
All wins from 1998-2011 vacated
5 years probation

Now, if only we could get the Catholic Church to reprimand its child abusers. The NCAA has MUCH higher standards for its coaches than the church does for its priests. Hmmmm.

Aurora

"Those killed in Aurora represent less than half a day's quota of annual gun deaths in the US. Today is the rule, disguised as the exception." - Mark Harris, saying it like it is.

Sandusky Case

So the Freeh report is out. I have only read snippets, but this is my first reaction:

Do you think this would have (or could have) happened if a woman was knowledgeable? Doubtful. 

Each and every one of these people should be in jail. They are accomplices to abuse, which makes them abusers.

Whoa. How Timely.

I hate to criticize charities, but you have to wonder about a charity that eliminates funding for their very own cause. 

In loving memory...

Of my older brother, Jeff. He passed away in 1991, here in Bloomington. A few memories for today (1/6), which would be his 40th birthday:

1. I remember girls from his high school trying to get information about him from me....Does he like someone? What his favorite band? Lots of girls crushing on him.

2. Regarding #1, I do remember Jeff loved U2, REM, the Sex Pistols, and The Smiths.

3. Jeff was super smart (valedictorian) and super athletic (state champion runner and a triathlete), but he taught us that these traits pale by comparison to personality and character.

4. Once I complained to my mom about Jeff and Lisa (sis) being so smart (A+ students / me - B+ student). My mom said, "that's ok, Jackie...you're very social and that's just as important." Then she and I laughed.

5. He was a maniac on the trampoline.

6. I was mad at him once and I wanted to call him a mean name. I called him "jerky juroo" (sp??). The mean name stuck, but mainly as a joke to make fun of me.

7. The last time I saw Jeff was when he and Lisa came to Indianapolis for the last night of the 1991 World Gymnastics Championships. Mom and I had gone for the whole week and they came up from Bloomington. Best week of my life for so many reasons.

8. He and Lisa took Seja and me to see "Truth or Dare." It was a late show, and Seja and I both fell asleep.

9. He used to refer to the bump in the road between our neighborhood and the adjacent neighborhood as "the $100,000 bump." $300,000 was more like it though :).

10. He and Lisa "saved" me from falling into a 15-foot hole when we went sledding.

Many people wonder what Jeff would be doing today with all of his talents. I don't. I don't care. I just want his presence.

Audrey's Book Choice Tonight

Lately Audrey and I have been going to Barnes & Noble on some weeknights. It's closer than the library and right between her school and our home. It's just nice for a quick trip. They have a storytelling stage that Audrey dances on for about 30 minutes. I need to get video.

Anyway, this is the book Audrey insisted I read... several times. I want to let Audrey make her own choices when it comes to reading, activities, etc. so they are her own and not mine... so I read it (and cringed internally the entire time).

This is possibly the worst book of all time. To see how horrible, you need to go to this amazon link, so you can see the interior.

Just a few words and names used in this book (it's like they crammed in every "girlish" interest into one book: princesses, marriage, fairies, movie stars, clothes, best friends, boyfriend trouble):

"Gloss Angeles" ~ stylists ~ Princess Graciella ~ Raquelle ~ Zane ~ Crystal ~ fairies ~ opening night ~ movie ~ wedding ~ spotlight ~ red carpet ~ love potion ~ Lilliana Roxelle ~ wings ~ island floating in the sky ~ spell ~ palace ~ "fairy phone" ~ teleporting

My American Apparel Groupon PSA

I have purchased many groupons. Today there is a groupon for $50 worth of American Apparel products for just $25. On the groupon it states:

"Socially responsible, sweatshop-free clothier with wide variety of
chic garment styles & versatile accessories for men & women"

What a bunch of crap. The CEO of American Apparel, Dov Charney, has been accused of and sued for sexual harassment so many times, it's hard to keep count. This is NOT social responsibility. Please do NOT purchase this groupon or shop at American Apparel ever again.

They also have the most sexually exploitive advertising. See the below advertisement for the "riding pant" (this is a very MILD example) I wouldn't care that much about this if their target audience didn't include minors, which is does.