Me Money!

My kiddo saw a lemonade stand on the side of the road a few days ago and, being obsessed as she is with making money, has been hatching a plan for her own stand ever since. So today she got down to it, squeezing the bejeebus out of lemons, adding the juice to simple syrup and after ice and more water she cranked out some really tasty lemonade. We dragged all sorts of crap down to the curb and set up a sign. Then waited. And waited. We don't live on a particularly busy street, so she decided to get on her bike and go drum up some business. She rounded up some buddies and our super sweet and supportive neighbors kicked in too. All in all she had a great time and best of all she thinks she bumped up a tax bracket. $2.50 baby! This kid's love of cash is just this side of worrisome. All entrepreneur, all the time!

Five Stages of August

1. DENIAL: August doesn't mean anything. There are still four weeks of vacation left, that's forever to go. I'm not freaked out about school starting, I still totally feel like it's break. I'm not freaking out at all.
2. ANGER: How can it be cold and wet during my last month of break?! Why do I have to go to workshops and trainings during my vacation!? Why do I have to go into my room already?! This sucks!!
3. BARGAINING: Ok, I'll just go in for a few hours. Then I'll have fun, it'll still be like a day off. I'll just go to one of the training days, I'll just set up the desks, that's all. I'll spend all of Monday in the park and just go in Tuesday morning.
4. DEPRESSION: i can't believe it's over already. i haven't done anything yet. i'm not ready to go back!
5. ACCEPTANCE: It was cool to see everyone today. I'm excited about trying out those ideas we talked about. I wonder what my kids will be like this year? Hmmm, new school clothes.

Current status: about 70/30 between four and five

I am proud of my president

Ok, not because of that. But come on, that's funny. Anyway. You may have heard about the health care debates (and I use that word very generously) going on recently. Little bit? Ok, so when widely-accepted-as nut cases like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin spout their literally crazy poison, you just go, "Whew. That chick (in both cases) is CRAZY with a side of dangerous. Who are the rubes listening to these people?" But then Obama goes out and says Sen. Charles Grassley is one of the reasons he's still hopeful about negotiations with Republicans and the next day that douchenozzle says, "Yes, you do need to be afraid of them pulling the plug on Grandma." What the hell, dude! He knows with unparalleled truth that is just not true. He knows it is! And tells people, YES, DO BE AFRAID. Come on, really? What kind of pictures must the insurance companies have of this guy? So, and I am incredibly proud of this, Jon Stewart made the same joke I did! After me! We've been talking about Obama's poll numbers, but I seriously feel he may be the first president whose opinion of the public must be dropping. Don't you just see him sitting that little oval room, looking at the picture of himself with a hitler 'stache shaking his head and just going Screw You All.
So then there's all this noise on the left that he should just take his majority and run. Just tell 'em how it's gonna be, boss. They're spouting idiocy, there is no point in trying to have an intelligent conversation with someone using the words "death panel." Come on! I gotta say, I definitely see the attraction there.
But here's the thing...and this just came to me about 3 am while checking out that very viewpoint at Salon.com...I think he really means it. I really think he does. I think he wants bi-partisanship during his watch. Not because it will look good 20 years down the road, but because it really is what is good for our country. I think he feels he can break through to the human beings behind the party facades and those people will eventually go, "You know, it doesn't actually hurt me to do what is good for the people I have been charged with protecting." I believe Obama really thinks it will, in the long (very long) run, be the best thing he could have done for his country. And that may be true. I don't even think I can imagine a congress where issues are debated on merit, and not on what is directly oppositional to your perceived opponent. Utopian I know. But why? Why does that idea sound silly and naive? Shame on all of us that it does. And it makes me really proud of Obama. Health care is needed to heal our sick, but an end to this endless, mindless screaming is needed to heal our country. Which we can then rename Obamatopia.