What's in a name?

New spelling system.

OKAY. How would you pronounce this child's name?

Le-ah
Leah? - NO; Lee - A? - NOPE; Lay - a? - NO; Lei? - Guess Again.
This child attends a school in Livingston Parish, LA. Her mother is irate because everyone is getting her name wrong. It's pronounced
"Ledasha".
When the Mother was asked about the pronunciation of the name, she said,"the dash don't be silent." SO, if you see something come across your desk like this please remember to pronounce the dash. And if they axe you why, tell them the dash don't be silent.

I received this forwarded email today from my girlfriend, Barb. Looking beyond the racial vernacular I immediately focused in on the name issue. The painful reality of attendance-calling throughout school years, introducing yourself who people won't remember your name 5 minutes later, telling and retelling the boring story of how you got your name, etc. I know first hand what poor Le-dash-a is going through. For I too have an identity crisis.

My name is simple and easy to remember.

However, Tina is not my name.

Confused? You're not alone. Here's the scoop: When my mom was expecting me she & my father decided to honor their mothers by naming me after them, Nancy Elizabeth. All well & good right? Wrong. Neither of them liked either name. So, they pulled Tina out of thin air? No. My father's mother, Elizabeth, was called Bettina by her French in-laws as Bettina is a derivative of Elizabeth in France as opposed to Liz or Beth. But Bettina was a little over-the-top for my mom so they settled on Tina. Whew! Got it? Pretty boring story, huh? I can't imagine how many times I have repeated it throughout my many years in grade school, college, getting a job, meeting new people, and finally, on my formal wedding invitations where everyone on my husband side wondered what the heck happened to Tina and who the hell is Nancy Elizabeth?

Ah well, Mom, I think in your heart of hearts you knew - for a personality this big - one name just wouldn't do...

Besides, Nancy just doesn't work for me but Tina beats the pants off of Le-dash-a! Word.

Teens Will Be Teens

Yesterday my family & I went downtown to hang out and encourage homeless teens with http://www.standupforkids.com/. Our job as volunteers was to play games with the teens, organize donations, set a positive family example, and listen to them if they wanted to talk.

We started out there organizing hygiene-bag donations between boys and girls. Then it got interesting. We were asked to add condoms and lubricants to each bag since they just had 3000 donated. (My 12 year old twin boys were not involved with this activity. They were playing Foosball with other teens - thus, we avoided a detailed explanation regarding lubes & flavors... ack!) Distressingly, 2 out of the 3 girls present at the shelter were already pregnant. However, this did not stop them from digging into the donated box of multi-colored, multi-textured, multi-flavored condoms with glee. I didn't see a lot of interest from the boys though... Come on Boys, "no glove - no love!"

After loading up the prophylactics & lubes we mingled with the kids. Most were eating lunch. Some were texting on their cell phones (yes - they had them! huh?) and others were hovering around a laptop one of the volunteers brought for their use. I sat at the laptop table & painted "Liz's" toenails. She is engaged to "Raven" who was also at the shelter. He looked over the age-limit of 21 but they were probably a package deal. Although I asked no questions she poured out her story to me over orange-toenail-polishing. And when the computer was free, she showed me pictures of her 17 month old daughter on her Yearbook and MySpace pages. Then she fed her Vampire (a MySpace app), updated her status, and answered a few emails as did EVERY OTHER TEEN in the shelter.

This blew my mind!

These kids have no home. They have been in and out of jail. Some are pregnant with no hope for the future. They don't know where their next meal will come from - but they are plugged into the social networks and texting on their cell phones.

I guess teens will be teens regardless of circumstances.

The big question is: What do their status updates say?

The Dentist Sucks

Oh Dentist, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways:

• You cost me my paycheck - literally (remember, I work PT)
  
• You insult my tongue with claims that it refuses to get out of the way then push & stab it with your mirror
  
• You chat & ask me questions when there is no reasonable way I can answer aside from grunts & snorts
  
• You cost me my paycheck
  
• You assure me it will just be a little pinch when it hurts like...
  
• I have to come back 3 times to finish with one tooth
  
• You cost me my paycheck
  
• Your drilling refuses to be drowned out by my iPod
  
• You tell me to open wider when I already have the biggest mouth on the planet
  
• You cost me my paycheck
  

And finally,

• You make me remove my lipstick!
  

Shame on you Dr. Dentist! But thanks for the smile...

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

A blog in honor of Earth Day.

Although I have had a few setbacks since "This is day one - Game on!" (Yes, I know this is only day three.) I am still committed to Reduce. As it is my hope to Reuse all those clothes I somehow outgrew and Recycle the clothes I am wearing presently.

With greenest sincerity and in the name of Earth Day,

Amen

Okay, you may have detected at smidgen of flippancy over the whole Earth Day hoopla. Here's my take. We need to be good stewards and take care of what God has created but calm down people, let's take care of it - not worship it. Ultimately, God is in control. Let's worship Him instead.

I knew this day was coming...

Okay, so, the fat has hit the fan.

The annual trip to the doctor has resulted in the The Inevitable.

Yes, you guessed it, the shape up, slim down, eat less, exercise more, if-you-don't-change-heart-disease-diabetes lecture that I have been dreading. I knew it was coming. With assets my generous - who doesn't? Come on! Couldn't the doctor have just agreed with my "more to love" rationalization? Alas, no. And although I have been avoiding the doctor for as long as possible for this very reason, sadly, as long as possible ended.

Now here I am.

Accordingly, today I turned over a new leaf and no sooner am I in the school office than the secretary is offering to bring me Starbucks. An hour later I am in the classroom and a parent says she's going on a run to - wait for it - Starbucks, "do I want anything?" Argh! The final insult was snacktime where 2 giant, frosted, decorated, Paradise Bakery yumminess, chocolate chip & sugar cookies were brought in for a birthday. Get behind me Satan!

But, resisting it all and fighting the good fight, I blog victoriously, feeling saintly and courageous, girded for the next battle:

Dinner

This is day one - Game on!

Texting, Texting 1-2-3

When I was 15 (early 80s - shhh, don't tell) my brother & I got our own phone line. We weren't rich. My parents just did not desire to hear the phone ring non-stop every night. And ring every night it did. We spent countless hours on the phone. Partly because my 3-years-older brother had a placard on his bedroom desk from his friends that read "Social Director." This is still true today but even more so in High School. (Also, our parents were frequently traveling so our house was Party Central but that is a different story...)

Fast forward to my own 15 year old daughter. She has a cell phone. She also spends countless hours on the phone - or at least her thumbs are on the phone.

This then is the crux of my blog.

Hours on end of discussing "are you sure he was looking at me?" and "did you see what Marcy wore?" helped me to refine my dialog skills and hone my rapier wit. Conversational skills that have served me very well these last - you do the math - years. However is my lovely, shy daughter going to learn how to think on her feet to keep a conversation going if she never gets to practice? Is it possible to be charming and vivacious while texting? How will she master the proper inflection that screams sarcasm or the pregnant pause into which so much can be conveyed?

These are the things that cross my mind in the shower.

Why Lipstick?

Why My Lipstick Life?

Well, in life things change (duh) but in my life there is one constant, you guessed it, lipstick. At any time you can find upward of a dozen different lipsticks & glosses in my purse. Nothing of significance has transpired in my life sans lipstick. Flat broke? Wet N Wild. In the money? Channel Fushia. Scales up? Lip Plumper. Scales down? Matte Finish. 22 hour labor? Long Lasting with multiple apps...

Suffice it to say, if it happens to me, it happens with lipstick on!