Yesterday, Devin & Sherman surprised me with 3 dozen roses and some raspberry-filled chocolates — so sweet. Today I get my favorites to eat. I’ll make fresh guacamole for snacking this afternoon. Then for dinner, we will have saffron chicken, grilled corn, and sauteed mustard greens. Dessert will be strawberry shortcake.

I fixed the marinade for the chicken this morning, and it smelled so good. I love the combination of saffron, lemon juice, ginger root, and turmeric. Combined with some Greek yogurt and parsley, the flavors are just exotic enough to give it that Middle Eastern flair. So yummy!

As an added bonus, it really cooled off yesterday afternoon. Today it will only get up to around 67 degrees F. Just perfect for eating outside.

I love my husband. I think he is very smart, and he can do things with Excel that boggle my mind. But sometimes what he brings home from the store confounds me. This weekend we went shopping to pick up a few more camping supplies for their big Boy Scout camping trip next weekend. There were the usual suspects: propane, stocking cap (brrrrrr, that’s why I am NOT going), lantern. But amongst the camping gear was a, shall we say, unusual item.

Beerfest? Really? Well, I guess into every life a little tastelessness must fall. I suppose I should feel lucky. While we were grabbing lunch, we went by a store that sold gambling supplies (poker chips, tables, etc.). Devin thought we should get this sign: Men, no shirts, no service; Women, no shirts, free drinks. Yes, we are a classy bunch.

Our Nintendo Wii decided to stop working on Thursday afternoon; it wouldn’t even turn on. Last night, Sherman sat down at the computer and scoured the web for solutions. Thirty minutes later the darn thing was working again — yippee! This morning I told Devin that his Dad had fixed the Wii, and this was our little exchange:

Devin: That’s awesome!

Me: I know, isn’t he the best dad?

Devin: Yeah, he’s even better than a flying monkey!

Me:….

Because how can you respond to praise like that?

Okay, I needed a distraction from the reality of 1) stupid anti-healthcare reform lies and 2) mommy-guilt related to my son’s teeth (more on that later; lucky you). How about using some of those brain cells for something truly important? Say, like, coming up with a list of the 10 greatest fictional characters of all time. Yes, yes; that is a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday afternoon. So, off the top of my head:

Betty Crocker – a compilation of several women (maybe men too, for all I know!) at General Mills, Betty symbolizes American home life. Cookies and milk; a frosted cake under a dome; a steaming casserole from the oven. But she doesn’t want you to have to do it from scratch. No! Betty is there to help the busy moms create a loving, safe, yummy home for her family. Whether you wanted to be like her or strangle her, she is part of our modern history.

Sherlock Holmes – a Victorian-age CSI. Who doesn’t like a good murder mystery? Truly a genre-defining character.

Rocky Balboa – gritty, downtroden, loyal. He was the American underdog, rising despite all the odds. Forever fighting the bad guys.

Mickey Mouse – please, who would have thought you could build an entertainment behemoth around a rodent?

Frankenstein’s monster – is he truly a monster, or just a misunderstood creation of man? Should we fear him or pity him? He set the standard for future multi-faceted monsters/creatures.

Holden Caulfield – brought to life in the ’50s, amongst media images of white picket fences and families grilling burgers with neighbors, Holden behaved and talked like a real teenager. And who couldn’t admire a fictional teenager that could cause so much trouble amongst real-life adults, to the point of getting himself banned from many bookshelves for decades?

Don Corleone – yes, I know I deliberately made that vague; was I referring to Vito or Michael?  And that is the point. The Godfather trilogy elevated the position of Don into our everyday lexicon. We had heard stories of the mob previously, but nothing permeated our psyches and our mental images like these iconic movies.

Pac-Man – no other video game character has higher brand awareness among Americans. Even my mom, who has never heard of Link, Samus, or Thrall (you DO know them, right?), knows Pac-Man.

Jay Gatsby – because we love to hate the rich, while at the same time desparately wanting to be one of them.

and finally, my #1 fictional character of all time: the honest politician. Because you just knew I had to go there.

Sherman & I were discussing the odds of winning the the MegaMillions lottery which is currently up to $325 million. Devin overheard us and asked if we could win. I tried explaining the astronomical odds, but that concept isn’t very well grasped by a first-grader. He said if we won, that we should buy a mansion. Okay, Devin, what’s so special about a mansion. His answer? It has disco balls!

Well, of course, what was I thinking? Disco balls!

What would you buy?

This week Devin signed up for Cub Scouts. Five of his friends from kindergarten also joined, so we are starting our own den. On the way home, I mentioned that he was part of Pack 770. I told Devin we would need to learn that number. He said, “That’s easy mom; it’s our area code.” Why, yes; yes it is.

Doh!

In less air-headed news, I found out I get to be one of the room parents again. I loved it last year and I’m crossing my fingers for this year. I’m also doing collaborative teaching where two parents run the class for 3.5 hours four times a year so the teachers can do on-site training. My training session will be September 10. I can do this, right? And in one of those rare I-should-really-do-that moments, I signed up for our local veggie co-op. Our first pickup is Saturday morning. Wonder what we’ll get?

My mom and I were talking this morning about the latest news on health care reform. I told her that Sherman is pretty much on board with the idea that health care should be a right, like education or clean air. He’s not sure about how it should be implemented but he doesn’t feel it should be completely left up to free markets, like say, the restaurant business. My mom was talking about conversations with her friends and their fear of Medicare cuts. She had her facts down cold but Baseline Scenario has a well-written post about this very issue. Basically, Medicare spending HAS to be reduced or we will plunge deeper into fiscal chaos. Seniors need to take control of the reform debate now so they don’t face draconian cuts later. And if you want some fun (but true) reading, follow the link to A ‘Common Sense’ American Health Reform Plan.

The current proposals I see out there don’t have any fundamental changes to the way we approach health care. I’m afraid if we do see reform come out of Washington this year, it will be a bonanza for the insurance companies by adding millions to their insured rolls. What I don’t see is a way to save costs, LOTS of costs. Dr. Mark Hyman wrote a wonderful piece over at HuffPo that really captures the essence of this concept. We in America pay more for less (less quality, I mean).

I challenge everyone who believes in real healthcare reform, and not just health insurance expansion, to really try to engage people in this debate. What qualities would their ideal system possess? What would it avoid? Why do we need reform; why isn’t the status quo acceptable? What are they afraid of if the system changes? I will be glad to provide research to address specific questions. No system is perfect, but ours is not the shining star we like to profess. Even the oft-maligned (by American conservatives, at least) NHS in the U.K. has many fans, including the brilliant Stephen Hawking. But I’m sure he’s just been influenced by the liberal media.

Well, Devin has the first three days of 1st grade under his belt and I have made a few discoveries.

1. It is very difficult to please a bunch of East Cobb parents when it comes to adjusting bus routes. Okay, not difficult, just impossible.

2. I made a fool out myself asking his teacher what he did wrong on one paper. Turns out that was a happy face, not a sad or confused face. Hey, I rely on body language.  Work with me here.

3. School exhausts a 6 y/o like little else. I would have had to work overtime to get him this tired during the summer. Only a trip to the water park resulted in a quicker bed time.

4. We still need to work on Devin’s spelling. They were supposed to draw a nervous face and a happy face and write a corresponding sentence. Obviously (if you’ve been anywhere with my son recently) yellow jackets still make him nervous. This one threw me for a loop though: “Sins make me happy.” Turns out that science (but not spelling) makes him happy.

Tomorrow Devin begins 1st grade. Kindergarten was a fantastic year for us. His teachers were amazing, his classmates were wonderful, the class parents were everything you could hope for. I’m nervous about this year but excited too. Devin’s teacher is Mrs. Carolyn Hughes; her blog is updated on Fridays. He already knows four other students from Ms. Pasquarelli’s class, plus a neighborhood friend, a friend from Primrose preschool, and a friend from karate! Boy, he gets around for be a relative newcomer to the area. Our bus stop is at 6:55 a.m. again which mean an early bedtime. Warning to friends & family: try not to call the house after 7:30 at night.

I think Devin’s blog may still have some issues, so I’ll try to fix that tomorrow and post an update there — with pictures even. Yeah, yeah; I know I’m a slacker.

And I’m going to slip this in at the end so maybe you won’t notice, but dang, my mother was right AGAIN. She told me I should listen to the NPR show Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. Oh my gosh, that program is hilarious. Okay, I swear, this is the last time I’m admitting my mom was right …….. this week.

Okay, who doesn’t like the chance to win some free things? First up, the chance to win a Tamron 10-270 mm lens. This baby is the world’s first and only 15X zoom lens. I think this would look just dandy on my Canon 40D. For details on how to win, head over to iHeartFaces. I love that site. <3

Second up is the chance to win a $300 shopping spree to Rainbow Resource Center, which is a fantastic place for educational materials. This contest is over at Pioneer Woman. If you’ve never been to that site, be sure to allocate about 4-5 hours just exploring. She has some wonderful FREE Photoshop actions, great photo tips, yummy illustrated recipes, and just good old-fashioned great writing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!