supermom isn't super vp to me

i'm bound to catch grief for this post, but i'm going to go forward with it despite the criticism is to come.

now we have sarah palin on the scene. she has done well for herself and deserves respect for the things she has achieved.

however, she doesn't seem qualified for being first in line to be the president. here are my issues with her as vp candidate:
1) she went to UI. i worked for UI. it isn't a bad school, but a b.a. in journalism from UI does not set anyone up with a broad enough education to run this country.
2) she is riding the "woman card" in hopes of getting women to resonate with her. honestly, her portrayal of womanhood is not one i want to associate with. sure, she is a superwoman/mom, but that isn't what being a strong woman is about. at least it shouldn't be what being a strong woman is about.
3) she is completely anti affirmative action. i am a strong advocate of affirmative action. 'nuff said.
4) her approach to sex ed is exclusively abstinence based. i've been a STARS (students today aren't ready for sex) educator and i honestly believe that teenagers aren't mature enough to get themselves involved sexually. however, i am not naive. sex among teenagers happens and if we don't give kids the facts about protecting themselves and others we are going to have a slew of other problems on our hands.
5) she is pushing herself (or being pushed) as the first woman to be on the ticket. try 1984. how can you take that away from someone else?
6) she is advertising herself as a "regular woman", the equivalent of a "good ol' boy". call me crazy, but i don't want a regular woman (or man) running our country. i am a regular woman, but i am in no means qualified to run this country. show me how you are better than the rest of us. show me how you are more qualified than 99.99% of this nation to be in this position.

so here is my final take, she is a strong and capable woman. this does not make her qualified to run the country.

who is this man?

the passage of my brother ross into full-on adulthood seems impossible. but here he is celebrating 18 years of life and i must face the reality that my little brother isn't so little anymore.

my memories of him as a child:

• loving to sing (often the incorrect lyrics)
• claiming the entire middle seat in our mini-van
• spending hours spiking his hair (for third grade!)
• getting deep joy out of eating sushi
• building snow huts in our yard until his lips were blue

what i know of him as a man:

• his thoughtfulness--always considering what would make those around him truly happy
• offering witty, clever commentary of our world (& our complicated family)
• living in the moment he is in
• giving his best to school, sports, and his friendships
• having courageous goals of becoming a helicopter pilot
• still getting deep joy out of eating sushi

ross, you amaze me. i am so proud of you and who you have chosen to become.

happy birthday rossco!

skipping seasons

here in jackson, we seem to be moving quickly through fall--so quickly i think mother nature is trying to pull one over on us and skip the season entirely! we have had snow in the hills above our house, which is unnerving for this sunshine-loving girl.


what is my reaction to this quickly approaching snowy season? the purchase of skis. for the first time in my life (12+ years of skiing) i own my own skis. i am thrilled! we actually bought them at the oh-so-upscale jackson hole resort. we got a killer deal because they are last year's model and the shop wanted them out so they could bring in new gear. when i say killer deal, i mean i negotiated the already low price to get a deal we couldn't pass up. brandon married a girl who negotiates prices with glee. here they are, in all their good-deal-glory: in other news, i am headed to flagstaff, az this week. i haven't stepped foot outside of an airport in arizona, so getting to see this country i hear so much about is exciting. i am hoping we have time for me to at least peak at the grand canyon.

add to the resume

yesterday was a gloriously chaotic day on the river and i loved every second of it. normally i have to work in town on mondays, but on this labor day i was needed on the river because we were short-staffed. the morning ticked by at a snail's pace until we got a call that a 40' log was stuck across the river, blocking boaters from getting through. megan and i investigated and we made the call to close the river until this hazard could be removed (well actually we told our boss to make that call, but we influenced his decision).

brandon happened to be working on the fire engine and they offered to come help us cut the log out. they came down with the chainsaw, we fitted them up with pfds and tied them to a safety rope, and the cutting began. they cut the root ball off the tree and we assumed the tree would then break free and float away. no such luck as it was royally stuck. they then began working to pry the tree out by using the leverage of another tree. eventually it broke free and floated down river.

the man with the chainsaw, chip, got onto the search and rescue jet boat and they followed the tree downriver where it got stuck for a second time. they then cut the tree into four pieces and let those float away to meet their fate in the reservoir.

chip and brandon sizing up the task at hand

needless to say, this was a very exciting day and i loved having an important task to help with. however, the best part of the day was that the photo i took made it onto the cover (that's right, the COVER!) of the jackson hole daily paper. you can read the story and see the photo here. that means that i can modify my resume to include "professional photographer" as i was getting paid while taking those photos. not a bad gig!

you can check out all the photos on our picassa album which is a new photo album program we set up for sharing our pics. (the link is now also on our sidebar under "more photos".)