Insensitive white girl

My buddy Leanne recently told me that she is pondering posting on her blog about the Green Movement and Racial (capital R) politics. Her points were very engaging and I won't elaborate because she might decide to post her thoughts in future.

This is a tricky subject. We all know that online comments can anonymous, unkind, and an author's intentions can be misconstrued. Her hesitancy to post inspired me to reflect on times in the past when I have been called a racist.

One particularly memorable time was during an attempted beat-down by girl at Hopi High. She wanted to beat me up for being the only lonely little white girl in our school! A bit unfair I thought.

Another time I was on a anti-racism PBS show for teens and we were all asked to respond to a question about seeing racial color. Some girl said that it is wrong to notice anybody's skin color. I said that I certainly notice skin color, and hair color, and eye color, and the number of heads a person has, because these things are descriptive and obvious to any casual observer. But I qualified that I try to examine my pre-conceptions and not let my own ignorance mandate my behavior.

The other girl stood up and called me a racist bitch. End of PBS taping! The moderators made the two of us have a teen crisis intervention. Here was the nugget of truth I gleaned from the intervention. The girl who yelled at me was a stupid girl.

Here is another racial incident. I was in a sculpting class at the Illinois Institute of Art and I mentioned that the clay we were using was "Skin Toned" and a hispanic dude glared at me and said "The phrase is 'Flesh Toned', not everybody is white like you chica."

He had a good point there. That one was my bad.

Fashion Show! Fashion Show! Fashion Show at Work!

Happily Alice is over her fever and feeling pretty bouncy. She was well enough to attend a baby shower hosted by Tony's work companions for one of his colleagues. This was a great occasion to pull out one of the many outfits Alice received from her Great Grandma Bette and of course we had to document the occasion before she outgrows this jumper.
Girl likes to work it. Our baby seems to enjoy getting prettied up for formal occasions.

Though her patience has it's limits.


The actual event was a little overwhelming for the kid, as it was in a sports bar. She cuddled against me for much of the time though the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations (aka: Carol) used her baby whisperer skills to lull Alice into a drowsy cooing mood. Carol has a method of placing babies in her lap supported by one leg crooked over her knee and gently swaying the kid without freaking her out. It was a most useful skill.

After the party Mom, Dad, and Alice put on our sleep sacks and hunkered down in bed with chicken fried steak (thanks to "The Hills" takeout) and watched "the Wire". You know...it's the best show on television (that one's for you Becky).

Here is the hat that came with Alice's sleep sack:

Fever and a new skill

Tonight Alice is running a slight fever which makes her want to be snuggled and allowed to sit quietly with Mom and Dad. She doesn't have the energy to fuss so she has learned to give me this look (see above) when she is ready to eat. It is a very sweet, slightly heartbreaking, new method for letting Mom know what's up.
For concerned Grandparents out there the fever is very slight and is being watched carefully by her somewhat over-anxious parents.

We learned to sit up today (with some help)

Goodbye Green Sack, Hello lovely Present!

Last night was the last hurrah for my favorite sleep sack. This green number makes Alice's hair seem very red and she loves to punch daddy in the face with her covered fists. However our pumpkin is too tall for the green sack and we gave it a fond farewell with these chameleon-esque green sheets. Can you see the baby or is she totally camouflaged?
Here's a hint, she's under the big "A" for Alice, which was made by the very crafty (and very kind) Bethany. Thanks Bethany!

Isty-Bitsy Spider

Check it out. I walk into the garage to switch our laundry and who should be hiding behind the door but this big fella...Yiieee!
Tony armed himself with thick shoes and a big vase before banishing this beast from our home. We had a long debate about squishing the spider, but logistically and ethically the spider's size seemed problematic. So he has been forcefully escorted off the property as of midnight tonight.

Scouting

One lazy Sunday in my second trimester Tony and I came upon our first Austin estate sale in a fairly posh neighborhood. Since we had recently purchased a new home the two of us were in the market for found treasures to fill our new space. The home was a modest one but it was filled with amazing family heirlooms. Not furniture or flatware but tons of family pictures dating back a century, wartime journals, lovingly kept Christmas trinkets. It made me so sad to think that there was no one left in this family that wanted these treasures. I didn't buy anything because the items seemed too personal and private. Tony thought I was silly because someone will need to buy these things or they go to the dump.

This is why I was delighted to read my friend Leanne's post Scouting where she assisted this clever lady make fine use of forgotten treasures.