A blog about News, Neighborhoods, and Family & Home.
Real Name: Dana Martin Date of Birth: June 18, 1969 Member Since: August 05, 2004 Last Signed In: December 02, 2008 Profile Views: 13222 Blog Views: 14604 The fabulous Jordyn My pride is on the "lane" Former UT law grad Berg sues Obama, questions citizenship Did you name your GPS? Wacky web site - sorry! Sarah Palin stops at Wal-Mart to buy diapers! Chad Vegas & Bob Hampton! Non-partisan chit-chat Volkslaluf training: MAN DOWN! Goodbye, Yankee Stadium August 06 September 06 October 06 November 06 December 06 January 07 February 07 March 07 April 07 May 07 June 07 July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 
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Jordyn doesn't really like dogs. She's more of a cat person, but even in that, her affection is pretty particular to her own cat, Lucky, whom she has raised since birth. So last night, as I was tapping furiously at my laptop, Jordyn came sailing through the door in her typical flurry of blond, exuberant fluffy feminine excitement. Think: Legally Blond, but not so airy. "Wyatt was just out walking the streets!" she said indignantly, building up to the incensed crescendo of her point. "I had to get him back and put him in the gate!!" Wyatt is our family dog. Any of us would have done it, but being the anti-dog person, I suppose she felt either magnanimous or superior in her effort to help a member of the canine family. Accustomed to her dramatic flair, I nodded and mumbled my thanks, then kept typing. ********** We finally poured concrete to increase the size of our patio yesterday. I told Rob that it was great but perhaps bad timing considering the impending rain. But it's poured now, and we have a huge patio. The dogs had to be locked on the side-yard for a couple of days until the concrete dries, else we'd have puppy prints in all the wrong places. There is no way for them to get out from behind the iron gate, which means that for the time being, they are reduced to pooping in cramped quarters in front of one another, rather than enjoying the entire pool deck and related various family areas to generously distribute their business in the way Medieval kings may have scattered gold coins to the peasants. ********** I stopped typing. Concrete... dogs... iron gate. I jumped from my chair and ran to the backyard, yelling for Jordyn to help me get Wyatt away from the fresh concrete (no matter how illogical it seemed that he could have left the yard to begin with), all the while wondering how much damage the enormous white Labrador had done to our precious new patio. As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Wyatt with Jenny behind the iron gate, even as I was running around the pool to the fence that led to the front yard, where I heard Rob yelling ... "WHOSE DOG IS IN OUR BACKYARD??" **********
The female dog was happy and willing to become part of our family and went enthusiastically into our yard. Luckily, Rob grabbed her before she hit the concrete. ********** Forget what I said about Legally Blond but not airy; I think Jordyn has now earned that description, too.
My husband has a unique family. I can say this with authority after knowing them 20 years. They are the typical family in many ways: they fight, love, support, and spend time with each other. Nothing unique there. What didn't take long to figure out about them, though, is how important sports are. In the way some folks may respect a Harvard grad or brag about having a doctor in the family, my in-laws respect athletic prowess above all other physical, mental, or occupational attributes. Former wallflowers in the family can quickly take center stage after a game-winning goal or making a varsity roster. After Jarret's grand slam, phone lines lit up and news reached relatives in Texas before his foot hit home plate at Centennial High School. It's like that. You can imagine, then, the pressure of being a Martin. You have to be good. You have to be competitive. You have to be the best at any sport you play. You can't stink at bowling (just an example). That's where I come in. ********** All my life I played sports. I played AYSO soccer before anyone in the Martin family knew the league existed (they are Los Angeles ilk). I ran track for North High (no one in the Martin family was a sprinter). My athleticism, I am convinced, is what made me attractive to my husband. I think he looked at me and saw future generations of Olympians, or at the very least, children who were built for sports. ********** So, I'm just going to say it: I stink at bowling. We are in a Sunday league that plays 26 weeks and culminates in Vegas. When my sister-in-law asked us to join, all I heard was, "We finish in Las Vegas," and I said YES before thinking through all possible repercussions. Had I used better judgment, perhaps I would have weighed my options: Say no and preserve my reputation as an athletic stud horse, or say yes and risk weekly humiliation, watching my stock fall in the Martin family like shares in Ford Motor Co. ********** I stopped having fun last week when it became apparent that sports successes aren't the only achievements telegraphed along the familial grapevine. My utter and complete failure as a bowler has evidently become weekly fodder for long distance phone conversations, made obvious when, emerging from his retirement digs in Arizona, my father-in-law saw me last weekend and asked how "the gutter ball queen" has been doing lately. ********** Athleticism aside, my team loves me. Because of my shockingly low average (the lowest in the league), I have the highest handicap: I bring 80 pins to each match. We are currently in 7th place of 18 teams. Evidently, it pays to stink at bowling.
You asked for it, and I found it! Here's what I could find on Barack Obama's citizenship question: Here's the new stuff: Philip J. Berg, a former University of Toledo School of Law graduate, has filed a lawsuit against Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. He's claiming the If elected, his selection to the presidency would cause a crisis within the U.S. Constitution. "If we can't enforce our constitution, especially a candidate for president, we're in real trouble in this country, more trouble than you really want to believe and it's frightening," said Berg from his offices in Lafayette Hill, Penn., a suburb of Philadelphia. Berg, a former Deputy Attorney General for the State of Three qualifications must be met for someone to become president under the Constitution. You must be at least 35 years of age, a resident of the Berg believes the 47-year-old senator from
Berg said Obama's mother sent him back to the "He today could still be a citizen of Factcheck.org claims it has proof of Obama's According to the site, the "Annenberg Political Fact Check is a project of the "That is a group where Obama sat on the board a number of years dispersing funds, so I would think there's a little conflict of interest there." The proof, Berg said, needs to be in the hands of a judge. "Senator Obama, if I'm wrong, prove me wrong, produce the documentation," he said. "If you have nothing to hide, stop hiding behind legalisms, lets avoid a constitutional crisis in this country." Lucas County Democratic Party Chairman Ron Rothenbuhler, who didn't know of the lawsuit, questioned Berg's intentions. "If it's not a vendetta, then it must be somebody challenging somebody's right to either privacy or questioning the information they've already received," Rothenbuhler said. So ... let's hear it. Did you name your GPS? You know you did! Some are made by Garmin, some are Magellen, TomTom, but you undoubtedly have a name for your system. Ok, so let's hear her (or his!) name, and the story behind why you chose that name. Mine's name is Judy. My son and I were in Cape Cod in line for our rental car, late to an event, and sweating the fact that were in an unfamiliar state and had no idea where we were going. When the rental car agency asked if we would like to rent a GPS, I said YES and we left. We set the address and were on our way, and when the pleasant female voice told us we were heading in the right direction, Jarret said, "Thank youuuuu, JUDY!" -- exactly the way Tim Allen said it to the waitress in "The Santa Clause" movie. I laughed so hard that from that moment on, all GPS units were called Judys. Your turn! From randomly locked posts to the inability to log hit counts, I apologize for how our Web site has been behaving lately. The builders (of our community of sites) are aware of and working on the problems. I know it's irritating, but thanks for your patience during this time. ~Dana Palin surprises local shoppers with visit (Wal-Mart) GALLIPOLIS — Gallipolis Wal-Mart shoppers were at first surprised and then excited on Sunday to find a national political figure in their midst who was, just as they were, picking up a few things she needed. Accompanied by her youngest son Trig, security, staffers and a small pool of news media, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stepped off the “Straight Talk Express” bus to enter the store around 1:30 p.m., where she purchased a bag of Parents’ Choice brand disposable diapers and a toy. But it was also an opportunity for the first-term Alaska governor to meet the public at large and win some votes for the ticket on which she’s running with the GOP White House nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Palin did not have time to answer questions from the media following her trip through southeastern Ohio, but left some folks exhilirated at meeting her. “It was so exciting,” said Pat Miller of Patriot, accompanied by her daughter Amber, a student at South Gallia High School. “She seemed to be very sweet, and if she could stop and take the time to buy some diapers for her son, it tells you that for her, family is first.” Palin was to speak at a rally in St. Clairsville later in the day. After arriving at Tri-State Airport near Huntington, W.Va., Palin boarded the bus for the what would be her single stop for Gallipolis. “I told the governor when she arrived at the airport she would see the most beautiful part of Ohio when she traveled up this way through Lawrence and Gallia counties,” said former Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who with his wife Fran traveled with the Palin entourage. The other announced stop was for Marietta, and reports Palin would make a stop at the last day of the Bob Evans Farm Festival proved incorrect as the entourage was seen traveling north on Ohio 7 after leaving Gallipolis. “I think it’s a great thing for us,” said Andy Fisher of Gallipolis, present with his wife Jo Ellen and daughter Ashley when Palin stopped. “She has a good Christian heart and will make a fine vice president. “She really cares about people with special needs and she’s not afraid to stand up to big business,” he added. “She was really down to earth,” Ashley Fisher said. “There was no ego and she treated us with respect, which sometimes you don’t get from political people.”
The Bakersfield Californian threw its hat in the political ring Sunday and endorsed (surprisingly!) Chad Vegas and Bob Hampton, the encumbants, for KHSD Board of Trustees! I don't know about anyone else, but I about fell out of my chair this morning as I was reading the paper! Any comments? Did anyone watch the debate tonight? Care to weigh-in? It's on right now, and I have to say... I like them both. The only thing I've laughed at so far is when Joe Biden referred to himself in the 3rd person. I was just sitting down to write this, and I heard him say from the other room, "No one in the United Staes Senate has been as much a friend to Isreal as Joe Biden." LOL I never thought in a million years that I'd hear a candidate speak about himself in 3rd person. I love the political process. No matter on which side of the fence you sit, you have to at least appreciate that we live in a country where we are allowed to vote on our leaders. So... what did you think of the debate? Does it matter what a vice presidential candidate says? Does anyone think that we should kick out the two presidential candidates and vote on the VPs instead? :)
Rob and I joined a Sunday bowling league, which is a great source of amusement to our three children. They hadn't stopped laughing over our new Saturday ritual of enjoying our coffee and reading the newspaper in the spa before we pulled this new shenanigan. "You're turning into grandparents!" they said. Was it true? I had to mull it over, which itself is an act that mainly older people do. They mull. I didn't have my answer yet, but I would soon. ********** Volkslauf training, Days 9 through ... who knows. The last time I went to official mud run training with my group on Truxtun extension, I thought I did very well. Some issues, though, began to arise, lingering issues that had originated on Day 1. Day 1, ah yes.. fresh with possibilty. I hadn't exercised with any regularity since January, but that didn't stop me from the superstar, cross country, decathlete-type pace I maintained on Day 1. As you'll recall from previous entries, I paid dearly for my over-achieving enthusiasm. I injured my hip. Besides injuring my hip, it became increasingly more difficult to make my 6:00 practices because Jaisyn is on Centennial's volleyball team. Her games were on 2 of the 4 training nights. So, I couldn't go to official training, but that didn't stop me! I began running my neighborhood and hitting my gym in the mornings, increasing my pace and my miles, intent on keeping up with my Truxtun counterparts. ********** On our second night of bowling (we're in a 24-week league that, ahem, culminates in Las Vegas), my already terrible bowling form took a turn for the even worse when I strained a muscle in my back. Who DOES that, you might be asking. Evidently, it's people who have a cross-arm bowling throw style that lends itself well to left-side gutterballs. ********** I am not making excuses, I am still hoping to run the Volkslauf. I heal pretty quickly. I've been throwing a lighter bowling ball and trying to stay upright more when I throw. Maybe I could get a hip replacement and be in the mud in 10 days. The fact that I mention hip replacement, and that Rob keeps insinuating that if I continue to run on asphalt I will need my knee replaced, I'm beginning to wonder if the kids aren't right. One day you challenge your kid to foot race, and the next thing you know, you've joined a bowling league and are chatting about hip replacements. What's next? Prescriptions and canasta? Is this how it begins? This... getting old thing? Look out! Next thing is that I'll be getting tickets to old Motown groups and looking forward to seeing them at the Fox Theater. ;) If THAT ever happens, book me a room at Rosewood.
The house that Ruth built. Whether or not you are a New York Yankees fan, you have to pay just a little homage to this great ball club and the greatest collection of players that has ever passed through the game of baseball. From 1923 (think about that!) to today, players like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Roger Maris, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, and, of course, the Jeters and A-Rods and Giambi players, too. Baseball... from WWI to the present. The Cold War to 9/11. Can't get enough of it. So long, Yankee Stadium and all the history that went along with it. I'm a Red Sox fan, but above all... I am a fan of baseball. |
Not only does Jordyn dislike dogs, but she evidently can't tell a male from a female white Lab, and if it's walking the street, it must be our Lab. WOW. Wyatt has been in our family since Jordyn was 8 years old. She is now 17, and she put someone else's dog in our backyard.
