Sweet 16

My beautiful, intelligent and wonderful daughter Jewel is 16 years old today. Time has flown by. I'm not ready for her to be 16! She has been a gift in my life for almost as long as I can remember. Most parents cannot say that they've been a mom MORE than half their life...but I can. I've been anxiously awaiting this birthday. We are having a Sweet 16 Luau at our home this Saturday. It'll be a small affair- about 25 people. I hope she is happy with her life and is hopeful for her future. I'm so proud to be her mother.

Updates

Well the cheese was good.....a bit rich, but I think that's only because I have not had cheese in a long time.

So- I'm having sinus surgery on Thursday, August 9th. Two days off work, back to work on Monday. Hopefully it'll clear out my sinuses and I will be able to breathe out of my nose again!

I'm also trying to help organize a benefit concert to take place in Las Vegas on or around July 4th. It'll be the 10th anniversary of my friend Lins death. Here is a picture of Lin and I the last time I saw him. I'm working on gettin Fishbone to headline it. They want at least $5k to play....so we are figuring that out. We are also working on getting a venue. I'm not worried at all about getting other bands to play. That part will be easy.

Veggie Shreds

I bought a product today called "Veggie Shreds". It's a Lactose Free fake cheese. It's Parmesan, Mozzarella and Romano Flavor shredded fake cheese. I have not had cheese in 5 months! So- tonight we are going to make home made pizzas! I have gotten use to eating them w/o cheese...which is just fine, but I'm *hoping* that this product will taste good so I can start using it for other things too!

I'll post with the results of my taste testing tomorrow.

I'm on vacation! Actually, I've been on vacation since July 4th. It's nice to have some time off. I have not done much really; a lot of sleeping in and relaxing. That's what MY vacations are all about. I have the weekend left...then back to work on Monday. I needed a mental break.

Oh yeah, and I bought a new SUV. Not new, used...but new to me. Jeff and I decided since his car was paid off, it was time to get a bigger vehicle so that Sumo and the kids would have more space. I bought an 03 Ford Explorer. It's loaded, great miles and we got a fantastic deal. Since gas prices are up, SUV's are cheaper. I put 35,000 miles on my last car in 4 years...so I'm an ideal candidate for an SUV. I did a lot of research and I'm pretty happy with what we ended up with. We decided to sell Jeff's car, and he inherited mine. His car was in bad shape anyway. It's so interesting how easy it is to buy a car these days. No down pmt required, they rolled into my loan the taxes and they are even getting my tags for me! It really can't be any easier. CarMax is where we went.....it was a great car shopping experience. We also sold Jeff's car to CarMax...they gave us a lot more than we expected.

One more thing to update. My sinus issue is still going on. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read some old entries. I went to the Dr. on Monday and he told me that he thinks I have a fungal infection in my left sinus. It did not respond to 3 months of hardcore antibiotics (along w/ steriods)....so it's either more intensive therapy or surgery. I'm going to see an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Dr.) on Tuesday afternoon and I'm prepared to tell him I do NOT want to have surgery. I'm hoping that I can do some sort of therapy that will clear this up. I can't breathe and I've been getting daily headaches lately. So- I'm trusting in modern medicine to fix me up.

All is well in my space of the world. Life is pretty fun you know?

Independence Day- 2 Things

In 1776 Thomas Jefferson offered in his Declaration of Independence certain fundamental, timeless principles regarding all men and their coexistence with one another:

Each individual's inalienable right to his own life, his own liberty, and the pursuit of his own happiness.

This historically unprecedented declaration inspired the establishment of a nation based on the recognition of these individual rights, which include, as their necessary corollary, property rights, wherein property (earned or inherited) is privately owned.

The Fourth of July is a holiday that most Americans celebrate for various reasons. The festivity may involve family, friends or public gatherings. Popular culture would have you believe that the gala is a birthday party for the country. Flags wave, bands march and bystanders cheer. The parades are pageants, visible spectacles for all to enjoy. After the confetti blows away, what is the meaning of the day? Commemoration of the Declaration of Independence should be the primary reason for the remembrance.

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Lin Newborn - May 7, 1974-July 4, 1998

July 4th has never been the same after that day in 1998. My friend Lin Newborn was killed along with his friend Daniel Shersty. They were both anti-racist activists, and were taken to the desert and murdered. Police state that Lin and Dan were lured into a trap by two women, and taken to a northwest part of the valley(in Las Vegas, NV) under the pretext of attending a party. They were then beaten and possibly tortured before being shot to death by white racial extremists. Police speculate that Newborn may have been trying to escape when he was killed.

Each July 4th I'm taken back by his death. It reminds me of my own mortality. I cant believe it's been 9 years.