I’m watching the Republican National Convention, and my mouth is hanging open. I’m stunned at their 9/11 “tribute”. It began with the statement that we all remember where we were on 9/11. Then it proceeded to rip open a scab that is just now slowly beginning to heal for so many of us. I have to say, I did not watch the footage because it brings back too many memories. But I did listen to it.

And yeah, I remember where I was when I first heard the news. I was in my bed, sore and depressed after a c-section that I had undergone 3 days before. My daughter was born on September 8, 2001. My friends had come to visit me and said, “Have you heard? A plane crashed into the World Trade Center.” I got out of bed, went to the living room, and turned on the TV in time to watch the second plane crash into the other tower.

And for the next several weeks, that’s all I did: watch those towers fall over and over and over as the news replayed it. And each time I saw the footage, I could feel my life fall apart along with the towers. I was depressed. I was overwhelmed with my new baby, my first. In the months to come, my bead making business failed. People had much bigger things to think about than buying beads and trinkets. I wondered if we’d ever get back to a time when it didn’t seem disgustingly frivolous to enjoy such small pleasures.

My husband and I declared bankruptcy not long after that.

All around me was darkness. I didn’t even know anyone personally who died in the attacks, and yet I was in mourning. I mourned the loss of our innocence. I mourned the loss of our prosperity. I mourned the loss of mothers, fathers, children. My heart was broken.

I looked from my daughter’s face–perfect, angelic, unaware, peaceful–to the TV as the unimaginable unfolded. What kind of world would we be left with? What about my daughter’s future?

When my son was due to be born 5 years later, there was a possible terrorist ”scare” right before I went to the hospital.  I felt a terrible sense of dread. I was so relieved when it was found to be false. I was able to enjoy my new son without a broken heart, but I was sad that my daughter and I were deprived of that opportunity.

And now today, I’m reminded of everything that terrible day brought to us all. And why? So a political party can get someone elected.

And I am madder than I have been in a long time.

Why?

Well, because the people who attacked us still live in freedom. Because time, resources, and human life is squandered in a country that had nothing to do with the attacks of 9/11. Although certain individuals try to convince us otherwise, we all know the truth.

And, it is implied that unless people get behind this farce in Iraq, then they couldn’t possibly be patriotic.

Oh, and said political candidate will begin his speech (oh God, how I believe that this is a mistake, a typo, something) at 9:11 pm CT.

So certain people trot out their good deeds, their adoption of underprivileged children, the poor war hero. And they play upon our emotions. They have no problem with reminding us how much we hurt back then. They remind us how much we lost, how much we mourned.

And for what? A lie. Afganistan is the forgotten war, but this is the country who caused us all the pain. Afganistan is the country that harbors terrorists, but we never talk about how we are “winning” there.

So I say, some people will stoop to any level, won’t they? I thought that playing the 9/11 card was a trick the current administration pulled. I thought the “maverick” running now would be above it. Obviously, I was wrong.

Oh, and by my clock he missed his 9:11 deadline. He’s starting his speech at 9:14 CT. Better luck next time, Mr. McCain.

If we’re lucky, there won’t be a next time.

Don’t ‘cha just love it when the will of the people triumphs?

NBC, no doubt under pressure from would-be viewers, reversed its decision not to run the Pickens Plan commercial. The commercial informed us all that Iran is changing its cars to natural gas in order to sell the oil to the US for $120 a barrel.

I have to say that I love this new ‘grassroots’ way of doing things. With a click of a button, millions of people can be informed and activated to action. Who knew the Internet would put such power in the hands of ordinary people?

I just ran across this email from T. Boone Pickens. It’s a commercial spot his organization plans to air within the next few days. All networks but NBC have cleared it to run. Mr. Pickens has asked that bloggers get the word out since NBC doesn’t want to air it. It’s a 15 second commercial. Take a listen on the Pickens Plan Blog.

This is startling news: Iran plans to convert their cars to natural gas to save oil. Will this new supply bring prices down? Absolutely not. They will sell it to the United States for $120 a barrel. It seems the Middle East caught on long ago that the US is not serious about obtaining energy independence, and now they are openly strategizing to take advantage of it.

I have purposely not brought politics into my blog because I know that my readers are here to take a moment to get away from the constant debate. But this is an issue that affects everyone, no matter the politics. Please take a moment to educate yourself about energy independence and consider taking a stand for it. Our people are completely capable of coming up with viable solutions quickly. Other nations have already made great strides, showing us that it can be done.

Our country is the best in the world, and we need to demand that our leaders honor our wishes. We don’t need parents who tell us what is best for us, we need leaders who follow the will of the people. We cannot continue pretending that this problem will go away.

Lecture over. Class dismissed.

Do you ever compare yourself to others to feel better? I do. I can get really arrogant. You have no idea.

I know that my little fits of arrogance are actually not good for me, even though sometimes I like to bask in the feeling for a short time (okay sometimes for a long time).

So how do I bust myself out of these little episodes? I think of all the things that are quirky (okay weird) about myself. The list is amazingly long, but here are ten of them. I give you permission to recall them anytime you need to feel better about yourself.

1. I believe in aliens, UFOs, ghosts, and the paranormal. I have never experienced or seen any of the aforementioned, but I love to watch TV shows about them, and I totally think they’re real.
2. I also like to watch TV shows about serial killers (this fact gives my husband quite a bit of pause).
3. I ate a bowl of spaghettios (sans meatballs), three “fun size” (that would be more fun if they were bigger) Twix bars, and four strawberries for dinner…at 10:00 pm.
4. My kids watch way too much TV. Why? Because I watch way too much TV.
5. I let my not-quite-two-year-old son drink Coke (cola!) sugared and leaded (caffeine!) from time to time.
6. Last week my kids ate McDonalds two times, and Chick-fil-a once.
7. I think about making soap more than I think about sex. I do, however, probably like having sex better than making soap…okay, I definitely like it better.
8. Usually, there is about one day a week in which I don’t take a shower.
9. Right this minute there are about 8 loads of clean laundry piled in front of my closet, unfolded and wrinkled, and there are about 4 loads of dirty laundry piled up on the dryer.
10. I’ve never been drunk and never been high unless you count laughing really hard or spinning around too much in my office chair. (The weird thing is, I probably do count them).

So there you go. Feeling any better?

I actually love all animals (except roaches), but this story totally made me smile today. I’ve been thinking about it all day:

A group of dogs in Adams, Tennessee love the river there so much that they take the bus to the river bank. Once at the river, they catch rides on canoes from the Red River Valley Canoe Rental.

No lie. These dogs know which bus to catch to go to their destination. They hop into an unsuspecting canoe and ride back down the river. They beg for food (and get it!) from the canoe renters who are paddling them down the river. How do dogs get this smart?

This is the honest truth. No one has paid me for this endorsement. I just found the best site for identifying fonts! It’s myfonts.com, and they have this really cool online tool to use when you don’t know the name of the font you want. It’s called What The Font?!and it has blown my mind. All you have to do is scan or create a jpeg image of the font sample and upload it using their easy uploader. You then scroll through their letter identifier and check to make sure they have the correct letters identified. Then, whammo! Ba-dow! and Blam! The name of the font you want and where to buy it pops up in a list.

Hooray! I found a fah-ont, I found a fah-ont! And yes, I AM shaking my booty!

Each month, I spend $27 to help a sister across the world change her life. Her name is Ajshe, and she lives in Kosovo. When she enrolled in Women For Women International, she could not read and she had very little hope of earning a living after the war due to her lack of skills and education.

As of yet, I haven’t heard from her. I don’t mind. I’m sure that she has a lot going on and perhaps doesn’t know what to say. I have written to her three times, but even so, I don’t really know what to say either. I wish her well and tell her I’m thinking of her. I hope that my words offer her some encouragement, even though I feel that my efforts are very small.

I was reading the Women for Women blog, and came across an entry from Ashley Judd. Ashley sponsors several sisters, and recently visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here is a little snippet of that entry, a summation of all of the powerful changes the women have made in their lives after participating in one of Women for Women’s programs:

My children eat 3 meals a day - My husband and I are partners now I have rights in the household – I have a voice - I keep my pamphlet which describes my rights in my pocket, it is with me at all times - I was able to save enough to buy a small plot of land – I have my own home – I built my home - I am saving for my home – I was able to get back two plots of my dead husband’s land and I sold them for a profit - My soul opened up - A new woman was born inside of me - I use the money Women for Women International gave me to pay the fees for my daughter to go to school - In my culture no girl ever went to school but mine do now - The woman who recruited me would not recognize me today

I realized that I take a lot of those things as a given. I know my rights and have known them all my life (thanks to a loud and assertive mother). It is a given that my daughter will go to school. I just bought her some new uniforms yesterday. It is even assumed that she will go to college, as I did.

We have a lot of struggles in our lives. As women, we have that in common. We all are reaching for something better for our families. That does unite us and make us family, even though we may not know the names of our sisters around the globe.

If you’d like to sponsor a sister, you can visit Women for Women International and get the details.

I have been very busy lately!! I just listed a ton of new items over on my Soap Sushi website. Want a preview? Well, how about this for a preview? Just click on the thumbnail to go straight to the detail page. We also have a nifty listing of all new products.

Okay everyone! We are having a sale over at Soap Sushi! If you didn’t know, we already have free shipping for US orders and dirt-cheap International and Canadian shipping, and NOW we are going to be offering 25% off on top of that!

The sale applies to everything on the site except the 3 month Soap Sushi Sneak Sniff Sampler Subscription. You may purchase a single month sampler using your coupon code if you wish, however.

The code for this fantastic sale is AugustBlog

Please pass this code along to all of your friends, or post it on your blog! It’s gonna be fun!

**** This coupon code is good for items on the Soap Sushi website and does not apply to etsy items. It expires August 31, 2008. ****