Making dreams come true...

LIVE with Regis and.... MY SISTER?

Ever since I can remember my sister has had BIG plans in life to be rich and famous. It started with an acting summer camp her and I did where we stared in a local high school production of The Wizard of Oz (we played munchkins as you may have guessed). She would spend the next few years of her life loving the theater and wanting to be an actress.

Then somewhere along the line she caught the modeling bug and wanted to put a portfolio together to send to agencies... but my family was way to poor to jump start that dream. Then there was some Business professionals club she was in where she traveled to New York, I am sure she was looking to be CEO of some major corporation.

She is quite the artist, and paints to this day... I am sure if someone would pay her for her art work she would be all over that.

Most of her life has been dedicated to her musical career, she was a singer in a pretty popular cover band in Fargo... got noticed by the right people and became a Radio Dj at ROCK 102. She had an album produced in a local studio as she writes and sings her own original songs.

Oh and then for awhile she almost became a local weather girl on television. She got to introduce Jay Leno at some local event too.... I think you get the picture. Oh wait I just remember that she went to Seattle for American Idol tryouts once.

Currently the stars in her eyes are fixed on Live with Regis and Kelly... They do some promotional thing where for one day they have a radio DJ fill in for Kelly and SURPRISE, my sister is dead set on getting the job. SOOOOOOO being the nice little sister that I am, I am trying to rope all of you into nominating her so we can make her dream come true...

Just think of the satisfaction YOU will feel when you watch the show say "Hey, I helped to make that happen!"

Alright so there are THREE WAYS you can nominate her. I will try to make this as easy as possible. AND DON'T say to yourself you don't have anytime.... I KNOW all of you out there in blog land like myself spend wasteful time on the computer so just reduce it by 10 minutes today:) THE DEADLINE IS JULY 16th.

1. Write a letter to Regis and Kelly and tell them why "Lucy Black" (that's her radio name) would make a good co-star. It can just be a few sentences, and if you want to listen to her radio show first just click on the Rock 102 link above between 10 and 2. You can stream the show online.

Women of Radio Co-host for a Day Search

Ansonia Station

P.O. Box 230233

New York, NY 10023-0004

2. Through the LIVE with Regis and Kelly website but you have to sign up to be a member of the show first, but I don't know how many fans I have out there of Regis who have been dying to do this.

3. You can send an e-mail to: lucy@rock102online.com

Here is what Regis and Kelly are asking you to provide along with your nomination…

***Make sure to tell Regis & Kelly in your nomination why Lucy Black will make a great TV personality.

Nominator must be a home listener (so if you have moral issues lying... which I sure do) you can click on the Rock 102 link and stream some of her show into your home from 10-2. I hope you like classic rock!

Nominator must provide the name of the nominated Broadcaster: Lucy Black

The radio station call letters: KRWK-FM

City and state of the station where the nominee works: Fargo, ND

If possible, a web address or link to picture, biography and a video or audio clip of the nominee may be included:

http://www.rock102online.com/lucy-black.php

*** For those of you who don't know my sister I have given you some reasons why she would make a great TV personality.

• She will laugh at Regis's jokes no matter how corny or stupid they may be (she's a laugher)
• She is quick witted
• She never grew out of thinking farts and bathroom humor are funny and might increase the viewers of the show to kids ages 7-17.
• Her last name matches her hair color... catchy huh :)
• She can be classified with the following adjectives: Spunky, determined, vivacious, alluring, ambitious, coherent, confident, entertaining, enthusiastic, friendly, jolly, silly and zealous.

THANK YOU FOR READING, NOW LETS MAKE HER DREAMS COME TRUE!!!

A Word on Wet Wipes

While taking the time to ponder the absurdity of my official United States Census 2010 "It's in OUR HANDS, BE COUNTED!" Antibacterial Wet wipe.... I flipped it over to discover the following printed on the label.

• The dimensions of said wet wipe 5" in. X 8" in. or for those who use the metric system (12.7 cm X 20cm)
• The location of origin for the product, in this case Waconia, MN 55387 followed by an American Flag and the statement "Proudly made in the U.S.A.
• And... The DRUG Facts (which is like the label you will find on a medicine bottle)

If you are like me and you think a lot about the FDA you might have said to yourself... Wet Wipes are considered Drugs? You Bethcha. This is because Antibacterial Wet Wipes make a claim about treating or preventing a disease, which by the standards of the *government make something a drug... in this case the claim states:

"Helps reduce bacteria on the skin that could cause disease. Recommended for repeated use as needed."

ARE YOU BORED YET?!?!

This Drug Label includes Warnings and Directions for use. The Warning for this Wet Wipe is a paragraph long...

Flammable. Keep away from heat and open flame. For external use only. In case of accidental ingestion seek medical assistance or contact a Poison Control Center immediately. Avoid contact with eyes. If eye contact occurs, flush thoroughly with water. Avoid contact with broken skin. Discontinue use and contact a doctor if skin irritation develops and continues for more than 72 hours. Keep out of reach of children.

When in your life have you ever needed to know the dimensions of a wet wipe? And who uses them as a way to fight off disease? And how many times have you "Accidentally ingested one? And WHO reads the directions before cracking open the package? If you need to consult Wet Wipe directions you really don't get out enough.

We are talking about a piece of cloth with water, rubbing alcohol, vitamin E and Aloe Vera on it.

They make it sound like a dirty gasoline soaked rag.

Personally if I am using a wet wipe it is because I have just spilled something on my hands, or used a port-a-potty. Perhaps I am biased because I don't subscribe to the idea of "Antibacterial" as they remove the good bacteria from your skin as well as the bad... causing bacteria strains to mutate becoming resistant to such products (oh man I am a huge nerd).

I guess I find this extra ridiculous because to be considered a "Drug" in the United States a product has to undergo rigorous testing to give scientific evidence to whatever claim it is making. I would be curious to know the time, money and man power it took to conduct the Wet Wipe testing.

Which begs me to question how else the $873 million dollar budget alloted to the FDA specifically for Drug evaluation and research is spent.

Also, while I am on this topic, this is the reason that Cheerios got in trouble last year for their campaign that Cheerios could lower your cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. The FDA was in a huff about it because they felt that Cheerios were making claims to treat and prevent a disease and would therefore have to be considered a Drug to make such a statement.

Oddly enough the FDA does not regulate any weight loss products or medications as obesity is not considered a disease. That is why products like Fen-Phen which is potentiality fatal can hit the market and cause a lot of damage before it is pulled from the shelves.

And now I am just rambling.

*Definition of a Drug by the government: "articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" and "articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals."

I am NOT an Idiot

I try not to write too many complaining posts, but Chuck suggested that I channel my feelings on my blog... so here goes.

I got a phone call the other night from someone from the 2010 census. She began the conversation by telling me that I was required by law to answer her questions and then she rattled off a bunch of numbers which I can only assume was the code that makes her statement official. Being the law abiding citizen that I am I handed Fiona off to Chuck and stepped out of the apartment (which is the black hole of cell phone reception in the city of St. Paul) and gave this women my undivided attention.

The purpose of the phone call was because there were some questions with our census form. Right away I thought... they are probably calling because I filled it out before Fiona was born and they were most likely looking to get her information.

HOWEVER, I was told exactly how many questions she was about to ask me, and given a time estimation of 10 minutes for the conversation. She did ask me about Fiona's birth... which she pronounced (F-EYE-ONA) even after my correcting her (F-EE- ONA). Turns out that she basically asked me every question that I filled out on my census AGAIN... ummmm did you not believe me the first time? Did the way that I checked the boxes look suspicious to you? Seriously I would have to be a complete idiot to have gotten these questions wrong.

Here are just a few highlights from our conversation which felt more live an investigation... In parenthesis is what I would have said if I didn't have a conscious about being rude to people, which I do so I bit my tongue. But sometimes it's fun to pretend.

Census Lady: "Who filled out the census form for you household?"

ME: "I did"

CL: "And who are you?"

(well lets see here... why don't you stop reading your teleprompter and think about that for a second. There are only two people listed on my census Charles or Tacy... You are speaking to a women.... any guesses?)

ME: "Tacy Marie Call"

CL: "You have listed for your household Charles Henry Call and Tacy Marie Call, is there anyone that I have just listed that you do not know or are unfamiliar with?"

(considering that one of the people listed is myself and the other shares my last name, I think it is pretty safe bet that I know both of these people. No, Ma'am I did not ACCIDENTALLY write some unknown person down as living with me.)

CL: "Were both of the people I have listed living in your home as of April 1st 2010?"

ME: "YES"

CL" Were there any other people living with you as of April 1st 2010 not listed on your census?"

ME: "Yes, I had a baby on March 29th, 2010."

She then asked me a bunch of questions to get her information.... including such questions as,

CL: "What is F-EYE-ona G. Call's relationship to Charles H. Call?"

ME: "Daughter"

CL: "Is F-EYE-ona G. Call Charles H. Call's biological daughter?"

ME: "YES"

CL: "Is F-EYE-ona G. Call Hispanic or Latino?"

ME: "NO"

(Seriously STOP reading your computer for one second, use your own human brain and have a normal conversation with me!!! You just asked me if she was Charles biological daughter, and he is white... and Me the mother is also white. Hmmm any guesses as to what the baby might be?)

CL: "Is F-EYE-ona G. Call native american, African american, White/ Caucasian, Chinese, pacific islander.... etc etc.

ME: "She is White"

Then she asked me if either of us were living anywhere else as of April 1st 2010, but it took her about 10 questions to do it.

CL: "Was Charles living in an assisted living home?"

ME: "NO"

CL: "A nursing home?"
ME" NO"

CL: "A Correctional facility?"

ME: "NO"

CL: "A detention center?"

ME: "NO"

CL: "Prison?"

ME: "NO"

CL: "Could he have been counted on anyone else's census?

(This is just getting ridiculous... )

She asked all of these questions about me as well.

Then to end the conversation she asked me if I would like the address to write a complaint letter about the amount of time that it took or the amount of questions asked. Almost as if she had been trained to know that these conversations give people something to complain about.

CENSUS 2010!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH

I really am not ticked off, I just find this all so absurd... laughable. Does our government think this is a nation of imbeciles? Let me just take a deep cleansing breaths..... ok.

As a person who loves family history and recognizes the value of census records I say it is an important endeavor for our country to undertake... plus my cousin is working for the census right now and this is how she is currently making her living, yada yada yada the census has is very good points.

BUT (and the census has a very BIG BUT) a 14.7 billion dollar endeavor seems a little excessive with an ADDITIONAL 340 million dollar advertising campaign. And surprise surprise they are over budget! I must admit that $20 seems like a lot of money to me, so in perspective these numbers may seem larger to me than they do to other people.

Part of this money was spent on that ridiculous letter that was mailed out to everyone in the country that basically said, "Hey we are going to mail you a census." OK, waste of money waste of paper!! I thought Obama was on this Green Kick? Not to mention the actual census document, followed by another letter mailed out to everyone saying, "Hey don't forget to fill out the census." (these letters cost about $85 million dollars)

Part of that $340 million dollars was to make Census/ "It's in our hands" WET WIPES!! WET WIPES!!!! No joke, I have in my possession census wet wipes. There were also Census billboards, commercials, pencils, highlighters, T-shirts and a bunch of other junk. JUNK.

AND we are paying people to sit in an office and make phone calls, making it appear that I am a complete idiot and do not know how to fill out a simple questionnaire. Oh and there is an office somewhere full of people reading the complaint letters that people write about the phone calls.

I was under the impression that the purpose of desiring such an accurate census was so that the money would be distributed "properly." It seems to me that quite a bit of money has already been improperly used.

Stay tuned for part two of this discussion were I detail more of the absurdity of wet wipes and ways in which we are all treated like idiots.

Here are some of the sources that I used if you are interested.

Fox News Report: Census Bureau Over Budget

The Census Project

MayRant & Rave: A blatant conservative blog

Five For Friday

This is NOT a "top Five"

but simply

Five Movie Characters I thoroughly enjoy, with no explanations as to why.

The J Man

Envy

Mad Martigan

Willow

Dusty Bottoms

The Three Amigos

Uncle Rico

Napoleon Dynamite

Ed Rooney

Ferris Buellers Day Off

Pink with Blue Trim

I absolutely adore this outfit of Fiona's. Perhaps it is because it says Mommy's little girl, or because of the pants which you can't see but are little ruffle pocket butterfly print. Trouble is that each of the four times that I have ever dressed her in it she has some diaper fiasco and it never lasts past lunch.

Yesterday was no exception, and I found myself scrubbing them in the bathroom sink around 1:00. It's almost as if does it to be funny, like she is teasing me because I get so excited when I put her in it. Sad to say that the pink with blue trim outfit is already ready for retirement as she will probably be too big to wear it by the next time I do her laundry.

It is 7:30 a.m. which means that right now I am wide awake, while Fiona is deep in baby slumberland. I sit at the computer hoping that you all updated your blogs so I can have something to read... and now posting out of sheer boredom. My next step will be to crack open Les Miserables (which is an incredible book by the way). I am on page 630 which means only 833 more to go.

I get so excited every morning when she finally wakes up... because then I have someone to play with and I can have an excuse for wanting to hear the frog song on her new toy. Can you tell that we don't own a television?!

I am sooo glad that I am able to work at home and be able to spend all day with her. What a lucky mommy.

Blabbity Blah Blah

So I wrote a post for last Friday but never published it, and I have consequently been thinking about things I want to post. The post was about five songs I like that feature the slide guitar, I was getting them all lined up on my playlist, (songs 1-4 on there now) and then I couldn't find song number five which is Beach Baby by Bon Iver got annoyed and scrapped the whole post.

I have been so busy reflecting on this whole Facebook situation. I know that sounds kind of silly... but all of a sudden I was bombarded with people I haven't seen in years, people who knew me when I was a very different person. I keep having "Facebook Dreams" as I like to call them, where my dreams are filled with random people from my past. I had a dream the other night that I was taking a bath with Fiona and all my old high school friends kept walking in till I finally screamed for someone to shut the door.

Perhaps my subconscious is worried that I have given up some of my privacy by social networking on facebook. Who knows, from what I have observed so far people just graze through pictures, expose their gaming habits to everyone and try to write funny one liners to get someone to comment on it... kind of like blogging, which we all know I love.

In other news I love Cotija Cheese.

It is like the parmesean cheese of Mexican Food. It is crumbly and doesn't really melt and you can just shake it on top of stuff like salads, vegetables, enchiladas and what not. Every time I go to the grocery store I like to explore for new things that I haven't tried before. It makes a daunting task like weekly grocery shopping seem like a treasure hunt.

And in case you sit up at night wondering about my baby like I do, here are her current stats:

24 inches long (95th percentile... that's one long baby!)

12 lbs 13 ounces (90th percentile)

Oh and one question... do other people's baby's cry in their sleep? Fiona whimpers and cries like she is having a horrible dream. It is sweet and sad all at the same time. What could she even have a nightmare about?

Which reminds me this week she got her first Ow-ee. Some other little girl was checking her out on the floor and dropped a rock square on her forehead, Fiona startled and then burst into tears. It was actually pretty cute.

Tammy I completely understand that post you wrote a long time ago about constantly thinking of horrible things that could happen to your baby. I wont even share because they are usually impossible like her being eaten by a bandersnatch and stuff like that.

Ok blah blah blah blah.

I'm done.

Eagle Engine Cured

Chuck and I have been turning a lot of heads lately when we cruise around town... and not because we are ridiculously good looking either. We drive a 2002 Nissan with incredibly bad hail damage and for the past few weeks (ok months) both of the belts were cracked and would squeal like we had a live eagle strapped to the engine.

We got an estimate of how much it would be to repair... and since we budget ZERO to keep up our car any price would have been way over budget. However I was thinking we HAVE to fix this and not just out of annoyance of the shrieking eagle, but for safety reasons too. My husband decided that he was going to do it himself...

Ok, so Chuck (Bless his heart) is not a mechanic. We have a SMALL collection of tools and NONE of the cool car gadgets like the little cart you wheel yourself underneath with. I tried to discourage this decision thinking that it would be so much easier to let the experts handle this one.

He went out to the garage to begin sometime in the morning. And hour after hour would go by... and he would still be out there. I thought to myself, we are going to have to get a mechanic to fix this... and I worried that now we would have to have it towed to the mechanic instead of being able to drive it. Dinner time came and it was still not done, but Chuck was convinced he would be able to get it done.

I wondered is this some stubborn man thing? Is he worried that if he excepts defeat he will somehow feel less manly? I was ready to stomp out there and tell him no more messing around! Enough is enough.

But he had finished.

(Chuck kindly letting my Blog obsessed self snap a photo of him in his greased up state)

HE DID IT, HE FIXED OUR CAR!!!

I am so impressed with his determination and that he saved us huge chunk of change by doing it himself. He said that even though it took him a LONG time, he learned a lot about what not to do next time and where to find things in the engine.

I (of course) felt the need to document the occasion.

Nothing like getting your hands dirty

Thanks Chuck

Fiona Sings Doe Re Mi with Mommy

Ok sorry to bombard you all with videos of my child making noises... You know it's cute!!! My Grandma requested this one be posted. My mom filmed this when she was over the other day. Seriously Fiona enjoys a song just like her mom and dad. Chuck and I try to sing with her everyday and she coos her little heart out. We figure she might sing before she talks. Due to the posting of two adorable videos today I am going to forgo Five for Friday this week. Have a great Weekend ya'll!

Fiona"s Voice

My favorite time of the day is when Fiona is wide awake and talking. I often find her in the morning coo-ing at the butterflies on her crib bumper. He voice is so sweet and girly... I love it!

Facebook

So for the past few years I have telling people that I don't Facebook... but this morning I decided to open an account, only to find out that I already had one. LOL I opened a Facebook account back in 2007 I just never did anything with it. I assumed it was closed down, but much to my surprise it was still there, with a profile pic of me and an old boyfriend. I have removed the photo and added a few more. I am not really familiar with the program, so it might take me a few weeks to figure out how to use it right.

SO hey family and friends, add me so I can see you guys.

Love Tacy Marie