A Tale of Two Pageants

The First Grade Nativity Pageant

c. 2007







Owen Vallejo
Black Sheep

      When Owen was in the first grade he was cast as a sheep in the class Nativity Pageant.  While I was hoping for something a little grander like wiseman or shepherd, I made peace with my son being a sheep.  Due to a shortage of costumes that year I volunteered to make Owen's sheep suit and given creative control over the process I decided to make him a black sheep. I didn't want him blending in with the rest of the herd. Owen really got into his role as the black sheep and he decided all on his own that black sheep only have three legs so they fall down a lot when they walk even if you ask them not to. He took one of his very first trips to the principal's office during play practice that December because he was so committed to his three legged black sheep character.  He did make a cute sheep though.



Sarah Vallejo
Sheepette

     Sarah is a first grader this year and she's been talking about the Nativity Pageant on and off since school started in August.  I knew her chances of being chosen as Mary weren't great - she lacks the serene countenance needed to portray the Mother of Our Savior. She's also not blond.  I was fairly secure in the knowledge that my daughter would be an angel in the pageant though (because the girls are always the angels).  I was looking forward to dressing an angel. Imagine my suprise then when I heard that Sarah has not been cast as an angel in the pageant.  She's going to be a sheep.  A sheep!!  While on some level I applaud this avente-gard approach to casting, there's a part of me that feels a little robbed.  As the mother of a daughter I wasn't mentally prepared to be dressing livestock again.  Sarah has made peace with her sheepness and even suggested that she could be a black sheep like her brother.  Owen has said she can be a black sheep if she wants but deep down I think he wants to hang on to his black sheep status.  Also, two black sheep in the family seems redundent.  Sarah and I are working out the costume logistics - how much fluff is too much fluff? can sheep be sparkly? or pink? It's going to be interesting to see how her costume turns out. In some way it also seems fitting that she's a sheep like her brother. 

I Hope It Doesn't Taste Like Feet

Today I am thankful for this box of recipes

that belonged to my mother-in-law, Luz.

By following her directions I turned

this . . .

into this Sweet Potato Casserole . . .

and this Pineapple Casserole (one of Joel's favorites).

        

It wouldn't be a Vallejo Turkey Day without these two dishes. 

There will also be turkey and dressing and mashed potatoes and green beans

 and rolls and pie and cheesecake and Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly.

I made some fancy shmancy orange cranberry sauce a few years ago

but it turns out Joel is a traditionalist and likes his cranberry jelly

straight from the can.  He says the rings around the outside help you cut 

the cranberry slices evenly.  It's hard to argue with that kind of Thanksgiving logic.

Cranberry Sauce!

____________________________________

If you're interested (or confused) - the title of this post is a reference to one

of the best episodes of "Friends" ever made.  

Sign, Sign, Everywhere A Sign

A few weeks ago I traveled to Washington, DC to attend a rally. The trip began as a lark - a comment on Facebook sparked the idea and then before I could really consider all the downsides (flying, public transportation, wading into a crowd of 10 million people) I found myself sitting on an airplane headed for Dulles.  We spent Friday touring Washington but the real purpose of our trip was to attend to The Rally to Restore Sanity on Saturday afternoon.  The photo on the left was our view of the stage during the rally.  Although we were clearly not in the front row, we were in a great spot - almost dead center with the stage and right between two jumbotron screens. All in all it was not a bad place to be.  The rally was fun and the people around us were friendly and agreeable.  There was lots of good-natured frustration and laughter on the OVERCROWDEDMETROCARS and in the lines for the port-o-potties. I guess if you're going to have 10 million people* come together in our nation's capital for a "rally for sanity" it helps that everyone remembers to bring their sense of humor.  Other than seeing Jon Stewart live and in person again ('cause I am a groupie) and meeting up with friends from far away places, the best part about the day was reading all the signs that people had made.  I took some photos of my favorites and thought I would share. 

This was not my favorite sign, but it was the most easily recognizable sign that we were close to.  When I saw crowd shots of the millions of people who attended the rally I was able point out where we were standing.  Unfortunately, we were with near stupid.  It's one of those situations where you can pick your friends and you can pick your sign, but you can't pick your friend's sign.  So yeah, at the Rally to Restore Sanity my friends and I were five rows back and a little to the right of stupid.

This was my favorite sign.  It's a little hard to read here but it says "I'm annoyed, but it's not that bad."  It's a sign that sums up my general attitude about all things political.  I am a middle of the road, live and let live, what's mine is mine but I can share if I need to 'cause I like driving on roads and visiting state parks, but don't tell me what to do, although feel free to ask me my opinion, Democan/Republocrat.  I enjoy participating in thoughtful debate and discussion and I love my country.  God Bless America!



"Squirrel!"

Love this one for obvious reasons.

Random and funny and a pretty good one word summation 

of the political process.

"Laugh Like A Mad Scientist"

And we did!

This was part of a MythBusters Experiment.

I must give photo credit here to my friend, Wilbur.**

I saw this guy but didn't get a picture of him so when I saw

Wilbur's photos I was thrilled that he had taken one. 

I did have stuff to do, but being at this rally seemed important - so I went.

     "THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAW". This sign wasn't at the rally.  It's outside the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and I took this photo after Dawn and I visited there on Friday afternoon.  I have thought about what I saw inside that museum - about what ignorance and fear and hatred can do to people and I have some things I am mulling over in my head that I'm not really able to articulate very well - yet.  I guess to sum up here I can say that there were lots of folks at the rally wearing shirts or carrying signs that said "I am not afraid of Muslims, Tea Partiers, Socialists, Immigrants, Gun Owners, or Gays . . . but I am afraid of Spiders."  If I were going to make my own "I am not afraid" shirt/sign I would add that "I am afraid of Spiders and Ignorance." 

So, I flew to Washington, rallied on the mall, met up with friends (see photo at left of Barbara, Dawn, Amy, Laura, me and Heather) and made it home in time for Halloween.  It was a fun and successful weekend and I did arrive back in Nashville feeling more sane.  Unfortunately, Monday rolled around and my newfound commitment to responding to life in a sane and rational manner was tested. Thank goodness I was wearing my "Sanity" button that day or things might have gotten out of hand.

*I have no idea how many people were actually there - more than the 100,000 that had planned for but probably less than 10 million. 

** Me and Wilbur



Smitten

The White House

   October 29th, 2010    

     I was lucky enough to spend a beautiful October weekend in Washington, DC.  Although my friend, Dawn, and I only had one day to see the sites, we made the most of our time there. I want to go back with Joel and the kids again  - and soon. I am completely smitten with our nation's capital.

   We began our day at Arlington National Cemetary.  The rows of headstones stretching out in every direction made me think of the poem, In Flanders Fields. That's the Washington Monument off in the distance.

In Flanders Fields the poppies grow

Between the crosses row on row

That mark our place beneath the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

We visited the Tomb of the Unknowns on Friday morning and while we were standing waiting for the changing of the guard ceremony we heard a 21 gun salute in the distance and saw a funeral with a caisson drive past on the road below.  It was quite a moment.  As I stood there watching the changing of the guard ceremony, my overiding thought was how proud this soldier's mother must be. 



   On our way to the Holocaust Memorial Museum I turned around to take another look at the Washington Monument and snapped this photo.  We couldn't have asked for a more picture perfect day. 



Feeding the Fish

   

Feeding the fish

with Owen and Sarah.

June 4, 2006

We are grateful for the time we had with her.

We miss her every day.

Lucky Us

 

October 2000

     Ten years ago this month my friend Angie and I were traveling from Nashville to Memphis on a business trip when we were run off the interstate by a semi. Angie's car rolled several times before landing right side up in the median.  The guy driving the truck didn't stop.  Several other people stopped though and one gentleman in particular stood by the side of the car and helped me remain calm until the paramedics arrived.  Angie had gotten out of the car and I can remember looking over and seeing her sitting on the grass and listening as she called 911.  In a story that has become funnier with time, she told the 911 operator that we had been in an accident and that they needed to send someone because her friend who was with her (me) was 14 MONTHS pregnant.  I leaned over as far as I could and said to her "Hey - I'm not an elephant . I'm only 14 weeks pregnant."  Good times. The two of us got to ride together in an ambulance to a "hospital" in Lexington, TN where the staff seemed more concerned with ordering pizza than assessing our situation.  Amazingly - miraculously even - we weren't injured much.  We were bruised and sore with a few minor cuts and scrapes (and I lost a patch of hair off the top of my head where it hit the ceiling of the car) but compared to what could have happened we were fine (even Owen, who was only 14 weeks at the time*).  I can remember calling Joel to tell him about the accident and hearing the panic in his voice and I can remember seeing the relief on his face when he finally got to the hospital to take us home.

 



April 2010

Fast forward to April 2010. My parents were driving from Knoxville to Nashville on Good Friday when they were run over by a semi truck. Their car ended up in the truck's wheel well. Both of them survived the crash with only minimal injuries.  Their car was a total loss but my parents were fine-ish.  Things could have been much much worse.  Looking at the photos of the car it is a miracle that neither one of them was killed. According to the State Trooper who investigated the accident, the truck driver was 100% at fault.  Yeah, I hate big trucks. Hate them. 







October 2010

     This bring us to last Monday. The kids and I were in Orange Beach, AL when Joel called to tell me that he'd been in an accident and he was pretty sure the car was totaled.  I kept asking him if he was alright and he kept telling me he was but I didn't believe him.  He finally asked if I wanted to talk to the State Trooper who was with him and I said no.  He is mostly alright but after seeing the photos of the car I find it amazing that he walked away with no significant injuries.  It was not a minor accident.  So, it's been an emotional week here at Casa de Vallejo, one filled with Sliding Doors moments and bad dreams and gratitude.  It's been exhausting but I am well aware that things could have turned out so much worse.  Once again, all we have lost is a car. Lucky us. Lucky lucky lucky us.



*Owen's nickname for the duration of my pregnancy was Crash and I think it's more than just a little bit ironic that he is one of the most cautious children I have ever known. 

Just What the Man Wanted

My grandfather, LJ Hurst,

and his 1967 Red GMC 351-V6 Pick-Up Truck.

Purchased for $3095.00 on December 13th, 1966

  This truck had a cushion in the middle that folded down (I'm assuming for an armrest but it made a nifty seat) and that's where I sat when Gran and I went places together.  I'm not even sure this truck had seatbelts although it probably had lap belts that we just never used. It was a different world way back when in the 1970s.  We also used to ride in the back of this truck which was all kinds of fun. Can you imagine letting kids ride down the highway in the back of a pick-up truck - someone would call 911 if they saw that today.