A.I.: The Artificial Insemination Post

Not many people know this but I am a product of artificial insemination. I do not hide it. It just rarely comes up in conversation. Can you imagine trying to slip that nugget of information into the dialogue? I am sharing this here because recently I have met several couples that are finding themselves needing a little medical intervention to become pregnant. They may not be on the same path my parents took but I still felt led to share an adult view point of what it is like to be a child of such a union.

It is blessed.

In the 80's my Mom and Dad tried with gusto to conceive a child. No luck. They were each tested by the Doctors and found out that they both had a complication. Mom's was not insurmountable but would definitely make the road to motherhood bumpier. Dad's however was 100% none possibility. You see Dad was a x-ray tech in the Navy. During his training he and some buddies thought it was entertaining to x-ray random stuff. Mom remembers x-rays that came to her in the mail from Dad of watches and a dead rat they found. Did they wear those nice little lead vests? Nope. ZAP! No babies for you Mister. Hearing what they thought was the end of their journey they decided to adopt. Sadly that fell through in the delivery room when the mother decided she could not part with her child. It was very upsetting for them. So close to having their baby ( a girl ) and then once again gone.
Eventually they found themselves talking about artificial insemination. They lived in the D.C. area then. Dad's family was very concerned that he would have issues raising a child that was not biologically his. His answer was, "Any male can father a child. I am going to be a Daddy." I love that quote :0)

The second round of fertility drugs and sperm donor created me! ten months later in the year of 1984 I was born. Ultra sounds were still not widely used for the sole purpose of determining sex so they did not know if I was a boy or girl until delivery. The Doctor told them that I would be a girl. Three couples before mom and dad had come to this clinic unable to have children and all blessed with girls. He just knew I would be the fourth. Records about the donor are tightly guarded. Today it is a little easier to access for medical questions concerning paternity. All I know about my biological donor is that he was a medical student with two confirmed successes before me. The clinic only allowed for three babies from one donor so as not to populate the area with siblings. However nothing stopped him from moving on to the next donation clinic in the are. Med school is pricey and the clinics paid very well.

I was not told the particulars of my conception until I was a teenager. It was actually an accident that i found out at all. At the time I was watching my whole world fall apart due to my parent's divorce. I was unsure of myself and my father's love for me. When the truth came to light about the artificial insemination I was so happy. Not only did my parents want me they worked hard to have me. Time, money, tests, stress it all was worth it to them to have me. No DNA bound me to my father but he was there at every little league game to watch his cheerleader. He was always at every event, play, and program. Our relationship was far from perfect but until the day he died in 2005 he was always a constant in my life. I have no doubt that I was the most important person in the world to him. Any my mother? Well she has always been my best friend but never at the expense of being my parent first. She is in every thing that I do. Every decision I make. My true north to guide me in the direction I should go.

My life isn't perfect. My childhood was not a fairy tale. I have flaws and issues like anybody else. My place on this earth has never been a question to me. I am here because I was wanted more. I was prayed for. And God answers prayers.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened ‘ (Matthew 7:7, 8).

P.S. It has been brought to my attention that some folks find the term "Artificial" insemination offensive. Personally I think it is silly. It is not a term to say that the child is artificial. The way that the sperm is introduced to the body is artificial. See not so offensive? Just my 2 cents.

What would you do?

Last week I was reading one of the parenting magazines I subscribe to and they had a poll about whether or not a parent should lie for their child. I do not like liars. I teach my children that lies are sins. That said I participate in the traditions of Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. SO where does the line get drawn in the sand? At the ages of 3 and 11 months I have not had any real need to lie for my children.

Here is a story from my childhood. When I was a sophomore in high school I started skipping school with J's brother. I would go over to their house and spend the day with J when he did not have to work. Of course I thought i was so very clever and that my mother would never find out. She might not have found out as soon as she did had the school not called home to check on me. I know for a fact that she would have found out eventually. I subscribe to the thought that you reap what you sow and all deceptions will come to light. Mom covered for me and told them that I was with my father that day. If she had told them that I was in fact skipping school I would have been suspended for 3 days. To my mother this was not punishment but vacation. She waited for me to get home and asked me about my day. I dug my own grave. It was big enough to be a mass grave to tell you the truth.
The punishment I received from mom was worse than anything the school cold have given me. See my mother knew me well. She knew how I ticked and what made me who I was. Therefore she knew how to inflict the most pain with the least amount of effort. Weeks later it got back to me that several ladies at the school were talking about how awful it was that my mother would lie for me. I was so mad. How dare they talk about my mother? They had no proof she was covering for me. But whose fault was it that this was even happening? Mine. I was so ashamed of myself for causing a hit to my mother's reputation that I never skipped school again.
(The month of Saturdays I had to spend in detention to make up for all the days I missed didn't hurt as a deterrent either)

Did my mother do the right thing by me? I can't say that I think it was the right thing if we are talking definite black and white sides of the law. It did teach me the best lesson that I could have learned. So would you lie for your child?

Cat Scratch

Rory had a close encounter of the feline kind. If you use your imagination you can kind of make out the path the paw swiped at him. In defense of our kitties, if ever a child pestered the crap out of an animal and deserved a little retribution it is Rory. He is not mean to them. He does not hurt them. He is just a pest. He like to play follow the leader. This does not amuse the cat. He likes to hug the kitty. Again, not amused. He likes to sit in his Daddy's lap even though the cat was there first. The cat is not amused and pushed off a comfy lap. In spite of this we have mostly tolerant cats. I say mostly because two of them are totally anti child. Pickles refuses to get out of the line of fire but yowls until rescued. Miss Kitty is normally camouflaged somewhere trying to be invisible but WILL tear you a new one if you touch her without permission. To this day only a few people have ever received permission other than me, her mommy. The cat that inflicted the damage was the most tolerant (of kids) and best mothering cat I know.
Clio must have either been startled or Rory hugged a bit too hard. One reason why we do not encourage people/animal hugging in our home. She swiped, he screamed. She must have known that she just did something bad cause she looked over her shoulder at J and then high tailed it to hide under our bed. I wouldn't have punished the cat. Rory knows better than to pester the cats. We have been going over it since before he understood what was being said to him. Some things just have to be learned the hard way. This is not our first adventure into the medical treatment of cat scratches. I doubt it will be the last. Should be a few months at least. Clio and Rory have made up since "the incident". They even shared Daddy's lap the other night. Progress maybe? We shall see.

Paper Shredder

I don't usually let her play with paper. She has that bad baby habit of putting everything in her mouth. I cannot stand to watch any one chew on paper. It all goes back to grade school when i had a teacher tell us that paper comes from trees and dogs pee on trees. I never looked at a sheet of paper the same way again. When the Dell magazine came in I decided to let her have at it as long as I supervised. Not like we could afford anything from dell right now anyways.

Shake, shake, shake and the cover came flying off. The game was on then. Pages began to fly like confetti.
A tiny corner tore off and she realized that the big pieces could be made into tiny pieces.
Of course her squeals of delight attracted her big brother. he proceeded to take her tiny piece away. You can see she is attempting to reach for it back.
And denied by Rory. Doesn't she look perplexed. "Why did I loose my toys? Why won't he give it back?" Rory is going to rue this day when Lorelei learns to fight for her right to party.

Hair raising tale

There is Lorelei doing with her breakfast. You might have to look hard to see but the hair on the back of her head is sticking straight up. My Mother's hair looks like that every morning too. Since the Aunts and GG have moved in I have noticed that they also have this vertical hairdo in the AM. Must be maternal genetics that skipped a generation because I do not have this issue.

Here is the view from the back of Miss Lorelei's ever so stylish morning coiffure. Don't you wish you had her stylist? I think the length of my hair contributed to my lack of crazy hair. I just got it whacked off to right below my shoulders last Friday so I might be joining the ranks if I am not careful. Karma is tricky like that. I said good bye to around six inches of hair on the salon floor. I needed a change.
Last Thursday at Sassy's we tried pigtails out for the first time. I do not think that they are the cutest thing I have ever seen on her but you have to admit the little imp looks pretty stinkin cute. The way they are angled reminds me of antennas on a bug. My mother didn't like my comparison. How dare I call her sweet baby girl a bug! Funny I thought I was her sweet baby girl. Oh right, I was replaced. I keep forgetting that...
The hair on top of her head is long but shorter and thick in the back. This sort of makes her look like she has a reverse mullet. Babies can get away with that sort of thing though. If it looks too ridiculous people just blame the parents. Seeing as how I am the one who inflicted any hair style my children have on them I can take the heat for it.

Claritin take me away!

Spring has sprung and my allergies have declared all out war. Much like my first cold of the season signals the arrival of winter, my first allergy attack lets me know we are headed into the warmer months. After two days of hoping it would go away I got smart and went to Walmart for drugs. Now I am armed with my Claritin liquigels to fend off all those nasty allergens. Rory has an appointment on Friday for his own allergy meds. Kiddo has the worst summer allergies. How many times have I used the word allergy in any form so far during this post? I swear I have typed it fifty times already. I hate the heat. Even just a little bit and i am sweating miserably. It has not gotten above 80 yet and I am complaining. What a pansy! I see many trips to Sonic for a Rt. 44 cherry coke in my future.

Basket cases

So I have been working on this project. It is a challenge from our church regarding servicing your community. Kind of like in the movie Robots when they say "See a need, fill a need". My plan? To give returning troops and their spouses a chance to reconnect. J was deployed in 2008 for four months. I was lucky in that he only went to Florida. I got to talk to him whenever I wanted and even saw him twice. This is not your typical deployment. Even with all the perks I got with J's unusual deployment I still felt awkward when we were together for the first few days. When he came home it took us almost two weeks to get back into some sort of groove. The one who has to stay behind learns to do both roles. The one who leaves has to be a soldier first and anything else last. These are things a military family knows and accepts.

But what if when you got home there was dinner and a movie waiting for you? Don't have a babysitter? Don't worry! The Base actually provides each family with a specific amount of hours of free child care. Not a lot of people know that. The gift baskets we are putting together has all the information about base provided programs, two free passes to the theater, and five different coupons to a local restaurant. There are also candles and some great smelling lotion, Maybe for Wife to relax before husband returns? Maybe for more of a couples activity? It is yours, use it however you want! We are working with the budget to maybe include a disposable camera. We will see how that goes. Sunday I am meeting with the team to assemble baskets for delivery in April.

My girls are GREAT! Bradford got so much information (like the childcare allowance) and swag (calenders, magnets, etc.) from the Airmen and Family Readiness. Her Grandfather is very ill and in the hospital so pray for him! Parker took care of donations, a few candles, and located spa quality lotion at a price that wouldn't break us. Shel has been my sounding board on a few items, not to mention how great she is to open her house to us so we can meet together! He husband is away on business right now leaving her with three kiddos that she home schools! And she still has time to pick up some shrink wrap. A round of applause for Shel, ladies and gentlemen. Sloan has been busy (like appearing on TV! How awesome was that?!) but still found the time to give out any ideas or time that she could. In the end it was not what they did but how they did it.

Anytime I emailed or called, and believe me I bugged the crap out of them, all four of them were cheerful and eager to help. I know that they had kids calling "Mommy", houses to clean, errands to run, husbands to talk to, but they never showed it. That meant more to me than all the shrink wrap in the world!

Snuggle Bugs

My kids love to snuggle when they sleep. This is not a trait they got from me. When I sleep I want to be untouched by human hands. The pets refuse to leave me alone. This sometimes causes them to get kicked, pushed, and tossed across the room in my sleep. I am a mover. I am not still for longer than 60 seconds all night. Sleeping next to me is like laying in bed with a bucking bronco. You might find yourself tempted to feel sorry for my DH J. Don't waste your sympathy. The man falls asleep in nano seconds, could snooze through a bomb, and has a tendency to sleep walk. Always got to be alert for that sleep walking business.

Rory and Lorelei both sleep smack up against their Daddy anytime they are in our bed. This suits me perfectly. I do not have to share any of my space. I am not heartless. If they feel the need to cuddle with Mom I open my arms to them. I am just not too upset to see them roll over back to Daddy.

She Ra was my Hero

Did you ever watch She Ra? I was a She Ra fanatic. I remember trying to convince my mother once that I was not really her child but She Ra implanted into their home to keep me safe. Imagination is a dangerous thing. I loved Gem and the Holograms, Rainbow Brite, and Lady Lovely Locks to a level of being in danger of becoming a mini stalker. However my total allegiance was always to the Princess of Power. Those other girls were cool but come one, She Ra kicked butt!


When I first started watching She Ra I did not understand the whole She Ra/ He Man sibling thing so I wanted them to be a couple. Incest was really not a part of my vocabulary. I think I mentioned it to my Mom and she explained the futility of my wish. So I moved on to wanting She Ra and Bow to get together. I don't think it ever happened. He was always so torn between her alter ego and She Ra. The crazy owl and scatterbrained witch can know the secret but the devoted hot guy is out of the loop?



I never really understood that. I do not remember if they ever actually got it straightened out. Either I grew out of it before then or it was cancelled. Come to think of it Didn't Gem have the same problem with her main squeeze Rio? Are Cartoons programming little girls at an early age to expect massive amounts of drama for a relationship to be healthy? Hmm, food for thought. At least we didn't have Chris and Rhianna situations to steer us into adulthood. Is Bow had hit She Ra she would have given him an enema with her sword.

The Princess Bride

What is my absolute favorite movie in the whole wide world? Well if you read the title of this blog then you already know it is The Princess Bride. I have no idea when I first saw it. For as long as I can remember it has been a part of my life. Besides my infatuation with the Governator, I was head over heels for Westley. I was totally in love with Cary Elwes' character. Every time he says "As you wish" I get goose bumps. What girl ever watched this movie and did not get weak kneed every time he said it? I know them not. There are very few movies that have something for every one. Almost every actor is a star. Maybe not so much today, but then.

Trivia:
Mark Knopfler agreed to write the music for this movie on the condition that Rob Reiner put the hat that he wore in This Is Spinal Tap (1984) in the movie. The hat appears in The Grandson's bedroom.

Director Rob Reiner left the set during Billy Crystal's scenes because he would laugh so hard that he would feel nauseated.

Despite his character Fezzik's almost-superhuman strength, André the Giant's back problems at the time prevented him from actually lifting anything heavy. Robin Wright Penn had to be attached to wires in the scene where Buttercup jumps from the castle window into Fezzik's arms because he couldn't support her himself.

While rehearsing for the film, André the Giant's thick accent prevented many of his lines from being understood. To remedy this, actor Mandy Patinkin slapped André in the face to get him to concentrate harder.

When Count Rugen hits Westley over the head, Cary Elwes told Christopher Guest to go ahead and hit him for real. Guest hit him hard enough to shut down production for a day while Elwes went to the hospital.



Director Rob Reiner was the voice of the R.O.U.S.s.

Writer William Goldman was on set during one of the flame burst scenes in the forest when Robin Wright Penn's dress caught fire. Although Goldman knew this was intentional, he was so caught up in the moment that he shouted, "Her dress is on fire!", thus ruining the take.

Mel Smith (The Albino) has confessed to never having watched his performance in this film due to the painful experience involved in filming the role. His character required him to wear coloured contact lenses and, unknown to Smith and the costume department at the time, he was actually allergic to the lens solution used. This meant that Smith was in constant pain and discomfort throughout filming; hence, he is reluctant to relive the memory.

Mandy Patinkin claims that the only injury he sustained during the entire filming of this movie was a bruised rib due to stifling his laughter in his scenes with Billy Crystal.

Quotes:
Westley: [as he is unsuccessfully fighting Fezzik] Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what?
Fezzik: I just want you to feel you're doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed.

Inigo Montoya: [pushing his way through a crowd] Excuse me... Excuse me... Fezzik, please?
Fezzik: EVERYBODY MOVE!
Inigo Montoya: [everybody clears a path] Thank you.

Miracle Max: You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles

Vizzini: INCONCEIVABLE.

[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up]
Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.


Inigo Montoya: Who are you?
Westley: No one of consequence.
Inigo Montoya: I must know...
Westley: Get used to disappointment.
Inigo Montoya: 'kay.

Buttercup: We'll never survive.
Westley: Nonsense. You're only saying that because no one ever has.

Westley: Give us the gate key.
Yellin: I have no gate key.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, tear his arms off.
Yellin: Oh, you mean *this* gate key.

[last lines]
The Grandson: Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow.
Grandpa: As you wish.

Labyrinth

Plot: 15-year-old Sarah accidentally wishes her baby half-brother, Toby, away to the Goblin King Jareth who will keep Toby if Sarah does not complete his Labyrinth in 13 hours.

Tagline: Where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems.

Trivia: The full costume for Hoggle was lost for some time. It turns out that it was lost on an airplane and later bought from the airline by 'The Unclaimed Baggage Center', a store in Scottsboro Alabama. It is now on display in their museum

Cheryl McFadden, one of the choreographers, also goes by the name Gates McFadden. McFadden plays Dr. Beverly Crusher in the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) and in the Star Trek movies: Star Trek: Generations (1994); Star Trek: First Contact (1996); Star Trek: Insurrection (1998); and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

The various things that Jareth does with the crystal balls (rolling them around his arms and in his hands and so forth) are not camera tricks or any other kind of special effect. They are actually done by choreographer Michael Moschen, who is an accomplished juggler.


David Bowie did the voice (gurgling) for the baby in the song "Magic Dance".

Director Trademark: [Jim Henson] During the Goblin Battle scene, while Sarah and the gang opens the door to the Goblin Castle, you can see milk bottles near the door.

The owl in the title sequence is computer generated - the first attempt at a photo-realistic CGI animal character in a feature film.


Labyrinth. The 1986 film by Jim Henson. One of my favorites and part of several fond memories from childhood. Sarah starts out a spoiled child. She believes that her parents should leaver her alone to play and do what she wishes. Any responsibilities she is given are met with her favorite phrase "not fair!" At such a tender age she really has no idea that the world is seldom fair.

Sarah: That's not fair!
Jareth: You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?

The transition from little girl to young woman is difficult. Labyrinth is more or less Sarah's journey. She learns that life is indeed not fair. She was right about that. Dealing with things as they come instead of bemoaning them is part of growing up.

Hoggle: Them's my rightful property. It's not fair.
Sarah: No, it isn't. But that's the way it is.

In the beginning of the film Sarah's motivation for finding Toby is staying out of trouble. She is afraid of the consequences of her actions. She expects Jareth to just give him back and forget it ever happened. Wouldn't it be nice if we could fix every mistake like that? As the movie progresses Sarah grows to understand the weight of her words. No one is responsible for her dilemma but Sarah. Fear of punishment goes on the back burner. Rescuing Toby from a fate as a goblin is the goal. If she fails Toby will suffer for her selfishness.

The Junk Lady: What's the matter, my dear, don't you like your toys?
Sarah: [comes to her senses] It's all junk!
The Junk Lady: [picks up a music box] Well, what about this? This is not junk, eh?
[pause]
Sarah: [smashes music box] Yes, it is!
[Sarah's room crumbles without notice]
Sarah: I have to save Toby!

The exchange above between the Junk Lady and Sarah prove that she has decided to put away childish things and accept responsibility. Her things that were so very important to her now are just junk in the grand scheme. Jarth offers her several chances to disappear into his domain and live an alternate life free of Parents and Toby. Each time she remembers her task and carries on toward the castle.

The end is of course the battle of wills between Sarah and Jareth. Sarah has to confront the facts. All the drama she has endured was her own creation. Jareth did things as Sarah expected them to be done.

Sarah: Give me the child.
Jareth: Sarah, beware. I have been generous, up till now. I can be cruel.
Sarah: Generous? What have you done that's generous?
Jareth: *Everything*! Everything that you wanted I have done. You asked that the child be taken. I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time. I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for *you*! I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?

Jareth offers the ultimate temptation. Sarah's desire to be a princess. Whether that means to be spoiled and have nothing expected of her or that she wants to be adored by a prince is a matter of opinion. Jareth appears to have feelings for Sarah. He desires her company beside him as queen.

Jareth: Everything I've done, I've done for you. I move the stars for no one.

Jareth is a spoiled boy himself. Does her truly love Sarah or just the novelty of someone who does not do as he is told? If she complied to his wishes would she become a discarded toy that no longer held his interest?

Jareth: I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.

Sarah blows Jareth away destroying his power and turning him into an owl when she tells him that he has no power over her. Jareth is King because he wields the ultimate power over everything. Sarah proclaiming otherwise cracks his hold on the people of the Labyrinth. Sarah and Toby go home. Toby looks over her baby brother and finally sees him with love instead of resentment. Her labyrinth friends crossover with her proving that they remain forever a piece of her life. Jareth the Owl watches from outside the window, now an outcast.

As I am a romantic at heart I have to be truthful for a minute. I always wanted Sarah and Jareth to get together. I wanted Sarah to make Jareth a good King and rule by his side. Maybe after Sarah finished growing up she would find the Owl. Jareth would have become humbled by his time imprisoned in his avian form. Sarah would break the spell and the two would live happily ever after. Yeah I know, wrong movie.

Nausicaa

My Dad went to the video store when I was in kindergarten and rented me a movie called Warriors of the Wind. (Today I would recommend renting the revamped and much better version Nausicaa. ) The director is the brilliant Hayao Miyazaki

The movie tells the story of Princess Nausicaa from the Valley of the Wind. The planet is dying as deadly flora and insects from the Toxic Jungle slowly engulfs the land. Giant beetle type creatures called Ohmu that remind me of roley polys are the guardians of said jungle. Any time you try to destroy it, they come and wipe out your town. Three separate nations are represented with Nausicaa's being stuck in the middle. She works to keep her people safe from the obvious bad outcome that is fated to hit.

Personal agenda's and revenge against the creatures from the jungle cloud the judgment of the ruling factions amongst the two problem nations.Along the way she makes allies and enemies. New discoveries challenge all that the people of this world have trusted as fact. Will Nausicaa have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of everyone? My favorite little creature is the little furry guy to the right. His name is Teto. Isn't he cute?

Trivia:
The name Mehve (Nausicaä's glider) is derived from "Möwe", the German word for "seagull".

The lack of color fidelity used in certain versions give many people the impression that Nausicaa flies around in a miniskirt with a bare butt. This is not the case, she's wearing pants that happen to be roughly the same color as her skin, and the "skirt" is actually the lower part of her coat.

After the original, heavily re-written and edited 1980s release of this film in the United States (as "Warriors of the Wind"), which substantially changed the movie, Hayao Miyazaki demanded that any new licensor for his films be contractually bound to do no edits whatsoever aside from a straight translation and dub. Disney (who bought the rights to all of Miyazaki's films except Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (1979)) has honored this stipulation.

Ohmu means "king of the insects" in Japanese.

Nausicaä is the name of a character in Homer's Odyssey

The "Nausicaans" from Star Trek: The Next Generation were so named because the Star Trek writers were big fans of Japanese manga and anime, and Nausicaa in particular.

'Hayao Miyzaki' was so upset by the original international cut version that he sent a samurai sword to the Executive at Disney with a simple note which read: "No cuts."

Myths

Myths are similar to fairy tales. Stories that teach us a valuable lesson. Parables based on past religious beliefs. I learned a love for Greek and roman myths in the fifth grade. I nurtured it through out my school days until I arrived at college. My world literature course was heavy on the Greek. The insanely thick textbook is the only one I kept after completing the course. I got an A+, *brag, brag* There are many myths and stories that I am fond of. Below are some of them.
Clio. The muse of history. We named our mean old yellow cat after her. The cat is a descendant of another favored family pet that was tragically hit by a car. Clio was named as a sort of memorial to her father. She is the keeper of his history. My favorite of the nine muses.

Medea the Witch. She gave up everything she ever knew to be with the man she loved. Jason and his Argonauts landed on the shores of her father's kingdom. Princess Medea killed her father the king his heir, her brother. She did everything she could to help Jason succeed. When he left she went with him, eventually bearing him two sons. Years later Jason decides to marry another Princess for political gain. He sets aside Medea, but offers her a place as his mistress. Medea is enraged. She lashes out at Jason, who then banishes her. She is told to leave without her children and never return. Medea hatches a plan in the end gets her revenge. Jason is left with nothing in this world, as the gods favor Medea for her loyalty to them.

Eris or Discodria. The goddess of discord and chaos. Famous for rolling the golden apple marked "for the fairest" into a circle of rather narcissistic goddesses. The mischief maker. Clio the cat's adopted daughter is named for this lady. Our house was finally peaceful amongst the feline nation when the grey kitten Eris came into our lives. Our own little bringer of chaos.

My favorite myth is Hades and Persephone. It is often told as though Hades forces his will on Persephone. I prefer to think of them as the Romeo and Juliet of the Greek pantheon. They get a much better ending. I think they were in love and made it work the best way they could. As I have said time and again I am a hopeless romantic.

Fairy Tales 2

This one is my favorite fairy tale. That is why it gets a whole post dedicated to it.

If you know your Disney Classics then you recognize the villain on the left. Maleficent. The evil fairy(?) from Sleeping Beauty. Is it just me or does any one else think she was created as a cross between the Evil Stepmother from Snow White and The Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz? She even has her own version of flying monkeys. Well, except that they are not monkey and they can't fly. Still evil henchmen though!

I think we can all sympathize with Maleficent. She was a little miffed that she did not get invited to the party of the year. How could she miss that slight? Like she was going to believe every one in the kingdom had to wash their hair that night. How does she handle it? She curses the popular girl with death by sewing machine. Deep down Maleficent is sensitive because a laid back soul would have been a little less over dramatic.


That is the girl in question on the right. She is not usually blue. Just the picture.
Aurora or Brier Rose as she is sometimes called is whisked off to live with three not so dramatic fairies in the forest. The plan is to keep her there until she turns sixteen. That is the age the curse comes into play. I would have kept her hidden until seventeen so the curse would be null. How smart is it to keep her out of the public eye until she is in danger? Not the best plan ever hatched.

Poor girl is bored out of her mind so she has started talking to the local wildlife and singing like a lunatic at the top of her lungs. ANOTHER lost prince wanders upon ANOTHER hidden princess. Seriously, get GPS. They fall in love not knowing that they are already betrothed from the cradle. That causes a little friction.

Philip wants to marry Brier Rose but he is promised to Aurora. Brier Rose wants to marry Philip but she has to go home and marry unknown Prince. Gee how useful would a little honest communication have been to these two?

Pouty Princess allows herself to be duped into coma by manuel labor. Grimm's Tale has her sleeping for a very long time. I prefer the quick nap Disney does. Philip rides to the rescue but before he can smooch sleepy he has to battle the baddie. Maleficent goes overboard again turning herself into a dragon that belches green flames. Not very familiar with fairy tales I guess or she would know that part of Prince 101 is dragon slaying to save yon maiden. The inevitable takes place. Prince slays dragon, Princess awakens from true love's kiss, happy couple get happy ever after.

Fairy Tales 1

I heard all the popular fairy tales as a child. I think most of us did. Maybe you were told the classic Grimm's version. let me tell you, they were grim. I have heard it said that fairy tales were really created to teach children social dangers.
The world is quite strange when you look at the lessons fairy tales were supposed to convey.

Take the story of Rapunzel. Pregnant Mom drives her husband nuts with cravings. Desperate, he scales a tall wall to steal some kind of vegetable called rapunzel. Wife loves it. Wants more. Owner of garden notices all her hard work has been for naught as someone has been making off with her goods. Gardener is really a witch and tells dear old dad he can have all the rapunzel he wants if he promises to give her whatever she asks for in return some day. Of course being a man he doesn't think and says "sure."

Baby girl is born and witch asks for the child. She takes the child and raises her high up in a tower never cutting her hair. so we now have theft and vanity among our sins. A Prince gets lost in the woods hunting and notices Rapunzel and her ladder of hair. He watches her interact with the witch and pretends to be her the next day. Naive Rapunzel goes along with whatever princey poo says and plays several rounds of booty call. Bing* can we have fornication please.

This is where I have heard two versions. Version one: Prince forgets to re lace Rapunzel's corset tipping off the witch that she has had another visitor. Version two: Rapunzel is getting thicker and rounded in the waist. Unable to re lace her corset witch notices that she is pregnant. Both find Rapunzel kicked out with her hair hacked off. The Prince returns, is tricked by the witch into believing he is crawling up to meet his beloved. He is thrown from the window and lands in a rose bush. The thorns blind him. He wanders the forest for several years before coming upon a woman and her twin sons. It is Rapunzel. Her tears of joy land in his eyes returning his sight.

You see the couple had already been punished for their sins. So they got to have a happily ever after. Not all of Grimm's end so well.

The original tale of the little mermaid finds the Prince falling in love with another woman. The mermaid is offered a chance to regain her life from the sea witch if she will kill the prince. so in love she refuses and is then sentenced to die for her love. I prefer the Disney version with Ariel and Prince Eric.

My daughter is named after a type of mermaid. The Lorelei or Lorely are sirens found in the Rhine River. The story is that Lorelei was in love with a sailor. He either died of betrayed her. Bitter, she decided to end it by throwing herself off of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. It is said that her spirit became a siren. she sings, luring sailors on ships to travel too close to the rocks. The boats are destroyed, the sailors die. Charming right?

Lorelei also means "alluring melody"

We prefer to go with that meaning.









Cinderella is my Mother's favorite. A life serving humbly is rewarded with the chance to become a queen.

Cinderella does everything with out complaining. A virtue praised in the bible. I believe he passage says, "Do everything with out complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure." Many blessings on dear Cinderella for her virtuous behavior.

I kind of thought the lesson was don't let your parents remarry.







Alice in wonderland. Hmm. I always just thought that was going to have to be explained as a dream. If it was anything else then large amounts of mind altering drugs were involved.

That said, I love the Cheshire cat. My favorite part of the movie is when he asks Alice "Can you stand on your head?" What makes is so funny to me is that he has detached his head, sat it on the ground, and is standing on it with his feet. If you have seen the movie you know what I mean. If not, you might be asking if I have had large amounts of mind altering drugs.

I assure you. I only take the ones my doctor prescribes for me.



Beauty and the Beast. Do you have to ask the lesson here? Beauty is found in word and deed. Outward appearance is fleeting. Never rely on looks to last.

I remember seeing Beauty and the Beast when it came out in theaters. I did not get all the symbolism then. This is one of my favorite fairy tales. I love that the couple found themselves in love with the people each other were. Not the idea or how they appeared.

I have been a sucker for true love and a happy ending from the cradle I swear.