Mom…

 

This picture sits at my office at work.

I can’t help but smile whenever I look at it.

It has all the elements that make me happy: the wind, the beach, the white sand between my four year old toes…and my mother…

I look at this picture and I see a child with no worries in the world with a mother who constantly dotes over her with all her love and support; a father behind the camera who captures the moment on film knowing that one day his daughter will look back on this photo with heartfelt emotion and love.

I still hear the waves crashing in the background and the seagulls fluttering above.

I still smell her Oil of Olay skin cream and the scent of her flowery perfume.

It’s a perfect mixture that dances with the fresh ocean air and warm sun.

Her warm hugs and infectious laughter still resonate within my soul.

The joy, the energy, the light in her eyes when she looked at me.  I was her world.

The smiles…the happiness…the comfort of being a kid.

A blessed childhood.

A moment in time captured to remind me of the cimplicity of life and what really matters: Family-Love-Togetherness

This photo captures the essence of who I am today: a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend.

Time goes by so fast, I can hardly catch my breath.

I now create these memories with my little girls.

I, now, the doting mommy with all the love and support to give.

In my daughters’ eyes, I’m now the hero.

But…I still need her…my mom…my hero…

When the world seems just too heavy and I want to escape, I think of her…

If I could just hold my mother’s hand and dig my four year old little toes into the white sand once again…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

SANDRA GUADARRAMA-BAUMUNK is the mother of two little girls and through the urging of family and friends, has written about the comical life and times of parenting her children along with the issues the modern day mom faces.  She is currently working on a book to bring the memoirs of her blog to life:  thenotsoperfectmom.com.  She lives with her daughters and husband in Maricopa, AZ.

Ankarlo Still Resting

Ankarlo still needs more rest and will be home this week doing just that.  He is still recovering from a severe concussion he received in a car accident two and a half weeks ago.  His doctors have told him to sleep, sleep and sleep.  He says he has been getting a lot of rest.  I will keep you updated. 

Ankarlo Has Gone Home

Ankarlo gave it his best today.  But, he’s just not ready to come back to work.  We made a decision to have him go home and rest.  He needs it.  Rest will be the key to his recovery.  I will continue to provide updates as I get them.  You can also follow Ankarlo on his twitter account here.

Let’s Be Honest

After the September 11th attacks we all wanted our government to protect us from the threat of terrorism.  The Bush administration (with the suggestion of several Democrats) created the Department of Homeland Security to do just that.  This week that agency created a firestorm when they released a report called, Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment. 

The assessment warns that, “rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues,” such as the economic downturn and the election of our nation’s first black president.  In addition, “rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat.”

It goes on to say, “Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities and restrictions on firearms ownership and use.”  Later it says, “rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat.” Now, everyone seems to be saying this report is offensive to veterans, people that believe in state’s rights and the constitution.  Some even believe the government is keeping tabs on conservatives that don’t agree with abortion.

Even Senator John McCain chimed in, ”I think it’s an insult to the men and women who have served our country in the armed services.”  Senator Jon Kyl added, “I don’t know where they get the idea that somebody who served the country, who’s pro-10th Amendment, pro-Second Amendment, who’s pro-state’s rights, makes them a security threat to the United States.  That’s sort of a belief in the U.S. Constitution in my book.” 

Can I be honest with you?  If you think this way you are over reacting.  Nowhere in this Homeland Security assessment does it say that returning military members are a threat.  It simply points out that a 2008 FBI report found that “some” returning veterans have become involved with white supremacy groups.  That’s a fact.  It’s not conjecture.  Nowhere in this report does it say that if you believe in the U.S. Constitution, if you are pro-life, go to Church or if you belive in the right to own a gun you are an extremist.  It’s just not in there.  The government isn’t watching you.  They don’t have the resources or the time. 

The Department of Homeland Security is doing exactly what we asked them to do back in 2001.  They are studying different organizations to determine whether or not they pose a threat to this country.  DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano called them “routine.”She added, “Let’s focus on what this is.  It’s an assessment of a situation where you have a down economy and other factors that go on that historically have given rise to violence…we (DHS) try to protect against violence all the time.”  The report warns of the rise of extremists groups similar to those that formed in the 1990’s.  It’s not talking about attending a tea party.  So let’s be honest.  Let’s stop trying to drum up fear and make this something it’s not.

You remember the name Richard Poplawski?  On April 4, 2009 he murdered three police officers in Pittsburgh.  He had no real reason to kill them though he thought Obama was going to take his guns away.  He frequented white surpremacist chat rooms talking about a “Zionist occupation.”  He even attempted to become a Marine in 2005, but was discharged after punching his drill sergeant.  Clearly, this murderer is disturbed.  He is the type of person DHS want law enforcement to look out for, not you.

April 15, 2009

Today on a tax day edition of Ankarlo Mornings:  Ankarlo thinks the government is pitting us against each other based on our ideology.  This is based on two reports released by the Department of Homeland Security detailing both rightwing and leftwing extremists.

Also today, Ankarlo talks about office suck ups, being a giver, not a taker and the Chandler teacher love deadly love triangle.

Gov’t Watching Extremism?

The Department of Homeland Security has released two reports in the past couple of months looking into the different types of rightwing and leftwing extremism.  Ankarlo is talking about these today. 

Read the report on rightwing extremism here.  It’s called RightWing Extremism:  Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.

In the report read about ammo storage, fear that your guns will be taken away, and hatred of the first black President.

Read the report on leftwing extermism here.  It’s called LeftWing Extremes Likely to Increase Use of CyberAttacks over the Coming Decade.

In the report read about how radical animal rights groups might use cyber attacks to threaten corporations.

Somebody’s Watching

Groups across America participated in “We Surround Them.”  Thousands have engaged in, or will a 21^st Century Tea Party.  Millions of citizens want illegal immigrants turned away at the front door.  In recent months 7 million of you went on government watch lists because you applied for a gun permit.Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano in a 9 page paper released last week identified all off those people and more as potential terrorist.  She said in part, “…”right wing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms and use.”  She called her report, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” According to author Roger Hedgcock there are 850,000 federal authorities to keep an eye on right wing citizens—in other words the new terrorists of 2009.  Oh she did a paper on those crazy left leaning Americans—you’ll get yours too.  The 10^th Amendment reads,” The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  In other words, this country was founded on the principle of strong and powerful states rights. No more!“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. He added, “I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If we don’t get a handle on our nation now and if good men and women of America don’t make a run office soon—soon there won’t be in offices left to apply for!Ankarlo’s Take is written for broadcast.  You can hear it here or live during Arizona’s Morning News at 6:20 on News/Talk 92.3 KTAR.

Chasing Your Dreams

April 14, 2009

Today on Ankarlo Mornings Ankarlo gets the hiccups.  And he can’t get rid of them.  Finally, a suggestion comes through that helps.  He tells you how.

Also, Diane thinks Ankarlo might have a curse on him.  He’s had such a run of bad luck, it might just be more than bad luck.

If you were paid by your employer to take a year off and go help people, what would you do?

Offended?

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