Obama Spoke To Me In a Dream Last Night

Well, actually, he didn't, which is precisely the point.

We got iPhones a few months ago, and I have to admit, they are fairly miraculous. They have made many things easier and more fun, and I am thoroughly enjoying having one. But when my husband asked me the other day if I like my phone, I gave him the honest, if hard to admit, response: "I do like it, but I need to have a different relationship with it."

Apparently, Obama and my subconscious agree.

Last night, I dreamt that I was watching my daughter play in a soccer game against a team on which played one of the Obama girls. This was the coolest thing ever! There we were, on a great expanse of green grass, on a lovely sunny day, watching girls play the Beautiful Game, and there was Mr. President, looking casual, jaunty and charming, watching his daughter as well.

I was so excited! I might get to talk to him, to shake his hand, to ask him why John Boehner is such a tool!

But first, I thought, I have got to Facebook this!

So I stepped away from the field for a moment to try to compose some super witty post about Obama and me hanging out, but my phone was being testy, and the Facebook ap was being weird, and I couldn't get the post to go up. It was supremely frustrating. I tried for awhile, editing my thoughts, trying to come up with the best little phrase to capture the moment...and the ap was failing me big time.

Forget it, I thought. I can either post about being here with Obama, or I can go hang out with Obama. I'm opting for the latter! But as I turned back to the field and the other parents watching the game, I saw his motorcade pulling away. He had to leave before the end of the game (maybe to go over to Home Depot to find a new color of paint for the debt ceiling, since it seems like we might be stuck with the one we have). I watched him drive away and felt like such a fool for missing my chance.

Gone. Gone. I didn't get to talk to the Leader of the Free World, because I had my stupid nose stuck in my stupid iPhone, trying to compose some stupid FB post. Stupid is as stupid does.

If I had one of these, I'd have to edit it...

...to say Soccer Mama missed Obama.

So yes, I need a different relationship with my iPhone. Clearly, it's getting in the way of some IRL moments. Obama may not be in my living room, but six other people are, and they might just be more important in my little sphere of existence.

At least I don't need a professional to interpret this one for me.

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I Wonder What Kind of Beer Obama Drinks

Yesterday, we bar-b-qued for dinner, an activity that always entails many trips back and forth between the kitchen and the bbq area of the backyard. We tend to leave our drinks in various locations, so part of tonight was devoted to questions like: Whose beer is this? Did you take yours outside? Had you already had this much? Is this one mine or yours? You know, important questions. Questions of family stability and marital harmony.

My nine year old, sensing the weight we place on such matters, remarked: "You guys talk about beer like Obama talks about health insurance."

I think he's on to us.

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Sign Health Care Petition

President Obama will give a major speech next week laying out what he thinks needs to be in the health care bill.

This is a critical crossroads. The president needs to hear that Americans are counting on him to stand up to the status quo and fight for real reform with a strong public health insurance option.

I just signed a petition telling President Obama I'm counting on him to fight hard for a bold health care reform bill. Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/hcobama

Because no one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick.

(Most of this is a cut and paste job from moveon.org; thanks for joining the cause!)

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O'Bama is My People!

I'm Irish. Sort of. I mean, somewhere back in the fogs of time, people were born in Ireland, who gave birth to other people, who gave birth to other people, and so and so forth, and some of those people finally ended up here in America, and then two of those people gave birth to my mom and dad. (Technically, not to my dad, as his father gave him his Irish heritage and she-who-gave-him-birth gave him his Croatian blood, but you get the idea.)

My folks are a wee bit Ireland-obsessed, and I was raised to love fiddle music, get misty-eyed at green fields, and of course, enjoy my pint of Guinness. Mom and Dad owned and operated a fantastic Irish Pub in Sonoma for 14 (or so) years, which is still going strong under new ownership.

Rick and I honeymooned in Ireland, because while he is Mexican and Italian (I know! Lucky me!), he really wishes he came from the same sod that brought forth James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, and Irish Stout.

So I can't say thank you enough to my dear friend Karen, herself an Irish lass (a whole lot more so than I am), who, along with her full-blooded hubby, has a brood of pale-faced boys that can trace their roots back to Erin. Karen sent me an email tonight with the PERFECT content for my "Barack Obama" post. I was wondering how to add to the blogosphere's already saturated Obama material. And while I'm sure this is going viral on the internet, I'll go ahead and jump on that bandwagon.

I wept while watching the Inauguration...I felt the dark curtain lift from the world...I rejoiced to watch both history and our future unfold. And now, I can claim a bit of Barack as my own. Enjoy!

Moneygall is a small village in County Offaly, Ireland. It has a population of approximately 300 people, has a Roman Catholic church, five shops, a post office, a national school, a police station and two pubs.

The 44th President of the United States Barack Obama's great-great-great grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, emigrated from Moneygall to New York City at the age of 19 in 1850 and eventually resettled in Tipton County, Indiana. Kearney's father had been the village shoemaker, then a wealthy skilled tradesman.

And now for the SONG...Crank up your speakers: There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama

Thanks to the Corrigan Brothers for this inspired ode to our new President!

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