The Secret Language of Birthdays

A good blogger friend, ‘Another Maria‘ was kind enough to translate Justice and Jasmine’s horoscope based on their date and time of birth.  Here is the result.  The information was taken from “The Secret Language of Birthdays” by Gary Goldshneider & Joost Elffers.

July Thirty-First: The Day of the Human Portrait

Strengths: Observant, Expressive, Visual

Weaknesses: Anxious, Disturbed, Isolated

Those born on July 31 take a special interest in what it means to be a human being. Philosophical and moral questions concerning the nature of humanity absorb them, especially where unusual and abnormal aspects of people are concerned. Consequently no question concerning the behavior of mankind is off limits to them, and rarely will a subject be too upsetting to examine and discuss. Stories of persecution, imprisonment, tyranny and torture may hold a fascination for those born on this day, as do martyrs, saints and other highly spiritual figures, and their acts of kindness and courage. This is not to suggest that those born on this day reserve their interest in humankind to the exceptional alone; on the contrary, they are also absorbed with the everyday life, customs and habits of people.

July 31 people have a great need to share and communicate what they have learned. The more introverted personalities born on this day often record their impressions in writing (diaries, letters, essays) or fine arts, particularly drawing and painting; extroverted July 31 people may wish to make their contribution through direct social interaction. In either case, there is a marked descriptive or visual talent associated with those born on this day. Both the introverted and extroverted types often display an interest in promoting their notion of the ideal man or woman, or the ideal society.

Most July 31 people put their work ahead of all else, which may not always make them the favorite of their family and friends. As family members they are not infrequently the subject of controversy and the object of criticism. Some July 31 people may even choose to live alone precisely for this reason; it is as if they are too much involved with mankind in general to have time for a great deal of personal interaction.

Those born on this day generally have a practical, realistic outlook but may tend at times toward the pessimistic. If their assessment of life around them becomes overly negative and then gets turned inward, it can make for true unhappiness. Thus the realism of July 31 people can be valuable and healthy but must never become a destructive negativity. Those born on this day must remind themselves that the immediate world around them can be greatly improved through their efforts, and that their dedication to more universal social issues may be of less usefulness. Perhaps practicing daily acts of kindness themselves constitutes their best chance of becoming the ideal human being they so greatly admire.

Leo

Leo Stones & Uses

Yellow topaz: restores inner calm, eases stress Tiger’s eye: grants vitality

Ruby: strengthens heart energies Milky yellow amber: grounds visions

Colors: Ocher, golden hues

July 23 – August 23

Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac, representing the radiant creative forces of the individual which light up the world around it. It is the second fire sign, but unlike Aries, its powerful energies are fully under control. Leo symbolizes the need of the ego to make its mark on the world. Ambition, power and self-confidence are hallmarks of this sign. The courage of The Lion and its regal bearing make it respected, if not feared, by other animals.

Ruled by the Sun, Leo represents fully realized expression through powerful and directed action. Leo likes to lead, and expects others to follow with due deference. However, sharing and warmth are important to this sign as well. The sunny, leonine nature of the golden sign demands enjoyment, satisfaction and harmony. On the other hand, Leo does not hesitate to give battle to the forces of injustice, oppression and darkness whenever called upon to do so.

Leo can be seen as an evolutionary stage between cancer and Virgo that transmutes protective, empathic and sensitive energies into service-oriented, discriminating and analytical ones.

The Leo Personality

If Leo is taken to represent the fifth period of life, age 28-35, the Leo personality can be likened to the mature adult bringing the full force of his/her personality to bear on the world. Leos love to make their presence felt through grand gesture. They dislike meanness and pettiness, and, like the regal king of the beasts, prefer to overlook anything which they consider unworthy of their attention. Big-hearted, Leos generally give a lot or not at all. Sometimes receiving the gifts of others can be difficult for them. Leos not only tend to operate on their own terms but generally display the strength to refuse an offer which is not acceptable and the steadfastness necessary to stick to their decision. In keeping with their code of honor, they generally pay off when they lose a bet or fail in an investment, and expect others to do the same. To them, the given word is the law.

Leos love to be admired, not only for their physical appearance but also for what they do. Being placed on a pedestal by others does not bother them in the least. Often natural leaders, they will revel in exemplifying the best traits of the group they represent – whether family, social or political. Yet most Leos prefer accomplishing tasks without fanfare, wishing to convey a highly confident, secure image.

A Leo’s home is his/her castle. Those born under this sign must be proud of where they live, and when happy with their living arrangements, enjoy nothing more than sharing hospitality with others. The faithfulness of a Leo is legendary – a Leo will defend family, friends and mates to the last drop of blood if necessary. Yet fixed attitudes and attachments to outworn arrangements can also stand in the way of their growth.

Leo I – “Authority”

July 26 – August 2

The Leo I period takes Authority as its central image. This period can be likened to the beginning of the mature adult life as an individual turns thirty. Confidence can run high at this point if the doubts and uncertainty of the first Saturn return (age twenty-eight or twenty-nine) have been resolved. Beginning the process of establishing oneself as an authority in a given field can be a focus at this time and an absorbing task. Some must assume the role of authority to their growing children, while others may look to an older, more experienced person who can serve as a teacher, a guide who can initiate them into a broader understanding of the world. Other Leo I’s may strengthen their sense of confidence through what they learn from books, methods, religious or spiritual teachings, philosophy, etc.

The days which comprise Leo I symbolically reveal the mature adult developing a truly original style, making important decisions for him/herself and the family or work group, and in general trying to be successful in life by making his/her name known and trusted.

The Leo I Personality

Leo I people are among the most powerfully authoritative of the year. Although many have leadership qualities, it is not the act of commanding others that usually appeals to them but asserting themselves and being taken seriously. Also, much of their energy is channeled inward rather than outward, toward developing their own strengths and abilities. Success for these tough individuals may not always be measured in worldly terms either. Often they have private goals- whether intellectual or physical- which they pursue with unrelenting tenacity. Surpassing their own previous achievements may figure prominently for them.

Leo I’s are not people who blend in with the wallpaper. In fact, too often they feel the need to dominate their environment. The more advanced born in this period learn that greater results can often be achieved without making their presence felt too strongly. However, the posture of a Leo I naturally tends toward the imposing and therefore no matter what they do it is difficult for them to remain unobtrusive. Since their outlook is generally forceful and positive, Leo I’s may not be able to understand moodiness or negativity in others. If their own outlook becomes negative through rejection or failure, they may be ill-equipped to deal with it.

Leo I’s often find themselves in situations where they are called upon to make decisions for others. They tend to be upwardly mobile in their orientation and may well reach positions of power where responsibilities can be truly crushing. For the most part, those born in this period are more than capable of handling challenging demands, but in some cases their own private goals and real interests can get swallowed up by their professional life. This can, of course, lead to frustration. Perhaps one scenario for such Leo I’s is that in their drive for success they make themselves indispensible to their firm or organization and then are simply unable to leave, having grown used to the rewards earned and the feeling of being needed and valuable.

First of all, the Graco seats were getting too small.  They always seem to get fussy after about 10-15 mins (unless they fall asleep) and it would always seem to get them hot, like the material was not breathable enough.  Lastly, the seats were rear facing.  There was nothing we could do about this.  It was required because of their height and age and of course for their safety.

However, now that they are almost a year old and over 20 lbs, they can now sit facing forward.  This is how we set up the new Britax seats.  When I say seats, I don’t just mean the two seats for Justice and Jasmine, but I also mean the extra pair of cars seats, one set for the truck and one set for the mini-van.  Yes, kids are expensive!

I realize that it is safer to keep them rear facing as long as possible, but it is very hard on us to keep them entertained.  Their crying and fussiness are sometimes unbearable.  In an enclosed vehicle, their cries amplify in stereo surround sound.

Now that they are forward facing, they have a whole new world ahead of them.  They can look outside, they don’t get motion sickness from being rear facing, and most of all, they can now watch their favorite DVDs while traveling.  This alone keeps them quite and entertained.  Thank God!

When we had the Graco seats, Ebru would have to sit in back and entertain them.  It was a tight squeeze for her.  We couldn’t take the mini-van because there was no middle seat.  The mini-van middle row seats are two captain chairs and not a bench seat like the truck.  So now we have the option to take either vehicles when traveling.  In this economy, it’s definitely going to be the mini-van.

I highly recommend the Britax Boulevard seats or any of their products because of their overall quality and features.  The Boulevard in particular has adjustable headrests and very smart strap adjustments that make it so much easier to take them in and out of the seats.  You can see from these pictures how comfortable they are.  They are living room chairs.  They even use the armrests like grown ups.  Let’s just hope they don’t outgrow these seats anytime soon.

We were pleasantly surprised on how nice it was inside.  The entrance fee was definitely affordable, the landscape was beautiful, and there were tons of things to do for kids and adults.  They had a farm, a kids playground, a big tree house, and other very cool sections throughout the park.  It’s not very big so 1-2 hours will get you from one end to the other.

There is only one place for food.  However, there are plenty of places to just sit down if you brown bag your lunch.  They have very cool picnic areas for parties and such.  It gave us some good ideas for Jasmine and Justice’s 1 year birthday party.

They could not fully enjoy the park because they are not walking yet, but once they do, they will have a blast.  We’ll definitely be back when they start walking.

For now here they are in our walking packs.

These pictures were taken with our new Sony Cybershot 14MP Camera (resized for this post).

Not sure it was a blessing though because these last 5 months has been very difficult.  I’ve said in my last three posts that people say it will get better.  I’m gonna slap the next person who says that!  Everyone who says it is someone without kids, a singleton parent, or a parent that had kids one at a time.  No one really understands us and what we’re going through.

Of course friends my age have kids that are in freakin college by now and we’re just starting out.  They are way past this stage and can only empathize with us.  We have no consistent support of any kind.  It’s just me and Ebru.  Once in awhile we get help from our sister-in-law and we appreciate that!  We just too busy taking care of them that we don’t even have to to research for outside help.

We hope that the New Year we better.  We hope that they both will sleep longer and cry less.  Sometimes we feel that we don’t have normal babies?  Either that or we’re just so green behind the ears that WE may be causing their pain and suffering.  Either way, we hope next year is better.  Next year is actually less than 2 hours away from the time of this post.

It’s also time for me to hit the hay and hopefully meet the New Year with renewed hope and more rest.  I’m sure I speak for myself and Ebru when I say that our resolutions are for better health and exercise, assuming we get enough rest physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Thank you to our readers who provided their support and friendship!

Love you all!  Have a great New Years!

More of Justice and Jasmine.  Today they are exactly 5 months old.

No to strangers

Growing up our teachers and parents would always say, ‘don’t talk to strangers’.   As a kid this was hard for me.  I trusted people too easily.  I didn’t know any better.  But now-a-days, this lesson doesn’t just apply to talking to strangers in person, it also covers talking to strangers on the internet.

The internet can be accessed just about anywhere from almost all electronic devices.  If you have access to the internet then you will have access to the hundreds of social networks out there like Facebook, Tweeter, and MySpace just to name a few.  If you have an iPhone, then you know there is an app for these social networks.  This makes access even easier and more dangerous for our kids and family.

As parents I am sure we try our best to monitor our kids online usage.  Some parents go as far as to add themselves to their kid’s social network groups.  That’s a start!

But it has to start even before that.  I’m not here to tell you how to parent your child, but I believe if you want your kid to learn important lessons, you have to teach them early.  This idea of not talking to strangers should apply to strangers in person and strangers online.   There are just too many evil people out there and they have gotten smarter over time.

These ‘strangers’ use social websites to gather information about you, where you are, when you’re not home, etc.  They don’t even have to be added to your social network.  If your status updates are visible to the public, then there is some risks that you could be targeted by ‘these people’.

I hate to see people being victimized by these tech savvy ‘strangers’.   Please inform your kids and family to be more discreet in their online status and offline encounters with ‘strangers.  Society is not what it used to be.

Do as I say, not what I do.

See the rest of our Nispiros Portal Lessons.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

We are now 13 days behind in coming up with a solution for California’s budget.  The impact to the State and citizens of California is devastating.

In Sacramento alone our neighborhoods will suffer with the layoff of police and firefighters.  Our children will also suffer because of the cutback of programs and shut down of schools.  Furlough Fridays and increases in prices all around is hurting us all and no one is getting pay increases in the foreseeable future.

So it means we’re less safe, have to spend more, and be more stressed with the lack of  job security.

This is certainly not a healthy or safe environment for us.  While we support the budget cutback policies of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s definitely getting harder and harder to bare each day that the budget does not get resolved.

We pray that the lawmakers get their act together, agree to disagree, and make a decision now!

I'll do it!

Have you ever assigned a task to someone only to find out later it’s something you should have done yourself?  I find myself wondering that so many times.  Funny thing is is that I assume that the other person understands my instructions.  I don’t want to give too much detail because I want to give the other person a chance to use their imagination to accomplish the task.

Funny thing is, even when I provide step-by-step details, the person still doesn’t get the task right or at least not up to my expectations.  I think, ‘are my expectations too high?’.  Then I think again, ‘no’.  When I ask someone to clean the kitchen, I expect it to be as tidy as possible without having to bust out a toothbrush.

What I think is that most people just don’t take ownership and don’t take accountability for what they do or what they are assigned to do.  It’s sad really.  When you add this lack of ownership on top of high expectations, there is a real let down there.  This is life I guess.

If I really want something done right, I’ll have to do it myself.

I’d like to be able to depend on family and friends, but everyone is too freakin busy.  I might get some type of help, but the level of effort on their part is usually low to medium.  Maybe I need to try to set expectations when I ask for help and if I can’t get a commitment, then I should just say, ‘no problem’.

There are times when the instruction I give is longer than the task itself.  It could take me 5 minutes to explain what I want, but only 2 seconds for me to do it myself.  Sad.

What would you do?

Sarah Palin

Letter to Governor Palin – No need to quit your Alaskan Governor duties early.  You’re not going anywhere.  You’re not gaining any more experience by leaving your post early.  If it is your intention to run for the Presidential Election in 2012, then what’s the rush?

For our country’s sake you should just chill and take care of your family.  Take care of them and then talk to us about Republican ‘family values’.  I’ll have more respect for you if you do.

If you haven’t read the headlines lately, you’d know that President Obama is the doing the best that he can under the circumstances.  It will take a term or more to straighten out the mess that he inherited.  Here’s a recap of President Obama’s successes his first 100 days: Obama’s First 100 Days – 10 Achievements You Didn’t Know About by Sam Stein at the Huffington Post.

Your poll results from the 2009 Elections with McCain were not that close.  If you’re thinking you have a chance, you should think again.  Our country is not ready for you.  We need change and we’ve got it with President Obama.  It’s good change that WE believe it.

We have heard what you had to say and that alone speaks for itself.  You can blame it on the McCain camp for steering you in the wrong direction or for putting words in your mouth, but they came out of your mouth.  Try leaving the country and experiencing the world for a change.  You just might get an understanding of what the rest of the world goes through every day, good times and bad.

You will know that pain and suffering is OUR life experience, not just something you read about in passing.   Understand this, fight for this and you might have a chance.  But until then relax Sarah Palin.

Regardless of the things that happened in his personal life, he was a great entertainer.  From his awesome hits and spectacular dancing, it was all Michael.  I didn’t know anyone who didn’t try to moon walk at one point or another or even try one of Michael’s famous kicks.  Back in the day, it was cool!

His music made you dance and scream.  And now that he’s gone his music just might make you cry.  He’ll be missed in our household.

Later Michael!

Bad Blogger

It’s funny how time flies when you’re having fun.  There are just so many cool things happening in and around the net that I just don’t have time to blog.  I click on one link that takes me to one site and another link for another.  By the time I know it, it’s time to go to sleep lol.

I know I’ve been a bad blogger and not paying a lot of attention to my readers.  All I have time for is just reading (and posting here and there on Facebook and Twitter).     I wish I could say I’ll have more time, but to be honest, I think I will have less time because of work and other things happening in our household.

I’ll try to balance my free time, but I can’t make any promises lol.  Like they say, I’ll see you when I see you.

Next - Stayed tuned for some video blogs in the future.  I just bought a new camcorder that uploads directly to YouTube.