Valentine's Day is coming up

( my valentine postbox )

For Dickens Fans

Here's a cool interactive map of Charles Dickens' London.

Meredith Brooks - Bitch

I know I'm late to the party, but this is my new personal theme song.

( The Lyrics )

I first learned of this song when Fiona, for a Christmas present, gave me a DVD/movie with photographs of me (doing karate, cooking, laughing, doing things with my girls) with this as the soundtrack. I love it that my fourteen year old daughter thought that this song sums me up.

I think it means I must be doing something right.

Question for parents: Tell me about something that happened with your child that made you think, "Damn, I'm doing this parenting right."

As a follow up to my last entry

What is your personal theme song and why?

Swords!

National Karate is going to start doing (Japanese) sword forms, starting at black belt level. Cool. I have a couple years to wait, but presumably Fiona will be starting soon. She's having a blast learning to use the kamas, and she's picking up that form quickly. I hope to get a video up of her doing it soon.

I had my class tonight. The black belt class was right before mine, and I was watching some of the first degree, second degree, and third degree forms. It was fascinating to watch. I was thinking, just think, by the time I'm about fifty, I'll be doing that. Will I really look that confident, that powerful, that fierce? I guess so--I remember thinking the same way when I was a white belt, watching the red belts, and damn, here I am a red belt, and yes, I can lock out and hold a side kick and yes, I can kick to the head, at least sometimes. I'm very excited about karate and enjoying it very much--despite a couple of rocky sparring classes lately. It's enormous fun.

Delia starts pre-testing for black belt next month.