Effervescent Life

Come Away With Me....

2007-04-29T00:24:00.000-05:00

Does God have a God of his own?

2007-04-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

Blasphemy right?

The Bible was written for man. So is "I am the Alpha and the Omega" specific only to mankind? What about "Godkind"?

Humans by nature are born to navigate life, but what if "Gods" are "born" to create life ?

What if our God is just an Earth geek like some of us and our spouses are Runescape, WoW, and the SIMS geeks?

What if God's purpose in God "life" was to select a planet and experiment, develop, and oversee, it? It would kind of explain the obsessiveness in the Old Testament, and the break from that rigidity in the New testament wouldn't it?

Like maybe His "God parents" made him self censor due to all the violence and smoting, and eventually made Him get off his God couch and play outside. Encouraging him to make Earth as self sustaining as possible.

And you just know He's THE MAN in his peer group because look at the other planets in our solar system.

Letters Of Concern II

2007-04-15T07:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Car Commercial,

I'm sure you thought that having a thin woman strip in elevator, revealing work-out clothes, to the tune of "Turn Me On" would be a big hit, but I know something you may find informative:

Woman know how to remove clothing, in the passengers seat of a car, while belted in. It's easy!

Considering, in the commercial they were driving from an urban area into the desert, I'm sure she would have had plenty of time to undress in the car - Giving you more time to show off the car.

You are welcome.

--Jac

Dear Craigslist Pet Posters,

I understand that when you first adopted your pet you may have done stuff like spay/nueter, did yearly check-ups and maintenance, bought supplies, and (gasp) food over the months or years you have had it, but the adoption fees many of you are asking for are ridiculous.

All those things that I just mentioned? Are things you do as a good pet owner. Don't act like I should be impressed by your dogs quality of life when it was nothing more than you should have been doing in the first place.

So unless your dog shits golden eggs, a fee similar to the local humane society is far more appropriate.

Don't even get me started on you people getting rid of purebred pets. In 4 years your dog wouldn't even watch the Westminster Dog Show, much less been able to participate. Get over it. After the puppy and mold able stages, unless your dog is shown regularly, papers and purity mean squat.

Lest you think I'm some bitter person in the market for an animal, I am not. I am a bitter person who likes looking at the adorable faces!

--Jac

Dear Kids,

Please sleep past 5:30am. Mommy is not a morning person. She is a night owl. It would be nice if you would both get that magic 12 hour mark the average child sleeps at your ages. It would make us all feel better in the morning!

Kisses,
Mommy

The Fat Kid.

2007-04-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

I remember when I was between the ages of 8-10 my parents went out for New Years Eve. They dropped us off at our Aunt's house where several other similarly aged cousins would be staying too.

There was about 8 of us being babysat by the younger sister and friend of our regular babysitter Peaches. Her name was Dawn. I don't remember the friends name.

I remember trying to comfort one of the younger cousins, and Dawn was not happy about it. She kept telling me I was making it worse, but I simply couldn't stand to see someone so miserable. (Later I read a babysitting d0's and don'ts, and I was doing everything right- IN YOUR FACE DAWN!)

So Dawn and I did not start off on the right foot.

A while into the night, I get called up into one of the bedrooms. Dawn points to an overturned cup of juice, and chides me for spilling it. I tell her that it is not my cup, and I did not spill it. Yes, we were all doing a conga line in the bedroom, but I did not spill the cup.

Dawn insists it was me, and demands that I clean up the mess. I refuse. Dawn and her friend again insist it was me because basically I was "the fat kid". Apparently in Dawn's world fat was synonymous with "bad, fault, and misbehave".

How did I know I didn't accidentally spill the drink?

See, when you're fat you incredibly sensitive about your body. You go to great strides NOT to be the clumsy oaf, the one invading peoples space, etc. You become sensitive to the tiniest details of your body. If I had hit that cup I would have known.

So I held my ground. Dawn and her friend then commence to yell at and ridicule me for being fat and clumsy in front of all my cousins and siblings. All of whom seemed to be as shocked as I was.

Yet, I still refused, while sobbing hysterically, to pick it up.

There tirade soon grew weary, and while I was briefly punished, I did not pick up that cup or clean the mess. At that point it was a battle of good vs. evil, and even at a young age I would be damned to let evil win.

Eventually our parents came to collect us, or maybe we stayed the night...

Some things fade to the background. Others haunt the recesses of your mind that you don't care to visit, but they always jump out of the closet eventually.

Being "the fat kid" was more uncomfortable than being the fat women could ever be thanks to people like her.

FTR, years and years later my little sister admitted that she had knocked over the cup, but that she was so afraid of what they would do to her, after they had reamed me, that she couldn't bring herself to admit it that night.

My Next Project.

2007-04-10T08:02:00.000-05:00

Will be to move my blog to my own hosting site. I already have the space so why not? I've already started working on it:
Effervescent Life!

Feel free to bookmark it as it shouldn't take longer than a couple of weeks to complete provided I don't break the coding somehow!

As much as I adore blogger I get lots of error messages, and commenting on other blogs has been hit or miss because of it. So once my new blog is fully functioning I will switch this blog to a regular blogger layout, and have it be read only!

I'm pretty excited about working on the new blog. It's been a long time since I edited code. I usually use a theme generator for blogger anymore!

Hope to see you at the new url soon!

Happy Birthday Little Sis!

2007-04-05T07:36:00.000-05:00

Hope you have a good one!

Attack of the Indoor Plumbing.

2007-04-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

I know I've been a bad blogger, but we've been a bit busy. I'll give you a rundown:

March 3rd we found out we got the house we wanted with a move in date of March 10th. A week away!

March 10th we moved in to discover that the laundry area did not infact fit a normal sized washer and dryer, or even stackable ones.

March 11th we had to have Rescue Rooter out to find out why our water was backing up. He assured us he had taken care of the problem when he left.

March 17th(ish) We finally got our washer hooked up after redoing some of the plumbing. Unfortunately the dryer must be hooked up in the UNATTACHED garage for now.

March 22nd we notice that the water is once again going down slowly. We scratch our heads and wonder if it is the main city sewer.

March 24th, first day we were able to do multiple loads of laundry back to back, unfortunately this causes the water to once again back up, into our bathroom, toilet, and INTO OUT BEDROOM. Rescue Rooter is again called, but they do not respond until March 26th. Which is fine as we had to move stuff out, suck up the water, and turn on multiple fans.
We are assured that whatever work that needs to be done will be done by the end of Monday.

March 26th (monday!)- We are informed that the owners are still processing bids, and this should take until end of the working day on Tue. They have rented us a room for the week at a nice hotel so we can shower.

March 28th - we are assured that someone will be there on Thursday to start and hopefully complete work on the crushed pipe provided it doesn't poor buckets(rain). BTW, It was a crushed pipe running from our house to the city sewer that was causing the back up.

March 29th - Complete! Woohoo! We now have working indoor plumbing! Time to do laundry, run the dishwasher, and shower in a familiar place! Woot.

Now you probably think that is enough water drama right? WRONG!

March 31st - Hot water valve on washer breaks flooding our bedroom AGAIN!

So here it is, April 4th, and we are just now starting to really settle in to the house. We have so much organizing to do. Not normal organizing. More like had to save, and find space for, our stuff from the flood twice organizing. Plus, doing laundry that came over dirty from the old place that simply hasn't gotten a spin in the washing machine yet because of everything else going on!

Sigh...It's going to be a long, hopefully uncomplicated, month!

Officer Celery Stalk And The Pakistani Diver.

2007-03-28T09:38:00.000-05:00

A dream.

I was for some reason on a drive along with a celery stick police officer. For some reason this did not seem weird at all.

Officer Celery Stick pulls over a big box truck. A man jumps out, and runs down the road to escape. Officer Celery Stick does not give chase.

We knock on the box trucks door, and out pops Rick. Rick is an old friend of mine from times gone by. We smile at each other and start to chit chat. Officer Celery Stick (Who from here on out will be known as OCS) ask him sternly why the man ran off. Rick says "Oh, he did? I didn't notice! Come on in!"

We enter the box truck, and there are several people in several different "rooms". OCS inspects the truck, shrugs, ans says "Sorry about wasting your time!" Rick invites us both to a "really cool pool". We accept.

The swimming pool is very large, very round, and very deep. There are many different levels of decks, and one very high up pedestal deck in the very center of the pool, in which to sunbathe. This is where I plant myself.

It was me, OCS, Rick, 2-3 of his buddies, and a traditionally dressed Pakistani man. I think I was the only female. I can't remember.

I sunbathe. The boys drink, swim, and gossip. OCS is dipping his stalk in the pool. We are all having a very nice time, but then I decide I want to get off my pedestal. I need help!

The only person on a deck even close to me is the Pakistani man. I ask him for his help as two steps leading to the sunbathing deck are similar to diving boards, and I am a big ole chicken about falling.

He is kind and steps down on one of the diving board steps to reach his hand out to me. There is terror in my eyes, but his are kind. I reach out. His hand is warm. I am terrified, but take a step.

The diving board collapses, and we plunge feet first into the pool. He grabs my other hand on the way down, but we are jerked apart on entry and I shoot to the bottom of the pool.

I flash to what's going on at the surface of the pool. The Pakistani man is telling the boys that I chose him to dive with because I knew Pakistani men were good at diving. Whatever!

Back to the bottom of the pool. It is dark and deep, but I know I must remain calm. I start a methodical and concentrated swim to the surface. Soon my lungs start to inform me that I must hurry.

I know I may not make it. I attempt to find the side of the pool as a guide.

And then I woke up.

I Gave Birth To Jim Halpert's Son.

2007-03-20T10:50:00.000-05:00

What kind of child support do you think I can pull from a paper man?

Valentine's Eve.

2007-03-20T10:46:00.000-05:00

Lo and behold valentines eve happened to occur during an ice storm in our parts. Power was out for approximately 20 hours.

Around midnight, in the pitch black, my DH gave me a rose he had bought earlier that day. I had nothing better to do, but snap a few pics of it here and there.

I didn't think any of them turned out all that well, but I just got done DLing them, and one of them did catch my eye. Sorry it's a link, but it's much too big to fit in this box!

Rose

Bad Car.

2007-02-16T09:22:00.000-05:00

DH and I were about to get divorced Wednesday.

Why, You ask? Because we were forced to drive around in the car to stay warm with the kiddos until the power came back on. After 2 hours we were at each others throats.

Half hour after we got home it went something like this:

"I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry."
"No, no. I'm sorry!"
"Really, I'm sorry."

I got to thinking, and we fight in the car all the time. If we spend more than an hour and a half in the car together we bicker, argue, and holler at each other. We don't fight like that at any other time, so why the car?

I have my theories.

One is that he wants to talk the entire trip. Those of you that have heard of my husband know that he is a talker. Randomness 24/7. He tells me what he's thinking of doing, when he's going to do it, and then informs me of every action he takes during the entire process if that give you some sort of idea. And it isn't rhetorical. Oh no, he wants me to acknowledge every passing thought. Drives me batty.

Me? I just want to listen to one song on the radio without somebody cutting into it 5x with a story opener like "I bet thats hard to navigate." I look, I see nothing. I keep listening to the radio. "I bet that was hard to navigate." Said louder this time since I didn't respond the first time (I must not have heard it).

Me: "Honey, I have no idea what you are talking about."

Him: "That big truck we pass a couple of miles ago. You must not have seen it."

Me: "Oh." (and thinking to myself that wouldn't the conversation have gone better if he had opened with "Hey! Look at that big truck!" ).

Then I get to listen to the radio for another minute until "I would hate to be them!" I look around, see nothing.........

Every single car ride. Every one.

We are just two very different people. This month marks our tenth year of being together, and we've had some outrageous fights because of our simple differences. But then we calm down, realize we still love each other in spite of those pesky differences, and call the divorce off ;)

And if this blogger post was any indication, he's rubbing off on me.

The Secret Of NIMH

2007-02-07T07:19:00.000-05:00

When I was a little girl this is one of the only videos my family owned. My sister and I watched this a million times! So of course, when seeing it on Amazon, I had to order it!

It still rocks! Though I admit that it is far more violent than any young child's movie today, the kids have watched it every day, at least once, since it was delivered!

The nostalgia I feel when I watch this movie is astounding! I remember my favorite parts, and I can appreciate it on a parental level too! The heroine is a mother-not a boy, not a male gendered monster or car, not a man. A girl, a woman.

Now, if I had ordered a copy of The Dark Crystal (Which is even more more violent and creepy, thus it will have to wait a couple years! LOL) My walk down memory lane will be complete!

What movies did you watch over and over again as a child?

Tell Me What

2007-02-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

Wil Wheaton
Shannon Doherty
mice
rats
1982
Amazon.com
My kids

have to do with each other, and I will totally pimp your blog--graphic, link, and blurb on my blog, and any website, I currently visit, where it won't be considered spam.

Letters Of Concern

2007-01-28T18:26:00.000-05:00

Dear Victoria's Secret,

I'm an adult. I've long since lost my affinity for eating tubes of flavored lip gloss. Your Sweet Talk lip gloss smells yummy. I have no desire to eat it. However, since it is a lip product, getting it in my mouth is unavoidable. I would appreciate if you could make it taste somewhat better than vaseline. Again, I promise not to purposely eat it.

Dear Ford Marketing Team,

Your Ford Bold commercial is ridiculous. The one where the guitar guy gets off the bus. Perhaps, you should consider sending your advertising team back to Advertising 101.

Dear Body,

I thought we had an agreement? I'm incredibly disappointed in your ability to catch a cold. Please refrain from this tactic from now on. I agree I need to lose some (ok, a LOT) of weight, but that is no reason to hate on me. I wish I had something to give you as a sign of faith that things will get better, but I'm near to caged in by snotty kleenex.

Sincerely,
Jac

Found It!

2007-01-24T10:26:00.000-05:00

The Living Years!

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that Im a prisoner
To all my father held so dear
I know that Im a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
Im afraid thats all weve got

You say you just dont see it
He says its perfect sense
You just cant get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we dont see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
Its the bitterness that lasts

So dont yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you dont give up, and dont give in
You may just be o.k.

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we dont see eye to eye

I wasnt there that morning
When my father passed away
I didnt get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
Im sure I heard his echo
In my babys new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
Its too late when we die
To admit we dont see eye to eye
--Mike and the Mechanics.

Blast From the Past.

2007-01-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

Me, my sister, and both of our best friends (who were also sisters!) loved this song when we were young! I just had to post it since I found it on google.

Tonight its very clear
As were both lying here
Theres so many things I want to say
I will always love you
I would never leave you alone

Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying
I dont wanna lose you
I could never make it alone

I am a man who will fight for your honor
Ill be the hero youre dreaming of
Well live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

Youll keep me standing tall
Youll help me through it all
Im always strong when youre beside me
I have always needed you
I could never make it alone

I am a man who will fight for your honor
Ill be the hero youve been dreaming of
Well live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

Just like a knight in shining armor
From a long time ago
Just in time I will save the day
Take you to my castle far away

I am a man who will fight for your honor
Ill be the hero youre dreaming of
Were gonna live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

Well live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

We did it all for love
We did it all for love
We did it all for love
We did it all for love
--Peter Cetera, Glory Of Love.

There's also one I'm looking at that has to do with a man who's father dies, and he, the singer, sings about seeing his father in his newborns eyes? But I can't come up a lyric to search for, so if you know what I'm talking about LMK!

Dear Dani.

2007-01-17T13:11:00.000-05:00

I love you.

I know we don't always get along, and our personalities clash like oil and water, but I will never not love you.

I remember when we were young, and it was me and you against the world? Ok, ok, it was just fire ant hills and bees, but those memories mean so much to me. Dancing in the baby pool on a hot summer night, playing at "the lot". How many items do you think we tested on that sensor? Riding our bikes to the carryout? Just you me.... you and me.

It might sound weird, but it doesn't get said nearly enough.
I love you,
Jac.

Not Going To College Right Away

2007-01-17T12:55:00.000-05:00

was in hindsight, the biggest decision I made that deeply impacted my life.

I was married several months after turning 18, and Effervescent Husband and I wanted all the same things.

Children right away.
One parent raising the children from home. (It only made sense to have DH work since he was experienced and loves his job)
That stay at home parent would then go back to school when Children all started school themselves.

Not really a bad plan until you throw God into the mix.

See I have fertility issues. I didn't know it then, but I sure do know. For almost 4 years whenever somebody would ask if I wanted to go back to school, I would say "no". Because I didn't want to have to drop out if I got pregnant. Again, looking back, this was not a good plan. I could have easily gotten an associates-possibly even a bachelors degree, by the time Effervescent Boy made his arrival.

Instead I worked strings of odd jobs.

Now I can't wait to do something for myself. I love my kids dearly, but I'm over being a SAHM. I'm not good at it. I don't have the focus or commitment for structure that young kids need. I like to think I would have made a better SAHP in the beginning of married life like we had planned. When I wasn't so antsy, and my fictional kids would both be in school this year too. That isn't how it happened.

I pray I don't live my life by hindsight in the future.

I'm Sorry Honey.

2007-01-11T16:40:00.000-05:00

I know I bit your head off when you woke me up within minutes of you having to leave for work. I then asked you to wake me up earlier so I would have a little time to really wake up before I have to get up.

Then I bit your head off for waking me up early.

Let's face it. I don't have a good morning gene, and it was wrong of me to set you up. Sorry!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezie.

2007-01-06T02:22:00.000-05:00

A meme courtesy of Lemon Parade.

"All you have to do is post the first line of the first post of each month." A year in review, if you will. I'm going to assume that my subject line is my first line since I think of them as the fist sentence to my entries ;)

January 2006
The Double Standard is Alive and Well.

February 2006
I'm Back From the Big Apple.

March 2006
What can I say? I'm a follower. (Pretty ironic given the stolen meme)

April 2006
April Fools Meme.

May 2006
For Sarah. (Ah! One of my absolute faves because I love Sarah!)

June 2006
Not Your Average Shoe Fetish. (Another one of my faves because I still miss my mules)

July 2006
"OH SNAP!"

August 2006
Boobies, And Nipples, And Babies! Oh My!

September 2006
A Saturday Night Review.

October 2006
Ten Odd Things About Me.

November 2006
No, Our Government Isn't The Least Bit Crazy.

December 2006
Spreading Christmas Cheer.

--

Viola! A new blog entry is born!

Dear Effervescent Husband.

2006-12-31T02:42:00.000-05:00

When you tell me that the car is acting up-stalling specifically, and I say "check the spark plugs", do not spend the next month self diagnosing the car only to spend $50 dollars on a new fangled part for the car, that 24 hours later you proclaim "didn't help".

When you go out and change the spark plugs, which works, at least have the decency to apologize for blowing me off several times during month of "diagnosis". And please remember in the future that I have been right more than 75%-90% of the time IRT car problems, where as you have spent gobs of money fixing things that weren't broken to begin with.

--------------------------

It was nice of you to spend time getting acquainted with the computer and internet this week. Very comedic. Now stay off my computer ;)

--------------------------

Yes, I'm positive I'm on my period, and no it isn't a big conspiracy to make you abstinent.

Signed,
Effervescent Wife

Christmas Questions With No Answers.

2006-12-27T08:08:00.000-05:00

Why must all dolls be naked in our household?

Why won't anybody take me seriously when I say I want a chia pet?

Why is my DD playing with a small Christmas tin, and none of her sparkly new toys?

Why is the gift Santa bought my kids as "filler", to get free shipping at a certain online retailer, the toy my son covets the most?

Why didn't we get more chocolate in our stockings? ;)

Why did Santa forget the snow?

Merry Holidays!

2006-12-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

May your holidays be vibrant.
May your holidays be grand.
May your holidays be warm,
snow, grass, or sand.

May your loved ones be giddy.
May their eyes twinkle with delight.
May those who celebrate, get a
visit from Santa that night!

May your flames burn,
for eight glorious sleeps,
and your families love
sow what it reaps.

May the winter festivals
gladden your heart,
and fill you up,
for when loved ones depart.

May you stay safe.
May you stay healthy.
May your family get-togethers
make your spirit wealthy.

May you be blessed, friends, this holiday season.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Dear Mall Santa.

2006-12-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

"I'm hiding them on the rooftop so the hunters can't kill them."

Is not an appropriate response to a 4yo asking you where your reindeer are.

Lights On. Nobody Home.

2006-12-16T21:21:00.000-05:00

This week I accidentally set my porch on fire twice.

I licked a delivery confirmation label and tried to affix it to the envelope. When it didn't stick I repeatedly tried again, getting agitated with every failure. Then I realized the label was a peel and stick.

Just a minute ago I realized I had my underwear on wrong side out. Which should have painfully obvious, some time ago, today.

Right now I'm drinking a Kahlua Mudslide. I deserve it.

Hello, Telephone!

2006-12-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

What I really said: "Hon, can you call your SIL and find out what time her Christmas dinner is so I can tell my dad what time to expect us?

What he relayed to SIL over the phone: "Effervescent Wife would like to have Christmas dinner as early as possible so we can visit her family."

What SIL probably thinks: "What a selfish bitch!"

Thanks Hon. I clearly stated that we would schedule our visit to my fathers around your families dinner since they had scheduled theirs first. NTM, the time you pulled out of "thin air"to suggest to your SIL, is the same time we have to check into our hotel. I'm not making my kids ride 3 hours, in the car, in their party clothes.

Spreading Christmas Cheer.

2006-12-06T15:09:00.000-05:00

So Prez has a list of do's and don'ts of writing Christmas letters up on her blog. I read them, and decided that writing a good letter was just too much trouble. Instead I wrote a letter I hope never to receive! I hope you'll be kind enough to write a faux letter of your own! Happy writing, and here's mine:

Dear loved ones,

Praise God! I want to start this letter out by saying that I have prayed for all of you to come to into the fold, and accept Jesus as your savior. I pray mightily that the devil has not consumed you, and you follow the light to Jesus's Holy path! Jesus loves you!

Our family is doing well.

Jenny is a senior in high school and has all "A's" in her classes. She has been afflicted with a head-scratching virus of some sort though. Her menses have disappeared, she's become extremely bloated in her stomach. We pray for her health every night before dinner that the cause of this will be found. This moves Jenny to tears. We know she is such a good girl, and God will provide us the answers soon. 8 months is too long for one of His own to be suffering.

Jebidiah is now in the 9th grade! Can you believe it! Our boy is growing up! We've had to start homeschooling him because the school refused to quit teaching about "evolution"! I pray for his ex teachers everyday! We are strongly considering moving to Kansas where God has touched the education systems soul.

Julie is now 6mo old, and sits up all by herself! She loves to go to playgroup with me, and see the other babies. I'm so glad I decided to join. Those ladies need some real parenting help! Why the other day one of the mothers was actually breastfeeding her 18 month old! I lectured her good and long about spoiling that child and turning him into a pedophile. She hasn't been to playgroup the last couple of times , and I miss her so!

As you all know Grandpa John has come to stay with us permanently. He's a strong patriarch, and we appreciate his discipline. Unfortunately Grandpa John suffers from sever bouts of constipation that must be treated with suppositories. He is unable to do this on his own, so I have taken over his care. I pray every day that he improves, and that my fingers be steady and guided by Jesus's love.

Joseph's work is keeping him busy! He often works late, and even has to go in during the weekend! It tries me sorely to be home with the kids and Grandpa all the time with no help. However I submit to Joe's wishes because I know it makes God happy, and will make me a better wife in the long run!

If you didn't know we had to put poor Buster (our dog) down. He had the devil in him! That dog humped everybodies leg, and I swear he impregnated the cat! We know we made the right choice as it is no life for a family to be in Satan's shadow. Please pray for Buster's dear departed soul.

I hope you are all having as wonderful a year as we've been having! May your Christmas be blessed, and your faith be strong!

signed,
The Grace Family

Day 1.

2006-11-24T13:54:00.000-05:00

I'm A Happy Helper.

2006-11-19T14:37:00.000-05:00

Lest you think I spend my days glued to the internet.

Quirky Quilter

That is a preview of a fundraising event I'm holding Friday thru next week. 3 baby quilts, 3 skirts, and maybe a nice surprise on the day of the event. We'll see. I had a ton of fun doing it!

Make Me.

2006-11-18T18:36:00.000-05:00

How to make a Effervescent Life

Ingredients:

5 parts competetiveness

1 part self-sufficiency

5 parts leadership

Method:
Stir together in a glass tumbler with a salted rim. Add a little cocktail umbrella and a dash of curiosity

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

Heroes

2006-11-17T07:28:00.000-05:00

News man: "Buckeye fans won't believe what this dog can do!"

(Cut to commercial)

Me:"I bet he barks 'Go Bucks!"

DH: "He probably barks the fight song."

Me: "He farts the fight song!"

(Laughter)

Said with sarcastic awe, Me: "I bet he flies!"

DH: "Save the canine. Save the world."

Late Twenties?

2006-11-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

check.

Happy Birthday to me!

I Spy

2006-11-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

with my little eye,
a shiny eyed,
birthday guy!

Happy 4th Birthday!

Not Surprised.

2006-11-09T08:33:00.000-05:00

Republicans Blame Election Losses On Democrats

November 7, 2006 | Issue 42•45

Republicans Blame Election Losses On Democrats

WASHINGTON, DC—Republican officials are blaming tonight's GOP losses on Democrats, who they claim have engaged in a wide variety of "aggressive, premeditated, anti-Republican campaigns" over the past six-to-18 months. "We have evidence of a well-organized, well-funded series of operations designed specifically to undermine our message, depict our past performance in a negative light, and drive Republicans out of office," said Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, who accused an organization called the Democratic National Committee of spearheading the nationwide effort. "There are reports of television spots, print ads, even volunteers going door-to-door encouraging citizens to vote against us." Acknowledging that the "damage has already been done," Mehlman is seeking a promise from Democrats to never again engage in similar practices.

The Onion Link
Yah, it's the onion. LOL.

Kudos To Republicans. /sarcasm

2006-11-08T17:01:00.000-05:00

They so alienated their voters that even a dead democrat won a race-and yes the voter knew the democrat had passed before they voted for her.
MSN link

Dead woman wins county commissioner's race
S.D. candidate gets 100 votes; official says voters knew she was deceased

Updated: 11:41 a.m. ET Nov 8, 2006
PIERRE, S.D. - A woman who died two months ago won a county commissioner's race in Jerauld County on Tuesday.

Democrat Marie Steichen, of Woonsocket, got 100 votes, defeating incumbent Republican Merlin Feistner, of Woonsocket, who had 64 votes.

How embarrassing.

So Proud Of Him.

2006-11-04T23:47:00.000-05:00

Dh got a promotion!!

He's now a job supervisor. He gets a company van, and maybe a cell phone.

He's the man!

What Makes Me Irrationally Angry?

2006-11-03T07:22:00.000-05:00

People who park all their cars on the street instead of at least one of them in the garage. Where are visitors supposed to park?

Robin Williams. Yep, that's right. Robin Williams.

Fundamentalists.

Mornings.

Cold Weather.

Regular Athletic Shoes. (I want my mules back!)

And everybodies "favorite:

The Nextel chirp.

You Would Love My Husband.

2006-11-02T07:15:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those contractor/construction worker experiences that make you never want to hire help again? Like your house could be falling down around you while you shake your head and murmer "It's not that bad" or "We need more duct tape." Because some horrible worker has soured what little bit of faith you have in (handy) man ?

My DH can restore your faith.

Last night he told me that he worked in his socks all day.The first job he did yesterday got his shoes muddy, and he didn't want to track it in the owners home. He worked inside almost exclusively. Took his shoes off and on each time he needed to go out for something.

That is why all the home owners lurve him.

What Card Am I?

2006-11-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

Spotted first at Escaping Suburbia.

You are The Lovers

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.

The Lovers represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.

Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that's actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

No, Our Government Isn't The Least Bit Crazy.

2006-11-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

Found this on Sybermoms.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2006 — If you're single and in your 20s, the federal government wants you to steer clear of sex.

That's the new guidance for states under the Department of Health and Human Services' $50 million Abstinence Education Program. HHS officials say it's not a requirement — just another option for states to combat what they call an alarming rise in out-of-wedlock births.

A record 1.5 million babies were born to single mothers in 2004, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. More than half of them were born to women in their early 20s.

Critics of the guidelines, such as James Wagoner, president of a group whose top goal is a "society that views sexuality as normal and healthy," say such statistics illustrate that most people in their 20s are already having sex.

Wagoner's group, Advocates for Youth, argues that it's futile to try to sell 20-somethings on chastity. He says birth control is a smarter way to prevent pregnancies.

"This is a clear signal that they're using these resources — taxpayer dollars — to promote an ideological agenda," Wagoner says. "It has nothing to do with public health."

ABC News Link

So here, we as a country are, pretty much admitting that teaching abstinance is a joke, and now asking our adults not to have sex? Is the government aware that fertility decreases and abnormalties rises, with age? Don't you think they should be?

Hey! Here's a thought, if we are worried about out-of-wedlock children, perhaps our country should offer low cost, long term birth control to every woman. Hmmm, maybe because all of our financial resources are tied up in Iraq?

Hey, here's another thought! If our country is worried about providing for these children born out of wedlock, how about we not outsource our jobs so our families have a job to go to?

Care to add a "Hey! Here's a thought!"?

I Put The crap In Digi-Scrapping.

2006-10-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

I made a little layout. It's hardly more than a premade page, but I got nothing else to share in this blog, so why not?

Feel free to use these for personal use, and make sure to full size link to get the full size(duh) graphics. Right click and save as.

Background Preview:

Background full size link.

Ornament Frames Preview:

Ornaments frames full size link.

Two Things.

2006-10-22T13:35:00.000-05:00

1. You know you aren't getting enough sleep when you start breakfast by cracking eggs over the trash can, and throwing the shells in the frying pan.

2. Wiggles TV (thats right-TV) grocery carts KICK ASS!! $1 to keep my kids occupied the entire time we are grocery shopping? Oh.Fuck.Yes.

Christmas In October!

2006-10-16T12:33:00.000-05:00

Our NOTI challenge this week is to do an entry on what would be in our own Holiday Wish List!

I still miss my Skecher mules, and I hate the shoes I bought to replace them so in order of most favorite to least favorite, here is my shoe list:

Mules:

Tredds

Porcelains

And the rest of my list:

Flash Drive!

Cake Stand.

That's it! Thanks for looking!

Long day.

2006-10-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

This was actually what I was going to title an entry a couple of days ago, but my day got longer than I thought, and I can't remember why I thought that day was going be a long one in the first place.

My DD fell out of her crib. She's fine, but has a nice bruise on her back, and a new toddler bed to make her feel better.

I spent the rest of that day cleaning out her room, which doubled as storage since all she used it for was sleeping. Daddy switched her bed from the crib to the toddler bed, and anchored her dresser to the wall.

Now she has a Little People play set on her clean floor, and plenty of stuffed toys to keep her company. Surprisingly, she adjusted well to the change, and is sleeping like a champ in there.

But she looks so tiny in her "new" room and "new" bed....

Never Gonna Happen.

2006-10-08T19:41:00.000-05:00

My ideal, 24 hours alone, would happen something like this:

I wake up in a strange queen sized bed. I pop up groggily, and realize I'm in the middle of a wheat field. The bed is on a raised platform. There is a small round table with a wooden chair sitting next to the bed. A TV is facing me from the foot of the bed, where it is sitting on top of a small chest of drawers. I see that there is a roof above my head, and that every inch of this raised platform is made out of deep dark wood planks, including the chair, table, and bedframe.

It is warm. 80 degrees, with a soft breeze. I decide I'm dreaming, and curl up inside the soft covers to fall asleep.

I wake up to a yummy smell. On the table beside me I notice a plate of eggs over easy, a garlic bagel, and glass of orange juice. I eat. It is good. I can hear myself think.

I notice that there are two paths in the wheat. One larger one that looks unappealing to me, and a smaller private one. I decide to investigate. It's a short walk. At the end of the smaller path is a small hot tub, and a lap pool. I jump in the pool to do some laps, but after about 3-4 of them I abandon the exercise in favor of doing somersaults and handstands in the water. When I'm done playing I check out the hot tub. I notice a basket of shower goodies sitting beside it. Now I'm squeaky clean, and smell like the currant and thyme scent I love so much. How do they (and who are they?) know?

Coming out of the tub I notice clean clothes. Soft, light lounge pants, with a tank top with a shelf bra (naturally) built in. I slip my feet into soft leather flip-flops that are also provided. Time to go back to the bedroom platform to see what I can find.

My dirty dishes are gone, and on the table now are a collection of short stories, and the remote control for the TV. I turn the TV on to discover that the only channels available are HGTV and the Discovery Channel. I turn the volume up, but barely goes up to half of what I normally have it. I'm actually pretty thrilled! I despise noise!

I search the cabinets in the chest of drawers to discover very little. A couple of Sunday crossword puzzles, cryptiquotes, and my diary with a pen. Heaven! But wait! In the drawer below is a Lisa Frank coloring book featuring kittens and puppies, and a 100 count box of crayons! Perfect!

I start to describe everything in my diary, and go back to the private walk to pick some stalks of wheat, and a little dirt. I hope that if I put them in my diary they will still be there when I get back...If I get back. Upon returning "home" I find a large salad, and small plate of pasta with pesto on the table. A couple bottles of water. So, SO good.

I watch TV. I read. I color. I figure out my cryptiquotes, but only about 60% of one crossword. Doing nothing really wears me out. So I nap. Because I can do that in Never Gonna Happen Land.

When I wake, dinner has arrived. Beans and rice, fresh uncooked green beans as a side, and two small lemon bars on a platter for dessert. Ice cold raspberry ice tea to wash it down with.

I start in on my diary again, figure out a little more in the crossword, and when that starts to make my eyes cross, I flip on the TV. First I watch the Discovery channel. Babies being born, awwwww!

What's that I hear in the distance? Thunder! And now lightning is filling up the sky, but the thunder never gets close. It's just a pussy cat growl.

I flip over to HGTV. Something I can watch, and not have to pay too much attention to, since I'm watching the beautiful light show mother nature is putting on.

Rain starts to come down, but its hot rain, and only a few stray drops bother to hit me since the gentle wind has ceased. I snuggle under the covers and watch the night, and listen to the rain, and again I am soothed to sleep.

6-8 hours later I wake, in my own home again, to two toddlers eagerly awaiting their goodmorning hugs.

Pictures of a Two Year Old.

2006-10-06T12:13:00.000-05:00

Here's the thing...I don't have any. Seems the last time I used the camera, and put it up for safe keeping, I forgot I wasn't hiding it from myself.

I've been looking around for it haphazardly for a couple of weeks, and looked like a madwoman on her birthday, but I just don't know what I did with it.

And I thought, "no biggie. I'll just get the camcorder out." Turns out it was out of batteries. GAH!

A Birth Story. (long)

2006-10-03T22:24:00.000-05:00

My DD turns two tomorrow so I thought I would reminisce. Let me set the table for you,

It was at least 2 weeks before my due date. My mom had come over to eat dinner, and see her grandson. We decided on Chinese food, and I decided to go for the Kung Po chicken. I figured it would be my last spicy meal, because even though spicy food = labors, is mostly a old wives tale, there is some truth to it once the baby is properly ready to be born.

DD was.

My mom left, and not more than 15 minutes later, I had a contraction. Not a big one. In fact, I thought it was a braxton-hicks. My Dr. told me I would DEFINITELY know when I was in labor, so I knew I was not. But the contractions kept coming. DH and I laughed about the timing. 15 minutes after our nearest babysitter (mom-who lived an hour away) had left. I spent the next 3-4 hours saying things like "This doesn't hurt. It can't possibly be real labor." and "Why are they so close together?"

We tried to call my mom, but after assuring us during dinner she would keep her cellphone close from now on, she turned it off to watch a movie with her BF. And who could blame her. I was weeks away from my DD, and she was just at my house, and I was fine!

Around midnight, DH and a call to the labor and delivery floor nurses, finally convinced me to go in to get checked. We woke up DS, and off to the hospital we went. I was embarrassed just being in the car, on the way to the hospital, because I was positive I was not in labor. Remember, my OB told me I would DEFINITELY know. (Side note-Yes, I had already had another child, but I was induced. Hooked up to pitocin, and yes, when the pitocin took, I could tell I was in labor, but Not having gone into labor on my own I had no idea what early labor was like)

We get to the hospital, and they make me sit in the wheelchair (grumble), and up to the labor floor we go so they can check me. At this point I'm happy to get it over with so I can go home, and go to bed.

5-6 cm. Turns out I wouldn't know when I was really in labor. I was admitted.

We got a hold of my mom, and DH's parents. Mom picked up DS, and later DH's parents took over for her, and she came to the hospital to be with us.

Now, I really should have toured the hospital before becoming a patient. I thought all hospitals operated on the concept that laboring women have the right to labor however they wished (with some limits, of course). MY hospital, which is not the same one I delivered DS at, forces their women into bed. I was not allowed to get up and labor. Not allowed to walk around, rock in the rocking chair....Hell, They wouldn't even let me lay on my sides, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the baby. It was horrible.

Surprise, surprise my labor stalled out. Here comes the pitocin, "and while you are that an epidural please"! I had planned to go natural seeing as my first labor was 6 hours start to finish, but after hours of laying on my back (did they not get the memo that that is uncomfy for pregnant women??), I needed some relief.

About 8 o'clock in the morning the pitocin was finally starting to kick the labor into gear again, and they broke my water. Still, DD was very stubborn and uncooperative. She refused to come down, and wanted little to do with the shoddy hospital as I did.

Finally, around noon, things started happening. Things like my epidural wearing off, and DD finally deciding it was time. The next 3 hours were some of the most fulfilling of my life. I went from 6cm-10cm, pushed for about 15 minutes, and welcomed a beautiful little girl into our family.

Honestly, even though the hospital experience was pretty crappy, I think my mom was the most traumatized. She had 3 kids, and not one of them lasted over 4.5 hours. She was very impressed by ability to not kill any of the staff for 17 hours. LOL!

She was 7lbs even. With a head full of short blonde hair, blue eyes, and already pale complexion. Here is a pic from when she was 0-2 months old.

I need to UL ones from the day we brought her home, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I have to go bake a cake for someone special.

Ten Odd Things About Me.

2006-10-01T00:44:00.000-05:00

I've been inspired by MommaBot:

I hold my breathe when we pass dead animals on the road. I cannot stand the thought of smelling death. Many a times I have gotten to a destination a bit oxygen deprived. I used to do it for cemeteries too, but then I got over that because you know, that would be weird.
My hair is fine and thin. Except one side is finer and thinner than the other. Seriously. I used to curl my hair in highschool, and the slightly coarser thicker side would stay uber curly, and the other side would fall flat.
I don't drive, and have never had a Drivers License. Don't care to.
I hate kissing. I'm not talking sweet chaste kisses. I hate deep, passionate, make love to me kisses. Blech.
My favorite color is orange. I don't own anything that is orange, clothing or otherwise.
I love to dig out a good ingrown toenail.
I'm still watching Sex and the City reruns even though I've seen every one at least 3x. Friends too-except I've seen every episode about 10x.
I don't wear sock, shoes, or a bra unless I absolutely have to. And if I can throw on a coat over my shirt.....
I have a tacklebox of make-up I don't use.
I dyed my hair for almost 10 years straight. Then I quit dyeing it, and it turns out it was the color I've been trying to dye it all those years.

I'm Ready.

2006-09-29T00:53:00.000-05:00

I'm crampy.

I'm bloated.

I'm achey

I've broken out.

I'm weepy, and I hate weepy.

Lets get this show on the road already!

Old News. Same Shit.

2006-09-25T23:27:00.001-05:00

In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal
Millions to Go to Digging Up Dirt on Democrats

"The National Republican Congressional Committee, which this year dispatched a half-dozen operatives to comb through tax, court and other records looking for damaging information on Democratic candidates, plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what officials described as negative ads."

Bolding mine. This is actually old news, but the ads have started. I think GWB himself is editing them because they are non-sensical and alarmist.

In the beginning of one they talk about how we (USA) destroyed Al-Qeada, and in the end they talk about how we still need to fight Al-Qaeda(with the "mighty" rally call of how the democrats don't want to protect America, ugh). Um, if we really defeated them (we didn't, but lets play along shall we) then why would there still need to be a need to fight them? I hate to tell the politicians this, but Osama Bin Laden is still at large. Oh, and HE"S NOT IN IRAQ! Maybe one of them will read this blog and catch a clue.

In the same commercial ad they show the body (specifically face) of a dead enemy. During DAYTIME programming. On one hand I hope nobody's kids see this, and on the other hand I wish they would show picture of the unfortunate civilian families ravaged by this war. Then maybe some people would realize that there is no such thing as democracy to the dead.

I'd pray that the republican party isn't swayed by this type of campaign, but Jesus hates liberals, so what's the point. (this sentence just a joke people!)

I Love Him.

2006-09-22T22:04:00.000-05:00

How can I not a man who says stuff like this?

"...the neighbor. You know, the one that lives next to us."

I swear I fall deeper in love with him every time he says something like this. I can't help it. He is the only man for me.

Salsa Dancing

2006-09-21T22:30:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have reoccuring arguements with your SO? How about petty, stupid, irrelevent quibbles?

Are latest repetitive quibbles are all about salsa. That's right . Salsa. Chunks of tomato, onion, and pepper. Spices. Salsa.

DH's parents gave us two boxes of tomatoes and a whole box of hot peppers from their garden. When the tomatoes started to spoil we froze them. Dh had been making a serving of salsa, here and there, for the last couple of weeks. The arguements start like this:

DH: "Here try a bite of salsa."
Me: "No thanks."

DH: "Don't you like salsa?"
Me: "Sure. I just don't feel like salsa"

Now, I really do like salsa, but I don't love it. I especially don't love it a couple hours before bedtime when onion and garlic lingers well after a good toothbrushing. So as I'm falling off to slumberland I'm have the aftertaste of minty, garlicky onion warming my breath. It's gross. He only makes it at night, and only enough to eat what he wants at that particular time. Therefore I have been refusing his invitation to "try it", and don't have the opportunity other wise.

Lately the arguement has evolved to this:

DH: "Why won't you try my salsa?"
Me: "Because I just don't want any, but thanks for offering."

DH: "Are you sure you like salsa?"
Me: "Yes, I'm sure I like salsa! I just don't want any right now."

DH: "Why are shunning my salsa?!"
Me: "Huh? I just don't want any salsa. I'm not in the mood."

DH: "Why won't you just try it? You say you like salsa, but you won't try mine."
Me: "I just don't want any salsa. I'm not in the mood for salsa or to eat. Good Heck! Enough about the salsa already! I simply don't want any! What now? I have to be hungry when you are and specifically for salsa? Come on!"

Seriously. We've had about 5 lukewarm fights about this. I know I should just try it, but still.

Salsa.

Somebody Shut My Filthy Mouth!

2006-09-18T00:29:00.000-05:00

After making breakfast for the kiddos, dressing them, diapering those that need it, I finally found the remote and clicked the TV on. As I'm wandering to the couch, I hear one of those Sunday morning political talk shows....

I sit down to listen. Guest is a conservative republican. Says something I hate, to which I mutter under my breath:

"Fuck you!"

Just as DD is running by to play in the toyroom. So as she skips merrily along to the playroom, I hear her singing:

"uck you, uck you, uck you".

And I just got them, and myself, to quit saying "Damn it". Damn it.

The Great Baby Doll Debate

2006-09-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

Which is, of course, only going on in my head.

I want to get the Heathen Girl, pictured here, a baby doll for Christmas this year:

But I didn't know where to start. Is it important to have a baby doll that looks like oneself? Or more important to have a doll that that differs in appearance to oneself? The only thing I do know is that I am way over thinking this.

However, I watched a show on Friday that leads me to believe HD will be recieving an ethnic baby doll this holiday season. It was 20/20 or Primetime, etc. The journalist did an experiment with young kids and asked them to describe what they thought about pictures of white people, and people of color. Overwhelmingly the kids (all races) had better things to say about the white persons. In fact when shown a picture of Timothy McVey and a black gentlemen, and asked which one they thought was a teacher, they picked TM (shudder)! The black gentlemen was a Harvard grad.

I'm thinking it is uber important that HD grows up in a diverse society. If we cannot provide that by zipcode alone then we sure as hell can make sure her tea party guests are multicultural.

------------

In a not really related tidbit, Heathen Son has weaned his baby dolls and stuffed animals. Now when he plays with them, and they become "hungry", he offers them their thumbs or paws, instead of the "breast". LMAO.

He's awefully proud of his accomplishment, isn't he?

*Yes, this entry was really just a shameless attempt to show off my heathens!

New Blog Love!

2006-09-14T19:31:00.000-05:00

I added a bunch of new blogs today. I've been reading them for a while, but I noticed that without them being in my sidebar, I don't read them as often as I like!

Vinegar Martinis!
Sarcasm, spunk, and, (GASP!) Moderation.

Adventures In Living:
A window into an Unschooling families life!

Tenas Blog Has Got It Going On:
Right now this is a collaborative venture between Tena and I. I set up the blog, but Tena will be blogging about life with an RTS cutie!
Here is a bit of their story: Caden and Tena

Dad Gone Mad:
A fathers view of parenting, life, and blogging. The title says it all.

Momma Bot:
Another sweet momma blog. Sugar and Spice? Puppy dog tails? She's got it all going on.

New and Improved Mom:
No improvement needed!

I think that was it....I know there is ONE more I would like to add ,but lost the url, and she hasn't popped in lately.

I'm also trying to figure out how to get the links to quit popping up as seperate windows. It annoys me. So if you know how I'm supposed to do that, please drop me a comment!

I'm Neurotic.

2006-09-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

My Personality


Neuroticism	71
Extraversion	4
Openness To Experience	60
Agreeableness	26
Conscientiousness	1

Find your MySpace/Xanga/Hi5 soulmate / pysch twin
Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report

MySpace Codes, MySpace Layouts and hi5 by Pulseware Survey Software

You are introverted, reserved, and quiet with a preference for solitude and solitary activities. Your socializing tends to be restricted to a few close friends. You can be very easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be extremely sensitive and emotional. A desire for tradition does not prevent you from trying new things. Your thinking is neither simple nor complex. To others you appear to be a well-educated person but not an intellectual. People see you as tough, critical, and uncompromising and you have less concern with others' needs than with your own. You like to live for the moment and do what feels good now. Your work tends to be careless and disorganized.

--------------
I don't agree with the assessment, but it was a fun quiz! Thanks Jouette!

How'd You Do That?

2006-09-12T15:44:00.000-05:00

To change my blog template I used this website:
PSYCHO

It is really easy to use, but you must find your own graphics. I decided against using a title graphic, but you could certainly put one in. Also, it definately works better when you use FireFox. The code is easy to fudge with once you have it saved and pasted into your template area. So if you decide you don't like something you don't need to start from scratch again.

And of course I'm always happy to help!

-----------------------------------------------

ETA: I just noticed that in IE one of my sidebars was dragging ass, so I fixed it! Now it should show up the same in both IE and FireFox!

My Name Is Effervescent Life

2006-09-11T08:21:00.000-05:00

and I'm addicted to BB7 All Stars.

I promise to start blogging badly again when all the BB hoopla ends. Until then, the obsession lives!

I gotta give my vote to Boogie. He might be vile, but he came in with a mission, and carried thru with it. Erika OTOH, as far as I can tell, has done nothing but made wedding plans, and nursery designs in her head. It's unfortunate to see these two bore America for 5 whole days(not to mention Erikas snoozer performance for the entire season). Though it has been fun to see Erika go batshit crazy, and Boogie squirm because helped her float over the edge of sanity.

Something's Different...

2006-09-09T23:35:00.000-05:00

Whatever could it be?

A Saturday Night Review.

2006-09-02T21:19:00.000-05:00

A Good Review:

This is a product I absolutely LOVE!

I will never understand why pads and tampons are so popular with a choice like this! 12 hours (light to medium days) of not having to worry about one's period? Hell. Yes. Yet, I cannot find them at my local grocery, Meijers, or Wal-Mart? Had to go to Walgreens. I'm guessing they can be found at most pharmacies!

They aren't difficult to learn how to use, I spend about the same amount on these as I did on other feminine products, and did I mention how much longer they can be worn for? 12 HOURS (again, tops).

Really, they aren't scary at all. Go out and buy a box. And if you find you like them you can buy other similar products that can be used over and over again, like:
Diva Cup - Silicone cup
The Keeper - Rubber version

------------------------------------------------------------

A Bad Review:

I will just link to these...

Doublemint Mints

Let me set the stage for you if you don't mind. Imagine yourself with a busy day ahead of you. You won't have access to your toothbrush, and you would rather not be chomping on gum all day long. So at the convenience shop you see these, and think "Perfect!".

Back away from them! No, RUN away from them.

I popped a couple of these in my mouth, and at first suck they seem like normal mints. Within about a minute the first layer of flavor disappears. Immediately following you get, what I can only describe as, the worst possible tasting mint on God's green earth.

Second layer can only be describes as vanilla-y, mint-y, VOMIT-y "goodness". No, no, they don't make you want to throw up, but rather they taste like throw up.

Now imagine if you will, actually forgetting about the second wave of horrible taste periodically because, when confronted with social situations that day the only thing popping into your brain is "Oh good! Mints!"..............

Big Brother 7

2006-08-31T11:33:00.000-05:00

Since I can't watch it, I might as well speculate, eh? SPOILERS!

I'm only going to comment on 5 of them since we "know" Dani is gone tonight.

Mike Boogie:
I just can't see this guy winning unless he goes up against Erika or George. He plans to vote Erika out next so that doesn't seem likely. His so commited to Will that he can't see that taking Will to the finals is bad, BAD for him. He hasn't done an original thing all season, and no one on the jury will respect that. He needs to vote of Will and Janie to get the money. Not going to happen tonight as far as I can tell.

Erika:
Poor Erika. Has no idea they plan to boot her next. Her only hope is that George wins HOH, and puts up someone else. Her desperate need to be with Boogies is revolting. I cannot believe she let him go down on her the other night, and has been pleasing him as well! Hello! We can see you! You know they are almost perfect for one another-Her with men issues, and Boogie with women issues, both dull as tofu.
Erika really needs to keep George in the game to win the money. Ironically, she needs to go to the final 3 with George and Boogie also to have a shot at winning. She's been a pretty strong floater, but won't evoke much emotion on the Jury if she can't cook up a good scheme herself.

Janelle:
I really wish she had another good friend in there beside Will. It's hard to tell what she's thinking when she doesn't talk(honest) game with anybody but Will and Boogie. Will is tainting her jury pool by making it seem like she's a puppet, but thus far she hasn't done anything she wouldn't have done for herself anyway. It would be nice if she could remind the Jury of that by shaking things up and evicting one of Chill Town. Though, I really think she should throw tonights HOH, so she can play for the next HOH, which is more important.
To get to the final 3 she really needs to get rid of Erika, because Erika is as physical as she is. Here comes the tricky part does she get rid of Will next, who is her biggest competition IRT the Jury, but hasn't won a singe HOH of POV, or does she get rid of Boogie, who seems to me more athletic, or get rid of George because he's a wild card? To be honest I think she could go with anybody, BUT Will and still win.
For entertainment purposes alone she should keep Will and get rid of Boogie.

Will:
There is no stopping this guy. The only person with a sliver of a chance of beathing him is Janelle, unless he takes George and they give him sympathy votes, but I don't really see that happening.
Will absolutely need to get the the F3 with 2 people who will take him to Final 2. One of those is Boogie, and now that Boogie is on board with evicting E and keeping J, they shouldn't have any problems. Since Janelle won't be able to play in the next HOH, if she wins the first HOH tonight, Will and Boogie have a good chance of winning the HOH, they can evict her, and beat George in the F3 challenges. I'm still not sure if Will will throw that to Boogie since Boogie will definately take him, or try to win it and take Boogie himself, or take weak George. I could also see will getting rid of Boogie, for "good tv" as he likes to call it, but that would leave him without a very devoted wingman.
It's a thinker.

George, George, George:
Not a whole lot bad to say about George except he's not very entertaining. He could be the biggest Wild Card in the game right now. He's not a great player, but he is very determined as evidenced by his slop eating, and kicking out his best friend in the house.
I think George is better off with Erika and Will in the F3. I'm not positive he could beat either one of them, but he has done at least as much as Erika has done, and he could garner sympathy votes going in with Will such as "Will doesn't need the money, so I vote for George!"

So those are my thoughts so far. They have a serious kink in them since tonights second eviction is going to be a surprise to the houseguest, and except for Janelle they don't do all that well under pressure. Most of them need a couple of days at least to plot! LOL

The Evolution Of Homosexuality

2006-08-30T10:35:00.000-05:00

God help me if fundamentalist Christians read this blog! LOL!

Do you think homosexuality could be the evolutionary answer to overpopulation? To me, it makes perfect sense.

Specifically, the USA population has been growing steadily. We are wasting natural resources at an alarming rate, and polluting the earth with man made waste at the same time.

Could our genetic material be mutating (sorry, I know that isn't very flattering) to produce more homosexuality to stem the growth of the population to try to save itself?

I haven't done the research but again, it does makes sense. More homosexuals generally equals less birth. Which in time could even out the population growth. Not to mention, if gay marraige becomes legal, and adoption agencies knew what was good for them, they would open themselves up for gay partners, and many children could be adopted. Nothing wrong with that right?

Thoughts?

The Sandman and the Dream.

2006-08-27T20:31:00.000-05:00

Another dream entry.

You ever have one of those dreams where you never need to have somebody explain to you what is going on? You are so completely intuitive in our dream that speaking is really redundant? This is one of those dreams. I am only going to share a piece of it though, because the rest is private.
~~~~
A tree.

The trunk looked like any other tree trunk. Yet, the branches were all low enough to the ground that you could reach out and touch at least half of these.

The leaves were made a strong plastic wrap material. Clear, glossy, noisy. Yes, that was how the tree grew them.

On each leaf was a unique design made from a colored foil like material. They were all beautiful.

The leaves were so wonderful that I swept my hand threw them so I could feel them and hear them rustle. I was awed by the tree. Speechless.

Then I came to branch where there were no leaves, but small flags. Same material as the tree leaves, but obviously not grown by the tree itself. And as I was standing there a man walked up with a flag of his own and tied it to the tree. There was sadness in his eyes, and I knew.

That flag, and all the flags, represented a child that had passed on. The parents then created a flag as a sacrifice to the tree, and in return the tree would birth a new leaf.

Suddenly, that tree became something more than my heart could take. In my dream I had to sit down and cover my face. I couldn't look at that tree.

Eventually, I had to get up, and open my eyes. I glanced at the tree. A soft wind was passing thru the branches, and the sunlight bounced off the foil, shooting glimmery sparkles into the daylight.

Once again, the tree was beautiful. I was awed. I was speechless.
~~~~~~

I can't imagine how I'm supposed to process that dream. I've thought about nothing today other than those mothers and fathers who have lost children .

This is for them:

I'm Just A Girl.

2006-08-26T19:53:00.000-05:00

Insert Gwen Stefani music.

HS has a heavy-duty matchbox police truck. When you press a lever lights flash, a policeman pops up from inside, and the siren sounds. It also "drives" itself forward. Today that toy had a slight malfunction.

DH opens it up. Fiddle. Fiddle. Fiddle. Fiddle. You get the idea. This went on for a good half hour. I probably heard the siren....Oh, 60 times in this half hour?! Try as he might, DH could not figure out how to put the top back on it so the lever responded appropriately, or the little policeman would refuse to pop up, or both.

Me: Want me to take a look at it?

DH: Rolls eyes.

Me: Here. Let me try.

DH (Snotty and condescending): Do you even know what I'm doing here?

Me (pissed off and seething): Give it to me!

Where in 3 minutes I managed to get the pop-up police guy in there correctly, and figured out how to get the top on so the on lever connected. All the while making snotty passive aggressive comments directed at my DH about "How I must not know anything because I'm a girl."

While I did let him screw the top back on, he had to listen to me ask him a couple of times "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Big Brother 7

2006-08-24T01:10:00.000-05:00

Eh, I changed my mind.

NO PBS FOR YOU!

2006-08-22T21:28:00.000-05:00

Nah, just kidding Heathen children. I will still let you watch, but I have got to vent about the crap you watch! ~*~disclaimer that my kids get to watch only 1-2 hours in the morning, depending on what else is going on that day. Oh, and occasionally 4pm-5pm because that is their "witching hour", and if I've had it with them, on comes the TV.~*~

Clifford The Big Red Dog: No, having a dog that big is not neat. Not even a little bit. What do you do with all the dog shit? Can't use it for fertilizer since Clifford is most likely carnivorous, ya know. Dog drool? GAG! No effing way. That is just sick, SICK! I might be an animal lover, but you better believe I'd be throwing his fat ass over the humane society fence.

Big, Big World: WTF? The lead character (Snook) is fucking creepy. He's like the drunk perverted uncle you don't leave around your kids. Seriously. And you know what? Snook is the biggest character on the show, but he's supposed to be a sloth? Sloths are NOT 6 feet tall. Ick, the fish, is super annoying, and his name implies that fish are icky. Wonderful. Just another thing my kids wont eat! The anteater, Bob, who doesn't eat ants, but rather wants to be their friend? For the love of goodness sake! We wouldn't want to teach our kids anything useful would we? Gosh forbid our kids find out that anteaters eat (GASP) ants.

Barney: The Barney Ban was lifted in our house when HD took an interest in the singing and dancing promos at the begining of Wiggles DVD's. Honestly? I don't hate him as much as I used too. In fact, my one secret Barney hate is that I can't do the Mr. Knickerbocker song and dance, and yet me nearly 2yo and 4yo can. Curse you Barney for not letting me forget that I will never have rythm.

Calliou: This is a much hated program of mothers everywhere. I don't actually mind it, except the parents are far more patient that any parent who has ever crossed my path. Including myself. Apparently in cartoon land nobody has a bad day. Fuck them.

Jay-Jay The Jet Plane: This gets my vote as dumbest show. Horrible graphics, horrible voices. Brenda Blue has gone anorexic and cheesy(ier). My kids have yet to learn a single thing from this show. Not that they need to learn anything, but good heck they sponge up everything from the other shows they get to watch. You would think something from Jay-Jay would stick.

Dragon Tales: I actually don't hate this one at all. Go figure.

"I wish, I wish with all my heart, to fly with dragons in the land of heart (or a word that rhymes with heart. I cant tell...lol)!"

Not looking forward to tomorrow morning. Somebody remind me to mention music to the kids bright and early, k?

Oh, and what kids show do you MISS the most? Whether from when you were a kid or a babysitter? I miss The Big Comfy Couch.

Basic Black

2006-08-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

Almost 2 years ago I was a mother of 2 children under the age of 2yo. Because of that I needed to have The Mother of All Purses.

As you can see, that is more like a stifling, huge carry-all, but so much better than a "diaper bag". The picture really doesn't do it justice, as it has become droopy with wear and tear. You could fit everything in it.

101 diapers-check!
300 wipes-check!
baby medicine-check!
3 extra outfits for baby-check!
1 extra outfit for toddler-check!
tubes of baby products we almost never used-check!
extra pacifiers-check
nursing pads-check!
nursing pillow-check!
feminine products-check
reading materials-check!
toys-check!
personal identification, library card- check, check!

The bag held everything except a special place in my heart.

What reasonable woman wants to live out of the hoover dam of all purses? And yet, what option does she really have when she's a mommy? None what-so-ever.

Two years later? Heaven. The purse. Beautiful black, simple, clean lines, I think I may want to divorce my husband to marry this purse, purse.

I can even fit a couple emergency diapers and wipes into it. Because after all, I am still a mommy.

Two Things.

2006-08-17T14:14:00.000-05:00

I totally suck as a blogger. I've got nothin lately. I'm so wrapped up in the "what ifs" and "hows" of real life that I spend 90% of my time online obessing over those very same what ifs and hows.
Spammers are not the most clever creatures on earth. It takes a complete fool to think I won't be able to find your stupid comments. I still refuse to go to that wordbox verification doohickey for comments because I can't stand them. No offense to anyone that has them!

Another Sweet Momma-Blog Spotlight

2006-08-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

Another ex-TPPer (I might as well stop saying that because 90% of my sidebar consists of ex-TPPers. So from now on unless I specify otherwise, you may assume they were from TPP)
I don't really know this blogger, but I have been reading it for some time!

Half Mile Up River

Perpetuation Of Myths.

2006-08-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

Can you spot the wording I have issue with?

Doctors optimistic after test of HIV pill.

Prevention drug deemed safe; more studies are needed
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Marilynn Marchione

ASSOCIATED PRESS
The first test of a daily pill to prevent HIV infection
shows promise, but a real answer must await results of a larger study due out
next year.

The experiment, done in Africa, mainly showed that the drug
Viread is safe when used for prevention. Fewer people given the drug caught the
AIDS virus than those given dummy pills, but so few in either group became
infected that valid comparisons cannot be made, scientists said.

Still,
"it’s incredibly encouraging," said Dr. Helene Gayle, president of the
antipoverty group CARE and co-chair of the International AIDS Conference in
Toronto, where the results were released yesterday.

If future studies show
effectiveness, the drug "would be an incredibly important new prevention tool
that we should make available as soon as possible," she said.

A vaccine is
considered the best hope for stopping the spread of AIDS, but scientists have
not been able to make one that prevents infection. Condoms and counseling have
not been enough — each year, the virus spreads to 5 million more people
worldwide.

The new approach involves Viread (known generically as
tenofovir), a drug already used to treat AIDS. Animal research suggests that
taking it before being exposed to HIV could help prevent infection.

A study
by Family Health International, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, tested the drug on women in Africa at high risk because of multiple
sex partners. None had HIV at the start of the study. They were randomly
assigned to receive either Viread or dummy pills daily. All were counseled and
given condoms.

No safety problems emerged — an important first step, said
Leigh Peterson, project manager for Family Health. After an average of six
months, only two cases of HIV developed among the 427 women on Viread, compared
with six infections among the 432 given the dummy pills.

"We really would be
irresponsible to draw conclusions at this time," because the study was small,
said Dr. Ward Cates, of Family Health. "But it does underscore the importance of
moving forward very quickly now on the other studies on the drawing board."
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying drug
users in Thailand, heterosexual men and women in Botswana, and gay men in
Atlanta and San Francisco. Plans are proceeding to add a third U.S. city, said
Dr. Lynn Paxton, of the CDC.

The Thailand results might be ready late next
year and should reveal whether the strategy works. The Botswana study recently
was changed to add a second drug, FTC.

However, the Africa study highlights
the ethical perils of such research. It originally was to include 1,200 women —
400 each in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria — but Nigeria and Cameroon withdrew from
the study over concerns about whether and for how long women in the study who
became infected would receive treatment for AIDS.

Family Health worked to
formalize contracts with local providers for testing and treatment as
appropriate so the study could go forward on a limited scope, Peterson said.
---------------------------------------------------
No, it isn't that education and use safe sex practices could do the same thing.

Are You Ready?

2006-08-10T21:13:00.000-05:00

I am. So Ready. I love football!

DH loves football.

Now, you might think that DH would be happy to have wife who loves football. Unfortunately, we root for different teams. He roots for the San Francisco 49ers. BOOOOO!

He hates-hates-when I pick on his sucktastic team. Sure, I know mine isn't technically better, but it's my team. Some of the teams are winners, and some of them are L.O.S.E.R.S (like the 49ers). Suck it up, grow some balls, and quit your bitchin. Just sayin.

I'm not that bad.

Yes I am.

(Bucs RULE. Niners DROOL)

When All Else Fails

2006-08-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

lose the battle to win the war.

Me: Heathen son, please pick up your toys.

HS: NO!

Me: Pick up your toys!

HS: NO! I WANNA WATCH TV!

Me: PICK UP YOUR TOYS NOW!

HS: NO! I DON'T WANNA PLAY ANYMORE! MOMMY NO YELLING!

Me: Do you want a time-out?

HS: NO! I WANNA WATCH TV! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY ANYMORE!

Me: Are you tired?

HS: Yah.

Me: Wanna go to bed?

HS: Yah.

An hour early mind you.

Why?

2006-08-08T20:09:00.000-05:00

Why must you mock me QuizGalaxy?

WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY?

Fuck you.

How funny!

2006-08-04T20:19:00.000-05:00

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I found this by way of Stupid Grins blog. I couldn't resist.

Boobies, And Nipples, And Babies! Oh My!

2006-08-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

For any sicko stopping by because of the title, get lost. This post is about breastfeeding.

Lately I've seen a lot of activism IRT breastfeeding. Do you remember the TV ads? One comparing formula feeding to smoking? Or the one claiming riding a bull was similar to formula feeding. Basically these ads suggest that formula feeding will harm a child.

Do they really think insulting formula feeding mothers and grown formula fed children is going to work? Isn't the message supposed to be that breastfeeding is normal rather than formula is vile?

Me? I think it will backfire. Because formula isn't poison. Its just not. All anyone has to do is look at the formula fed population around them to know that formula is not a death sentence, even if it isn't perfect, and never will be. All the ads do is make anyone who has ever given or taken formula roll their eyes.

I have a couple of TV ads in mind that I believe would have made a positive impact rather than the offensive crap they did run:

Scenario/Ad #1:

Family Reunion. Nursing mother excuses herself to a private area so as not to upset anyone in the party. Grandma comes in and says something like "I'm so proud of you. I never even thought of breastfeeding my babies." Nana is a bit teary eyed while she and her grand daughter share a heartfelt smile. Next thing you know half of the reunion party is sitting around the nursing mom continuing their festivities, as if (gasp!) breastfeeding is the most normal thing in the world.

Scenario/Ad #2:

A man at the office walking down the hall, with a folder of work, stops at a door. He puts his hand up as if to knock. But wait! He notices a "Pumping in Session. Privacy Please!" sign stuck up on the door. He puts his hand down and walks back to his office where he sits in his chair and picks up the phone. He dials, and we hear a womans voice pick up.
Office Guy "Hi honey. I just wanted to see how you and Junior were doing today. I miss you."
TV cuts to a dual screen where you can see the office and the business guys wife at home in a rocking chair, nursing their newborn son (or daughter), with the phone to her ear.
The sound fades away, as you see their smiling faces chat with one another.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Now tell me those aren't better BFing ads? It really doesn't take much to not insult people, and still get your message across.

3 Things Of Note Today.

2006-07-31T09:46:00.000-05:00

This is my 100th blogger entry!
My template will change later tonight.
A new Halushki is set to be born today!

Happy Birthday Prince Halushki!

Tag, I'm It!

2006-07-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by pretzelina.

1 - Four jobs I've had in my life:

Dandelion Picker
Fried Chicken place
Convenience store clerk
SAHM-by and far the hardest, most rewarding ;)

2 - Four of my favorite movies:

Armageddon
Fools Rush In
Ten Things I Hate About You
Summer School.

3 - Four places I have lived:

McComb, OH
Bowling Green, OH
Bradenton, FL
Lebanon, MO

4 - Four TV shows I love to watch:

ER
Big Brother
Friends (repeats)
Sex and the City (repeats)

5 - Four places I have travelled:

Roswell, NM
Sante Fe, NM
Port Clinton, OH
Naples, FL
(pretty boring stuff as I've never been out of the country!)

6 - Four websites I frequent:

NOTI - How can you not like a group of bitchy women who enjoy each others company?? ;)
Sybermoms - I lurk, but don't post. They scare me.
MYP - Another discussion/debate board
Blogger - I heart my blog. I heart everybody elses blogs.

7 - Four of my favorite foods:

Blackberries
Hamburger Helper (I don't want to hear it!)
Avalanche Pizza - There is a reason they have won awards!
Pesto

8 - Four places I'd rather be right now:

In bed sleeping
In bed not sleeping
Alaska (It's way too fucking hot here)
Amsterdam

9 - Four people I am tagging:

Everybody that reads my blog has either already been tagged, or they don't have blog-but should *wink wink. So the ONE person I'm tagging is:

This Rainbow Family

I Really Am This Pathetic.

2006-07-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

Please think about using my referral link to sign up with freepay. If you search Freepay on google you will find that it is legit. It's a frustrating site to be sure, but in the end, hopefully, worth it. All you need to do is sign up, and complete one offer.

MY REFERRAL LINK

(please, please use my referral link! I will love you forever. Promise!)

Oh, and BTW....The pediatricians and nurses were quite impressed with the size of the paper wad Heathen DD managed to jam up her nose. She was not fazed by the nostril gear and tweezers at all, and is asleep now!

Dear Daughter,

2006-07-27T15:40:00.000-05:00

For the love of God, please quit shoving random items up your nose. If for some reason you cannot honor my request, at least don't stick your finger up your nose trying to caress your brain before I get the chance to retrieve it. It doesn't help, and now it's off to the peds we go.

Love,
Your Momma.

INFJ

2006-07-26T19:55:00.000-05:00

No, not a new curse word. The lovely Halushki linked the meyer-briggs test on her blog, and I felt compelled to take it. *Note: this is not the formal m-b test, and thus results may differ from the real thing. I thought I would "score" similarly to her since I could see myself in the characteristics of her letters.

Alas, I am an INFJ. What does that mean? According to Keirsey:

The Counselor Idealists are
abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and
directive and introverted in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on
human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to
decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is
regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to
the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although
Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible
leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them,
quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends,
and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves
complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

2% of the population? I knew I wasn't like other people (grin), but now I feel like a freak!

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life,
but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those
they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to
express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but
darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong
ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt
rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend
to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time,
friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come
as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity
a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which
sometimes puzzle even them.

Ok, that part was scary accurate.

From typelogic.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs
frequently find their niche.

All areas of work I've considered for a career. Of course, due to some wildly fun teen years, politics are out. However, I've been seriously considering college lately to become a counselor.

Famous INFJs:
Nathan, prophet of
Israel
Aristophanes
Chaucer
Goethe
Robert Burns, Scottish poet
U.S.
Presidents:
Martin Van Buren
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter

Nathaniel Hawthorne
Fanny Crosby,(blind) hymnist
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Fred McMurray (My Three Sons)
Shirley Temple Black, child actor, ambassador
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, martyr
James Reston, newspaper reporter
Shirley McClain (Sweet Charity, ...)
Piers Anthony, author ("Xanth" series)
Michael Landon (Little House on the Prairie)
Tom Selleck
John Katz, critic, author
Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary)
U. S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL)
Billy Crystal
Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury)
Nelson Mandela
Mel Gibson
Carrie Fisher
Nicole Kidman
Jamie Foxx
Sela Ward
Mark Harmon
Gary Dourdan
Marg Helgaberger
Evangeline Lilly
Tori May

No, no. That list is not intimidating at all. /sarcasm

A New Toy.

2006-07-23T00:21:00.000-05:00

I have discovered that there is a way to put polls on ones blog. Of course, I set right out and signed up. Then I sat at the keyboard, and stared into space trying to figure out what I would ask in my first poll. As usual I reverted to the juvenile thinker in me.

One thing of note was the user agreement from pollhost. You must be over 18 to use it, but cannot post adult content. Yes, I know what they were going for, but it still made me guffaw.

I'm also not supposed to post offensive material with the poll. I'm positive at least 25% of the world will find those words offensive. I'm taking my chances.

Holy Heartbeat Batman!

2006-07-20T22:46:00.000-05:00

So I have a one of those "wonderful" womanly problems. It begins with Y and ends with an itch. I've been dealing with it for about 5 days with just acidipholus capsules and good diet, but broke down tonight for the nasty OTC medication.

One of the many causes of the Yitch is pregnancy. So before use, I wanted to POAS to confirm that I am not infact with heathen. We have not been TTC, and the odds of DH's spermies storming the fort thru the latex are relatively slim. Yet, I felt the need to make sure just in case.

2 lines showed up clear as day immediately.

As I sat there I start to mutter "no, no, no", and shake my head in the negative. This.cannot.be.happening.

I fly out of the bathroom in a fury to find my partner in crime, who at the time was sleeping peacefully.

I poke him awake and shove the stick in front of his face. He jolts out of bed and stares at it.

"What is that?" He asks.

"That is a positive pregnancy test!"

He grabs it out of my hands, and stares incredilously. I am busy looking for the insert that came with said stick to find out what on earth would create this obvious false positive. My heart is in my throat. I can hear every gushing heartbeat banging in my ears.

I snatch the insert up, and eye the positive results diagram.

Blushing, I must tell DH that the brand we used does not rely on two lines, but rather 3. A control line, and two lines that intersect as a + .

I was in fact an idiot. A very relieved idiot.

Simon Is My Bestest Friend.

2006-07-20T20:28:00.000-05:00

Well, when you are the proud mother of two very young heathens you get creative. Whatever works.

"Simon says-Pick up a toy, and put it in the toy box!"

"Simon says-Pick up an item of clothing and put it in the hamper!"

"Simon says-Eat one more bite!"

"Simon says-Brush your hair!"

Yep, Simon and I are tight.

Blog Spotlight.

2006-07-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

Fisherman Blues

Another lady I "know" from the now defunct TPP. Her husband is deployed in Iraq, and she is raising the sweetest little Bean by herself right now.

Her entries run the gauntlet. From amusing baby and first-time mommy stories, to sentimental musing about her DH. She may just be the sweetest momma on my sidebar.

Fisherman Blues

The One That Got Away.

2006-07-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

My paternal grandmother was a kind, warm, affectionate woman. She told the best stories, she spoke her mind, and had she the funniest taste in gifts. A girl can only recieve so many sweatshirts with painted cats and birds on them before it gets funny! She had the softest skin, and always smelled delightful thanks to her collection of wonderful perfumes. Her voice was gravely, as was her laugh. She was always there for me, let me borrow her books, and never shied away from real conversations. We had a wonderful connection. A close connection

We, DH and I, first found out we were pregnant with DS living miles and miles, and 3 states away from the rest of our families. Grandma included. So when Grandma was struck ill, it was quite frustrating to be so far away. I often wished to be teleported to her side, just for a quick kiss hello. Grandma, however was often delirious, and probably wouldn't have known me anyway.

As luck would have it she bounced back right before we visited next. I was 3-4 months pregnant. We had a terrific visit, and she was extremely excited about her upcoming great-grandchild. I was just relieved she was herself again.

2 weeks later she was back in the hospital again. She had dementia and possibly a stroke though that would never be confirmed. Under many drugs she was somewhat functional, but would live in a nursing facility from then on. Living in a nursing home depressed her deeply, and soon after she couldn't even carry on a conversation on the phone.

When DS was about 6 mo, we went back to visit again. I was ecstatic that she and he would meet. Meet they did. I will never forget it.

She was in the cafeteria when we all arrived. My mom, my sister, and my family. There the nurses pointed out a frail woman they claimed to be my grandmother. A woman who was half the size she used to be, with little ability to communicate, and just as much fear in her eyes, as was in mine.

Sad to say, but all of a sudden I didn't want to be there, and I didn't want to see her....like that. Not having been there to see the transformation day by day like the rest of our family really threw me for a loop. Being the good girl I was, I plastered a smile on, made idle chit-chat, and pretended nothing was amiss. I was thinking the entire time "I don't know this woman." "Where is my Grandma." When we left I felt relieved.

The next time we would go see her she was heavily sedated, and asleep.

The time after that she was comatose.

Two days later she died.

I regret that day I got to see her on every level. Missing her is agony. I would give anything to go back and hold her soft hand and lay my cheek on her shoulder. a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. In my life I only regret one thing, and that fake smile and fearful heart is it. How could I let that moment, the last REAL moment I shared with her go to waste? Looking back, I have no idea.

I will be damned if I ever let that happen again. Obviously, this post is for my Grandma, whom I am missing like crazy, right at this moment.

Moi

2006-07-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

I was looking thru some of my old photo albums for special someone. Sadly, I didn't find any of the person I was looking for, but I did find 3 of me I'm not too embarrassed to share. Beware they are digital photos of real photos!

Baby Me:

Little Me:

And gosh aweful glamour shots teen me:

Thanks for looking!

9 Years Of Wedded Bliss

2006-07-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

and all I got is this lousy magic ink cube blog entry ;)

1. Are DH and I soul mates? (I don't particularly believe in soul mates)
Tru Dat! (Awwww)
2. Will we ever renew our vows?
Could Happen!
3. Is DH going to surprise me with flowers? (I know he isn't LOL)
Tru Dat! (no really, he isn't)
4. Will I get laid tonight?
No Way! (*snort*)
5. Will we ever celebrate our 30th wedding Anniversary?
Tru Dat!
6. or Will DH leave me for his superstar crush Meg Ryan?
Tru Dat! ( I knew I hated that bitch for a reason!)

We Haven't Come A Long Way Baby.

2006-07-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

I swear if I ever hear one more white person go on and on about how affirmative action is/was a bad idea I'm liable to explode into a million shards of white hot fury. Clearly there is so much more that needs to be done as evidenced by this article:

Washington Post Article
Study Finds Bias In Mortgage Process
By Kenneth R. Harney
Saturday, June 17, 2006; Page F01

Does your race or ethnicity affect the interest rate or fees you're quoted on a mortgage? Do mortgage brokers offer the same deals to African American and Hispanic applicants with identical -- or superior -- incomes, credit scores and employment histories compared with white applicants?

Do they treat people of different racial backgrounds differently -- spending less time discussing loan options and features with minorities, and routinely pressing them to reveal credit problems and outstanding debts?

Federal law is absolutely clear on the subject: Race and ethnicity should have no bearing on the cost of your mortgage or the quality of service rendered to you as you shop for a loan. But a new, two-year investigation in six metropolitan areas suggests that mortgage quotes are not always colorblind.

To the contrary, the study, which used "paired" mystery shoppers, documented what its sponsors call "pervasive discriminatory and predatory practices by mortgage brokers" in all six markets. The paired testing was conducted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition with funding assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development from February 2004 to early June 2006.

The six markets tested were Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Atlanta. In each area, African American and Hispanic couples or individuals visited the same mortgage brokerage firms as white shoppers, all purporting to apply for home loans of similar amounts. All the applicants were assigned specific income, credit and employment profiles to present to loan officers. African American and Hispanic applicants had slightly higher incomes, better credit scores and longer employment backgrounds than their paired white colleagues making separate applications at the same brokerage firms.
The minority applicants should have received the same -- if not better -- mortgage quotes as the white testers. But they often received less favorable treatment. For example, according to the study sponsors:

· Brokers discussed loan fees with 74 percent of the white shoppers but only 31 percent of the minority shoppers. Yet loan fees -- "points" and a variety of other charges -- can add significantly to the out-of-pocket costs of one mortgage compared with another, even if the interest rates are the same.

· White applicants were presented twice the number of loan options -- different rates, fees and structures -- than were presented to African American and Hispanic shoppers, who were often steered toward high-cost subprime mortgages.

· Brokers discussed fixed-rate first mortgages with 90 percent of the white applicants but just 56 percent of the minority applicants.

· Seven percent of white applicants were "referred up" -- told that they could get a better mortgage deal elsewhere -- but not one African American or Hispanic shopper with superior credit profiles was told the same.

· Only 9 percent of whites were pressed for details on possible credit problems, late payments, outstanding debts or prior foreclosures compared with nearly 40 percent of all minority applicants.

· Brokers spent more time discussing loan options with white applicants -- an average 39 minutes -- than they did with African American or Hispanic applicants, who got an average 27 minutes.

In an interview, David Berenbaum, executive vice president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, called the investigation results "deeply disturbing." When minority applicants simply walked into a brokerage office, he said, sometimes "there appeared to be a working assumption" that they were not as good credit risks as whites, no matter what their actual profile.

As a result of the study, the coalition has begun filing a series of complaints with HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The first complaint filed was against Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. of Houston, which has brokerage branch offices around the country.
The complaint alleges that Allied brokers are "quoting different interest rates and fees on the basis of race" and steering African American borrowers to higher-cost subprime mortgages even when they are fully qualified for lower-cost, prime-rate products.

Allied brokers "did not treat African American mortgage applicants as seriously as their white counterparts," Berenbaum said in testimony June 9 to a Federal Reserve fair-lending hearing in Philadelphia. They were given less time, less exposure to important loan alternatives and rates -- "all of which resulted in limited access to credit products."

Tony Musgrave, general counsel for Allied, said the company had not yet received a copy of the coalition's complaint, and therefore could not comment on it. However, Musgrave said, "any such discriminatory practices would be an absolute violation of company policy."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ugh, I'm speechless.

Blog Spotlight.

2006-07-07T06:15:00.000-05:00

Since I'm not personally in a "bloggy place" right now, I figured I would highlight those on my sidebar once a week or so, when I have nothing to talk about. LOL! I'm just going to go right down the list!

All Hail Suburbia
I "met" AHS at a now defunct website called TPP. I had seen her screenname around, but that was about it. One night I decided to venture into the nightly chat, and she was there. She was immediately friendly, and made me feel completely welcomed. She even told me her real life nickname. Turns out she had been drinking, and was a tad bit tipsy! The next time I saw her in chat she was a little freaked out I knew her name! She probably doesn't remember those exchanges, but they make me smile.

She takes gorgeous photos, and often features them in her blog entries. I have been reading her since she started writing it, and she is most often the persons blog I click first when I'm in a reading mood.
All Hail Suburbia

Outlaws On Vacation.

2006-07-05T23:33:00.000-05:00

Oh, the annual outlaw camping trip. Love the outlaws, hate the trip. I have a very bad record with this trip that goes something like this:

First time we went it was June, and I was 6mo pregnant with my DD. I was walking to the outhouse without a flashlight when I fell over one of those fire pits made out of hard heavy metal. Belly flop onto the ground. Broke my first bone/toe, and had a pretty sore leg the entire trip.
Second trip it was July 4th weekend. It was so hot, and the campgrounds were packed! Heathen son was wild. Heathen daughter was 9mo, and still BF. Course the outlaws would have been disturbed by anyone NIP, so I nursed at least 3x a day in a overheated tent. Fireworks idiots kept lighting them off right over our tent where our kids were sleeping, and we had to keep shaking off the tent. I begged Heathen Partner to let us go a hotel for the next night, which we saved up for, but he declined. Really was just no fun for me at all.

This time we opted to only go for one night, and stay in a hotel because we thought the campground would be jammin again. It wasn't. It was supposed to be hot as hades. It was. MIL and FIL convinced us not to bring any food because they would "take care of all that", but when we got there they had nothing but soda! Luckily, we had an awesome breakfast with them at a local diner beforehand so we weren't too worried about food. We went later that afternoon to check into our hotel, and fed the kids some cheezits. We were gone for about an hour and a half. When we got back the IL's were gone. Grocery shopping we were told. Well, 4 hours after they left they came back with minimal groceries. My young children had subsisted on more crackers and chips, but by 6:30pm we realized that nobody planned on cooking family dinner until 7-8pmish, and we had nothing for the kiddos.

So we left for the night, and got our kids a meal. I'm not pissed pissed, but DH was. They had him convinced that we shouldn't bring a cooler for food or anything, but really had we thought about it, we should have. That is just the way they are. Heck, we didn't even want to go. We told them we would prefer not to have to travel on 4th of July weekend, but they really enjoy camping that weekend, and BIL had come up from MO, and they made DH feel guilty for not wanting to come. He's a sucker for his family ;)

Next morning it was raining hard. We told them we were just going to go home from the hotel, but they said it wasn't raining hard, and besides "You can hang out in our camper if it rains!" So we went out to the campground. There was absolutely no room for our family in the camper or under the screened tents. It was POURING. We stood around in.the.rain. for about 15 minutes and then left. Sigh.

Again, that is just the way they are. It really isn't a big deal, but we sure could have saved our money, stayed home, and relaxed. I really would have prefered it.
I'm just saying "no" to next years trip.

6 Questions With The Magic Ink Cube.

2006-07-04T23:51:00.000-05:00

This may have to become a weekly/bi-weekly routine blog entry. Tonights questions are brought to you by two incidents that happened today. A) Falling all over myself, and spraining my ankle (same foot as my broken toe no less), and B) Part of our Kitchen ceiling falling in before we discovered our toilet had a leak.

(The magical ink cube is similar to the Magic 8 Ball ™ for those that don't remember my previous entry. I pose the questions first, then ask the magic cube for the answers after.)

1. Will we move by the end of August?

Answer: Boo Hoo! Mother f*!$# SOB! This thing had better be wrong!

2. When we move will we be in the neighborhood of our choice?

Answer: Could Happen!

3. Will I be kidnapped by aliens, and made their queen?

Answer: Whoo Hoo! Ah, interesting.

4. Will I brake a real bone in the next two years?

Answer: Boo Hoo! Thank Heck.

5. Can a characteristically clumsy person unclumsify?

Answer: Tru Dat!

6. Should I just invest in a bubble?

Answer: Big Maybe!

Allrighty then.
May I just suggest to the alien population that reads here, that Queen Effervescent Life needs her weekly nap, and prefers Black Cherry Vanilla Coke rather than plain ole Cherry Coke. Just saying.....

"OH SNAP!"

2006-07-02T20:00:00.000-05:00

There is an expression that makes me feel old. Oh snap! from wikipedia. I use it mentally a lot, but would be way too embarrassed to say it IRL. I'm hurdling across the divide from young'un to old lady I'm afraid.
I just know I'm going to be tragically unhip when my kids get older because I will still be saying "cool" and "awesome", and my personal favorite: "duh". Really, that's a requirement of parenting, I suppose.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Few more blog links I plan to add to the new blog.
Sea. She is totally (totally? Wow, that is uncool) clickable!
Somewhere over the Rainbow. Somehow I don't already have her on my sidebar even though I used to read her regularly. I happened to click on her link last week, and realized I really miss reading her, and I have no idea how I lost her link.
Pie Is The New Toast. The name is a sort of inside joke, but the blogs focus is on recipes.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Well, we went to the annual Fourth of July outlaw camping trip. That blog entry will have to wait though. I'm not done processing the incredible suck factor of those 36 hours I will never get back. LOL!

One Year Blogaversary!

2006-06-29T09:22:00.000-05:00

That's right it's my one year blogaversary! I went back to check some of my older entrys and I had to giggle a bit. Anyway, I figured I would share a few entries I particularly enjoyed writing.

My first entry: Random Thoughts

Camping For Morons

Meh Meh Meh Meh Meh Meh

Half Full/Half Empty

The Double Standard Is Alive And Well

The Wonders of the Internet

Political Ad-nauseum

For Sarah

Heathens On Vacation

Not your Average Shoe Fetish

Ok, that's enough I think :) Truthfully I got pretty sentimental reading back. Even the ones from just last month. I adore my blog, and I'm so glad it gives me an outlet to really be me!
Happy Blogaversary to me!

Experiment In Green

2006-06-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

I make a kick ass turkey/tuna or chicken salad spread. Everybody here loves it. I've been hoping to modify it to make it vegetarian. So yesterday I did a little experimenting.

1 cup: Cottage Cheese (yum)

6oz plain yogurt (nice and smooth)

1 Bunch Broccoli: chopped (looking pretty tasty)

Now here's where it gets a little shaky.

3/4 dry pesto packet (WAAAAY too much!)

and a half a can of Peas.

Peas? Why peas, you ask? Because I didn't soak any lentils, and I didn't think kidney beans would work. I have NO idea why I thought peas would. Peas should not have seemed like a good idea on any level. I should have known. I do know that now.

I lovingly spread this concoction on bread for my kiddos and myself. Heathens seem interested......Until they actually take a bite. Mommy Heathen takes a bite to model how "good" it is. MH chokes back tears of disgust, finds kids something else to eat, and
What do I do with the container of horrible nastiness?

Do I throw it in the garbage? No.

Do I wash it down the sink? Nope.

Do I throw some tequila on it, light a match, and curse it to hell? Uh uh.

I put it back in the fridge with a smile on my face, and a plan on the brain.

Daddy Heathen comes home after work. I immediately tell him how "wonderful" my new recipe turned out to be. "It's the best stuff I have ever made!" We sit down to a pleasant meal of lasagne, but I can tell DH is intrigued by the new stuff. He claims to be still hungry after dinner, and would like to have a sandwich. MH can hardly contain her wicked smile.

He takes a bite, and starts chewing hardily. Then the chewing slows down, until you can tell he's not sure whether to spit it our or attempt swallowing. He swallows.

Me: "Tastes a bit like vomit doesn't it?"

Him: "I cannot believe you let me eat that!"

Oh yeah. It was some baaaad stuff.

Victorious

2006-06-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

The Earth exhales her muddy scent into the hazy sky.

A challenge has been issued.

Thunder races to the scene,

A purring echo in its wake.

Lightning winks along the horizon.

Etching his fury against the wind.

The Clouds dim.

Already weary of of the posturing.

Lightning hisses among the desperate growls of his enemy,

But Thunders mighty bellow is relentless.

The challenge has been met.

Enough of this havoc.

The Clouds blacken with rage.

They release a gentle warning.

Rain softly invades the sky.

The combatants seem unaware.

Crack! Boom! Crack!

Boom! Crack! Boom!

The Clouds swirl darkly overhead.

With a last exasperated sigh,

they allow madness to depart of their body.

Wetness careens toward Earth,

deafening the war to calm.

Thunder is awed to silence.

Lightning, shocked into halting.

They scurry away,

weak and sopping.

The Raindrops pool together in triumph,

the Clouds shine down their praise as they move achingly away,

And the Earth laps victoriously at the spoils.

Political Hulabaloo.

2006-06-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

I read about this on Prez's blog. (Prez has a great Blog for those that lean left, and are completely disgusted by this administration.)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A split Supreme Court ruled Thursday that drug evidence seized in a home search can be used against a suspect even though police failed to knock on the door and wait a "reasonable" amount of time before entering.
The 5-4 decision continues a string of rulings since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that in general give law enforcement greater discretion to carry out search-and-seizure warrants.

Here I thought we were all presumed innocent until proven guilty? Not knocking, assumes guilt. Even worse is that this isn't being used for terrorism, but drug enforcement. Non violent crimes. What are these people going to do in the two minutes it takes the police to knock and identify themselves? Even if somebody could flush the actual drugs down the drain they couldn't flush the paraphinelia down the toilet. What happens if they break into the wrong house? You know the first time a cop gets killed when somebody thinks a burglar has gotten into the house, and shoots him, that person will be charged. And yet, the first time a child accidently gets killed the police will be exonerated because they were just doing their job. Completely frustrating. I pray it never happens.

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Do you remember Nicholas Berg? His Father does.

I found this on StupidGrins blog. It totally blew me away.

"Well, you know, I'm not saying Saddam Hussein was a good man, but he's no worse than George Bush. Saddam Hussein didn't pull the trigger, didn't commit the rapes. Neither did George Bush, but both men are responsible for them under their reigns of terror.Iraq did not have al Qaeda in it. Al Qaeda supposedly killed my son. Under Saddam Hussein, no al Qaeda. Under George Bush, al Qaeda.

Under Saddam Hussein, relative stability. Under George Bush, instability. Under Saddam Hussein, about 30,000 deaths a year. Under George Bush, about 60,000 deaths a year.I don't get it. Why is it better to have George Bush be the king of Iraq rather than Saddam Hussein?"

This is apparentley the omitted portion of his interview with Soledad O'Brian on June 8th. Gee, I wonder why they omitted it

Mood Ruiner.

2006-06-21T20:17:00.000-05:00

Background Story
In 2002 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. A calm, goofy, sleep-thru-the-night model. Life was great. He grew, and we loved him. Because he was such a good baby we decided to add to our family. Even though we discussed the possibility of having a completely opposite child, we thought their was a good chance we would get a similarly dispositioned child, right?

Within 2 weeks of getting pregnant, HS quit sleeping thru the night. He became incredibly energetic and more demanding. We still weren't too worried because all children go thru phases, right? So things calmed down, and in 2004 we (I...lol) gave birth to a wonderful little girl.
Except this was the never sleeps, completely needy, severe reflux that mirrors colic version baby. And HS? Well, he hit the terrible twos hard. Life was getting a little bit less pleasant.

As a SAHM I was floundering. I adore my kids, but I'm not sure I'm cut out for the SAHM life. My house is always a horrible mess, I never know how to difuse the hundreds of little spats my children get in, and at the end of the day I am so glad they have to go to bed. See I'm a terrible momma.

The Story
So the other night the kids went blissfully to sleep without a fight. I took a nice relaxing bath. DH took a bath. What do two adults to when the kids are in bed and their bodies are clean? We decided to get a little frisky.
I cannot tell you how nice it started out. We were so happy! It felt great! It was probably the best foreplay we have had in a while. To facilitate a little "dirty talk", I ask DH what he was thinking. He answers:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Having a baby."

My body immediately goes numb and cold, and I push him off me. I can see stars in my eyes, even laying down I'm feeling a bit peckish, my uterus puckers, and I may have actually blacked out.

DH is astounded by the reaction, and startes swearing he was just joking. Real fucking funny! Doesn't matter. My head feels like it is going to explode, and I can't stop shaking because no, just NO. All I can think of is that he must have the wrong impression of who I am because I am having a hard time being a good mother to the two I already have. It must be really nice to have a full time job that you love.(Grass is greener syndrome)Where you get to communicate with grown-ups all day longs, get to eat lunch by yourself, and don't have to deal with poop on a regular basis. REAL nice. And as much as I love my kids there is no way I could add one, and still keep my sanity. None whatsoever. Uhuh, no, fuck no. Can't do it.

Even worse than thinking all these thoughts? The mood was completely ruined. ~sigh~

Would You Like Some Plastic With That?

2006-06-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

The other night on the newsance I hear them doing one of those filler pieces. You know the ones. "How to protect yourself from killer mosquitos!" "How many credit cards should you carry." "Purple is the new blue." Random stuff they blather on about that isn't important, but they pretend it is because it has been a slow news day. Here was the jist of the one I saw:
Q: Do dioxins, which are carcinogenic, from plastic food containers break down when frozen or microwaved and contaminate the food?(Now this seems a simple enough question to get a fairly basic yes or no answer right?)
A: Dioxin amounts from frozen or microwaved plastic are not considered harmful.(So if you are like me, you know that the answer is YES they do break down into food-at least thru microwaving-, and although nobody knows for sure what level is safe, scientists think that they are relatively harmless at this amount, at this point in time)
See, I get a lot of flak for trying to weed out the things that I think can be harmful to my families bodies. I know that there are things out there that don't cause disease by themselves, but I do believe that certain things contribute to disease, and I want to protect my children from those things as much as possible too. Our bodies were not created to consume plastics. However, our bodies do a pretty good job of cleansing themselves. I'm not going to freak out about every little thing, but I'm not going to facilitate disease either.
Anyway, if you want to know how to heat your food safely, just put it on a plate before you microwave.
-End Rant

So Much

2006-06-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

happened politically this week, and somehow I managed to not blog about any of it. Kind of surprising. I went all fluffy. I'm going to blame it on the toe, okay?
So this weekend I'm going to concentrate on moving my posts over to the other blog and next week I will catch up on all the political hulabaloo.
Oh, and I'm going to drink some margaritas tonight It's a perfect night.....Warm weather, gentle breeze, the STYX playing in concert down the road. Yep, it's a perfect night.

Have Some Pride

2006-06-16T11:34:00.000-05:00

I read Lemonys blog, and she happened to read KellySterns blog, and here I am. The challenge is to get as many bloggers to post picture in support of Pride Month.
Obviously I support equal rights for EVERYONE!

What Is Your Favorite/Most Used Curse Word? (any variation counts)
	Fuck
	Damn
	Ass
	Shit
	Bitch
	Dick
	Cunt
	Other (leave a comment!)
	I don't curse. It is not lady-like.

Free polls from Pollhost.com

Effervescent Life

Come Away With Me....

Does God have a God of his own?

Letters Of Concern II

The Fat Kid.

My Next Project.

Happy Birthday Little Sis!

Attack of the Indoor Plumbing.

Officer Celery Stalk And The Pakistani Diver.

I Gave Birth To Jim Halpert's Son.

Valentine's Eve.

Bad Car.

The Secret Of NIMH

Tell Me What

Letters Of Concern

Found It!

Blast From the Past.

Dear Dani.

Not Going To College Right Away

I'm Sorry Honey.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezie.

Dear Effervescent Husband.

Christmas Questions With No Answers.

Merry Holidays!

Dear Mall Santa.

Lights On. Nobody Home.

Hello, Telephone!

Spreading Christmas Cheer.

Day 1.

I'm A Happy Helper.

Make Me.

Heroes

Late Twenties?

I Spy

Not Surprised.

Republicans Blame Election Losses On Democrats

Republicans Blame Election Losses On Democrats

Kudos To Republicans. /sarcasm

So Proud Of Him.

What Makes Me Irrationally Angry?

You Would Love My Husband.

What Card Am I?

You are The Lovers

No, Our Government Isn't The Least Bit Crazy.

I Put The *crap* In Digi-Scrapping.

Two Things.

Christmas In October!

Long day.

Never Gonna Happen.

Pictures of a Two Year Old.

A Birth Story. (long)

Ten Odd Things About Me.

I'm Ready.

Old News. Same Shit.

I Love Him.

Salsa Dancing

Somebody Shut My Filthy Mouth!

The Great Baby Doll Debate

New Blog Love!

I'm Neurotic.

How'd You Do That?

My Name Is Effervescent Life

Something's Different...

A Saturday Night Review.

Big Brother 7

The Evolution Of Homosexuality

The Sandman and the Dream.

I'm Just A Girl.

Big Brother 7

NO PBS FOR YOU!

Basic Black

Two Things.

Another Sweet Momma-Blog Spotlight

Perpetuation Of Myths.

Are You Ready?

When All Else Fails

Why?

How funny!

Boobies, And Nipples, And Babies! Oh My!

3 Things Of Note Today.

I Put The crap In Digi-Scrapping.

Simon Is My Bestest Friend.