Testing

Testing Blackberry text blogging. Not preferred due to character limits...but good for short and sweet messages...should I decide to post those. :o)

2nd grade homework

My son had to write a little 2nd grade research paper about one of Ohio's "official" symbols (five sentences). He chose the rock song, Hang on Sloopy. We did a little research online (thank you Wikipedia) and discovered that Hang on Sloopy was made Ohio's official rock song in 1985 by this bit of rather unusual legislation.

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16
WHEREAS, The members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio wish to recognize the rock song "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of the great State of Ohio; and

WHEREAS, In 1965, an Ohio-based rock group known as the McCoys reached the top of the national record charts with "Hang On Sloopy," composed by Bert Russell and Wes Farrell, and that same year, John Tagenhorst, then an arranger for the Ohio State University Marching Band, created the band's now-famous arrangement of "Sloopy," first performed at the Ohio State-Illinois football game on October 9, 1965; and

WHEREAS, Rock music has become an integral part of American culture, having attained a degree of acceptance no one would have thought possible twenty years ago; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of Ohio is in no way intended to supplant "Beautiful Ohio" as the official state song, but would serve as a companion piece to that old chestnut; and

WHEREAS, If fans of jazz, country-and-western, classical, Hawaiian and polka music think those styles also should be recognized by the state, then by golly, they can push their own resolution just like we're doing; and

WHEREAS, "Hang On Sloopy" is of particular relevance to members of the Baby Boom Generation, who were once dismissed as a bunch of long-haired, crazy kids, but who now are old enough and vote in sufficient numbers to be taken quite seriously; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of this resolution will not take too long, cost the state anything, or affect the quality of life in this state to any appreciable degree, and if we in the legislature just go ahead and pass the darn thing, we can get on with more important stuff; and

WHEREAS, Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town, and everybody, yeah, tries to put my Sloopy down; and

WHEREAS, Sloopy, I don't care what your daddy do, 'cause you know, Sloopy girl, I'm in love with you; therefore be it Resolved, That we, the members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio, in adopting this Resolution, name "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of the State of Ohio; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislative Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this Resolution to the news media of Ohio.

Who says politicians don't have a sense of humor?

The whiskey wouldn't have stained

Note how Captain Rex refuses to walk in the center of the frame?
Perhaps it's his guilt over knocking over and breaking a perfectly good bottle of Chianti and staining my kitchen floor a lovely shade of purple!

Welcome to the world baby Julie Mae!

mb went and had another baby girl!

Julie Mae arrived safely at 2:30pm weighing in at 6lbs 3.5ozs

Congratulations to the entire family!

SOOO lucky

I find it amusing that, "Dr. A. doesn't have any open appointments next week,"...

until I tell them I've emailed with him and he ASKED me to schedule next week...

and they ask WHY he would instruct me to do that...

and I tell them I've had two stillbirths...

and there is that slight gasp and mumbled, "I'm sorry,"...

and then there is magically an appointment available Wednesday morning at 11am...

and the scheduler says, "That was very lucky."

I mean, really, could I make this stuff up???

Doppler?

I know it's premature but I thought I'd ask anyway...

Anyone have a doppler that I can borrow?

Thanks!

Perfect Moment Monday

No Christmas cards from us

We didn't send out Christmas cards this year and I didn't feel particularly sad about it. Oh, maybe a couple gave a little twinge of sadness...but generally I wasn't all that affected. And then today I read this!

Yep...I think this is my problem. Instead of a few heartfelt messages, I've started to feel like I "have to" send out some sort of mass mailing (according to a list of who "should" receive a Christmas card from us).

So this year, I'm going to do something about this. I'm going to try to send out honest-to-goodness handwritten notes to friends this year...whenever the mood strikes...before the feeling of Christmas obligation hits. This is going to be fun!

(Guess I should start by sending my sister and her husband their Christmas gifts.)

2009 in review

The post where I take the first line from the first post of each month and bore you with them AGAIN. Don't you just hate re-runs?

It was fun to look back a little bit and see what I was up to. Maybe I didn't accomplish all that I wanted to accomplish in 2009...but I did do some good stuff. And it feels now like it was a good year. I guess that's really all a girl can ask for.

2009 in review

January: There are four pictures of me at Christmas. (I don't think I did any better during Christmas of 09...guess I'll just have to live with the curse of being the one to always take the pictures and not be in them).

February: Both of our mares are premarin rescues, so this organization holds a very special place in my heart. (Not actually the first line...but the first line was just a quote from somewhere else.)

March: The lovely Meg revealed herself as my Secret Pal for the SP13 swap with this fabulous package! (I haven't seen an SP since...I wonder if they're coming back.)

April: (Rachel) I love the books you sent! (I still haven't read them though.)

May: The Fisher Price Stride to Ride Walker I bought Sam in 2002 was discontinued in 2006 and is now considered collectible. (This is happening to me a lot more often and it is a bit disconcerting.)

June: I have this ongoing environmental case involving a schizophrenic man in his late 50s/early 60s. (Thanks to the kindness of his friends, this case was wrapped up in 2009 and no longer poses a health risk to this gentleman or anyone else.)

July: It all started with my saying, "I need a serger," and Shinny offering to give me one. (The great Cedar Point adventure! We absolutely MUST get together again! Any ideas when or where?)

August: Pets Alive is an amazing rescue that has helped my APL tremendously this past month. (Still a good rescue, though I have some questions about their decision-making...but that's a story for another day.)

September: Arthur is the nice customer service rep at my insurance company who informed me, while Sam was wheezing in my other ear, that my retail limit has been reached and I am supposed to refill "maintenance medications" through the mail and not at retail stores...in order to "maximize benefits." (This was actually my second post for September...my first was a perfect moment photo without text...and was, quite honestly, a much better post.)

October: Me: Just how old do you think I am? (Not actually the first post of the month...but the first post was just a link and a little quote from somewhere else.)

November: I forgot to pay a couple bills. (Story of my life.)

December: So yeah...we went to Niagra Falls. (Seriously...we did it! And we MUST do it again!)

See ya 2009! Bring on 2010!

well-meaning (new) friends

There is a whole group of people in my life right now who don't know about Alex or Travis or "before." And, more importantly, I'm trying really hard NOT to tell them because it's nice not having to see "the look" from any of them. But then I get a well-meaning email and I find it very hard to just "let it go."

I heard today that you are expecting a third angel. Your kids are dear. I also have 3, as did my mom and her mom too...so 3 is magic. God has smiled on you. love kd

I'm not going to ask what I should do. But I will ask...what would you do? Let it slide? Say something?

Build A Bear

The machine was a bit loud, but it didn't deter Sam too much...

Myles, however, was terrified...

Ultimately, though, I think both customers left happy...

My own personal 365 project

I will endeavor to post something here every single day this year. Insightful, thoughtful, photographs, silly, stupid, mundane...nothing is off limits. Don't you just want to keep reading now?!?!?!

I'm hoping this goes better than other pledged posting ideas.

I only made it to 30 good causes last year. Out of 52! Blah! I stink.

I tried several times to follow Perfect Moment Monday, Whiskers on Wednesday, Dogs on Thursday, Photo Friday...and I just didn't follow through.

But this concept...I can post whatever as long as I post...I think I can do this. Less pressure. Of course, I AM going to have trouble thinking in complete sentences again. I've become accustomed to 140 characters or less (thank you, Twitter). And maybe I'll even drag out my camera and actually take photos like I WANT to do.

Ah, who am I kidding, it probably won't work either.

Here's to broken New Year's resolutions!

You had to be there

Me: (handing over empty take-out salad container) "That was awful."

Steve: "Your pie?"

Me: "What kind of pie has lettuce and cabbage and carrots?"

Steve: "A really terrible pie."

Jumping in with both feet

So I find out I'm pregnant, get sick, and immediately lose my mind. It's just a sinus infection. Granted, it's the worst sinus infection I've ever had...because I can't take a damn thing for it...but it's not like I have the plague or anything. But the thoughts still creep in.

~I'm so sick, surely this pregnancy is doomed.
~I'm putting myself through the ringer not taking antibiotics and it's all so silly because this pregnancy is doomed.
~How will I un-tell everyone when this doomed pregnancy meets its untimely end?
~Baby's probably already dead anyway.

Yeah...you get the idea.

And I know it's me...it's totally me. I'm a complete freakshow. I can't just be normal...think normal...feel normal.

My OB had the best line...

Hang tight, try not to despair, and I'll see you soon.

Seriously...try not to despair. That is PERFECT! That is EXACTLY the kind of thing someone should say to someone like me after "congratulations." Don't try to be cute or hopeful or positive...just call it like it is...

Try not to despair.

Long time, no post

~Work update...I think this email pretty well sums it up...

"Does anyone have a Hewlett Packer printer cartridge 15-X for an HP LaserJet 1200 B &W printer that I could borrow until I receive a new budget appropriation in 2010? If I don’t need it by then, I’ll return it to you unopened."

Yeah...that is how bad it is.

But I'm still taking two weeks off to care for the boys while they are on their vacation(s).

~The car broke down. We still owe $3000 on it...and now we have to have a whole new engine put in it to the tune of $2600. Money we do not have...again. Thank goodness we still have a LITTLE bit of credit. *sigh*

~The big kid continues to not get his work done in school. I asked him the other day how many people get 110% on their practice tests and he said, "Me and maybe a couple other kids." I am convinced he is just not being challenged.

~Myles is great...always sniffling or coughing from the latest creeping crud he's bringing home from daycare. We had absolutely NO idea what to get him for Christmas until yesterday. We even considered going to Best Buy and offering a couple bucks for a refrigerator box. I mean, really, he'd LOVE it! But we found some things while aimlessly wandering in Toys R Us...Hopefully he'll like them.

~There is other family drama, but it's not my story to tell. So I'm just going to say I hope the love will get through and inspire someone to get better.

~We had a small holiday party for the APL at the house. It was fun. My house got cleaned. Yay me!

~Oh yeah...I got a positive home pregnancy test on Christmas Eve Eve. EDD is 8/28. I don't know how much I'll be blogging. Probably more as I get more freaked out. (sorry Shanna...I am in a state of shock. I told Steve, then my family, and then we posted on Facebook. It was the easiest way to go to avoid having to talk about it just yet.)

Sometimes they amaze me

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Sam and I had a deal. He could buy $10 worth of books from the book order and I would give him $10 to buy books at the book fair. We talked and he asked for a couple more dollars for the book fair so he could buy "a couple extra books." I love books...I love owning books...reading and re-reading. So naturally, I sent him with a few extra dollars to the book fair ($15). He came home with one $4 book, a plastic pointer with a rubber hand/finger on the end, and four pencils. *sigh*
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Myles was standing on tiptoes, stretching to reach something just beyond his grasp.

I said, "Myles, you're too short baby."

"Huh?"

"You're too short...you need to grow."

"Grow?"

"You need to grow...get taller."

"Oh"

He ran out of the room for about 30 seconds and reappeared with the stepstool...set it down...stepped up on it...and voila. Smart kid.
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Sam continues to struggle with keeping his mouth shut during school. He repeatedly comes home with work he did not finish...because he was talking.
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Myles is talking. It seems he may have been talking all along...I just haven't been paying attention. His pronunciation is terrible except for a few regularly-used words, but he really makes sense if you know what you're hearing. And now that I'm clued in, we can work on making the words sound better.
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Went to Niagra Falls and all I got was...

So yeah...we went to Niagra Falls. God, what is wrong with me? I can't write in a more timely manner? I think I'm beginning to see where my son gets his poor work habits...

Anyway...

Niagra Falls. If you are a facebook friend then you probably were able to piece it all together. If not...the highlights...

Bought socks.

Drove through PA, stopping at Wegman's for carryout sushi for lunch. Wasabi! (A reference for Sam who enjoys that silly I Survived A Japanese Game Show)

New York.

Found the Buffalo airport and located the beautiful Kathy McC's luggage without incident.

Drove around looking for an ATM because neither Kathy or I knew if our ATM cards would work in the ATM machines in Canada. What? So we're new at this international travel business.

Toured the University of Buffalo...or Buffalo State...I can't remember. Nice campus. No ATM to be found.

Drove across the rainbow bridge and laughed like loons (come to think of it...there was quite a bit of loony-like laughing during the weekend). "Isn't the rainbow bridge where your dead pets go?" It was funny at the time...guess you had to be there.

Met the most uptight border patrol crossing guard. Kathy said he was an ass. I tend to agree. He asked us how we knew each other and I SO wanted to say, "We've never met before...we've just talked over the internet...and we're following the directions given to us by another person we've only ever talked to over the internet." But since I didn't think Kathy wanted to visit Guantanamo Bay, I just said we were friends.

Saw a GIANT Hershey's kiss that kinda looked like a flying saucer...and laughed like loons.

Through a series of hilarious misunderstandings, ended up in the wrong house. Watched the Star Wars meets 700 Club episode of SouthPark.

Found the correct house with the help of the landlord. Called Ann and Jen laughing hysterically...they thought we'd been drinking. I was kinda afraid they might change their minds at this point and not show up...we were kinda scary. But they did, and we all went for a walk in Niagra Falls...on "the hill." My advice...stay away from the hill. It's like the Vegas strip with the neon lights and loud music and wax museums and freak shows...only it's on a hill. Very unpleasant.

Had dinner at the Cockhouse. Kathy McC exhibited her stellar reading skills here and transformed the Cookhouse into something seedy. But since they had crappy food and even crappier drinks, seedy works for them. Plus, there was this weird guy staring during the meal...so this establishment earned its name. And since it makes us giggle every time we say it, Cockhouse works for us.

After that it was pretty much a blur of good conversation, these amazing cookie dough truffles made by msfitzita (who sent them along even though she sadly was not able to make it...how awesome is she?!?!), wine, and relaxation.

There was (some of this I real-time tweeted) an Elvis Costello look-alike at dinner one night, FABULOUS apple martinis, wax museums, pork jerky, Cher, mullets and poutine.

There was afternoon naptime.

There was learning of the AWESOME habit of rinsing with vodka (which more than one of us have since tried, I'm sure).

There was Wayne Gretzky wine and an insanely overcrowded Christmas shop.

There was the LOUD sound of the falls on the front porch at night...and the helicopter buzzing overhead during the day.

There was the overly-friendly guy on the roof of Cash For Gold.

There was a lovely winery and a hat that "just wasn't meant to be."

There was authentic military simulation and the old lady at the pharmacy who knew EXACTLY where the nearest liquor store was.

Two words that should never be together...let alone foods that should be served together...Sushi BBQ.

There were weird dreams of strangers breaking in in the middle of the night...and checking to make sure they hadn't stolen the wine (a girl has to have priorities).

There was a lovely Perkins breakfast.

There was Kathy McC's fancy iPhone getting us un-lost after visiting THE most crowded outlet mall EVER.

And, of course, who can forget...fudge, fudge, FUDGE!?!?!

Yeah...Niagra Falls is WEIRD. But I had an amazing time getting to visit with the ladies from the blogosphere. We shared some laughs that felt really good. But more than that, I really felt free to be me...in a way I haven't felt since May 11, 2005.

(Yes, this post requires a picture. So here we are...the only group shot of the weekend I think. And yes, I stole it from Kathy...thanks Kath!)

Despite our appearance in this photo, we had a good time. In fact, we had such a good time, I would like it to become a yearly tradition. Or at least try it one more time.

Who else is in?

Two years

Happy Birthday to our baby.

*giggle*

After more than 50 years at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the 400-pound tortoise named Mary finally revealed that "she" is actually a "he."

Humor in the strangest places

Just read the BEST review of Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, on Amazon.com.

Ain't afraid of no Vietcong king, November 17, 2009
By Gen. JC Christian, patriot (Tremonton, UT United States)

There are many kinds of truth. There are truths based on facts, truths based on faith, and truths based on something that sounds as if it should be true (truthiness). Then there's the kind of truth we find in Sarah's book: stories and concepts that become truths simply because she states them. She's a lot like our Lord and Savior, Glen Beck, in that respect.

Sometimes, she states truths that would be considered ludicrous if uttered by someone else. Her claim that the McCain campaign forced her to spend $150,000 in RNC funds to dress her family in designer clothes is one example of that. Although it might be easier to believe that she acted like a trailer park Zsa Zsa who'd found a credit card left behind at a possum feed, she blames McCain staffers. That's good enough for us, because we have faith; we want to believe her truths.

But the book isn't perfect. As much as I enjoyed the few short paragraphs in which Mrs Palin laid out her policy objectives, she could have condensed it all into one sentence: "I'm going to grab an Oxo Good Grips Stainless Serving Spatula and go all mavericky on your non-white, non-Christian and non-heterosexual butts."

The book also fails to expose Mrs. Palin's intellectual brilliance and keen grasp of foreign policy issues. Why wasn't the text of her recent speech in Hong Kong included? Although it remains secret, it's rumored that she viciously rebuked the Vietcong king for his assault on the Empire State Building. That's a speech we've been waiting for nearly 75 years to hear. It's big news and should have been included.

As you read other reviews of this book, please remember that Mrs. Palin has many enemies who are eager to pan her work. The Palin family's most potent nemesis, Levi's johnston, is no dpubt fully erect and ready to spew globs of misfortune upon them for a third time. And reason-adoring intellectuals are certain to point out that an interview on Good Morning Topeka doesn't qualify as a policy summit in the Far East.

But a few bad reviews won't stop her. She's seen much worse from her kitchen window. It can't be pleasant to gaze upon Antichristograd every morning as you brew your coffee.

My review isn't complete, but I think I'll quit anyway, because writing reviews, like governing, is just too darned hard to finish.