Under Surveillance

I Love Goodwill

2008-01-05T13:05:00.000-05:00

I just found the cutest pair of Steve Madden shoes for $4. It must be an omen that 2008's going to be all right.

Why does the universe conspire against me so?

2007-11-14T21:48:00.000-05:00

I have one of those gigantic, painful, "attack of the killer" zits on the inside of my nose! Has this ever happened to anybody else? Geez-o-pete!

I Hate Lee Greenwood

2007-11-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

Dedicated to an Idea

I just got some really good news on the military front. My cousin, who's stuck on a boat until sometime in February, just won "Marine of the Quarter." And, while I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what that means, I understand that it's kind of a big deal. I couldn't be more proud of him. He's going to be in port in about 3 weeks or so, so I was hoping to get a care package out to him this week in order to catch him. Any of you who've been in the military or know someone who has have any suggestions about what to put in it?

Halloween Happenings

2007-11-05T14:59:00.000-05:00

True Obsession

I love a good costume as much as anyone, and body modification more than most, but even I think some of these people took it too far. I can't help but wonder, though, why Enigma isn't on that list.

Our Halloween was fantastic We attended a bunch of Halloween festivities, including Zoo Boo: a fun Halloween punk rock show:
and of course trick-or-treating:
I even got creative and made some fun Halloween cupcakes:
Nothing but the best homemade brains for mommy's little monsters.

The Punk Rock Night rip off show was so much fun. They get different bands to do cover sets of favorite bands. This year we had Rancid, Black Flag, Bad Religion & Jay's band as the Subhumans:

They played really well and we had a blast. What more can you ask for?

Hope you all had a hauntingly delightful Halloween as well!

Betty and the Vets

2007-10-09T08:09:00.000-04:00

So I've decided to completely change my career. I've been putting in applications all over town to be a vet tech, and I'm hoping that in the next year I will be back in school to become a vet. I've already gotten two callbacks in the last week, so things are looking good. Won't be long till I'm DR. Braindead.

MWF seeking

2007-10-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

I signed Bean up for tumbling classes. When people ask me why, I give them all kinds of reasons that sound real good, like she needed more interaction with kids her own age, or she needs some type of structured fun, or what have you, but the plain and simple truth is that it was good old-fashioned bribery to get her to use the potty. Which is not to say that those other reasons aren't bonuses.

Really, it is nice watching her make new friends, though. I tell you what, though. Play dates are definitely called "dates" for a reason. I feel like I'm on the singles market again. Trying to find parents that you can deal with to hang out with while your kids are playing is tough. There's one little girl who's a total princess, and her mom's nose is so far up in the air that it's amazing she doesn't drown when it's raining. There's another kid who cries through every class while his parents do nothing at all to console him. There are two little boys who are already best friends and won't have anything to do with Bean. Fortunately, there is one little girl that Bean gets along with fabulously whose mom seems pretty cool.

The next step, asking if they would like to get together sometime, is still like the dating scene, too. I don't want to come on too strong, or I might seem overbearing. But I don't want to seem too blase about it either, or they might think I'm not interested.

Man, it feels like I'm 17 again.

Yawn

2007-09-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how quickly our minds adapt to our circumstances. Daisy is going through some of the usual infant phases, and I had completely forgotten about them since Bean. For example, she's completely entranced by ceiling fans. She's also becoming quite the flirt. When she sees or hears someone she recognizes, she breaks out a shit-eating grin, then hides her face with whatever's handy.

One of my favorite things about babies though, is the way they stretch. Daisy will arch her back as far as it goes, throw her head back and her arms over her head. It's complete abandon. I love it because it's such an un-self-concsious act. I know everything babies do is un-self-consious, but you don't always get such a visual representation of it. Plus, it looks damn comfy. I'd be tempted to do it myself, but I'd be afraid of poking someone's eye out.

Makeover

2007-09-07T11:48:00.001-04:00

It was time, don't you think?

Let me know, yea or nay, in the comments.

GO COLTS!!

2007-09-06T14:28:00.000-04:00

Awareness

2007-09-06T14:23:00.000-04:00

I'm sure all the other parents out there are familiar with their local sex offender registry, and have checked their address. This is just a friendly reminder to check all the addresses where your kids spend time. My MIL watches the girls while Jay and I are at work, and she recently moved. Her new neighborhood is great, and there's even a little boy next door just Bean's age. Unfortunately, we just found out that the little boy's grandfather, who lives with him, is a convicted child molester, who's only been out of jail for 3 years. So this is just a note to other parents to never take anything for granted.

Oh, and for those not familiar with their local sex offender registry, just google "sex offender registry" and the name of your state, and it should pop right up.

Doin' Time

2007-08-30T10:51:00.000-04:00

I love the signs popping up all over the road construction sites: "Max fine speeding $1000; Max reckless driving 8 years." I understand the need to cut down on people driving like idiots, but who really believes that they'll be stuck in jail for 8 years for going 20 mph over the speed limit? It's not like this country has a problem with overcrowded prisons or anything. Yeah, the courts are gonna' let the serial rapist, or the drug dealer, go free so we can lock up a speeder. Uh-huh.

Oh, speaking of jail, why do people feel the need to look me up & let me know when one of my exes has fucked up again? Apparently, my convicted felon ex-boyfriend got caught taking an (obviously) illegaly obtained AK-47 across state lines. Into Washington, DC. He got arrested by homeland security. I don't think anyone will be seeing him for a while. I also don't think I need to make additional explanations as to why he's an ex.

That's My Girl

2007-08-22T13:02:00.004-04:00

I don't know what could make her parentage more obvious:
Yeah, she got her foot stuck in a toy castle. And yes, I took time to take pictures of it.

Bravery

2007-08-22T13:02:00.001-04:00

A girl in my city was carjacked recently, and I think she's a real hero. She managed to secretly dial 911 on her cell phone while being held at knifepoint. She made sure to mention her location and car description while the phone was on. She pulled a move straight out of the movies, and dove out of the car onto a median. She also went onto a neighborhood watchdog website and found the carjacker there, helping police come up with a suspect almost right away. The guy has now been caught, thanks in large part to his victim. I'm in such awe.

And in the same vein, a 7 year old girl kept a gun-toting bad guy from stealing money from her mom's employer. Bonus cute kid quotes from the girl in that article.

Excitement!

2007-07-24T11:15:00.001-04:00

I just found out. Jay's band is actually getting to play a show with Cancerslug!
Yeah, you probably don't know who they are, but if you do, you know how awesome they are, and what a big deal this is.

I can't wait!

Final Destination

2007-07-19T15:53:00.001-04:00

I hated that movie, but this news story is too much like it to be dismissed.

Don't tempt fate.

Put Enough Little Things Together And You Have A Post

2007-07-18T16:04:00.000-04:00

Just Like Tijuana:

I have been given the

badge by Queen of Dysfunction. Thank you so much! I'd like to pass it on to Cool Beans Mama, Hedy DeVine, Mel, and Amorous Rocker.

(And if you're confused about the Tijuana reference, well, too bad.)

Nursing is Good For the Body:

I'm pretty happy with the fact that I'm built like a woman, rather than like a teen boy. (Read: I have curves.) Things are being taken a bit to the extreme at this point, however. I'm normally a size 8, roundabouts. I recently bought a swimsuit and had to get a size 16 top to cover my assets.

Also, I know people are militant about parenting styles and techniques, but if I have one more person try to tell me the "best way" to breastfeed, I'm going to snap. I'll pick what's best for me and my baby, thank you. That goes for Jay, too. When he has boobs and the ability to lactate, then I'll listen to his opinion.

Overheard:

At Wal-Mart, near the inflatable swimming pools, 3 girls, about 19-ish, are talking. One says, "What are we filling it with again?" The other two answer in unison, "Jello!" I about died, but it was even worse when we ran into them again in the baking aisle, where they were buying...yep, you guessed it.

Oddity:

I finally got the meme where you have to list 7 odd things about yourself. Let's see...

I love dipping french fries into chocolate ice cream. Delicious.
My entire life, I've been made fun of for the way I say "color." I can't hear any difference between color and collar. *shrug*
When I was little, my cousin convinced me that when you became an adult, you switched genders. I was so depressed that I was going to be a man, but I did look forward to the ability to go shirtless.
There are several pop culture references that I only get because they've been spoofed on "The Simpsons." I can quote most episodes of that show.
I have always, always wanted a nickname. Never had one. I think it's because my name is already really short.
I'm 1/16th Blackfoot Indian. And all I get is a really high forehead; I'm still stuck with the easily burnt, freckled skin of my Irish ancestors.
I've never had a cavity. I should probably go knock on wood now.

I'm gonna' be a jerk and not tag anybody else. I never know who's okay with being tagged or not.

In N Out

2007-07-16T15:02:00.000-04:00

courtesy of Modern Drunkard Magazine

Although I think I have to disagree about rye whiskey. It is, and always shall be, my drink of choice.

Channeling Art Linkletter

2007-07-05T10:24:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was Bean's birthday. She's a whole wopping 3 years old now. It's crazy. When I look at her I still expect to see my little baby, but she's not anymore. As she likes to remind me several times a day, she's a big girl now. The problem with this is that I sometimes overestimate her capabilities. For example, she knew her birthday was yesterday, she just doesn't understand the concept of the future well enough to know that her birthday party is on Saturday. She went to the store with 2 of her aunts yesterday, and apparently made the lady behind them in line think she was horribly deprived. "It's my birthday and I got no presents, I got no party, I got no cake."

But at other times her logic astounds me. The other day I caught her trying to give Daisy a gummy worm. We've discussed before why she can't give food to a newborn, but I thought I'd go over it with her again. "Remember, we can't give food to Daisy; she doesn't have any teeth." The argument for: "Her can just lick it!" Hey, she may not have pronouns down yet, but at least she wants to share. Be thankful for small favors, huh?

She definitely knows how to turn a phrase. The other day she threw a tantrum over something, I'm not sure what. (Which, by the way, everyone who said 3 is worse than 2 is soooo right) What I do remember though, is her coming up to me after she was done to tell me "I got crying in my eyes." Poor girl.

Touching

2007-07-05T09:17:00.000-04:00

I found this via Joe the Troll.

A soldier's thoughts.

My heart is breaking. I have one cousin in the Middle East now, in the midst of his 3rd tour of duty over there, and another cousin who's headed that way on a MEU the end of this month.

TV

2007-07-03T11:18:00.000-04:00

My TV viewing has changed dramatically since Daisy came along. I'm up at odd hours that I never used to be up, so I'm catching reruns of shows I've never watched before, watching all kinds of phone sex commercials (I'm sorry, "dating service" commercials), and finding all manner of fantastic products that I don't know how I'm living without. One advertisement I saw last night really knocked my socks off, though. Not even an infomercial, just a regular 60 second commercial for mascara. What really blew me away was the fact that they were advertising how quickly and effortlessly it was to apply the mascara, and it showed a woman applying it in her car at a stoplight, then go zooming past the woman in the next car who was trying to apply clumpy "other" mascara. Like the idiot prima donnas need another reason to think it's okay to put on make-up while they're driving! I guess I can just be thankful that they didn't have her talking on her cell phone and eating, too.

I've also been catching reruns of Sex & The City. I don't know why that show was popular enough that people are yelling for a movie version. I think Sarah Jessica Parker's character is a petulant cry-baby. I just like seeing how she does her hair. SJP has fantastic hair. Then again, I bet fans of that show didn't understand why fans of Firefly were in such an uproar, either.

Fly Away Home

2007-06-19T11:02:00.000-04:00

I know I told you about how Jay got me Guitar Hero II for our anniversary, (or, as Bean calls it, Bitar Hewo) but I didn't mention his established history as the world's best gift-giver. He's everything that (stereotypically) women wish men were when it comes to gift giving. He's thoughtful, extravagant, creative, blah, blah, blah. And ladies (or guys), if you're sitting there cussing me right now, stop. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be the worst gift giver in the family? It sucks, and every gift-giving holiday I stress out hardcore over what to get Jay. It's not that gifts are that important, especially when you're as poor as we are, but I like to show that I put some thought into it.

I think I may have finally acheived the pinnacle of gift-giving success this year for Father's Day. I bought Jay an introductory flying lesson. He opened the certificate, dropped his jaw and said, "You're shitting me!" I've never seen him react like that. I can't wait to see how he likes it when he actually goes. And I'm going to be such a big dork, taking his picture with the plane and all that. Hope he doesn't get embarassed!

How Did You Find Me?

2007-06-15T14:09:00.000-04:00

I know what you're thinking. Gone for a month, and this is the kind of material she comes back with? The answer is... yes, dammit. I'm not good for much but being a food source at the moment, and that's not very exciting.

Recent search results:

"my glasses" "photobucket" "contacts" -"new glasses" site:blogspot.com
Could we be more specific, please?
wedding pictures rex grossman
I'm very sorry, but I am not the leading source for athletes wedding pictures.
wifes personal toilet, loser eat, lick her
I don't even want to know.
do dolphins have beaks or snots
I'm sure if they do have snots, they streak down their face while swimming.
how to get a spidermonkey in indianapolis
I don't recall ever having written about spider monkeys...Hmm
how to make a ouija bored
Read it the phone book.
vampire is trying to spank those kids pictures
I could be wrong, but I think vampires prefer biting.

Who's Got the Booze?

2007-06-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I’ve been gone forever. My computer broke. It sucked. Here’s the Cliff Notes version of my past month:

I had a baby. For blog purposes, we’ll refer to her as Daisy. Everything went okay, and she is, naturally, perfect.

Moo. Just call me Bessie.

Somehow, I got old. My little bitty baby cousins are now a high school senior and in their second year of college, respectively. Yikes!

I figured out how I’m going to get rich. Or, at least, how I could get rich if I knew how to write software. Someone needs to create a database of celebrities who do voice-overs in commercials, and the products they shill.

Speaking of celebrities, I have a new celebrity crush. Zach Braff is absolutely adorable! I’m typically up for feedings late enough to catch the late night “Scrubs” reruns, so I’ve only just now caught on to this show. It’s fantastic; someone should have clued me in sooner.

There’s a serial arsonist running around Indianapolis. Fortunately, they’re just burning abandoned buildings so far. Let’s hope it stays that way. 13 fires in 17 nights is pretty messed up.

I’m so happy to be back!

Until I Write Again

2007-05-10T23:40:00.000-04:00

Finally the doctors are going to do what I've been begging for. I'm scheduled to have labor induced tomorrow at 7:30. It only took 2 false labors and a week and a half of 2 centimeters dilated to get to this point. So next time I'm back I should have 2 little girls to gush about.

Stranger Than Fiction

2007-05-08T18:27:00.000-04:00

It's a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather to run some errands. I'm minding my business in my car, humming along with one of my favorite songs. The windows are rolled down, the better to enjoy some fresh air. All of a sudden, I feel a sharp, stinging pain. It's horrible. I scream. I notice the bee that has just stung me, but I never notice the other car that I run into.

Okay, so some people have interesting nightmares about chainsaw wielding murderers (hopefully with some Bud Light), or killer clowns, or other such stuff. Not me. I have nightmares about car crash causing insects.

I don't feel quite so paranoid though, as this scenario recently happened. Unfortunately, a couple died in the wreck. I'm so glad that charges aren't being pressed against the stung driver. I can only imagine the guilt that he's living with on his own, and it was a horrible accident. Needless to say, I think I'll be keeping my windows up. For a while, at least.

Baby Blues

2007-05-07T13:51:00.000-04:00

This kid is determined to drive me insane. Last Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I had a nice 4 hour stint in the hospital with false labor. I've been having contractions on and off since then, and have been forbidden to drive, so I've been nesting like a mad-woman. Heaven forbid there be a dirty piece of laundry in this house! Although I haven't been as good with the dishes, I'll admit. I was at last check, 2 centimeters dilated, so hopefully it won't be too much longer. If she decides to stall much longer, the doctor is going to induce on Friday. (Sorry if I'm blowing your odds all to shit, QoD).
I feel so bad for little Bean though. All she's heard the past few days is baby sister this, baby sister that. I've been trying to tone it down for her, though. We'll see how this sibling rivalry thing goes.
Oh, and we have a name now. I can't wait to present you with...
Taylor Lynn!

Evolution

2007-05-06T23:18:00.000-04:00

Those familiar with the history of the punk scene should not be surprised. Those who complain that punk is dead should be educated. Those who call emo the future of punk should go to hell.

When you stop and think about it, what makes more sense than taking an anti-authoritarian, anti-establishment movement and putting it in the middle of one of the biggest and oldest authoritarian establishments around?

Taqwacore is a new Islamic punk movement gaining noteriety around the world. This article features interviews with a playwright, some taqwacore band members, and the author who came up with the name for the movement. They speak with the type of punk rock, cocky bluster John Lydon would be proud of.

I know I'll never completely understand taqwacore, because I'm not a disenfranchised Muslim. But I do understand the love of punk, and the need for your voice to be heard. I can't wait to see where the movement goes.

Yes, I Know

2007-05-01T10:13:00.000-04:00

I have the maturity level of a 12 year old. I saw these in the supermarket yesterday. What do they make you think of?

Oh, and for those keeping track, I'll bet you $10 there's a baby by the end of this weekend. And still no name! Aaaa!

Friday Top Five: Volume II

2007-04-27T10:37:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I've gone all week without mentioning a very important holiday. This week is National Karaoke Week. So happy singing everybody!

Top 5 Karaoke Songs:

Garth Brooks - "Friends In Low Places." The one time I ever actually did karaoke this is the song I sang. The funny part is I was 10 years old and it was at my aunt's wedding reception. So in front of my whole family, I stood there in my floral print dress singing about how the "whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away." How little did I know that it was a prophetic song.
The Clash - "Should I Stay or Should I Go." Do I really need to put an explanation on this one?
The Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight." Yes, the song goes on forever, but it's so much fun. Who can resist seeing if they can successfully navigate all the "on n on n on n on's" or the "a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop the rock it
to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat's" If the old lady in The Wedding Singer can do it, surely you can too, right?
Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You." More popular for the likelihood of being able to make fun of the poor girl who's convinced she's the next American Idol singing it than for actual enjoyability.
Anything by Abba, the Village People, or other cheesy 70's disco group. Easy to get the audience involved, best when falling down drunk. Yeah.

If anybody decides to go out and properly celebrate National Karaoke Week, make sure to document it, or at least leave a comment letting us know how it went.

Were You Looking For Me?

2007-04-26T11:03:00.000-04:00

Here are some fun searches that have led people to my site:

Under the heading of "What the Fuck?"

Sarunas Jasikevicius wedding pictures
braindead machine head (sounds like a good premise for a Twilight Zone)
drafthorse laydown 1..100
mommy's little monster baby (is that kind of like in Dawn of the Dead, or are you talking about the album?)
woowoo weewoo song
orwell shot the elephant because of peer pressure

Porn or not?

neighbors who witness spanking
"under surveillance" men at play
brazilian virgin auction
betty boobs (sorry, those are all mine.)
adults-are-punished pain
flickr chest shaving

Under Surveillance sparks paranoia

rock quarry video surveillance
"dollar general" surveillance
i think my house is under surveillance

Dump his ass

"because he can't do shit"
my boyfriend threatened to call cops (I'm no expert, but I bet that's a bad sign)

Etc.

undercover police cars (they're the ones with all the antenna)
quarry "skinny dipping" (I highly recommend it, but I suggest avoiding the cliff jumping part.)
oj simpson trial under surveillance (did you miss all of 1994?)
neighbor threatens to kill dog (you have neighbors that are a bit off, too, huh?)
how to make a homemade ouija bored (I can't believe you got ouija right, but used the wrong form of board/bored.)

Not This Again

2007-04-24T11:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, my occasional mommy update.

Bean just started sleeping in her big girl bed. She's doing really well with it so far. Honestly, I don't think she realizes she can get out of it by herself. We'll see how long that lasts.

We also bought her her first fishing pole this week. She hasn't had it in the water yet, but we took it in the backyard to teach her how to cast. She's got pretty good form, she just has problems with the timing on pushing the button. One time she had the pole behind her head when she pushed and released the button, so the weight dropped to the ground behind her. Then she whipped that pole forward and tried to look for where it landed in the yard. She looked at me with eyes big as saucers and said, "Wow! That went far!" not realizing that it was actually right behind her.

Pregnancy is going well. Jay and I still haven't decided on a name, but we'll get there. If the baby hasn't gone head down by my appointment later today, they're going to try to manually turn her. I'm kind of nervous about that, because I've heard that it's pretty painful. And, honestly, I'm a wuss. I have all the respect in the world for women who do all-natural child birth, but it's just not for me. The doctors have the drugs, whey the hell shouldn't I use them? My fondest memory of Bean's childbirth is still when that 4'6" woman burst in my room announcing, "I'm Dr. Lee. Anesthesiology!" That was quite a digression, but I think I made it pretty clear that I'm a big wuss, so any well-wishes for today would be appreciated!

Why Jay is the Best Husband Ever

2007-04-23T21:03:00.000-04:00

It's our one year anniversary today, and my gift is Guitar Hero II. So if you'll excuse me, I've got to go rock out.

Friday Top Five: Volume I

2007-04-20T12:52:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love making lists. Goofy lists, shopping lists, lists of lists I'd like to make, etc. So I thought I'd start a new feature on my blog with a new Top 5 List for every week. Today's Top 5 is going to be my 5 favorite pack members.

Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) - There's a reason everybody in Wisconsin loves this man. I don't know if it's his "Aww shucks, can do" attitude, or his dedication to the game he loves. Regardless, even in a season where his team flat-out sucked, his QB rating was still comparable to one of the Superbowl QB's. (Favre's was at 72.7%, Rex Grossman's was at 73.9%)
My mother-in-law (packrat extraordinaire) - You should see this woman's attic and garage. Boxes upon boxes of stuff that somebody might need, someday. I won't complain too much though, because it has come in handy a time or two.
Judd Nelson (Brat Pack) - I admit this was a bit of a toss up between him and Molly Ringwald, but it was his performance as John Bender in The Breakfast Club that really sealed the deal on this one.
Dean Martin (Rat Pack) - I first became a fan of his comedies with Jerry Lewis (At War With the Army being one of my absolute faves), and then found out about his singing career, his other movies, his variety show, and his celebrity roasts. He makes alcoholism fun.
Shaun Ellis (Alpha male-wolf pack) - I don't know what to make of this guy. He lives with wild wolf packs and actually becomes part of the pack, going so far as to put cooked organs back inside a carcass for him to eat with the rest of the pack. That's a pretty high gross out factor, but it's really interesting at the same time.

So that's my first Friday Top 5. If anyone ever has any suggestions for a top 5, let me know. I'm sure I'll have problems coming up with new and original ones every week.

Deja Vu

2007-04-19T14:15:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you've read my "About Me" section over in the sidebar, but I had an eerily similar incident happen the other day that I just had to tell you about. Jay and I were talking with his father when we got on the subject of the movie Fargo. Jay seemed surprised to find out that his father really liked that movie, and I just blurted out the first thing I thought of, which was, "Who doesn't like a movie where a body gets put through a wood chipper?" (Yes, I have absolutely no filter between my brain and my mouth.) My father-in-law kind of awkwardly chuckled and said, "I don't know about you sometimes."

Whoever knew that liking gory, violent films would be such a defining measure of my personality? I guess I shouldn't complain too much. I like what that says about me much more than if my favorite movie were, say, The Notebook.

Borrowing Trouble

2007-04-18T14:08:00.000-04:00

Someone found my blog the other day by searching for "pro vs. con driving curfew." Sorry that I probably wasn't any help, but Bean keeps me on my toes enough without having to borrow trouble worrying about what to do when she gets old enough to drive. Whatever I decide to do at that point in time, I can garauntee one thing: Bean won't like it. What 16 year old ever thinks that their parents' rules are fair? Plus I've already been told that I'm strict with her. And that's coming from my own mother, the one who took me for a tour of a working convent when I was in high school. So for now I'm just enjoying the ride, and we'll worry about dating and cars and cell phones and all that crap somewhere down the line.

Memorial

2007-04-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'll never forget the last time I saw you. You were working at McDonald's and it was busy, so I left without telling you good-bye. Little did I know the rain-slicked roads would keep you from making it to school the next day, or ever again.

I can't believe it's been 9 years. You weren't there for graduation, the fun college years (even though I didn't go, but I'm sure you would have), and now we're all settling down and having babies.

I actually named my daughter after you. As she grows, I'll tell her stories about you. About your determination, your (let's face it) bitchiness, your loyalty to your friends. Most of all what I want her to know about you is your strength of character. During those tumultous high school years, when everybody's more worried about fitting in, you were never afraid to be yourself. You argued with teachers and students with equal facility, were firm in your beliefs, and refused to be swayed.

I just remembered when we took debate class together. Undefeated, baby! I may not tell Bean about your famous freshman English exploit, when you wrote an outstanding opening and closing paragraph for a research paper, and filled the rest with gibberish. Yeah, you called the teacher out, but she doesn't need to know about that.

11/24/81 - 4/14/98. A life cut short. A star softball and basketball player never allowed to meet their full potential. I still miss you.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia

2007-04-13T13:04:00.000-04:00

That's the fear of Friday the 13th. Very closely related to one of my favorite phobias to say, triskaidekaphobia, plain old fear of the number 13. I figured that in honor of this very special day, I'd share a few of my favorite phobias with you.

Bathophobics should live in Hollywood, as they have a fear of depth.
Clinophobia is one I think my daughter may have occasionally. It's the fear of going to bed.
Dentophobia is, not surprisingly, the fear of dentists. My mother suffers horribly from this phobia.
Erythrophobia is not actually a phobia. It's the technical phrase for pathological blushing. Wonderful to know there's a name for it next time I go all red-faced.
Geniophobia may make it impossible for you to watch Jay Leno. It's the fear of chins.
Helminthophobia is the fear of being infested with worms. Eeewww.
Olfactophobia is the fear of smells. Often suffered after a person's first time in a bachelor pad.
Uranophobia is the fear of heaven. Because those halos are pretty intimidating, y'know.

If you know of any other interesting or unusual fears, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Brrr!

2007-04-12T14:18:00.000-04:00

I'm not as upset as some people about this springtime cold snap, but I do have one complaint. I wish it were warm enough to wear sandals because I'm far enough along in my pregnancy that it's impossible for me to tie my shoes.

R.I.P.

2007-04-12T10:25:00.000-04:00

Local legend and beloved author, Kurt Vonnegut, has passed away.

11/11/22 - 4/11/07.

"If I should ever die, god forbid, let this be my epitaph:

The only proof he needed

for the existence of God

was music."

Vonnegut's Blues for America 07 January, 2006 Sunday Herald

Triumph at last!

2007-04-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

Every holiday, I try to get a picture of Bean with "that look" on her face. You know which look I'm talking about - the look that says "I'm so excited I can't possibly contain it in my earthly body." I finally got it on Easter when she walked out of her room and saw her basket. So without further ado, may I present to you: Easter by a 2 year old.

If you want to check out the bigger version, or any of my other pics (they're not all of cute kids, I promise), you can always check out my Flickr page.

Wherein I Reveal New Depths to My Geekiness

2007-04-10T17:24:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big fan of Smallville. Really, I'm not much of a DC fan, period. I happened to catch an expisode of Smallville on Sunday, though. You know, when there's absolutely nothing on TV. Anyway, this particular episode featured none other than my <>favorite superhero, Aquaman! The writer's apparently think their viewers are stupid, because they were laying it on pretty thick. He can swim faster than Superman, hears ultrasonic noises that others can't, and even gets made fun of by Lois Lane for his orange and green wardrobe. I had to laugh because it wasn't until after all these references that Jay looked at me and said, "Y'know, I think that's Aquaman."

The cheesiest joke of the entire episode came towards the end:

Aquaman: "We make a pretty good team. We could start the Junior Lifeguards of America or something like that."
Superman: "I don't think I'm ready for the JLA just yet."

I don't know how the actors kept a straight face for that one.

Poor Pups

2007-04-06T12:49:00.000-04:00

I've always been against dog fighting anyway, but I recently found a new reason for it. Several pit bulls have been dumped in my neck of the woods recently. They have been obviously abused and more than likely used for dog fighting but are still considered adoptable. Why? Because they were used as "bait dogs" rather than fighting dogs. They've had their canine teeth cut out, their other teeth filed down, and are about 20 pounds underweight. Basically, they're kept for the fighting dogs to "practice" on, but left with no ability to defend themselves. It's so sad.

Material Girls

2007-04-04T14:51:00.000-04:00

If you'll allow me, I'd like to get up on my soapbox for a minute...

I was at the Dollar General store the other day and saw something that's becoming way too common in my opinion. There was a woman in the Dollar General grocery shopping with her two kids that were in clothes two sizes too small. Yet while she was shopping, she had her cell phone glued to her ear, held by her perfectly manicured fingers. It's entirely possible that I could be reading too much into the situation, and I don't like to make snap judgements, but it seems to me that if she can afford manicures and a cell phone, she could afford decent clothing for her kids and to shop at a real grocery store.

I worked at a grocery store for over 5 years and saw several variations on this theme. People would buy steak and lobster with their food stamps, then head to the office to buy $100 worth of lottery tickets. I know not everyone is like this; in fact, several of the people who worked at the store were also on food stamps. I think that's why the other people made me so mad. I watched people work hard for 40 hours a week, jump at the chance for overtime, obsessively clip coupons and still not get the luxuries that these other people were getting.

I just can't help but wonder how people's priorities get so out of whack.

Lotsa' Links

2007-04-03T12:05:00.000-04:00

'Cause I'm rushed, but I didn't want to leave you with nothing.

Spin the Wheel of Lunch!
This is what happens to kids in my state. And we wonder why there's a Brain Drain here.
If I could get one of these for my next birthday, I would be the happiest girl ever.
Mad, mad mice. It makes me want to build an overly complicated trap like the Mousetrap board game.
Someone makes a magazine for people like me. Okay, so it's actually marketed towards men, but I still love it.

Why Aren't You Seizing the Boy?

2007-03-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

Disney's got me hooked. "Meet the Robinsons" comes out this weekend, and it looks pretty so-so. Not bad, so far as kid's movies go, but not my first choice for a night out, either. Except for the damn T-Rex. Whenever I see the commercial where he says, "I have a big head, and little arms!" I erupt into laughter. Not just a little giggle; great big belly laughs. The kind that almost make you cry. I cannot help it. This dinosaur just has me enraptured. I'm beginning to wonder if it is subliminal messaging causing the hilarity.

Daddy's Little Girl

2007-03-29T13:45:00.000-04:00

Major news on the homefront: I HAVE LANDSCAPING! I'm so excited! Jay and Bean planted 5 mini-spruces yesterday while I was at work to surprise me. Bean was so excited to have helped. She's claimed one tree as her very own and calls it her baby tree. Say it with me now....AAAWW.

One thing I must say about Jay being out of work; while it's made our budget much tighter than is comfortable, he and Bean have gotten quite close. It's awful cute watching her tag right along behind him, Daddy's little shadow. If you want to know the honest truth, I'm kind of jealous. I know it's gender-typing, but I feel like, being the mom, I should be there kissing her booboos and teaching her the joys of vegging out and playing Halo all day. Okay, so maybe he is teaching her different things than I would.

I don't really grudge him the time with her, though. She's happy enough to see me when I get home, and he's happy enough for a break by that time. (Let's face it, no matter how cute the 2 year old, they're still pretty demanding.) And I know it's important for little girls to have a good relationship with their dad. Besides, once she starts dating, I know I'll be the favorite again.

Wannabe Vandal

2007-03-26T17:04:00.000-04:00

There's a cemetary not far from my house with a big billboard that faces out into the street. The billboard has the name of the cemetary and says, "Serving the living." And everytime I see this sign I just want to buy some spray paint and add "to the dead." I don't think it's ever going to happen though, since it's on a very busy road and I don't see how you could do it without getting caught. Does that make me a horrible person?

And That's A Power?

2007-03-23T14:26:00.000-04:00

One of my coworkers and I were having a conversation about patchouli yesterday. Personally, I can't stand the stuff. It always makes me think of Skunkor, the pariah of the toybox.

Skunkor was one of the characters from He-Man and Masters of the Universe. As you could probably guess from his name, Skunkor's abilities were of the olfactory variety. Anyway, the action figure for Skunkor was marketed to include his stink ability. And it reeked of patchouli! The really horrible thing about it was that if you put him in your toybox, it made all your other toys smell, too. I'm sure my parents were really happy about having bought him.

I Break the Rules Anyway

2007-03-22T17:24:00.000-04:00

We're enjoying a stretch of nice weather right now. It's so much fun taking Bean outside to play. She got her first taste of playing with sidewalk chalk yesterday. It brought back so many memories for me. I specifically remember one time my grandpa caught me and the little neighbor girl using sidewalk chalk to make a homemade ouija board. (Yeah, I was a weird little kid.) He got so mad at us for that one.

I made Bean a hopscotch board and taught her how to hop on it, which she loved. I realized, though, that I don't know the actual rules for hopscotch. When we were kids, we never bothered with playing it the way you're supposed to, we just jumped back & forth until we got bored with it. Did anybody mess with the real rules? If so, could you explain them? I'd hate to have my daughter be the only girl who doesn't know the rules when she gets to elementary school.

How Old Is Sheena Now?

2007-03-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

I haven't gone to the Warped Tour for a couple years, because it makes me feel so damn old. All those 16 year old kids with so much damn energy, it kills me. Not to mention some of the stupidity I hear coming out of their mouths. I remember when the Misfits played, overhearing one kid mention to another that "Gosh, they're playing a lot of Metallica covers." Not to mention the little girl I used to work with who didn't understand why Billy Idol was on the bill.

Not that I have a lot of room to talk, as I don't know very much about what their generation is into. For instance, on this year's tour, who the hell is Boys Like Girls? Or Cute Is What We Aim For? Can I confess that I'm not expecting to like those bands very much? However, I think I'm going to have to go this year, if only for Bad Religion and Flogging Molly. It's just too bad the Vandals are not going to be at the Indy show. I guess that's just asking for too much though.

And I'll remember to take my walker with me.

If We Could Do It Over

2007-03-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

We had a little bit of a family scare the other day. Alzheimer's disease runs in my family, and my Grandma was acting pretty loopy the other day, so everybody was getting scared that the disease may have begun claiming her. Come to find out, Grandma's just a druggie. Okay, that's not exactly fair to my Grandma. She fell on the ice twice this winter and managed to break both of her wrists. One of them was broken pretty badly, and she had to have surgery. After the surgery, she got a Vicodin prescription, and instead of taking it as needed no more than once every four hours, she was taking 1000 mg every four hours on the dot. Needless to say, my Grandma was in a pretty happy place. I wonder if she was trying to make up for the sobriety of her youth, and is happy letting us believe that it was an honest mix-up. I just wonder how my aunt who's been staying with her to help completely missed this. For four days. Oh well, it at least makes me feel less like the black sheep in the family.

Notes From All Over

2007-03-16T15:44:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've been kind of MIA this week. Between having the first cold of spring, losing an hour, and being absolutely swamped at work, I've been kind of bleh.

Some of the signs of spring have been cropping up. Besides the cold, the Canadian geese have been showing up. I was attacked by a goose when I was 7, and it left me with a full blown phobia of the hateful things. Jay, of course, thinks this is hilarious, but I find it to be quite a hindrance at times. For instance, I've been late to work twice this week because I refuse to get out of my car if there's a goose between where I'm parked and the door to work.

Jay's band has two shows booked next week and I'm super-excited about one of them. They're opening for an awesome band out of Japan, Peelander-Z. If you've never heard of them, you should check them out. This is also a really good opportunity for the guys, as there should be a pretty big crowd for this show.

I'm sure this is really surprising, but I'm not much of a domestic goddess. Yet I volunteered to make soda bread for a St. Patty's Day party tomorrow. I've never made it before, so wish me luck.

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, I love my Irish heritage. That doesn't change the fact that St. Patrick was a murderer from Wales who liked to burn libraries. But here's one of my favorite Irish toasts that you're welcome to use tomorrow:

Here's to me and here's to you,
And here's to ever after.
I'll be true as long as you
And not a moment after.

Mom Update

2007-03-12T14:02:00.000-04:00

Jay and I are both amazingly laid-back people. This is why other first-time parents sometimes crack me up. Some of our friends recently had a baby, and made both sets of grandparents watch a video about the 4 "S's" of swaddling (whatever those are) before they could hang out with the baby. I'm personally of the opinion that if my parents got me to adulthood, they're not gonna' screw Bean up too badly. So when she spends the night with them, I hand her over with one hand, the diaper bag with the other, and then run like the denizens of Hell are behind me. My sister, on the other hand, leaves my parents with two pages of instructions and calls every half hour to check up.

Bean is ruining Janis Joplin for me. Whenever we're in the car, she just wants to listen to "Mercedes Benz" over and over again. At least it's not a Care Bear CD, I guess.

Yesterday Bean was fed a bunch of candy and wasn't given a nap. So when bedtime came around, she resembled nothing so much as a sugar-charged demonically-possesed tornado. Generally I don't do this, buy I let her lay in our bed with me until she fell asleep. Jay was sleeping on the couch (guess why). The girl was cracking me up. When I told her I'd put her back in her own bed if she didn't lie still and be quiet, she promised to be quiet, rolled over and proceeded to fake snore. This is a new thing for her and it was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. Because, of course, if you laugh, they know they've won.

Good For Nothing

2007-03-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

I took a skills assesment quiz because I've had enough of jobs and am ready to look for a career. As I went through my top 10 job matches, and found reasonable objections to each prospective career, I realized, wow, I'm not good at anything relevant. Or maybe I'm just lazy and good at making excuses. But seriously, some of these job suggestions were completely off-the-wall.

Actress? That'd be fantastic, but please let me know how I'm to keep my family fed while I'm waiting to be discovered here in Indiana. Dancer? Considering I have no classical dance training, I can only think of one kind of dancing where I would make money and, uh, that ain't happening. Courier service driver? What? Is that even a real answer?

You know it's pretty sad when the skills assesment quiz basically tells you that you're not good at anything. Looks like I'm destined to be a penniless-artist-wanderer-beachcomber type. Maybe I should just go get a degree in philosophy. Or communications.

What the Hell?

2007-03-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

I'm 'Mama, just killed a man ...'!

Which Line from Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody Are You?

Home Sweet Home

2007-03-08T15:04:00.000-05:00

I became a homeowner at the ripe old age of 21. I knew that I was taking a huge step when I did this, and I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, being that young, I had very little idea of what being a homeowner implies. Visions of home-decorating and stripper poles danced in my head. (Thank God I never went through with that.)

I think my parents must've hated me for about the first 6 months after I moved in. They were inundated with phone calls ranging from, "Can I borrow your lawnmower?" to "I think squirrels are living in my attic!" to "What should I do if I smell gas?" Unfortunately, my friends weren't much help either, being as inexperienced in home-ownership as I was. Not that they didn't try. I remember one of my guy friends very sincerely offering to hold the ladder for me when I needed to get in the crawl space one time.

Luckily, I survived on my own long enough to learn the ropes. And let me tell ya', I can plunge a toilet with the best of 'em now.

Super Post

2007-03-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

I got my first glimpse of Indy's newest superhero the other day. No, it's not someone with a cool power given by exposure to radiation, or a mutated gene. Neither is it a rich vigilante with awesome gadgets, or a visitor from an alien world affected by Earth's yellow sun. It's a stretch of highway that's under construction. It must be a superhero though, because it says "super" right there in its name, and it has a cool logo with wings. I introduce to you...Super 70.

My first encounter with Super 70 must have been simply an introduction to its mild-mannered alter ego, because nothing eventful happened. I can't wait to see what it's powers of delay, frustration and confusion hold in store.

__________________________________________________________________

Does anyone know where the quote "Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, Aquaman was making a peanut butter sandwich because he can't do shit," originated? Jay and I saw a new Aquaman video game in the store the other day, and were speculating how many different ways to make a peanut butter sandwich it must feature.

___________________________________________________________________

Batman is branching out. Wayne Enterprises is now selling Holy drinking water. The bottles feature the warning "If you are a sinner or evil in nature, this product may cause burning, intense heat, sweating, skin irritations, rashes, itchiness, vomiting, bloodshot and watery eyes, pale skin color and oral irritations." I've got to buy a case of this stuff to take to parties. Maybe some fake blood and smoke bombs too. Wow, I've got a great practical joke all set up. Wait, maybe that's Batman's plan. Perhaps this is too good of a practical joke for the Joker to miss out on, either. Clever, Batman, very clever.

Lovely Roger, Meter Maid?

2007-03-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

SCANDAL!! The small town of Speedway, Indiana is so starved for news that they're reporting on one of their meter maids, who apparently posed nude in a calendar some 14 years ago when he was a mere 19 years old.

An anonymous tipster emailed the photos to city officials. "I'm only trying to do my part to help the city," she told us on condition of anonymity. "If we let this slide, who knows whats next. Cops with earrings, or worse, tattoos?" She did not, however, say why she was looking at nudie pics in the first place.

Mr. M. Barassed, the meter maid in question, did not reply to calls made at his residence, but has issued a statement. It reads, "This incident happened back when I was a young stud, full of dreams. Look at me now; I'm a 33 year old meter maid for cripe's sake! What dignity can you take away from me?"

*Okay, so the name & quotes are made up, but the story's not. You can check it out here.*

Sisterhood

2007-03-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

I'd hate to be a member of Delta Zeta sorority right now. If you haven't heard the story, several of the sisters of the sorority's chapter at DePauw college were kicked out for not fitting in with the image of the sorority. Essentially, they were kicked out for not being pretty enough or for being non-Caucasian.

I'm guessing that they had no idea that the story would get the national attention that it did. After all, DePauw is a small college right here in Indiana, where very little national news takes place. Unfortunately for them, a writer for the New York Times happened to be visiting the campus around the time it happened, and wrote a story about it. Needless to say, the story's gotten plenty of attention since then. The girls have even been featured on CNN.

What I think is especially sad about the story, though, is that I've only found one story, the original New York Times article, that's very specific about mentioning that it was the national headquarters of the sorority that made the decision, not that particular chapter. In fact, of the 12 girls that didn't get kicked out, 6 of them were so outraged that they quit the sorority as well. That's a good example of the type of sisterhood I think sororities should try to cultivate. If I were another sorority with a chapter on that campus, I'd be making serious efforts to try and recruit all 29 of the ex-Delta Zeta ladies. Just imagine what a PR victory that could be.

*On a side note, since I just mentioned his hit song the other day, I thought I'd shout out to Eddy Grant, who's birthday is today.*

On the Drive Home

2007-03-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

Why are Frankenstein cars always blue with a red door or hood?

Why would you buy a car that's the same make and color of the "undercover" police cars? Wouldn't it get annoying having everyone in front of you slow down when they saw you coming?

I get unreasonably nervous when I'm on a multiple lane road that curves. I'm always terrified that somebody is not going to be paying attention and go straight instead of following the curve.

My neighbors (not the ones with the shooting incident) bought a powder blue hearse? Cool!

The Age-old Dilemma

2007-02-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

I just don't get men.

Wait, maybe I should back up a little bit. Obviously I understand at least a little bit about men. How else could I have gotten one to marry somebody as crazy as me? What I don't understand is how men interact with other men. I think that a lot of this has to do with the fact that I spent my formative adult years with goth and emo whiney boys who never acted like men to begin with.*

This came up over the weekend while Jay and I watched "Secret Window." (Which was not nearly as horrible as I had been led to believe. Still not great, but not horrible either.) Jay and I got to talking about the behavior of the soon-to-be-ex-wife's new boyfriend in the movie. Whereas I thought he was being an emotionally supportive, helpful significant other, Jay thought he was being an intrusive ass. Apparently there is some kind of pecking order, testosterone thing between exe's and current's, at least according to Jay.

We girls keep it much simpler. According to us, you have no previous women in your life. And if, for some strange reason, you do...they're much uglier than we are. And that's it.

I guess it could be worse. At least they're not peeing on our legs. Although sometimes I think Jay would like to.

*Which is not to say that all goth and emo boys act like this. If you have more eyeliner on than your girlfriend however, this probably applies to you.

A Sandwich & A Gun

2007-02-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I was almost a witness to a crime last night or not. I keep trying to convince myself that there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for what happened...

Jay and I have some neighbors that we've long suspected of having a less-than-legitimate second income source. They've actually been pretty good neighbors. They don't cause trouble or disturbances. At least, they hadn't before last night. I had just fallen asleep when I was awoken with the unmistakable sound of gunfire. I heard 4 shots fired, and honestly, I kind of flipped out and froze. I didn't know what to think or do. It took about 5 minutes for the cops to show up, and at that point I knew that everybody in our house was fine, so I went back to sleep. There wasn't any crime scene tape up this morning, so things must've turned out okay. I'm guessing that someone got drunk and dumb is all.

That wasn't nearly as scary as the time I actually got shot at, though. Back when I was young and stupid, I was spending an evening with my best friend at the time and her boyfriend. We were driving back to their house from another friend's apartment when we all heard that loud POP that we've come to know and love. Then I felt something on my face. I looked over, and the car window was gone. I had glass all in my hair and all over my face. It turns out that I was pretty lucky, as the bullet apparently went just under my chin, and didn't hit me at all. It was one of those cases of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and not one I'd ever like to experience again. It does, however, come in very handy during games of "I never."

You Can Do the Sex Talk, Too, Then

2007-02-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

Have you heard that they're trying to make spanking your children illegal in California? I'm not trying to spark a huge pro vs. con spanking debate here, but no matter which side of that fence you're on, I don't know how any parent can stand for this. Abuse is already illegal; how much further do we want to let the government into our private lives?

Jay brought up what I thought was a good point when I was talking to him about this. He asked me, "If you can't spank your kids, can you build a cage with a bathroom to put them in when they need to be punished?" I told him that I thought that fell under the abuse category and he responded, "That's how adults are punished."

I wonder what a certain California legislator would say to that.

Where You Live

2007-02-23T13:16:00.000-05:00

One of the best things about working a customer service/call center type of job is getting to see the interesting names & addresses of other people. I've helped both Mrs. Rosemary Thyme and Miss Princess Prince in the past. I've met people who live at 420 High Street, and these examples don't evin begin to touch what people come up with for email addresses.

Today I helped someone who lives on "Adventure Avenue." Besides making me think of both possible children's TV shows and the song "Electric Avenue," by Eddy Grant, it also made me wonder what kind of pressure someone who lives on that street must feel. If you lived on Adventure Avenue do you think you'd feel like every day had to have some exciting adventure to be complete? I know I've heard about people petitioning to change the name of Gay Street, so people must feel like their address reflects them in some way. I think I'm content living on a street named after some long-dead white guy.

By the way, you can thank me later for getting "Electric Avenue" stuck in your head all day.

I Don't Wanna' Know How You Change A Tire.

2007-02-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

I don't like to play the helpless little girl card. (Except with Jay, who knows it's a load of crap, anyway.) When it comes to cars, I may not be a mechanic, but I know the basics. You know, how to change oil, change a tire, do a tune-up, change a fan belt, etc. So it wasn't any big deal when Jay called me at work yesterday to ask me to check my oil before I headed home. Apparently, there was a big oil stain in the driveway. Yuck.

After I got done at work I went out to the parking lot and popped my hood. One of the guys I work with was also leaving at the same time, and when the hood went up, he beelined over.

Him: "Need some help?"
Me: "I'm just checking my oil. Thanks, but I've got it."
Him: "Oh, that's okay; I'll help!"
He pulls out a dipstick and tells me that it looks fine...

Me: "That's great, but I wanted to check my oil, not my transmission fluid."

Solutions

2007-02-19T13:27:00.000-05:00

I think I found an answer to the problem I mentioned here. No, not the driving...as far as I know science has yet to come up with a cure for stupid. In regards to the food thing, however, I posted this sign at work today:

Think it'll work?

Cop Out

2007-02-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

Braindead Betty's Random Movie Quote:

'My dad thinks I paid for all this with catering jobs. Never underestimate the power of denial.'

- Ricky Fitts, American Beauty

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

FOAD Thursday #4

2007-02-15T14:49:00.000-05:00

Fuck off and die, Indiana drivers. Do you see that 12+ inches of snow out there? That means it would be prudent to drive a reasonable speed, and leave plenty of following space between you and the car in front of you. Also, we get black ice every year, why do you act like it's some crazy, new phenomenon every year?

Fuck off and die, coworkers. I'm not your fucking commisary. If you wanted food, you should've bought it on your way here, like I did. Didn't anybody ever tell you how dangerous it is to try and finagle chocolate out of a pregnant woman?

Love

2007-02-14T23:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day. And if you'll allow me a bit of self-congratulations, happy blogiversary to me, too. It just so happened to be Valentine's Day last year when I started this little blog-thing.

I don't exactly care for doing the expected thing, so instead of going on a long tirade about how ridiculous Valentine's Day is, or getting all mushy about the people I love, I thought I'd tell about my best Valentine's Day ever. It's probably not what you expect.

My junior year in high school, the AIDS awareness group I was involved in was invited to attend the Ryan White National Youth Conference. I know Valentine's Day is supposed to be the holiday of love, but the outpouring of love I witnessed at that conference was amazing. It didn't matter if you were living with HIV/AIDS, if you were, like me, someone who had lost a family member to the disease, or if you were just someone who cared enough to help. Whatever motivation had brought you there, you were family. There were people from all walks of life and all backgrounds. I don't think I've ever seen such acceptance.

I met several people that week who I laughed with, cried with, and learned with. As usually happens (especially with busy high schoolers), when we went home and back to our regular lives we ended up losing contact, but for that one Valentines's Day, we were family.

Voyeurism

2007-02-13T09:26:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Anna Nicole Smith died. Sorry, I just felt like I was the one person in America who hadn't commented on it.

When did we turn into the ultimate nation of voyeurs? I'll admit, I'm no better than anyone else. I have DListed and Go Fug Yourself in my blogroll, both blogs dedicated to celebrities. It's kind of unsettling though, when the day after an (at best) B-List celebrity dies, video of her receiving CPR while wating on paramedics hits the internet.

It's not even confined to celebrities, though. Think about what blogging is all about. It's the ultimate exhibitionist/voyeur combo. You get to examine the minutae of everyday people's lives when reading their blogs. Is this us taking "keeping up with the Joneses" to the next level, or is it that we're dissatisfied with our own lives and want to live vicariously through others? (Sorry if that's the case and you're reading here.)

I guess there's not really a point to this; I'm not going to quit spilling my life out onto the web, and I'm certainly not going to stop reading about others. I guess it just falls back to the credo of, "everything in moderation." Let's try to stop resembling a pack of drooling hyenas the next time a celeb flashes her coochie, and maybe we can start taking baby-steps back to sanity.

Hoosierspeak

2007-02-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

One of the things that sucks about being from Indiana is the way people talk. It's enough to drive a person crazy about the third time you hear someone refer to "worshing" their hands. Or heading down to the "crick" to do a little fishin'. What can you expect from a state whose nickname is sometimes credited to the habit of asking "Whose ear?" when finding a stray one on the floor after a fight?

Having lived my whole life here, and having family from both Kentucky and Alabama, has made me pretty much immune to most of Hoosierspeak. There are just a couple words that really get my goat though. One of which is "irregardless." Quick, before you check out the link, tell me, do you think irregardless is a word? My friends and I had an argument about this the other night with everybody teaming up against me, and I'm just curious what the non-Hoosiers out there think.

Thanks for the help (I hope)!

Old Enough to Know Better

2007-02-07T15:28:00.000-05:00

RSM recently talked about her relationship with her mother and gave some examples of punishments she received growing up. It made me think of me and my mom, and some of the things we went through when I was growing up.

My parents were great at punishments. I'm sure I stretched their imagination a time or two, because I was always getting in trouble, but they sure never let me down in my belief that their sole purpose in life was to make me miserable. The simplest thing they did, and the one that caused me the most heartache, was that they would never ground me for a definite time frame. When my friends screwed up, they got grounded for two weeks, or a month, or whatever their parents deemed appropriate. When I screwed up, how long did I get grounded? "As long as I feel like it." was my dad's standard response. It made making plans a real pain in the butt.

Some of the better punishments my parents came up with involved touring a working convent, moving my bed into their room (when I got caught sneaking out at night), and threatening to throw all my clothes away and buy me nothing but Tommy Hilfiger instead. I know to some people that probably would've been a dream come true, but I hung out with the goths and the skaters and the punks. It would've been hell. Actually, this must've been the most effective threat that my mother ever came up with, because it never actually progressed past the threat stage.

I actually moved out of my parents house the first time because of a punishment that I felt was unfair. I had stayed out past curfew (my 11:00 curfew at 18 years old and already graduated from high school), and when I got home, my dad was waiting up for me. No big surprise there, but what he did next pissed me off to no end. He made me sit in the living room and stay awake ALL NIGHT LONG. Looking back, I see his point, that I made him miss sleep, so he would make me miss sleep, but at the time I was livid enough to pack up all my stuff the next day and move in with some friends. And I do still to this day think 11:00 is a ridiculous curfew for an 18 year old high school graduate.

Luckily, my parents and I both survived adolescence with very few psychological scars, and we're closer now than ever. It's amazing what grandkids will do to mellow a person out.

Such a Martyr

2007-02-06T10:07:00.000-05:00

Let me preface this by saying, I love my job. I make good money for what I do, I have benefits, I get to goof off a good bit, but by and far the best thing about my job is my coworkers. From my immediate boss who's as big of a geek as I am and discusses movie and comic book trivia with me all the time to the airhead in accounts payable who tries to argue theology with me all the way up to the president of the company, who is the sweetest, babe-in-the-woods innocent lady ever.
Sometimes though, even people that you adore can get on your last nerve. This past weekend, there were 3 regional conferences that our company needed to be represented at. The president's husband got to go to Destin, Florida. The VP got to go to Dallas, Texas. I got to jet off to exotic, exciting...Appleton, Wisconsin. I completely understand why I got the crappy place. Low man on the totem pole and all that jazz. The thing that absolutely drives me crazy is the fact that the president's husband made a huge production out of going to Destin, like it was going to be so horrible.
*Said in dramatic, fake-southern-drawl, Scarlett-in-Gone-With-the-Wind type of voice* Because it's such a loooong drive to Florida, and I'll be gone longer and bla, bla, bla... *end sappy voice*
And then, yesterday, as we were comparing notes about our seperate trips, he had the nerve to complain about how "chilly" Destin was. I'm willing to bet no matter what the temperature was there, it was better than my -30°F weekend. Just a guess.

These are the Things I Ponder O'er the Weekend

2007-01-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

A few things I want to talk about, none of which are long enough for an exclusive post:

Bean takes after us so much. Driving to dinner Friday night, I popped in a Suicide Machines CD, and the first thing she yells is, "Louder!" I'm gonna' be in such big trouble when she's 14.
Watching a movie this weekend on TV, I thought it odd that the FCC allows the phrase "tap that ass" to air on network television, but not the word "tits." Does anyone else think that's odd?
It's been 9 months since our wedding, and our photographer still has not gotten our pictures to us. Somehow I doubt there would have been this many delays had we not paid up front. It's getting sooo frustrating.
This is one of the weirdest things I've heard lately. How many off-the-cuff jokes can we come up with involving sausuge?
Along the same lines, Purity Balls are creepy little gatherings where girls pledge their virginity to their fathers. I get the meaning behind it, but surely there's a better way to accomplish the same means than host a lavish, wedding-like reception where everyone gets to witness your father vowing to "war for (your) purity."
Everything in my city has been Colts and Superbowl -centric for the past week. I can understand it for the most part; I mean, it is pretty exciting. I don't know if it's take-up-20-minutes-of-the-30-minute-nightly-newscast exciting, but it is exciting nonetheless. I saw Colts bandwagonry jump to the next level this morning, however. As I was stuck in a horrible traffic jam, I realized that the box truck in front of me had the Colts' horseshoe and the words "Go Blue" scratched out of the dirt on it! Now that's a fan.

I'm Spoiled, I Know

2007-01-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

So I switched to the new version of blogger, if you couldn't tell by the nifty little tags at the bottom of each post now. So far, I'm very "meh" about it. My main complaint is that I can't make new posts in my web browser of choice, Opera. I have to open a seperate window of IE just so I can post. I wonder if I have to do that for comments, too. For some reason some of the people I usually comment to have not been getting their comments lately.

I guess I can't bitch too much, though. At least it's free.

Is anybody else having weird problems, or is there something in particular that you're loving about the new version? Let me know.

Hour of Darkness

2007-01-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

Brent Liles was killed last week while going across a crosswalk with his bicycle. The truck driver who hit him has not been cited for anything at this time, but the crash is still under investigation.

Who the hell is Brent Liles? He just happens to be a former bass player for Social Distortion and Agent Orange. He played bass for Social D on their "Mommy's Little Monster" album. He was only 43 years old. It's always a shame when young rockers die, but it seems even worse when it's a tragic accident like this, rather than an OD or something like that.

"Mommy's Little Monster" is a fantastic album. I'm sure you'll be missed.

If You Ain't First, You're Last.

2007-01-22T11:03:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my 2006 year in review that I loved the movie Talladega Nights. Unfortunately, so does Bean. One of the funnier things she picked up from the movie is that she will now at random times, run around in circles screaming that she's on fire. That'll be amusing until the neighbors call CPS on us. The not-so-funny thing that she has picked up is the phrase, "oh, fuck it!" This is still slightly amusing when you take into consideration the fact that the first time she said it was while she was at the pediatrician's office with Jay's mother. Unfortunately, I had a medical emergency and had to spend the day of Bean's well baby visit in the hospital, (don't worry, it's no big deal; I'm fine) so Nana got to take her to the doctor, where she broke out in cussword heaven. At least she didn't threaten to come at somebody like a spider monkey...

The Name Game

2007-01-19T08:42:00.000-05:00

I'm officially 6 month pregnant. We know we're having a girl. We cannot decide on a name to save our lives. Bean has a nice, traditional Welsh name. I was hoping to continue that tradition with my other children. (Well, not necassarily Welsh, but Irish/Scottish/Celtish or thereabouts). I personally have a nice Irish name myself. (Or Scandinavian, depending on who you ask.) I have reservations about going too ethnic with the name, however.

For example, one of my favorite name choices is Siobhan. Pronounced Shuhvahn. How many elementary school teachers do you think are going to get that one right on the first try? Also, Ula, which has the very pretty meaning of "sea jewel" will not escape unnoticed by the neighborhood bully.

The slightly unusual name does have it's upside as well. Last week, Jay and I got tickets to go to the Pacers vs. Mavs game. Dirk Nowitzki is not only an extraordinary ball player (and a bit of a cutie), he's also fun to announce. I had Jay threatening to stab me in the eye with a nacho if I kept giving a Dirk Nowitzki-only play-by-play. I don't know why he was complaining; I could've done it for Pacer's guard, Sarunas Jasikevicius, instead.

My (very late) Year in Review: 2006 Edition

2007-01-18T08:55:00.000-05:00

In local news:

Indianapolis had a "crime wave" this year, with our second highest number of annual homicides ever. And then our race for prosecuter was decided over promises made to try an NBA player who fired shots in the air to the fullest extent of the law. And since elections have been over, I've not heard a damn word about that case. Meanwhile, (mostly young, black) people are still dropping like flies. It's so disgusting how obvious it is that the government doesn't care as long as it's poor minorities doing the dying. Blech.

Indiana joined the rest of the world in practicing Daylight Savings Time for the first time this year. It didn't really bother me, especially the one night where we got an extra hour in the bar. Apparently, some people are really worked up over this though.

In Hollywood:

Best Movie I saw in 2006: Talledega Nights; The Legend of Ricky Bobby. Making "Shake 'n Bake" more than just something I like on pork chops.

Best Movie I didn't see in 2006: a tie between The Departed and Last King of Scotland. Hopefully, I'll get to both on DVD in 2007.

Movie I'm Happiest I Didn't Waste My Time On: Borat. I don't get it. Maybe it's just cause I'm not young and hip anymore, but I really just. don't. get. it.

Movie I Wish I Hadn't Wasted $8 On: Eragon. Kinda' sad when the CGI character does the best acting job.

Movie Most Looking Forward to in 2008: The Simpsons. D'oh!

Most Over-Exposed (Pun totally intended) Celebrity of 2006: 3 way tie: Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan. Too bad Lohan actually has talent, as evidenced in Mean Girls, it actually seems kind of a shame that she behaves this way.

Most Improved Celebrity of 2006: Nicole Ritchie. I never thought I'd congratulate an anerexo-celeb for losing weight, but that 85 pounds of Rachel Zoe that Nicole dropped were a fabulous thing.

In Music:

CBGB's closed. Sometimes I feel like I'm so young I missed out on the best part of punk rock's reign. Then I remember that new history is being made every day. The vote is still out on how cheesy the Las Vegas CBGB's that opens later this year will be.

All big bands continued to skip past Indianapolis on their way to Chicago or the East Coast, with one exception. Nine Inch Nails played a show in Indy, though they were not the band to see that night. The reclusive Bauhaus opened for them. 'Twas magic in the air that night. Even if Bela Lugosi was dead.

Goodbyes

Goodbye this year to Don Knotts, comedic genius. (I still love The Incredible Mr. Limpett no matter what anybody says.)

Goodbye to Al Lewis, aka Grandpa Munster. I liked the Munsters so much better than the Addams Family.

Goodbye Coretta Scott King. Behind every good man is a great woman, and you proved that as you continued the fight for civil rights long after your husband was taken from you.

Goodbye Gerald Ford. I didn't know much about you before you died, but from what I've read since then, you sound like a Republican that I could have gotten along with. I salute you, sir.

Goodbye, 2006 and welcome, 2007. I can't wait to see what you have in store.

Peer Pressure

2007-01-17T09:56:00.000-05:00

Have you ever looked back at the peers who’ve influenced the person you’ve become? Some good, some not so good. But all of them have stuck with you through the years. I’m not talking about the big stuff like who you lost your virginity to, I’m talking about the absolutely trivial, but you wouldn’t be you without it.

My best friend in 8th grade took me camping for the first time. I haven’t spoken to her in years, but I still camp just as often as I can. A guy in my study hall in high school introduced me to punk music. I have no idea whatever happened to that guy, but I met my husband at a punk show. My neighbor in 7th grade told me I looked like a two dollar whore with eye liner on. To this day, I almost never wear make-up. My boyfriend when Star Wars: Episode I came out convinced me to go stand in line with him; I now have dogs named Jedi & Sith (yes, I know exactly how geeky that is).

Who influenced you in a silly but lasting way?

Lotsa' Broken Promises...

2006-12-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

...okay, maybe not broken promises, but late ones at least. I know I promised most of these pictures a long time ago, but better late than never, huh?

Bean on Halloween.

Pumpkin' Lovin'

Annie get your gun.

Jedi

Sith

the cat

I know it's a lot of pictures at once, and I'm sorry. But I just can't resist. At least I don't do it often.

Announcing

2006-12-11T14:01:00.000-05:00

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

Just a little note

2006-11-22T19:01:00.000-05:00

...to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving.

If you feel like it, put what you're thankful for in the comments.

Gallery of the Absurd

2006-11-17T09:26:00.000-05:00

Mike Tyson has found a new job: male escort. Heidi Fleiss, famed Hollywood madam, has gotten all her permits and everything in place to open a new brothel for women in Nevada, and Mike Tyson is going to be one of the escorts. Because I'm sure that a convicted rapist and alleged abuser would make a great ho. I'm sure he doesn't have to have control at all. < /sarcasm >

O.J. Simpson is publishing a book entitled "If I Did It." A "hypothetical" look at what the murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman "might" have been like. While he still hasn't payed a dime due to the victims families from the civil suit he lost. Not that this isn't the most tasteless thing I've heard of in a long time anyway, it becomes more so when you think to ask, "What does this do for the children Simpson and Brown had together?"

And finally, did a cat give birth to puppies? A lady in Brazil is claiming that her cat mated with a neighbor's dog and gave birth to...kuppies? pittens? I'm not sure what you would call it. Now, I may be a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but isn't Brazil one of the countries that genetecists are flocking to based on their lax experimentation laws? Couldn't be...

Words to Live By

2006-11-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

Never come to a sword fight armed with a fish.

Little Steps Make Big Changes

2006-11-10T09:40:00.000-05:00

Forgive me. I know I said I don't do politics very often, and that's still true. Just with elections this week, and Rumsfeld's resignation, and so forth and so on, it's been a politically saturated week in America. I've got one more political post up my sleeve, so let me get it out of the way, and then I'm back to sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Whatever that means.

I'm so happy that for the first time ever, a woman is sitting in the second seat in the line of succession for President of the United States. Nancy Pelosi, newest speaker of the House, is now one of the most powerful female politicians this country has ever seen.

While I am, like I said, very happy, I'm also very worried. Ms. Pelosi, above all else, is a politician. The very attributes that make her such a good politician also make her a wonderful target as a woman. Her passion could easily be misconstrued by critics as "hysteria," her determination as "bitchiness," etc. I mean you needn't look any further than this post by one of my favorite bloggers, Certifiable Princess, to see that women are commonly seen as predatory "vipers" even by other women. Dubya has already started on the sexist bullying saying, "In my first act of bipartisan outreach since the election, I shared with her the names of some Republican interior decorators who can help her pick out the new drapes for her new offices," on Wednesday.

Ms. Pelosi's success has started a new chapter in American history. Hopefully she keeps the door open for younger women to start in politics and break up the country's greatest sausuge-fest.

Saying Goodbye

2006-11-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

Dear Hollywood Bar & Filmworks,

I'm going to miss you. You were my favorite movie theater in this city. What other movie theater serves pitchers of long island iced teas? What other movie theater allows smoking? What other movie theater does Rocky Horror Picture Show live once a month?

It's too bad your owner didn't promote you in these later years. If he would've taken out a full page newspaper ad 2 months before you closed, he probably could've gotten a ton of support and been able to prevent your sad demise. Instead he took out a full page newspaper ad 4 days after you close to rant about the politicians he blames for ruining you. Which was the first I heard of you closing.

So many memories with you, dear HBF. My first Rocky Horror, and the trepidation I felt at going up for the virgin auction and sacrifice. The houses you've helped me live in, by employing my roommates. The nostalgic posters and decor in your environs. The nights I don't remember because of those long island pitchers.

I'll try not to be too sad, HBF. I know you wouldn't want that. (Besides, I hear you have a sister in Chicago.)

Catching Up

2006-11-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

Halloween was pretty good. Bean was the cutest cowgirl ever. She was really into getting free candy, but would've been just as happy to stay inside Grandma & Grandpa's house where it was warm. I'll get pictures up here sooner or later.

The weekend before Halloween was fantastic. Went to a great show. Got to see "almost" some of my favorite bands. Okay, so they were cover bands. But it was the Pixies, the Ramones, the Misfits, NOFX, and Social Distortion. But even more exciting, Jay's band got booked for next year's Halloween Rip-off show to be the Subhumans.

Then on Sunday I got my hair cut. Yay for it no longer being in an awkward growing-out phase! And the guy who cut my hair is the sweetest thing ever. In addition to being a hair stylist, he's also a sideshow performer and a bass player. I love having interesting friends even though I'm so boring. I'll have to get pictures of my new hair up here too, but I think I'll wait until my giant zit has given me back control of my chin.

Recognition

2006-11-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

What, exactly, would be the use in having a blog if I didn't use it to broadcast my most embarassing moments to the world? Nothing, I say. Nothing at all.

Yesterday, I was at the grocery store, just doing my usual thing. All of a sudden in front of the dairy case, I sneezed. Normally not that big a deal, but on this occasion, not only did my sinuses let loose, but my bladder as well.

Yep, I peed myself at the grocery store. Where has my life gone?

The Political Persuasion

2006-10-20T11:39:00.000-04:00

Normally I avoid discussing politics on my blog. This is not to say that I'm not a political person. Really, I'm a raging liberal. But there are plenty of other people who do the political blogging thing, and enough of them are smarter than me that if I chose to blog about politics it would just be redundant.

Once in a while, though, something comes along that's so ridiculous, or awe-inspiring, or infuriating, that it can't go unremarked upon. Today, that thing is a radio commercial. The ad is being played on urban radio stations across the country, and it's transcript is a little something like this:

MAN #1: "If you make a little mistake with one of your 'hos,' you'll want to dispose of that problem tout suite, no questions asked."

MAN #2: "That's too cold. I don't snuff my own seed."

MAN #1: "Maybe you do have a reason to vote Republican."

OUCH! What a way to represent that black men are misogynistic pigs, and black women are "hos." I know there are always a few people out there who fit a stereotype, but come on. This is blatant racism. There's simply no other name for it.

The Republican Group responsible for this and other anti-abortion ads aimed at the black community, America's PAC, (funded by this scumbag) claims to have been responsible for swaying the 2004 elections with their anti-Kerry ad campaign.

I of course can't find mention of these ads in the big news sites (CNN, MSNBC, etc.) but I did find several sources of verification here, here, and here. I think the funniest verification I found was on a pro life website, who wanted to get the pro-life part of the message out, without propogating the racist part.

Sometimes, I really wish it was feasible to buy an island.

Pregnancy Update

2006-10-19T14:56:00.000-04:00

I take a certain amount of pride in the fact that although I am, in fact, a mommy I can still refrain from being a mommy blogger. I never liked fitting into a pre-conceived idea at all. My long-winded point, however, is that if I get too annoying with this whole pregnancy thing, feel free to beat me about the head and shoulders with bags of frozen vegetables.

We got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time this week. It was a nice, strong, healthy tha-thump. This relieved me to no end, because two weeks ago we weren't able to pick up a heartbeat at all. And, of course, even though the doctor tells you not to worry, that's all you do until you're proven wrong.

2 months until the all-important "Move your legs!" ultrasound. Hopefully, we'll get a little cooperation. Then we'll be able to cut out half the names we're fighting over. (Apparently, Jay's good taste only extends to the woman he chose to marry. Oh, and picking out paint colors.)

So that's the latest news from my uterus. Unfortunately, there's a lot more going on in there rather than outside right now.

Meme Vol. II

2006-10-04T15:50:00.000-04:00

Stolen from Red Stapler. The best type of meme...short and sweet.

1. Name four musical artists or groups that make you want to tear off your ears and stomp on them.
a. Nickelback
b. Creed
c. Celine Dion
d. Hinder (if I hear that "Lips of an Angel" song one more time, I may not be responsible for what happens next.)

2. Name four musical artists or groups that make you happy to be alive every single time you hear them
a. Social Distortion
b. it's cliche, but the Ramones (my husband and I's first dance at our wedding was their "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend")
c. A Perfect Circle (and Tool, for that matter. I heart Maynard.)
d. I'll get a bunch of shit for this, but Fallout Boy. Yes, I like some crap music too.

FOAD Thursday #3

2006-09-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

A great, big, huge fuck off and die to Ford Motor Company for making a car that breaks down in three distinctly seperate ways at once.

On the other hand, a big thank you to the guys at Auto Zone for helping me figure out the best way to "temporarily" fix my car. Electrical tape is almost as handy as duct tape.

Also, fuck off and die whatever cosmic powers decided that pregnancy had to be so god-awful miserable. I've been living on a steady diet of chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers for over a week now. Ever so much fun.

Best Run-on Hypothetical Ever

2006-09-20T10:34:00.000-04:00

I just may have tripped over a curb, possibly falling to my knees, which might've caused my knee to be skinned and my jeans to be ripped, which may be a catastrophe since they might be the only jeans that fit and don't give me muffin tops.

But maybe not.

21st Century Digital Girl

2006-09-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

Oh, how I wish that Jay and I could join the rest of the 21st century. Let me fill you in on all the technology that we're missing:

-cell phone (I don't really want one of these, though.)
-digital camera (We had one, but it was stolen and we haven't had the chance to replace it yet.)
-Ipods (and man, do I want one.)
-cable TV

I think the last one is the hardest to live without, especially since I'm a bit of a TV junkie. I've read about all these fabulous shows, like Flavor of Love and Fox News, that sound wildly entertaining. (And fake.)
Maybe it's for the best that I don't have cable TV though. I'm enough of a TV junkie as it is. Then I'd just have to get a Tivo, and it would spark a whole new debate of what to watch.
Speaking of TV junkies, did anybody else catch the premier of Racist Survivor last week? "Karma is a bizzle." is my new catch phrase. Also, is David Caruso (of CSI: Miami fame) not this generation's answer to William Shatner? I think so.

Yuck

2006-09-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

..is exactly how I feel. Sorry.

On Always Being the Baby

2006-09-14T10:49:00.000-04:00

Why is it that your family retains the ability to completely embarass you, no matter how unflappable you normally are? My parents, Bean and I went to visit my aunt & uncle this past weekend. That was when I made the announcement about my being pregnant official to the rest of the family. My parents, of course, already knew.
My aunt starts in on the "You know how that happens, right?" teasing. I briefly debated saying something trite about God choosing to bless me, but my parents don't like it when I get smart-alecky about God, so I just mumbled, "Yes." (What was that I said in my last post about women and sexuality? You're welcome to call me a hypocrite now.) My aunt just wouldn't stop, either. She kept going on about how I'm not going to stop & she's sure I like it. I must've been crimson all the way to my hairline (which is a considerable way, with my high forehead) when I busted out with, " I can't say that in front of my dad! As far as I'm concerned, my parents only had sex twice. I don't care to know any more than that about them, and I'm sure they don't want to know about me, either!" Silence for about 3 seconds, then everyone busted out laughing at me.
I love my family, even when they do make me feel 10 years old again.

S-E-X

2006-09-13T10:40:00.000-04:00

Sex Poll

Are me and my friends really that out of touch with what the rest of the country is like, or are the women who took this poll lying so they don't seem "slutty"? I wish I knew why it's still "wrong" in this day and age for a woman to be in charge of her own sexuality.

Proof of de-evolution.

2006-09-12T16:20:00.000-04:00

1975...

1994...

2006...

Kick in the Rear

2006-09-12T14:06:00.000-04:00

I've been pretty lucky. Both my pregnancies served double-duty as pretty big wake-up calls also.
My first pregnancy (the one I aborted) gave me a clear view of the path my life was taking at the time. It gave me the incentive to dig myself out of the hole I was in, and more than likely saved my life.
My second pregnancy (resulting in Bean) made me realize how crazy in love with Jay I was, and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. (Although really, that could've just been the hormones talking.)
I just found out I'm pregnant again, and it's making me take a look at where I'm at in life. And I came to a realization. While I'm completely happy at home (and ecstatic to be having another baby), I'm completely despondant at work. It's time for me to look for a career, rather than just a job. I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck, tired of never living up to my potential. This probably means I'll be going back to school. It's too late to get in on this semester, and next semester I'll be giving birth (due date: April 25th), so it'll probably be a year or so until I can get on track, but I can use the time between now and then to prepare.
Hopefully I can decide what I want to be "when I grow up" between now and then.