At the Foot of the Stairs

This weekend, we were having dinner with some friends, so I really started paying attention and asking questions about how to copy my music CD's onto my computer (having quizzed Keri last week about iPods). I found out that you can copy all of your CD's onto your computer, and play at will. Even shuffle the music, perhaps! This copying of the CD's onto the computer (if you know about this, tune out now: this is for dummies like me) is called "ripping"-- presumably because you are "ripping" music onto your computer (or "ripping it off" as in violating copyright). Then, when you put music onto a blank CD (or put any other kind of data onto it), this is called "burning." ( I told you, this is for dummies! ). So, now I want to know how I can put music clips onto my blog (am waiting for Chris at Rude Cactus to email me, or Don , whomever responds first). Just because I want to know everything about blogging there is to know.

For my entire life, as long as I can remember, I have experienced not being able to shut off my brain, not even when I have desperately wanted to. For some reason, it has decided to shut itself off. And I cannot for the life of me figure out how to turn it back on. I have just been empty this weekend. Devoid of thought. Devoid of the ability to write or blog. I finished a novel, read three magazines, saw a good movie ( Cellular ), had dinner with friends, went to see a good band ( The Ike Reilly Assassination -- watch for them, they are supposed to hit big-- and they actually look exactly like that in person. Very nice-- the drummer was very flirty. His name is Dave.). But I've got so much nothing, I can't even think of anything to say about any of these things. But my brain my have shut off because I also worked this weekend. And maybe my brain just decided that it couldn't take anymore, and so it went on vacation. If it is on vacation, I wish it would send a postcard ...

I was blogwalking today, catching up on a few blogs I haven't had time to read this week, and I stumbled across the most fabulous set of posts ! Socal Mom used to work as a writer's assistant on the Tonight Show for four years (1986-1990) and she is recounting her days working there, as a way of dealing with Johnny's death. It's fascinating stuff! I can't believe this hasn't been published more widely!!!

Karl made this for me for our one year blogging anniversary.

I got my latest blog toy from blogtricks.com . I now have my very own chat room! You can see from one of my other toys how many other people are online at any given time. If you click on the link for the chat room from my sidebar and choose a username, you can chat with other people! Heck, maybe I will even be there waiting for you. It's more immediate than commenting! But if you talk about me when I'm not there... say nice things! You should go get a chat room for your blog! It's easy and it's free!

January 28, 2004 This is my first Blog. I want to change the font already. My friend told me that I'll need to learn HTML (then she laughed evilly). I have never blogged before, but I really need to start keeping a journal again, so here it is. I am working from home today because I took the kids and self to the dentist today and there wasn't time to return them to school. Although, the youngest said he wanted go to the After School program and play with his friends, so I need to go pick him and some Ragu up in a minute. More later. What an exciting first post.

loves me. He is bringing me a sammich. And we are going to get sodas and chips from the machine. And our babysitter is coming over to fold all of our clothes. ER is on tonight, and I have Alias on tape from last night. Tomorrow is Friday. It's the little things, but they sure mean a lot.

I don't know whether to kill somebody or cry. Oh well. I decided to make you all laugh by describing what I am wearing today, after reading a post by Beth (not in St. Louis) that made me laugh: Long-sleeved white shirt. Blue-framed glasses. Red earrings. Red corduroy jumper. Bare legs. (Wait for it)... White ankle socks. Black penny loafers. It's called "out of pantyhose, couldn't find red mary janes, and too irritated this week to give a flying fuck." But I have to laugh at myself (at what I know the ladies are saying) and Beth's post just made me decide that this was too good to keep to myself. This is why my roommates in college often refused to be seen with me unless they got to dress me first.

Wow, some of you folks were up really early or really late last night! I blog for both myself and my readers. I started for myself, of course, but it became a process of reading other blogs, being read, and starting to communicate with other people. And I think Heith summed it up nicely: If I didn't care about my readers, I might as well just write in a notebook with a pen. Actually, I do carry around a notebook and some pens. Everywhere. But I don't have nearly the devotion to them that I do to my blog. And that is not just because of my readers-- I have always journaled-- it is more because I type faster than I can write these days!!! But for things that are not fodder for the blog, I either write them down in the notebook, or more likely, don't write them down at all. But one of the things that has been so lovely about blogging (and I just passed my first anniversary of blogging, don't know exactly when, but within the past week or so) has definitely been Y...

All this teasing about my blogging zeal has given me food for my next post: do you blog for yourself? Or for your readers? Or both? Discuss. p.s. I was wrong on all three counts. Obviously.

It is unlikely that I will be able to blog today. Or read blogs. Or comment on blogs. Maybe I am wrong. I don't think so. Have a great day!

But sometimes I just want to smell one. Not that part. Like a five month old one. Like Yvonne's .

What I should do is wake up around the same time every day and go to sleep at the same time every day, so as not to mess with my biorhythms too much... What I want to do is sleep in on weekends and stay up way past what is good for me reading... What I should do is work... What I want to do is sit on the couch all day reading my magazines and finishing my novel... What I should do is go work out on the elliptical trainer... What I want to do is go take a bath... What I should do is start reading my new Madeleine L'Engle book... What I want to do is start reading another trashy book... What I should do is go to Mass tonight at 7:00... What I want to do is go out for Mexican food, tape Arrested Development , go shopping, and rent The Forgotten for tonight... What would you have done? What did you do today?

Is God an Anti-Depressant? Studies Show That Religious People Are Happier - Is there a secret weapon against depression? Research suggests it might be religion. Studies show that people who practice some sort of religion are happier and less stressed out than those who don't. [So, the practice of it seems to be important.] Those findings come as no surprise to Dr. Harold Koenig, a psychologist and co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University, who says there are a number of factors that contribute to religious people being happier. "Generally, religious people have a positive view of the world," said Koenig. "They believe they are here for a reason. They see a purpose and a meaning in their life and have hope." [Well: is it religious people or spiritual people?] Studies show that under severely stressful conditions, religious people also cope better. "They feel that God is with them and gives them strength,...

Do you ever blog naked? Say, your children are out of the house, you are home alone, curtains drawn, and you are out of the shower, waiting for the coffee to brew? Didn't think so... Yeah, neither do I. We are going to the movies this afternoon. I woke up with plans to go into the office and work on The Document. I can work on it at home, but considering the size of it and the fiascos that are likely to occur with emailing it back and forth (and my little jumper USB plug in thingy never did work, and I am too lazy to burn it), I thought the office would be the place to do it. And so, I started running the tub to shower before I went (just because). (I don't necessarily believe in showering on the weekends). Then, I noticed that the dishes in the sink could probably be rinsed for the dishwasher. Then, I started clearing off the kitchen table and wiping down all the counters. Then, I decided that since the table in the living room was pulled out from when I was programming pl...

Stolen from This Full House (and I have to admit, I steal all kinds of toys from this site, so check out my side bar and see if you can spot the new goodies!).

I don't think it is the Fourth of July. So. Last night, came home from work and fell into bed. Ugh. I was ooky. Slept right until the doorbell rang, and then sprang out of bed for fun adventures with Cheryl the Dog Whisperer. She has discovered that a cat stole into her basement when an electrician came about a month ago, so she is now trying to tame the feral cat. We discussed that when she leaves next year for her rotations (Cheryl is a med student) that we might possibly become the kitty's owners (I told Dereck: You're the one who says cats find us! And he agreed). So, we discussed all the various ways you can try to tame a feral cat (tuna fish). I feel like I am learning a lot from Cheryl and training Goldie. It is my mission in life to become Alpha to Goldie, because I am not Alpha anywhere else in my life. I wish I had met Cheryl when Tommy was a baby. I can see all of the ways now in which Goldie tries to re-establish dominance (stopping to scratch herself when I giv...

I am starting to wonder whether the fact that it is Friday makes one rat's ass bit of difference for my weekend. This morning, ( Edited due to a concerned email from me dad ) I am sitting here in my office on my lunch hour and trying to decide whether my queaziness is due to the flu or just nerves. But I have no desire to eat the pasta I brought for lunch, nor anything else, which sucks, because Dereck and I have plans for beer and cigarettes (just me on those) after work, dinner out, The Dog Whisperer, and then a movie. But I got an early morning phone call from the ex: "Tommy is sick and has been vomiting, so look for phone calls from the school about the other two." Considering that I smothered Tommy with kisses yesterday morning means... it could be more than just nerves. Hell, I've had nerves all week, but they didn't stop me from eating my lunch. So, I'm just kind of sitting here, (Edited)

Wow, those people cowering by the HUGE fence sure look DANGEROUS. "Not my war. Not my president." Thanks to Karl and Vanessa for the photo/news of the tear gas today.

How well do you know your geography? Here is a nifty little game for your Thursday workday. I guess I don't know mine very well anymore: I scored a 76% with an average error of 57 miles and it took me 380 seconds. I got ballpark averages, okay?

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Last night, I got the second-best compliment I've had in awhile (well, unless you count the fact that when I am in Christian's favor, he likes to say, "You're my kind of woman!"): Sam and I were sitting on the couch watching Alias, and he said, "You know, I think your stomach is smaller." But the Best Compliment I've had in a while transpired in Pennsylvania : I was in a bathrobe in the bathroom after a shower, when Dereck came upstairs and he was talking to me about something, and in the middle of the conversation, I slid the bathrobe to one side and gave him a little peek. He raised his eyebrows and continued talking. So, I gave him another peek. He stumbled a bit in his conversation, but by the third peek, he said just looked and stopped talking. Then he shook his head and said, "You know, I can't talk to you." And turned and walked into the room we were staying in, and then came out again immediately and said, "I can't ...

We talked about it last night and told the kids about it during dinner. We planned what we will have for dinner tonight, and as for lunch, I have a pre-paid card I can use at the coffeeshop-- so I am actually not spending any new money today. Same with the kids' lunches: already paid for. And we will NOT watch the inaugural address, but we have plenty of videos we can watch/books to read/ etc. The kids were actually a little freaked out by us not spending any money. But we pointed out, "We didn't spend any money today. How is tomorrow any different?" And also, people often go for a day without spending money one day a week, in observance of the Sabbath or Shabbat. We also pointed out to the kids that they don't really have to worry since they will be spending the evening with a Bush supporter. "Who?" They asked. "Your father. That is what the W sticker on his car is for." I know that some people think that boycotts like this are completely in...

Whenever I feel sort of melancholic like this, it is usually an indicationthat I either need food, or a nap. I don't need food, so it is probably time for a nap, and also time to go home. I got a phone call from Sam's principal earlier: he forgot to get on the bus to go to the Presbytarian Church for this after-school program Mark signed the kids up for. I did not panic. I said, "Is he at the After-School program?" Meaning the one they have at the school. Another phone call: Yes, yes he was. They put him on the phone. "Do you want me to pick you up and take you to the church?" "No, I'm having fun here." I decided to go ahead and jaunt to the church, mere blocks away, and let the other two and the teachers there know not to worry. When I told Christian that Sam wasn't coming, he burst into tears. Sigh. And he was mad at me because I chose the pork sandwich for him instead of the spaghetti. Fortunately, they were starting an activity so...

Amy You're Brigitte Bardot!

Migraine continues: Sleep : 1:00 a.m. Wake : 6:30 a.m. Number of Kids with Colds : 2 Number of early meetings at work : 1 Number of children who stay home : 3 Number of children still asleep : 1 Number of teachers talked with about child's performance : 1 Number of pages finished on Sucky Editing Project : 35 Number of pages remaining on Sucky Editing Project : 24 Number of pages I'm able to finish on a given day : 18 Deadline for finishing Sucky Editing Project : Friday No problem.

It came today! Thank you !!! And it smells YUMMY! I love the little container-- it's magnetic and sticks to my stove top. Dereck and I are going to try it first on trout!

The document I have been working in just "generated an error" and closed. Poof. Good thing I save along the way, but still! Did you know that by typing "More evil than God" into Google's search engine, you used to come up with Microsoft ? Do you now understand why???? That is it. I get a cigarette.

Who do you think this is?

This document I am editing is giving me a migraine. And every time I go down to the bathroom, the zit right below my bottom lip is bigger. So, this is what happens overnight sometimes-- you just wake up, and whammo! Hmmm... migraine, zit, pissy yesterday... Can you say PMS?

I have been working all morning on the same damn mess of a project I started working on last week. It is a real stinker. I think I may have a permanent scowl on my face after this, from sitting here frowning at the screen. I am taking a very small breather as in ten minutes I am going to lunch and in the meantime, I want to calm down so I don't feel like I want to kill someone when I eat with my friend. I have actually made more progress than I had formerly thought-- I may actually get a first pass at it finished today, rather than next MONTH as I had previously thought. It would have been a great three-day weekend, except that I was so pissed off* yesterday, I could hardly see straight. I eventually just had to go take a nap, and that pretty much ended it. I have had two series of pretty disturbing dreams, and that was enough to knock the other situation right out of my mind. The dreams were actually pretty interesting though, and I have been thinking about them on and off all mo...

Tonight after the stupid city council meeting (which had record attendance) to try to convince the arrogant mayor and her knuckleheads that selling part of the watershed to a cattle rancher so he can drive cattle across it is a BAD idea, we went and got the kids at their father's and when we got home, and Tommy got out of his seat, I looked back in the car and... There, sitting frozen in Tommy's seat was... The Lucky Orange. Now that is one damn lucky orange. And one very happy little boy.

I took this quiz twice, and got this both times. Hmmmm.... You are an ecocritic. An environmentalist who loves deep ecology and the green lifestyle, you rage against anthropocentricism in all its forms. You love the nature in your backyard! You also love Wendell Berry, William Cronon, Henry David Thoreau, Alan Buell, Edward Abbey, and Annie Dillard. You are out to destroy the nature/culture binary, and possibly sabotage some logging equipment with the ELF on the weekends. Good for you! What kind of literary critic are you? brought to you by Quizilla

Thank you all so much for commenting on the post below! I was very interested in your responses-- especially the ones which said that I was shy or quiet in public or talked more here. Could it be that (gasp) Don was wrong when he said that everyone thinks of me as loud and coarse? I am really happy to hear that Tom doesn't think I am nearly so addlepated in person (though, I attribute that to the magic, healing effects of highland farm ). Does anyone else think it is funny that both my and Dereck's dads are named Tom? And so, since Tommy was named for my dad, Tom can make that claim also? Tommy always asks me why he was name Thomas when his name is Tommy. No amount of persuasion can convince him that "Tommy" is actually a nickname. I have been feeling my typical Sunday Afternoon melancholy (which has plagued my dad and I both for years) and I realized: I don't have to go to work tomorrow!!! Hurray! It has been a busy little weekend, and even now, I am so d...

Beth wrote this today, and I think it's a great blog topic: "I almost never talk about my actual real life on my blog. I’m not going to start, I was just thinking about it because I was wondering whether my fellow bloggers feel like their blogs are fairly accurate representations of themselves. I think mine is an accurate representation of an aspect of me, but not an accurate representation of me as a person. I think if you read my blog and then met me, I would not be quite what you were expecting. So what do you think? If I met you after reading your blog, would I be surprised, or would your blog have given me a good idea of what to expect?" And I thought I would throw this out to the floor. Please answer about your own blogs, but also, if you both know me in person and read my blog, what do you think? Is this blog an accurate representation of me as a person? I mean, it can't be completely-- but generally, would you say I am very different in person than the perso...

Stolen without apology from Michelle , who posted the most beautiful poem today. Go check out her blog (but scroll down past the first post, which she uses as her blogroll). You Are 30 Years Old 30 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. What Age Do You Act?

Let's see how fast the ol' fingers can fly this morning. I have been editing one of the biggest messes this morning that I have ever seen. I have been working on it for two and a half hours, and I am on page 14 out of 62. Sigh. Don scored an 80 on the nerd quiz, just so you know. I asked him if I could post that here, and he said, "If you want to." He and Ellie are coming over tomorrow so we can take apart our old computer with the kids and put it back together and then order something in for dinner. Linda wisely decided to stay home and enjoy her time to herself. Last night, we went out. It was so much like college-- I bathed before ER, then sat with a towel on my head in my bathrobe, and then did my hair and makeup and got dressed at 10:00 p.m. We were going to the opening of a new club in town (well, okay, the ONLY club in town; Toons does NOT count, Karl , because it is just too icky for words). I was nervous about going because I was just sure we wouldn't kn...

Oh. My. Heck. I have been working my fanny off ALL DAY. My favorite kind of day-- just flew by! So, I took a break, noticed that Melly has updated her blog, and found the following request: A couple of years ago, I began putting together a book that I'm going to give to Matthew when he turns fifteen. I asked people to email me advice or quotes or whatever to put in the book for him to read when he's going through one of the most awkward times in his life. I decided that since I am putting so much time into making this scrapbook, that it would be made even better if I could incorporate some of the advice people sent me. I'm asking for more because I'd like for each page to have something written on it from a different person. You can be funny or serious or both. It doesn't matter. Just think of something that you'd say to a fifteen year old kid. And make sure that you put where you are from . Email it to me at jezemelly@yahoo.com So, here is advice I g...

I took the quiz honestly this time and here are my results: I AM 23% ASSHOLE/BITCH! I am not an asshole or a bitch, more like an asshole and bitch target. I have no backbone, and fold at even a slightly insincere look. I need to stop crying, I am such a wuss. Take the ASSHOLE/BITCH test at Fuali.com And yes, Karl , I did answer that one question honestly, and these were still the results. So, for all of you who thought that I actually was a bitch.... Waaaaaahhhhh!!! I need to stop crying, I am such a wuss. Tonight when I was putting Sam to bed, he asked if he could talk to me, and he talked to me about this little group of boys he is on the fringe of, and the one boy who appears to hate him. And he said he knows he is really annoying around this boy, but he can't seem to help himself. He just feels nervous because he doesn't know why the boy hates him. I tried to explain about vicious cycles and living down to peoples' low expectations of you: if someone generally has a...

He saw my nerd, and raised me an asshole/bitch. I told him that I thought I could score as more of an asshole/bitch than he did. And I did. What you have to ask yourself, dear reader, is did I answer the questions honestly, or did I cheat so I could win? I AM 54% ASSHOLE/BITCH! I am abrasive, some people really hate me, but there may be a group of other tight knit assholes and bitches that I can hang out with and get me. Everybody else? Fuck ‘em. Take the ASSHOLE/BITCH test at Fuali.com

I come into work this morning, and there is an entire bag of Girl Scout cookie boxes sitting on my chair. I am a pathetic suck up who overorders Girl Scout cookies to make friends. I find out that I am double-booked for meetings. I arrange to leave one meeting early. I am in a teleconference call when the physician is called out of the room and I hear what appears to be a woman having a fit, while I am trying to maintain professional composure over the phone, instead of giving into the urge to run out and look. I hoodwink Dereck into going out to the kitty shelter with me at noon. I make him take the bag of cookies away from me. We do not buy any kitties, even though that calico cat was soooo friendly and has exactly the kind of coat I love in a cat. She. Was. So. Friendly. Someone has donated a box of my favorite kind of Girl Scout cookies to the kitchen, which is right next to my office. Listen. Can you hear them? They are calling to me. I might be thi...

Today I guestblogged on one of my favorite new blogs . Go check it out! You can guestblog there too! I should do that.... Hmm...

Stolen From Lucy. Stolen from Selina : You are a Square. What a weirdo. What kind of Sixties Person are you? brought to you by Quizilla

Today, I took a little bath before I ran into the office to get things I needed so I could work at home. But I did not wash my hair. Around 4:00 p.m., having decided that I was freezing, I took another bath. I did not wash my hair (again) because I decided I was going to work out, and I would do my hair after that. The bath made me sleepy, so after my bath, I took a nap with the lights on, so I wouldn't crash too hard. I woke up at 5:30, and got back on the computer and did some more work while Dereck made fantastic meatloaf for dinner (thanks to Highland Farm beef and sausage!) After dinner, negotiated homework with youngest child with the cool zen of a buddha master (I asked Dereck later if he were impressed, and he said, "I would have blown."). Hung out with la famille, put kids to bed. Lay down with the kids. 9:00 p.m., my hair looks worse than ever because now I've slept on it twice. Called our sitter to see if she is still coming for karaoke. She had comple...

I wish I were more nerdy-- I should go through and try to answer as if I were Don ...Except that I don't think I can!

I don't know whether I can print this here or not-- so I am linking to Salon.com and making sure that I give full credit to the author. The not-good-enough girl It's 2005 and newly separated starlet Jennifer Aniston is -- surprise! -- being pilloried for putting her career before motherhood. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - By Rebecca Traister* *I have abridged this for faster reading. "Jennifer Aniston failed to reproduce with her husband, Brad Pitt. But her failure -- as reported between the lines of every story we're reading -- wasn't simply a fertility issue. It was an unfathomable -- though possibly temporary, at the precarious age of 35 -- prioritization of her career over her family. It was an instance in which we were treated to the sight of a woman we like, openly wanting to get further ahead professionally before giving over her life -- and yes, her body, which is a serious commodity in her business -- to the demands of childbearin...

Don't get me wrong-- I love it when school is cancelled. It means that I get to stay home too. But today? Ridiculous. This ice storm that is supposed to be coming better be a doozy, because it is 8:08 a.m. and I have already been to work and back, and the most dangerous place I saw was my driveway, as we are out of rock salt. I hit my snooze this morning several times, after having had to get up in the middle of the night with kids, and did not hear one school closing. I do not know what possessed me to actually check the school's website, but I did and sat here with my mouth open. I went into the bathroom where the kids were trying to wake up in a bath and said, "I'm sorry. School is cancelled." Well, they thought I was mad (as in crazy)-- they didn't care about having been woken up! It was more vacation time ! Unfortunately, not so for me. Do I get to go back to bed? Curl up with a nice vampire book? No. I have work to do, I have deadlines to meet...

Ah, Memes, Perfect for A Lazy Sunday Afternoon. Stolen from Keri . 1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? organized a fundraiser for a friend who had had a massive stroke started my blog, plus Linda's blog, which kept many people in touch. Selina got me started on the whole blogging business, after I stumbled across hers one late night. made Karl start a blog. Went to Florida. 2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make them, so yes, I kept them*. But I have been thinking about writing down some goals for this year. I'll let you know. *Edited to reflect Don 's logic. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my sister-in-law gave birth to my nephew, Devon. 4. Did anyone close to you die? No, praise God. But I may not be so lucky this year, as we have a friend who is dying on liver/stomach cancer. I lost two beloved kitties, though. 5. What countries did you visit? Hah...

It is 1:48 a.m. as I am beginning this post. That is one of the best things about being an adult in a world where the kids are at dad's and tomorrow is Sunday and ain't nothin' on the schedule: if I want to sleep all day tomorrow and stay up all night tonight, I can. Last night we had dinner with Don and Linda , (Don made a perfect Pad Thai, which was too spicy for Linda, but Dereck and I loved it-- just the right amount of sour from the limes) and had originally been planning to watch a movie. Ellie (age 3) planted herself on me and stripped me of all my jewelry (" My Precious! " she told me, pocketing my ring) and then bossed me around for the entire evening, until I put her to bed. Then, we started talking about geek stuff, because we are geeky, and Linda finally got tired of listening to computer talk and picked up her book, and we stayed til midnight looking at how Don has wired the house with remote control lights. It was great. I could have stayed for two m...

Here is your Friday Meme (stolen from Pie ) and no, I don't know what FQ stands for. Go ask Pie . FQ TOPIC : Time. FQ1: What's something you often must do that's a complete waste of time? Surf the internet. Today I spent an embarrassingly long time looking for more vampire smut titles on Amazon.com and adding them to my wish list. FQ2: Who's a public figure you wish would stop wasting everybody's time? Arnold Schwarzenegger. And if they change the laws so he can run for President, I'm moving. FQ3: What's something you'd like to do more of if you had extra free time? I'd like to go to France. Oh wait. More of? Reading. There is never enough time to read books , because if I do that at work, it won't look like I am actually working. FQ CLOCK: What time is it where you're at right now, and what time zone are you in? It's 3:13 p.m. and I am in CST. And it's verrrry verrrry quiet here.

Thanks to Amy and Dereck for this one. ( Wondertwin powers... Activate!) You have to go look at this lego church this woman made for her dead cat... And then the FAQ -- she clearly has a sense of humor about the whole thing... It takes all kinds, people.

Thanks to Dawn for this. This is absolutely ridiculous. It scares me to death. And the thing is, it's just stupid enough to pass in Virginia. And the Missouri legislature surely can't be far behind-- lord knows, we're dumber than people in Virginia. This is what the climate is like right now in our country-- I know I am not telling you anything new, but why isn't there a bigger outcry? We should be descending on Washington in droves. We should be afraid. Very very afraid. Democracy for Virginia: Legislative Sentry: HB1677 - Have Miscarriage, Go to Jail? It sounds preposterous to talk about criminalizing women who suffer miscarriages, but one Virginia legislator is proposing just that. HB1677, "Report of Fetal Death by mother, penalty" is a bill introduced by John A. Cosgrove (R) of Chesapeake. Cosgrove's bill requires any woman who experiences "fetal death" without a doctor's assistance to report this to the local law-enforcement agency with...

(The following may give some of us something to do on Inauguration day,other than wail to the Heavens and rend our garments....) Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn DimeDay" in America. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending. During "Not One Damn Dime Day" please don't spend money . Not one damn dime for gasoline. Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases. Not one damn dime for anything for 24 hours. On "Not One Damn Dime Day," please boycott Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target. Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter). For 24 hours, please d...

Today, we began the enormous undertaking of cleaning the house. And not just cleaning it, I mean, we have been going through the kids' room, book by book, toy by toy, and getting rid of what we can (and I have a really really hard time giving books away, so I haven't made too much progress there). I need more bookcases, or I need to just treat books like clothes: if it is something we never read, and probably never will and I'm keeping it just because it still has value, it's time to let it have value at the Public Library. Sigh. And I have followed a link on Keri's blog to Bookcrossing.com , which is a very cool thing. You register your books with them, and write the registration number inside the cover, and then you leave the book for someone else to find. And hopefully they'll go register with Bookcrossing and let them know who has it. It's a booksharing. So, that might be a way to get rid of some of the vampire smut that I probably won't re-re...

I've stolen this from Dawn , who got it from Liz , who got it from Paper Napkin . I know you're out there. My stats tell me you're out there. And today you have a once in a lifetime chance to let your presence be known. Well, okay, technically you have that chance everyday, but today is De-Lurking Day ! A special day celebrating lurkers, and exhorting you to muster the strength and bravery to click on that comment button and end the deafening silence. So say hi, or tell me your wish for 2005, or what you're having for lunch, or your diabolical plan for world domination-- whatever. I am one of the worst offenders, and may be popping by your site to say "Hello, I'm Sheryl, and I am a lurkaholic" To give you a little more incentive (I"m starting to feel like a used car salesman), I will personally donate at least one dollar for every commenter to aid the tsunami victims. So what on earth are you waiting for?! Come on down to Big Lou's...

Christmas Eve The First Gift Santa Came... Battle Droids! The Ants Survived The Sleigh Ride Santa Likes to Leave Small Replicas of Himself Snow! Sledding on the Farm New Year's Eve

I had insomnia last night, and I was freezing. So, I got up, put on socks, pajamas, and my winter coat and turned up the heat in the house and sat in front of the computer until I felt warmer. I couldn't sleep because I had a headache from the smokey bar, and because I couldn't remember the name of the villian from Alias . And that is important, because tonight is the season premiere of Alias , for which they have made us wait for months . Arvin Sloane . The two-hour season premiere. I can't wait!!! I got up with my alarm this morning, looked out, saw snow, stumbled to the computer, noted that EVERYTHING is cancelled, emailed work, stumbled back to bed. To be awakened shortly thereafter by the phone. I figured it must be important for somebody to call so early, so I actually got up and heard little voices on the phone. "Mommy?" Mark came on the line: "Jen, do you have power?" "Yes." "We don't have power or heat, so can I bring ...