I met the Devil at church

Seriously. And she wears her hair in Laura Ingalls-type braids.

Michael and I went to a wedding on Saturday night that was part of the church's regularly scheduled mass. Behind us were two women with whom Michael went to high school. After the ceremony/mass was over, he turned around to introduce me. After catching up with Michael has been up to over the last few years, the conversation turned to the braided one who announced that she works at this evil place. This place tells women that abortion causes lung disease. Lung disease? Seriously? That's the best they can do? Anyway, it turns out that the Devil (as I've started calling her) was born into a devout Catholic family (I guess it's no surprise that she works there but there are plenty of practicing Catholics out there that wouldn't dream of working at a place like this) but I can't shake the feeling that I should have said something. But what? Besides that I think she's the devil. That the organization for which she works preys on young, potentially pregnant women who are scared and not sure where to turn for advice. An organization founded on medical MISinformation, that uses scare tactics and assigns guilt to sexually active women and men.

But I didn't know what to say or if I should say anything at all. And here I am, 3 days later and still thinking about the lost opportunity to say that her work SCARES women into making uniformed decisions. Abortion isn't the right choice for all women with unwanted pregnancies, but then, neither is childbirth and caring for an infant when you aren't even old enough to vote. No organization should be telling women that abortion causes liver disease or that she's 800% more likely to develop cancer if she has an abortion because neither of these so called "facts" are true. No organization should coerce a woman into making a decision she isn't ready to make.

The opportunity to say something has passed but I know the work we're doing helps women and their partners make informed decisions about whether and when to bring a child into this world.

Excited about...poop

That's me. Excited about poop. Shana's poop to be specific. She finally went after a whole week of not going and, dammit, I'm proud of her. Poor little peg leg dog. She got her cast off today and the vet says she's doing great. I just feel so bad for her. She has no idea what happened to her, and since she's a dog and is not capable of cognitive thought, there is no way for me to explain it. But she's been such a trooper and really is doing well. She won't have her staples removed for another week yet, but so far so good. And here I am only one week into a 3 month recovery process that requires Michael and I carry her up and down the stairs in our house until said recovery period is over....sigh....the things I do for my dog. And she's totally worth it:>

Remember me?

I used to blog more frequently than this but that stupid "no blogging at work rule" and the insanity that is my work (at least until July 1st--beginning of the next fiscal year) has kept me from writing insightful and intelligent entries. (snort) Okay, maybe not insightful or intelligent, but I used to blog more than this! I have a few half-finished entries that I might someday post. BUT. Not until they are finished. Which might be never.

So, to recap what's been going on since sometime in March:

• Shanaynay is having her ACL operation on Friday and thus begins 4 months of the healing process. And that means 4 months of trying to keep my dog from running around the house like a maniac b/c she's bored and isn't allowed to play or take long walks.
• Amanda had a beautful wedding of which I'm so happy to have been a part.
• Our friends are seriously hot babes when we're all dressed up.
• The neo-con Christian crazies are fcking up our access to ALL reproductive health options.
• Special event planning is not my strong suit--how do people do this professionally?
• I am wearing flip flops to work for the rest of the week (hee!)
• Sarah Weddington is my hero!
• Isn't it July 16th yet?

No blogging at work rule...

So, I have this self-imposed no blogging/reading other people's blogs at work rule. This is pretty much why I haven't blogged or commented in about a month. So I guess it's catch up time now.

Except that I can't think of anything worthwhile to discuss right now. Ah! The pressure! (not to be confused with "Ah. The atmosphere. Ah.")

Harder than I thought....

My parents' divorce is final. I tried to write about this a number of times but I just can't seem to put to paper, or rather, blog, how that makes me feel.

New Year, New Job, New House and a New Blog Location...

A big thank you to G. the internet uber goddess who moved my blog away from the bad evil company that was hosting leafygreen to this nice new place at blogspot.

So, I'm home sick and I can't breathe so that makes sleeping difficult. Michael is over visiting his parents and I'm here eating like a goat b/c I don't feel like cooking anything. I just had a bowl of Crispix and now I'm eating a boiled egg. What to eat next....?

Well, I guess I don't really have anything to say....so I'll just say good bye and welcome to the new home of my blog.

The different fummer is getting a different URL:

differentfummer.blogspot.com.

Go!

Long time, no blog...

So, I started my new job last week and so far, so good. I really like having my own office but it is a bit chilly in there, so I may have to start wearing long underwear since space heaters are a no-no. There isn't much to report yet--I've only been there 7 business days--but it's alot different working for $10 mil annually non-profit than a $60+mil annually non-profit.

Other than that, not much is happening. Michael was sick and now I have a sinus infection so all I want to do is go back to bed. The dishwasher installation guy is here right now installing our too-big for the alloted space dishwasher but I think it's going to fit. Stupid dishwasher. I've been handwashing for 3 weeks. I know, the agony, right?

Um...let's see....yeah, I think that's about it. It's cold and snowy and yucky so I'll be spending the weekend indoors and preferably in bed under the electric blanket.

Last day at the UWay

This is so weird. It hasn't sunk in yet that, as of 4:30 pm today, I will no longer be employed here. And, good lord, you should see my cube. What a mess! I just wheeled in the big recycling bin for clean up. This is what I get for being 1.) a procrastinator and 2.) a pack rat.

Well, back to work.

I hate sending holiday cards...

This happens every year. I procrastinate on sending them and it'll be Valentine's Day before anyone gets theirs. This year, or rather, last year, Michael and I thought it would be fun to send photo cards. At first, we were planning to take a pic of us in front of our house but I could never get home from work early enough to take one before it got dark. Then we thought we'd wait until we got our x-mas tree and do it then. Except that we didn't seem to have time to do that. Finally, we take the picture and walk it over to the pharmacy down the road to have them made.

And then we get a big mamajama snow storm. It's not until after Christmas that we get our holiday cards. So, we have a 3 day weekend over new year's and I'm a lazy piece of poop who doesn't want to do holiday cards. And now, here we are, almost the middle of January and I've sent out the first batch this morning. My goal is to finish them tonight after we go shopping for a new dishwasher (an entry on the joys and pains of owning a home to follow shortly).

So, if you haven't gotten your holiday card from me yet, please know that it will be in the mail shortly and Happy Valentine's/St. Patrick's Day while I'm at it.

A bit o' wisdom...

"Since we can't all be together on New Year's this year, I'm sending you thiswonderful entry by Andrea "I used to work for SARK" Sher. Her photos are always lovely and sometimes her entries are gems.(like this one)"

So, here are my lists:

10 Things I Am Grateful For: (in no particular order)
- Love. Whether it's the love of my signifcant other, friends, family, or dog, I am grateful for it every day.
- Christmas trees. Seriously, I love x-mas trees. I love them so much that it's an absolute heartbreak to take them down and shunt them to the curb.
- My new aluminun roasting pan with rack (thanks, Mommy!)
- My health.
- The home that I share with Michael. Not only is it a beautiful house, but I am no longer setting $530 a month on fire, I mean, paying rent.
- A new job with a better title, better pay and my own office!
- Friends. There isn't a list long enough to sing your praises.
- Normal, pretty non-dysfunctional in-laws-to-be. I'm so glad they're nothing like the in-laws on a certian tv show on C_B_S.
- Dog fur. Like little tokens of love all over my house, clothes, car, in my shoes, occasionally in my mouth, in the lint trap, but hopefully not in my food. It serves as a reminder that my hairy little beast of a dog is still alive and well.
- Fleece pants (self-explanatory).

And now for my Mondo Beyondo list:
- A trip to Greece w/ Ang
- Finally finishing the LOTR books (perhaps I'll just skip the rest of book 2 and go right on to 3)
- having a house full of highly obedient dogs (that never shed;>)
- becoming a calmer, more patient version of myself
- floss every day (oh, wait, I've already accomplished that. Well, I'll keep it here as a reminder that some New Year's resolutions do work/become good habits)
- Be a better daughter
- Honeymoon in Ireland (May 2006 here we come!)

Well, that seems like a good start to me. Happy New Year!

I can't take it anymore.

I just can't. No more holiday. No more cleaning house. No mother coming into town for the holidays. No more b.s. at work. Seriously. I think I might have a heart attack from it all.

I hate everybody. Except you. I love you.

I'm not sure I can wait that long!

All moved in....

Well, mostly moved in. There are a few boxes that have yet to be unpacked, but I haven't gotten around to them yet. And we need to clean. The house is dusty, furry and has tinsel bits and tree needles everywhere. I love my new house but there is so much more square feet to de-clutter and clean than when I had my apartment. Poor me, right?

But since my mom is coming in 4 days, and the next 2 have already been scheduled, it looks like tonight is my night to clean out the spare bedroom and get some sheets on the bed. And finish up with Mt. Laundry. Who knew two people could have so much dirty laundry? With so much to do, Michael and I work all weekend and I have to go to the office just to sit down. How sad.

You know what I want for X-mas? I want a whole day off with nothing to do but read and take a long bubble bath and take naps in between. That's what I want for X-mas. Dear Santa, if you're reading this, I want a day to do nothing more than anything.

We just saw each other...

so there isn't much to report. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of you and can't wait to see everyone again. It might not be until February, but no doubt the time will fly by.

Moving day is this Saturday and I will be emailing my new info to you shortly. I'm really looking forward to being in a house and living in sin, but I know I'll miss having a space that's just mine. A space where I pay the rent and can do whatever I please. A space where the mess is mine and mine alone and I know where everything is (it might be buried in a pile on my kitchen table, but see, it's my stuff in my pile on my kitchen table) and if I don't feel like vacuuming up all the dog fur I'm the only one who would be bothered. This is not to say that I can't do these things at Michael's but we'll have the mess of two people and I'm more conscious about the fur with someone else around. Of course, sharing a house means that we'll both have to be a little more tidy and that's a good thing.

It's been almost two years since I've shared a house with another person, and while I might occasionally miss living alone, I'm looking forward to this new adventure.

I'm dreaming of a white....wedding dress?

I have, in fact, had two dreams since Sunday about wedding dresses and they were all white. I'd almost rather dream about being at work...

So, I find myself in a bit of a quandary. When I first started thinking about my wedding attire, I was thinking something red. So, I did a little research and did a little shopping and found that if I wanted a red dress I would have to: have one made; buy an expensive gown made with natural silk that could be dyed; buy a bridesmaid dress; have one made. So, I go shopping last weekend with my mother and I try on, oh, 30 dresses in two days. God, they are so heavy. Anyway, I find two I like but one of them is out of my price range (and only comes in ivory). And the other only comes in white or ivory. I ask if I could have it dyed and was told that synthetic materials won't take dye very well and the final product would turn out streaky and could bleed on to other people's clothes. And I'd be out $500 for the dress plus the cost of dyeing it if the dress didn't turn out well.

So I sleep on it. And...I really like this dress. But it's not red. I'm a non-traditional person who planned to wear a non-traditional dress but then I found myself liking a traditional same-color-family-as-white-dress. Does this mean I'm not the radical feminist I thought I was? Why the hell do I care so much about this? And why can't dress designers make dresses in other colors?!?

But then I found this website and this dress. So maybe there is hope for me to find a beautiful wedding-y dress in red that 1.) doesn't cost an arm and a leg and 2.) isn't a dress you'd find at a Renaissance Fair or modeled after the dress Arwen wore in LOTR.

I voted for Kerry and I live in Ohio...

I'm so depressed. And the state I now call home totally fcked up. I really thought that there were more people out there who could see through four years of lies and a cavalier cowboy attitude that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. And since when did denying gays and lesbians the right to marry qualify as a high moral value? Because last time I checked, intolerance sure doesn't cut it.

I am so afraid for this country...what are we going to do?

GBC 2004: A conversation with my 13 year-old self

Where to begin? First of all, don't pay any attention to the mean girls crap your friends have pulled (and will continue to until 10th grade) on you all this time b/c next year you are going to meet some awesome new friends who will remain steadfast and loyal 10+ years down the road.

And, yes, your boobs will finally grow. And someday you will look back on the pictures you took one night the summer you were 14--you know, the pictures you and Angie took after the two of you stuffed your bras with socks--and realize that your boobs are now the very size as you with your 14 year-old self with a bra full of socks. And you will find yourself wishing the boob fairy hadn't been quite so generous.

Boys. Hmph. Well, boys will cause you much pain and sorrow, but you will have a number of happy times before they systematically turn into a-holes. And men. In about 5 years, you are going to start dating much older men. Don't do it! Don't even think about it! But that's a story for 18 year-old Kelly. Anyway, boys are rotten brats at 13, so don't pay any attention to them.

Now for the biggie. Do well in school. A good education is very important, and believe it or not, doing well as early as jr. high is key. Make yourself study and don't let fear of admitting that you don't understand something get in the way of learning. And don't pay attention to Matthew. His intelligence is wasted on him.

Lastly, try to enjoy every moment of not having tons of homework or a job after school b/c in a few short years, you'll have both and you'll realize how precious free-time really is.

Thankfully, being 13 only happens once...The road ahead is often bumpy and a bit crazy, but you'll do just fine.

A dutiful (and highly concerned) daughter...

That's me. Michael and I are leaving around lunchtime today to drive up to Chicago and visit my mom in the hospital. She'd doing fine--or as fine as you can be after being cut open from breast to mid-thigh during her aortobifemoral bypass. I'll keep you posted on her recovery.

Missing all of you dearly and I'll be in touch soon.

A little bit of everything...

Most of you already know that the past few weeks have been pretty crazy for me. Between my job, mom, dog, brother, etc., I feel like I'm going a bit nuts. They changed my mom's double bypass operation 3 times in 3 days. Yes, you read that correctly: 3 times in 3 days. WTF?!? Angie managed to keep me from calling the doctor myself and blasting him for all the screw ups, so now I am gong to calmly write a letter to him detailing all the screw ups and let him know that I expect my mother to receive the best care possible going forward. In the meantime, she's receiving 70% of her pay while on short-term disability and every time her surgery gets pushed back, that hurts her financially.

The dog. Shana's arthritis is acting up lately. The vet thinks it's probably due in part to the weather change. Or maybe it's b/c Shana decides she should run around the house like a maniac and hurts her knee in the process. And this week's issue involves impacted anal sacs. I'll just leave it at that. No need to set off anyone's gag reflex over that one (including my own). The issue is being resolved and all is well in that area. Or will be shortly.

My brother. Hmph. Can't seem to be bothered to spend some time with my mother even tho he's only an hour by train to be with her. Meanwhile, I'm a minimum of 5.5 hours away and who knows what construction crap is going on between here and there.

My job. Our big fundraising efforts take place in September and October. Right now we are about $400,000 short of the goal we announced to the community. There are a lot of reasons for this projected shortfall and unfortunately, there is very little staff can do to close the gap. Fundraising is hard. Duh, I know. But it's hard not to take things personally when you know you've done the best you can do and still the companies with which you work don't raise as much money as expected. Or when your volunteers bail out...sigh.... A few more weeks and we'll announce what we raised and it will be time to start thinking about the next campaign.

Wedding planning. Well, not a whole lot going on there. Michael and I have been so busy lately and with my mom's surgery date changing all the time, we've had difficulty finding the time to make appointments with vendors. We still have a little more than 12 months to go, but I want to get the vendors taken care of as soon as we can.

So, that's pretty much it. Thanks to all of you for being so supportive and offering a sympathetic ear. I'm sure things will start to look up soon:>