Menu Planning

A whole bunch of my friends have lately started planning meals and menus for their weeks. At WW, they have taught us that planning is a key to success. And frankly, I'm a little tired of going to the store 3, 4, 5 nights a week to get dinner, a forgotten ingredient, a snack, etc. I honestly don't know how my mom did it--going to the store once every two weeks. But maybe since that was the option, she was a better planner.

Regardless, my intention now is to start planning better. I plan to shop once a week, probably on Sunday mornings when the stores are least crowded around here. I don't want to keep going after work. I don't want to add anything else to my Saturdays.

But also, culinarily speaking, we are stuck in a deep, deep rut. For some reason, Mister and I decided to make a list of "acceptable foods" and we rarely strayed from the formula. Joining WW leads me to want to find new and interesting foods to enjoy while staying on plan. And trying different things has given us good and bad results, but has definitely led to some interesting dishes.

So my hope is also to try one new recipe per week. It may get to the point it's one new recipe every other week, but I have tons of recipes and cookbooks and I never, ever use them. So I've started reading them and it's time that we try some new things.

Ok, so this week's menu is as follows:

Tuesday night (Hubby's Choice):
Hot dogs
French Fries (for him)
Mac N Cheese (for me)
Peas n onions (for me)

Hebrew Nationals 97% FF hot dogs clock in at a mere point each. Usually I skip the bun.

Wednesday night (Wife's choice):
Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Corn (for me)
Salad (for me)

Thursday night (Adventurous New Recipe Night):
Hawaiian pork tenderloin
Potatoes
Green beans

Friday Night (Least work possible and low cal foods before weigh in on Saturday):
Bisquick Heart Healthy Pancakes
Brown & Serve Lite Sausage

Saturday Evening (I'm volunteering at the library--something quick and easy is called for):
Pizza
Salad

I went to the store to pick up all these items, plus rabbit chow, breakfasts, lunches, and snacks for the week, and spent a mere 97 dollars. Beginning this weekend I'll start buying the Sunday paper to get coupons. Still, this is about 60 dollars less than I usually spend, so I will consider week 1 a success.

A lot of this food is real easy to make. I would like to eventually get to the point where I'm not relying so much on pre-processed foods, but honestly, I don't see myself making hot dogs with my own sausage press any time soon.

What I also like about this is that hopefully I will be more likely to stay on points for the weekend, which I think should help with my weight loss goals. Up till now, I've been really letting go on the weekends. This weekend I did not track for three days and according to Wii Fit, I haven't gained a thing, so maybe I'm getting better at this WW thing. However, I am back on points today, and intend to continue this week with tracking and planning. Meanwhile, I'll be scouring the recipe books for new ideas. This week's pork tenderloin recipe is from a 5 ingredients or less cookbook and is the first recipe I've made from that book. I'm excited to try it out, it sounds so good!

Bon appetit!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I haven't posted too many reading choices lately, as I kind of quit keeping track of the numbers. I got rather bored of it, and was reading so quickly that I just didn't want to stop.

However, I must point out this little gem of a book, which I stumbled upon while trying to find a cheap audio book for my state car. This little baby never saw one second of state car travel, I've listened to it all week in my own travels in my own car. It's been a crazy week of back and forth with work and extra-curriculars, so I've had lots of time to get to know the inhabitants of the post-WWII England that Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows have created in this exquisite tome.

No, there is no speech to florid that will possibly describe how wonderful I thought this book was. It is an epistolary novel--that is, all written in letters between the main characters. The story centers around Juliet, an author in London who receives a letter from a gentleman on Guernsey inquiring about a book of hers that he has come into posession of. They begin corresponding about the experience of Guernsey's occupation by the Nazis.

I can't comment too much, as I've actually chosen this book for my book club selection in the coming year and we aren't discussing it until next summer, but the book deals with the power of literature to transform people's lives under even the most dire circumstances, and deals with themes of courage, goodness, honesty, love, and hope. It's got its harrowing Holocaust parts, but refuses to stray into too much devastation and at the same time refrains from becoming overly sentimental.

I read the audio version, which was performed by a stellar ensemble cast of 5 voice actors, and I strongly recommend it as a wonderful way to read the story. I was chewing on my cheek through most of it, commanding myself not to cry. Not because of sorrow but because this book is truly worthy of the word poignant without any of the negative connotations (saccharine, cloying) the term poignant can suggest.

If you have a couple of hours to devote to a really great book, make it this one. Seriously. I am researching a trip to Guernsey as I type, dreaming of seeing it for myself, all based on this little book. A must read for Anglophiles and literature lovers alike.

The News Keeps Getting Worse

So, they passed this freakin' bailout plan that many if not most of us were opposed to. And this weekend, the news only got worse.

President Bush in his weekly radio address stated "it may take a while for us to notice any effects from the bailout." Economists around the country have said it may not work at all. And at least one commentator stated that the bailout was akin to "pissing on a forest fire."

There are also many places where there is a shortage of gasoline. I was chatting with a friend the other night and she was saying she has had a difficult time getting gas on occasions. Now fortunately, I live near the Nation's Capitol, so I'm hoping that protects us from shortages for a while, but I'm not holding my breath either.

So I was sitting here thinking about how best to prepare us for a coming economic collapse, should the worst case scenario happen. (Hey, what else is there to think about when you can't sleep?) So I did a Google search for "How can I prepare myself for the coming economic collapse?" I must say, the results are riveting. For instance, the very first site, which I clicked on, led to a white supremecist website. This, frankly, led to very little useable information, as you might imagine, although they do recommend having a crapload of ammo on hand.

The next site was a site which compared the US to the USSR and how the citizens of the USSR were better equipped to deal with the collapse of their economy because "they know how to share better". An interesting hypothesis, but again, not entirely useful, considering I can't feed my family on a hypothesis.

The third site is Ron Paul's site's bulletin board, in which a guy suggests stockpiling 4 years' worth of canned and dehydrated goods. Ok, now we're getting somewhere, but considering that I don't have the cabinet/shelf space to put this week's groceries away, I'm not sure where the hell I'm going to put 4 years' worth of food.

Next site is a video gaming site, in which the dudes are suggesting generators, condoms, the Bible, and beer are key components to survival. Also, one gentleman wrote, "I spent $1000 on cheap gold rings, necklaces and crap like that. Nobody will know they are cheap when the time comes." Caveat Emptor. These guys also seem to be big fans of guns and Kevlar.

I then watched a riveting preview on YouTube for a film called "I.O.U.S.A." Looks like a winner.

Then I was led to EHow.com, which again suggests guns and ammo, water purification tablets, and learning to raise rabbits and chickens for food. If I'm going to have to kill an animal, and then skin or feather it, I think we're doomed. Seriously. Now, maybe that's just the attitude of someone who can afford to not kill their own food, but I don't think I have the killer instinct in me. On the other hand, Ehow also suggests stocking up on "luxury" items which will be valuable for bartering. Such items include tobacco, chocolate, and alcohol. So maybe I can make a deal with someone else to kill my chickens and rabbits for me in exchange for inebriation.

Anyway, the general consensus seems to be this:

1. Convert all liquid assets to gold, or at the very least, into silver dollars.

2. Buy some non-perishables, preferably enough to last a nuclear winter, get lots of water and water systems, generators, gas (and gas stabilizing agents), and seeds to grow a victory garden.

3. Stock up on items that can be traded, luxury items and essentials that people around me may not have been bright enough to buy for themselves.

4. Make plans to get out of major cities, as the residents of said areas will be the first to be herded to concentration camps and systematically exterminated.

There are approximately 13 shades of hell that are going to come down on us, is what it basically comes to. I briefly exchanged several notes with Lesley about the possibility of seeking asylum with her family in New Foundland, and barring that, I'll probably try to make my way to my dad's house. The question is how I'm going to do it with 4 years worth of Spam in the back seat.

One Sentimental Thought

Last time I saw NKOTB in concert, I was sleeping really late the following morning after all the excitement, and the phone rang, waking me up.

It was my Granddaddy, checking in to see how my mom had survived the concert. I remember getting on the phone with him, though I could scarcely talk and he asked me about it--despite the fact that I'm sure he had not one iota of interest in the band or the music. He had asked because he knew it was important to me.

I wish I could have called him this morning, when I was delirious on only 4 hours sleep, and could have told him about it again.

NKOTB!

Well, it happened. It was last night. What can I possibly say? Where can I possibly start? I still can't wipe the grin off my face, and I am dead-dog, bone-weary exhausted. So tired, in fact, that I just had to re-type exhausted 3 times before spelling it correctly.

Let me just say this:

They've still got it. 150% have they got it. In fact, I would be willing to say it was better than when I saw them in the heyday of their youth. The heyday of my youth. Which in an instant, I regained last night for two glorious hours. From the moment I walked into the Verizon Center last night, 18 years fell away, and I felt 15 again.

It wound up being just the 3 of us: me, my hubby, and my sister. Melissa had to cancel last minute, Jacalyn wasn't sure about going (due to getting up there and back) so told me I could ask Lucas if he wanted to go, which he did, but then cancelled last minute due to insanity in the Senate. We got inside via the handicapped accessible doors and went to guest services to see about handicapped accessible seating. We got 2 accessible seats at street level, which was 1 level down from where our tickets were, so Judy had to sit solo up in our normal seats, unfortunately, but I think she was about twice as close to the stage and she said the seats were very, very good, so she had no complaints. The General and I were in section 104, directly straight back from the stage. We found our seats and I was sitting next to a girl my age who was gleefully expectant, as was I. She was with her friend, and the two of them were going to burst.

After I got the General settled, I went back outside and bought a program. And in perusing the various concert programs I have here and how much I have paid for them ($20-35), I have to say, this one was worth the money. Very heavy, lots of good stuff in it, excellent. I perused the merchandise table, and I was tempted to go on a little shopping spree, but I restrained myself due to the fact that our mortgage is due.

There was an opening act wherein the General and I had a panic attack because we heard what we thought was "Cobie" as in that chick who sings the song about "Starts in my toes, makes me wrinkle my nose" which we both HATE. Instead, some dweeby little dude strolls out on stage with 2 homeboys and they start singing and dancing, and they pretty much sucked. The girls next to me were cracking up as I said, "Well, at least we're not up front and we don't have to pretend we're interested." Finally he left the stage, mercifully only after 3 or 4 songs.

Now, about 3 months ago, I came to the conclusion that I needed to break out of my rut and start listening to the music "the young people are listening to these days", so I started trying to find a station that wasn't too namby pamby, but wasn't too edgy either. In Fredericksburg, your choice is B101.5. I have, after listening to them for 3 months, come to the conclusion that they have purchased approximately 10 songs and they just loop them. However, this stood me in good stead last night with opening act number 2: Natasha Bedingfield. I actually knew 2 of her songs. And I have to say, she was really very good. I enjoyed her a lot.

Well, she sang 7 or 8 songs and then got off the stage. The girl next to me said she had heard rumors that NKOTB wasn't going to take the stage will 9:50, which gave me a few flashbacks to the Magic Summer Tour in 1991 (I think) when I saw them in concert and Dick Scott in his wisdom decided to pimp his products before his most successful product and NKOTB had 5 opening acts. So, I can say I have seen Perfect Gentlemen in concert, but when you tell most people that, they think "Um, who the hell is Perfect Gentlemen?" On the plus side, I also got to see Tommy Page in concert, and prior to parting ways, Judy and I shared a little "Wouldn't it be awesome if Tommy Page opened for them again?" But 'twas not meant to be.

And good thing too. For I was not in the mood. I was ready to see New Kids. And I suspect the others there were ready to see New Kids. The audience was 99% female and 99% in their 30's. Most of the men there had beer. :-)

Well, at 9:00pm on the dot, everyone was in there seats, and it was show time. Thank God we did not have to wait another hour beyond that. And it was pandemonium. From the minute the little video show went up on the screen for the next 2 1/2 hours, I relived my youth. I was on my feet with everyone else, and we were all screaming, clapping, dancing, and singing at the House of the Block.

And let me tell you: they have not lost their touch. They have only gotten better. 150% showmanship, 150% fun, 150% music and sound, 150% gorgeous. If anything, they're all better-looking. I got a message from one of the girls in my book club who attended and she summed it up thusly:

OMG that concert was AWESOME. I went bat sh*t crazy when Jordan had his shirt off.

Yeah, me too, and I was not even a Jordan Girl, I was a Jon Girl.

Now, about a decade ago, probably even a bit more, my sister and I took my dad to see The Beach Boys, who were giving a concert in Watertown, NY to support D.A.V. (they must have owed someone a BIG favor). And I remember watching my dad dance around and sing and clap and thinking, "Gee, Dad's back in the '60's." And afterwards, my dad said, "Well, you can tell they're getting old, they stand there and sing and they let the hot chicks do all the dancing."

If I had one quibble with the concert it was that NKOTB had hot chicks doing some of the dancing. Let's be frank here, Jon is the oldest and he ain't turning 40 till next November (no, I did not have to look that up--pathetic). They are all in terrific shape. They did not need hot chicks dancing up there. But I didn't really care about that either. It was petty niggling.

The really moving part in the concert was when they all got back to the main stage and I thought sure they were going to do Step By Step, since they were all lined up on a staircase, but instead Donnie came down and he was preparing to make a little speech, but instead we all started screaming and he couldn't really say much. After 2 or 3 minutes of this, he started speaking about how people have been saying "Thank you" to them, and then we all started screaming again, and then he actually started to look choked up. Finally he just put his hand over his mouth and ducked beneath his Celtics cap for a bit. I know, I know, he's an actor, it could have been a charade, but I really don't think so. It appeared to be genuine emotion. I would imagine that the whole lot of them are probably somewhat surprised that this comeback has worked out so well--I was on their tour page this morning and they have dates scheduled all across the US, Mexico, Canada, and Europe. (Including Providence, which I could go to and stay with my in-laws, and Connecticut, which I could go to and stay with my uncle.)

Anyway, they wound up doing two encores--the first being Step By Step and the second being Hanging Tough, and the place was really going wild. It was unbelievable. The screaming, I haven't heard screaming like that since I saw them the first time--and I was just as guilty of screaming as anyone else. In fact, it is now 3:00 and my throat is only just starting to feel better.

It was magic. What a night. This morning, I ordered their new CD off Amazon, plus one of their old ones, which was only $4. If they do the tour again, I'll be there. I've got "I'll Be Loving You Forever" stuck in my head. Judy was impressed Jordan could still hit those notes and we were both impressed at Joe's improved stage presence (now that he's not 14 any more, plus he had Dancing With the Stars to help him out--and he did some dancing on stage last night which was GREAT).

So there it is. I took a few pictures and shot a little video, but I'm speculating they didn't come out that great. We'll have to see. If they're worth anything, I'll post 'em later.

Blockily yours,
K/S

PS: WW Thought: How many AP's do I get for dancing for 150 minutes?

Well, At Least I heard Back From Him

Dear Ms. Kosior:

Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the so-called "bailout" for the financial industry. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this issue. I value your views on the important issues facing our Commonwealth and the Nation.
The past several days have been historic ones for Congress and for the families and people of this great nation. We face significant challenges in our financial markets and I do not underestimate the serious nature of the decisions we face in dealing with the credit crisis. I realize that the current credit crisis could create problems for every American should the financial markets freeze and remain frozen. Throughout this debate it has been clear that action is necessary but the recovery bill considered in the House of Representatives today should not have been the only option.
In reviewing the plan and doing some deep soul searching I believe that it had significant problems. First is the government purchase and ownership of troubled private assets on a massive scale. The impact of this action would be a fundamental change in the role of government in the American free enterprise system. The obligations to offset Wall Street losses would have been placed on future generations. To authorize the Paulson plan would be to lessen the consequences of risky behavior and could lead to riskier behavior in the future. Furthermore it did not go far enough in holding accountable those at fault for the current crisis by failing to establish penalties for their past bad business practices.
There are free market mechanisms that should have been and still can be implemented to help ease the current crisis. While the recovery bill would have allowed community banks to write off losses on their holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, it did not provide backing to assist banks in raising private capital. By providing incentives for private capital, the government could help troubled banks offset losses that keep them from lending while limiting government intervention and taxpayer risk.
I also have serious concerns with government overseeing the purchase and sale of these troubled private assets. I feared that the purchase and sale of the assets would not have been executed in the most efficient way possible under this proposal and taxpayers could lose. The potential existed for the government to pay too much and sell for too little.
In addition I had considerable reservations about increasing the national debt by 6.6% to $11.3 trillion dollars to finance the bailout. This equates to an additional $3,000 of debt for every man, woman and child in the U.S. on top of the $34,000 already owed by each American toward the national debt. We cannot continue to borrow and spend at this rate and expect a healthy future for our country.
In my deliberations, I sought to make a decision in the best interest of the taxpayers. Over the past week I've had calls, emails, letters and visits from over 2000 constituents of the First District with an overwhelming majority voicing opposition to this recovery plan. Many of you expressed a need for Congress to act, but felt that this plan was not the right course of action. With that in mind I have offered that Congress should not adjourn and should stay in Washington to get the right plan for economic recovery.
My two main priorities for any plan are to most wisely protect you as a taxpayer and to protect the value of your retirement, your home and your savings. There is no doubt that this crisis and resulting legislation would have had significant impact on our future. However, I believe that the proposed plan for recovery had substantial and avoidable flaws. The plan that was before us put $700 billion in taxpayer funding on the line to bail out Wall Street financial firms, would fundamentally alter free market decision making, let bad actors off the hook and create a massive new bureaucracy with no guarantee of success. For these reasons I could not vote in favor of this plan. The House of Representatives failed to pass H.R. 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, today by a vote of 205-228.
Again, thank you for sharing your views and opinions with me. I am committed to serving you to the best of my abilities. If I can ever be of assistance to you or your family, please do not hesitate to call me at (202) 225-4261 or contact me online at: www.wittman.house.gov.

A Hell of a Time

Well, as you can see, I ultimately decided to go the Obama rally at UMW. How often will I have the chance to see the future President? I was really excited about the decision. I decided to go early, so I left the house around 11:45. By the time I got there, it was already insanity, and the festivities weren't due to kick off till 5:15 at the earliest.

Well, I was somewhat immoral and started wandering around to find out what was going on, when I happened to come to the beginning of the line. I sort of sauntered into it, and no one really said anything, so I just stayed there.

By 2:30, however, it was getting really old. It was HOT, it was HUMID, we were standing on bricks, it was awful. They finally let us in at 2:45 and we all made our way in to the area where they were doing the speech. I wound up 10 feet from the podium, by some miracle.

It didn't seem so rosy after the next 2 hours. In fact, I literally fell to the ground. It had rained for about 3 minutes earlier, which was just enough to make the humidity INSANE and the crush of bodies was crazy and I just got way too hot. We weren't allowed to have water in there or food, so we were just standing in the blazing sun with no relief. So finally I realized it was sit on the ground (which we were also not allowed to do) or throw up and faint. I chose to sit. There were 2 volunteers nearby who started asking me if I was OK, but I wasn't terribly responsive, so they got on their phones and started calling for help. Eventually someone sent over 2 bottles of water, and they poured one straight down my back and made me drink the other one. They also gave me a peppermint candy to suck on. After about 30 minutes on the ground, in the mud, I was feeling better and they helped me up. By then it was nearly 5 and the thing was supposed to start, and all of a sudden, the heavens opened and we got one hell of a thunderstorm. So the Obama event staff was scurrying around, trying to cover the podium, get all the electronics undercover, etc. The people around me started freaking out, so they grabbed the blue coverings off the railings and made makeshift tents. Unfortunately, the cloth was not waterproof, so water started pouring in, and we were getting soaked anyway. I stepped out of the tent and discovered my book, phone, and camera were drenched so my guardian angel who helped me earlier let me stash them under her trash bag tarp.

Well, by now, things were really dragging on and everyone was getting kind of pissed. I was thinking, "Bad enough we've all got aching backs and hurting feet, welcome to the next level of hell." But it was kind of like Woodstock, 30,000 people in a field full of mud.

When the rain let up, they started attempting to re-assemble the teleprompter, which was non-cooperative and people were booing and screaming, etc.

Finally at 7:15, a full hour late, after a bunch of local pols took the stage, Obama and Biden arrived. It was pandemonium. Total and complete chaos. Screaming, yelling, fists in the air, "HELL YEAH!" ballyhooing. Amazing.



I took TONS of a pictures, a few of which you see here. Biden spoke for about 15 minutes and then Obama took center stage for the better part of an hour. The speech was great, humorous, poignant, and inspiring. Midway through, the rain started again, and we were all soaked and he took off his jacket and got soaked right along with us.





Afterwards, he came off the stage and I was privileged to be able to shake his hand. It was an awesome moment. (His hand, if you must know, was FREEZING COLD, no doubt from being in the rain). And as you can see from the picture of me below--I was totally soaked by the time I got back in my car. I called the General and said, "Order me some dinner!" So he did and dinner was delivered as I got home, which was awesome, since I hadn't eaten all day since breakfast.





Despite whatever hell I might have endured physically (and I can barely put my feet on the floor they hurt so much, to say nothing of my back), it was totally and completely worth it. You can see more pictures at http://www.mkosior.com/gallery/obama. I just kept on shooting pictures. Some better than others, but they all came out really well. It was an awesome experience and worth all the craziness and missing the book festival. But next year, I'll be on the Mall for sure. And looking forward to Manda and Melissa and whoever else wants to come being there too!

On the Horns of a Dilemma

So far this week, I've been to Fairfax twice, once on Monday for work and once today for a doctor's appointment. I'm due to go back up north on Friday evening because Joe's mom is coming to town and we are all going to dinner together Friday night up in Alexandria. And then on Saturday, we have the National Book Festival. However, I'm supposed to come home Friday night to a) bring the General home and b) go to my WW meeting on Saturday morning. All told, this will put approximately 360+ miles on my car, not to mention gas. But I *love* going to the book festival.

Tonight I get home from work and there is an email in my mailbox. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be in Fredericksburg on Saturday. I desperately want to go.

And frankly, there's no one at this year's book festival that really makes my heart go pitter pat. Last year's line up, to me, was MUCH better. The only person I'd like to meet this year is Geraldine Brooks, and she's in the "like to meet" category, not the "dying to meet" category like Jodi Picoult last year.

So I have two options.

1. Go to the book festival in the morning, get there by 10, leave by noon, get back to the 'burg by 2 and get to the gates when they open at 3.

2. Skip the whole rigamarole running around up north and just go to the rally.

Added to this is that I've invited my officemate Kris to come with me, and I really, truly, and desperately need to bitch about work with someone. Seriously. It's coming down to "here's my 3 months notice" time. I wish I had the balls to do it.

Well, I think the choice is clear. I think I'm going to do the unthinkable and bag the book festival. But there's a little piece of me that just isn't sure yet... HELP! Decisions, decisions...

Confusion

Received this in an email a couple times from friends over the past week. It's good. Very good.

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.' But if you grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you’re a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. But if you name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard Law School and you are unstable. But attend 5 different small colleges in six years before graduating, you're well-grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first Black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If, on the other hand your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian. But if you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month (before your divorce was even final), you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society. But if, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's. But if your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude,' with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

A Little Note to The Government

Dear Uncle Sam:

I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen of this land. I pay my bills on time, including the taxes on my property, my car, my income. I put money aside each month, trying to save for emergencies. I don't loan money out to people I know to be risky in terms of paying me back. I've been paying my federal student loans since I left college in 1997. I pay my mortgage on time, credit card bills, the car payment, my ridiculous medical expenses. I pay the kid who cuts my lawn. I buy gas for half the universe--the truckers who haul the things that I buy in stores, the freight operators who fly my mail around, hell, I was on the hook for gas for my social worker if it came to that. I have worked my ass off for years in a fairly thankless job to pay back that "free" graduate school ride you "gave" me.

And I've been doing it, mostly without complaint. I figure I'm lucky not to live in a hurricane-stricken area of the country right now. I figure I'm lucky to be able to afford these things.

But I didn't get here from being stupid. I didn't get here from taking risks where there wasn't a pretty good chance of a decent pay off.

But today, today I woke up and I saw where you bailed out another sinking ship to the tune of billions of dollars. Some of which are MY dollars, thank you. And I don't even get a say so. So I'd like to make a proposal to you.

I propose that you give me a bail out. It's getting kind of hard out here. I've cut back on a lot of things. My husband and I eat out once a week MAYBE, and even then only if I'm too exhausted to even put something in the microwave. I've switched to buying generic drugs, foods, household products. My rabbit even eats generic pet food. My husband and I have given up on taking our weekend drives in the country. We skipped Myrtle Beach this year. And still, I have to say, it's getting to be a struggle. We've trimmed the fat. What's left to trim? Oh, we're not hurting, per se, but we could--and in my opinion, should--be doing better.

So I want my cut. After all, I'm not proposing to put thousands of employees out of work from my own stupidity. I haven't behaved in such a manner that is causing global turmoil in the financial markets. Shouldn't there be a reward for good behavior?

I'm tired. I'm tired of getting up every day and going to work and doing good and basically getting pennies for it--and all because the people in government don't seem to think that my chosen field deserves reimbursement from medical insurance. I'm tired of hearing that our budget has been slashed and having to explain to doctors that I can no longer afford to pay for an exam for a client with no insurance.

My two big vacations this year? Both will be spent with my family, one on the road and one here at home. When was the last time one of these corporate big wigs took a vacation that didn't involve island hopping, seeing the continenet, maybe cruising the Amazon, or wasting away in Tahiti?

So, I've tried to decide what would be fair. I don't need $85 billion--who does? (AIG, I know, I know.) Hell, I don't need $1 billion. I'm going to make you an offer. How about a cool, tax free even million dollars? And here's what you'll get for your investment in me:

1. I'll pay off my student loans once and for all. So see? You're already getting money back.

2. I'll pay off my mortgage. See? More money that will probably directly benefit you by helping out the banks.

3. I'll pay off my car loan. Ditto number two: helping out the bank.

4. With what's left of the rest of the cash, I'll quit my job, and take one hell of a vacation. To make it fair, I'll stay inside the US. I will spend money in restaurants, on car rentals, maybe even on a plane ticket. I will rent a cottage or a condo on the beach and I will not lift a single finger for myself. I will pay some people to do it for me. Think of the boost for the suffering tourism trade!

5. And then my husband will, knowing him, probably go back to work. We'll go back to paying our income taxes, our Social Security taxes, our property taxes, our car taxes, our utilities, and all the rest of it. So you're still going to make some money off of us. Probably more now that we won't be able to deduct the interest from our mortgage. You're still winning! Though us adopting might put a little cramp in your style in terms of how much money you might get back--an extra deduction or two will hardly be noticed though, right?

It is my completely unstudied opinion on the matter that if you gave most sensible Americans a good dose of cash (what the hell was $1200 supposed to do for us in today's economy?), we would probably use it in ways that would boost the economy and help out the ailing financial system--paying off credit card bills, mortgages, car loans, medical debts, tax debts. Of course there are yahoo's out there who will blow the entire million on cigarettes and beer, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to maybe finally own a hot little convertible with a little chunk of the cash (one wants to look stylish cruising the beach), but for the most part, I think you would find people paying off bills and making their lives more comfortable. The money would flow up, these companies would stabilize, and we could call it even.

So whaddaya say? Do you have a cool million for me? If so, you know where I live. Check my last tax return. The address is the same.

Yard Saling

This Saturday is our first attempt at holding a yard sale since moving here. We are attempting to raise some much needed capital for the adoption fees. I don't know how the hell we're going to get it all set up--we have a bunch of junk already and no real tables or anything to put stuff on. Judy and Lucas will be coming down to help out with it, but if anyone else is free on Saturday and wants to take pity on me, please feel free to drop over :) And also if you have any "stuff" you want to get rid of and don't mind donating, please let me know. You can either bring it over or I can try to pick it up tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll be in Fairfax tomorrow and Wednesday mornings and in Fredericksburg tomorrow and Wednesday evenings. Thursday evening I am committed to picking up a futon and mattress from Judy and Lucas's place, thus signaling the end of my Sunday stayovers, as "my" bed is up for sale on Saturday and I'll have nowhere to sleep over there. The end of an era... Sad, but happy...

Anyway, anything we don't sell will be offered on Freecycle first and then we'll donate whatever's left to the local Hospice thrift store. So your goodies and mine will all go to a great cause regardless of what happens to it!

The sale is Saturday from 9:00AM till ???

(X-Posted to BRB blog)

Tubing Antietam

So yesterday was the day... A month or so ago, I had posted a link to a site where you could learn more information about a tubing trip to Antietam. Voted best summer outdoor activity by Washingtonian Magazine, River & Trail Outfitter's tubing ride is 4-5 hours in length along the spring-fed stream, and I was very excited to go.

We had a group of 6 of us who were interested. Then Melissa's allergies prohibited her from going. Then Elizabeth and her hubby had to cancel. And then it looked like we were going to get thunderstorms. So, Tom, Michael and I talked it over on Friday evening and decided maybe we shouldn't go either. However, on their website, Tom noticed that there had to be 48 hours notice before you cancelled, so we were all a bit nervous about losing our money.

I got back from my WW meeting yesterday at 8 and called over to R&T to see if the tubes were still going despite the poor weather that was called for. John announced that they weren't expected to get storms, so we decided to go. A quick call to wake Tom up and we were on our way.

It was a very quick 2 hour ride from our house up to Knoxville, MD and the place was VERY easy to find--literally right off a main highway. We arrived and signed in, Michael cracking up the girl at the counter when we signed the "you are not holding R&T responsible for injuries" form by stating, "Well, I guess if I go blind today, it's all my fault." hahaha

We were directed down to the back, where we parked and climbed up on the little patio of the raft house and sat there. The people who worked there were scurrying about, loading buses with supplies. A man came over and introduced himself as Larry, stating he was the tubing guide along with his son Travis. So, we introduced ourselves and he asked us if we had any medical conditions. Ooooh boy. Now the fun begins, I thought. So, I pointed to Michael and Larry noticed the hearing aids and we set about making arrangements for them--we have a little waterproof tube for them and Larry said he'd put that in the first aid kit, which is supposed to be waterproof, and tuck the whole thing in his dry bag. Then we turn to the question of, "How's your vision? Any problem there?"

Ummm, yeah. And perhaps for a millisecond, there was a sense of panic that flitted across Larry's face. But only for the tiniest fraction of a second. Then he went in search of a rope, announcing that they'd lash our two tubes together so I could guide Michael down the river. Fine by me!

So they get that all set up, and then Larry comes back to ask about our lunch preferences. I started praying. As it turns out, the typical fare for these things is chicken, potato salad, and watermelon. I rather forcefully said to my husband, "You WILL eat chicken, RIGHT!?" He agreed to eat the chicken. We had left the house without him eating breakfast, so I knew he'd be hungry, but I also knew he wasn't eating potato salad and watermelon.

Finally everyone else arrived and we got ready to roll. We were on the bus and it turned out one of the guys on the bus was a vegetarian, so it was decided he'd eat Michael's salad and fruit and Michael would eat his chicken. WOO HOO!

We got the drop off point, and there was a fairly steep drop down to where we entered the creek. Larry went in front, I went in back, and we were able to get the General down in pretty short order. Our tubes were tossed down, lashed together, and we sat in them and went on down the river. And then a brief moment of panic crossed my face as I thought "Well, ooooooooookay, we're on our own, where the hell are we going!?"

Fortunately, Travis hopped in his canoe and adeptly caught up with us, giving our tubes a few pushes to keep us going. And in no time, the rest of the group had caught up with us. Then, a glitch. We got beached, Michael's tube stuck up on the bank and mine out in the water. And I could not explain to him that he needed to kick his feet out and push us off--mostly because he couldn't hear too much of what I was saying. So, the group floated past us, and then Larry glided up in his canoe and asked me if it wouldn't be easier if I had an oar? Well, sure, I figured, why not? I'm probably pretty handy with an oar. I grew up in canoe country, did some canoeing growing up, sure, I'll take an oar. I'll just use it to keep us away from branches and the banks and stuff.

Thus began a day like I have never had. I was using that oar for just about everything. Larry went behind us, since we spent most of our time going down backwards for some reason, and now and again, he'd say, "Susan, you've got a rock ahead" (no, not a rock head!) and I would look back, size up the situation, paddle with the oar a bit, and we'd make it around. The first time was pretty impressive. By the fifth or sixth time, Larry proclaimed, "You're pretty adept with that paddle." By the 20th or 30th time, Larry said, "If this was an Olympic sport, you'd have gold medal written all over you."

Because, you see, I was paddling with one oar while lying flat on my back in an innertube, shooting backwards, with the General in a second tube attached to me as essentially dead weight.

Before lunch, I only managed to smack him in the head once with the paddle. (I know Mike and Lesley are laughing about this--it turns out I'm really good at smacking him in the head completely accidentally with things like oars and doors and such!) The only real downside was that while we were drifting along, I started feeling like I was sinking a little bit. I looked down and the valve was open on my tube. Oops. So we plugged it back up and it was actually a bit more comfortable that way--I didn't have to hold my head up, I could just sort of sink into it.

We had lunch, and it was SO GOOD. I figured I was working out pretty good, so I just gave up and said, "Screw it, I'm eating what I want." I had 2 pieces of chicken, plus a glob of potato salad and a piece of watermelon. Michael decided to stage a hunger strike, which appeared to be about breaking Larry's heart, so I shoved a chicken leg into his hand and commanded him: EAT! He finished that one and Larry came by to find it if he wanted more. I said, "Give him another leg, Larry." Which he did and which the General ate. He was in my army now!

After lunch, we still had half the trip to go, so they loaded the General and I up and we started downstream again. This half of the trip was a bit more treacherous--many more rapids and obstacles to get around and under--I personally LOVED going under the low hanging tree branches. It was nice to be so close to nature that you could see the walking sticks, etc. right over your nose.

I was conserving my strength and Larry continued to guide me as to what to do, which direction to aim for, etc. As I was resting, I had my paddle laying straight down from my gut to my toes, not unlike Boromir when they send him over the falls. And I thought, "This is how I want to go--totally at peace with a paddle in my hand in case anyone gets out of line."



As we neared the end, I started really sinking in the water and we discovered the valve on my tube had yet again, come loose. And we were facing the final and long stretch of rapids. I was laying in water up to my waist. We closed the valve up again, and then the fun began--we were shooting the rapids (Class One, rather tame), my ass was dragging and hitting every damned rock in the creekbed, I'm trying to steer, Larry's attempting to give me direction, and the General is getting soaked from the splashing and got a paddle to the head again.

We reached the end of the first stretch and Larry was like, "You're down pretty low, try to get your feet under you and reposition the air in the tube." So I stuck my foot down, the General's tube promptly beached itself on the rock that was holding my foot in place, and held my foot at a funny angle, jammed between him and the tube. For the only time, I yelled "YOWCH!" and paddled his tube off.

I managed to get back on the tube somewhat and stayed on the rest of the way. We got to the end point and Larry and Travis pulled us in. Shooting the rapids was a BLAST, despite my butt taking the brunt of it. Larry got one of the other men on the trip to help him get Michael up the fairly steep hill back up to where the bus was going to pick us all up, and then Tom and I grabbed the tubes and headed up. And of course, the General made it up fine and dandy, and me, who is Miss Jellylegs anyway, fell.

We got back to the River and Trail Outfitters HQ and Larry threw his arms around me in a big bear hug and said he'd never seen anything like what I'd just done. I'll be honest, that boosted my self-confidence up about 300 light years. And I think it really boosted Michael's confidence that he was able to get up that hill at the end. He kept saying, "I can't believe I made it up that embankment. Did you see me go up that embankment?" Oh yes, I sure did, and it was amazing that he did it--it was at about a 60 degree angle from the beach, seemed like it was straight up! So I was really proud of him, and it shows how much progress he and I have made in the few short months we've been working on our health.

We got back at 5pm to the HQ and then were home by 7:00. The General was out like a light by 8:30 and I was done and sleeping before 9:00. We are both a little sore this morning, but we're both raving about doing it again.

The trip was so peaceful and at the same so exciting, it just felt so good to go and I'm thrilled we did decide to go after all. The three of us had a wonderful time and I am definitely, definitely, definitely (that's three definitelies) going to do it again next summer. Hopefully we can get more people into it next year! :-)

Go to www.rivertrail.com to set up your own trip (I don't mind advertising for them--they were 100% amazing, every step of the way).

(Oh, and I got on the scale this morning, and despite fried chicken, potato salad, and 2 McD's burgers yesterday, I lost 2 pounds in the scope of yesterday's activities. I'll take it and run!)

Mark Your Calendar, Sweeties

The date of the 2nd Annual Kosior Fall Fun Festival is October 25th. We'll go out to Belvidere for the corn maze, hay ride, kettle corn, etc., carve pumpkins and make donuts and drink cider at home, and whatever else suits our fancy...

Be there or be square.

If you want to read about last year's fall fun festival, click HERE. The above picture was the pumpkins we made last year. You can see more pictures HERE.

Bwahahaha

So funny! Thanks, Bri.

Knee!

Today I was discharged from PT officially until further notice! WOO HOO! My knee feels so much better. I'll be seeing the orthopedist in a couple weeks to check on the situation, but I probably won't have to go back, and I'm so happy. I will have my life back! It's been good to go, but at the same time, I'm glad not to have 2 nights a week taken up with it. I have a life, ya know.

So I'm back to ship shape, and probably even better. But it was very interesting to see the way the process works and how they get you moving again. I enjoyed it. And I'll enjoy not going too.

Introducing A Brand New Way to Injure Yourself

Yesterday, I was shucking corn, getting ready for our BBQ with the Stanley Clan. I was just sitting there, minding my own business, shucking away, and all of a sudden one of the husks literally cut a deep freakin' gash right down my finger!! And did it ever bleed! I honestly thought I might need to have stitches, but since I am not a stitch person, I decided against it. I applied direct pressure for about 10 minutes and finally just gummed it up with liquid bandage and neosporin.

It hurt!!!!

Who knew corn husks could be so evil?

Thank You, Sugar Bear

So this weekend was exciting--I ditched the WW lifestyle for one night and one night only and the General (aka Sugar Bear--he needed a food related nickname to fit in with me, The Dumpling, and Shortcake) took me to the Melting Pot last night for my birthday. We double dated with Doug and Jacalyn, who are celebrating their wedding anniversary.

This was my third trip there, the last one being in February (again with Doug and Jacalyn) and the one before that my birthday last August. Oh man was it GOOD...

Jacalyn requested a 2 burner table, since we only had 1 burner in February and it seemed a bit of a rip off that we couldn't have 2 pots of fondue. When we arrived, we discovered they had put us at a private table in a private "room"--the sole table behind the wine rack in the bar. There was no one else around. I discovered when I got up to find the restroom that the rest of the restaurant was hopping and NOISY, but we were in our own little oasis back there and it was awesome.

And we got 2 pots of fondue, not one. For our main fondue, Jacalyn and I got the spinach and artichoke fondue (which The General tried and actually really liked!) and Doug and The General got the cheddar fondue. We all got salads (since we were paying for it, I wanted to take the General's salad home with me for today, since I am going to be eating salad all week to make up for last night--haha). And then it was time for the main event... LOBSTER TAILS, FILET MIGNON, SHRIMP, and of course, Jacalyn's and my personal favorite: mushroom caps. They make this delicious cream cheese based sauce thing and when you cook up your mushrooms and stuff them with that cream cheese, it is oh-so-good. And since the General is not hot on mushrooms, we got 'em all to ourselves... Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Dessert was fantastic. We got the flaming turtle fondue and the smores fondue. Dippers were strawberries, rice krispie treats, pound cake, brownies, marshmallows, and cheesecake. It was so good, it was sick.

I literally did not feel well when we got home. It's been a long time since I've eaten rich food like that. But I didn't care. It was worth every tasty nibble that I felt ill afterwards. Next month's dessert fondue special is cherries jubilee--cherries and dark chocolate. We might have to go over there just for dessert. They are having a day to sponsor St. Jude's hospital and it might be nice to go then. We'll have to see.

Man is that place the best... The services was not spot on last night, but we had 2 managers in and out constantly checking on us, so that was good. And we can win free fondue for a year with our little comment cards, so that's cool too! You bet we'll be filling out those.

Today I'll be eating salad and working hard on the back bedroom. And then tomorow we're having a little BBQ with the Stanley clan, which will be fun. And then Tuesday is Richmond day--final interviews, lawyer meeting, baby stuff! So we've really crammed it in this weekend. :-)

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Fun Name Meme

From R. W.

1.Your rock star name (first pet, current car)
Lady Caliber (Love it!)

2.Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)
Cherry Garcia Crocs

3.Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Panda (Sounds more like a superhero than a Native American name)

4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born)
Katherine Star Lake

5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)
KosSu

6.Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
Pink Lemonade (hahahaha)

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers)
Richard George (Sounds like a real Nascar name!)

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Isis Reese (I'm abbreviating Reese's PB Cups to something more last name sounding)

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Collins Chicago

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Christmas Rose

11.Cartoon name:(favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)
Strawberry Tee

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Eggo Weeping Willow

13.Movie star name (first pet, first street where you lived)
Lady River

Whoever else wants to do this, have fun!

A Look At Politics

To me, this video pretty much says it all about political punditry in the now. Enjoy.

Still Here

Nothing interesting going on in general. My cat, Buster, is sick with kidney stones. I closed the cover on book #80 on the year last night. I'm re-reading the Stephanie Plum books because they make me laugh. Laugh so hard that when I'm reading in bed, I wake up the General.

Still plugging along on Weight Watchers and the adoption. Looking forward to the long weekend. Blah blah.

Oh, and I'm a year older than I was 3 days ago :-) Hard to believe I am now magic 33. I'm an OLD LADY. But my birthday was fun, complete with Carvel cake. Woo hoo!

Work is crazy, clients are crazy, life is, in a word, crazy. But I'm on an upward swing again mentally after a long dark period of about 4 months, and it feels good.

Woo Hoo!

So on Sunday I was doing some shopping at Walmart for our adoption meeting on Friday (we needed fire extinguishers, etc.). I was heading past the electronics department and I decided I'd just have a look-see about Wii Fit. As I drew close, I noticed a fat lot of white boxes. Drawing even closer, I saw WII FIT as large as life. I hadn't even passed the Keeper of the Keys, so I asked her, "Can I buy that Wii Fit please?" And she obliged.

I felt shiny as a new penny when that thing was paid for and in my cart. I have been looking high and low since they came out, even contemplating paying extra for it on Ebay to get my hands on it. But I kept telling the General, "I suspect that I'm just going to walk in somewhere and get randomly lucky finding it."

And I was right. Who knew?

So I brought it home and figured the whole thing out--more synching with the Wii and putting the little feet on it for use on carpeting, etc. But man, is it ever fun! And just a wee bit insulting too. After it did my BMI and weight, it blew my Mii up like a balloon, and I yelled at it, "Hey! I've lost 30 pounds!" The Wii scoffed at me.

After an hour's worth of play, it basically kicks you off, telling you to rest. And it also told me I'm not strong enough to do yoga yet.

The genius behind it, though, is that the more you play, the more exercises it unlocks. You start out with only 3 or 4 per section (balance, strength, aerobics, yoga) and as you play more and more, it adds a new selection to one section or another. You also get a little piggy bank with the number of minutes played, graphs that show what you've unlocked and that chart your progress weight and activity wise. And it can all be password protected if you don't want others to be able to access your information.

The General was even able to get on it and create an account.

So far, I am loving the balance games--especially the ski jump. I also turn out to be a crack hula hooper. The step routine is a challenge, however! And I apparently, as I mentioned, suck at Yoga, except for the deep breathing.

So, I look forward to having a lot of fun with it and seeing myself improve day to day. I've been adding it to my other exercise, and it sure beats sitting around trying to figure out what to do besides sitting around.

I Take Umbrage With That, Sir

Mr. Talmadge Gleck, you have created a monster.

Prior to meeting you, the words "Fountain Dew" were never a part of our vernacular.

It's official.

Fountain Dews are a part of our way of life now.

And if the WaWa is not obliging, we bring home a couple cans of Dew and pour them into a plastic cup.

It makes them taste better, apparently.

Thank you.

A Nice Treat

It's been a nice time for me while the General has been away. I feel like the prettiest girl at the dance--several invitations to come over to people's homes, etc. Yesterday, though, I had the most fun: Cindy and Manda brought over their little ones for a couple of hours and we all got to spend some time together. It was nice in a smaller group to get to know Cindy and Manda and it was a lot of fun to watch the little ones in action.

I had forgotten how at that age the entire world is a giant playground with your name written directly upon it. Honestly, if someone had told me 2 two-year-olds were coming to play at my house and asked me what I thought would be the most fun for them to play with here, I would never have selected the living room curtains. But those curtains were the hit of the afternoon.

I figured I would observe so I would have a good idea of how to baby-proof our house, and both Cindy and Manda gave me helpful hints. So did Ada and Alex. Particularly when they decided to hurl themselves over the back of the couch and slide headfirst onto the floor, narrowly avoiding my metal and glass coffee table.

I also learned such valuable lessons as "Ceiling fans and mylar balloons don't play well together" and "if a bunny doesn't say 'meow', he must surely say 'woof woof'" and "if there's a bowl of sand and seashells on a table, it is clearly intended for me to play in and possibly sprinkle liberally around the room unless I am forced to stop prematurely by the big meanies on the couch".

To be sure, Baby Willa imparted some nice lessons too, such as "all breasts are created equal" and that I really just want a 6 month old forever. :-)

Hope we can do it again sometime soon! And "Happy Birthday, Alex!!!!" He turns 2 today.

Anyone Interested?

Calling all my friends in the DC area.

Anyone want to go tubing the weekend after Labor Day? Check out this website:

http://www.rivertrail.com/TubingAC.html

I would really love to go, and if anyone else is interested, I think it would be a fun group activity. It's also pretty reasonably priced, considering they throw in a lunch.

Let me know!

FYI

I don't know what is going on with my various blog rolls. Sometimes I'm on my blog and they're working, sometimes they aren't working. I went to "Help" but didn't really see much of anything about the issue. Bramble River Baby was updated today. Other than that, I can't tell you much!

Reasons Why I Love My Husband

Each day, Michael and I try to name at least 3 things the other person did that day as a reason why we love them. Lately, he's been pulling some real doozies, and these will endure far beyond the day he said them and make me love him more.

The other day we were having a conversation about something and he said, "Susan, your husband is real precocious." And we got to our interview with the social worker and he tells her, "I'm a bit of a handful."

Hahaha I love that. And I love my precocious handful of a husband. :-)

Laissez-les manger le gateau!

You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Ugh!

I had a gift card to Barnes and Noble and usually they have unabridged audio books for about $8, which meant I could get 3 of them. I picked up Ali Smith's The Accidental because I like to read audio books I can't escape from. When I'm reading reading, I can get away from a book I don't like, but when you're stuck in the car for hours and it's that book or whatever craptastic radio station you can find, the audio book looks pretty good. Which is how I got through Kerouac's On the Road earlier this year.

I'd tried reading The Accidental a while ago and couldn't get into it. So I started reading the audiobook. And while the beginning is definitely difficult, I was totally into it.

So I finish the first 4 CD's and I reach into the box and pull out the next set, and guess what? It's discs 1-4 again. I have 2 sets of discs 1-4 and none of 5-8. AUGH! So now I'm going to have to go back to B&N next time I'm up north and try to get the situation rectified and if they can't fix it, I'll have to try calling the publisher.

Dangit, though, man! Magnus just got extremely lucky, several times, and I want to know what's going to happen.

Plus, this is the first audio book I've read with an ensemble cast, and I REALLY like it! Here's hoping it won't be too long before I can find out the ending.

Oops

I missed a very imporant anniversary earlier this year.

April 6, 2003, a date I couldn't remember, but a day I will never forget.

It was the day the stars aligned and I met two of the most important people in my life. Mike and Lesley.

Yeah, I'm going to get mushy, so if you don't want read any more, buzz off. (And I mean that in the nicest way possible)

It was kind of a miserable day outside, chilly and a bit damp in Massachusetts, but a fellow by the name of "Blackstone Val" was running a meet in Uxbridge, MA for geocachers. I decided to go, since I was pretty new to geocaching and didn't have a freakin' clue what to do with my GPS. Michael decided to stay home and continue on with his job hunt, geocaching being a "Cookies thing" so I headed out on my own.

I distinctly remember roaring into the visitors' center in my old Grand Marquis. I was running a bit late and I hate being late. I pulled in next to a little VW and as I was getting out, so were the couple in the VW next to me. I gave the female half what I hoped was a fairly friendly smile despite how harried I was feeling and made tracks to the center, where attendees were being given a lecture on how to use a compass. And I thought, "Jeez, have I made a huge mistake? A compass seems kind of low tech. Am I in the wrong place?"

And at the very moment I was considering cutting and running, Lesley strolled over to me, looking as confused as I felt and said, "Is this the geomeet?" and I think I replied with, "I thought so, but they seem to be using compasses."

So we hung around for a while listening and then eventually the coordinators handed out some worksheets with some instructions for where to find caches, but I think you were supposed to use the compass to find them, not the GPS. Well, it was now or never, sink or swim, fish or cut bait.

I had come to the meet hoping to meet people. First of all, geocaching is a lot of fun, but I don't like going myself. I got lost in the woods once for an hour and a half while geocaching solo, and I was so freaked out that I was like, "Uh, never again." Secondly, New Englanders are famously stoic and reserved and it's very difficult to meet people there. Sure, I knew Michael's family and a couple of his friends, but other than that, the only people I knew were people from work. So as the party was breaking up and everyone was heading out to find the caches, I knew I had not come to stomp the marshes of Uxbridge solo. So, having already exchanged 14 words between us, and them looking as lost as I felt, I screwed up my courage, stepped out of my happy little shell, and asked if they'd mind if I hung out with them.

Happily, the answer was yes, they would be happy to have me along. And we spent the afternoon together, having fun, finding stuff with a compass, being fairly grossed out by the dead fish, making jokes about the PCPs in the water, etc. And Mike snapped the above picture of Lesley and me standing near one of the polluted streams. :-)

We exchanged emails and AIM names and said farewell.

When I got home that night, I couldn't stop talking about them. I was so excited to have made some friends after 3 years. We all got in touch again via AIM and three weeks later, they travelled to Acton so we could go geocaching again, this time in the pouring rain for hours. Then they came over to our place to meet Michael. The date was April 26th.

It turned out we all had a whole lot in common and spent that time traveling between Acton and Providence and other exotic ports of call. My two favorites were Rockport, where we had 17 dollar lobsters at the Lobster Pool restaurant and Plymouth, where we inadvertantly had lunch in a restaurant my grandparents had taken me to when they had taken my sister and I to Boston as teenagers. The drinks were not free refills and the 2 Mikes were going through soda like, well, water, and the tab was nice and hefty when we finished up. We still laugh about finding a place with free refills when we go out together.


(Can you guess from this picture who are the Yankees and who's from down south?)

Well, we moved to Virginia shortly thereafter, and then Mike and Lesley moved to North Carolina and then again to Atlanta. The days when we were but an hour apart... Maybe someday...

But it's been a hell of a five years for all of us since we first met. And they have made the bad times not seem so bad and the good times seem even better.

Lauren recently blogged about how it sucks that her best friend is so far away and how it's hard to not have any close girlfriends and it got me to thinking about just how much I miss having Mike and Lesley nearby. Lesley gave me someone to share my love of England and high tea with, the two Mikes can share their love of the 99 Restaurant and chicken wings. Lesley and I read, the two Mikes do computer stuff. And I will always remember Mike W. as being the one guy who loved that Grand Marquis as much as I did.

Just wanted to say "Thanks" publicly. You guys are the best. Can't wait till we get together again soon. Miss you and love you both.

Pictures

I didn't manage to get anything great, but here are the few pictures I did score! Hope you enjoy.

Book MeMe from Melissa

I've been tagged by Melissa to do a book-related meme this morning, and it's a tough one!

Books are scarce in the world. They are illegal in some provinces. They are not easily replaced if not impossible to replace if lost in many if not most circumstances. If you can replace a book or buy one it is usually through the black market at astronomical costs that you cannot afford. Yet you have been able to maintain one of the best collections in the world. If your entire library was about to burn up (think of the firefighters in Fahrenheit 451 invading your home) and you could only have one* book to take with you other than the bible, what would that be and why?

Simple Rules
Answer the question. Offer one quote that resonates with you. Tag five people whose response is of genuine interest to you and inform him or her that they have been tagged. Cheers!

*And it cannot be an entire series of something, that’s cheating.

Man, this is a tough one. I started looking at my shelves when I was thinking how to answer this question. I only keep the books I really, really love and would read again, so fortunately, I've already pared it down. However, how to pare it down even further?

It was a tough choice and it came down to two different books: Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley and Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. I have read both books multiple times and loved them both for different reasons, but ultimately I've decided to let Harmony burn and save Charlie and Joey.

Why? Well, basically because story is so rich emotionally, historically, humorously (or is that humorfully?), and touches on so many different themes that I can't imagine life without it. I read it twice last year, will definitely be reading it again this year, and have given it to tons of people to read and they've all loved it. Should we someday find ourselves in a Fahrenheit 451 type situation, it would probably be a radical choice, but I don't care about that. I love this book and all it has meant to me. And I love Harmony and all it has meant to me, and I would do my best to conceal it somehow otherwise for save keeping until I could come back for it. :-)

A quote from the book... This is kind of a challenge. There are a couple that stand out, one of which I won't include here because it is a spoiler if you have any plans to read it. I'll include one serious one and one funny one here for your edification.

Funny one:

"Janet: Bear in mind the following:

1. When pushed to the wall, our allies consist of the Board of Education and, in a pinch, Superintendent Meylan.

2. The boy's personal arsenal includes the National League, the entire Democratic Party, and God only knows who else.

In other words, dear, he's got us by the balls.

Send it to Washington. Let them handle it. If we're lucky, maybe they'll draft him."

Serious one:

"Everyone has something worth it inside of them, even if it doesn't show. Sometimes you have to look a little harder but don't give up. Otherwise all your going to see is a sorehead who plays 3d base."

Who to tag...

I'm going to tag my reading peeps: Manda, Lauren, Nicole, Cindy, and Amy.

Eric Idle

Last night, Melissa and I returned to Wolf Trap in triumph to see Eric Idle perform his new oratorio, Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), based on the Monty Python film, The Life of Brian. I can now say I've sung Always Look On the Bright Side of Life with Eric Idle, although there are thousands of other people who can say the same thing :-)

The show was fantastic. The soprano in particular could really sing the hell out of a song. It was witty, it was hilarious, it was inspired.

I took a couple of pictures which I will post tomorrow when I remember to bring my camera out of the car. But mostly I was just totally captivated. I am going to pop in my VHS of The Life of Brian this weekend and watch it again--Melissa already has.

For what other show are you going to see singing sheep, bagpipers, and a musical leaf blower in one place?

Here is a recent article about the piece: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080717/ap_en_ot/people_eric_idle_2

I really hope they turn it into a full out Broadway show. Melissa and I going to have to make it a point to see Spamalot now. We're going to keep our eyes out for it to come to DC again... I thought about seeing it in Las Vegas last year, but just ran out of time.

Interesting Python-related tidbits about me:

1. The first time I ever saw anything Monty Python, I was 22 years old. I rented Monty Python and the Holy Grail while I was living in Connecticut and working as a nanny. My computer was on the blink and in for repair and so I needed something to do and got a Blockbuster membership. I was prowling the shelves and decided that since I'd never seen Holy Grail, I'd take a crack at it. I nearly fell off the couch and wet my pants, I was laughing so hard.

2. When I lived in Little Rock, in order to economize, I didn't have cable, and I didn't even have rabbit ears for my TV. So I went to Suncoast Motion Picture to get some tapes to watch, and I wanted to get something that would give me a little bang for my buck. So I picked up one season of Flying Circus. It was a lovely little box set. And I fell in love. It was uproarious, no matter how many times I watched it.

Soon that one set turned to two, and then two to three. I would love to have the whole set on DVD. They were definitely awesome.

One of my favorite sketches was the one where Michael Palin is reporting on deja vu. "That most extraordinary feeling..." hehe

Seeing Eric Idle live, in person, was such a thrill. And he was HILARIOUS. I will share one little joke. He said, "If any of you acts up tonight and gets a bit naughty, I will jump off this stage and slap you, just like Amy Winehouse. Did you see that three weeks ago? She literally jumped off stage and hit someone in the audience. It was a literal case of the shit hitting the fan." :-)

Pictures tomorrow.

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

And with that, I've completed a triple threat, posting on all 3 blogs in one night. I am good. :-)

Memory MeMe Stolen From Amanda

I can take criticism, and realize some memories of me might not be the nicest. Sometimes the truth hurts. Hopefully one or two people have a fond memory of me.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

So there you go. What do you remember about me (whether in real life or on-line since many people reading this live exclusively in my computer)?

Knee Update

Well, it turns out I have something called patellar-femural syndrome and I'm developing arthritis. Years of extra weight, plus overcompensating for my weaker leg, plus driving have worn down my knee's cartilage and now my kneecap is trying to find itself a new home by sliding. It would also appear I may have been overdoing it slightly with my workout routine...

I saw the folks over at the clinic where I had my leg repaired, and I would seriously trust them with my life after the great job they did on my leg. I saw someone new today, and I really liked him, although it's clear that Sunshine is the star of the show. This guy looked just slightly beleaguered, kind of like "I dare you to be disappointed that I'm not Sunshine." But I was a good patient and let him poke around, even when I thought he was trying to kill me. Seriously? It HURT. Joe (the PA) even said, "You've got a lot of movement going on in there."

They took some x-rays to confirm it, showed me some diagrams that I really didn't understand very well, and then sent me across the hall to the physical therapy department. Fortunately, the place where I'm going to have my PT is only 2 streets over from here. Unfortunately, the earliest they can see me is a week from now. And until then, the most activity I'm allowed to engage in is to walk and possibly do water aerobics (fat chance, the Y here is too expensive to join if I'm not sure I'm going to stick with it). Otherwise, I have a few exercises to do daily to strengthen my knee, and I just have to wait for PT.

The good thing about doing WW is that they were very encouraged with my losing weight and taking some of the pressure off my knees. So an added benefit of all this is that my health, even though I'm in pain, is improving. Cool.

(Cross posted to Kate's Weight Blog)

Just for Fun

I was writing up my autobiography last night and I thought you all might like to see this.

This is the hospital where I was born almost 33 years ago. It is the smallest hospital in New York State, with a whopping 17 beds. My sister was one of the last babies born there. I had my tonsils out there, but by the time I was in high school they had quit doing surgeries there and it was mainly an emergency room, X-ray lab, and you could go in if you had pneumonia or something like that.

I was out taking a few pictures the day after The Wedding, so I thought I'd throw this one up here.

Sue's Reviews: Mamma Mia

I just got home from seeing Mamma Mia and I must say, it was much, much worse than expected. Since I expected it to be great, I have to say that I am totally and completely disappointed.

It has been so long since a movie has come out that I actually wanted to see. And this summer, there are quite a few out that I'm suddenly excited to see--one of which was Mamma Mia.

We got home and Lucas asked for a rundown of what was wrong with it. In a nutshell:

* The singing (Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan should never, ever open their mouths again)
* The acting (Colin Firth looked distinctly uncomfortable in his role at the end and at other times you could clearly see him thinking, "What am I doing? I'm one of the premiere actors in Britain!")
* The dancing
* The choreography
* The sets (apart from the fact that it was built into a hill, I can't honestly tell you what the place looked like, and at one point I leaned over and said, "I thought they were in Sweden?" to which Judy replied, "No, I think they're in Greece." Tell you anything?)
* The lighting
* The cinematography (during a scene in which some people are looking at old photos, the photos get cut off and are shown only for seconds once they are framed properly)
* The lip synching (several times, everyone was basically like "Screw the lip synching, let's just dance!" and let the music do the talking)
* It was quite raunchy, and not in a good way

The only thing that saved it was the audience. Two gay men in front of us were having the absolute time of our lives. After a particularly supposed-to-be-poignant seen where Meryl is singing "The Winner Takes It All" to Pierce, some people behind me actually started crying, and I just totally lost it. I busted out laughing and then tried to stifle my laughter and wound up laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my cheeks. So, I guess I can say it moved me to tears too.

There was a reviewer who said something about it being like a train wreck--gruesome and horrifying and you know you shouldn't be watching, but you can't tear yourself away. I'll liken our experience to that.

It was a round stinker. I am hoping and praying that The Dark Knight, The X Files, Swing Vote and Get Smart are better. Oh and I saw the preview for the new Ricky Gervais movie, which I don't know what exactly the title is, but it's about a dentist, and I am really looking forward to seeing that one. Nothing can be worse than this one, seriously.

What a Worm...

In plain English, there is no other word for him.

Runway Starts Tomorrow!?

It seems rather hot on the heels of the last season... But oh well, I don't care. I am SO EXCITED! I've just watched 2 previews and read through the description of this season--it's gonna be hot. Can't wait to watch what happens!

Adoption Update: Starting the Ball Rolling

The General and I attended an adoption 101 seminar in Richmond in June. We wanted to learn about the different types of adoption and hopefully meet some other people that were in the same boat as us.

It was a really great seminar, sponsored by RESOLVE, a national infertility resource center. We met other couples, social workers, an attorney, etc. and got tons of information and were able to make some decisions about how to proceed.

Ultimately, we've decided on a domestic adoption. The tides are turning against the US internationally, for reasons that I can't necessarily say I disagree with. Add in the fact that we're overweight and one of us has a disability, and it seemed like domestic adoption was the way to go. I spoke with a social worker while we were at the seminar, and got her card. I emailed her when we got back about getting the ball rolling when we got back from The Wedding, and we spoke on the phone this morning.

In other words, we're getting started. She's sending us some documentation to get ready and she'll be here to visit us on July 25th. Lara has sent me a copy of her homestudy and some books to read--one of which I devoured already--and it helped us understand what to expect and what to have prepared.

So, there are some things to do before Beth arrives.

The main one is to totally and completely gut the bunny room. TomTom on his own is a very clean rabbit. He's litter trained for peeing in a litter box, he keeps his food in his cage, etc. However, at one point, we were housing 5 rabbits in there, and he got a little territorial. And before I had the bunnies trained, they laid waste to the room. The carpet needs to be torn up. The walls need a good scrubbing. We need new flooring and to touch up the trim and closet doors.

We're starting this weekend.

If anyone out there has any experience installing laminate flooring or is interested in helping with painting, I'd love to hear from you :-) I will happily offer you compensation in the form of pizza and beer. You can drop me an email at s u s a n k ( a t ) m k o s i o r ( d o t ) c o m.

I am excited and terrified... But after 6 years of uncertainty, it feels so good to take a step forward.

I don't think I have it within me to start another new blog, so this blog will be your chief source of information for the latest. And thank you so much to all who have lent their ears, tissues, and support over the past 3 months. It has really meant the world to me.

Fearless Fourteen

I bought it Wednesday and finished it this morning...

I'll be honest. When it was done, I wept. I actually shed tears. The book really got back to the fun and fabulousness of Stephanie Plum and Janet Evanovich (I was not a big fan of Plum Lucky). And now I'm sad because it's over and done with and I won't have another one for however long it takes her to write 15.

With the conclusion of this book, I've now read 63 books this year. In addition to the 44 already listed in my previous post (click reading selections to the right if you want to see those), I've completed:

• Jesus Land by Julia Scheres
  
• The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
  
• The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
  
• The Book of Fred by Abby Bardi
  
• If I Am Missing or Dead by Jeanne Latus
  
• Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
  
• Take It Back by James Carville and Paul Begala
  
• Come Back: A Mother's Journey Through Hell and Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine
  
• Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
  
• On the Road by Jack Kerouac
  
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
  
• Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing up in the 1970's by Margaret Sartor
  
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
  
• The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty
  
• Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
  
• The Broker by John Grisham
  
• R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
  
• Secret Thoughs of an Adoptive Mother by Jana Wolff
  
• Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
  

This year I seem to be reading A LOT of memoirs. So far, I've read 20 memoirs or autobiographies. I've also been reading some classics, like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Bell Jar, neither of which I had read before and both of which I loved.

It's been a great year for reading. The only downside is that I have not kept up with my book club reading 100%, but I've been reading enough of each book that I'm able to participate in the discussions and enjoy the meetings. It's summer, and I don't want to read anything heavy, although right now I'm reading Persian Girls by Nahid Rachlin and it's a very good, very fast read, but not exactly light.

So that's where I'm at... I haven't been keeping strict track of the numbers, and I've only been doing little reviews on my Good Reads, but they are good enough to make me remember why I liked or didn't like certain books.

And for the record, if you're hungry, do not read Playing for Pizza. Honestly, I wanted to hop a plane to Italy and eat until I exploded.

Happy page turning!

What's the joke?

The joke was kinda not that interesting, but here it is...

My husband refuses to smile on command. He says he can't. And for some reason, he REALLY couldn't on Friday. We have certain cutesy words that usually make him smile, but even that wasn't working. So I finally said, "Will you just smile already!?" and he bared his teeth like a rabid dog. We all started laughing and even he cracked a smile.

So that's it... But it's such a happy picture, probably one of my three favorites from the entire event. If you want to see more, go to my flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/katekosior

It Was...

...a very special day and a very interesting trip...