unreal

STILL bugs - they didn't do a thorough job, and we had to get rid of our second mattress too - which they left IN the treated room without treating ... meaning, we still have bed bugs, and the fact that we can SEE them means there are HORDES of them hiding.

I can't believe this. I don't know how I'm going to sleep. We have the air mattress blown up, but they will DEFINITELY be able to get to me - they're attracted to the carbon dioxide that I breathe.

I HATE our super - he lied to us saying that the bed/mattress had been disposed of, then we get in the apartment and have to haul it down ourselves (which is a violation ... and just spreading the bugs).

I HATE this company - AKA Bug Control or something. They haven't done their job -- half of the room was obviously not sprayed, the picture rail wasn't sprayed (and that seems to be where they're coming from now) and the baseboards weren't completely sprayed either. They also didn't get all the electrical outlets and none of them were removed as they were supposed to be. I can't believe how horrible I feel and that on top of everything else we have to fight for fair treatment.

I guess I'm bait tonight - but I wish we could just leave here and never come back. I hate New York and I hate the people we interact with here.

~Mari.

Possessions I've Lost So Far
  • Queen mattress & box spring
  • Full size mattress & box spring
  • Queen size feather mattress topper
  • Queen size down comforter
  • Lamp
  • Broom
  • Vacuum
  • Three Ikea rugs
  • Several pillows
Will update...

starbucks in the morning

well - the exterminators will be at our apartment sometime today. i'm at starbucks - have internet here until at least 10:30 ... hopefully longer. after lunch i'm going to try the public library. having a lot of trouble accessing the shared drive at work ... but have to keep trying to get the poll data up on the site ... we're releasing it today at 10:30. hope my internet lasts until then. oiy.

i have a headache to beat all headaches and am just feeling generally dazed and sad and overwhelmed. we should be able to get back in to the apartment tonight and start arranging and unpacking. we're going to put the bed in a different place and will have more room without the queen size bed!

i don't think i'll ever be comfortable in the apartment again - not entirely. and i still have to live, sleep and work there. i'm going to ... i don't know, go even more bonkers than i am? we'll see.

good news - my skin is getting better. my arms look almost normal. my feet and legs are still scratched up and scarred - those are the most recent places i have been bitten (because i flipped around on the bed one night and then when we slept on shawn's bed while my bed was still in the room our feet were pointed toward my bed ... so i got more bites on my feet and ankles.

i cannot WAIT to be flying out of here for the Thanksgiving wedding extravaganza weekend.

OH, today i've known Shawn for FOUR YEARS... and it's our five month wedding anniversary. so there's that.

more later i'm sure.

~M.

would you rather?

instead of bed bugs i would rather
  • relive summer 2003 and the unbearable heartbreak and pain
  • vomiting - any type of sickness
  • sinus infection
  • pounding head ache (which I also have)
  • go six months without going home ... i might even stretch that to a year this is so miserable
i could continue...

last night we stumbled across a shoot of LIPSTICK JUNGLE! What's UP?! HA.

anyway, we saw Brooke Shields and the girl who plays Victory Ford (Lindsay Price) ... they looked so pretty and made up and YOUNG. Brooke looks way better in person than on TV, I must say. They were filming at The Bitter End (or outside of it). Shawn was all "Where's Nico?" because yeah, I make him watch horrible girly TV. Apparently the show is moving from Wednesdays to Fridays, meaning it will probably be canceled shortly thereafter. It's a REALLY bad show, as in, the main reason I watch it is to make fun of it, but there you go.

Time to close up shop and wrap it up before we go out, get some food and head to the last night in our temporary quarters.

Dear God - please let the exterminators' treatment work and my skin get better. Amen.

~Mari.

should i give up?

or should i just keep chasin' pavements?

that song makes no sense - well the lyrics don't. as a song it makes sense as it STICKS IN MY HEAD. huzzah.

the good:
  • all clothes are washed and bagged, save for a few i'm going to wear the next few days.
  • we've got temporary quarters, courtesy of university visiting faculty housing (apparently we're staying where guest lecturers stay) - we can stay until noon on Thursday
  • exterminators are coming on Thursday between 10 and 1 - so i can't go back to the apartment until 5 at the earliest... meaning an interesting day for work - probably going to look into the NYC public library ... blugh. at least i can leave my luggage with my doorman OR at Shawn's work - depending on how i feel.
the bad:
  • slept on shawn's bed last night and STILL got new bites, especially on my feet
  • got my bed moved out (which is a good, but so so so sad)
  • there's no ROOM to move here - with all the stuff piled up in the middle of the room - and supposed to keep everything, including furniture, THREE FEET from the walls. with our tiny tiny studio apartment that is nearly impossible.
  • i've worked all day - on real work stuff and the laundry (NINE HOURS PEOPLE) - and i'm so exhausted.
  • i didn't sleep well last night - shawn's bed is smaller, not to mention KNOWING bugs are going to be feasting on your flesh. ICK. i hope we can get some sleep tonight.
  • all of my stuff is in bags - and it's piled up and who knows how much i'll break or what will get contaminated.
i pray that the exterminators are successful and that the bugs are no more. i don't think i can bear it. if i continue to break out ...

can't wait to get out of this city, because really, where else but New York would this happen to me?

~M.

Seriously?! Uzi's Don't Mix With Kids!

Eight-year-old shoots self with Uzi, dies - CNN.com:

"WESTFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.

The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman's Club, Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere said."

Mass-holes...

One way to look at it is this - at least I'm not mourning an avoidable, preventable death. That and I can still breathe.

~M.

a slow death

i am dying a slow death

of itch

of unbelievable overwhelmingness

every single item shawn and i own must be bagged

i must trash my mattress, which i bought when i moved to MD for grad school - expensive and less than 5 years old. required Sage's help to move it - so i guess OK to let go of memories since she hates me anyway - maybe karma from her?

then they'll come and spray/treat the apartment.

then we have to wash every single item before we can use it/reintroduce it to the room (although all the bagged items will still be in the room, seeing as how we live in one single room).

i have cried more today than i have in a long time. i can't believe it. NINE weeks of vampire bugs sucking my blood.

and i KNOW that it happens regardless of how clean you keep your house/apartment. i KNOW it's a result of this city - the outbreaks are bad everywhere and don't discriminate by income see
but my very first household as a wife. i can't help but feel like a failure. i'm being overly dramatic - i can't help it, my chest is pounding and i'm crying nonstop. so weak and stupid.

i'm dying a slow death - but at least i'll kill the bed bugs first.

mari.

fall back?

Shawn found some bugs on the bed - between the bed/wall or something. He vacuumed them up, and we've stripped the bed, the exterminators are coming on Monday for an inspection ... and I'm still itchy. SO I don't know. It seems to indicate the bugs are to blame, but I don't know why I can't just get un-itchy. I really wish I could have gone away this weekend. Looking forward even MORE to our week in Oklahoma.

STUPID automatic alarm clock automatically fell back - even though Congress changing the fall back time/extending daylight savings ... whatever. At least I figured it out before work tomorrow, when I would have been off an entire hour - in the wrong way. Dur. NEXT week we fall back, mk?

~mari.

write myself a letter

Gearing up to do NaBloPoMo - national blog post month, which is November. Going to try to post something every day for thirty days. Won't be exceptional journalism, but hopefully something. Twitter doesn't count? Hrm.

Shawn was up most of the night with a stomach bug. I'm hopeful that it was just food borne - I'm not sick yet. Knock on wood. He went to a work reception yesterday afternoon and that is hopefully the source of his illness. Of course he got sick in the bathroom at the event we went to last night, leading to a hasty retreat, but hopefully no harm done. He's resting now and trying to re-hydrate.

BIGGEST BUMMER - no finite element circus for me. I was SO looking forward to getting the heck out of dodge and away from this apartment - hoping for some skin relief or something. But not to be. I could still go - Shawn may actually trek up there to give a talk tomorrow, depending on how he feels. BUT if I'm going to get sick I'd rather be sick here than there, so there's that. SHIZA.

Doctor called me back last night during the event and left a message - all blood work is clear. So stop the steriods and do a repeat biopsy. I need to call back and ask about allergy tests. Also the chiropractor suggested looking at liver function. WTF ever. I'm so over this but SO not as the itching and scabbing and grossness is at a new level. UGH.

dream a little dream of me.

in which i have much to say, less to write

my skin, my skin, my skin.

i wake up and it itches. as i fall asleep it itches. taking medicine during the day helps me get through the day, but i'm getting to the point of it being unbearable.

Much later in the day: Ugh - the doctor hasn't called me back yet, and I put in the call at 10:30 am. HATE PEOPLE.

From Mighty Goods: 10 Little Luxuries Under $10. I remember when $10 was SO MUCH MONEY to me - and oh, the idea of $100 was more than I could bear. Now I drop twice that on a big grocery delivery without thinking. (We do eat well around here ...)

enough for now.

Forward: Keep Your Fork

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness
and had been given three months to live . So as she was getting her
things 'in order,' she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her
house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.

She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures
she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.

Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the
young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

'There's one more thing,' she said excitedly.

'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply.

'This is very important,' the young woman continued. 'I want to be
buried with a fork in my right hand.'

The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to
say.

That surprises you, doesn't it?' the young woman asked.

'Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request,' said the Pastor.
The young woman explained. 'My grandmother once told me this story, and
from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those
I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of
attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of
the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over
and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that
something better was coming....like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish
apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!'

So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my
hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you
to tell them: 'Keep your fork, the best is yet to come..'

The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young
woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see
her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better
grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would
be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience
and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they
saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand.
Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, 'What's with the fork?'
And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the Pastor told the people of the conversation he
had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them
about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the people
how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they
probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.

He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork let it
remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come. Friends are a
very rare jewel , indeed . They make you smile and encourage you to
succeed .
Cherish the time you have , and the memories you share . Being friends
with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility.
Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND even if it means sending
back to the person who sent it to you.

And.......keep your fork.

New Star Trek Images!


New Star Trek Images! | Filmonic: "After a rather long silence the Star Trek marketing has stepped up a gear today, with the release of some new images. They all popped up on different sites and the first image gives us our first look at the crew."

Today being 10/16/08, when Filmonic posted this... Kinda pumped in a nerdy, sad way.

life in the city

yesterday my internet crapped out - it was an outage or something. so i had to go back to the 'bucks to get some "free" wifi. the homeless were out in droves and i almost got a full cup of ... something spilled on my feet/computer bag. luckily my quick thinking saved me from that BUT i still had to deal with the loud, obnoxious commentary from the table of crazies while i worked.

i was telling my coworkers about how i can never hear my neighbors in our apartment. this is true BUT i forgot about the street noise. i live in a concrete box, so i don't hear the people above me or on either side - there really is no noise transfer except a little through the pipes in the bathroom - and that is usually just a radio or something. but because of the lack of temperature control with our stupid radiator, we keep the windows open a lot - even when it's chilly. and the street noise - well ... that out does any noise that would come from above us or side neighbors. the trash trucks, the car alarms, the dumpsters or whatever that people drag on the bumpy sidewalk and once a CRANE!

living in the city ... it's something else.

~M

cranky

it's been a long day. my sh*tty motel room doesn't have FOX - so I didn't get to see the end of House and i didn't get to see Fringe. I hope i can figure out how to download them - i can't stream them on this pos wifi.

this is the last time i stay here - i got made fun of at work for staying at a cheap motel - so since it's my work's money anyway i might as well stay somewhere that's three times the price and closer to work. i'm cranky and i want to go home.

tomorrow i will.

Monday - Columbus Day

Downloaded my first iTunes movie to watch on my iPod on the train tonight (Smart People - $4). We'll see how it goes. I also have a lot of podcasts to listen to - I should get iTunes on my laptop so I can sync/download new podcasts for the trainride back. Hrm. Something to do on Tuesday night in the motel room.

Columbus Day so no work. Last year on Columbus Day I was newly engaged - as in, new sparkly ring and sparkle in my eye. I still feel that spark, but with all the worries of my health/skin condition, I'm a little preoccupied. But I am disgustingly happy with my marriage. As Martha might say, it's a good thing. I just need to not take it for granted!

Yesterday I went to church. I had SUCH fun subway rides - because there were interesting kids in the subway cars with me. Not in a creepy way - but just how cool and interesting kids can be. The way there featured Rachel - a cool little girl, probably 6-yrs-old who was FASCINATED with her sweater zipper and asked her mom "how do they do this? it AMAZES me." I took notes so I want to write up the dialogue ... maybe as a scene for a future piece of fiction. I wanted to tell her "Watch Mr. Rogers - there's a great episode about that!"

On the way back, there were these DARLING little twins in a double stroller - little boys, with mops of blonde, thick hair, dark grey eyes and dressed alike except for their T-shirts. They didn't really talk - were about 2-yrs-old and sleepy, maybe a little sick with colds. But just so cute. And I was fascinated with how alike they were - and then the subtle differences. I hope it wasn't creepy I was looking at them - but they were just too cute, so I kept sneaking looks - plus they were directly across the car from me, so I didn't think too much of it.

At church - the sermon was "Rejoice! In a Time Like This?" Being in NYC, with our proximity to Wall Street, many of the people here (the pastor's parishioners) are directly impacted by this downfall of the stock market -- as in, they're losing their Wall Street-related jobs ... not just their stock options/retirement benefits. It's scary everywhere - seriously scary, but I wonder if pastors in middle America are delivering sermons like this?

The bottom line/message of his sermon was this: God is with us always, including (scary) times like this. If we feel blessed by God, then we can bless others.

I also found myself trying to ACTIVELY listen. My mind wanders easily, especially in quiet moments meant for reflection - so I repeated the words in my head and heart as the pastor said them - especially the prayer and the scripture readings to keep myself focused and really hear the words. I wasn't 100% successful, but a good trick to try to keep my mind under my control and focused on what I really need to learn/know.

Have a chiropractor appointment this afternoon - before the train ride, so that should help. I need to pack my heating pad just in case (haven't needed it lately) and plan to use the ice from the motel to ice my back in the evenings. There are lots of other little things bouncing around in my head - do I have copies of all my files from my desktop computer to use on my laptop. (I did move everything on my desktop to the work server, but I can't always access that from my laptop ... basically because of my own failings.

Puttering around for a while. ~Mari.

Oklahoma Abortion Law - Seems Very Strange...

The Associated Press: Okla. abortion ultrasound requirement challenged

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An advocacy group is suing over an Oklahoma law that prohibits a woman from getting an abortion unless she first has an ultrasound and the doctor describes to her what the fetus looks like.

In the lawsuit filed Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court, the Center for Reproductive Rights says that the requirement intrudes on privacy, endangers health and assaults dignity.

The law, set to go into effect Nov. 1, would make Oklahoma the fourth state in the nation to require that ultrasounds be performed before a woman can have an abortion and that the ultrasounds be made available to the patient for viewing, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based health research organization.

The other states are Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Read the rest of the AP article (while it lasts on Google AP)

Boomer Sooner!

(Edit: The Boomer Sooner! is referring to football and NOT an endorsement of the Oklahoma Legislature's actions ... not that my opinion counts, but thinking about that further ... I just wanted to be clear.)

results

i got my stitches out today. so that's good. the bloodwork wasn't all back - the one test they were waiting for was to show if i have urticaria (hives) - i guess it tests if my body has antibodies. i don't know. the rest of my bloodwork was normal, as was the biopsy.

i got a prescrip for another round of prednisone. it is not fun - makes me hungry and jittery... and it's a lot of work to keep track of X pills for Y days, then X-1 pills for Y days, etc. until you get down to 1/2 pill for Y days. and I get distracted easily. Will have to pay attention to this.

I'm still going to find another dermatologist who specializes in skin reactions/allergies (rather than a Botox-pusher)... Shawn's doctor recommended one, and he is on our insurance, so I'll call next week to make an appointment. I got a copy of my bloodwork so far, and once the original dermatologist calls me to say what the results of the final blood test was I'll send them a letter asking for a complete copy of my file.

Being a grown up is the PITS!

~M.

What I Don't Know and How I Will Learn It

The "Zen-like" question from Tuesday's debate has stuck to me... Not that I necessarily think it's a good question to ask the candidates (I'm more along the lines of "what will you do to impact the health of Americans - to ensure we'll have new treatments and cures to diseases?"), but it is a question I would like to ask myself. I consider myself a student of everything - I love to read and learn. But do I ACTIVELY try to learn? Or just passively let information come to me for absorption and osmosis? I think it's more of the latter.

Here are some bullets of things I don't know and how I will learn them:
  • Economics - I have a minor in econ from OSU, but I would/should go more in depth - especially since we're in what's threatening to be the "Greater Depression" - specifically I'm interested in the economics of women/wife-dom... Just something I'm thinking about, perhaps pursuing a structured plan of study or a self-edifying project of seeking books and resources to create a non-publishable paper.
  • Complicated crochet patterns - oh how I love crochet and want to get better, and I am tackling this with my bedspread project. Follow-through is the hardest, as I'm done with block 3 of at least 20... Persistence is something I am learning with this project.
  • How to be a parent - this is something I probably won't get to for at least another year, but how I'll learn it is through imitation of role models, reading and practice-practice-practice.
This is a pretty pathetic little list. I'm sure there will be more, but these were top-of-mind to start.

What don't you know, and how will you learn it?

~M.

Rednecks for Obama

So, this is a "hot" trend in Google Trends - Rednecks for Obama.

Unfortunately, I know a lot of rednecks who are not for Obama, but for McCain. And we know what I'm thinking...

By the way, read THIS ARTICLE in Rolling Stone about John McCain - it's a massive effort of reporting, takes a long time to read and will hopefully change even the redneck mind?

Purple Wedding Shoes - Discounted - BLIMEY

BP. 'Dazzle' Leather Sandal - Nordstrom:
"BP. 'Dazzle' Leather Sandal
Strappy slingback sandal is perched on a high skinny heel. An adjustable buckle at the ankle ensures a secure fit.

* Approx. heel height: 3 1/2'.
* Leather upper, lining and sole.
* By BP.; imported.
* BP. Shoes."
Dadgum. I bought these shoes full price for the wedding. They ended up hurting my feet too much, so I only wore them to the rehearsal (wore Target shoes in white with my dress, then changed into Chucks for the reception)... I love these shoes, can't wear them now because of my back AND they hurt my feet. They are killer - but oh so gorgeous... And if you wanna pair, they're disgustingly on sale.

at the bucks

woke up today - to everything grey...and all that i saw - just kept going on...and on...

yeah, everything was on except our cable modem. no matter what i tried, which outlet i plugged it in to - NOTHING. totally busted. so i'm at starbucks with the AT&T wifi (unsure if it lasts two hours or indefinitely...) and waiting for lunch time to go back home.

we have to get a new modem from Time Warner Cable. somehow I'm thinking that won't be easy. and apparently they won't let you use your own - so it's not like i can just go to Staples and buy a new modem. for PETE's SAKE!

this starbucks has been redone recently - it's funny. the counter was the main change - chairs and all still the same. but they have the employees doing shifts at the bathroom - as in they stand at the head of the line and let one person go in at a time. WEIRD. and i also saw an employee make a homeless guy leave. hrm. but with my laptop and latte (OK, venti coffee but was going for alliteration), i'm just another yuppie working away. i probably look like a student because of my jeans and flip-flops (it's been a while since I've been outside in the morning - it was actually COLD, but i was in too much of a rush to go back and change).

without my programs on my work computer i'm relegated to just email, powerpoint and blogging/web updating. there's plenty of that to do -- but i have two big design projects. i'll work on them at home this afternoon, then there's a staff meeting that i can be offline for ... and then it will be another search for wifi. i SHOULD be able to log on to the university's network - i have an email address but don't know how to access it... a project for later today.

i should also get my biopsy/blood work results today. i don't trust that doctor any farther than i can throw him, so i'll probably have to call him this afternoon to get the results. at least it keeps things interesting.

because i'm off the second round of steroids the hives are getting worse - i have some on my face and one comes up on my eyelid ... real cute. i've got to keep my stitches covered - and apparently i'm having a reaction to the band-aid adhesive (and it's NAME BRAND!) ... because i've got a really red, painful patch where the band-aid was yesterday. I twisted the bandage to cover a different area - but ... if it's not one thing, it's twenty others.

OH! the bathroom employee left her station and two people went in together!!!

~mari.

A Jump on Things

I am all sorts of CRAZY itchy...

Called the doctor today - he's not there on Mondays, but my results are in. No, they can't tell me anything - the doctor has to look at them first. Hopefully he'll be in and call tomorrow... I need him to refer me to someone who knows what they're doing.

I'm spending time looking at FUN FUN FUN sites online - shopping and thinking and making lists ... of things to buy for people for Christmas. I mean, how nerd-a-lert can I get? But I'm just "shopping" and filling up online carts and not buying. Kind of an online social media no-no I guess - really skews and screws up those sites' numbers. Yeah, I don't care.

www.redstamp.com/product/1828-Blackberry-Notebook
www.redstamp.com/product/2422-Vintage-Postcard-Set
www.redstamp.com/product/3424-2009-MINI-Desk-Calendar

And then I could spend HOURS on Etsy.com. I could look at the crochet stuff for ages - not to buy but to think "i could do that" and then not do it. And I-LOVE-PAPER. I mean, stationery would be something I could spend and spend and spend on... But I can only write so much and I already have an entire drawer full of cards and paper and envelopes (not to mention the left over thank you notes from the wedding - which are in their own drawer...the wedding gave me an excuse and I bought!).

Guess I should start dinner. Maybe just one more spin around the interwebs.

Owen - Line Art

In Stitches


Left arm

Right arm

Back of right arm - stitches. OIY!

too funny...


From @meghanasha's "life cast" or whatever ... via http://caro.tumblr.com.

surgical

yesterday i technically had surgery.

it wasn't planned, and it was in a dermatologist's office. CLEARLY they don't normally do this sort of thing, as it was like a slap-stick comedy show for the ages. (i am surmising that this doctor is mostly a Botox pusher, but thankfully he didn't suggest that to me, because really the last thing I need to do is inject botulism in my skin).

anyway, after a 2-week course of steroids, which followed a shorter, lower-dosage course and over a week of super-high antihistimines, the hives are still not gone. they have morphed somewhat - they look less like mosquito bites and more like pink, slightly raised bumps (before they were shinier or something, with whiter centers). but they're still itchy as anything and super uncomfortable. they are mostly on my arms, with a few on my face/neck/back and knees/ankles. i'm a lot of fun to be around, let me tell you.

at my last chiropractor appointment, my doctor (who is super nice and concerned about more than my back, including my skin) asked if my hives make me irritable... I had to think about that. I'm a generally irritated person. I'm constantly gretchy and what-have-you. Maybe the hives are a manifestation of that irritability? But yes, I would answer that these hives DO make me even more grouchy, given the mystery of it all and the discomfort on top of my usual crankiness. i can't change much, but i can change myself and my attitude if i really try. we'll see how that goes.

anyway, my latest irritant is the surgery site itself - they biopsied a hive. gave me a local anasthetic (really worked cuz I didn't feel anything) and stuck a cookie cutter thing in my arm and cut out a CHUNK of flesh. ICK. then they had to draw blood, and the girls/nurses/whatever didn't seem to have a clue. I'm a good blood donor and usually blood flows quickly and easily, but they took three stabs, the final one in my hand, to get the blood, and even then they said it probably wasn't enough. they thought "my psyche" couldn't handle another stick so they said they would try to do the tests with what they had. i would have rather gone to a lab where people know what they're doing...

i will post pictures soon. i have to get shawn to take them. try as i might i just cannot snap a pic of the back of my right arm where the stitches are. (and i tried several times and ended up with pics of the hives w/o the stitches) i also have bruises from the blood draws... all in the name of photo-documenting my plight, garnering sympathy and satisfying the curiosity of my "gross-loving" reader(s).

Oh Owen Jay!

While webcamming this week, Beth trimmed Owen's hair in the back... MISTAKE. He became obsessed with the idea of cutting his own hair. (At least he didn't take my suggestion to cut Beth's hair!) The results:

Self Cut:


Burr Cut Salvages His Look:

Four Hugs A Day...

The secret to a happy marriage: Four hugs a day - Telegraph:
The secret of maintaining a happy marriage is four hugs a day, a study has found.

A poll of 4,000 couples found that spending at least 22 periods of "quality time" together every month, such as going for a walk or sharing a romantic meal, were also key to maintaining a healthy relationship.

The couples also recommended that husbands should give their wife flowers or another gift at least once a month.
Sounds good to me!

Don't Vote - Five Friends

Don't Vote - celebrities and registering to vote - there's still time! And G-D, that Jonah Hill reminds me of ... well, you know.

Children's Sermon: Cross

Cleaned out my purse today and I've got last week's bulletin kicking around. Usually I leave it at the church as part of the recycling program, but occasionally I'll take notes and need to bring it with me. Funny, I never USE the notes for anything and usually throw away/recycle the bulletin myself. Anyway.

The notes I took last week were about the children's sermon. The preacher had all the kids stand up and spread out their arms - they became crosses - physically representing the cross. And he said this posture reminds him of two things:
  1. We're standing up - because we're reaching up to God
  2. If we move our arms - just twist a little - we're going to touch someone.
So, we're standing up to reach up to God and reaching out and we touch others. Thank you for the cross - to remind us to love God and our neighbors.

For what it's worth. ~Mari.

Want to Order a Crochet Hat?

Thanks for your interest in silvermari crochet hats . Most of what I make are sized for infants and toddlers, although I can size up and dow...