What’s up?
Excuse me for being so proud and braggy. But my friend Ellen, her wife Sara and one of their two adorable children made it into the San Francisco Chronicle this past weekend. They shared helpful tips on dividing domestic chores and how they have maintained their romantic 17-year relationship.
This is a bizarre, although not surprising, story. Conservatives are up in arms over a guy at a homeless shelter who took a picture of Michelle Obama on his cell phone. Here is a summary of it at Salon. The conservative spin is this guy is homeless, what the hell is he doing with a cell phone? But it looks like we do not have the full story — he could be a volunteer, you know? — and as many conscientious readers even in the conservative sites pointed out, some shelters and charities give homeless people cell phones so they can follow up on job leads.
Here is a story for you pet lovers: Apparently dog has always been man’s best friend. It turns out that the dog was the first domesticated animal, even before horses, which were domesticated in 3500 B.C., according to Slate.
Job discrimination claims are on the rise now that the economy has tanked, according to MSNBC.com. On the flipside, the anecdotes and statistics in the story suggest there is a preference for young white males when the economy takes a nosedive, but diversity is embraced when times are good.
Also, MSN ran an article originally posted in Caring.com listing 10 foods with cancer-fighting properties. Maybe letting my kids live off blueberries isn’t a bad idea after all!
Can I hear universal health care? Here is another horror story at Open Salon by a woman facing a barrage of medical bills now that her husband is battling cancer. My heart goes out to them.
What else is in the news? What’s up with you?
Hmmm.
I’m betting that your friend’s husband never kept her waiting as she sat in her hotel’s lobby at 1am waiting for him to get online so they could talk over Skype and see the kids on the webcam. That would help keep the romance in a relationship.
Hey, wise ones, is it weird to be having night sweats 6 months after having the baby? I am having bad night sweats out here. Maybe its because I’ve cut back on the pumping/breast feeding?
I think
that stuff can happen for a year after. I’m six months out and just started losing clumps of hair. I hope I’m not in for the sweating, I didn’t have any this time, not even right after, weird.
don’t know if it’s normal
but I sure did. I’m a sweaty person by nature, though, fwiw.
Someone left $80 in cash in an envelope
on my front door with my name on it. I don’t recognize the handwriting and I have no idea where it came from. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve taken a pay cut and lost my bookstore hours so money is more than tight and i need a new $300 power steering hose for the jeep if it is to pass inspection and my checkbook was teetering on negative yesterday — but I”m so so so much better off than so many and now I’m worried in a fit of complaining I made someone feel bad for me and I’m so unsettled by this… I feel as though someone felt bad for me and really my life is really good… i’m really grappling with who did this, why and if I deserve it.
Sounds like someone loves you
and wants to help. If it makes you feel weird, pass some of it on to someone you think needs it more.
Always someone who is worse off
But someone wanted you to have this gift! My mom always says “don’t rob someone of a blessing.”
What a sweet thing to say
your mother is a wise woman.
What a wonderful sentiment
It puts into a short phrase exactly what I was trying to tell DH a few weeks ago. His dad (they have a somewhat contentious relationship) sent us a check for a few hundred dollars since DH hasn’t been working since Christmas (he still gets a salary, but he hasn’t had a client, so no billable hours, which has hit us hard). DH wasn’t sure if he should accept it, and I said maybe it’s the only way his dad can say he loves us and is thinking of us.
It’s unfortunate that my FIL equates money with love and control, but there you go. My feeling was that if we rejected the check, it would be like telling him we don’t want or need his love. Plus the money did help a lot.
Of course you deserve it!
What a kind gesture… Sorry to hear about the car stuff. I hate car stuff!
theater?
You did some theater work recently. Could it be an honorarium? We were surprised by those a couple times. Usually just after strike, but whatever.
If you still feel funny about it, donate a chunk. But don’t worry about it – clearly it is for you and you deserved it. :-}
anonymous restitution?
Maybe someone has inadvertently harmed you and can’t bring themselves to confess, and they need to do something to clear their conscience.
I say take it with an open heart
and when the time is appropriate, play it forward. Don’t feel guilty.
Voting Day today!
Okay, so it’s definitely not as big a deal as our last voting day, but it’s still a big one here in NH. Today’s the day that most of the towns that don’t have a town meeting (think Newhart) do their ballot voting for school board, school budget for 09-10 and the teacher’s contract. Our local community is also trying to pass a bond for our new Middle School. (The old building was build in 1849 and has officially been declared a fire hazard.) It should pass- the new building is cheaper than renovating the old one (which makes the Tax Payers Association happy) and it’ better for the kids (which makes everyone else happy). I’m going to try to go waive a sign for a while later. Wish I could do more but between the last flu and the one that took me down over the weekend, I’m sort of spent. (Is it weird to have two high fevers in less than 3 weeks?)
Gotta love March in NH
huh Laura?
Only in a
self-destructive, snow hating, blue-tarp loving, when the hell will spring come, live-free-and-die sort of way.
you should have heard the cursing
when I woke up and looked out my window yesterday… jeeezzzzzzuss…it was so cruel after being able to go out side and take walks both saturday and sunday.
You vote
on your school district’s budget and teaching contract? Wow. I have never heard of those going to a popular vote.
Do they ever get voted down? What happens if so?
They get voted down more often than not.
At least that’s how it feels- I don’t have numbers on it. There are teachers in the state who have gone upwards of 5 years without a contract or a cost of living raise because the contract (and the budget) are directly tied to property taxes. People vote against this stuff because they’re pissed about their taxes (as well they should be- it’s an idiotic way to pay for things). The budgets usually end up with a “default” budget- the last year’s budget plus x% (usually 4%, I think). This year, a lot of districts are putting up budgets that are actually lower than the default out of respect for the crappy economy. People are still cranky, but at least a knee-jerk “no” vote ends up with the opposite effect of what it intends. The worst part is that a failed budget really undermines the schools in ways beyond the financial- it feels like a loss of confidence in the faculty and a lack of value placed on the kids and really hurts morale. I’m lucky to live in a liberal little corner of the state. Our budget usually pass without much problem but the new Middle School? Now that’s a sticky wicket.
Homeless guy
So now if you lose everything you’re supposed to ditch your cell phone? Maybe his family gives him minutes so they can find him or something. Whatever.
On a lighter note, I have to share this picture we found while browsing houses on MLS:
wow
someone really likes their cat!
Wow
I mean, you gotta love your pets, but…wow
That’s awesome
I’ve only been in real estate a short time but it’s an eye opener for how people live…
Anyone watch The Office?
This could be Angela’s home.
the new cat episode
was the first time I’ve seen that woman animated. I knew something kinky was going to show up on the webcam.
white sofa
Smart of them to stick with white cat hair as a decorating theme.
Or maybe it’s the other way around.
What with Fluffy, we’d better buy a white couch!
That is awesome
When we were househunting, we couldn’t even go in houses that had a cat due to allergies. At least if everyone put a picture up like this on the internet, we could know which houses to avoid!
It looks like there is one right on the couch!
A big orange cat, or stuffed one, is sitting right there driving away allergic buyers.
Ack!
I didn’t even see that, with the monster cat on the wall! Now this information would have been very helpful to us on our househunt. I can’t tell you how many houses we walked in and had to immediately leave.
Good for your friends
Sara and Ellen’s stoy made me feel all warm and cozy. :)
Cell phones
First, cell phones cost way less than an apartment. Second, how do you get an apartment (or a job) if you don’t have a phone where people can reach you?
Really, our sense of luxury has been flipped upside down. A cell phone isn’t an expensive extra – it’s what many people use for basic phone service.
And I don’t think you can even buy a cell phone without a camera any more.
I had Nicholas last night, and I’ll
have him again tonight. His mommy is in the hospital with pneumonia. Its really a good thing I don’t obsess over how much bad luck we have medically/healthwise. She should be home tomorrow.
The homeless man with the cell phone? I know 10 or 15 years ago, money was raised to pay for pagers for people living in homeless shelters. This was so they could have a phone number to put on job applications. I would guess that maybe that’s what’s up with this guy. You realize, ofcourse, that the conservatives are mad because there are homeless shelters to begin with…they’d make a case for the benefits of having the homeless denied any shelter or food at all.
Oh no
I hope she’s better soon – it must be so hard for her to be away from him but good for her to know she’s got a loving support system.
As for the phone – yeah, how else is the guy going to get back on his feet unless employers can find him? Cell phones cost next to nothing these days anyway. Mine costs about $100 a year for minutes.
She’s doing all right…
we’ve had a nasty flu virus going on in this neck of the woods that’s left a lot of people with pretty extreme bronchitis and/or pneumonia. She didn’t respond well to breathing treatments with albuterol, so they’ve started her on steroids. She was also quite anemic…not uncommon after pregnancy and childbirth.
And, you know, its kinda fun watching Nicholas in the evenings…
so sorry to hear that
I’m really sorry to hear that Nicholas’ mom is ill. I hope she recovers as quickly as possible. How is Nicholas doing, btw?
He’s doing extremely well.
He has an appointment with the oncologist on Thursday as they wanted to follow up with a scan to make sure that there was no return of this tumor. Poor thing…they will have to drug him for the scan.
He’s such a happy, funny little guy. He “talks” non-stop.
crossed fingers on the appointment
but he sounds like a delight – love the talkers! Jess was a non-stop commentator from very early on and it felt great to have a two-way thing going on. Even if it was only “bah-bah-bah-bah-bah!”
Most of my kids were, too.
In fact, Nicholas’ father was a champion. And you know, he still thinks everyone really needs to hear what he has to say!
oh, lord
and here is me thinking that Jess will outgrow it… I had an OB appointment today and took Jess along. She brought her book on the human body and gave the OB a lecture on how babies are born. Thank goodness he’s not only a very good OB but a father and grandfather, too!
oh geez
Sorry Nicholas’ mom is ill. Hope she is feeling way better soon!
I feel so bad for her…
she was out shopping for a wedding dress all weekend. I know she really wanted to do it, but I feel bad that she is so sick at a time in which she should be just purely enjoying herself.
Oh! I’m so sorry
poor Nicholas’ mama. :( I’m sure she’s very glad to have you there and willing to take care of him, but how hard for you guys.
I don’t mind caring for Nicholas…
in fact, I’ll admit that I rather enjoy watching him! However, I can totally empathize with you and your family in that it seems we just deal with one medical crisis after the next. I often don’t even like to mention any of it because it just seems like it’s, oh, too much? I sometimes wonder who would even believe it all if I really started talking about it. I’m sure you often feel the same way.
It is good for you to talk about it somewhere
though, tjb, and I can’t imagine a better place than this (unless you give up and just start your own blog, like us).