I'm awake . . . now.

So I was just about to get into bed. Yes, I know it's only 10:00 on Friday night. But if you've been following my posts then you know I'm sick. Anyway, back to the story. . . So I was just about to get into bed and I noticed something on the floor by the bed. Ordinarily i wouldn't think much of it. But our housekeeper came yesterday and we don't usually start throwing things on the floor so soon after her visits. I thought I'd better turn the light on and have a closer look. It was a perfectly coiled snake. He didn't move at all so I suspected that he was not feeling very well-- or worse. So, I did what I'm sure most of you would do: threw Stella to Dean, who was already in bed, and said, "Take the dog. There's a snake on the floor." Then I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the appropriate supplies-- iPhone, magazine and large plastic cup. I returned to the snake and tried to get the just right angle on him to take a pic to share with all of you (let me tell you, Dean wasn't very happy about that!). And as it turns out neither was the snake. He woke up and started slithering straight for me. I had to chase him through the room while Dean shouted really useful instructions from the safety of the bed. I finally caught him and released him to the jungle of our front yard. Now I'm wide awake! The snake probably is too. And alas, I have no picture to show for my efforts.

Things I Intend to Blog About When I HaveTime (and/or stop being so lazy)

Due to the overwhelming demand from my avid readers that I update my blog, ok, really just one reader (thanks, Jill), I have decided to post this half-assed post. It's not a for real post. Really more of a to do list post. But it's something. So here it is:

Things I Intend to Blog About When I Have Time (and/or stop being so lazy)

1. Twilight (finish up the book series blog)
2. Twilight opening weekend movie date night with Dean (pics included)
3. Maid Brigade (aka keepers of my sanity)
4. My stupid, rash decision to hire a personal trainer
5. Thanksgiving with both families (mine and Dean's)
6. Prop 8 protest/Gay Marriage Rights Rally in San Antonio (pics included)
7. Why I love my job
8. Why I love Oprah (this one's just for Wordy_D)
9. Books I am reading (Year of Living Biblically, Middlesex, Disrupting Class, Understanding Poverty, Made to Stick)
10. My wedding in Maui and our first year of marriage

So there you have it. We all know about good intentions... And these are mine.

O Happy Day!

Here’s the thing… I have hope. I have been so frustrated and angry, and most of all sad for the direction we have been headed as a country these last 8 years. In fact, I've been so emotional about this issue, I haven't even been able to blog about it. I have been embarrassed and ashamed by our foreign and domestic policies. And now I am proud. I am proud of our country and our people.

As we sat watching Barack’s first speech last night as President Elect, Dean looked like Jesse Jackson. He had tears streaming down his face. I don't think I ever loved him more than I did in that moment. He GETS it! This is big! Change has come to America.

I don't know if President Obama (Wow! I LOVE the sound of that) will be able to fulfill the promise of his vision given the current state of the economy and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But I can't help but think that his message of hope and inspiration, aspiration, diversity, and inclusivity will help him to accomplish more than the Bush/GOP's legacy of fear, secrecy, and white-dominated exclusivity has.

God bless Barack Obama and God bless the USA.

Change the world one loan at a time - visit Kiva.org to find out how.

CHICKENS!!!!!

So here’s the thing: We went to the opening of the Trinity River Audubon Center this weekend. It was awesome, by the way.  Among other awesome things, we learned about urban chicken coops. Most of you reading this have known that I’ve tried three times, rather unsuccessfully, to be vegan. I am vegetarian and I don’t buy any leather. My ultimate goal is to get as many factory-farmed animal products out of my life as possible because I hate supporting the atrocity of factory farming in any way. However, I’ve had a really, really hard time letting go of cheese and eggs. I’ve always said that if I had some land, I would have some chickens and cows where I could produce my own milk, cheese, and eggs and know the animals were well taken care of. Well, you guessed it! Turns out, lots of people are raising 2 or 3 chickens in their backyards in the city. It’s totally legal as long as you don’t have a rooster. I am so freakin excited! Dean and I are getting us some chickens for Christmas. Here are the chickens I am considering:

 

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Ameraucana-B5.aspx

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Australorp-B14.aspx

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Brahma-B16.aspx

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Cochin-B30.aspx

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Silkie_Bantam-B100.aspx (I HAVE to have one of these!!!!)

http://www.mypetchicken.com/Wyandotte-B6.aspx

 

Change the world one loan at a time - visit Kiva.org to find out how.

 

Jill Had a Perfect Beautiful Baby!!

OMG! Abby Jewel is so tiny and so beautiful.

I totally stole these photos from Jessica’s blog! (Don’t tell anyone!)

I saw the happy family yesterday and I couldn’t believe how wonderful Jill looked. Stan looked a little like a deer in headlights or like a new father. It’s EXACTLY the same look my brother had when my niece was born. That look of excitement, pride, and exhaustion, mixed with a little fear. Adorable. What a beautiful new family!

Change the world one loan at a time - visit Kiva.org to find out how.

No bailout (yet)! Woo hooo!

Here’s the thing: I wrote to both of my Senators and my Congressman on Friday letting them know that I think this bailout plan sucks! Dean wrote to them both Friday and Monday. $700 billion given free and clear with no plans for reform or regulation? To quote my least favorite person on the planet, “I told them thanks, but no thanks.” Ugh! I really hate her and pretty much everything she stands for; but I digress…

I am so freakin happy that the bailout didn’t go through. I am sending my congressman a thank you letter today. I know the bill will pass eventually in some form or another, but I hope it includes some oversight and NO WALKAWAY PACKAGES (golden parachutes) for the damn executives who lead us straight on into this mess! I would like to see them tried criminally. Anyway, here’s an email from Michael Moore who captures my sentiments exactly:

________________________________

Friends,

Everyone said the bill would pass. The masters of the universe were already making celebratory dinner reservations at Manhattan's finest restaurants. Personal shoppers in Dallas and Atlanta were dispatched to do the early Christmas gifting. Mad Men of Chicago and Miami were popping corks and toasting each other long before the morning latte run.

But what they didn't know was that hundreds of thousands of Americans woke up yesterday morning and decided it was time for revolt. The politicians never saw it coming. Millions of phone calls and emails hit Congress so hard it was as if Marshall Dillon, Elliot Ness and Dog the Bounty Hunter had descended on D.C. to stop the looting and arrest the thieves.

The Corporate Crime of the Century was halted by a vote of 228 to 205. It was rare and historic; no one could remember a time when a bill supported by the president and the leadership of both parties went down in defeat. That just never happens.

A lot of people are wondering why the right wing of the Republican Party joined with the left wing of the Democratic Party in voting down the thievery. Forty percent of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans voted against the bill.

Here's what happened:

The presidential race may still be close in the polls, but the Congressional races are pointing toward a landslide for the Democrats. Few dispute the prediction that the Republicans are in for a whoopin' on November 4th. Up to 30 Republican House seats could be lost in what would be a stunning repudiation of their agenda.

The Republican reps are so scared of losing their seats, when this "financial crisis" reared its head two weeks ago, they realized they had just been handed their one and only chance to separate themselves from Bush before the election, while doing something that would make them look like they were on the side of "the people."

Watching C-Span yesterday morning was one of the best comedy shows I'd seen in ages. There they were, one Republican after another who had backed the war and sunk the country into record debt, who had voted to kill every regulation that would have kept Wall Street in check -- there they were, now crying foul and standing up for the little guy! One after another, they stood at the microphone on the House floor and threw Bush under the bus, under the train (even though they had voted to kill off our nation's trains, too), heck, they would've thrown him under the rising waters of the Lower Ninth Ward if they could've conjured up another hurricane. You know how your dog acts when sprayed by a skunk? He howls and runs around trying to shake it off, rubbing and rolling himself on every piece of your carpet, trying to get rid of the stench. That's what it looked like on the Republican side of the aisle yesterday, and it was a sight to behold.

The 95 brave Dems who broke with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were the real heroes, just like those few who stood up and voted against the war in October of 2002. Watch the remarks from yesterday of Reps. Marcy Kaptur, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Dennis Kucinich. They spoke the truth.

The Dems who voted for the giveaway did so mostly because they were scared by the threats of Wall Street, that if the rich didn't get their handout, the market would go nuts and then it's bye-bye stock-based pension and retirement funds.

And guess what? That's exactly what Wall Street did! The largest, single-day drop in the Dow in the history of the New York Stock exchange. The news anchors last night screamed it out: Americans just lost 1.2 trillion dollars in the stock market!! It's a financial Pearl Harbor! The sky is falling! Bird flu! Killer Bees!

Of course, sane people know that nobody "lost" anything yesterday, that stocks go up and down and this too shall pass because the rich will now buy low, hold, then sell off, then buy low again.

But for now, Wall Street and its propaganda arm (the networks and media it owns) will continue to try and scare the bejesus out of you. It will be harder to get a loan. Some people will lose their jobs. A weak nation of wimps won't last long under this torture. Or will we? Is this our line in the sand?

Here's my guess: The Democratic leadership in the House secretly hoped all along that this lousy bill would go down. With Bush's proposals shredded, the Dems knew they could then write their own bill that favors the average American, not the upper 10% who were hoping for another kegger of gold.

So the ball is in the Democrats' hands. The gun from Wall Street remains at their head. Before they make their next move, let me tell you what the media kept silent about while this bill was being debated:

1. The bailout bill had NO enforcement provisions for the so-called oversight group that was going to monitor Wall Street's spending of the $700 billion;

2. It had NO penalties, fines or imprisonment for any executive who might steal any of the people's money;

3. It did NOTHING to force banks and lenders to rewrite people's mortgages to avoid foreclosures -- this bill would not have stopped ONE foreclosure!;

4. It had NO teeth anywhere in the entire piece of legislation, using words like "suggested" when referring to the government being paid back for the bailout;

5. Over 200 economists wrote to Congress and said this bill might actually WORSEN the "financial crisis" and cause even MORE of a meltdown.

Put a fork in this slab of pork. It's over. Now it is time for our side to state very clearly the laws WE want passed. I will send you my proposals later today. We've bought ourselves less than 72 hours.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

__________________________

Change the world one loan at a time - visit Kiva.org to find out how.

I still feel like crap; but here's something interesting...

Here’s the thing: Dean never attends anything at my church. I’m very active at my church. I march in the Gay pride parade. I teach the 3 and 4 year old class. I lead the Monday night meditation group. I attend numerous classes. And I do lots of other things that I can’t remember now. Dean’s been to meditation one time. He occasionally attends Sunday services; but only if it’s a Sunday when I’m not teaching – which is rare. And he’s never, ever attended a class. So I told him last week that I was going to attend this class on sexuality at my church and asked him if he would attend. I fully expected him to say no. But he said, “ok.” That’s it. Ok. So I signed him right up and we’ll attend our first class tomorrow. I’m kinda nervous about having him there now. But it should make for good blog fodder. Here are the class details:

Our Whole Lives for Adults
First Unitarian Church of Dallas
5 Thursday Evenings
Sept. 25 - Oct. 23

Join us for a comprehensive exploration of human sexuality. Our Whole Lives (OWL) for Adults age 24 and up is not a "health class" that Ward & June Cleaver would recognize, but rather a frank and thorough look at all aspects of adult sexuality. This interactive program provides opportunity for discussion, honest Q & A, and even role play without vague meaning, coded language, or self-conscious snickers. This is the real thing for real adults.

The class curriculum honors sexuality as a valid expression of our complete lives. It helps participants clarify values, build fulfilling relationships, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality and how these deeply held ideals impact feelings, sense of self-worth, and ability to build meaningful relationships. OWL also investigates how society reflects and is influenced by collective sexual values--especially related to issues of respect and justice.

Change the world one loan at a time - visit Kiva.org to find out how.