Found Today on the Internet

I'm sorry, but that ain't art.

And wouldn't a legless lizard be a snake?

I think I'll pass on this.

You knew alcohol was involved, didn't you?

And finally...I wouldn't, but it's for science!

WTF???

...it's snowing...

In the sewer again

Okay, I can't help myself. I have to dive into this sewer again. First of all, this headline really skeeves me. It just brings to my mind the same thoughts that wrenched the land from the Native Americans ("we're civilizing them!") and attempted to steal the French language from the Acadians of Maine. It's for their own good. They don't know what's good for them.

It is so ethnocentric of these so-called 'experts' to say such a thing. Just because you may consider it 'abusive' doesn't mean it is.

As for girls being mothers at 18 (or younger), look at your local high school. Is CPS going to take high school girl's babies away from them? What about the Amish? They have (some) similar beliefs. Is the state going to take their children away? Look to your own genealogy. I have many ancestors who were married by age 16. Now you will say that times have changed. But these communities are, in essence, still living in times where being a young mother was not uncommon.

Again, I am not saying that marrying a man 30 or 40 years older than you is a good thing. I am certainly not saying that girls should marry at 13 or 14 (hey give them a chance to grow up first!!). I am not saying that I like plural marriage (although when the laundry has piled so high that it hides a small Buick or when dinner needs to be prepared and I just want to sit on my butt and watch American Idol, I like the idea of a sister-wife or two), but it is what these people do. It is their heritage and culture. I think it is wrong to make wholesale generalizations about groups of people, be that these religious nutcases or a racial stereotype against the guy behind the counter at 7-Eleven.

And they still haven't 'identified' the girl who brought the law down on this community. You'd think that if she were so afraid she would find a way to slip a note to someone or whisper in someone's ear. Like her lawyer, or someone. Anyone.

CPS makes up their own rules. And then they break them. At their whim.

And to our sorrow.

My take

Seeing all this press about the religious cult nutcases sect whatever brings back some kind of bad memories.

Now don't get me wrong, I am certainly not in favor of child abuse or girls marrying at age 14 and having children at 15, 16, 17 or 18 years old (with men old enough to be their grandfather in some cases) but isn't there some kind of middle ground? Before you remove all the children take at look at which children are truly in danger. Most DCF/CPS/whatever have guidelines that say that the child must be 'in imminent danger' of abuse, neglect or abandonment. I don't think all 416 children fall into this category. If you must remove the children, remove the girls between 12 and 16 and let the little ones stay with their mothers.

I am sitting here watching at some guy speaking about how "concerned" CPS is about the welfare of the children. I don't believe that at all. I also find it suspicious that they haven't been able to find the woman who made the alleged phone call that brought all this mess down on these people.

I would not put it past CPS to have made it all up.

I feel sorry for these people. They cannot beat CPS. This will not end well for those mothers.

My Purse

Oh, this is a fun meme. Got it over at mamatulips. What's in your purse?

First, the purse. Can I say how much I love this purse? Coach, of course (I am such a Coach whore). It is the perfect size. The handle is the perfect length. I have another (Coach) purse that I also love but the handle is just a little too short. This one is perfect.

See how everything fits so well inside. It looks so neat and tidy (so unlike my house...or my mind). There are just enough pockets and flaps so that I can find everything and yet I can carry all that I need.

Plus, on occasion, crayons or miniature cars or other various miscellaneous crap that I might pick up when I am out with my son.

And now for what is inside.

Starting at the top, I have a pouch (need we say...Coach) that was originally made as a pencil holder. I put makeup in it. Sometimes pens, but always makeup. Right now I think there is some dental floss (I need dental floss), pressed powder and a lipstick in it. To the right is my (Coach) wallet. On top of that is my inlaid opal medicine bear that I bought in Tucson, then my keys and a hairbrush (gotta stay pretty, don't we?). Below that are a couple of receipts (we're going around clockwise, in case you didn't notice), the Coach price tag (don't ask me why I still have that; this purse is over 5 years old...), a couple of pens, 3 chapsticks (my son has horribly chapped lips right now) and some lipsticks (I don't usually carry so much lipstick; I just bought those). Then there is some gum (sugarless, of course), stamps, and some sample NSAIDS I got from my doctor. Then there are two memory sticks and the digital key so I can log into work from home. Then there are some checks from my medical pre-pay plan for co-pays that I had and my work badge. Last but not least are my sunglasses.

There you have it. That is what is in my purse. Care to share?

The Cat's Turn

Dog gets 6 pictures; I get one. Hate this family. Will have to leave a present in the litter box (no, not a toaster...).

Fun With Your Dog

Imagine growling and laughing.

Mmmm...Yummy bone-thing.

Hold still, silly bone-thing. I'm gonna eat you.

Ahhh...Is good to be dog with yummy bone-thing.

Wait. What is Human-thing doing? Get away! Is my bone-thing!

Back away, Human-thing. I can bite hands too.

Am mad at Human-thing. Took bone-thing. Won't let me eat cat fud. Still mad about haircut. Gonna barf behind bedroom door.

School Daze

My son is very bright and easily knew all he needed to enter kindergarten this past year but since his birthday is in December he can't start until next fall.

We are in a big decision mode right now. We have to decide which kindergarten to send our son to. Now I am not really complaining. There was a time when I thought I would never have to make such decisions so really having the privilege of making the decision is making me kind of happy.

Actually the decision isn't really ours to make. The school that we are most interested in is a public charter (magnet) school; free, but a bit exclusive. There are like 35 slots and usually like 70 applicants. The drawing is tomorrow. To say that I feel nervous is quite an understatement. I want so much that he get in this school. It is close to home; not walking distance, but we literally drive past it every day on the way to work. It is either first or second in reading and math for every grade. The one negative it has is it has a high student-teacher ratio.

The next 2 schools are also charter schools. Not as close as the first choice, but both really good schools.

The kindergarten that he would be automatically assigned to has math & reading scores near the bottom (24th out of 30 schools).

I am afraid that he will be stuck with his auto-assigned school.

More About Meme...

Ehhh...haven't done a meme in a while. I found this over at Snickollet's.

20 years ago I . . .
1. was in school in Indiana
2. thought that I would never get married
3. was 70 pounds lighter

10 years ago I . . .
1. was working in Washington
2. never thought I would have children
3. was living in our first house

5 years ago I . . .
1. was working a contract job in Arizona
2. was a new mom totally besotted by my little boy
3. really disliked where I was (except for the little boy)

3 years ago I . . .
1. was working in New Mexico
2. was in a slightly better place than the year before...
3. was still loving my boy

1 year ago I . . .
1. was working another contract job in Florida
2. was looking for a permanent job
3. was in a very bad place

So far this year I . . .
1. bought another house
2. drove to Seattle to see my family (for the first time in almost 2 years)
3. still like my new job

Yesterday I . . .
1. found the solution to a problem I was working on at work
2. watched a Netflix movie (No Country for Old Men – eh...awfully violent...)
3. didn’t get to my water aerobics class

Today I will . . .
1. do some exercise
2. stay away from the donuts in Diane’s cube
3. watch the rest of the Arrested Development DVD

Tomorrow I will . . .
1. hopefully sleep in
2. do some exercise
3. plant some flowers

In the next year I will . . .
1. still be in Idaho.
2. go on a real vacation (that doesn’t involve just travelling to visit family)
3. lose 70 pounds

(and I am still loving being a mom to my little boy)

A bit of advice...

If you are planning on having, um, 'relations' with your garden furniture, drag it inside the house first.

(I could barely restrain my laughter at this. Make sure you watch the video. It will give you a mind picture difficult to forget.)

WordlessWednesday: The Beginning

(Okay, this was taken a year ago, but I am essentially at the same weight...maybe a couple pounds under)

Yowza

Just got a call from my doctor's office. Cholesterol is up too.

Yep. Lifestyle change is definitely in order.

Yearly Lecture

Ummm, yeah. Went to the doctor yesterday. Basically a yearly checkup, fasting bloodwork, yearly 'female' stuff, the yearly weight lecture, etc. Also, my hip hurts like hell. Got a reinforcement on the yearly weight lecture (losing weight will help your joints, yeah, yeah). Blood pressure was high in the office. Okay, maybe some white coat syndrome, maybe some of the chicken adobo I had for dinner last night (1 CUP of soy sauce...umm, yeah). Was not so high at home last night.

Anyway, I am going to work on my weight. Will probably join Weight Watchers again. Probably online since I don't have a freakin' car and am so bloody immobile. I wonder if I can get a WW at work started here. This is a GIANT company and they seem to emphasize health stuff.

I am gonna put this weight tracker thingy on my sidebar. Maybe if I look at that thing everytime I go to my blog it will motivate me (like seeing my flabby flesh in the mirror in the morning is not motivation enough?? Evidently not...).

*sigh*

(for your entertainment...funny weight loss stories...)