Liquid Courage

This is my kind of diary.

You're welcome.

Does Anyone Else Smell the Sucking Up?

McCain picked Alaska Govenor Sarah Palin for his Vice-Presidential running-mate.  It is a blatant bone thrown to H. Clinton supporters by the McCain camp.  However, Palin's "grasp" of the issues is sparse at best.  On those that she has expressed an opinion on, she is toeing the GOP line, but for most she hasn't even expressed an opinion publicly.  For a party that's been screaming about Obama's lack of experience, this is an absolute joke of a VP choice.  McCain is OLD (and I'd argue in the beginning stages of dementia and/or alzheimer's) and this is the person who will become President if he drops dead or becomes incapacitated?!?!?!?

I hope that any H. Clinton supporters who are thinking about supporting McCain, read some of the conservative right-wingers who are in orgasm over McCain's choice of Palin.  Having ovaries doesn't automatically mean she cares about or supports issues that H. Clinton would have gone to the mat to support.

McCain is sucking up to H. Clinton supporters and the far-right Christian conservatives, who would have thought that could be done in one move.

Buying my way into Heaven

So you remember what to do if you are old and mean and trying to buy your way into heaven?  Now you don't need to get stuck with needles - now you can REALLY Buy Your Way Into Heaven.  Don't like lines, prefer first class?  This is what they provide:

"How would you feel if when the day came to travel, you had to walk up that long flight of stairs to get into the clouds?  You just had a rough past couple of days and the last thing you need is to walk up an enormous flight of stairs.  After you reach the top then you get stuck in a long line waiting to get through those wonderful pearly gates.  Days, maybe weeks pass, and you finally arrive at the front of the line and the gatekeeper tells you that there is no more room.  Dang!  If you would have only reserved your spot with us, there wouldn't have been this problem.  You could have been sitting pretty with a first class ticket straight to the gates with zero waiting, but instead, you will be sent down to live an uncertain life filled with pain and anguish."

And for people you don't like, the asshole that cut you off on the freeway this morning, your in-laws...you can Reserve a Spot in Hell for them.

THIS is why I pay for internet service every month folks.

Deep Fried Twinkies in the Pouring Rain

So I took daughter, two of her friends and thing 2 to the State Fair yesterday.  Thing 1 didn't want to go, I can't blame him as he is still on crutches, but I needed someone to come with since I knew daughter and her friends didn't want to hang out with me - social suicide - so thing 2 was my pardner for the evening.  (Hardy har har)  It was pouring for the first two hours, what else is new around here, but cleared up about 7pm.

Does anyone actually eat deep fried Twinkies, Oreos or Snickers?  They look absolutely revolting.                                  

Daughter doesn't do rides so I got her to pose for me while she was waiting for her friends to get off of the Spinaroundattopspeeduntilyoupuke ride.  Then I had to get away so no one would see her with her mother, ugh!

Thing 2 in front of the cutest little piglets.  Pigs are not cute but I absolutely love watching the piglets.  They were running around chasing each other and wrestling just like puppies.  I think we watched them for half an hour.

Speaking of pigs, thing 2 made good headway on his underweight problem.  He ate a hamburger, fries, soda, pizza, popcorn and cotton candy.  Every half an hour I heard "I'm hungry".  He has taken the doctor's orders seriously!

Excuse the not so hot quality of the pictures, I didn't want to risk the good camera getting wet so I only had my iPhone to take these with.

Go Dogs Go! (apologies to Dr. Seuss)

I escaped from home on Saturday morning to help cousin take four dogs on a long walk.  One of them is hers, one is mine and the other two are her parents.  

Cousin has been looking after our golden retriever this month while motherinlaw is staying with us so I run away from home on weekends to visit my fourth child.  With the addition of aunt&uncle's two pooches, it was an absolutely hysterical walk.  They all get along and the wrestling matches wear them out.  A tired dog is a good dog.

Left to right, my dog Penny, aunt&uncle's dog Mickey, aunt&uncle's dog Reggie and cousin's dog Oscar.  I cannot believe we got them all in the back of cousin's car - it's a good thing they are all friends!

Penny racing in the stream where we walk.  Reggie the Scottish Terrier is behind her but because his legs are microscopic, he has a hard time keeping up.

I thought the ferns growing out of this log were beautiful.  This walk is simply gorgeous.

Mickey is so cute I can't stand it.  Aunt&uncle rescued her from the pound and guess that she had been abused and/or neglected.  She's very skittish but this time she seemed to warm up to me and even let me pet her.

Getting outside, playing with the dogs, taking a nice long walk and catching up with cousin who is one of my best friends was a great way to clear my head and regroup for another week.

I Kick Ass - Ask Anyone

My family has often told me I kick ass (or maybe they said they were going to kick my ass?) but this is the first time I've been called a kick ass blogger!  Christy gave me this award in tandem with Stepmonster, along with a great new idea for future posts and a lot of nice compliments which made me blush.  Or maybe that was the wine...

So here are the five bloggers who kick ass in my book:

Jason is totally kick ass.  His writing is a great mix of irreverent and thoughtful with a lot of laughs and he always makes me think.  Plus I want to pick his brain about teaching when I get closer to being the dictator of my very own classroom!

Mid-Century Modern Moms is a great blog with nine different writers who post there.  I enjoy reading a parenting blog that focuses on the teen and young adult years since that is the hormone-laden parenting challenge I am facing for the foreseeable future.

I am in total awe of The Girl Next Door.  Not only does she live next door to her ex-husband, she posted a pic of her ass in granny panties on her blog!  Ok, it wasn't her ass - it was Mrs. G's ass - but The Girl Next Door THOUGHT about posting a pic of her ass in granny panties on her blog.  I am not brave enough to even allow such a thought to ENTER MY HEAD so I am in awe of TGND.

Lesbian Dad is an amazing writer and photographer.  When I grow up, I want to write as well as she does.  Her posts on feminism and political issues are always thoughtful and insightful - they make me think about things from a different perspective and in a deeper and more meaningful way.  And the photographs, OH-EM-GEE! as daughter would say!  Plus she lives in Berkeley - which is where I would live if I had a gazillion dollars or could chemistrify stuff well enough for UC Berkeley to pay me to get a degree like Mad Scientist Brother.

Frogdancer is another teacher - in Australia.  She teaches high school age, which makes her another PERFECT subject, er-person, for me to learn tips and tricks of the teenage trade.  (Ick, that sounds pervy.  You know what I mean.)  Her writing is wonderful (the more great blogs I read, the more I think I suck as a writer.  I need to stop reading. :-) and her four sons sound like wonderful, creative, talented kids who lucked out to have such a great mom to raise them.  PLUS she knits really cute scarves and hats which I will never be able to do because my fingers tie yarn into knots automatically - it's a DNA mutation I was born with and alas, I will never be able to knit.  So I admire Frogdancer from afar.  (Way way afar, Australia is a fucking long plane trip from Seattle!)

So there it is, I kick ass (or get my ass kicked) and so do all these other great bloggers.  

Go forth and read!

Build a House with Crap Already in the Garage - Brilliant!

Husband is the king of recyclers.  He is a general contractor and gets many great finds while doing business.  This is why we had to buy a house with a five car detached garage.  My car does not get to sleep in this garage because it is full of treasures.  I call it The Pit because it looks so awful and disorganized but husband can find anything in there.  Need a 4" ratchet-screw-nail-alan-wrench with a detachable bathtub nozzle?  He has one, I guarantee it.  There are windows, doors, trim, wood, light fixtures, hardware, kitchen cabinets...if it is used to build or repair homes or buildings it is in The Pit.  This is handy when we need stuff fixed, replaced or repaired but I refuse to go inside, it makes me crazy.

BUT - I have found the perfect solution for a bunch of the crap he's saving because it will come in handy someday.  Build a house with it! 

I found this at Offbeat Homes and the very interesting story behind the house is here.