Oscars & Hand

Getting my other hand done today. Sort of sad. It means that I will be going back to work soon. I had to admit that this time off has been refreshing and quite a bit of fun. I have had to deal with some annoyances, but spending time with friends, my dog and family has been worth it. The freedom of sleeping with no alarms has been soooooo freeing. The stress free feeling of going to bed when I want and not having to jump out of bed.

We watched the Oscars for lack of anything better to do. What a total bore. Everyone was kissing the ass of the big, boring English spectacle. The hosts were god awful! I mean so awful that I was embarrassed for them. I really think Jeff Bridges got passed over, in a very disappointing way, for True Grit. The same for the little girl that just carried that movie. All too predictable for me.

The Girls

Corkscrew Girls had a recent meeting and started it off with a very delicious Cabernet!!

As usual there was a plethora of food and fun!

Political Follies

It's not an issue that is confined to either side of the isle. Both sides are well known for their extramarital escapades. That brings us to today's topic...what the hell are these guys thinking?? The story is almost the same; married man with children seeking someone to engage in a fling.

Seems that he represented himself as a single lobbyist. Did he not realize by sending a picture that he was risking getting caught...and quite quickly.

I just do not understand the overwhelming urge to hook up versus your career! Not to mention your family. How little do these assholes care for their wife and kids that they can treat them like this? If this wife "stands by her man" I will be so pissed. At least Mark Sanford's wife had the strength to leave his sorry ass.

Then there is the career that is getting tossed aside. After all the time and years put in to the career washed down the drain. Is the life they are living so dull and unfulfilled that they have to look on Craig's List for excitement? Sad.

"(CNN) – Forget about Sarah. The next Palin to hold elective office just might be Bristol Palin.

The famous daughter of the former vice presidential candidate told E! News she "probably" will run for office some day if a pressing problem needs to be addressed."

After I finish laughing and pick myself up off the floor I will continue this rant.

The sad thing is that I believe that she is serious and takes herself seriously.

Part of what makes her statement, and Bristol so sad, is that she is under the impression that she could just jump in to office of some sort. Not mentioning the fact that she has had no other education than high school. Did she even graduate? Has her mother so skewed her vision that she doesn't realize the education and studying and years of serving that would be required before she could save the day.

Just another example how that family has become a "reality show" rather than anyone to be taken seriously either politically or otherwise.

One Down, One to Go

Right hand done. Left hand on the 28th.

The biggest annoyance was not being able to have coffee in the morning. Since I am such an addict. I had not been looking forward to that ever since the surgery dates had been set. Luckily I was not totally put under and was able to have can of cola while in recovery right away. She also gave me crackers and my first Vicodin.

I have started to break them in half. They were making me weird, or I should say weirder than my normal. I got that feeling that I was falling through the couch. Like I was seasick and my head was in a fog. I imagine that there were times, in my 20's, that I might have paid good money to feel that way, but now it just makes me sick!

The actual time in the OR was just about 15-20 minutes. It took longer to get ready and recover than the actual procedure. I could hear them making small talk and could have opened my eyes, but there was really nothing to see except the blue sheet with them on the other side.

The way it is wrapped I can move all my fingers quite easily with the pain really only on the edge of my palm. So far I really don't have any major pain complaints. Although it was just Monday, so I have a few days to see how it gets. Sadly though I seem to have a cold! I was getting it the day of surgery and now it is a full blown cold. That sucks. Hope it will be gone by the next surgery date.

Egypt

There is nothing more important, or riveting, than what is happening in Egypt. I have been watching news and reading as much as I can. Like many Americans I am not thoroughly aware of the politics in that area of the world, so I am trying to educate myself. It is a huge undertaking. Multi layered with years and years of history.

My hubby is due to travel into that part of the world, in a few months, and it is an area of great concern for me. We have to admit that Americans are not received with open arms. Why do we think the people were pissed when they picked up the tear gas canisters and they said Made in the United States!!

I don't have half the knowledge to post anything deep or involved, but I am aware and trying to stay as up to date as I can. A few friends and I have been meeting for coffee and discussing it at length, but they were Political Science majors and are more aware of the politics of that area than I and they provide me with great insight. I find it sad that many of the younger people I work with are not concerned and can not even discuss the issues. I guess if it's not on Facebook or You Tube it isn't relevant.

Simply Deranged

There is simply something terribly wrong with the members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas.

You know them. They are frequently in the news for protesting at the funerals of servicemen, those who have died of AIDS or those who are gay. Now they are planning to protest at the services of the two teenagers that were recently killed by their mother because their father is in the military.

It is hard to believe that these people even refer to themselves as a church or even try to convince anyone that they have a god. They simply come across as crazy, evil and just plain bad folks. They even have children among them. Holding signs and shouting crazy rhetoric while decent folks are trying to grieve.

I know that they are a very small church with limited members, but they sure make enough racket. You know how the squeaky wheel gets the grease, well they manage to garner a great deal of attention. How could anyone agree with the crap that they spread? I don't understand how anyone could find them a credible group/church to join. If there is anyone that needs to be protested...it is them!

Food, Wine & Friends

Check out the new blog that my three friends and I are doing together!!

What We Need is More Unwanted Pregnancies

"Drugged, raped, and pregnant? Too bad. Republicans are pushing to limit rape and incest cases eligible for government abortion funding."

"Rape is only really rape if it involves force. So says the new House Republican majority as it now moves to change abortion law."

You have got to be kidding me!! Seriously, this is just what is needed, especially when the economy is this bad and there are no jobs, is for young woman (or any woman) to have an unwanted child and no way to care for it. Worse yet to be FORCED to have the child!

Why , oh why, do these Republicans continue to make this their fight? Why do they continue, with so many other things going on in the world, to make this the highlight of their party platform? That dog just don't hunt! How long, if ever, is it going to take them to realize that they might have more appeal if they updated their battle cries. Maybe they should stick with some current issues rather than pulling this old rabbit out of their hat.

Misc. & Bitch Session

I am both excited and nervous about getting my carpal tunnel surgery. I am looking forward to having six weeks off to read and have lunch with friends. I am not looking to being handicapped with one hand always in stitches and rehab. I am not sure how excited I will be to get back to work in March. Probably not so much, but at least I will get rid of these pain in the ass wrist braces that I have to wear to bed every night. The Velcro sticks to the sheets and everything in or near my bed and pajamas!

I am growing so weary of the rude ass people who never once stop talking or their cell phones as they order, or try to order their coffee/drink. I have started to openly skip them. Well that gets their attention pretty damn quick! They do not even speak to you. They sort of just hand you a card or money as they talk and never make eye contact. Sometime I should drop their card on the floor, in front of them, and see if they realize it.

Watched "RED" last night, with my mom, and it was a fun romp. Nice to see an action/comedy with great adult actors/characters! Nothing too intellectual or anything like that, but a fun, mindless romp. One to watch with the hubby when he gets home.

Last night I had a wine & cheese night out with the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine Glass" otherwise known as the Corkscrew Girls. Starting off with a delicious, antioxidant filled Pinot Noir. Six cheeses that also included a warm, melty Brie! Followed that with a dry, crisp Pinot Grigio from Italy. The next gathering is going to be a fondue party at one girls house. Sleep over in jammies!! It is so important to have a good group of female friends.

Yawn

"OK, you've got Palin fatigue. Not to worry. So does much of the country: The latest CNN poll shows that 56 percent of Americans view her unfavorably."

Never having been a fan I grew tired hearing about her a long time ago, but I am happy to see that others are finally growing tired as well. I was never impressed and never could figure out she was able to become a governor. Seriously, how did that happen?

The article points out that her popularity has dropped greatly with women. That is good news since we all know what an important voting block women are. The evangelical women were some of her most ardent supporters.

As for me, it has nothing to do with all of her faux paux during the recent shootings in Arizona, but everything that she says and stands for. Personally I think that she is a big fake. She found a nerve that she could work and she jumped on full tilt!

Instead of being seen as a serious political contender she became a reality TV personality. She became a larger than life joke.

Asshole....... No, Fucking Asshole!

I do not think that I have ever been as pissed off that I have wanted to sceam and type a title that might really offend. I may have been, but nothing comes to mind at present quite as disturbing as this. Asshole.

The new governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, has decided to bring all of his God fearing B.S. to the statehouse with him. You can't tell me that this is the first that any of these people have heard this sort of rhetoric from this man. I would find it very difficult to believe that there were not a few people who knew that he is/was a religious whackadoo!

"Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley told a church crowd just moments into his new administration that those who have not accepted Jesus as their savior are not his brothers and sisters, shocking some critics who questioned Tuesday whether he can be fair to non-Christians.

"Anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother," Bentley said Monday, his inauguration day, according to The Birmingham News."

These are exactly the type of people I fear getting elected to public office! These are the people who take their personal religious views and directly impose them on others. Others who do not necessarily want anything to do with such religious crap.

"After his speech, Bentley said he did not mean to insult anyone."

Bullshit!! There is no way in hell that I believe that for one minute. You don't say shit like that, especially in such a public forum, if you do not want to make an impact. He thoroughly believes what he said and I am sure that he lives his life in accordance with those exact views.

He needs to shut up about his "God" and concentrate on the things that the people elected him to do, but after hearing all of this I am afraid that he has a different agenda.

Aran Sweater & Acessories

Hubby just got home from a week in Ireland. For my birthday he bought me a beautiful traditional Aran sweater, some fingerless gloves and scarf.

He had a rental car and spent 2 hours driving, lots of traffic, and spent three hours walking trying to find the exact sweater I had showed him before he left. I can still not believe that he was able to find the exact one.

It was in a very highly populated shopping area in Dublin. It was in The Donegal Shop which was owned by a delightful older couple that he said were very traditional Irish. Prior to finding them he had been 6-7 other shops. They offered him a matching hat as well, but he told them that his wife had big hair and they found that quite amusing. With several months of cold weather remaining and I am anxious to get lots of use out of all these items!!

Mental Health

"The mental-health-care ‘system’ in America is a broken system,” says Michael Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). “The system was already in crisis, and has become even less accessible over the last three years as state budgets for mental health—psychiatric beds [in hospitals], counseling, and other services—have been cut by $2 billion. States have eliminated 4,000 in-patient psychiatric beds.” NAMI’s Katrina Gay adds, “In many cases you can’t even get an evaluation for two to three months—and that’s assuming you know how to get one in the first place.”

As someone who has had a small brush with the mental health system I think I can safely say that it is not all that it could/can be. Lucky for me, and the rest of society, I am a strong person and my situation was not at a critical level. I was not hearing voices telling me to do really bad things. Things had just gotten hairy and I found it in my best interest to call a help line.

I could not have been more dismayed. Now I can find it amusing, but at the time it wasn't. I was pacing in my basement when I called, feeling edgy and a bit urgent, and the person who answered could not have been less helpful and pissed me off more. So much so that I HUNG UP!! In my state I hung up on the help line. I tried again a few days later and the same thing happened. Astounding. This is a help line? I got a better response, late one night, from the Internet and a counselor on the Boys Town help line.

If this is the experience that I had how many people are having even worse? How many are not getting the help they need? If I had taken drugs or even been in a worse state who knows what might have happened.

I don't know all the answers, but I do credit an excellent medical doctor for getting me on the track to recovery, and I think that our system needs to be looked at and given an overhaul. My medical doctor recognized the signs and got me on the correct medication and in to see a wonderful counselor, but how many people do not have these ready options? The services that are out there, for the less fortunate, need to be revamped and all the safety nets need to be fixed and put into place.

Coming Attractions

Next week may not be looking so good.

Change

Today's quotation: Since we live in a changing universe, why do people oppose change? If a rock is in the way, the root of a tree will change its direction. The dumbest animals try to adapt themselves to changed conditions. Even a rat will change its tactics to get a piece of cheese. Melvin B. Tolson

Today's Meditation: Change is one of the most wonderful aspects of our lives, and if we can embrace change, we can embrace life itself. Another side to that idea, though, is that until we can embrace change, we cannot embrace life itself. We have been given a wonderful gift in the ability to adapt, and it's important that we take advantage of that ability. Unfortunately, many of us have been taught consistently that change is somehow "bad," and we do our best to avoid change in the more important aspects of our lives. This avoidance leads us to hold on to situations such as jobs that make us unhappy or marriages that simply aren't working, all in order to avoid the unknown results that change will bring us. But the people I've known who have been laid off from work have almost always found work just as rewarding or even more so; most of the people I know who have left damaging relationships have found very positive ones later (unless they hook up with someone just like the other person, but that's a different story!). The world changes constantly. The patterns of heat and cold on this planet consistently shift, bringing us ice ages and times of great heat. These shifts happen even without our "help" from global warming. Animals evolve, adapting to their environments. We change our clothes, we change our homes, we change our minds. Our tastes change, our desires change, and our beliefs change. If we want to be completely stagnant and never change at all, then we have our work cut out for us, for that's hardly possible. Change is for us to embrace and to learn from, and as we adapt to changes in our lives we grow as people, and we grow into different people. And our lives become much richer for all the changes we go through.

Questions to consider: What kinds of changes do you love? What kinds do you dread? Why do you dread them? What are the results of being resistant to change? Does that stop changes from happening? Does it help us? How can we get the most out of the changes that happen in our lives?

For further thought: It seems necessary to completely shed the old skin before the new, brighter, stronger, more beautiful one can emerge. . . . I never thought I'd be getting a life lesson from a snake. Julie Ridge This is the time of year when everyone begins to make their lists of changes, or resolutions, for the next year. It's the time when many start to talk about what they will and will not do in the coming months. I used to be one of those people. I tried to make my lists and tried to steer the path of change that I wished to see. At the same time I also used to fight other change. I hated change. Despised when things did not go the way that I thought they should. I had a very difficult time when situations would crop up that I did not expect. I liked things to flow in a static manner. I got over that a few years ago and feel so much better for it. I am free from any and all expectations. I just go with the natural flow of life. Shit happens and I do what I need for any particular scenario. I'm like a duck...letting it roll off my back. I will be looking at 2011 without any kind of list and just letting the change come as it will. It happens, I don't need to encourage it.

Family, Friends and Dog....Oh My!!

Hard to believe the end of the year is just around the corner. It sucks that we could not make it through to the end without getting sick, This sucks. I'm not sure if hubby brought it back or he got it from me, but we are both sick right now. It is there first time that I have called off work in four years, so I have to be sick!

Thrilled to have made it through the holidaze with my mom and get her home. She was excited beyond belief that we gave her a flat screen. She is a sports nut and could not wait to watch her basketball and college football.

Some of our good friends came by and played some euchre and had a few holiday beverages. Most of us play for fun, but my mom actually is one of those people who can count cards. I really need to get her to Vegas.

Son was home all week as well and did some bonding with the pup as we all did. Poor dog....she was out of the kennel more than usual and she was exhausted. She is also not used to this many people and activity. After the new year it will be back to normal for her. Hubby goes back to the office on the 4th. They say a trip to Ireland may happen before going back to Brazil.

For now I am sipping a latte that I made for myself in the espresso machine that Santa brought me.

Hope and wish all the best for you and yours in 2011.

Holiday Party Time

Last night was the first party of this holiday season. Boy, did I need it! I did not realize how long it had been since I had been able to have a glass of wine with these friends, talk politics, play charades and just plain catch up. It felt great!

Naturally there was some awesome food involved. Another good part of this time of year. My friend James has this party every year and he has the most spectacular all stainless steal kitchen. He is renowned for his homemade holiday cider mix that simmers on the stove all night and fills the home with such a delighful aroma. Cloves, cinnamon and apples...mmmmmmm.

Loving this holiday season!