Okay - title shamelessly stolen from givemethewhip -- BUT! To quote her even further:

How many times do you see that headline, honestly?

The son of one of my co-workers is trying to be voted best bartender in Chicago. His name is Emirano Eperiam. He grew up in Pohnpei, Micronesia. He's awesome.

If you want to help him out (he's lagging behind in 3rd, but has moved up 3 percentage points since noon today) go to http://chicago.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/article/and-then-there-were/616983/content and vote for Emirano!

Pass along to friends lists if you feel like it.

Thanks! Promised his mom I'd try to help out.

Votetasmic! Hee.

I'm going to probably shorten up my list some - nothing personal! Just that time I think :) Not a ton or anything, but if you totally don't want to lose the 769375019751 posts about pictures and youtube videos, lemme know ;) Hee hee.

As part of this program, I have to write down why it is that I have decided to quit smoking. It has to be something detailed. Like, instead of "Health" one would write "Because I want to stop being out of breath and the top of the stairs and see my grandchildren grow up." This needs to be someplace where you can access it easily. I thought about writing it on a sticky note and putting it in my purse, but I tried that when I did the hypnotism and uh - yeah ;) So! I am going to try it here.

I am almost ashamed by my reason. You'd think I would have done it for my kids - to set a good example, to increase the likelihood that I'd live to a nice old age and be around for them. My mother started smoking when she was 12 and is now 66 - and rather healthy. She smoked through both pregnancies and I guess I always have used her having made it through thus far as an excuse not to quit. I /liked/ smoking. Enjoyed it, to be honest. It gave me a reason to walk out of the office for a few minutes, collect my thoughts, review code in my head... Just take a break from whatever. I am sure I will miss that aspect for awhile.

Now, however, I am just tired of being a slave to this addiction. I'd like to go to Vegas some day. My immediate thought, however, has always been, "I can't be on a plane for three or four hours...I'll die wanting a cigarette." I hate being at the airport and having a flight delayed, because I'll be damned if I'll risk going outside only to get stuck in the security line a second time, but ZOMG how I would need a cigarette. The last few months, I've been actively not bringing my cigarettes when we go out as a family. Making JR and the kids wait on me just...I donno. It didn't kill me, y'know? I was okay. That being okay makes me think I may finally be able to do this. I am just genuinely weary of being at the mercy of these stupid cancer sticks. So...that is my reason for quitting. Freedom.

http://www.classreport.org/ -- Never heard of it before until JR and this friend from high school we had dinner with while in IN mentioned it. I am uh - 1 of 2 people from my class who joined ;) It seems MUCH LESS BUSY that classmates.com, to be honest so - I donno. Neat!

We were at Petsmart at 10:09 this morning - excited much? Hee. JR met us there and we went inside and then back to where the keep the animals. The woman we talked to last Sunday wasn't there, so I explained why we were there to the other woman from the FL Humane Society. There was another family there, who happened to be one of the foster families. They were just returning two male 10 week old kittens named them Alexander and Napoleon that they hoped would be adopted out. One of the two meowed immediately at Kyle when he went near the cage and Kyle, being Kyle (kawaiiryuko will remember my son talking to seagulls on the boardwalk in AC), starting meowing back. The foster 'mother' was talking to Kyle and JR about how the two kittens were from the same litter and how she has a four year old son, so the kittens had been around small children. Kyle noted how Luke (he immediately renamed him before we even looked at any of the others) looked like Salmon a little, forgoing choosing Alexander (who Kelsea has named to simply Alex) despite his black Darth Vadery color. We signed a lot of forms and then were allowed to take the kittens into a room, but couldn't put them down. Luke is such a rascal - I can't find a better word for it - and is just perfect for Kyle. He's a little scrapper. Alex is a bit sweeter and calmer, which couldn't be more perfect for Kelsea. We have to keep them in the bathroom for five days and the kids go in there and play with them while I watch. I really hope they all bond. Kelsea is actually still nervous and moves whenever either of the kittens gets a little too close. I hope once they are past the five days and moving around the house, she will start to be less nervous. So! Gosh. Two new cats and they are sooo adorable :) Kyle is just beyond thrilled. Anyhow, I put up a separate gallery for the kittens (with a couple of pics I found of both kids with Salmon), but a few choice ones will be behind...


( la courtesy cut! )

I really should wait until I am sober to post this. I was actually very good tonight and played hostess w/o drinking along with everyone else until much later in the evening despite every thing. I didn't even touch the bottle of Jack. Anyhow - the story of Salmon...

( It's amazing how 16 years of your effing life tends to...get long. LJ cut a la courtesy. )


I hate that I let go of my cat today despite knowing it was the best thing for her. Sixteen years just covers a lot of my life. I will miss the memory of her batting at my pencil, of her sleeping on Mike, then JR, then Kyle's side of the bed. Mostly, though? I will miss my cat. My Salmon. The one relied-upon constant in the last sixteen years of somewhat chaotic life things.

As seen in kawaiiryuko's lj, this article from the Washington Post, while a little long, is an amazing read. It makes me wonder what, really, is the worst that can happen if instead of rushing the kids out of the house by 7:30am, I do so at say, 7:35 or 7:40am. Or if they slow down to look at something and I try to tug them along to keep to some imagined schedule. I wonder about all of the beautiful, amazing things I might already have missed - and hopefully might not do so again.

I <3 my new 'under the rainbow' icon :D

This is still my most favoritest.

http://www.consarlights.com/viewmovie.php?showmovie=4 or
http://www.zippyvideos.com/5568658653169876/lights/

And just in case? http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/xmaslights.asp

And and? You can buy an /awesomely/ clear version from iTunes :D

And and and? I officially love the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Their version of Wish Liszt (Toy Shop Madness)? Zomg rocks.

The good news is that I feel fine. I've mostly felt time once the episodes I've been having pass. When Dr. Rubin said, "You know, this is classic gall bladder symptoms," I laughed and said I knew he'd say that. My bloodtests came back fine, my liver is fine, etc so on. He said that the when (not if) of my gall bladder coming out depending on the ultrasound he sent me to the hospital for. If it was inflamed, they were going to take it tonight. Obviously, since y'know - I'm writing this - it was not ;)

I sat in the radiology waiting room for an hour and a half. People who came after me went in and it wasn't until I started looking at the desk guy in a grumpy way that I finally got ushered back. I thought if they could let me sit there that long? No way was I having surgery tonight - and I had every intention of telling them this. Anyhow, the girl who did my ultrasound was apparently new because she asked me if I was having any other tests. "Did you read my paperwork," asked grumpy sat-for-over-an-hour-me. She got the hint. She couldn't find any stones, as they had four years ago. "Did you have other tests last time for this," she inquired. "Yes," I explained. "Ultrasound, stuck in a machine for a while, tube down my throat." She asked me if I remembered the results. "No," was my next reply. "I was busy throwing up most of the time and then was very drugged to keep me from throwing up further." So she pokes and prods and takes pictures and can't find anything, she says. So then I had to get poked and prodded by another nurse who found all the pretty little stones. The called Dr. Rubin and he said he'd call me in the morning.

I got home about half an hour ago. I'm on a rather strict broth and jell-o diet. So um - that being 129 pounds I was complaining about? Yeeeeah ;) I imagine tomorrow we will discuss when to schedule the surgery. Tempting as it is to take tomorrow off, I feel fine and have so much shit to get done. Things I would just stress about if I didn't do them pre-surgery so. Whee.

Thank you for all the good thoughts, texts and IMs! They helped the very long and sorta worrisome wait :) I feel fine and it's only eating that triggers this.

Or so I think ;) As said by Dwyane Wade in an article in this week's Sports Illustrated:

"To me, it's the bad moments that make a person," he says. "You're going to fall. It's how you get up that defines you as a man."

Packing and unpacking my kids' backpacks every day is always something of a discovery or adventure. Usually Kelsea has half a dozen pictures, notes and letters she's written, as well as her graded work (lots of Excellent!s, not to brag ;) -- Hee. Kyle usually has what's left of the Star Wars toys he has brought to school to share with his girlfriend Jenna, graded homework (Good job! usually) and his daily school work with art drawn all over the back. Today's findings were just so unusually unique and yet telling, I had to take pictures ;)

( Presenting the Honorable Kelsea along with The Star Wars Artist Known As Kyle. )

Since I have a small ham and small turkey that will top out for cooking times at like...an hour, maybe, it's been a rather lazy day. JR is working and we figured on dinner around 6pm so the kids and I have done a bit of cleaning, but mostly have enjoyed having the windows open and doing a lot of nothing before preparing for la feast ;)

( A few pics of the day! )

I am just postastic today - holy crap. But! I couldn't /not/ post this.

6:50am...
Kyle: "Mommy, can you put on Lego Star Wars?! I want to play!"
Mommy: "Mrph hmph huh mrph...whah?"
Kyle: "LEGO STAR WARS"
Mommy: "Not while it is still dark...go lay on daddy's side of the bed for five minutes..." Zzzzzz
Kyle: It's six fifty three.
Kyle: It's six fifty four.
Kyle: It's six fifty five...
Kyle: Zzzzzz

( Pic behind the cut )

As borrowed from skygoodwill



I am on beer #3 (well, 4 by the time I finished!) and while I sort of chuckled about actually doing this, why not? Alas, beer #3 is more 'buzzed' than truly intoxicated (4 is a bit like...buzzed +1), but it is perhaps as close as I shall get. So! A topic I've been meaning to write about: Concierge Doctors.

Apparently this is an not-so-new trend (I remember reading about this a year ago in the waiting room of the kids' dentist) in which doctors, more or less, charge a fee - atop of the insurance co-pay etc - so that they might keep you as a patient. The complaint, according to the article, is that healthcare costs just don't cover theirs and that they are rushing people in and out of their offices just to break even. This was of mild notice for me because I thought the likelihood of people actually buying (literally) into this was slim. Then I got a letter from Dr. Rubin - my doctor who is, honestly, the best doctor I have had in my entire life - about their practice going concierge. Now, let me detail briefly here how much I love my doctor. I live in southern Florida. I am my doctor's youngest patient by about 30 years - which is saying something as I am 36 ;) He has my ob-gyn and thyroid doctor trained to send him copies of any blood/test results they do outside of his. He does not hesitate about investigating something that 'might be nothing but let's make sure' in regards to my health. On occasion, this is almost like having a nagging grandmother, but I'd rather have a doctor concerned with my health than not. He has sometimes even called me at 7pm from the office to give me results. He takes the time to talk to me and explain things when I ask questions. So, when this whole thing came up, I found myself thoughtful.

The fee - again, atop of my insurance copay - is $1,500/year. I immediately thought of this as like a membership one is charged for country club benefits (because I am an accountant at a country club... though this 'fee' is tax free, oddly enough, since the 'benefits' one receives from such 'membership' is intangible, but I digress!). This leads me down the road of how this, like so many things, are reserved for people who have $1,500 to pay for such a thing. Having grown up poor, perhaps I look at these things a bit more from a class standpoint than not. Had this been my mother? She would have had to give up the best doctor she ever had because she couldn't afford to 'join' his practice as a patient. We are fortunate; this is something we're able to afford. Yet, I almost feel guilty that because we can write a check for $1,500, I can get the care I want over someone who can't afford to write such a check.

So I find myself somewhat faced with a moral dilemma. Is it right that I get to keep my great doctor because I can afford him? Afford this 'membership' to be among those worthy of the care he and his practice offer? What sort of system allows for this type of preferential treatment based on income rather than need? Yet...I paid it. I bought into the perhaps fear of losing this type of great care rather than make some sort of statement about the state of medicine. I have no doubt that many other people wrote their check much as I did - the ones who could afford to, mind you - with the same thought. I hope, at least. Perhaps several people, being as this is Boca, didn't think twice about it. A practice in which one has to pay a membership is another status symbol - just like their country club membership.

Ultimately, my focus is small. I am a mother of two young children. I have a husband my age who I love. Both my mental, physical and financial contribution to this family we've created means more than words can express. I have health issues that need yearly monitoring; thyroid, diabetes risk, heart risk, cancer risk (most of these simply hereditary)... While from a perhaps moral or ethical standpoint I feel like a sell-out, from a more personal one I'm glad that I am fortunate enough to take advantage - and, really, it is an advantage when you get down to it - of this...opportunity? Situation? I'm not sure what the best word to use here might be. I just don't feel all that good about it.

(Dammit! Edited to note my beverage of choice - Michelob Ultra beer (sadly not the amber variety but good all the same!)

The "Luke Skywalker" costume came today. I think I explained how Kyle saw this in a magazine /after/ I got the Darth Vader costume and was all LUKE SKYWALKER I WANT TO BE LUKE SKYWALKER. Except it's really an Obi Wan Kenobi costume and they had no actual Luke Skywalker ones so...yeah. It's Luke Skywalker! ;) He made me wait until he was not smiling to take the pictures and insisted on making 'force powers' poses - ha ha ha.



( Two more behind the cut. )

The subject is a quote from Kyle after he finished the Return of the Jedi part of Legos SWs II - hee hee hee. I think he may go light side because he was SO MAD trying to beat Palpatine and then was all happy when he blew up the Death Star. See!

I always order costumes early. This year, Kelsea wanted to be Cleopatra (I think my FC costumes are wearing off on her - hee hee) and Kyle wanted to be Darth Vader of course! So, as usual, I go all out. Get the keen shoes for Kelsea, the official Darth Vader gloves and breather box for Kyle (thankfully we have no worries in the lightsaber department), etc and so on. Then like a week after I order, we get this costume catalog and Kyle is all, "I WANT TO BE LUKE SKYWALKER LOOK!" It is, in fact, an Obi Wan Kenobi costume but Kyle can not yet read and as they have no /actual/ Luke Skywalker costume? Right. "Okay, you can be Luke Skywalker!" Now, after having already bought Darth Vader, one would think I would not wish to shell out more money. However, Kyle will wear Darth Vader around the house and honestly? It's still pretty hot here in October and the thought of my youngest sweating in all black for the school Halloween parade? Yeah ;) ANYhow, so box #1 came today and I took pics!

( Courtesy cut! Onto the pics. )

Hee hee hee. As shared with me by janetraeness: Star Wars Banjo.

And one I found all by myself: Lego Imperial March.

As stolen from mallen's lj :)

http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001527.php?page=1