Life and Love in the Desert

Did you know ** that I am three degrees of Kevin Bacon? The aforementioned encounter with Billy Connolly puts me at three degrees of Kevin Bacon. And I've had a brief conversation with Alice Cooper, who also makes me three degrees. Unless you count Michael Gross, who I served at Olive Garden once, which would make me 2 degrees (Tremors). You know, that new Visa commercial (I think?) with the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon confused my husband. He has no concept of celebrity (i.e. won't go see a movie because So-And-So is in it, doen't care), and had never heard of the SDoKB. Six degrees of separation, yes, but not specifically Kevin Bacon. I think he grew up in a cave sometimes. By the way, he is three degrees of Kevin Bacon too, through George Clooney, Michael Jordan and Sammy Sosa. He met them all at a night club in Scottsdale last year.
Posted 9:40 AM by Kerry O.

Nos Sadwrn Bach ** (Not Yet Saturday, Welsh) Rubbish, it's all rubbish. Anytime a Celt tells you a story, consider it rubbish. In a good way of course. We got to see Crasdant in concert last night. Crasdant is a Welsh band, quite traditional, but way more entertaining than I expected them to be. Immense talent and Huw Williams' hysterically dry sense of humor made the evening perfectly enjoyable. Joe didn't get to go, as he had to go to work at 9 p.m. He has to go back tonight at 9 p.m. too. I think it's a ruse and he secretly has a little "something" on the side. ;-P Fortunately, I know better. Nonetheless, he would have enjoyed the show so it's too bad he had to work.

Puppy missed us. Puppy doesn't have much energy right now. Puppy hurts because she is teething very painfully. She sleeps a lot. And gives puppy kisses. And gnaws very gently on fingers. I wish I could help her feel better, but I just keep petting her and telling her I love her, and letting her gnaw on me. If she still hurts this weekend, I'm going to have to get her some Ambesol. Her canines are pushing through, and that's what seems to hurt her most right now.
Posted 9:07 AM by Kerry O.

Random acts ** Hey, everyone. Click here. It's his b-day and he wants to hit 1,000 visitors since New Year's. Help out my fellow Phoenician. :-)
Posted 4:11 PM by Kerry O.

Stuff ** Happy birthday to Sine!
Posted 3:45 PM by Kerry O.

All the lights are turning red to green ** It's a positively gorgeous Phoenix morning. It's about 50 degrees outside, and bright and sunny. Wonderful. I hit almost every green light on my way to work this morning (good thing as I was running late), and I passed a whole pretty family of quail. The music on the radio was great, and I even pulled up to the one red light I hit to see people on either side of me singing along to "Bittersweet Symphony," which was playing on my radio, too. I rode up in the elevator with our head honcho V.P., who was friendly to me and said "Good morning." This day is off to a great start. Finally. I've had some crappy work days lately, so I could use a good one!
Posted 8:48 AM by Kerry O.

7 thankful things **
1. For my wonderful husband, who asked to watch our wedding video again last night.
2. For my puppy's unconditional love and puppy kisses.
3. For the relationship my step-sister and I have developed.
4. For my health, challenges and all.
5. For my good friend Melissa at work.
6. For my mother's thoughtfulness, including the pretty flower/pot she gave Chelsie.
7. For the weekend's events going off so smoothly.
Posted 1:33 PM by Kerry O.

There never seems to be enough time... ** What a wonderful, insane weekend! It started with a half-day Friday at work. I ran home and met up with Chelsie to go to our Bridesmaid's Lunch (singular, because it was just me!), and to get my Matron of Honor gift (which was a surprise). Havana Cafe completely surprised me with fabulous food (off of an exclusively Gluten-Free menu!), and Chelsie completely surprised me with a gift from Tiffany! Yes, Tiffany! How fabulous! I got to select a bracelet, and I chose the one she almost just chose for me. It's like this one, but with 3 hearts in sterling silver. It's gorgeous!

Friday evening was the bachelorette party. Ahh, the bachelorette party. Suffice it to say, we had a very nice time. :-) Seven of us (8 later), headed to Beeloe's, where our waiter, good food and fabulous music got the evening off to a great start. Then it was off to Arizona Center to Phoenix Live. We tried our darnedest to embarrass Chelsie in Li'l Ditty's, but she proved herself virtually impossible to embarrass. Needless to say, we closed the bar, raised lots of money and various men's undergarments and felt like crap Saturday morning. A good time was had by all!

Saturday morning, Joe and I joined my father and step-mother, and Chris and Mason for breakfast for my father's birthday on Friday. This was at 9:00 a.m., which was far too early on the heels of the 4:00 a.m.-ending bachelorette party. Chelsie, of course, was unable to join us. Hee hee. After the breakfast, I proceeded to drive carefully home and fall asleep for several hours, only to wake up and join Joe at his cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, and I got to dance with my handsome husband several times. Of course, he was pretty tired from C.R.'s bachelor party too.

Sunday was Chelsie's bridal shower. It was perfect, at least I thought so. We had lots of people, food, games, laughs and gifts. Chelsie seemed very happy, and I was relieved everything went so well the whole weekend. Finally the weeks of planning are over! Thursday is the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner, Saturday we are making all the bouquets etc., and Sunday evening is the wedding. For me, those are the easy parts. :-) I just have to show up and do what I'm told. No more planning for me for a while! At least until someone needs a baby shower...
Posted 10:10 AM by Kerry O.

One - uh, two more things ** By the way, I know I promised puppy pictures. I ran out of time trying to figure it out. I'm awful, but I really did try. I'll try again, and my goal for the weekend is to have them up. She's SO cute - I can't wait to show her off.

Friday Five Time:
1. Hey, baby, what's your sign? Do you think it fits you pretty well? Leo and it fits me very well. Even to the mane of hair (which is 4 inches shorter today, incidentally. And most people can just barely tell!)

2. What's the worst birthday gift you've ever received? I really don't remember receiving a bad birthday gift.

3. What's the best birthday gift you've ever received? A horribly tacky Isle of Bute souvenir thing in 1992 at the First Annual International Ceilidh Festival. But what made it super-cool is my mother was kind of a big deal in Celtic music in those days (that link is still our family business), and knew everyone. We spent the festival hanging out with the bands and the band that won, Stairheid Dynamite, who have since imploded, sang Happy Birthday to me from the stage. Then - this is the cool gift part - Billy Connolly signed the back of this horrible kitschy thing just for me, saying Happy Birthday, and said a bunch of very silly, funny, and embarrassing things in front of the audience as he presented it. It was awesome. (That was a magical summer, in fact, and all of this occurred two weeks after sailing into New York Harbor with for the Columbus Quincentennial on the USCGC Eagle with my mother and brother - who was stationed on it).

4. What's the best way you've celebrated your birthday thus far? Probably that one (above), but I've had a lot of fun birthdays.

5. What are your plans for this weekend? Today, bridesmaid's luncheon with my sister (just us, the Maid of Honor isn't here yet). Tonight, Chelsie's bachelorette party. Tomorrow, shopping for gifts. Tomorrow night, Joe's cousin's wedding. Sunday, Chelsie's bridal shower. Sunday night, recovering from all of the above. :-)
Posted 10:25 AM by Kerry O.

And so it begins ** It's a weird day already. Good things (i.e. my bonus, my daddy's birthday and my step-sister's bachelorette party) are happening today, and annoying ones. They brought Krispy Kreme donuts in this morning. There are moments when I am really bummed out by having Celiac. Oh, well. I'm also wearing tight jeans, and KK's wouldn't help them be any less tight! I get a half-day today, though, and Chelsie and I will be going to lunch at Havana Cafe, then off to her bachelorette party fun! I really hope we have a good time tonight. Theoretically, you only get one of these, so it's kind of a big deal. Joe will be going to C.R.'s bachelor party tonight too, so I hope they have fun. Interesting how boys plan their parties and girls plan theirs. We've been planning Chelsie's for months. As of Tuesday night, C.R. still didn't know what they were doing or who was invited - to his own bachelor party! They have it sorted out now, but I'm still glad we've known all along!

OOOOOOOH - the secretary with the bonus checks just showed up. I love her! Off to play with money...

From Holly:

take the which one of the trading spaces cast are you? quiz!

Posted 9:44 AM by Kerry O.

Very sad ** Missing reporter dead, officials say.
Posted 3:44 PM by Kerry O.

Oh no, Ohno, and other media consumption ** What did you all think of the Olympic short-track results last night? Did Ohno deserve the Gold?

What's up with Survivor having to reverse its results and give 3 people 2nd place? What's interesting is their web site doesn't have a single mention of it. Ignore it and it will go away? Can I feel that way about the show entirely?

I'm sorry to hear that Ralph Nader's book is a yawn, but not surprised of course. I am one of probably 12 registered Green Party members in this country (there ya go, learned something new about me, didn't you?), and I still didn't vote for him. I like the guy, but he wasn't destined to be president.

The Google logo is cute today. Go, curling!
Posted 9:28 AM by Kerry O.

Good, bad and then some ** I'm very disturbed by the recent activities in the Middle East. I know. That's like saying nuclear war is bad; it's quite the understatement. Actually, those two understatements may be related sooner or later, which is fundamentally what I'm uncomfortable with. Yes, I've heard the arguments about why that will never happen. But I also know that the emotions in the Mid-East leaders are at a boiling point, which overrides all rational arguments. I'm sick and tired of the U.S. funding their favored side of the fighting and trying to pretend they're not. Even reading the news, all we see is headlines like "Israelis see reminders of war with Lebanon," "Israel's new course of action" or "Israelis weary of battle." And I'm sick and tired of Yasser Arafat pretending he's not the conniving support behind Palestinian terrorists.

On the good side, puppy went with us for a walk last night and did fabulously. She doesn't mind her leash at all, and besides getting distracted once in a while, really seemed to enjoy herself.

It never ceases to amaze me how the simple, happy things in life always mean more as things around us get bad.
Posted 9:05 AM by Kerry O.

Couldn't leave well enough alone ** I'm done fidgeting with my site for the moment. Not my favorite, but it'll do. I needed a little change. Anyone know where my comment quotes are from?
Posted 3:56 PM by Kerry O.

Oh, well, okay then. ** Nice, clean educational fun.
"Several students involved in the male sexuality class last semester told the Daily Californian in Friday's story that the orgy occurred at the home of an instructor and was intended to help students get acquainted. It was not mandatory, an instructor said.

Students said some of those who attended also played a game in which they privately took Polaroid pictures of their genitalia, with the group later attempting to match the photos with the correct owner.

Another student told the newspaper that a group of students in the class chose a trip to a gay strip club as their final project, where they watched the class leaders strip and have sex on stage."
Posted 11:32 AM by Kerry O.

Nimrod ** I hate finding typos that are days old. You've all been staring at that "annviersary" down there for days, haven't you? Somebody tell me next time! That's like having broccoli in your teeth and grinning like a ninny at everyone. Bad, very bad.
Posted 10:39 AM by Kerry O.

Busy as a bee ** Ugh. This morning is ridiculously busy. I just cannot get going this morning. From the second my alarm went off today I've been dragging. Is it just me or is anyone else feeling this way? Probably just me.
Posted 9:09 AM by Kerry O.

Drugs are gooooood ** Benadryl liquid + sniffly wheezy puppy = passed out, sound asleep, not a care in the world puppy.

By the way, pictures of the wine-glass knocking, paper-shredding, Benadryl-doped puppy are forthcoming. I promise. :-)
Posted 9:50 PM by Kerry O.

How much is that doggie? ** A night post. Amazing. My puppy is in deep doo-doo. She destroyed my last glass of wine (only glass tonight - last in the bottle) while I was online. Just crawled on the couch to the end table (read: stool by couch) and knocked it clear off, onto our beige berber. Good thing Joe isn't home. He had to clean up her destroyed 1/2 Sunday paper and left-over palm tree trimmings in the whole house this afternoon.

Anyway... I'm also distracted tonight by Michelle. I just don't know what to do. I have tried being a good friend, I have supported her when she needs me, but I just can't deal with this drama anymore. She is chronically depressed, and just a tad out of whack. I love her dearly, she's my best friend (in case you're confused, I do have 2 best friends - the other is Ember). But I do not have the strength to watch her destroy herself. I've said the same thing time and time again, and she knows just how to get at me again. I am at my wit's end. For those of you who know the drama (I'll spare the rest of you for now {evil grin}) what should I do? I love her and don't know how to handle her always going back to him, always swearing she can't live without him and getting repeatedly hurt emotionally (and physically, some). Argh. I'm too busy for this.
Posted 9:29 PM by Kerry O.

Show me the money, honey ** Found out what my last-ever quarterly bonus (they're going to annual ones, effective immediately) will be, and all I can say is... Thank you, God. I can actually afford all this bridal stuff this weekend and next. It comes in on Friday. Amen.
Posted 10:46 AM by Kerry O.

7 things for which I give thanks ** Inspired by the guy everyone loves to hate, I am hereby giving thanks. I think I'm going to try to do this on here once a week. It keeps things in perspective.

1. For the 3-day weekend
2. For actually looking forward to coming back to work
3. For discovering a wonderful new restaurant in my neighborhood
4. For discovering it with my mother and my husband, both of whom I adore
5. For being comfortable and warm in my favorite sweater
6. For finding yogurt I can eat
7. For being able to afford yogurt and sweaters and new restaurants
Posted 9:08 AM by Kerry O.

Back to life, back to reality ** What a lovely, 3-day, blogger-free weekend. The only thing I don't like about 3-day weekends is trying to get back into the swing of my job. I don't mind coming back, I just don't like being so discombobulated on a Tuesday morning. Nonetheless, here I am, in a cloud of bliss from a wonderfully busy weekend. Chelsie's bachelorette party is this Friday, plus my bridesmaid luncheon with her Friday midday, then Joe's cousin's wedding Saturday evening, and Chelsie's bridal shower Sunday afternoon. Many many things to do still, so it's going to be a crazy week.

By the way, any of you who live in or pass through Phoenix, you must visit the new restaurant at 38th Street and Indian School, Roti Joes. My husband, mother and I were all blown away by their awesome food. It really is incredible. You'll also find yourself about 2 blocks from my house.
Posted 8:25 AM by Kerry O.

Golden boys ** Did anyone else notice that all three ice skating medalists last night were blonde? I don't know what that means, but it was interesting. I really loved the performances, and thought the judging was irrefutably fair, finally! Goebel is too cute for his own good, and I was happy to see Yagudin win. Last night was pure Olympic perfection. I loved it.
Posted 10:44 AM by Kerry O.

Happy Anniversary! ** A day late and a dollar short but Happy Fifth Anniversary to my best friend Ember and her husband Brian. You guys have really been through hell and back, but you did it together and I wish you all the endless love in the world! Besides, you got married in Vegas on Valentines Day. If ever you were meant to be together, there's the proof. :-) Kisses to your beautiful girls too! See you this weekend.
Posted 10:27 AM by Kerry O.

1. What was the first thing you ever cooked? Grilled cheese. I burned it too. It was an omen.

2. What's your signature dish? Well, my dishes are changing now with my permanently restricted diet. But I discovered on Wednesday night that I make a mean gluten-free pizza dough for a 5-cheese (including feta!) pizza. That's probably going to be my specialty now.

3. Ever had a cooking disaster? (tasted like crap, didn't work, etc.) Describe. I've had so many, I don't know where to start. I like to experiment with my cooking, but I'm a horribly picky eater. I think the funniest cooking disaster wasn't mine, it was Joe's famous purple dessert. It was supposed to be a blueberry torte-type thing. Well, blueberries were expensive so he used bananas. Bananas?! And since it wasn't purple-y like the picture, he added wine. Yep. And 2 eggs? Yep, he cooked those before putting them in the torte. Scrambled eggs. It was phenomenal. I missed the cooking adventure, but saw the results in my freezer that night. That, coincidentally, was the same night I permanently accepted the role of cook of the house.

4. If skill and money were no object, what would make for your dream meal? I'd love to cook like those people on the gourmet shows. Something uselessly fancy, and doubtlessly involving paper-thin cuts of filet mignon.

5. What are you doing this weekend? Cleaning and preparing for the next two weekends (cousin's wedding, sister's bridal shower and bachelorette party and sister's rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, etc.). Lots to do, and lots of money to spend that I don't have. I think my mother and I are going to go look at open houses just for the fun of it on Sunday. We both love our houses and have no desire to move, but what else do you do when the weather is this gorgeous (80 degrees today)?
Posted 10:07 AM by Kerry O.

What I did on my summer vacation ** To answer the obligatory day-after-Valentines questions: We quickly put on nice clothes and went to a nice restaurant (right after work - there was nobody there!). Then we came home and played with the dog and {sensored} and watched the Olympics. It was a wonderful Valentines Day, but really not unlike most days. Hope yours was fun too.
Posted 9:53 AM by Kerry O.

Go figure ** Something is wrong when I find infinitely more joy and interest in stories about the President's gorgeous little scottish terrier than I do about the man himself.
Posted 1:44 PM by Kerry O.

Love keeps us together ** Happy Valentines Day, everyone. My favorite VDay wishes are always those from family and friends, so if you feel the same way, I'm sending you my Valentines Day love! Many thanks to wonderful Sara for the wonderful gift!

Off to a lovely meeting. Happy happy joy joy.
Posted 10:10 AM by Kerry O.

Obligatory work birthdays ** The boss lady had her birthday today. We had angel food cake. Well, angel food cake was had by nearly all. I did not partake, and neither did two other of my esteemed coworkers. One eats nothing. She's probably 50 and skinnier than I've ever been. She's athletic, and I try not to judge (*snicker* Yeah, right). The other can't eat anything. She's probably 35 and has allergies to most everything (interestingly, including wheat). We each ate strawberries and talked about how Dairy Queen frozen dessert really isn't dairy. Yeah. They pay me for this. I can't wait to get pregnant and take maternity leave. I need a break from office shmoozing.
Posted 3:59 PM by Kerry O.

Highway robbery, NBA style **"The money a buyer spends for one shoe probably could feed the worker who made it for weeks."
Posted 8:42 AM by Kerry O.

Duh ** There is a plane. It is having technical difficulties. The airport has advised it to circle between Phoenix and Tucson to burn off fuel. You are a news reporter. You haven't been told exactly what the problem is, but it's a problem with the plane's hydrolic system. Do you then get on the news with an urgent bulletin and say, "There's a problem with the hydrolics on the plane, but we don't know if it's in the tail or wing flaps, or the landing gear. It is circling to burn off fuel before it attempts to land"? Um, here's a hint: If the tail or wing flaps had a problem - it wouldn't be able to circle. I'm putting money on the landing gear.

It was the landing gear. And the plane landed safely, by the way.
Posted 8:40 AM by Kerry O.

Reason Number 3,529 ** "Bush meets with Scouts, says he supports gay ban" As if I didn't already have enough reasons to dislike the man.
Posted 3:53 PM by Kerry O.

Beautiful Valentine's Day ** I forgot to tell "you" about the kindest thing anyone's done for me in longer than I can remember. Sunday was my step-mother's birthday. I also had to go to her house to meet up with my step-sister to go for a final fitting on my Matron of Honor dress (which is lovely, by the way). When she and C.R. arrived, she was carrying what can only be described as a small, 2-tier white wedding cake, adorned with silk roses. As she set it down (and I was staring blankly at it, trying to comprehend why it was there), Joe pulled our wedding cake topper out of his pocket and placed it on top. This was unbelievably thoughtful on so many levels. You see, our wedding cake was screwed up. It was supposed to be three tiers, with solid red roses (Black Velvet, to be exact) between each layer. While I was getting ready, it was brought to my attention that the cake was, well, leaning. Horribly. They took a couple of quick pictures (which I don't have scanned in yet) of it, then partially dismantled it. They took the top layer off completely and put it in the freezer. They put rose petals all over the cake (not like I thought they were going to, however), and left it. It was pretty, if you didn't know what it was supposed to be, but not what I'd really really wanted.

Of course, I can't have wedding cake again - ever. It's a good thing I found this out after our 1st anniversary, when I was still able to enjoy that top layer. But further, Chelsie spent her Friday researching gluten-free (GF) baking, bought all the weird ingredients you need to make a GF cake, and baked me my wedding cake all over again. It even had raspberry filling. The top layer was white cake, and the bottom chocolate. And it had my roses, which even my revised wedding cake was too weak to hold.

It was the nicest Valentine's gift I've ever received, and it was delicious! It took great self-control to hold back tears, that someone would go through all that trouble to give me a gift I would really enjoy. Thank you, Chelsie, and thank you, C.R. for supporting her while she had so much trouble making it. I can't tell you how much it meant to me.

My father did take pictures, before we all dove into its yumminess, so I'll post those when they're given to me.
Posted 12:03 PM by Kerry O.

Get some beads and head on down to the Quarter ** It's Mardi Gras, boys and girls! New Orleans is hopping! We're going to take the dozens of beads I have from our visit in November and head over to Fat Tuesday's after work to celebrate! Yippee! It would be much more fun if I could actually be there again, but alas, I'll just celebrate where I can.
Posted 11:10 AM by Kerry O.

Comfortably numb ** The recent terror alerts make me uneasy. There's a deep statement. It's just eerie to me. I woke up yesterday morning with a very uncomfortable feeling. After my morning pit-stop, I went straight into the living room to see the news. I just had this bad twinge in the pit of my stomach. I didn't want to say anything about it yesterday in case I'd jinx something (okay, I'm superstitious sometimes, I admit it), but I was relieved to wake up this morning and have that feeling be wrong. I don't feel quite as creepy this morning, thank God. But the terror alerts are still concerning. What I wouldn't give to have that September 10th security feeling again. It hasn't broken me, just made me a little more jaded.
Posted 9:27 AM by Kerry O.

Enough already ** You know, I was really irritated last night, and it didn't get any better this morning. Joe and I were watching the Olympics while I experimented with gluten-free baking for the first time. As I was finishing, the pairs figure skating was reaching its climax. Now, I am not a figure skating expert, but come on! It is a subjective sport, people. I refuse to jump on the "Poor Sale and Pelletier" bandwagon. They put on a very good performance, but it was not convincing enough to enough judges for them to win! Frankly, though clean, I felt their performance was a "just enough" attempt. They knew they only needed a 5.7 - and the judges' approval - to win Gold, so they aimed for just enough to get by. Yes, they skated well, but it was not technically difficult. She said, "When you skate your best and come in second, it is difficult.� Okay. But the point is, you should be proud of 2 things: you skated your very best, and your very best was enough for a Silver medal in the Olympics! Um, that's a frickload more than I can say! It's just a good thing it wasn't U.S. vs. Russian Federation or we'd probably have ground troops on the way already. I feel for them, really. Had the situation been reversed and one judge changed their vote the other way, would we be as caring for them and their close call? No way in hell. That's a crock.

And once again, I'm proud of my country-mates. From the MSNBC article, "American champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman finished fifth, but he called the performance 'the greatest thing we�ve ever done.'� Amen for that.
Posted 8:22 AM by Kerry O.

Friends don't let friends blog alone ** Found a Phoenix Bloggers ring. Neat-o. I feel so... involved or something.
Posted 4:03 PM by Kerry O.

A Bad Case of the Mondays ** {cough cough} I had a little nothing cold over the weekend that overnight decided to park in my lungs like a fuming tanker truck. I should lose my voice by midday, though the majority of those around me are guessing mid-morning. Had a lovely weekend, though busy. We finally saw Black Hawk Down yesterday. I was very surprised by how much I liked it. The special effects really were awesome - it was like watching a documentary in a way. It was a little gory for me, though I managed to keep my eyes firmly shut during the "leg scene" (if you have seen it, you know exactly what I'm talking about), but some of the others, like the guy alive and missing half his body, caught me unprepared and watching. Blech. Besides the gore, it was a great movie.

What surprised me is that we lost so few people in the "raid." Obviously, the situation was horrible, the outcome nasty (for both sides), and it furthers my hatred of war, but it could have been much much worse. I kept flashing back during the movie to the news report I saw when the movie first came out about a screening they held in Mogadishu and the Somalis who cheered while watching the helicopters come crashing down. There were several points in the movie where Somali militia bigwigs were saying things like "This is not your war" and "Without victory, there will be no peace. This is how we fight." They were calm and deliberate, and I frankly think the real people they were imitating probably were too. And it gave me pause to think about the parallels between Somalis and our current enemies. Not suprising, considering many of the Somali militia were trained by al Qaida and related groups.

But to realize that our military, utterly outnumbered on foreign soil and blundering about in desperation, had the military might to slaughter so many Somalis and walk out with 19 casualties... is stunning to me. And it points to another important issue. We can blow up anyone. That is why they want to fly our planes into our buildings and light matches to set off shoe bombs on trans-Atlantic flights. They want to hurt us as we have hurt them - issues of right or wrong set aside - and they do not have the military capability to do so. They are trying to get it, we are sure, but for the meantime they will use our own power as a weapon stronger than any they possess.

No, it's not rocket science (well, okay, actually it is, but I digress), but it just put some things in a different perspective for me.

And Ewan MacGregor still rocks.
Posted 8:44 AM by Kerry O.

The subtle art of prose ** Many people misinterpret things, and those who are prone to anger far too easily (and foolishly interpret others words as they would mean them, rather than the author's original intent), have been around as long as language itself. And as long as complicated, run-on sentences, too. I'd just like to say that I found this link from someone applauding a contrarian in the comment section, while I actually found the original objectionable post quite pleasing. I guess it matters whether you would rather respect someone's intentions or attack them when the intentions fail. I'm not saying Wil is perfect, or innocent, anymore than I am or anyone else is, celebrity or not. And if I had the traffic to my website he does, sometimes at the expense of my wonderful husband, I can't say I wouldn't say something stupid along the way too. The difference is, if I do something offensive here, all 5 of my visitors might notice. If he does, it's a little different story. /soapbox
Posted 11:15 AM by Kerry O.

Too much information for me ** If you're here for Celiac info, please visit Celiac.com or my personal page here. There's not much on that page yet, but I will have lots of links soon. Feel free to send me suggestions for links, information, etc. if you have any. Thanks!
Posted 10:26 AM by Kerry O.

Friday Five Time **
1. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for someone else? I don't actually remember the most romantic thing. I think the one Joe thought was most romantic was about 6 months before our wedding. I was learning to scrapbook, and I'd gotten a big package of multi-color die-cut hearts from Michael's. I had way more than I can use, so I took about 25-30 of them, wrote "sweet nothings" on each one, and hid them. I put one in his wallet, his jacket pocket, inside his sunglass case, under his pillow, etc. He was finding them for weeks.

2. What are your erogenous zones? Neck is #1. My husband knows just where to kiss me!

3. How old were you the first time you had sex? Care to expound? Not telling. Who knows who might read this? Hi, daddy!

4. What's the most unusual place you've ever had sex? Not telling. :-)

5. Do you have plans for Valentine's Day or is it just another Thursday? We don't usually do much, just dinner or something. I have a feeling my husband might be surprising me for the first time ever, though. He's being weird, like actually remembering on his own when V-Day is!
Posted 8:42 AM by Kerry O.

Broken record ** Sorry to have bored you all with my recent doctor activity! I promise I will not mention it again unless asked. I remembered last night how annoying people who constantly whine about their illnesses are. I do not want to be that person. I have had some hits from searches for Celiac, so if you are visiting for that reason, sorry! Soon I'll put a link to a page with some information for people who are looking for it. But basically, this was a fundamental part of who I was growing up, and now it is again. It's almost too big to talk about much. If that makes any sense. Being female is a huge part of who I am, but I don't generally blog about it (unless I have good reason). People with diabetes don't generally talk about it every day in their blogs either, nor will I with this. So, without further ado, it's back to the regularly scheduled programming for us. Let me know if you have any questions, but let's get back to the fun!!!
Posted 10:08 AM by Kerry O.

My so-called illness ** Ach, well. All cannot be perfect in the world. My doctor's appointment was short and sweet. No surprises. My life as a normal eating person are over. Effective immediately, I'm on a gluten-free diet for good. We're going to do another blood test in 6 months to see how I'm doing. The one interesting thing I didn't know about Celiac is that women who are pregnant with Celiac and not being treated (i.e. still eating gluten products) can have babies with dangerously low birth weights. I told this to Joe, who looked at me and said quietly, "Maybe He was looking out for us when that last [pregnancy] test was negative, then." Maybe, indeed.
Posted 7:23 PM by Kerry O.

Welcome, Baby! ** Yay! Heather posted her baby's birth story. I've been dying to know how it went. I'm so happy Heather and Matt and baby Alyssa are doing so well. Enjoy your time together and congratulations!!!
Posted 2:07 PM by Kerry O.

Enjoy the Silence ** Sorry I've been so quiet today. My computer at work took a flying leap this morning (figuratively, unfortunately), and I have just now gotten the replacement back up and running. It's a lovely midnight black. Grrr. Not the aesthetic look I wanted on my desk with my IBM-cream monitor, but beggars can't be choosers. At least it's got a Pentium 4 and doesn't crash. I'm off to my Dr.'s appointment in an hour, too. This is really my day, isn't it? Hope yours are all better than mine!
Posted 1:11 PM by Kerry O.

Just make sure you don't tell on me ** The radio is playing a new Alanis Morissette song right now... It's catchy. I like it.
Posted 4:15 PM by Kerry O.

Well, the news just gets better ** I just got a phone call I'd hoped I wouldn't get. My Dr. got some blood tests back, and wants to see me ASAP. It's not really the end of the world, because I know what it is. But it is not good.

When I was an infant, I had something called Celiac Disease. It seems so ironic that 2 words can sound so simple and yet represent such a huge portion of my life. At 12 months of age, I weighed 1 pound less than I did at birth. My mother had switched from nursing to baby food, and my little baby body couldn't process it. They all had a form of gluten in them that was the mysterious culprit of my illness. I spent a good portion of the first 2-3 years of my life in and out of the hospital. My mother traveled to D.C. and studied what could possibly be wrong. I was so unresponsive, they performed a spinal tap under a local anaesthetic, and told my mother I would be lucky to live a moderately normal life with close-to-average intelligence.

Fortunately, they were very very wrong. My childhood was normal, and I was the youngest student ever in Peoria School District's gifted program (from Day One of Kindergarten). Okay, my childhood wasn't completely normal. I wore a Medic Alert bracelet, and couldn't eat what everyone else ate. The bracelet told any reader that I was allergic to "gluten, oats, wheat, barley and rye." I had those 5 words memorized before I could spell my name. I didn't even really know what they were, but I knew whatever adult I was talking to would know. I was forbidden to eat anything with those grains: most cereals, bread, pizza, cake, cookies, candy bars, pasta, tortillas, etc. Birthdays sucked. My childhood best friend and her twin brother had birthdays the day before mine, so we always had two cakes: theirs (big) and my little, malformed rice-flour cake. Sometimes I sneaked a piece of pizza and spent the afternoon in the bathroom as my little body's personal punishment. Ah, but I had rice cakes before they were cool (usually toasted - yes, toasted - with butter and cinnamon sugar) and I know what rice spaghetti tastes like.

Well, the non-pregnancy-related Dr.'s appointments I mentioned last week were with the gastroenterologist (sorry for the TMI). Curious to see if Celiac was in any way related, she ordered a blood test. This is an improvement since when I went off the Celiac diet when I was 14, the only method of diagnosis was internal intestinal biopsy. Apparently now they can diagnose the disease through blood tests. And now her office wants to see me as soon as possible, perhaps tomorrow morning. My question? "Oh, so the Celiac was positive, huh? Great." Her comment? "Please don't kill the messenger."

Like I said, it's not the end of the world. There are worse diseases to have. I have been blessed to have lived for the last 12+ years normally, and enjoyed pizza as my favorite food, with the occasional burger or cookie. At least I have a medical excuse to cut most carbs out of my diet now, except corn (in small amounts) and rice. But I'd really hoped it had left me for good. They told my mother when I was 14 that there was "always a chance it could come back" in my late teens or early-20's. Well, I'm 26. They were close.
Posted 9:59 AM by Kerry O.

If you're really happy and you want the world to know it ** I swear, I found this after I titled the entry below, but somehow I sense a theme. Look at this picture!

I mean, I'll be honest. If you've got a tush that tight, you have every right to show it off (though I have the same right to question your choice in undies). But it's still a little much for an Olympic speed skater, IMHO.
Posted 9:22 AM by Kerry O.

If you're happy and you know it ** Today's Friendliest Person award goes to the friendly elderly crossing guard at 52nd Street and Greenway Rd. in northeast Phoenix for his cheerful, unfailing smile and wave to every passerby during his watch. Thank you for making me happy this morning and keeping the kiddos safe at the same time, Mr. Crossing Guard!
Posted 9:18 AM by Kerry O.

Thrifty girls ** I was over at Gretchen's blog and she was talking about her conversion to consignment (a/k/a thrift) store junkie. This is a metamorphosis I can appreciate fully. I was the same way, with envy for the other junior high girls' pegged Z Cavaricci jeans and perfectly-white Keds sneakers while mom loaded us up with K-Mart specials. We weren't poor, but like any practical mother, she reserved the great clothing expenditures for special occasions. This was reasonable and appropriate, looking back on it, but I didn't always get it at the time.

Then in high school and college years, I discovered that many of my friends had this strage thrift-store addiction. Usually Value Village or Savers. When I lived in Seattle, grunge was still "in", and the general Gen-X trend was strongly anti-new/perfect/clean/trendy clothing of any kind. Topaz took me to my first Value Village there and I was changed forever.

It was still slow in coming for me, but after a relapse, I'm recently back into the bargain-hunting mode. My brother's boyfriend is a thrift store God (he can make stunning tree skirts out of nasty kitchy ones, and turn pea-green lamps with orange burned lampshades into beautiful, classy housewarming gifts), and he got me back into it. Then, all by my lonesome, I discovered on Saturday Savers' once-in-a-while 50% off everything in the store weekend. I walked out with a gorgeous almost-brand-new All That Jazz blue floral sundress, a lavendar fuji silk Liz Claiborne long-sleeve blouse, and a forest green longish knit sweater - all for just under $10. I'm officially hooked again. Joe is not happy. I have to do something about all the clothes I have before they swallow us up whole - but it's worth it!
Posted 2:08 PM by Kerry O.

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