Future lookin' bright

I've been up late the last couple of nights watching coverage of the DNC, and every night I've been more excited and positive. Michelle Obama's bio piece was great, Hillary's speech and subsequent performance at roll call gave me a thrill (especially considering I can't stand the sound of her voice). Bill Clinton managed to suck it up with his trademark charm and fire. Biden played his role as "the big stick" well... and I'm starting to like him. And Obama's speech last night? Absolutely inspiring. I've loved his eloquent orations in the past, but this one was firmly rooted in practical language which made the speech even more profound. One of the reasons I like him is because he doesn't come from a wealthy, affluent family.... he's not part of a political dynasty. He's an educated, cultured person from simple roots.



Now, I've been waiting all morning for McCain to steal focus with his VP selection. And he certainly got my attention... by stepping on his own crank.



Sarah Palin? Dude, a Republican in a dress is still a Republican. She's a gun totin', moose eatin' pro-lifer that just happens to wear a dress. A runner up for Miss Alaska, I found just as many Google hits that had her name associated with McCain as with MILF. After researching her stands on abortion, energy/oil, economics, gay/lesbian rights, religion, etc... she's no different than a Huckabee or a Romney. I've never understood how a woman can be pro-life... I can understand a woman choosing life, but to restrict that choice in others? nuh huh... don't get it.



So let the trial by fire begin.... I can't wait to see how this odd couple crashes and burns in the next few months.



Here's Palin in her evening gown at the Miss Alaska competition in 1984




And here's one that I tittered over...

new happenings

My doc removed the pins from my arm today!!! Whoop whoop! This time was sorta bad... same achey, but with some breath sucking moments of EEK thrown in. He wants me to wear my brace when I'm ambulatory (driving, working out, playing with the dogs) since the muscles are very weak and a fall could break it again. I can live with that. I go back in 2 weeks for another look-see, but basically I'm free to slowly start bending, flexing and rotating. I can shower without bagging my arm (after 48 hours to make sure the pin holes are closed) so hopefully the weird scaly skin will go away. But my arm is stupid... I have to play "bad coach" and yell at it to get it to twist.... ahhhh.... let the fun of physical therapy begin.

At just over 2 years old, my dog Grimm is getting in touch with his alpha male. I think he finally figured out that in a smackdown with Wolfgang... Wolfie will LOSE. He's bigger, stronger and faster than the other 2, so he's getting his macho mutt on. This is making for tense moments around the house since Wolfie is doing his best Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo impression. Can't blame him... for all intents and purposes Grimm is emasculating him on a daily basis... which is a hilarious statement given that neither of them has testicles. But Grimm is pushing the boundaries.... he shoves Wolfie out of the way to get the love, he chases Pugsley away from her food bowl just to prove he can (she goes back when he leaves), he steals all the cool toys, a lays in Wolfie's spot on the bed. In addition, he is getting uppity with me. He tries to muscle his way out the door when I'm leaving and when I took him with me to get a cup of coffee... he lept out the car door and fought all my attempts to pull him back in.... just put on the brakes and pulled back... some good Samaritan had to pick him up and put him in the car since I was trying one handed. And he's taken to peeing when we go for a walk.... he NEVER did that! I think he's trying to mark his territory! All of this is very strange behavior from the dog who always gave in to Wolfgang and only had behavior problems of the "energetic" variety. This is the dog who shakes when it thunders and is spooked by a plastic bag blowing in the breeze. I'm going to email my former trainer and do some reading. Now, it's not my place to decide which of my pack is Alpha, but I'm afraid that Grimm and Wolfie might do some damage before this gets resolved.... cuz Wolfie wont back down and Grimm is very big and strong. Maybe that week at kennel changed him.... kinda like prison.

Already?

Y'know what I've heard a lot the last couple of days as I count down to pin removal?

"Has it been 8 weeks already?"

Proving that time flies when you don't have a broken arm.

Y'know what I can't wait to NOT hear?

"What did you do?" or worse "Did it hurt?"

Anyone who asks if breaking a bone and then having surgery on it hurt should be curbed.... seriously. What kind of an oxygen thief asks that? But I've heard it.

So, I'm down to 92 hours left....

CANNOT FRICKIN' WAIT

New charity being created!

So, I'm thinking of starting an online charity or something...

The name should be something like "Katrina apparently needs 6 new porcelain veneers". That is the best name I could come up with... and the only one not loaded with curse words.

Apparently veneers have a lifespan... my 12 year old ones are in the geriatric phase. Here's the bonus... so not only will they continue to deteriorate around the seams leading to maybe more falling off... but the teeth underneath are suffering. Yeah! Would that knowledge have made a difference 12 years ago? Probably not. But it sucks in the here and now.

You should have seen the disappointment on my cutie young doctor's face when I told him to just glue the old one on and not to even start making plans about replacing all of them. You'd have thought I killed his puppy.

Hmmm... maybe that leaping in front of a bus idea should be given another look.

uncle!

So the suck just keeps rolling into my life... I didn't think it was possible, but apparently the universe hasn't quite finished f@%king with me yet. I'm trying to figure out if all this adversity is a)setting me up to truly appreciate the good things when they finally start coming in or b)push me over the edge and force me to throw myself in front of a bus. I'm hoping for the former, but I aint holding my breath.

12 years ago I had porcelain veneers put on my top 6 teeth. It came out of my pocket and was probably the greatest money ever spent. There are very few people who remember my gappy, snaggly teeth, and I've been systematically destroying any photos of that time. Well... one of them came off on Saturday... not one of the center 2, but still...

On seeing one of my real teeth, I nearly had cardiac arrest.... like my hair color, I had convinced myself that "natural" was what I paid for. The silver lining is that the veneer is intact and I didn't swallow it or lose it. I have an appointment on Wednesday to have it glued back on, so I get to feel like Cletus the Slack Jawed
Yokel for 2 more days. Yes, I have dental insurance, but it certainly doesn't cover cosmetic stuff....

And the truly crappy part is that it probably came loose since I broke my arm... I never use my teeth to pry or tear or do anything, but since I am down a functioning hand, I had to resort to using them. Awesome.

Let's just say I'm playing the lottery this week... surely I'm due for some good news, right? If not, I've picked up a bus schedule...

FAIL!

From the folks who brought you i can has cheezburger...

And i has a hotdog...

The all new FAIL BLOG!


More sites to help me avoid work... good stuff

http://icanhascheezburger.com
http://ihasahotdog.com
http://failblog.org/

babies are not as cute as puppies...

but these two aren't bad....

my nephew KOLBY CURTIS


He kinda has that midget Roman Emperor thing going on as he gives a zoo animal the thumbs down. I think he'd like the hyena and the buffalo to go at it Gladiator style.

my newest nephew BRODIE DAVID


As my hair goddess Analisa said all infants look like tiny meatloafs. I have to agree... or maybe baby shaped jello molds.

And it's comments like these that make me think my lack of motherhood is a good.

you're gonna use pliers?

Had an arm check up today... everything is healing perfectly fine. He decided to take out the two pins that seemed to be constantly irritated. How does this happen? He took hold of my wrist in his left hand and a pair of fancy-schmancy medical pliers in his right and attacked. He pulled, he twisted, and they reluctantly came out. No, there was no pain, but definitely a weird feeling of pressure and a little ache... and very little blood.

Not bad. Just very surreal to see a thick steel pin being pried out of your arm like a nail.

The best part? The rest come out on the 19th... 11 a.m.... and I cannot wait! Oh all the things I'll do... like flex my wrist and rotate my radius and ulna... probably with much work and a fair amount of pain :)

...cuz lolcats are funny

It's not fair!

So... I love dogs. Love them more than people most of the time. I love their faces and their floppy ears and... well just about everything. And those who take in the strays and the hard luck cases? Heroes. Because it isn't easy. My friends and I pride ourselves on saving the mutts of the world.

Today I get smacked upside the head with man's absolute cruelty.... one of my coworkers fosters daschunds for a rescue group. She had 16 in her home and has been getting calls from owners who want to surrender their doxies (usually for selfish... "it's inconvenient" reasons). Then she gets a pup like Ariel...

Her owner just let her out to fend for herself. ??????? Yeah, obviously that worked out really well! I just don't get it. I understand that not everyone feels about their pets the way I do, I get that. But how in the world could you just abandon a creature that has depended on you for everything? How could you live with yourself?

So on the heels of hearing all about this baby this morning, I learn that my best friends David and Summer had to put their dog Petunia (aka Toots) to sleep. She was one of those abused, abandoned dogs that got rescued... probably by the best puppy parents I know. They did everything for this sweetheart... more than I think I could have done... but it wasn't enough to undo whatever was done to her. Petunia could be sweet, and loyal and a big goof (playing fetch with sour oranges was my favorite). Unfortunately she had violent fits. Some bad ones... but D&S tried to solve the problems... correction, meds, "counseling"... they even gave up Pugsley to me because they knew if they didn't keep Petunia, no one would have her. Well.. she caused some serious damage this weekend... and there was no alternative but to put her down. It was the best thing, and she's scampering madly in doggie valhala right now, but it doesn't change the fact that it sucks. Here was a dog that wanted so much to be good... but she had something broken in her and no amount of love, attention or money could make it better. And my friends are probably going mad with guilt right now... and some worthless piece of skin who booted their dog to the curb is probably feeling nothing, except relief that they got rid of that little problem.

It just hurts, y'know?

Here's a picture of Petunia... in case you need another tug at the heart.

Sweet, crazy dog....

I haven't posted anything in a while, because typing with one hand is tedious, but I'll give it a try...

The arm seems to continue healing. My next check-up is in 2 days and I'm anxious to see what the x-rays have to show. Everyday I have more dexterity and strength in the portion of my hand I can use, but I'm scared of how much work it will take to get the rest working again. I also wonder if I'll ever get over the feeling that it could just snap again at any moment.

My Colorado vacation was wonderful... lots of family, food and nice sunshine. I'm still agog at how big and mobile Kolby has gotten... especially compared to his cousin, Brodie. My hair person described infants as cute, people shaped meatloafs.... kinda true, that. But it was neat to spend a little time with one that small. The best thing about those 2 little boys? Seeing so much love and adoration from their parents... quite overwhelming for someone like me. And the little ones just keep coming... my sister Natalie is expecting... and I'm sure she's tired of my psychic vibes encouraging her "blueberry" to be a little girl. I can't help it... I wanna make dresses! I'm constantly proud of my dad and "momica" who have raised 5 children and who are still in love. Today is their anniversary, and if he's not rescuing drunk bicyclists or selling a jet plane, and if she's not cooking a feast or quilting something beautiful, I'm sure they are enjoying that love.

I came back to costume world, and after hitting army/navy surplus, several thrift stores and the fabric shops... I'm well on my way. I even conquered my fear of sewing stretchy fabrics... basically I just do what my sewing machine tells me to do. If I had known it was going to be that easy, I would have made the plunge earlier. Silly girl, the sewing machine is smarter than you are, get over it. The show, Embedded, is in great shape. I saw a run on Saturday and it is almost there... just needs the next week and a half to cook.

As to entertainment.... I finished Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross... very good. Historical Fiction about a girl who lived as a man and became Pope in the 9th century. Really. Check it out... it will make you salute your inner "girl power" flag. I fell in love with Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow Live.... I adore live stuff and this one rocks. Saw In Bruge by writer/director Martin McDonnagh (one of my favorite playwrights). Very violent, very black Irish humor.

So... there's the update... only took twice as long with only one hand typing.