Because I Promised Blog Props

And I got 4 great entries.
3 were from my family.
How could I possibly choose?
I don't want to be accused of playing favorites for years to come, so I won't choose. You will.

Here are the captions:

1) Gene Simmons is my uncle.
2) She doesn't hold her licker well.
3) Did I mention I am part lizard?
4) RED ROBIN..........YUUUUMMMMMMM

I'll tally up your votes when I get around to it and then I'll let you know who gets the props.

Tower, This Is Flight 1:57

I might be on the wrong strip, Tower, can you confirm?

Uh, roger that, Tower, looking for a clear path now.

Tower, this is flight 1:57.  I am going to begin taxiing to the proper location.

Tower, we are in position and are commencing take off procedure.  Out.

Caption Contest

Caption this photo and you will get some serious blog props.

A Blonde, A Brunette, And A Redhead...

Are going out together tonight to get my birthday on. It's tradition.
I'll let you know who wins at Phase 10 when I get back.

I can't beleive I lost ON MY BIRTHDAY!  By 2 phases and 100 points.  I must be getting old.

12 Years

If Mama Ain't Happy

I made it. And it was mostly free. I like mostly free.

Yes, I see that it is not straight. I'm not taking any orders just yet.

This is the only red wall in the kitchen. It is what you see when you come into my kitchen. Now, you will see my new sign, too.

Signs Of Spring

When The Government Really SCREWS Things Up

Actually, when doesn't it?

There is a little girl who used to live near my parents.  Used to.

She is a foster child in the Washington State foster care system headed up by DSHS.

Her name is Poca.  I have tried to figure out what it means- it is not her real name- and I have come up with the feminine diminutive of little in Spanish- as in "Little Girl".  I don't know why that matters, but if you are a geek like me, it would have bugged you.  So there you go.

Anyway, Poca's foster parents have been hosting special needs children for 10 years, and they have hosted 20 children.  Poca was with them from infancy.  They love her and she loves them.  These are the only parents she has ever known.

According to Washington State family law, when a child is removed from their biological home, the bio parents have one year to reform or fix the issues.  After one year their parental rights are to be revoked and the child is to be placed permanently in a home.  In this case, Poca, who is 4, should have been adopted by her foster family when she was 1.

But her foster parents had the gall to question decisions made by DSHS.  They were labeled as trouble makers and had their licence suspended.  A court ruled that they were being unjustly retaliated against by a ruffled case worker and reinstated their licence.  Now, they have been told that they will not be able to renew their licence when it comes time this year.  This is plainly and simply retaliation.

But the real problem is that Poca has been removed from a licenced foster home, where she has PARENTS, and has been placed in the home of friends of her bio parents.  THIS IS NOT A LICENCED FOSTER HOME!  Explain this to me.  Poca has not been adopted at this point because the state will not terminate the bio parents rights.

Poca has a little brother who's case is also not being handled correctly by DSHS, and therefore his foster family, who are willing to adopt him, are facing losing him, too.  They also have another sibling, an infant, who was removed from the bio home recently because the parents left him in the care of a FELON that they were harboring!!!!  What in the H-E-DOUBLEHOCKEYSTICKS is DSHS thinking?  These people are not fit to be parents!  I have heard (but not confirmed) that they have had 3 other biological children die under their care....

Poca's family- her REAL family- is fighting to get her back.  This is an outrage and a travesty.  Unfortunately, it is also expensive and they are now in foreclosure proceedings and yet facing more legal expenses.  A fund has been created at Washington Mutual/Chase bank for them under the name "Amy Langley".  I know times are tight all around, but I am asking all of us to bless the socks off of this family who are being persecuted for doing the right thing. 

To read more about Poca and the Langley's click here or click the sidebar button.

It's Not What It Looks Like, I Swear!

Welcome to my suburban pill poppers paradise! Well, That's what it looks like anyway. But it's not. Really. Caleb has many, many, many food allergies which mess with is behavior. In order to decrease their impact on his life, he takes digestive enzymes. In the past I have served these dissolved in juice because he couldn't swallow the pill. He drank a mixture at breakfast, lunch, dinner, elevensies, second breakfast, tea time, you name it. If he wanted to eat he had to have the juice. The juice that tasted like fresh mown grass. Or worse. He was pretty good about taking it for a long time. But then I started finding the lunch dose still in his lunch bag at the end of the day. Or he would "accidentally" throw it away. Or not take it to school at all. Now, these puppies are pretty expensive as a maintenance item, so I decided to stop wasting the money. Except he was getting in trouble a lot at school. A LOT. And the rims of his eyes were so red and inflamed (His only external physical symptom) that he was starting to lose his eyelashes. Poor boy. I finally ordered more of his enzymes and when they came we worked on swallowing the capsule whole. It took about 24 oz of water, but he finally managed it. Now we could dispense with the yucky, grass flavored juice. Hooray!




















Except that these babies are in a cellulose or v-cap. And v-caps take 30 to 40 minutes to dissolve enough to release the enzyme that must accompany the food. What 9 year old plans that far ahead? What 9 year old's mom plans that far ahead?




















So they need to be repacked into these gelatin capsules which dissolve immediately. It took a long time to repack 180 pills (Which lasts about a month).




















And you are left with a massive pile of v-caps and a powdery substance all over the counter tops, making you look like you live in suburban pill popper's paradise.

Vanity, Vanity, All Is Vanity- And A Chasing After The Wind!

So, I may be vain. A little. OK! A lot!
Here's the thing. I have grey hair. Not a whole lot, but enough that it catches your eye when it is glistening in the sun. But I swear that every day there is a little more. And, it is really beginning to BUG me! Because I am vain.
I don't really want to color it because: A) I'm not a big "upkeep" kind of girl, and B) because I really can't afford it right now, and even if I could I would have a hard time justifying it, and C) because I really think that horizontal stripes look worse than vertical ones (See reason A).
*Sigh* What's a girl to do?

Swine Flu?

Um, yeah.