...that it was just summer...

I don't know where the summer went. The last time I stepped out in the back yard, it was too frigging hot and I made a U-turn at the bottom step and came back inside. Our AC has been on non-stop since May, and last night, mercifully, I was able to turn it off and finally open the windows! It got down to 55 last night, and I finally almost slept through the night. When we woke up this morning, our room was "camping chilly." Our grandson, Michael, is now in a new toddler bed, and sometime during the night woke up and raced across the hall to our room. He inserted himself right between Scott and me, and we each hung on to the edge of the mattress on our respective sides of the bed, while the little twink stretched out between us, with his head pressing against Grandpa's chest, and his feet kicking me in the face. We love the early morning, when Michael wakes up, snuggles in between us, hugs us both, and carries on a conversation with us even though we don't know what in the world he's saying.

His Aunt Mallory and I took him shopping yesterday for a Halloween costume. The dinosaur costume that Mallory found for him didn't fit right, but he ended up very satisfied with the skeleton costume that his favorite aunt sprung for. It seems like adults have become much more involved in Halloween than kids. We went to three different stores (some of these Halloween stores open for just September and October), and there were very few costumes for little kids; the majority were for adults. But he's happy. He wore the little mask all evening, and didn't even want to take it off for eating.

Scott and I began a diet the day before yesterday. I've been "pleasantly plump" for 21 years, and have managed over the past five years to lose a little weight and keep it off. Scott, on the other hand, has weighed 155 pounds since high school...he's now 50. He quit smoking (thankfully) this past January, and I think now that he can actually taste food, has been overeating. He weighed himself over the weekend, and was horrified to see the scale read 200 pounds. His tummy is chubby, and he decided to diet starting on Monday. Saturday and Sunday, he decided it was wrong and too tempting to keep fattening food in our house, so he polished off a couple of 2-liter bottles of soda, a few bags of chips, and five half-gallon cartons of assorted chocolate icecream flavors. We are eating salad (let's see how long he sticks with this diet).

My cousin Bill is living in France right now, and he and his partner seem to spend every day cooking. I don't know what they do for a living, because I see photos of beautiful homes they own in France, England, and Connecticut, and of beautiful scenery, or cozy get-togethers. They have a group of friends, that according to the photos he posts on Facebook, whose main activity in life is to eat or cook, or cook and eat elegant foods. It is extremely hard for me to eat a salad, and then look at his photos.

Michael just woke up from his nap and it is time to fix him a nice yummy lunch. I'm already sick of salad, and think maybe I'll see if he will share his chicken noodle casserole with me, and diced peaches.

...I can't believe it's autumn already...

Today I did some one of my favorite things--volunteering for the annual Neptune Festival. This weekend was the Fall Wine Tasting. The Neptune Festival takes place once most of the tourists have gone home, and it's a time where the locals come out and enjoy the peace and slightly cooler weather, and reclaim the oceanfront. The admission is $30 per person--you get the coveted Neptune Festival commemorative wine glass, free music, a chance to sample lots of wine from a number of Virginia wineries, and enjoy some music. You can bring your own table & chairs or blankets, and food if you want, although there is food there to purchase. This is right on the oceanfront, only across the sidewalk from the beach. I enjoy volunteering for the different events, because it is almost like a family reunion, and the festival organizers are the best people to work with. It's more fun than working a "real" job. I got my commemorative wine glass and coveted t-shirt, free food, and drank my way around the park.

...that I am disgusted, but not surprised...

...at the rude, embarassing, disgusting outburst by South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson. Unbelieveable, that he would have the nerve to be so disrespectful of his Commander in Chief. There is no excuse for his behavior. His explanation, was that it was kind of like a reflex, that the words slipped out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop himself. Well, you know we have all punished our own children for outbursts like that. So, he's saying he has the self-control of a toddler? Or a teenager? Perhaps. However, this is not behavior commensurate with an elected official in our Congress. Somehow, however, I am not surprised that his own party members haven't called him out about it. They are either all jerk-offs, or spineless. So, these jokers call themselves the party of family values? They have the support of right-wing Christians? So, does that type of behavior demonstrate a higher moral standing? Is that what Jesus would have said or done? Frigging buttmunch.

Today marks eight years since we were blindsided by seventeen men in four airplanes. Who would have ever thought something like that could happen in this country. Thinking about that, thinking about certain members of the Republican party, certain blow-holes in the media...I feel like I have been mentally and emotionally raped.

...my son-in-law, Mike, a Navy doc, is a frigging genius!

My daughter Meeghan, forwarded this column that Mike sent her. Thank goodness I got this before I began my exercise regimen and started trying to "eat healthier."

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn.And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient
mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ..... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

AND.....

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats
and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

...about emptying out my husband's storage shed...

...and turning it into something like this:




Thanks to: Marie's Marche French Inspired Flea Market Living
http://mariesmarche.blogspot.com/

...that just maybe I am mentally ill...

Back in 1968, my husband Bill said, "Nobody is as happy as you are all the time, unless they are mentally ill. You're always laughing...that's abnormal. Life is too serious to be happy and laughing all the time." I'm still crazy after all these years. What's up with that?

BOOB UPDATE...

Well, after a week of sweating bullets, and thinking about giving things away before my premature death of breast cancer at age 60, I got the letter from my doctor and from the radiologist who "read" my mammogram and ultrasound. Simply, the lump is there, but cancer is not indicated. I don't know how they make that determination; 21 years ago (before boob ultrasound), I had found a lump in my other boob. Ada Michaels, the principal of my kids' school, a breast cancer survivor (at the time), came right to me when she heard, and was very supportive as I went in for a lumpectomy. I knew I would come out of surgery missing a lump or missing a boob. Sadly, she has since passed away...way too young, from cancer. Anyhow, I didn't have Ada to lean on this time, and it was scary as hell, and somehow, I don't feel very comfortable relying on someone simply looking at a picture to determine if this is a cancerous lump or not. And while I'm certainly not excited about surgery or needles, I would have thought that the radiologist, just to be certain, would have suggested a biopsy, if not a lumpectomy. I mean, I don't want a year to go by until my next mammogram, have the radiologist read that one, and say, "OOPS!! It WAS cancer...my bad!" My friend Annalee's husband Craig, found a little lump behind his left shoulder blade, kind of near the back of his armpit. He WENT to the doctor, who said it was nothing. A year later, he was still complaining to Annalee about it, and she said, "Then why don't you just go to a different doctor?!" He did, they did some tests, and the NEW doctor said, "You should have been in here a year ago!" It was malignant melanoma, and it had spread throughout his body, and he was dead within three months. So, I have to see my doctor in October, anyhow, for my annual physical, and I guess I will talk to him about this. But for now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And I've been catching up on the sleep that I lost during those couple of weeks of worrying.

...About this joker running for governor of Virginia

This article was sent to me by supporters of Creigh Deeds, MY choice for governor. His record as a state legislator has been consistent throughout his years in government, and he has the support of Planned Parenthood and CAN ProChoice. Bob McDonnell has also been consistent throughout his years in government. This email explains how consistent he has been, and how he is trying to distance himself from his prior declarations and actions.

I don't know if anyone in Virginia reads my blog, but if they do, I hope they will read the little excerpt from his Masters Thesis. If he'd written it when he was 18 or 22, even, I'd think that maybe he's matured and developed a more open-minded view, however, this was written at age 34. I don't seriously believe people's viewpoints change that much between 34 and 55. So read on...

"Throughout all his years in state government, Bob McDonnell has been far more interested in pursuing an intolerant social agenda than creating economic opportunity. Now that the Washington Post uncovered what it called his "blueprint" for governing, we’re gaining much better insight into why that's been the case.

But as McDonnell campaigns for governor, the Washington Times observes that he "pretends to disavow his words."

Virginians deserve to know the truth. And thanks to your incredible generosity -- we shattered our online fundraising goal last reporting period – we're able to expose the real Bob McDonnell directly to voters.

Today, we are launching an Internet ad campaign, a radio spot, and a brand new website – www.BobMcDonnellBlueprint.com – to correct the misrepresentations coming from the McDonnell campaign.

Virginians aren't buying Bob McDonnell's convenient election year conversions. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, explained, "I've known Bob well enough to know that he's moderated, because of ambition…. That's why he's moved."

Similarly, editorial boards across the Commonwealth have taken notice of the similarities between the ideas in McDonnell's thesis, what he’s done in the legislature, and what that could mean if he becomes Governor.

"If he changed his mind on these and other things, it was only recently, perhaps as recently as the day he declared his run for governor." - The Roanoke Times

"In his 14 years in the state's General Assembly, Mr. McDonnell did aggressively pursue a socially conservative agenda largely in line with his thesis. As governor he could do the same." - The Washington Post

"The conservative social agenda outlined in a graduate thesis two decades ago by Republican Bob McDonnell is no surprise to those who know the gubernatorial candidate and have followed his career." - The Virginian-Pilot

The Republicans who served with Bob McDonnell agree. For example, former Republican Senator Martin E. Williams says, "It's the Bob I've always known.... My biggest shock is that he is running away from it, because I really do think it's who is he is.""

...about my boobie update

Well, I am awaiting word on the outcome of the mammogram and ultrasound on one of my gals. When I called the doctor, his nurse said she'd sent the results out the day before; I haven't yet received the official word, but she said she'd see me in December. That makes me feel a bit optimistic. At least I got some sleep last night for the first time in a couple of weeks.