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March 31, 2006

Rain Without..

We've had a lot of rain lately and, from my limited excursions outside during all of this I noticed something really weird. Really, really weird.

There haven't been any snails or worms out on the sidewalk like there normally would be.

Makes me wonder what's going on.

Posted by Da Goddess at 06:04 AM | Comments (2)

March 29, 2006

10K

My Flickr galleries hit 10,000 views today. It's a little thing, but it feels good.

I've met some very nice people through Flickr. People from all around the world. Some are practically my neighbors and others are snapping their way through Asia and Africa.

There's only been one peckerhead. Fortunately, peckerheads don't bother me all that much anymore.

The best part of having an account on Flickr is that I'm constantly inspired and always learning something new. New term for this week: Bokeh, which describes the of out-of-focus points of light and how they are rendered. Are they spherical and defined? Are they mere blobs? You'll have to click that link above get the full explanation.

Another cool bit? I've now had 10 photos shortlisted for inclusion on Schmap. The first photo (Las Vegas) was chosen months ago. Now, since they're expanding their coverage to include San Diego, they've selected a few more.

Anyhow, I thought I'd share my little milestone with you.

My current personal favorite photo:

Clyde


And, for those of you who still can't comment because of Blacklist - I'm so sorry! I wish I could fix it, but I don't know how. One of these days, this site will be back to its former glory. Until then, this is what I have.

Posted by Da Goddess at 05:45 AM | Comments (2)

March 28, 2006

Another Silly, Pointless List - With a Point, Sorta

In normal times, I tend to snipe at people for oversharing, especially with their many lists of songs. However, this past month has been anything but normal. This week has been bizarre, at best. And so, I just can't seem to get past this need to give you a list of randomly played music. I know you don't care, but I insist.

There's just something about the shuffle feature that makes for truly bizarre combinations that aren't altogether entirely unpleasant. I have a strict rule when I hit "shuffle". I'm not allowed to skip any songs. Ever. I don't care if my son just walked into the room in the middle of Liz Phair's "HWC" ("Hot White Cum", for the uninitiated). At best, I will turn something down, but never, ever do I skip it. And, yes, that means I occasionally end up with Lowell Fulson singing "I Want To Spend Christmas With You" (note to self: find Eric Cartman singing "Oh Holy Night")in the middle of July. Or even Christopher Walken and the SNL gang looking for more cowbell. Maybe even a little "Special Fred" from Stephen Lynch. That's just how it goes.

Because of my "no skip" rule, the mix is always unique and "different". On the other hand, there are times when there seems to be a theme running through the list. Look at today's "First 40" on the old editing "soundtrack":

  1. "Desperado" - The Eagles
  2. "Key to the Highway" - Carey and Lurie Bell
  3. "Around the World" - Stoney Curtis Band
  4. "Song Inside Me" - Michele Lundeen
  5. "Please Baby" - Nathan James and Ben Hernandez
  6. "Wolf in the Henhouse" - Anthony Gomes
  7. "This Year's Love" - David Gray
  8. "Your Love Amazes Me" - John Berry
  9. "Blues is a Feeling" - Michele Lundeen
  10. "Mack the Knife" - Bobby Darin
  11. "Needles and Pins" - Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks ("uh")
  12. "Bad Whiskey and Cocaine" - David Honeyboy Edwards
  13. "Fence Climbin' Blues" - Scott Henderson
  14. "Freight Train Blues" - Trixie Smith
  15. "The Boys Are Back in Town" - Thin Lizzy
  16. "Shur Fine Woman" - Cash Box Kings
  17. "20 Men Waiting" - Cathy Segal Garcia
  18. "Bourbon" - Rory Gallagher
  19. "Few and Far Between" - Shannon Curfman
  20. "Skank" - Lance Lopez
  21. "You're So Evil" - Corey Stevens
  22. "Still Wish" - Leif Garrett
  23. "Roll and Tumble Blues" - David Honeyboy Edwards
  24. "Don't Lie" - Griff Hamlin
  25. "Too Little Too Late" - The Groove Hogs
  26. "Qualify My Love" - Michele Lundeen
  27. "South Forest Boogie" - Little Pink Anderson
  28. "China Grove" - Doobie Brothers
  29. "Boogie Chillun" - John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Bobby Bland, Jimmy Reed, James Cotton, and Otis Span
  30. "The Loop" - Rory Gallagher
  31. "Pains My Heart to Love You" - Nathan James and Ben Hernandez
  32. "Rock Me" - Carey and Lurie Bell
  33. "Starting Over" - Michele Lundeen
  34. "World Where You Live" - Crowded House
  35. "Anything But Love" - J.D. Souther (shortest entry)
  36. "Bull Cow Blues/Robert Nighthawk Story" - David Honeyboy Edwards
  37. "Something I Can't Do" - Corey Stevens
  38. "Waiting on You" - The Groove Hogs
  39. "Use Me" - Jason Whitton
  40. "If Heartaches Were Nickels (Live)" - Joe Bonamassa

Tell me it wasn't a little like Blues night on American Idol (not that I watch and would know - I just edit the reviews), except with better talent and the oddly placed non-blues song here or there.

That's the beauty of random play, or shuffle, or whatever you want to call it. I get everything from 1922 to present day recordings. You never know what you're going to get. Sort of like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, except mine are tastier. Or something like that. Although, come to think of it, chocolate does sound mighty tasty right about now.

I'm sort of wondering if my player isn't a little possessed. I mean, look at the progression of music there. From mostly mellow to progressively heavier tunes. Could it be that the player is basing this on the time of day? The later in the day it gets, the more driving the music? I'm curious. If my media player is that intuitive, can it sing me songs of heartbreak during those lonely nights? Will it cuddle me when I'm in need of a hug? Can it see what I'm doing when I think I'm all alone? Can it track my Internet usage? Oh, the possibilities are horrifying! Or comforting, depending on the results.

It could well be that I'm over analyzing this. I was emailing Michele Lundeen late into the night. Maybe that had something to do with my media player's omniscent selection of two three four of her songs. I'd also emailed Roy Book Binder about Little Pink (who's sort of disappeared lately). And, I was working on many Blues-related projects. Plus, I had listened to the BCRadio podcast. It just really makes me wonder about how random random play is and how much my computer knows about me.

In the end, I'm not worried as far as song selection. I'm always glad I haven't skipped a song or stuck with just one artist. What I get from the mix is something entirely unique and helps make the time pass more pleasantly. And I loved this morning's editing "soundtrack".

GuantanameraSince you've read this far, here's a challenge for all of you, okay TWO challenges:

  1. "Anything But Love" - J.D. Souther -- there used to be a version of this TV show theme song with vocals. I actually had it on my old computer until it crashed. I need helping finding the version with vocals.
  2. "Guantanamera" - the Tinku version with vocals. I want that terribly. This San Diego band performs this song so beautifully. That photo there? That's one I took one Cinco de Mayo. The couple, well, the beauty of their dance combined with the music was so moving that I simply must have the Tinku version of the song as they were the ones performing at the time.

There, I overshared a bit myself and you have a mission or two. Email me if you happen to find what I seek.

Go forth and please me, my pretties.

Posted by Da Goddess at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2006

Confession is Good For the Soul

Okay, I feel like I need to make a few confessions here. I mean, confession is supposed to be good for the soul, right? So, why I don't I just come clean about some of this for you here.

I've been listening to some weird music lately. Weird because I'm not sure how anyone looking at my collection of songs would categorize me.

Oh, you want examples? Fine. Just consider yourself warned, okay?

Here are the last 30 songs that came up on random play:

  1. "Jessie's Girl" - acoustic version, Rick Springfield and Art Alexakis
  2. "Gangsta's Paradise" - Coolio
  3. "Lime in the Coconut" - Sprung Monkey
  4. "Solo Por Tu Amor" - Tinku
  5. "The Song Remembers When" - Trisha Yearwood
  6. "Cowboy Take Me Away" - The Dixie Chicks
  7. "Trashy Women" - Confederate Railroad
  8. "Dimples" - John Lee Hooker and Los Lobos
  9. "Stephanie" - Buckingham Nicks
  10. "Redemption Song" - Bob Marley
  11. "Just Between You and Me" - April Wine
  12. "You Really Had Me Going" - Holly Dunn
  13. "Ballroom Blitz" - Blue Oyster Cult
  14. "Who's Got the Hooch" - Everlast
  15. "Smiling Islands" - Robbie Patton and Stevie Nicks
  16. "Things That Disappear" - live, Rhett Miller w/Jon Brion (I was actually present during this performance)
  17. "She's Tight" - Cheap Trick
  18. "Pissin' in the Wind" - Jerry Jeff Walker
  19. "Sirius" - Alan Parsons Project
  20. "Crossroads" - Hound Dog Taylor
  21. "Streets of Bakersfield" - Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens
  22. "Hearts Are Gonna Roll" - Hal Ketchum
  23. "Other Side" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
  24. "Ain't No Sunshine" - Van Morrison
  25. "Love Gun" - KISS
  26. "Black Tornado" - Chris Ledoux
  27. "West Helena Blues" - Honeyboy Edwards
  28. "Every Time I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You" - The Ramones
  29. "Doolin-Dalton" - The Eagles
  30. "The Spider and the Fly" - Kenny Wayne Shepherd and James Cotton

And you thought you knew me so well. Heaven help anyone who tries to analyze that collection.

Posted by Da Goddess at 05:58 AM | Comments (7)

March 25, 2006

JPG Magazine

JPG Magazine Issue 5 is out and the theme is "Photography is Not a Crime".

I was tempted to submit a photo, particularly one from some of the local protests here. In fact, the two images I'd considered involved people in public places, at public gatherings attempting to prevent me from taking their pictures. Legally, I had every right to photograph them. They just didn't like that I wasn't standing with them in protest. Tough cookies, y'know?

Anyhow, I thought of submitting a photo, but ended up not. Mostly because I was caught up in other things. In the future, you can bet I'll be sending something in.

Posted by Da Goddess at 03:26 AM | Comments (1)

March 22, 2006

CNN, Michael Yon, Hugh Hewitt

I'm watching Michael Yon and Hugh Hewitt on Anderson Cooper 360˚ on CNN.

Amazing discussion on the media coverage on events in Iraq.

If you didn't see it, you missed a lot.

Michael and Hugh have handled the topic well. Sadly, they lost Michael's feed and Hugh wasn't able to ask him about the reaction of the military regarding media coverage. Maybe next time.

Just becausee Michael couldn't answer the questions Hugh had doesn't mean they won't get answered. Here are some thoughts from Capt. Dan Sukman:

Most of the coverage seems to focus on the bad things that happen here — car bombs, murders, etc. — but that’s what news is. Footage of a car blowing up will always make for more readers or viewers than all the cars that do not explode. The analogy I will use here is this: If a triple homicide occurs in your hometown, everyone is tuned in to see what happened, but you will never see a news report about some guy going to work like he does every day.

It's very much worth your time to read the full story.

Posted by Da Goddess at 08:12 PM | Comments (2)

March 18, 2006

And Pimps Think They Have It Hard

After a recent spate of complaints, I began to think I should give up editing for Blogcritics and become a pimp. They have it easy compared to what editors go through. Don't mind me...I'm feeling somewhat goofy and loopy from pain meds.

Oh, the glorious life of an editor. Yeah, I know you're all thinking that we editors sit around in some room, passing the bottles of booze, the smokes, and the haute cuisine. Sure. Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing?

Reality check!

Fact is, the life of an editor is a lonely job. Unless you count the endless emails.

Imagine a handful of people sitting around in their individual abodes. Contrary to popular belief, we do not live in a commune on some exotic island.

So there we sit. Alone. We look at the volumes of emails all screaming for attention. Editor 1 has sent out a missive letting everyone else know that they're working on an article requiring input from others. "Is this going to get us in legal trouble?" "Is it just me or does this read like someone fed a dictionary to a hamster and ran it through a duck press to see what came out?" "Can someone please edit my article about the breaking news story from three days ago?" Ah, yes, even editors must wait in line. And we're regularly stumped by some of the articles we read. Yes, we read all the articles. Forget the sexy centerfolds, we have to read everything!

Then, after six hours of nonstop emails, queries from writers and other editors, and near-blindness, I realize I need to use the bathroom (Damn, is it supposed to hurt that much when I pee? Why can't I just have a foley catheter and skip the whole 'pee like a racehorse' thing twice a day?), tend to a starving or bleeding child, nod at a spouse or significant other, and maybe grab a piece of that stale and suspicious looking piece of pizza in the back of the fridge. As I step over the pile of unread mail and newspapers and dirty clothes, I grab the milk from the fridge and sniff at it warily. I think, "when was the last time I went to the store? It smells iffy. If I drink it, will I collapse on the floor and writhe in pain for hours? If I take my chances on the milk and the pizza, end up with food poisoning, do you think the writers will understand that I can't reach the computer from the bathroom and their articles are going to have to wait?"

The crying from another room remains largely unheeded. For me, I know my boyfriend will live if he doesn't see me for a few more hours. Hell, I got him those movies to keep him busy. Why can't be occupy his time like my son does - with Gameboy Advance and the Blades of Thunder game? "Look at me! Be with me! I have needs, too!" Men.

The lonely and beleaguered editor settles down in front of the computer again, having tended briefly to personal needs. Said editor contemplates trifocals for a split second, dismissing the thought as another time wasting activity. Who needs vision? Oh, well. Whatever.

Climbing over the bodies of editors past, I approach the pending queue. How could there be another forty articles in pending since I walked away thirty-eight seconds ago? Don't these writers have lives? Must they churn out an endless stream of content? Crikey!

Diving in, I consider the possibility of joining the circus. Surely, it would be quieter in one of the three rings and cleaning up after the elephants. What on earth is this? What does the author mean by "the talker in the movie spun around and disappeared after talking to the other talker"? Huh? Isn't this an article about the latest takeover of the L.A. Times by the Branch Davidians? I'm confused. Hmm, I'll email the other editors, maybe they'll get it. HOLD FOR CLARIFICATION. I email the author, while I'm at it.

After emailing everyone, I notice someone else has a question about something I know a lot about. I read that. Wha-aat? Oh, okay. I'll handle it. Except Yahoo groups is slow and the issue has already been resolved and I'm just mucking things up. Crap!

Moving on, I pick up another article. Oooh! My luck's changing. I should buy a lottery ticket. This piece doesn't require anything from me other than hitting "publish". I start humming "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah" and wiggle delightedly on the sofa. I let the phone ring as I embrace the next article with great anticipation and hope for another easy edit.

Suddenly the sky darkens and theme song from Jaws is heard in the background. I haven't a clue as to what this is about. I'll email the editor of that section. Oh, wait...that editor's in the hospital. Hmm, what to do? Oh, I know, I'll ask EO to have a look at it. Yeah, that's the ticket. I know he's not busy. Right. He emails me back asking why Advance hasn't been updated and why the hell haven't I written anything on the latest concert or TV show. Uh, I'll pretend I don't see that email.

Going back to the pending queue, I realize that it's been another four hours since I heard a peep from anyone in the house. I briefly consider hobbling up the stairs to check for signs of life. Nah, if they needed something they'd have shrieked or rattled their chains.

Next article is fairly straightforward. No attribution for the quoted text, but hell, who cares? Oh, wait. This is looking really familiar. Google. That's what I'll do. Googling the quoted passage, I discover the whole article is simply a collection of paragraphs from the forty articles on GNews. Another email to the author and the editor group.

On to the next item.

Crap! Was that a mouse that just ran over my foot? Oh, no...it was just the weeds swirling around in the water. Water? Uh oh. Fine, whatever. I'll deal with that later.

The food poisoning is starting to get the best of me. I ignore the rumblings in my belly and publish another four articles. I'm not sure they made any sense, but I hope. I'm a hopeful person.

There are 12 BC Yahoo groups digests in my mailbox. Do I dare read them? Nah. I'll wait.

I finally read EO's email and respond. He sends one back telling me not to worry, he was just curious and wanted to update the affiliates with good news. I quickly check Advance, realize that I forgot to publish the articles I added to the site, make the changes, and publish. I wonder where my template went for the articles. I create a new one. EO's happy. The affiliates are happy. My kid shows up at my side, having gnawed through his restraints, and he wants food. Didn't I just feed him last week? Whatever.

Crap. There goes the power. Damn. I knew I forgot something. Those people at the electric company sure expect a lot, don't they? Money, money, money. I make a call and beg for them to restore service. After all, I can't run the respirator for my boyfriend manually and well, you know. No such luck. It'll be three days before they can turn the power back on. Fine. I pick up the laptop, grab the kid, step over the trash that's collected by the front door and head off to Panera where I can feed my kid AND have free wifi.

I publish another couple articles. Amazing how much faster this goes when one's eaten and had a chance to clear one's brain for a few minutes.

I'm feeling good about everything and start to do a little happy dance in the middle of the restaurant. People look at me with pained expressions. C'mon, I'm not that bad! I then realize that I've been sitting in the place in a long t-shirt and nothing else. And, what's that smell? Oh man, when did I last shower?

Eh, if they can't handle it, screw 'em.

Back at the computer, I see the writers I contacted earlier have responded. Ouch! Such language! I kick it up to EO. He has nothing going on, right? Right.

My son nudges me and tells me that they're kicking us out of Panera. Reluctantly, I load everything into the car and head back to the bleakness of my powerless home. By some miracle, there's a light shining from within. Whoa! The candle I left burning in the bathroom after my earlier visit seems to have set off some sort of chain reaction and the place is on fire. I grab the cell phone and dial 911. Thankfully, there wasn't much to burn what with the flood from earlier. Whatever.

I send my child over to his dad's house and call a friend asking for a place to stay for a couple days. I secure a room, a shower, some clothes, and most importantly, Internet access!

All is right with the world once again.

Maybe I should try my hand at the Presidency. That shouldn't be too hard after all this, right? Oh, crap. I can't. I have to get back to editing. And, really. Why would I give up my glamorous life as an editor for such a thankless job as that?

Posted by Da Goddess at 09:17 PM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2006

Death Threats for Little Dude

Few things can make a parent's blood run cold like the thought of their child in harm's way. And few things can make a parent angrier than discovering that a child is being bullied.

Imagine my surprise when my 9-year old son told me that two of his classmates actually threatened him -- with death. This wasn't just some silly schoolyard joke. No, this was a menacing and very specific threat.

My son, we'll call him Little Dude (for that's who he is), and his former best friend -- whom we'll call Bobby -- and another boy -- we'll call him Steve -- have had a rather difficult few months. You see, Little Dude and Bobby had been best friends for the longest time. Bobby was the only kid in our neighborhood who attended the same school as my son. Both are Cub Scouts, like riding bikes, love swimming, and enjoy all those wonderful imaginative games that children of that age play. Enter Steve. Now, Steve isn't someone new in our world. He and Little Dude (LD) were in the same Kindergarten class and have always shared the same circle of friends. The only difference now is Bobby.

One afternoon some months ago, Steve was invited to play at Bobby's house. The two boys came over to get LD, and the three of them ran off to play football or some other game. All was fine, for most of the day. As dinnertime approached, I went to collect my son. I walked upon their game of catch and heard Steve bossing the other two around. The tone was rather angry and rough. I didn't say anything. I mean, who wants a mother stepping in and meddling, right? And so I let it go.

Fast forward a few weeks and Bobby had informed LD that they were no longer friends. My son was heartbroken. I did the best I could in reassuring him that all friendships go through phases and that Bobby would likely come around again. But, as the weeks wore on, there was no reconciliation. Bobby's mom and I spoke about this rift often. Neither of us understood it, but we were both reluctant to try to solve any friendship problems for our boys at this point. Quietly, we each counseled our sons to be kind and to remember that they were still neighbors, scouts, and classmates. What else could we do?

Forward yet again a few more weeks and step onto the playground. A large group of kids were playing a game. In that group were Steve, Bobby, and Little Dude. Previous attempts by Steve and Bobby to alienate Little Dude from the other children had come to naught and we all thought that things were settling down. Except that after this particular game, Steve and Bobby had managed to get LD off by himself. Steve told LD that he needed to die and that if LD didn't take care of it himself, Steve would. Bobby stepped up and said he'd use a pocket knife to make it happen if he had to.

Keep in mind that these are little boys in 3rd Grade. We live in a rather middle to upper-middle class area. The kids are 9. NINE! And, two of them are cornering another child and making death threats on the playground.

My son didn't say anything about this for a while. It's not like he came running to me, crying over it. No, I found out through normal conversation about recess, friends, and games. I kept my voice calm and level. I probed for more details. I asked if he had ever said anything like that to anyone else and he said he hadn't. "It's not good Scout behavior, Mom," he said. "Bobby wasn't being a very good Scout when he said that. And, you know what? You're not supposed to use your pocket knife for anything other than whittling, right?"

Bless my son for being so naive. Maybe naive isn't the word I'm looking for. I mean, he's not exactly 100% angel, but he's far from a thug or a brute. I know he was honest with his answer. How? Call it the Mom-o-meter. We've established a rapport that has proven effective and useful for many reasons. We talk a lot about many subjects, difficult and easy, simple and complex. I know when he's lying and when he's telling the truth. Really, at 9, he's not sophisticated enough to pull the wool over my eyes. I'm sure that will come later, but for now, I KNOW.

So, there I was, with a child who had been threatened. At school. What's a mother to do? I waited until he was in the shower and I called Bobby's mom. I told her what my son had said and she was as shocked as I was. We agreed that this wasn't like Bobby to be so cruel or so sinister, but she did acknowledge that Steve had definitely changed the dynamics of the relationship. She promised to talk with her son.

Other phone calls followed. I called my ex-husband and we discussed what we should do. Phone calls to our son's teacher and the school principal were next on the list. Calls to the Den and Pack leaders for Cub Scouts. We were, to say the least, determined to nip this in the bud from every angle possible. At this point, we've not included Steve's parents in the equation because we don't know them well enough to approach them. All the more reason to involve school officials, right? So that's what we did. We're only at the beginning of the complaint and what will eventually become of the two boys remains to be seen. However, our hope is that we're catching this early enough to prevent anything from actually occurring. And, with any luck, one or both of the boys will be placed in counseling and/removed from school.

What other choices are there? It seems absurd to remove our child from school. He's done nothing wrong. Placing him in another school, where he knows no one, hardly seems to be the answer. The boys in question would likely find another victim.

We can't afford to ignore the threats either. Hence the involvement of school officials.

As parents, we strive not to meddle too much in the friendships of our children. Kids have arguments and there's always a fair amount of tension in those arguments. But, when the arguments and tension become darker and more threatening, we have to do something.

I didn't think my son would have to face anything like death threats at school. Not now, now at the age of 9. Not ever, really. The fact is, it's happened. And, this parent isn't going to sit idly by and wait for the threats to be acted upon.

In the meantime, we're looking into Karate or Tae Kwon Do lessons for Little Dude. If you'd like to help out, please do.



Posted by Da Goddess at 04:35 AM | Comments (5)

March 15, 2006

The 88

Keith Slettedahl of The 88

The 88 - rock, pop, Beatles-ish, Kinks-ish, Queen-ish - call them whatever you want but the band has a special something that has caught the ear of many. Currently, they have songs featured on TV shows and in movies.

They're fun, they're really nice guys, and their collective star is rising.

Posted by Da Goddess at 04:24 AM | Comments (2)

March 08, 2006

Calling All TV Viewers!

Blogcritics.org is looking for excellent writers to share their opinions on anything and everything TV-related.

Here's a golden opportunity to let your star shine!

We need writers to cover the following:

We have some very talented folks covering a small fraction of shows. I enjoy reading their work and I wish I had even more to read. I would love to have more participation in the TV section. Can you tell? More than that, I'd really like to see many new stars shine on Blogcritics.org.

If you, or someone you know, possess excellence in the field of writing and like to opine on all things television, let me know!

Posted by Da Goddess at 06:08 AM | Comments (6)

March 06, 2006

Just When You Thought They Couldn't Sink Any Lower

What do you get when you combine a grieving family, the anti-war faction, and a total loss of any sort of decency? Let's call it the most disturbing trend in the "peace" process.

Associated Press KOKOMO, Ind. — Police posted an around-the-clock security watch at the home of an Indiana soldier killed last week in Iraq after it was vandalized and his family received disturbing phone calls.

The home of Sgt. Rickey Jones was egged Saturday, three days after Jones’ family learned the 21-year-old and three other soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. His family also received phone calls in which the caller said: “I’m glad your son is dead.”

Just when you thought the "activists" couldn't sink any lower, they do.

The best way to counter such disgusting behavior is to show your support and pride for our military and their families. Operation Military Pride, Soldiers' Angels, America Supports You, and countless other organizations can help you do exactly that.

Feel free to leave a properly coded HTML link (as in bracketed name and URL) in the comments section to other groups devoted to supporting our armed forces community. And don't forget to actually follow through with the suggestions provided on the links listed above. THAT'S how we'll beat the "peaceniks" at their game.

Posted by Da Goddess at 09:47 PM | Comments (8)

March 03, 2006

Mikey's Blogging!

He's baaaack!

And, honestly, I couldn't be happier. The guy's been through so much. Go say hello and let him know what a miracle he is.

Posted by Da Goddess at 03:50 PM | Comments (1)

One Down, Two to Go

I had my first in the latest round of steroid epidurals yesterday.

This time around, chaos ruled. My MRI results were nowhere to be found. Even though my appointment was a week later than originally sheduled, the right reports weren't there. By the time they were found and faxed to the doc doing the epidural, it was discovered that the MRI was not completed as ordered. They'd only done the lumbar spine. Um, I guess the order that read THORACIC AND LUMBAR didn't appeal to the person doing the MRI and I'll likely have to go back in.

So, there I was, IV fluids started, sitting around in one of those glamorous hospital gowns, hair in the little cap, booties on my feet, and I couldn't stand the wait. I smiled and joked, even though I was hurting (it's been a rather bad week). I hobbled to the bathroom at some point, almost knocking out my IV. Thankfully, I didn't and the IV continued to work.

The doc agreed to IV Benadryl during the procedure in hopes of heading off the rash I always get. I'd never really thought much about it, but did you know that IV Benadryl can make you cough? It can and it did. It was weird.

I vaguely remember the needle being stuck in my back. Thank God for sedation! I also barely recall being moved onto the gurney and rolled into the recovery room. I do know that I didn't feel as horrible after this epidural as I did last time. Since they were working on my mid back and not the neck, I was spared the headache and vomiting. I liked that!

The Smashes picked me up from the surgical center and we got some food. I sat around their house for about a half hour and then drove home. I probably should have stayed down there with them longer, but I really wanted my pillow and blanket on the sofa at home. And that's just what I got. I slept for almost four hours and woke up really sore.

The pain from the injection is bad, but not as bad as the headaches I had last time. I'm really grateful for that. Really. REALLY! The hot flashes are back. Yuck! I hate those. I've changed clothes several times already from all the sweating. The rash is starting to itch and I'm popping Benadryl every four hours. But overall, I am optimistic about this series of epidurals. Anything to relieve the pain is worth a shot.

I'm off to shower, get into fresh clothes, take some more pain meds, and go back to bed. Yay, me!

Posted by Da Goddess at 07:22 AM | Comments (5)