| Sing it! |
[Nov. 26th, 2009|08:48 pm] |
It's neither right nor fair that we only use special occasions like Thanksgiving Day to take accounting of our lives. But it is human: If you're currently struggling, it's *hard* to stop and try to find the good things in your life. And if your life is going along smoothly, your attention is typically focused forward, not back.
But everything we do is partly built on the foundations of the past and it's never a bad thing to look at those, and give homage to the times that bouyed us up, carried us forward. So keeping that in mind, here are 3 things I'm grateful for in the past, and 3 things in the present.
( The Past )
( And The Present ) |
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| Happy, Happy, Happy~! |
[Nov. 25th, 2009|11:06 am] |
Best Birthday wishes to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) soranokumo!
May your day be filled with wonderful surprises, and a remarkable lack of stress, hassles, or things that make you go "Mou..."
((HUGS))
And because, well just because it's soooo delightfully wrong:
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| Late-Breaking Mews |
[Nov. 7th, 2009|07:39 pm] |
Before the day gets away from me - and for reasons that my darling will probably post later the day has been *busy* - I had one more thing to say.
Boatloads of happy birthday wishes go out to the very VERY talented and clever m_steelgrave! I know your life has been overly-filled of late with things that keep you running, but I hope that you got to slow down and enjoy the day.
(hug)! |
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| Brisk and Breezy Birthdays~! |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|10:43 am] |
Happy Birthday wishes and squishes for the ever-awesome ericavdg!
May you have a wonderful, headache-free day and get spoiled rotten. ♥
((HUG)) |
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| About High Time. |
[Oct. 28th, 2009|04:31 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
Today President Barack Obama's signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation by expanding coverage to include crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
This is the first federal law in the nation's history that is specifically inclusive of the full lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, a historic and significant move in the LGBT civil rights movement, signaling a new era in this country in which everyone can be treated equally.
"History is being made by federal leaders who are taking a stand to protect the LGBT community from the hate-motivated violence that has existed for far too long," said Out & Equal Workplace Advocates Founding Executive Director Selisse Berry. "We celebrate this milestone, but we can't forget the people - Mathew Shephard, James Byrd, Jr., Gwen Araujo and thousands of others - who have been victims of hate because of who they are."
"We hope that federal leaders' decision to protect LGBT Americans from hate-motivated crimes sets the course for federal policies that will protect the LGBT population on all fronts, including discrimination in the workplace through the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act," Berry said. "We're on the cusp of achieving the protections and equitable rights that countless people before us have sought, and we can't stop now. We must continue contacting our Congressional delegates to gain their support, and ultimately assuring that every LGBT person - whether it's you, your son, daughter, brother, sister, mother or father - can live their lives without fear." |
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| We'll Count That As Three "Wins" |
[Oct. 18th, 2009|08:43 pm] |
So mewsgryphoncat and I have managed to (more or less) successfully disappear from the internet for something like two weeks or so, all without leaving home. I did try to keep up with my LJ friends-list to the best of my ability, because having to "skip 120" or more is just soooo depressing, and half the clever things you'd like to have said is far too late by then.
It started with a project and it ended with joy.
Gcat and I completed the renovation of our bathroom to the best of our moderate ability at the beginning of this month. (And I confess that Gcat did the lion's share of the work, partly because of skill, and partly because of reach. This work included:
- Emptying the bathroom of everything remotely movable.
- Pulling loose the tiles from the shower wall that were only being held in place by luck and occasionally Bondo.
- Regluing and regrouting said tiles with new ones found in our attic. (leftovers from the upstairs bathroom)
- Scraping, sanding and scrubbing clean all the walls and ceiling.
- Priming the whole bathroom, top to bottom.
- Repainting the whole bathroom, ceiling to floor, including painting around a ceiling fan that was covered in plastic bags and looked remarkably like "Bob the Angry Flower".
- Replacing all removed furniture and fixtures.
Hopefully, we will have pictures posted soon. I'll twist G-cat's arm. (FYI to Twig: No, we did NOT tear up the ugly terra-cotta and lavender floor tiles, since they're glued to concrete. We may yet slap linoleum on it, though.)
All of this was done about five years after it really should have been, but it was done in preparation for a visit from velithya on Monday and then kaitou14 on Thursday. I admit without a shred of regret that I love having a full house! They both are two of the easiest guests ever, and I never feel like a bad hostess. Others have blogged about the stuff we did, so I won't waste LJ space on repeated info. But some of my personal highlights were:
- Watching soranokumo pretty much fling herself across the luggage pickup area to tackle Vel by way of greeting.
- Falling Water, and roaming over the area.
- Trying out a lot of gluten-free recipes, and getting better at them.
- Chili night and a table full of awesome people.
- Friday night Supernatural viewing, and trying to make real "whipped cream" for desserts. (Two firsts!)
- Saturday morning insanely early drive to the airport. *tear*
- Running errands with Kaitou on Saturday, and giggling like loons.
- Hot Fuzz commentary track - something I'd never seen.
- Early morning coffee with Kaitou, while everyone else is still asleep.
- Waving Kaitou off *mopes* |
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| Just a teensy bit late! ♥ |
[Oct. 10th, 2009|10:23 pm] |
It's been a Saturday well-spent, but it wouldn't be complete if I didn't take some time to wish my lovely, brilliant and talented mewsgryphoncat a very happy anniversary! I loved spending the day with you, even if it was spent working shoulder to shoulder. *grin* At least you got beer as a reward! ^_^
But in all seriousness... A few years ago, this anniversary was a magical turning-point.
Not in how much I love you, because that emotion is as steady and sure as a lighthouse beacon. But I was awed by the fact that *from that point forward*, with each second that passed, the time we've been together was longer in duration than the days that I had to live without the other half of my soul.
I love you, and I love our life together more than words, music, or interpretive dance can adequately express. So I'll leave you with this:
 |
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| B-b-b-b-BIRTHDAY! |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|12:30 pm] |
Happy birthday to the slightly insane and always fun velithya!
We're plotting on a prezzie. Yes, we are! |
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| Not bringing our "A" game |
[Sep. 20th, 2009|09:30 pm] |
Ever have one of those days?
Where you feel like you ought to be doing more... but you don't know what?
Where you feel like you ought to be saying something differently... but you don't know how?
Restless autumn weather is what I'll have to ascribe it to, I guess. But it sure didn't help that we accidentally locked the car keys in the trunk of the vehicle this evening, gifting us with a wait on Triple A. Pah. |
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| Return of the Chiroquackter |
[Sep. 15th, 2009|09:06 pm] |
And we return to MORE fear-mongering for fun and profit. Oh, wait, no... it's just for profit. My bad.
As we saw before - the dear man really hates medicine, espousing that a spinal adjustment can cure nearly anything. His body is a temple, and it's going to be aligned so well that we'll be able to check him with a plumb-bob.
"Study finds that Ritalin may be linked to cancer"
( Again, he's premature in the conclusions he presents to the world. )
"Asthma drugs shown to cause damage in children."
( ZOMG! Poor kids! What life-threatening dangers are they exposing themselves to, just so they can breathe?? Lead, cyanide?? Nope. Dental Erosion. )
"Actor Jeremy Pivan suffers from mercury toxicity."
( From sushi. Tell me again how this relates to chiropractic? )
"Chiropractic helped to reverse Montel Williams' MS"
( Well, in a way... when the disease was onset as a result of injury. )
"Chimp that went berserk was on Xanax."
This sad story appears likely to be true (though the owner is denying it now), and has nothing to do with chiropractic medicine, and everything to do with the war he's waging against all types of traditional medicine.
"900 studies show that cholesterol drugs are dangerous."
( As is common on many of the stronger medications, there has to be a balance between benefit and risk. Follow the cut for more details. )
"4-9-09 Readers Digest - cancer tests may do more harm than good."
Again, here is a broad anti-traditional-medicine statement, when the original comment was targeting a single issue - Breast Cancer screening. And they acknowledge that it can also be very beneficial, so it's a two edged sword at best.
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/cancer-screening-and-prevention-news-in-health/article122134.html
"Greek doctors warn: too much soda can lead to paralysis?"
( Another 'Is this any of your business?' question, as his range of topics includes why we shouldn't drink sodas... except that it's all about cola, and you can see. ) |
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| 9/11: The Gateway to "Fail" |
[Sep. 11th, 2009|07:26 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Those who are dead are not dead, they're just living in my head... | ] |
I understand that my position here may not be the politically correct one, but it's one I've held since the day I watched the towers collapse, and it's one that's only grown stronger over time. While my Quaker background certainly has a strong influence on this topic, it by no means was the most influential - that spot was and is reserved for my sense of fairness and justice.
This day marks the anniversary I would rather we never celebrated again. Americans all over this country and the world are admonished to "never forget", yet the lesson that we're expected to remember is the wrong one. We're asked to remember the fear and the anger of the day, and not the fact that this was an incident that started a series of tragedies that continues to play on, like a bad song that we just can't stop singing.
Americans, as a whole, failed one of the biggest tests of our character:
( We failed as persons of conscience and faith. )
( We failed as people who love freedom. )
( We failed our children. )
All I know is that on this day we're asked to remember our patriotism, our anger, and our fear. But not enough of us have bothered to learn the bitter lessons that people won't be able to forget for years to come. |
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| Yeah, I see what you did thar... |
[Sep. 5th, 2009|01:16 pm] |
Happy Birthday wishes to the incredibly smart and talented kosaginolegion.
I hope that you get a day free from being responsible at all - or, barring that, that your day is filled with good times, good friends, and good food.
Love and hugs -
~ Ris |
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| Worth Repeating: Stop sanding down your self esteem |
[Aug. 30th, 2009|10:44 pm] |
A number of the people that I love dearly have a chronic problem - they're constantly worrying. They tie their stomachs in knots with it, lose sleep, as they pick through all the things that "could go wrong". It makes them scared to meet new people or to try new things, often to the point of real panic attacks. So how does someone who is intelligent turn him or herself into an emotional pretzel?
Anxiety. It takes over like a mental cuckoo, roosting deep in the brain, refusing to be ignored. It crowds out the other emotions until all that exists is the anxiety, always calling for attention. And like a cuckoo, most anxiety is a lie. It's not based on reality, as the anxious person begins to believe things that are based on their own internal fears, rather than what is happening around him or her.
There are "9 or 10 Cognitive distortions", mind-games we play with ourselves that undermine our confidence and creativity; more often than not these are fear reactions. You can combat them by thinking your way through them, by playing the "what if" game. That usually reveals these thoughts to be exaggerations of the actual situation or unrealistic worse-case scenarios. Here are some of the most common:
( When you're feeling bad, how many of these can you spot in your thinking? )
There are ways to break the cycle, and in doing so, to find the cuckoo nesting in your thoughts. It requires looking honestly at the situation, assessing the negative emotions that the situation evokes, and then ferreting out the lie that is spawning and perpetuating that negativity. Lastly, it involves looking at the situation from other angles and trying to find the good in it, to replace the "cuckoo".
I think that people who don't have anxiety issues tend to do this automatically. But this is a skill that everyone should have, and like any skill it takes time to learn. It might take time, especially if you have to unlearn other bad habits first, but it's well worth the effort invested. |
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| Wow, the day flies by when you're busy... |
[Aug. 28th, 2009|07:52 pm] |
But it's still not too late to wish bohemianbrandy a very Happy Birthday!
Bran-chan, I hope you had a day that made you feel as loved and appreciated as you so very much deserve. I love following what's going on with you and all the large and small triumphs in you life. ♥
((hugs)) |
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| Food: My Two-Edged Sword |
[Aug. 27th, 2009|09:09 pm] |
A fair portion of the people here know we well enough to know that I have "food sensitivities".
That's a polite way of saying that my body does not digest certain food-proteins as well or as thoroughly as others. The next result of this is that my body produces antigens to certain food types, and as these build up in my blood-stream, once they hit a certain threshold, I have a migraine. Not only do I wish I were pretty much dead at that point, I have a talent for making others around me feel the same - this is because the pain isn't for a day. It's for three consecutive days, nonstop, day and night.
I went through twenty-five years of these - from the time a was about 9 - until I was correctly diagnosed. In the meantime, I ate extra strength Tylenol for breakfast (with toast), and as I got older I'd take 6 over-the-counter Advil every three hours just so I could fight through my day. It was having mewsgryphoncat with me that kept me moving forward despite all that pain. Despite more than a decade of being mis-diagnosed, and over medicated.
When I was first *correctly* diagnosed as a food sensitivity a fairly large number of items were on my "do not eat" list. After a decade away from them, most of them are back in my diet. I was reactive to (from worst to mildest): Eggs, Cheese, Mushrooms, Bananas, Yeast, Yogurt, Peanuts, Walnuts, Wheat, Milk, Greenbeans, Kidney Beans, Oysters.
As of today, I can start to get headachy if I consume too many of the not-so-bad foods. But if I develop a real masochistic streak, I can just eat something (anything) with eggs in it (raw, cooked, or whatever). I have yet to do anything stupid like this, because hurting so bad I wake up in fetal positions = NO. In spades.
So no matter what obstacles that you encounter - remember that somewhere, somehow, an answer to it exists out there. Perseverance is your answer. |
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