Political Quiz

I took this quiz and the results were interesting:
My Political Views
I am a center-left moderate social libertarian
Left: 1.1, Libertarian: 2.18

Political Spectrum Quiz


Foreign Policy:

On the left side are pacifists and anti-war activists. On the right side are those who want a strong military that intervenes around the world. You scored: -3.87
My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -3.87

Political Spectrum Quiz


Culture:

Where are you in the culture war? On the liberal side, or the conservative side? This scale may apply more to the US than other countries. You scored: -6.03
My Culture War Stance
Score: -6.03

Political Spectrum Quiz


compare:

Can we ever win?

Doesn't seem like we can.

The first week at school that M was on his new medication, it seemed to be working well. Now it seems that it isn't working so well...she says that from 10/13 to present, his behavior has deteriorated. And she filled out a new Conners rating scale and some stuff is WORSE than it was at the beginning of Sept. I wonder if she was in a bad mood when she filled out the scale or if this is accurately represented...I just don't know anymore.

I can't believe a medication can lose its efficacy that quickly. Maybe there is no satisfying this teacher. Maybe this *still* isn't the right dose. Maybe this isn't even the right medication.

I *think* it's working better than the Vyvanse was, but maybe not. At least he seemed to be even with the Vyvanse.

We see the psychiatrist this week, so I'm sure we'll be on the next dose up starting soon.

Have I mentioned how much I hate ADHD? It really sucks.

Day Five...Concerta

Color me surprised. M on 18mg of Concerta for 2 days wasn't the hellish experience I was expecting. He was actually pretty ok.

Today is day 3 of 27mg, so tomorrow we start on the 36mg dose that we've been building up to.

The only real negative I'm seeing is a reemergence of facial tics. But I don't feel too worried about that as we've seen transient facial tics with almost every medication he's been on. They seem to be mostly related to him feeling stressed or tired, and today he is *definitely* worn out. Not only that, but he's not in his normal routine this week, which always makes him feel more stressed than usual.

Overall I don't have a feeling about the Concerta one way or the other. It doesn't seem to be *that* much better than Vyvanse, but we also aren't on the therapeutic dose yet. We may see that 36mg is fantastic as compared to the 50mg of Vyvanse we were on before.

Day One...Concerta

Today is day one of trying M on Concerta. Things aren't going great at school, and the psychiatrist is worried about lots of things after seeing the Conners rating scale the teacher filled out.

M unmedicated is not a pretty thing. Since we're starting at 18mg of Concerta, I think the next 2 to 3 days are going to suck for all of us royally. I don't mean to be negative, but we've been through medication changes before and they weren't pretty.

What I'm hoping is that the Concerta, even though we've tried it before, will hit different receptors in his brain than the Vyvanse did, and that we'll see some of the behaviors that are causing school/friend/etc issues will lessen.

This is a work in process, as is any ADHD medication. Today and tomorrow we'll do 18mg, then Sunday or Monday we'll go up to 27mg. Two to three days on 27mg and then it's up to 36mg for the next 10 days. After that, school will be back in and the real test will begin. We'll see in which areas the meds are helping and which they aren't. We'll decide whether to increase the dose to 45mg or 54mg. We'll also see if we need to tweak the times he gets his meds. There's the possibility that we'll do a short acting in the morning and the long acting at lunch...but for now, we're trying the long acting in the morning and continuing with the short acting in the afternoon as usual.

Wish us luck.

If Concerta doesn't work, we go back to Vyvanse until school lets out again in December...then it's on to Focalin.

Have I mentioned how I much I hate having my kid on meds? It drives me nuts. I hate that he has to take medication to make him "socially acceptable." But I continue the meds because I believe there are children in this world who need medication to function...and children aren't equipped to not be accepted by others. And if this helps him function and gain acceptance from his peers, then this is what we'll do. We've tried everything else...diet, exercise, behavior modification...and on their own, the ends don't justify the means.

While I hate any child to be on medication, I also believe that it's not just about the child. It's about the family. If having a child (or parent) on medication is what's best for the family AND the child, then so be it. We have medications available to us for a reason.

Me and my Vitamin D

I had my Vitamin D level checked for the first time probably a year or so ago, and it was low. So the Dr put me on 50,000IU/week for 12 weeks. I guess it went up because then she told me to take 2,000IU/day. Then I had it checked again during one of my regular checkups, and it was low again. Back to the 50,000IU/week for 12 weeks. It went up. I started taking the 2,000IU/day again. Had it checked again and it was low, but I guess not terribly, so I've been taking 3,000IU/day for a few months now.

I went to my Endocrinologist to have my thyroid checked (I'm hypothyroid and have some nodules on my thyroid) and he offered to check my Vitamin D at the same time as my thyroid levels since they had to draw blood anyway. It's low. Again. So now I'll be taking 50,000IU TWICE a week for 12 weeks.

I wonder what it is with my body that I can't keep my Vit D level consistent. It's just weird. Maybe getting out and biking more would help...exercise, sunshine...

Oh joy! It's officially football season!!

My husband loves football.

When we were first living together, I would sit and "watch" (by watch, I mean ask questions relentlessly until he got so annoyed with me that I'd simply go somewhere else in the apartment) it with him. When my question asking started getting the answer "just listen to the announcers and you'll understand what's going on" I decided to take matters into my own hands and buy "Football for Dummies."

Clearly I'm no Dummy because I failed to understand football.

So let me tell you how overjoyed I am to hear him yelling at the television tonight...telling the PROFESSIONAL football players to "just put your head down and go!"

Four months and it will all be over, right?

I can do this.

What's shakin' turkey bacon?

Wut up, yo? Anything exciting been happening lately?

Here are some exciting things that are happening with yours truly:

1. I had an AWESOME trip to Boulder last month (August). I did a good amount of jewelry business, which was my main reason for going out there. I did some sight seeing, and it was as beautiful as last time I was there.

2. My jewelry has been doing pretty well at one place in Boulder; and that's ArtMart. I was surprised how much sold the first week or two it was there.

3. My jewelry has been selling more here in my local area and on my website. I've had 2 web orders (though I haven't gotten payment for one yet, so I'm still waiting) and have sold 3 pieces at a gallery in Raleigh.

4. Bummer, but I haven't gotten on my bike in what seems like forever. And the bad news is that after this week, the kids are tracked out, so it will be another 3 weeks before I can do any real biking...unless I go before hubs goes to work or after he gets home. I'm kinda bummed about that because I've been reading this book, Ride Your Way Lean, and I want to get started on doing it.

5. I'm going on a cruise! This December, my Mom is taking my sister and I on a cruise to the eastern Caribbean! I'm excited. I've never been on a cruise before. I'm kind of nervous as I tend toward motion sickness, but I'm hoping I won't get it because the boat is soooo big! Look it up - it's the Carnival Glory.

6. I finally got my jewelry into a store in SC that I've been trying to get into for months. So I need to get my ass in gear making more jewelry so I can send it down there.

7. What else? I dunno...nothing I can talk about here.

So that's about it for now. I'm sure I'm missing something, but if I remember, I'll come back and write it.

Tell me what's been going on with you.

Biking biking biking

I've been biking a lot this week. Well, a lot for me. I did a 7.6 mile ride this morning and I am spent. Biking everyday, when you aren't used to it, really takes it out of you. But I feel good. Isn't that weird? Tired, but good.

I can tell that my legs are getting stronger...I am able to do hills a bit faster than I usually can.

I really need to figure out what to eat prior and after riding. I have to wonder if that is a part of my energy issues both on the ride and after.

Anyone got suggestions?

Today was the last day of school!

I simply can't believe that I now have a 1st grader and a 4th grader. Where has all the time gone?

I cleaned out my truck today, cuz it was N-A-S-T-Y, and found my second grade picture from 1979/80. Jesus...30 fucking years ago. Sigh.

Anyway, I picked the kids up from school and took them to Dunkin' Donuts and then to Little Caesar's. I got a couple extra pizzas to share with the neighborhood kids as an impromptu "last day of school party" even though almost all the other kids in the neighborhood have been out of school for a number of weeks. They're on traditional calendar, while my kids are on year round.

So the kids played, ate pizza, played rock band, went outside and ran around in the rain, biked...while I cleaned chain parts in the sink and got depressed about how many I've already cleaned and how many are left to clean. I clean them individually with a spinbrush toothbrush. There's still a pile sitting (rusting) in my sink that I'll clean later tonight after the kidlets are in bed. When I got sick of cleaning chain parts, I decided to play rock band. So I played guitar, then sang. Then my little one came in and accompanied me on drums while I sang. Then the other kids came in and I played guitar (cuz they all think I'm really good :D) for a few songs with them. It was fun.

Tomorrow I'm taking 4 of the neighborhood kids, maybe 5, and we're meeting a few other kids, to see The Last Airbender. I'm pretty excited about seeing it. I think it's going to be a great movie and all the kids are thrilled to see it.

Today was a pretty good day. I got lots done while the kids were at school - filed, cleaned, took a shower (yay!).

I'm hoping tomorrow is a good day too.

OMG! I can't believe I did THIS! LOL!!

I fell off my bike. On the road. Yes, I'm an idiot.

I didn't forget I was clipped in. I unclipped my right foot to come to a stop on the curb, but I was going too slowly and couldn't get my balance on my right side...so I tipped over on my left side and skinned the shit out of my left knee. It really hurts.

How funny is it that this is the first time I've ever fallen off my bike? On a road ride of all places...not on the trail.

I feel really tired and sluggish this morning. I only did 2.5 miles today. I started out feeling tired, which is normal. But I usually shake it off by the end of the first mile. I didn't today. I wonder if it's from the harder-than-usual dirt ride I took on Saturday. I think I overdid it...it was really hot, and the dirt/sand combo I was riding on made pedaling somewhat more difficult than my legs are used to...I came in the house shaking and nauseated.

I need to figure out what to eat before these morning rides. I know I'm not doing a 20, or even 10, mile ride, but as fat as I am and as out of shape as I am, these rides are definitely exercise for me. My problem is that I don't want to eat too much and then not get the calorie benefit from riding. And really it's not just in the morning - it's all day...I get hungrier when I ride (obviously) because I'm expending more calories. I just don't know how many calories I should add to my daily routine so that I'm still benefiting from riding, but not extremely hungry all day too...

I hope that makes sense.

Guess I should go wash the blood off my knee.

O.M.G. I can't *BELIEVE* I did that...

O. M. G. I Can't *BELIEVE* I did that...
Fri Jun 25, 2010, 8:34 PM
Long story short, the bitch down the street yelled at my kid, made both of them cry, so I went down and told her to fuck off.

Long story longer, if you care to read it, is this:
I'm totally honest with other people about their kids, and I expect other people to be totally honest with me about mine. I'm very realistic about what and who my kids are, what they are capable of; and I feel like I know them very well.

So a couple of times in the past, my kids have not been asked to play over at this particular person's house; however, her kids are, and have always been welcome to play at mine. I went down to her house and asked if there was a problem with my kids, why they weren't invited, etc. She never said there was a problem WITH my kids, only some bullshit excuse about whatever she felt like complaining about at the time.

So today, my younger kid (who is 5 1/2) was in her yard and he picked up one of her solar lights. She said "he tore the top off of it." I told her I was sorry and that I would happily buy her a new one. She said that wasn't the point. The point was that he touched her property. Mkay...WTF? From what my mom says, the tops come off those lights anyway so you can put the batteries in there. But apparently this woman doesn't like people to move, much less touch, her cheese.

She also mentioned that my older child had called her an idiot. I said "I KNOW that. He TOLD me." And she's like "and you're ok with that?" "No, I'm not ok with that. But that is not why I'm here. And I've taken care of it already." (The whole while I'm thinking that she most definitely IS an idiot, and a rude one at that.)

Somehow I got on the subject of this pool party she had last week for her kids where some of the kids that play with my kids were invited, but yet again, mine weren't. My kids were really upset, and I couldn't tell them WHY they weren't invited because this woman had never come clean that she had issue with my kids. Hubs and I figured we knew the issue, but it would have been nice if she had been honest with us from the start and told us she didn't like our kids. I don't have a problem with that. AT. ALL. I don't think it's right, but some people just aren't cut out to deal with kids like mine.

Basically, I told her what I just told you and she said that she was trying to be "polite." I said "SCREW POLITE! I want you to be honest with me, so that next time this happens, I can tell my kids exactly why they aren't invited to your house." I went on to tell her that "she was not to yell at my kids, ever. I have never yelled at your kids and I expect that you will not yell at mine." All this time *I* was yelling at her...I was soooo pissed. How dare she treat my children like shit? I've been nothing but nice to her fucking annoying children, and this is the way she repays me? Fuck that. Then she tries to use the "I'm disabled and my husband passed away 2 years ago excuses." I said that I was very sorry she was in that situation but neither gives her the excuse to treat my kids like that.

We agreed, after about 15 minutes of very heated conversation, that she would like my kids to stay out of her yard. FINE! GREAT! I'm down with that...I'm so down with it that I told my kids to stay out of her yard 2 weeks ago. (And of course they went into her yard today to talk to her daughter...so yes, we have some listening issues).

But what gets me is she's sitting there bitching about a light...A FUCKING LIGHT...that a kid touched and it broke. I'm all "yanno, shit happens lady. They're kids." She's all "well I paid a lot of money for my house and I'm proud of it and I picked these lights out carefully." Ok...and? So I said "well what about the $30 I have to lay out because one of the neighborhood kids that I LET IN MY HOUSE TO PLAY EVERY DAY broke the kick pedal to the Rock Band drum set." Shit happens...I don't know what world she lives in that nothing gets broken in her house.

This is totally out of character for me, by the way. But she seriously picked the wrong day to fuck with me. I didn't feel good already, wasn't thrilled with her behavior to begin with, then she fucking yells at my kid. Momma bear went a little nuts. I'm not proud of yelling at her and of the example I set for my kids, but I TOTALLY stand behind every word that came out of my mouth. You just don't treat kids like that...I don't care how irritating they are. You just don't.

So I'm toying with the idea of apologizing for yelling at her...but making it very clear that I am apologizing only for the method by which I delivered my displeasure, not what I said to her. I've already explained to my kids that what Mommy did was not the right way to do it, and that I should have calmed down before I went over there. I also told them to stay the hell out of her yard, or there will be hell to pay - in the form of a spanking and staying inside for 2 days. Man I'm mean, but they know I mean business about this. I don't want to have a repeat of today.

I'll continue to let her kids play over here...if they want to. But I will absolutely not stand for her bullshit again.
/rant

On a side note, my husband and I have seriously considered taking her daughter to Wal Mart to buy the poor kid some clothes that fit her. Almost every thing she wears is way too small, her crack shows or the zipper won't zip. And here her Mom is buying new lights for her shitty looking front yard. Go lady go. (yes, I realize that is very judgmental, but damn...the poor kid can't ride her bike because her ass is hanging out of her jeans...and for my husband to notice this, it must be REALLY bad.)

I kinda forgot I had this blog...(not work friendly!)

How horrible of me!

To make up for it, here's a little gem I found while searching for something on the net today...it's really for all you guys out there.

From the New Scientist, Masturbation Could Bring Hay Fever Relief for Men.

Ok...what about us women? What does it get us? :P

The Perfect Gift for the Kid Who Has Everything...

...but nightmares and the need for therapy...

You can get this gem for the low low price of $199.95!


This is what the designer says about this cuddly man-eater:
"It's a sleeping bag! It's a stuffed toy! IT'S A SHARK! In an effort to make sharks (a very misunderstood animal that also happens to be one of my favorites) more cuddly, I designed and produced a prototype for the ChumBuddy. This 7 foot monster plush was 100% hand sewn (sewing machines hate me) from fleece and felt & contains about 30 lbs of poly-fill."

And seriously...the Chumbuddy? That's the best they could come up with?

BWAAHAAA Balls Deep in Love

I'm watching The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and it has some fantastic music in it. One of the songs is Balls Deep...and this is the only thing I could find on YouTube. Funnnny shit:

Shit day turned great

Ever have one of those days that starts out super-shitty and ends up pretty damn wonderful? Today, for me, was that kind of day.

I think hubs has been on his man-period for oh, I dunno, the past year or so. Today I'd just had it with the anger, the moodiness, the "ME: what's up? HIM: nothing" bullshit, so I took the kids to the park just to escape the negativity in the house. They played, I figured out that I'd fucked up and told a lady I could make a particular chain maille bracelet out of the copper rings I currently have, but I really can't because the weave is too tight in all the sizes of copper rings I have.

As we were getting ready to leave, this lady walks up to me and says "Would you all like to stay and join us for our Easter egg hunt?" Let me insert a reminder here that me and the kids are not Christian, thus do not celebrate Easter...so I felt a bit strange saying yes. HOWEVER, the kids were all "Please Mommy? PLEASE???" So we stayed. And stayed. And stayed. I didn't realize that the Easter egg hunt wasn't until after lunch, etc.

But it turned out really nicely. The kids got to play all day long with kids their age, weren't getting yelled at or in trouble because they were out of our boundaries (we have boundaries set for them at the house so we know where they are at all times, but they go out of them...etc, etc), and I got to hang out on a nice day, walk around a lot, help people and talk. I even helped (and participated in) with the egg hunt.

Seriously, these people fed us, invited us into their celebration and made us feel very welcome today. We stayed for almost 5 hours with these folks that we didn't know. How wonderful is that?

AND...I got hit on by a lady...asked for my number. ;)

So despite the bullshit at home, it turned out to be an extremely wonderful day. And the kids behaved really well.

A lesson in fucking your furniture - NOT work safe

Thank you Back Alley Bikes for the link.

What in the WORLD were these young men thinking?



Gotta love the way they keep pulling up their shorts. Oh-SO-SEXY.

4

Down 5 pounds.

TJs Chocolate Chips 80 cal
Light Lemonade - whole bottle 10 cal
Godiva Chocolate Balls - 8 25 cal
Godiva Chocolate Balls - 8 25 cal
Turkey Breast Golden Brown or Original 98% Fat Free - Poultry 68 cal
Spinach - Raw 4 cal
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread 140 cal
Total Calories Consumed 351

3

down 4.4 lbs

So far today:
Wed, Jan 13 2010 Grade Grams Cals
egg 70
egg 70
egg 70
TJs turkey bacon 30
TJs turkey bacon 30
TJs turkey bacon 30
TJs turkey bacon 30
Brummel & Brown Spread 45
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread 140
Buffalo Style Chicken Breast - Poultry 84
Kroger Havarti 90
Spinach - Raw 4
PB Crackers - 6 crackers 75
Cottage Cheese, Lowfat, 1% Milkfat 81
Del Monte Pear Halves EL Syrup 60
LC Pizza - cheese 240
TJs Chicken Potstickers 230
TJs Chicken Potstickers 345
Total Calories Consumed 1,724

2

down 1.2lbs from yesterday

No time for breakfast this morning - kid had to see shrink.

3 sips of strawberry milkshake
6 tiny Peanut Butter crackers

1 light lemonade (10 total calories)
2 slices honey wheat bread
spicy brown mustard
spinach
buffalo chicken lunch meat
1 slice havarti

still hungry after lunch (what a shock!)
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
2 1/4 canned pear halves in extra light syrup

much hot chai with 2 packs sweetener per

It's 5:05pm and I'm fucking starving. Off to drink more tea. Yay.

Tomorrow is my 14th anniversary, and as such, I will not be watching my food intake at dinner. We will probably eat Japanese. Lots of it.

So I looked up how many calories I should be eating to lose weight and it's around 1800/day. I'm NOWHERE NEAR THAT! Well, I probably am now.

Dinner:
14 chicken pot stickers
olive oil (wow that has a lot of calories!)
black pepper sauce

spinach salad
mushrooms
yellow squash
zucchini
can of tuna
1oz feta
onion
4 TB TJs fat free balsamic dressing

1

3 eggs
margerine
lots of black pepper
texas pete
diet mountain dew

garden salsa sun chips
2 slices honey wheat bread
mustard
1 slice provolone
blazing buffalo chicken breast
tons of brewed chai tea w/2 artificial sweeteners per

peanut butter bar - STARVING @4pm

14 chicken pot stickers
olive oil
TJs black peanut sauce

sugar free gum b/c I want to fucking EAT EVERYTHING. NOW.

small handful TJs semi sweet choc chips

Key of Awesome - I'll Never Be An Emo Vampire

Awesome stuff:

Lions Park Cyclocross Race Photos

I finally got a chance to go through 1000+ photos and have edited these (so far? not sure I'll have time to edit the rest of them):