so frustrated!

With all of the discussion in the news about the Obama administration putting forth requirements for contraception for women, and all of the backlash from conservative and religious groups, I feel like screaming.

First, there's:  Women on panel protest lack of women's opinion in hearing

Hey, I've got an idea--why don't a group of women get together and make plans about how to treat men's health issues.  Especially whether their testicles can be cut off, or just force vasectomies on random men.  But wait!  That's not fair!  There's the prostate to worry about, too...

Then there's:  This shit-frosted turd cake

Put an aspirin between your knees?  Really?  Maybe this guy should put some medical studies in front of his eyes.
And if he's going to argue that there's "more important" things going on with the country than sex, he's clearly obtuse.  Worrying about the health and well being of the citizens of the country is a job for the leaders, as well as taking care of protecting them and, oh yeah, maybe helping PREVENT unwanted pregnancies for people who are unemployed and can't afford to even take care of their own needs, let alone another person's....

So many people argue that they don't want the government in their bedroom--but isn't that exactly what's happening here?  Instead of helping women see to their reproductive needs, conservatives are sticking to the same old abstinence, baby-making is our duty, and sex-is-for-baby-making-in-marriage-only lines.
I'm guessing that means sex, for women, is only supposed to occur in marriage, and then only for procreation.  However, if a man has needs before marriage, he's allowed to slut around and be "the man" as much as possible.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

It seems to me that lately there's been a very obvious, very backwards drive against women's rights from a political party.
Douchebags.

It pisses me off.
If someone took away my option to prevent pregnancy, and I couldn't find a doctor to sterilize myself or my partner because we're "too young" or haven't had enough kids yet (often-cited reasons for refusing sterilization, from what I understand), and I ended up getting pregnant with no option for abortion...I would become another statistic.
I said it.
Some people are meant to be parents, some people would be good parents even if they didn't want to have kids, and some women wouldn't even survive pregnancy with their sanity intact.

Random bits & pieces of media

I haven't posted any pics or video of the furkids recently, and since I have a surplus of random pics from the iPhone....

Glowing-eyed children at play

Lily takes the "I'm just laying here staring at you innocently" approach...and then....

Yes, I realize it looks like Smudge is being cornered & tortured by Lily the bully, but wait until :15.  What a tease!

Her royal Pudgeness.  She likes to sit in unflattering positions for some reason.

Lily holding down my foot, just to make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

Before you watch the video, be warned:  there's cussing (lots of it!) and Lily abusing the Mister.  Hence the cussing.

Back in the day, the Mister used to do this with Gunner--hide a toy behind him, or under him, or under a blanket, or in a hard-to-get spot--and tell Gunner to "fetch it up" because Gunner was a game dog.

Unfortunately, Lily doesn't understand the concept of retrieving the toy herself--she just jumps all over the Mister until he gives up and shows it to her.

Damage I did to my tongue.  I wasn't trying to pierce it, seriously.
But I had a very sore tongue for a few days.
Biting tongue not recommended.
Listen, my life isn't all fuzzy animals and funny Misters.

The freezer full of soups!  And wild game meat...

This is the Mister.  Shoveling.  In shorts.  And slippers with socks.  I believe he's got a cigarette in his mouth, too.
Classy

Driving home in the snow one night, we parked in the garage and I put my hand in the snow on the car hood and went in the house.
A few minutes later when I came back out to the garage, I saw the Mister had added his hand.
Awww! 

Smudge the "cat" helping herself to Amber's food.
I'm telling you, she thinks she's a dog.

Amber staring at me.  She does this all the time--rests her head on the edge of the coffee table and looks at me with that precious face.
Awwww!

February

The first few days of February have been frustrating and fun.

Do-it-half-assed-yourself with Mel & Mister!
The Mister and I wanted quieter fans in the bathrooms, since the construction-grade ones that were installed in the house were about as quiet as a drum solo.  We could hear them over the shower running.
Since I'd replaced so many switches in the house last year, I felt semi-confident replacing the fans.  Since the Mister had re-installed the fan in the guest bath, I felt mostly confident we could replace all of them.
So we attempted to replace one of two in the master bath to start.
The process began with removing the old, noisy fan/light.  Not too bad.
But the new fan was bigger.  The Mister had to cut a bigger hole in the ceiling.
Then there was the matter of mounting the new fan.  Since our attic is terribly difficult to get into, he didn't want to have to go up to try to mount it, especially since it meant I'd have to do work from the bottom that I probably wouldn't do right.
He figured out a magical, half-assed way to "mount" it:  use some anchors through the drywall on one side, screw directly into the joist on the other.  The fan stayed where it should.
Unfortunately, the damn thing wouldn't work right.  Yes, the fan would come on.  But only when the lights were off.  The lights worked either way.  The Mister suspected we needed a switch with more poles on it.
We tried searching the internet, contacting the build website we'd gotten the fans from, and contacting the manufacturer.  No answers on the internets, the build website provided some, and the manufacturer knew less about what I was asking than I did, which was extremely frustrating.
After cussing and trying everything he could think of, he finally relented to my suggestion that we call an electrician.
Fortunately, the electrician was out of town for the week.  Yes, fortunately.
Because while we waited, we attempted to install the second fan in the master bath.  And this one the Mister wired a little differently than the first--and it worked!!  Yay!!
So he pulled apart the first one, rewired it, and it worked too!  Hallelujah!
By that point, the guest bath fan was no big deal.  I had most of the minor install work done by the time he was done cutting the hole in the ceiling, so he basically just wired it, taped it, and tightened some screws.
yay us!

In the past week, we also tried pilates.  Since the Mister's doc told him he needs to stretch his hamstrings so they stop pulling his back the wrong way and strengthen his core muscles to support his back better, and I need want to try some no-impact exercise, this fit the bill.
Before we went, the Mister was skeptical.  "I don't know if I'm going to really be into this"
Well, ok, but don't go into it thinking you're going to hate it.
So we went.  We worked some muscles, built up a light sweat, spent some time together doing something good for us, and the Mister liked it enough that he wants to keep going.
yay me!!

A few days ago, after going to pilates, I started to feel icky.  After checking out the tonsils, I discovered ick in them.  Tonsillitis (hence the previous post).
I slept, I emergen-c'd, I drank water, I had soup, gargled with salt water, had fruit smoothies, and today I can say I feel 75% better.  My one tonsil is still a little swollen, but since I'm feeling better, I imagine it's just a matter of time before it catches up.
Of course, after the first day of me being sick, the Mister started to feel yucky, too.
He's tired, sore, and just blah feeling.  Hopefully he'll catch up to me, too.

Today, since I was feeling more energetic, I went to the pet store to get a cable to replace the one Lily broke, from use & cold weather, on Friday.  I also managed to find a tug toy that allows me to play with both of them at the same time.  They can either tug against each other, or me, and I can tug against both of them at once.  win!
yay doggies!

whine

Why, oh why, did she let me have my way about my tonsils when I was 8 and cried at the thought of surgery to have them removed?
I was 8!  I cried when my sister put gum in my hair just to "see what would happen".
Now, at the age of 30, I still have my tonsils.  And they're infected.  For the second time in 4 months.  And it sucks.
And the thought of having surgery on them as an adult sounds horrible, like an actual horror movie, from all the stories I've heard.
Why haven't doctors figured out a better, less painful way to remove tonsils?

Conversations with the Mom

On the phone today, I ask what her plans are for the weekend.
Instead of a coherent reply, I hear "ow, damn it, I just fingered myself"
well, that's awkward.
After laughing at her own hilarity, she says, "No, I mean, I just nailed myself"
omg Mom!  seriously!?

She gouged herself in her own palm with her fingernail.
Still.  Words you should hope to never hear from your mother are "I just fingered myself" or "I just nailed myself"

Camera 3

I'm going to channel Jon Stewart for just a minute because I have something very important to say....

Weather, meet me at camera 3.


Seriously, weather?  This is how you're behaving in the middle of what's-supposed-to-be winter?!  It's the end of January and we've only gotten a dash, pinch, and sprinkling of snow.  You do realize this is Montana, right?  We're supposed to be up to our ears in snow by now.  If not ears, at least ankles.  And instead of 50's, the temps are supposed to be BELOW ZERO, keeping snow in it's place on the ground instead of sublimating what's left of the ice on my yard.
While I know the skiers are bound to be frantic and likely having breakdowns due to no snow on their favorite hills, there's something more important to consider here.  Think of the trees!  Think of all the little forest critters, damn it!  Because, if this is how you're going to act, weather, come summer, all the trees are going to self-combust by mid-June when the sun thinks of even winking at them.  They'll just stand there, gasping for some kind of precipitation, and see the sun coming up over the peaks and throw up their limbs in despair, giving in to the inevitable--fire, smoke, and death.  All the poor little forest critters who live among the dehydrated trees will have to run far, far away--probably into town, because they can't go anywhere else, and then people will run them over or shoot them because people are assholes.
Is that what you want, weather?  Do you want the trees to commit suicide and the critters to get run over?  Because from the way you're acting, that's what's going to happen.
So get your shit together and sky poo on us already!  I've grown up enough now to appreciate winter for what it is--a season lasting 4-9 months where I get fucking cold and everything looks white and pretty.  So stop being a self-indulgent asshole, weather, and get your act straight.
Montana.  January.  Sub-zero temperatures.  A couple feet of snow.  Ice-covered roads.  People getting into accidents because they don't know how to drive.  Shoveling every day in my Uggs and mittens, scarf and hat to stay warm.
Do it!  Damn you, make it white and icy and cold and winter, weather!

Week 3

I feel like I just reached some unattainable goal.

On Tuesday, I attempted the first day of week 3 training--warm up walk for 5, run 1:30, walk 1:30, run 3:00, walk 3:00--and then repeat once more.
I did it!  I ran 3 minutes twice!  My legs got a little sore, but nothing horrible like Tuesday.
The weekly training will continue to involve longer runs and shorter walks, but for once I feel like I can actually do it.
yayay!

New Shoes

Same pain.

Of course, I started on longer runs than previous weeks, so I figured it would be harder.
But, really, shouldn't my shoes make me invincible to pain?
And, let's be honest, with shoes named "Storm electric violet lightning" shouldn't I be a professional marathoner as soon as I put the shoes on?

I may have the same pain, but at least the shoes have some purple on them.

Slow and Steady

I've recently started an attempt at jogging.

I've always wanted to be a jogger.  When I used to work out at the gym, I was concentrating more on weights than cardio because more muscle = more calories burning.  Which was fine and good...until the gym burned down.

Prior to the gym, I was a lazy bum.  Prior to being a lazy bum, I rode my bike.  A lot.  All over the old hometown.  I LOVED biking.  I still have the bike I babysat all summer in junior high to pay for.  I LOVE my bike.  However, since becoming a lazy bum, biking has become more difficult.
Nevermind that half the town bikes.  Nevermind that I live on a half-built street where not many people would see me.
I'm heinously self conscious about others seeing me huff and puff and grunt and cuss and eventually fall over in defeat.  It's why I joined another gym after the old one burnt down, went in once, and then never again.  Too many people could see me doing the huff to defeat routine.  Or even just the huff puff grunt.
I don't know why I get so self conscious--everyone else there is sweating and pretending to love it.  And I'm sure some of them have been where I am, but haven't given up.  But that doesn't matter, because in my mind, every single person in the gym isn't working out--they're all staring at me, waiting for me to fall over panting, so they can feel superior and super fit.  Jerks.

So getting a treadmill in August was wonderful.  I started using the iFit feature to download different walking plans to get me moving.
And then I stopped using it while Annie was here.  I blame it on her, but I'm sure it was just me being a lazy bum again.

Then, lo and behold, I happened to stumble upon a link, through a link, and a couple links before that that had nothing to do with fitness at all, that said Couch to 3K running program.  It's for lazy bums!
I can run and huff and puff and cuss and grunt and cuss and turn bright tomato-red and drip sweat with no one watching!
I've only just finished week 2.  It's a 9-week program.  Week 2 took 2 weeks to complete.  Some days I just can't complete the plan because I have hideous, crippling shin splints.
But...I plan to complete the program.  Sometime before 2014, at this rate.  But I will finish it!
And, proudly, happily, I can say my knees don't hurt at all!  I figured that since they've always been an issue, they would continue the proud tradition and make this program impossible for me.  But thanks to the fantastic treadmill's ability to provide cushion to my steps, my knees are ok.
It's just those damn shin splints.

Luckily, I know a couple runners, one of whom gave me some tips for stretching my shins--which seems to work.  Yesterday I completed the third of 3 week 2 workouts with minimal pain.
Now I just need to stretch every few minutes so my muscles don't attempt a return to their "but we were lazy and it was fun!" norm.

And find some decent running shoes.  Which means shopping.  In a shoe store.  Which, actually, doesn't suck, because trying on shoes doesn't involve stripping down like clothes shopping demands.  Maybe, just maybe, I can find a purple pair.  I'm sure purple shoes would let me run better/faster/less sweatier.

My new obsession

I have a thing for soup.  It's a recent thing.  And by thing, I mean thing.

Now that it's winter (supposedly), I feel that I can address some of my obsession with soup.

Soup, in my opinion, is pretty damn awesome.  You have a whole meal in a bowl--proteins, veggies, pasta, etc.--and it's hot and you can freeze it for a later date or slurp it up.

I discovered my thing at the Co-op.  They make fresh soups daily.  One of my favorite, apple potato bacon, is usually only available during the fall months when apples are plentiful.
But otherwise, almost every time I go to the Co-op, there's a soup option I can't turn down.
Last night it was green chilies bacon and cheddar soup.  It had jalapenos in it.  I don't even like jalapenos, but that soup was damn good!

Anyway, I first plagiarized a recipe based on Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagoli.  It was described to me, at the restaurant, as an "Italian-style chili".  With pasta.

So I hunted down the recipe for that soup.  Which then morphed into my Tuscan Stew.

The original soup at Olive Garden calls for about 9 ingredients.  I think I doubled that list.

• Beef broth
• Ground bison
• Kidney beans
• Cannellini beans
• Marinara sauce
• Diced tomatoes
• Carrots
• Onion
• Celery
• Red wine
• Spinach
• Kale
• Mushrooms
• Artichoke hearts
• Cheddar
• Garlic

And, of course, salt & pepper...
It's a very hearty soup, and full of goodness for you!


Last weekend I bought a ham.  I love ham.  LOVE ham.  If I had to pick one farm animal that I love more than any other, it's pig.  Ham and bacon.  I don't think I need to say more.

Anyway, I bought a ham because they were there.  And I knew, in the back of my mind, that no matter how small of a ham I managed to get, I'd have more than enough meat left over to put into a soup.  Or maybe I bought the ham for soup and figured there'd be some meat left over to just eat for dinner.

Ham, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth and cheese.

Since I'm not a fan of beans with my ham, I searched all over the internet for a recipe that doesn't call for beans or peas or anything else that would ruin my ham.

I found a recipe for Cheesy ham & potato soup.  It doesn't suck.

I had me some of that

Apparently my obsession, as winter continues, is going to worsen.

I bought a soup cookbook.

From the New England Soup Factory.

Today was my first attempt at one of their soups:  Spinach & feta.  Originally spinach, feta and roasted pine nuts, but I'm no fan of nuts.

Cookin' on the stove--chicken stock, potatoes, onion, celery, white wine, garlic, spinach, cream and feta.

Steaming in the bowl

My next soups include Greek orzo, lemon and chicken soup, and apple, bacon and onion soup. The freezer is slowly filling up with soups.  yay!