I found a quiz on Facebook to determine your "real age," based on lifestyle. I thought I was a grown up at heart, but mine came back as 17 years old! No wonder people think I'm a teen and wish me a birthday that's half what I really am.

I think the quiz just ended up that way because I clicked that I have never smoked.

I don't feel 17 inside. A 17 year old wouldn't be so fretful about the state of the world...

But I do miss my pigtails.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:50 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Mary asked for a pupdate, and I must say that there's not much going on in Charlie's life at the moment. But we did kitten-sit over Labor Day weekend. Charlie spent the weekend chasing after a four-pound kitten trying to make friends. He has such a good relationship with Hitler cat, and he thinks all cats should be as receptive to his advances. Luckily this kitten took it like a champ and even let him get close to her a few times. Here they are snuggled together...

But most of the weekend the poor kitten hid under the dresser in the guest bedroom.

In other cat news, the family that dog-sits for me just got a cat who's not so into Charlie. Charlie keeps getting scratched in the face because he just gets too danged boisterous around their cat.

My husband says Charlie is like Lenny from Of Mice and Men...

Posted by: Sarah at 08:52 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Well, Charlie should come play with Ike. Ike loves Charlie so much that when Charlie goes home Ike sinks into a depression for about two days. I can't believe I have an emo-pit bull.

Posted by: airforcewife at September 30, 2008 09:54 AM (mIbWn)

2 We, your designated dog sitters in the Midwest, promise to NEVER have a cat. The girls and I would need epi-pens, literally. Charlie always has a home away from home here!

Posted by: Guard Wife at September 30, 2008 10:49 AM (eb8pN)

3 Okay,the last line just about put me on the floor, I was NOT prepared! Your DH is too funny.

Posted by: MaryIndiana at September 30, 2008 01:48 PM (d71ip)

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I've been wanting to blog this all day but kept telling myself that it was not blogworthy. But I can't help myself any longer; I just have to blab it.

My ovaries feel like they're on fire.

No, seriously. I feel like I am burning up from the inside. You know when your laptop is on your legs for too long? That's what it feels like on my stomach. From the inside.

The other day my neighbor's 7-year-old gave me a hug. Her head is belly button height, and she recoiled from the hug saying, "Eww, you're hot."

So...things must be working. I'm apparently producing a lot of energy.

I had my ultrasound today to make sure the meds are doing what they should, and it appears we're good to go at the end of this week. I am not so excited that I have to give myself a shot of HCG on Wednesday. A shot. This was nowhere to be mentioned before today. I nearly freaked out when the nurse told me.

I would not be a good diabetic.

I am scheming to get my neighbor to do it for me.

So then by the weekend we will have done all that can be done, and thus begins The Waiting Game. I need to plan some activities for myself for the beginning of October.

I have made 19 preemie caps in the past week. You think I have nervous energy?

Posted by: Sarah at 03:40 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Good luck!!!! If I lived near you, I would be happy to give you your shot. I could even dust off some credentials to prove I'm qualified

Posted by: dutchgirl at September 29, 2008 06:23 PM (rVkwX)

2 Very excited for you..it has to be working,right? Burn off some nervous energy with a Pupdate,please?

Posted by: MaryIndiana at September 29, 2008 07:53 PM (d71ip)

3 I'd like to say that if I were there, I'd give you the shot, but that would be lying. I'd take you somewhere to have someone give it to you, though, if that counts. Sounds like your oven is getting all preheated for a little bun (or three...no pressure). Keep us posted!

Posted by: Guard Wife at September 30, 2008 03:30 AM (eb8pN)

4 I gave my best friend in GA 2 months worth of shots before her in-vitro. We always laughed that you know you've got a good friend when you trust her to give you a shot in the butt.

Posted by: Nicole at September 30, 2008 04:50 AM (xPxyx)

5 Best wishes for your efforts. As for activities and nervous energy, might I suggest a change-up in knitting activities? Try making something completely different, such as a medium to large scale animal, or some-such. This will engage your mind more fully than objects which you are already accustomed to making.

Posted by: TJ at September 30, 2008 08:23 AM (jKm1z)

6 That's awesome! *thinking positive thoughts* And I am so with you on the shots thing - I've often thought it's good that I don't have to deal with shots, it would end badly!

Posted by: Barb at September 30, 2008 01:55 PM (iaV9O)

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I used to rave about the Stars and Stripes coverage when we lived in Germany, but I don't read it often now that we're home. The Girl clued me back in on it today. Read this article, which is what I think all reporting should be: good points, bad points, positive tone, actual information that's not just regurgitated from Reuters, and the 5 W's right at the beginning. I had forgotten how much I miss that newspaper.

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SemperFiWife over at SpouseBuzz found an awesome article: Attitude Is Everything

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First, Peter Kirsanow at The Corner on Obama's final thoughts about what a crappy country the US is.

Second, apparently the family of the soldier whose bracelet Obama wears asked him to stop wearing it. Ouch.

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I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I'm not black. Heh. So this kind of stuff weirds me out.

What If Obama Loses?
African-Americans thought he had no chance—then they started to believe. Now they fear defeat.

"The conversation had to change to 'How do we change our futures now that we have someone who might actually care about us in the race?'

So no other president cares about black people. Man, I didn't know Kanye was taken as gospel. Newsflash: the policies that are good for "American" people are good for all people.

The quotes in this article are just depressing to me:

"I've never forgotten that he is a smart, articulate black man with a smart, articulate black wife," says Linda Wright, 34, a nurse's assistant from Houston. "You think white people were just going to turn over the keys to the most important job in the land without a fight?"

"I'm going to be mad, real mad, if he doesn't win," says Daetwon Fisher, 21, a construction worker from Long Beach, Calif. "Because for him to come this far and lose will be just shady and a slap in black people's faces. I know there is already talk about protests and stuff if he loses, and I'm down for that."

Fisher's comment about something vaguely "shady" echoes a common concern that the election will somehow be stolen rather than won. "I know a lot of things can stop Obama from winning, and it's not just lack of votes," says Marilyn Higgins, 36, a mail carrier from Detroit.

I've never thought these things about Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin for being women. Never. I wouldn't have voted for Hillary Clinton even if she was my aunt because of her policies. Gender sure isn't going to sway me.

The comments on the article are interesting and varied. But here's one that confuses, like I wrote a while back, opportunity with results:

Comment: What most white people don't seem to understand is that this country has always said to the world that anybody can be president in the United States, yet the majority of Americans have proven that they don't truly believe that by the way they've voted all through this country's history. This country is made up of people whose ancestry originated from every corner of the globe, yet it's history of presidents has yet to reflect that. How can you go spouting to the world that you're the land of opportunity for everyone and wanting to import your way of life to the entire world when you are illustrating that only white, mostly rich men are allowed to have all of the opportunities.

Translation: How dare you say anyone can be president and then vote for the person you think is best suited instead of the person who matches your color/gender/hometown? I love that last bit: "allowed to have all the opportunities." That seems a gross misunderstanding of the word "opportunity."

I too am nervous that my candidate might not win. It has nothing to do with what color he is. But I won't be out protesting if he loses.

This stuff doesn't make sense to me.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:03 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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It didn't go as well as I'd hoped.

The first thing that Obama said made me want to throw something at the TV. I cannot stand it when people say that we are fighting two wars. We absolutely are not; we are fighting one war on two fronts. That is a pet peeve of mine that makes me want to tear my hair out when I hear it.

And I didn't fare much better throughout the rest of the debate.

Part of it was this:

Repetition may bore political junkies, but it helps candidates connect with casual voters--as do memorable (if corny) anecdotes.

I didn't learn anything new during the debate, and I thought often I came up with a better argument than McCain did. Though my arguments were decidedly less PC and probably couldn't be repeated on TV without redacting several swear words.

I thought Obama looked better, and since I have no faith in the competence of American voters, I fully expect them to vote for who looks better, so I am disappointed in the debate.

But I did enjoy Obama's closing remarks about how his Kenyan father wouldn't dream of setting foot in 2008 America and would've rather emigrated to France or somewhere less unilateral. That plays real well, so keep that up please, Obama.

But other people around teh internets aren't as pessimistic as I am, so maybe it wasn't that bad.

UPDATE:

Read what Varifrank says about RISK.

Also, I love this paragraph of his that he wrote before the debate:

I dont care if McCain walks out begins to channel the ghost of Jim Morrison, drops his pants and takes a big whizz on stage shouts "I AM THE LIZARD KING!!!,because even if he did do that, I'm still voting for him. Quite frankly, if he does do that, I will probably send his campaign money. If he also turns around smacks Jim Lerher to the ground and calls him "a commie punk", I'll fly to Manahttan and wear a "MCCAIN FOR PRESIDENT" sandwich board in Times Square and ring a bell and hand out campaign literature to the New Yorkers like those "end is nigh" folks.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:09 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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If I have to hear the phrase "find bin Laden" one more time, I will flip my lid.

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I just saw the preview of the movie W. Yeah, um, I'm not going to go see that. But all I could think of was how Laura Bush must feel. I can't imagine how I would stay composed if anyone made a movie like that about my husband. I would tear Oliver Stone limb from limb. Michael Moore too.

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Emily pointed out that Cass has a lot up at Villainous Company about the bailout. In her post I found this insight from Jim Manzi:

I’m not sure how many people realize how close we were to the wheels coming off at about noon yesterday, as major commercial-paper processing banks like State Street lost 30% – 60% of their value in about 2 hours. Want evidence: When was the last time you heard of the U.S. government identifying a problem, developing a multi-hundred-billion-dollar program and announcing it within about 48 hours?

Does anyone else feel sick to their stomachs? Especially when you read the last line of Cass' post?

If after all this, you are somehow trusting in the rationality of your fellow citizens, may I direct your attention to lemming-like behavior in the face of a non-crisis which nearly brought our entire financial system to its knees and this utterly inexplicable reaction.

Your fellow voters are about to vote you more "affordable housing". It's like deja vu all over again.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:24 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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VDH: Palin and Obama—What Really is Wisdom?

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Quote of the day, from Varifrank:

How anyone over the age of 12 can vote for a leftist socialist with zero economic experience or so much as a drab of common street sense to be President of the United States is completely beyond my ability to comprehend. You would get more economic common sense if you talked about the 1980's "laffer curve" with a three legged tincan chomping billygoat with a lapshade on its head. The only thing socialists know about markets and economics is how to wreck them and make everyone equally poor.

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A certain pinko commie emailed and asked what I think of the bailout. At the risk of making an Obama joke, it's really above my pay grade. I have been watching TV, listening to the radio, and reading articles about it to try to wrap my brain around the situation, but I'm just not so good at thinking in terms of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Here's one thing I do understand: money doesn't grow on trees. Our government doesn't have the money for the things it's already promised, like Medicare and Social Security. Now some want to add health care, and then there's this bailout.

I think we're boned. But I'm a housewife who knits during the Glenn Beck program, so what do I know?

CavX wrote a good summary of the situation, which fits my understanding of the problem. And I've read enough Thomas Sowell to know that there were dire consequences to lending money to people who simply couldn't afford it. Those chickennnnnns came home to roost, at the risk of making a Jeremiah Wright joke.

I heard a guy last night on the radio say that he makes $50,000 a year and bought a $400,000 house on an ARM. And this was touted as a good choice. I guess I just live on a different planet than some of these people, because my husband makes more than that and our house is less than half of this guy's. And we already own a good chunk of it.

But what do I know: I missed the Penthouse Party because I was too cheap to pay the cover charge...

Posted by: Sarah at 08:11 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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So I have a hot date Friday night for a debate that may not happen. Bummer.
I'm with Powerline on what this may mean.

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I have wanted to make socks with Cascade Fixation for a while now, so I was delighted to receive two balls as a gift. I searched for patterns online and came upon this one. I tried a gauge swatch, but it was waaay off. I thought maybe it was because the yarn was stretchy, so I just went up a needle size to be safe and got moving.

While I was working, I thought the sock looked small, but I decided to stay in denial. I knitted the leg, heel, turn, gussets, and decreases before I began to panic. I tried the sock on and found that it was tighter than panty hose. No good.

Ripped out the whole thing.

I had to cast on 52 sts instead of 40 to get a sock that fit. This woman who wrote the pattern must have slender legs and feet! So I started knitting Friday morning and had 17 rows done when I boarded the plane.

A man across from me asked what I was making. Then he said, "OK, we've got four hours to Vegas; I want to see how much you can get done!" So I started working. And I worked and worked and worked. I wanted a break, to read or to nap, but I felt all this pressure from the guy in the seat across from me! It was so silly. He drove me to knit for four hours straight.

At the end of the flight, I held up the work for him and he disappointedly said that I hadn't really gotten that much done.

Yep, knitting is slow.

Five hours of work:

Half a sock. Dark photo taken in our "ghetto fabulous" hotel, as Guard Wife called it.

I came home and finished the sock on Monday and started the second last night.

Three cheers for knitting for myself!

Posted by: Sarah at 08:38 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 Heck with that guy! I'd like to see *him* knit that much in four hours! That sock is really cute - I really need to try doing a sock pattern, so far I've only done one knitting project, a really simple scarf.

Posted by: loquita at September 24, 2008 11:10 AM (sPO/s)

2 Eh, what do random airline passengers know, anyway? ;-) Looks great to me! :-) (And he should know better than to dis someone holding knitting needles ;-)

Posted by: kannie at September 24, 2008 11:31 AM (f+LJo)

3 I'd like blue ones please; size 9. Oh, can you put the no-slippy-grippy stuff on the bottom so I don't fall? Thanks I think it's great and I'm super proud of you!

Posted by: Susan at September 24, 2008 01:09 PM (bwlsC)

4 Wait...they let you on the plane with knitting needles? TSA must be slacking off... ;D

Posted by: Marine Wife at September 24, 2008 05:52 PM (yv1Wh)

5 The guy must have been drinking. Just because it's okay to take knitting needles on planes doesn't mean they won't hurt if you get jabbed with one! It's cool to see the finished product! The photo of the one @ G-Fab made me have a nasty flashback involving that hole. Ick!

Posted by: Guard Wife at September 25, 2008 06:35 AM (/kc/Y)

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Bill Whittle: The Undefended City

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I've mentioned before that I voted for Al Gore in 2000. I knew deep in my bones that I was a Republican, but I just couldn't bring myself to vote for George Bush because I thought he was far less experienced than Al Gore and that mattered to me. Excelsior!

So I got to thinking today...I hope there are Democrat voters out there who think like I did in 2000, because now the tables are turned. I hope there are Democrats who know they are Democrats but can't bring themselves to vote for Barrack Obama because he's far less experienced than John McCain.

Of course, the twist ending to all of this is that I was wrong about George Bush and I think he ended up doing a far better job than Al Gore would've done. I'm not sure I could ever get my brain to believe that Obama could do a better job than McCain, but if Obama is elected, I sure hope he rises to the challenge.

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I find myself really hoping that this fertility cycle works, and not just so I get to have a baby or three. I keep thinking, "I can't wait until I have a healthy 12-week-old pregnancy so I can get the heck out of this fertility clinic."

Dealing with these people is theater of the absurd. The doctor has one philosophy and plan of action, while his nurses have another. The doctor is gangbusters, diving right in and slapping bandaids on problems so we can jerry-rig some success. The nurses want to run tests and get to the bottom of things before we do any treatment. The problem is, they haven't worked out their issues among themselves. So I end up having conversations like this:

Nurse: So we need to do a clomid challenge test and day 3 tests.
Sarah: But you told me a week ago that it was OK that I was going to be in Vegas on day 3 and couldn't be here.
Nurse: No, not OK, we have to skip this month.
Sarah: Not acceptable.
Nurse: But we need to make sure you're not already pregnant.
Sarah: My husband is deployed, so I am most certainly not.
Nurse: If your husband is deployed, how are you going to get pregnant?
Sarah: IUIs.
Nurse: Why are we doing that?
Sarah: Don't you people take notes or anything?
Nurse: (looks at chart) Oh, now I see what the doctor is doing. Well, that's risky but OK...
Sarah: RISKY??? No one said the word "risky" last week; you all acted like this was standard procedure.
Nurse: Well, the doctor doesn't always like the run the tests first, which is a problem.

Oh good lord. I was waiting for her to turn into a rhinoceros.

Ironically, a long time ago my husband and I joked about nicknaming the baby Godot, since we've been waiting for him to show up for quite a while now. I never knew I was inviting absurdity into my life with that harmless joke. But apparently I've jinxed myself into this Who's On First routine with the fertility clinic.

So we're doing a backwards compromise now. We are full steam ahead this month, trying to get pregnant. If it doesn't work this month, we will step back and start running tests to make sure my innards are a go-flight.

Maybe next time I talk to the doctor and nurses, I can get them to peek out of a joke wall à la Laugh In and have them dispense medical information in the form of knock-knock jokes.

Excuse me, does this IUI come with a cream pie to the face?

Posted by: Sarah at 05:08 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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My husband is deployed right now, so we don't pay a dime of taxes. And even when he's here, as a one-income family, we don't pay that much into the pot. But I, like Morgan Freeberg, try to look at what's best for the entire US and not just my own wallet.

Classic example of gulping the liberal koolaid without knowing you're gulping it: "Oh don't worry, that's a tax on super rich people, not you!"

The pattern is that if it can be categorized as a tax cut for 95% of us, then everyone should be thinking of it as a tax cut for all of us, even if the remaining five percent see their tax liabilities go shootin' so freakin' high that it ends up being a net increase. It all depends on your point of view: In my world, if we all end up paying more, then we all end up paying more.

But I notice if you look at this through the left-wing lens, whether you know you're doing it or not...like factcheck.org and the AP up there...then 95% of us pay less taxes.

We'll just pay more for goods and services, that's all.

Or, as commenter aharris said:

So, I can pay less taxes until those who produce the goods I depend on for my livelihood: gas, food, clothing, etc., start hiking prices to compensate for their increased tax burden. I can look to pay less in taxes and enjoy no impact on my life until my husband's division of the company who has to yearly justify its existence and profitability to its German headquarters can no longer show enough return on its investment vis a vis the tax burden on business in the US and the Germans decide to pick up and re-locate the entire division to Mexico where they already have a small plant in operation. My husband might lose his job, or if he's valuable enough, he might be offered a transfer, and all of a sudden, I am forced to face becoming a citizen of Mexico.

I don't care if my husband would take home more money under an Obama presidency because I am not shortsighted enough to make voting decisions based on what is best for me personally. Shoot, if I did, wouldn't I be anti-war? Bring the troops home and give me a tax cut, future of the US be damned!

And make my knitting for charity tax deductible while you're at it. Heh.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:55 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 My craftiness is a deduction because I donate the goods/materials to charitable organizations. My mamarazzi photog hobby is also a little deduct - used to be up to 2% of your adjusted gross income not sure what the rules are now but it's the only justification I have for my new camera. I lurve my accountant but he cringes when he sees me coming Glad you're home safe and sound.

Posted by: Susan at September 22, 2008 04:55 AM (4aKG6)

2 On aharris' comment: I work in commercial real estate and do a lot of looking over office leases. In nearly every case, the lease has a clause that passes any real estate taxes down to the businesses leasing the space. It's absolutely true; when business taxes go up (think Obama's proposed windfall profits tax on the oil companies in order to give "working people" another stimulus package), the higher cost eventually trickles down to the consumer. Even if you don't believe in trickle-down economics when it comes to tax breaks for the rich or for companies, it is hard to deny the reality of trickle-down expenses.

Posted by: Emily at September 22, 2008 06:10 AM (jAos7)

3 So..according to Joe Biden Logic are you and your DH somehow not "Patriotic"?

Posted by: MaryIndiana at September 23, 2008 08:13 AM (eq7wt)

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