(I would have turned this into a snazzyroo Flash thing, but I haven’t owned a Flash animator since it was Macromedia)
(There you go. As good as being there. I’ll get the Missive uploaded as soon as I find iWork ’08’s serial, or install a trial of iWork ‘09.)
*Note: The Fifth Missive of The Miller Menagerie is finally uploaded.
Posted on December 25th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general, Nerdiness, Technological banter | No Comments »
Singer, actress Eartha Kitt dies at 81
How odd is it that the sultry singer of “Santa Baby”, Eartha Kitt, would pass away on Christmas Day? That was my dad’s favorite Christmas Song. I was telling Drew the story the other day, of how my dad was asking people if they ever had heard “Santa Baby”, and then he’d sing the line, “Santa Baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me”. Everyone (back in DeFuniak) would say, “I’ve never heard of that one.”
And, they’d look at him like it wasn’t real. Then, in 2000, I worked at an Old Navy, and we had a Christmas CD that we sold, and “Santa Baby” was on it. For the first time, at age 19, I heard this song that my dad would talk about every Christmas season. I bought it for him, and I remember that he called me when he received it, stoked that I was able to find it, and on a CD at that.
Merry Christmastide, everyone! Here’s “Santa Baby” for you all!
Posted on December 25th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general | No Comments »
(I would have turned this into a snazzyroo Flash thing, but I haven’t owned a Flash animator since it was Macromedia)
(There you go. As good as being there. I’ll get the Missive uploaded as soon as I find iWork ’08’s serial, or install a trial of iWork ‘09.)
Posted on December 25th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general, Nerdiness, Technological banter | No Comments »
On Wednesday, December 17th, we flew out of the Seattle area on a red-eye flight to Reagan National Airport in D.C. We left with some thawed snow on the road turning into ice, and rumors of a bigger snowfall coming while we were away.
The flight over went well enough; Newt was like a little caged beast on the flight. Unfortunately, calling American Airlines and having his ticket flagged as special needs did nothing. They didn’t even put it on his ticket, so he didn’t get to board early, and he had to take his ankle-foot-orthotic/AFO off for the security screening (proper accomodations are supposed to be provided for folks with special needs). I was willing for him to have a pat-down, private screening, instead of the x-ray screening, but much like in that MDA article, TSA grunts are not aware of different protocol for different situations. So, we got to spend a few minutes putting Newt’s orthotics back on, which was complicated wearing Rudy and managing Prue, a carseat for Newt on the plane, a backpack, 2 children’s coats, and my own coat. Of course, Drew helped, but that’s more stuff than two people should have to manage, while wrangling a little boy to put his orthotics on…then doing it again to put on his shoes. The flight was late to Dallas, so we had to rush to get to our gate. They were awaiting us (they even knew our names), and opened up the plane so we could get on board.
Once in D.C., we picked up a rental car, and headed over to Alexandria to have lunch with our old landlord, Naim, at The Pita House. It was great seeing him, even for such a brief time. Then, we head to Chantilly to check into the extended stay that Kathleen reserved for Drew and I, and Claire and Mike (and their two poochies, Mason & Spencer). Claire and Mike got their an hour or so after us. They had spent the last few hours taking a Flat Stanley around the District.
Then, Claire, Mike, Prue, Newt, Rudy, Drew, and I went out to eat with Drew’s dad, Ken, and his family, Veronica and Carolyn, at Sweetwater Tavern. They treated us all to a very tasty meal, and Rudy was sweet while GrandDaddy and Veronica hold him for the first time (he’s usually very fearful of new people, at first).
The next day was full of activity as Friday was when Kathleen’s SES pinning ceremony was to occur in Falls Church. We had Chick Fil-A for breakfast (YAY!!!), then Kathleen’s sister, (Aunt) Ann, came over to the hotel with Gryffin, Kathleen’s dachshund puppy. He is SO cute! Then, we all headed to Falls Church for the ceremony and reception. Joining the Senior Executive Service/SES, is the pinnacle of a civil servant’s career, so the promotion is marked with a little bit of ceremonious pomp. Newt was intent on pushing the buttons in the M.C.’s podium, or removing the SES keystone pin from the decorative pillow (this 2 year-old boy has ZERO military bearing inspite of all the military experience we have in our families).
He managed to spill some of the cake and punch at the reception, and Rudy refused to smile at any of Nana’s guests. Prue was very well behaved, thankfully! After we were finished at Kathleen’s office, we went to eat at Sweetwater Tavern, again (this place is SO tasty).
Saturday was more restful. We started the day with lunch at Cracker Barrel (YAY!!), then we went Christmas shopping at Target. That evening, we all ate at Carrabba’s (YAY!!). Can you tell we’ve missed a whole bunch of restaurants, ALOT!
On Sunday, we had to say goodbye to Claire and Mike as they were heading back to Nashville right after breakfast. But, before they left, they gave out Christmas gifts- these kids made out like little bandits between gifts from Ken, Veronica & Carolyn, Claire & Mike, and Kathleen. I know it is indicative of how loved they are; and it isn’t Christmas day yet, how will that day be?!
Kathleen, Drew, the kids, and I headed to The Church of the Ascension in Centreville, our old parish, to attend mass and visit with everyone. Father Phil was sick, so Father Vince celebrated. We had not met him before; he’s a wonderful Scottish fellow, who, Drew said, delivered one of the best sermons he had ever heard before in his life. Father Harris and Fran were not able to come due to the ice, so it was an a cappella service with Meri Cole leading in the choir. We had the chance to visit with so many old faces, talk with some of the new, including baby Emily who was born a month or so after Rudy (we still receive emails on the parish’s email list, so we get to keep up with the warm, fuzzy gossip). Ascension is totally thriving with more youth now than when we left back in the Summer of 2008. It was over half full on a “low Sunday” for them, with many families out of town for the holidays or due to the snow.
We said our goodbyes to Kathleen after coffee hour, and headed to Reagan. Prue had thrown up during the night, and then did it again on the way to the airport. We changed her out of her church clothes, and into a dress we bought at Cracker Barrel. We grabbed some food at the airport and then took flight for Dallas. Prue threw up again on the plane. American Airlines is really awful for customer service; I barely got enough attention to receive a (A, not some) paper towel to clean her up. In Dallas, we were told our flight was delayed 45 minutes. We called Stephen to tell him about the delay because it was looking like there wouldn’t be any flights to Seattle leaving, and if ours was cancelled, he was going to drive over from Shreveport to visit during the night. After our flight being delayed another half hour, then bumped back up to the 9:45 time (during our dinner, 10 gates away from our departure gate), we were told that the flight was going to take off. So, we didn’t get a chance to see Stephen, which would have made it a PERFECT Christmas, but Drew’s work situation would have been horrible on Monday as he had to work, inspite of the offices being closed because of snow.
We purchased University of Texas shirts, where Nana did part of her undergraduate education, for Prue (and Newt, so he wouldn’t be left out) since she threw up on her second outfit and was wearing a coat and tights. While on the flight to Seattle, she threw up, again, and had to go back to wearing just her coat and tights.
As if her sickness wasn’t fun enough, Rudy decided that he was bored out of his mind and made the flight very unfun for the folks around him. Eventually he fell asleep, Thank God! We landed around 1am on Monday morning, on a snowy runway. That was the most frightening plane experience I’ve ever had, and it was very apt when folks on the plane applauded the pilot after the landing. We collected our bags, then walked past tons of stranded holiday flyers sleeping in the SEATAC airport. We put our brand new snow cables on the little car’s tires, and then headed home around 1:45-2 am. We made it home, through the thick snow, without incident, around 3:30.
We ventured out yesterday to pick up Sally from Holiday Kennels, where she had alot of fun. Picked up a Christmas tree from Carpinito’s this year (normally we cut our own down at Trees n Bees, but were sure we couldn’t make it through the snowy hills). Then, I picked up pictures from Target for the Christmas cards. So, we’re now all set to decorate the house for Christmastide, and get our cards and a few gifts out the door. They’ll likely get there by the 2nd or 3rd day of Christmas.
All in all, it was a wonderfully refreshing trip. All my apprehension about “the new normal”, which happens every time, was gone by Friday. Seeing most of our family, and old friends was so heartwarming and invigorating, and was just what I needed this year. If only we could have seen Uncle Stephen and Aunt Emma!! It would have been perfect!!
Thanks to all the family that helped make this trip possible. Thanks to Kathleen for covering the flight, transportation, and lodging expenses. Thanks to Ken & Veronica for the gift of dinner at Sweetwater. Thanks to Kathleen for dinner at Sweetwater and all the other places I can’t remember right now! Thanks to Claire & Mike for the Christmas gifts, but more importantly, for making the trip so we could see you. And, the same goes to Ann who made the drive from Richmond, two days in a row!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me when we ate with Naim, or when we ate with Ken, Veronica & Carolyn, or when we went to church. Poo. But, here are the pictures I did take while in D.C.
Posted on December 22nd, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general | No Comments »
Look at these fools playing in the PBSKids.org website. I didn’t
regularly use a computer until I bought one 1999. I’m not sure what
to think of this… 
Posted on December 14th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Site | 2 Comments »
Child’s Play is a charity founded by Penny Arcade, composed of game developers and other video game enthusiasts. They provide links to various children’s hospital’s Amazon.com wishlists. Alot of the requests are techie toys, which are sometimes shared amongst multiple patients (such as a handheld gaming devices, games, or gaming consoles). They also accept donations via PayPal (PayPal email is: childsplaycharity[at]penny-arcade[dot]com). Also, they have a few products, and web banners that can be used to support Child’s Play.
Posted on December 13th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general, Nerdiness, Technological banter | No Comments »
Well, today, I finally called Dr. Gina about taking Zoloft again. I’ve needed to do it for awhile, since the summer, when the Rudy’s-birth-induced high I was on subsided. Since the summer, when everytime Drew’s had issues at work, I’m reminded how we never even wanted to move here.
We did it because we felt like we had to, to improve our financial situation.
->Our financial situation in Virginia was even worse than Florida, because we bought tons of stuff trying to become happy, because we were so depressed.
–>We were depressed because we thought we were moving so that Prue could have this great, multi-generational experience, and we’d improve our finances and instead we got a broken home.
—>Our finances in Florida would never have been bad had we not moved into the Rhoden Cove property and commissioned a very expensive portrait.
—->We mostly moved into that property because Drew’s folks weren’t interested in visiting us for Christmas 2003/their 30th anniversary, while we lived in the Rain Valley duplex.
—–>We really want Drew’s folks to visit us so we could give them their 30th Anniversary present, a portrait of their wedding picture.
You would think that after 4 years, I’d be over it, but I’m not. Drew’s parent’s divorce was harder on me than my own parents. I saw my parents fight. They threw plates and chairs at each other, and when they broke up, you knew it couldn’t be any worse than before. Drew’s parents never fought. You would have never expected it. Do you think I’d be dropping thousands of dollars on a portrait if I thought it wouldn’t last? And, instead it will never see a frame, or a wall.
I just wish there was some way for us to, as Jason Lee, in My Name Is Earl, puts it, “Unring that bell”, financially at least. And we all know there is no way to do that. No one is going to drop in and erase $5000 (well, $5000 & $12000 counting the new car loan) of debt that we’ve accrued trying to keep our heads above water in this house. For that matter, no one is coming in and changing our housing costs from $3600 to the $1700 we were paying in Falls Church in Virginia, or $975 at the Rhoden Cove place, or $695 at the Rain Valley Duplex, that we loved so dearly.
Which brings me another point, we love that duplex so much. I ask Drew is it just because we didn’t have kids there, or this or that, but we always come back to that was where we lived when life last felt right. When we last felt like we were active participants in our own lives. Ever since then, we’ve felt like we’re reacting to disinformation or other people’s decisions. And, it never quite works because we don’t own that moment, that decision in our lives.
The last four years haven’t been all sadness:
We’ve had two wonderful sons be a bright light in the dark cold winter; one sensitive and sweet who needs tons of understanding, the other sly and clever, and is pretty comfortable with us giving his older brother a little extra of his time. We were together for four years before I was pregnant with Prue. We were sure the only way kids were joining our family was through adoption. And, not only has God blessed us with her, but with her two wonderful brothers.
We’re closer to our mothers now than we ever were before four years ago. By living in Virginia, with/near Drew’s mom, and Washington near my mom, the kids have had a chance to know their grandmothers and we’ve all had the chance to get to know each other, better.
We’ve been members of two great churches; The Church of the Ascension in Centreville, VA and St. Bartholomew’s in Woodinville, WA. Before, in Tallahassee, the continuing church was fledgling, and we only drove to Resurrection monthly at best, but more often it was quarterly or less. We’ve made some great friends at both places, and they’ve been such a wonderful support system in such a sad time in our lives.
——————————————————–
I realized a month or so ago, that I’m not ever going to be happy about how the last four and a half years have been. There is no way to turn back time, so I have to find a way to move forward, being an active, non-reactive participant, in my own life (and help my children become equally independent adults). I feel like we’ve exhausted ever resource, and while Drew’s increased company at home always lifts my spirits, it can’t happen because of his job. And, while his job is unreasonably working like an uncompensated indentured servant, that’s par for the course.
So, until life’s circumstances are such that it will be impossible to turn back time (as in all of the players in this story aren’t here anymore), I just need to get a little assistance from Zoloft to not feel like my life is in the crapper. I hate it, so very much. I cried on the phone with Drew this morning, because I just feel like I’ve failed. But, in this case, I know it isn’t my fault. I wasn’t deceptive and hid the truth. All I did was make the best decisions that I could, with the information that was given. (Now, you all know why I like full-disclosure in all relationships.)
That’s all that we can do in this life.
——————————————————–
But, I’ve analyzed my feelings and my depression ad infinitum. I first felt like I needed to be on anti-depressant medication right after moving to Virginia in 2004. Then, again after we moved to Washington in 2006 and our lives didn’t magically get better. Well, it isn’t ever going to get better because no one is going to “Unring that Bell”. So, I have to do what I can to move forward, and for now, that requires the help of medication.
Posted on December 12th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general | 13 Comments »
So, in general, I would not call myself a Beyoncé or Destiny’s Child fan. I dance like a white chick, and most of her/their stuff is booty shaking music, and, well…when I try to shake my booty, it ends up being an elbow and an ankle that moves. Seriously.
But, this a great song, for many reasons:
1. The lyrics are about how men SHOULD treat women. We all know that,in general, they don’t treat women as respectfully as they SHOULD, so this song is apt for our modern times when men treat women like dookie, and get away with it.
(Note: Totally not talking about Drew. He treats me better than I treat him, sadly. But, that wasn’t the track record before him. That isn’t how we observe other men (in general) treating their wives.)
2. Beyoncé is a mezzo-soprano, so it is very easy for me to sing. Some of her other stuff was out of my range, but I can really rock out to this in the car without feeling like I’ve gargled glass.
Video for Beyoncé Knowles “If I Were a Boy”
(Lyrics are in the description, once expanded.)
The only way this could get better would be for someone to write it as,
“If I were a duplicitous boss, I wouldn’t care about employees or their families”
Posted on December 12th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general | 1 Comment »
CardsThatGive.org has a huge catalog of cards that benefit some charity or non-profit. You’re able to search by picture, or charity it supports.
Posted on December 9th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Life in general | No Comments »
So, ol’ stinky weighs 23.5 or something like that, pounds. He had weighed around 24.5 on our home scale, but we’ve noticed it does weigh a bit heavy. He is 29 inches tall. He’s a pretty normal baby, developmentally. He has been kind of walking early, at least earlier than Newt or Prue, but I know that’s often the case with subsequent kids.
An interesting factoid about Rudy is that he’s the devil. Seriously. In the last few weeks, it’s become exceedingly apparent that someone has joined Rudy up with the side of evil. He bites, often. Not paying him attention, he’ll bite you. Prue or Newt steal a toy from him? He’ll bite them. He just bit a minor dent into my iPhone.
He’s like a Tasmanian devil. Think, Tasmanian devil that rides a motorcycle, with the intellectual abilities of an octopus opening a jar to get food (you know you’re just as freakishly amazed that those 8 legged weirdos can open jars). Yeah, that would be Rudy.
Just kidding, that’s a real Tasmanian devil, but it isn’t far off. Here he is walking:
Posted on December 8th, 2008 by Deedee
Filed under: Kids & Kid-related Ranting | No Comments »
