11/7/06

Just Vote, Dammit

If you haven't already, get your ass out there and vote, there's still a few hours left.

I have been trying to get onto blogger for ages and now finally did, but have only a few minutes to write. Argh... I hate it when the internet doesn't work, LOL. It must be all those people who have signed up to blog everyday for the month of November (not me!).

Our vacation was great, despite feeling crappy from colds most of the time. It was very relaxing, despite the fact that we were staying in a "55+" community full of crotchety 70+ year olds. That place is so full of rules or "covenants," that you can barely breathe. And those old people love to tattle on you. We got kicked out of the pool one day because we had the kids there at the wrong time. I heard the old bitties actually laugh at us as we left. B and I were sleeping in my parents' RV because there wasn't enough room in the "house" (i.e. single wide). This too is against the rules, so we had to sneak in and out, in case the neighbors saw us and tattled. Could I roll my eyes any further back in my head?

We didn't do a whole lot. We swam, went to the train park, the botanic garden, and IKEA. We went trick or treating and did some "fall" activities--very odd when you're wearing shorts. We celebrated B's 39th birthday by having the afteroon/evening off to ourselves. We went to Taliesin West and a mediocre Greek restaurant. Pics from the vacay are on our other blog.

I hardly watched any TV and had no internet access. It was great! I barely went through any withdrawal at all...Surprisingly I only got 3 1/2 books read. I took five and thought I'd get through all. Oh well, I must be losing my touch.
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Recent Reads:

"Happiness Sold Separately" by Lolly Winston: I liked this book a lot, even though I can see how Laina didn't, seeing as she's pregnant and all. I wouldn't have liked it when pg either. It's about a woman who discovers that her husband is cheating on her and their rocky relationship as they struggle to conceive via fertility treatments. It had an odd, abrupt ending.

"Isabel's Daughter" by Judith Hendricks: I liked this story about a girl who has been "given up" for adoption by being abandoned in a basement. Later as a grown woman, she discovers a painting of her mother (and knows it's her because they look exactly alike). However, it seemed a bit forced and left several questions unanswered like: why did her mother abandon her? Was her mother murdered or not? It felt like the author got distracted there at the end or something. I liked the author's other book "Bread Alone" much better. I think it has a sequel, so I need to pick it up. It's on my wish list at paperbackswap.com, so maybe I'll get it one of these days.

"Earless" by Tyler Mennsen: Tyler is a young man with Goldenhar Syndrome and bilateral microtia. This is a series of essays, many of which deal with having facial differences, like no ears and a crooked jaw. He's not a great writer, but he's young, and it was nice to read his book. For his age, he's pretty darn good. Two things stood out to me: 1) I'm glad we didn't do the prosthetic ear with Miles (something I've always wondered if we should have pursued) and 2) If Miles does end up needing jaw surgery, I will probably become psychotic.

ETA: Since the link to this blog post got posted on my microtia board from a Google update (Got to find out how to sign up for those. It was so bizarre to see my "Just Vote, Dammit" title posted there, LOL), I should probably explain myself here. Also, I have some more time today. Was quite rushed last night, as we had parents' night at Miles' school. I'm glad we didn't do the prosthetic because of the many incidents Tyler describes where he lost his ear during swimming or playing with his nephew, for example. However, he was very proud of his prosthetics and said they were wonderful. He described his prostheticist as a true artist (don't remember her name) and extolled her talents.

I said what I did about the jaw surgery because he described the horrible pain associated with it. Also, I just watched Nip/Tuck (which I probably should stop) where they showed other bone extension surgeries (legs and hands); one of which was on a baby and was very upsetting.

Currently reading: "Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen." I love blogs, I love books about food, what's not to like?