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Thanks!

I thought I'd best throw this up before I leave on vacation. :)

My friend, missysedai, is taking part in Blogathon this year to raise money for the National Kidney Foundation. If you have some spare money hanging around, please consider sponsoring her. You can find her sponsor page here.

Blogathon 2009 begins Saturday, July 25th, at 6PDT/8CDT/9EDT/13:00GMT, and ends at the same time on Sunday, July 26th.

She will be blogging over at The Chef's Table during the event, and would appreciate comments to keep her awake and blogging! If you can't donate (and I know money is tight for most of us) this is a great way to take part and help out.

Many thanks!

I cut some people, either because we don't really chat or because y'all haven't posted in ages.

I just got word that Brett has been adopted. :)

He will always have a special place in my heart as the first foster I let go. My sweet little dumbass. My special moron. My dopey puppy. I'll love and remember you always. Hopefully this home really is forever! You deserve it.



(I did not cry handing him over, but I must confess to being misty eyed right now!)

Hi, everyone, it's mokele here, posting for Gemma, who's recovering nicely from her wisdom tooth removal. The docs said it went just fine, and she's been doped up on the after-effects of the anesthetic and some Vicodin.

She'll post here when she's able to, but in the meantime, she thanks you all for your well-wishes and all the helpful comments throughout this.

Guess who just got approved for her greencard? :D

THAT'S RIGHT, BITCHES. I'M IN UR COUNTRY, BEING ALL LEGAL.

Thank you so much to everyone who has wished me well, talked me down, and generally been supportive here and offline. I love you guys, fer realz yo.

We didn't need to show any evidence (even though my bag was STUFFED full of the stuff). We just took an oath to tell the truth, went over our details (address, etc), and she double-checked the circumstances of my entrance to the country to make sure I didn't commit visa fraud. Then she approved my card. It should be here in a few weeks. They don't stamp passports anymore so I can't travel until then but I wasn't planning on that anyway.

Henry took me to Whole Foods afterward and bought me brunch to celebrate. :) I am so happy and relieved!

I just received my 3 teas for January! THANK YOU 'TEA OF THE MONTH' CLUB. Also, many smoochies to my wonderful hubby for such a perfect gift. ^_^

For December, I received:

MateVana (mate).

I tried this black with no sugar first, and it was too bitter for me. I've been drinking it with milk and sugar, and oh man this is heavenly! It's cholately, smoky, a little dark, very slightly bitter, and with a natural sweetness. I am finding it hard not to drink this all day.

Gingerbread Cookie (herbal)

This smells just like gingerbread when dry but, when brewed, it has a strong apple taste overlaid with very gentle spices. I'm not a herbal tea drinker so I've been putting sugar in this to make it more palatable. It's winning me over, and it's the nicest herbal tea I've tried so far. Most just taste awful, IMO.

Garden Aria (white)

I messed up the brewing first time around and this turned out bitter and lacking in depth. When brewed at a lower temperature for a short period of time, I ended up with a very subtle, sweet, and pretty blend. This is fruity without being in-your-face and is really easy to drink.

I just received:

Spice Nut Mate (mate)

OMG, this smells like Christmas! It's spicy, nutty, orange goodness! I shall try this upon the morrow.

ChocoNut Green (green)

This smells nutty and sweet but has a sharp perfume-like air that makes me a little nervous. I might try this one before I leave for ASL class.

Sweet Lily White (white)

This smells so amazing, like tropical fruit punch made from 100% fruit juice combined with that beautiful, light white tea smell. I am definitely going to make this when I return home after class. It's low enough in caffeine for me to get away with a cup before bed.

I finally cracked open my ASL folder today and realised I've forgotten about half of the signs (which we were told is normal but, eh, I want to remember everything we have covered so far). So I hopped on my trusty internet and found an awesome website: ASL Pro.

You can search the online dictionary and you get not just the sign but a video so you can see the location and movement. There are also seriously neat quizzes to test your knowledge. I have been working on my fingerspelling this afternoon, and I am already doing a little better. This is an amazing tool for me as I really struggle to read fingerspelling, although I'm not too bad at performing it.

I'm going to look up all the signs I cannot recall and work on them over the winter break. :)

(I posted this on my other blog, and Henry pointed out it was worth posting here too.)

It's no secret that I am not a Christian, though I was baptised and raised as one. When I saw some of selective Bible quotes splashed over this and other forums last night, while a number of contradictory quotes came to mind, I found myself coming back to one of my all time favourite quotes of the Buddha:

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

I believe it applies to hate and bigotry, too.

You know, I do understand why faith is important to people. I do understand the passion and the zeal. But I do not understand the hatred, and the judgement. If there's one thing I think we all need to work on, it's compassion. For me, compassion and mindfulness are the foundation for my spirituality, and that's a challenge, because I get angry, and it's hard not to hate those who hate us in turn. But, ultimately, when I examine those emotions, I am saddened. I feel sad for those who are burning themselves with those hot coals. Even if those thrown coals hit us, even if they burn those of us who are guilty purely of being the object of someone's ire, we are not blistering our own hands to ashes in our personal journey.

So it's the day after history was made, and there's a couple of things I want to talk about.

The first is that my night was soured yesterday when I went to a long hair forum of all places, and stumbled across hate. There are people talking about the 'end of days' over there, whether because Obama is black or because they believe he's a socialist isn't clear. Others are giving the usual bitter chatter about how he LIED, LIED AND FOOLED US. Whilst more are throwing out the racial slurs (but in 'ignorance' so it's okay!).

( I have read a lot of Bible quotes. So I wanted to share some of my own that demonstrate that a case can clearly be made for Jesus being a *gasp* socialist. )

( Secondly, I want to talk about the successful ban of greyhound racing in MA. This is NOT a good thing. )

Thirdly, and finally, I am very disappointed in California for allowing Prop 8 to pass.

END STATEMENT.

This is historic.

CONGRATULATIONS, PRESIDENT OBAMA.

Henry and I are not going out partying but we did carve pumpkins!

( Pics under the cut )

Today I will be making 'sugar and spice' roasted pumpkin seeds, and a pumpkin loaf. Nom nom nom. Then hot chocolate with marshmallows tonight in our 'trick or treat' pumpkin mugs. I will also be wearing my Halloween top!

SPIDER MAN TOTALLY JUST TOLD ME TO VOTE. I CANNOT LEGALLY DO THIS BUT FOR YOU, SPIDER MAN, I WILL SPREAD THE WORD AND ONE DAY GET MY CITIZENSHIP.

P.S. Uhm, if you're not doing anything later, Mr Maguire, sir, my husband is out all day. . . Just saying.

( Interesting meme )


I need to make a post about how much I love this apartment, and how all my fears were for naught, but it's late and I am bushed! Short version: The kitchen is unpacked but filled with boxes, and the livingroom has bookcases up, crammed with DVDs, but is my current storage unit so that I can tackle the study tomorrow. The bedroom is pretty much done, and is so cozy and wonderful. I sleep incredibly well here, and we get a lot of natural light so I don't feel depressed like I did in Ohio.

I only have internet when Henry is home from lab as our desktop cannot be set up until we get a desk. I am a little disconcerted at how much money we are spending but it's all on essential furniture and supplies. We had to buy a few storage units as we have less closet space here, and we still need to buy a sofabed, bed frame, desk, and kitchen table. In the future, I'd like to replace our plastic bookcases with wood but that really can wait. I also had to buy fluffy dusters that will work on thin blinds as apparently the people who lived here before never dusted. The blinds are gross, honestly. I will attack them all once I've unpacked!

Hopefully I will be online more by next week.

Okay, so here's a question for my US-based friends:

I need a pair of decent, waterproof boots for walking in bad, wet, and possibly cold weather. Something comfortable enough to wear during long walks, and possibly all day for work (although the latter isn't as important because I could always take a lighter pair of shoes to work with me).

I have absolutely no familiarity with US shoe brands, and therefore have no basis in which to buy boots. I probably should get my ass into a few shops after we move to try some on (since I need to be sized, etc), but the best deals are online so feel free to recommend physical and online stores, as well as specific brands.

I also haven't worn jeans for years because I hate my chubby legs but they are versatile, and I need some trousers that will get me through the winter. Any recs? What's your favourite pair of winter trousers (jeans or otherwise)?

Many thanks! :)

It's that fun time of the month for me, and suddenly packing feels like even more of a chore. Henry assures me that we're making excellent progress but, to me, it just seems endless. I've packed so many boxes and there's still so much left to do! BAH. I am done for the day now and trying to unwind with some tea.

On the plus side, my back pain is much better. Now it's just clunky and a little sore. I am, however, looking forward to getting on Henry's insurance with Brown because I've had sharp, pinching pain in my buttocks, going down my thigh, and that just doesn't seem good. I'm not convinced the problem is as simple as my UK doc claimed, but whatever. I just need to manage it effectively until I can afford to have it properly looked at/treated. I should get back to regular yoga but I'm struggling when it comes to getting on the mat. I fell out of practice due to my extended time off (for the wedding and honeymoon), and now it's just . . .eh. Once I start, I end up doing an hour that just flies by, so it's not my headspace on the mat; it's just getting started. I will be looking for classes after we move so that should help me get back to it. Plus, without a bike or the ability to drive, I will be doing a lot of walking once we get to Providence so that'll help me get back in shape. I am looking forward to learning to drive (again), though! I'm also looking forward to working on the garden at the new place (it doesn't even have a lawn), and exploring. I want this move to be done with, dammit!

Tomorrow we should be getting a phone call about our baby hognose, and I am super excited! My first snake. :) Speckles and Lucy were all grown up by the time I met them, and feel more like Henry's pets since he raised them, but now I shall have my own snake! Hurrah! We're going to call him Mr Snuffles. Hee!

I'm still on the look out for a rescue leopard gecko. No luck so far.

I think we're making pretty good progress on packing. I've almost finished the closet and bedroom, and will be starting on the livingroom today. The kitchen can also be mostly packed up, and if we keep up this pace we'll definitely be set for the 13th.

Since yesterday, my lower back pain has flared up in an awful way. I couldn't even do yoga this morning to loosen it; that's how painful it is. Stupid back.

Anyhoo, I just watched this short film that made me absolutely bawl like a baby, and now I'm going to inflict it on all of you!



And if you need cheering up after that, I recommend reading cleolinda's summary (with SPOILERS) of the latest Twilight novel, which is sure to have you rolling on the floor! Click Here for Hilarity