Spoken Too Soon

So last night, just TWO DAYS after I announce that we may have settled on a baby name, my honey-man tells me he's just not sold on (fill in the blank), and without that name, I'm not sold on his middle name choice, sooo we're back to the very start, square one, without a name for this baby.

We have 4 weeks to figure it out - - and we've been debating names for the last 6 months, and we're basically agreed upon nothing but the two names we've had, sooooo, I don't know what we're gunna come up with now!

Maybe the original name we first had in mind for the lil' Jellybean.... Niagara Mitochondria!

Emailed to Mah Honey-Man Today

Subject Line:  With alllll your abundant freetime, I want you to take this test

Text:  http://test.personality-project.org/

Polkarama!

Before getting settled in for a new day at work --my last for the next week-- I was sure to check "Straight Outta Lynwood" made it on the iPod for the car, especially for the angel boy-O's enjoyment come our drive home from Yellowstone. He and I can sing all the words to "White & Nerdy" played on repeat, all that we want, no matter how hard my honey-man shall protest.

"Where's Mah Pie?"

Lovin' the Olympic Winter Games n' Old Spice

...but they're totally messing with my 2010 goal to get to bed at a more reasonable time --aiming for 10pm every night, to be more specific.

Oh, and we just saw an Old Spice commercial I've never seen [mind you, we aren't big TV watchers, so we haven't seen most commercials, honestly], and my honey-man and I, we're now dying from laughter.



And just a moment ago we both realized the time and said aloud, in perfect unison, "oh shit."

P.S. We love watching the snowboarders (Go Shaun White, Go Shaun White!), even if they do ruin the snow for us downhill dopes.

We Should Be in Bed...

...but instead, I'm dinking around with my blogroll for the first time in a couple months (I have over 35 posts to read from dooce.com), and my honey-man is standing with his guitar in front of his laptop which is placed on a kitchen counter, and he's playing along with Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" while it plays from his iTunes.

And now he's begun to happily strum and pick ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky"...

Did I mention already that we should both be in bed? I think we're both a little wired tonight, excited for the boy-O's arrival tomorrow.

"Hey There, Mr. Blue!"

I think our baby sweet potato girl has a favorite song - - and of course, her ELO-lovin' father is thrilled!

What Day Is It?

On Monday, I nearly dozed off while driving to work... my left eye twitched throughout the day (and it's still twitching today, this very moment). After picking up my baby girlie from her preschool/daycare, I fed her a lil' bit of pureed apples while she sat in my lap, the two of us sitting together in the passenger seat of my car, hoping to help her last until we'd get home from grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Once we were home from our grocery shopping excursion, I began steaming some white corn to introduce a new baby food puree for her to try, and I put away the groceries while my lil' wee flower happily played at my feet, plopped on the kitchen tile. Otis swiped her with the side of his body at least twice and she was utterly delighted with the furry kitty contact. Then I fed her some more din-din (she loved the white corn!), while steaming 2 more batches of food for baby purees; another new one, 'hodgepodge' veggies, and one of her faves, green petite peas. She bathed her in the kitchen sink, and I sang several songs to her while dressing her for bed and rocking her in the glider chair she has in her bedroom. She was out like a light and in her crib by 7pm. To be honest, she was asleep by 6:40pm, but I just continued to hold her and rock her and sing to her. After she was down, I then cleaned all our bathrooms (2.5) from head to toe... the baseboards, tile floors, cabinet doors, drawers, toilets, sinks, counters, mirrors, glass, and light fixtures, and I changed out all the towels and shook all the rugs. I saved the trash for my honey-man, who handles the trash (and diaper pails) on Tuesday and Friday nights. And then I loaded and ran the dishwasher, and I prepped two 5-oz bottles and two baby food containers for the following day. [SEMI-RELATED TANGENT: Yup, for a little more than a week now, our baby girlie's been enjoying a cereal-fruit mix for 'brunch', and now, as of this Tuesday, she began having a veggies-mix for lunch, ready and rearing for more solids. END OF TANGENT.] And then I took a shower and threw myself into our bed around 1/4 to midnight. (Yes, I do need my head examined.) Our sweet potato girl only woke up once that night, to be fed around 2am.

And on Tuesday, um, Tuesday was loaded with stuff and I can't remember what right now... except that I'd initially eaten microwave popcorn as my dinner until my honey-man came home around 7:30pm, and said "oh no ya don't" and made us a real dinner. Oh yeah, I did the usual "pick-up-and-claim-my-darling-baby" thing after work, and once she n' I were home, we did the usual "feed-and-bathe-the-baby" thing, except she had a teething biscuit for the first time, which was a real hit, and then she and I, we had a bath together. She was soooo tired -and so cute- she actually began to nod off while in the tub! I tried to keep her up so my honey-man could see her when he got home, but by 6:30pm, she was totally limp-limbed and soundly asleep before I could even place her in her crib. After giving her up to her crib, I went downstairs to unload the dishwasher and to hand wash all her bottles n' food containers. I also swept the kitchen and downstairs tile, wiped down all the kitchen counters, and prepped her bottles and baby foods for preschool the next day, and took an early shower. As I've already mentioned, my honey-man came home and made us dinner, and then I tried to watch "So You Think You Can Dance," but I missed most of it while talking on the phone for nearly 2 hours. I think I was in bed by 11pm, and our sweet potato girl woke up only once that night, to be fed around 3am.

And yesterday, we did the whole "pick up, go home, feed baby, and bathe baby" thing, and then I tried, tried, tried to keep my baby sweet potato girlie up. And this time, she was totally up for it, happy to quietly play, waiting with me for her daddy to come home, even though she was seriously tired... here and there, she would lean forward to rest her head on my leg, or on my arm or in my lap or on my shoulder. My honey-man came home early though, 'round 6:30pm, and so we all had about 30 minutes together, playing and cuddling on her bedroom floor together. And she went to bed at 7pm without a single baby utterance of protest. Thereafter, mah honey-man and I, we had our dinner together, after which, we ate cookies, too many cookies. And soooo, I vacuumed the entire house, including the stairs. And I washed 3 loads of laundry. And some other things.

We were both in bed by 10pm last night - - a true rarity for either of us! Our sweet potato girl woke up twice, at midnight and 4am... arrhhhgg! The 2nd time she woke, you would have thought it was a bright sunny day underway, as she seemed ready for action, talking and squirming around and all smiling and all perky, but I knew too well what she was really doing... See, she doesn't like to miss out. My honey-man, he had brought her into our bedroom, and after I'd fed her, I had hoped she'd fall asleep right there where she laid beside me, but she knew she was there with the both of us, so she wanted to play with her mommie and daddy, patting our faces, trying to twist and turn herself so she could climb onto our sides. And then I caught her yawn not once, but twice in a row, confirming my suspicion, so I scooped her up to take her back to her bedroom. She was sooo darling! Once in my arms, on the way to her bedroom, she shut her lil' chattery yap and simply cuddled into my chest, ready for it and willing. I laid her back down in her crib and she smiled at me as she took her binky into her own hand and placed it in her mouth as she turned her head to right, away from me, and closed her little sleepy eyes and she was gone.

And tonight? It hasn't been quite so busy. I had planned to run to Smith's for some of our non-Trader Joe's items we like, but after picking up my lil' babe, holding her in my arms as we entered the lobby of her preschool, I just wanted to take her home and do nothing but be with her. Not until after she had eaten and bathed did I touch anything else. She was in her crib, fast sleep by 6:30pm; almost every part of her little being was begging to go to bed as early as 6pm. At one point, mid-bath, she actually began to whine and then cry, wanting to be on closer on her way towards bedtime.

My honey-man came home 'round 9pm, and because I was already upstairs, I didn't yell down to him, but waited for him to come up. Can I tell ya, he looks exhausted, as do I, too, apparently... I think last night's baby wakings really tapped us, but I think they may have really done one over him a bit more so because he said this to me as he flopped beside me on our bed, me with my laptop: "Two words... Go to bed early!"

It's now 10:27pm, and I can hear my baby girl's breathing is stuffed up, and for the last half hour, she keeps letting out a pained lil' moan every 10 minutes or so. Hmmm... I'm going to hop in the shower, after which, I hope to finally go to bed. I imagine she'll be up a couple times tonight.

P.S. Yesterday morning, my honey-man called me on our way to work to ask me if I'd remember to take my coffee with me to work... I hadn't... nor had he. We'd left behind a brand new, fresh, full pot of coffee.

5 Years Later...

Me: [meandering over from the kitchen to my honey-man, a sky blue plastic plate in my right hand, carrying my homemade mini-pizza, fresh from the toaster oven. I have a smug smile on my face.] "So, we've been together for FIVE years now. Do you finally admit and accept that you DO like my all my plastic and melamine dishes?"

Mah honey-man: [laying casually on the couch, reading one of his 'application architecture' books after having his own lunch on a dark blue plastic plate, a huge grin spreads on his face as he looks up at me standing over him] "Yes, yes I do. I love them now, especially for my lunches."

Me: "When we met, you hated them. For years you hated them."

Mah honey-man: "Yes, yes, I did, but they're sooo handy."

The latter is precisely the reasoning I'd offered him 5 years ago, as to why I had them.

5 Years Ago...

... mah honey-man and I, we went out on our first date! Can't believe it's been five years since we met!? And our 2nd wedding anniversary is just around the corner. Mmmm... I love him so!

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 43

Because he should have been preoccupied with having a grand time in New Orleans for a conference, yet he calls me mid-day just to hear my voice. He's been gone since Tuesday and he comes home later tonight, 5:30ish = Yay!

P.S. Yes, I wrote this at 2am... I miss mah sweet honey-man.

An Angel Boy-O n' Baby-Related Brainstorm

I am sooo behind on all the baby-related blogging I've been wanting to do. As for our private family blog? -I'm TWO MONTHS behind. Blak. Granted, no one's making me do this, but blogging is like journaling for me, to help me work through stuff and to remember. In an attempt to catch up some, I'm gunna rack my brain and write out some tidbits as they come to mind:

The boy-O repeatedly sets himself up for a baby-mauling, for instance, placing his face within the grasp of his sister's reach... he loves it when she grabs his nose and holds on! And solely for the sake of his sister's amusement, he deliberately offers his hair for baby-pulling. He says she has a "death grip," and has tried several times to let her hold a finger of his for long enough that it will turn purple.

Sometimes when the boy-O couldn't find a binky fast enough, he'd instead offer his sister one of his fingers and then he giggle and laugh at how strongly she could gnaw on him and drool all over his hand.

Although he repeatedly expressed enthusiasm to learn how and actually asked to be taught at least twice, I never once had the boy-O even attempt to change one diaper. I realize now this was a mistake, as it would have been easier to teach him now, while not only his enthusiasm for her so strong and new, but while she'll still lay there mid-change, and her breastfeeding-only diapers are pretty inoffensive. Next we see him, I'll be sure to have developed a diapering tutorial for him and to take him up his diaper-change offers.

During the first of the two times the boy-O and I had remembered to watch "So You Think You Can Dance," he'd been told to run get his jammies on during a commercial break. While upstairs, he went into our bedroom to check on his sleeping sister, where he then loudly whispered "HI" into her baby monitor's receiver and scared the crap outta me so badly, I screamed. He thought it was so hysterical, he nearly passed out from laughing so hard.

The angel boy-O became quite popular in our development this summer, with several kids coming by each day, asking if he could play. It was grrreat! One child in particular would come by and be told the same thing as the day before, "He doesn't come home from summer camp until 5:30pm or later." She would always show up again at 5:30pm, sharp.

One night not too long ago, post-Montreal trip, my honey-man was working hard to console and reassure my new-mommie-going-back-to-work insecurities, and the boy-O must have heard enough from his bedroom upstairs to know something was wrong. He'd gotten up and was sitting at the top of the stairs, hidden from view, listening. When the tears began to flow, he revealed himself, quickly coming down the stairs, eager to offer me hugs and kisses. He told me not to cry, and not to worry so much. He also told me to not be so hard on myself, and to know that he thinks I'm doing a wonderful job as a mommie, and told me I'm the best step-mom in the world. And he melted my heart, like he has so many times before.

Although we've been enjoying (bwah-ha-ha!) 3-digit temperatures for weeks now with the freak exception of the past couple of gloriously, blissfully cooler days, the pool's temp never reached high enough for the baby girlie to join the boy-O's swimming excursions. He wanted so badly for her to go swimming with him. Two days after he left, the pool reached 90 degrees, finally baby-friendly. What awfully bad timing! And btw, her swimsuit is so cute, it's criminal.

The day before the angel boy-O was to leave, I took him and his sissy to get their picture taken together. The results are sooo killer cute = WHAT A FREAKIN' UNDERSTATEMENT, and no, I AM CERTAIN I'M NOT BIASED HERE. Since then, I now proudly refer to the two of them together as my darlings. In no particular order of importance, here's a few details from the session: 1) For their first pose together, the boy-O sat on the floor, cross-legged, with his sissy in his lap, ans she was delighted, and he was so proud, and I was so vehclempted at the sight of them captured for print. 2) I had them both barefoot for their pictures. 3) During the baby-girlie's solo shots, the boy-O served as the her spotter, sitting off to the side, waiting at the ready if it be necessary to save her from nose-diving out of the chair in which she'd been placed. There's one proof in which you can see his jean-clad knees to the left of her. 4) At one point during her solo, she was refusing to pull even a grin for us. The boy-O and I were singing and dancing behind the photographer, really working it to illicit a smile, to no avail. For one of the proofs during that time, you can see a bemused look on her face, absolutely unimpressed with our efforts. 5) And for the boy-O's solo pic, the photographer asked him to say 'booger' just before taking what wound up to be my absolute favorite solo shot of him from the session.

I went to see Julie & Julia with my sister and one of her best friends last night. Baby-girlie has been to a good handful of movies now: Disney's Earth, Up, the 3rd Ice Age, and the latest Harry Potter. She's a good lil' movie-goer, really, she is! She usually lies in my lap doing one of three things: 1) watching the movie, 2) watching my face lit by the movie, or 3) sleeping. This time around, for a first, before the wee one conked out, she decided she'd add to the movie dialog, blowing raspberries during the first 15 minutes of the movie. My sister assured me she was not too loud, only too cute. Yes, she began blowing raspberries this week, and the week before that, she began gurgling. She is such a drooly girl - - she can soak through a bib in an hour!

Over the past week, zee baby-girlie has been aggressively reaching after Otis - - I believe I've mentioned already that Otis is the only one of our two cats who ever comes within her reach. More often than not, whenever she's made a move for some kitty contact and she succeeded, she simply places a tiny hand on Otis, slowly patting and brushing him with her fingers. Not too long ago, she did manage a baby-fistfull of tufts from his undercoat, but she hasn't done anything more notable than that one time until today. Yup, not until today... Today, as she was gently patting away at his rump-end, Otis decided to change position. Raising his backside first, about to stretch, her little hand slid down his back and toward his head, and she nabbed his right ear! I'd always been so concerned about watching her with his face and whiskers, I plumb forgot about the ears! Almost as soon as she had deftly closed her little hand about his ear, I'd forced my thumb into her fist to release him. Thankfully, after years of "baby-proofing" the kitties, Otis wasn't too alarmed by the ear grab, although it was more like a scrunch. As he' whipped his head around in response to the sudden crunch of his ear, he seemed more surprised than anything to see it was her. And she squealed with pure baby delight!

Scheduling Kitty Time or Else

Our poor lil' Otis hasn't been getting what he's used to these days due to the fact that there's often a baby in our arms now. And with my blogging less and less, he's missing even more of the individual cuddle time he used to enjoy just a couple months ago with the baby's arrival. Desperate for the attention he craves and misses, we often find him plopping his body atop our feet (happens at least three times more often than it did in our pre-baby days!), winding in and out between our legs (happens 5 times more often!), and wrapping himself round our ankles (happens a gazillion times more often than pre-baby times!!!)... and he tries now to do it all while we are trying to WALK! = DANGEROUS!! The very worst is whenever he runs and darts up the stairs between our moving feet as we're making our way up the stairs with the baby in our arms!

Yesterday afternoon, the most feared finally happened... Otis ran up the stairs after my honey-man, who was carrying our girlie, and Otis found himself literally underfoot. My honey-man had squarely placed a foot atop Otis and his knee jerk reaction was to recoil his foot and collapse as his balance was then seriously thrown off, rather than carry through the taken step and break Otis' back. And so, as Otis let out a horrifying yowl of pain and fright, my honey-man fell on the stairs with our lil' girlie. Makes me stomach churn just thinking about it! Anyhow, although it scared her badly and she bawled her lil' eyes out, the two of them and Otis, they are all fine, thank goodness!

So it's official: From now on, we've decided we're going to have to give Otis at least a half hour of concentrated cuddle-kitty time each day. Yup, a full 1/2 hour for a cat in order to stave off any desperate kitty behavior that may result in the tripping of a baby-carrying adult! Otis is actually on my lap right now while I"m typing (as I check the clock to see how I'm doing with my kitty-time). Wish us luck!

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 36

Because he's developed an effective way to combat and disarm my irritable-preggers mood swings... He'll shamelessly flirt with me and kiss me and he won't stop, and to really do me in, he'll go after my neck... and I then turn to putty.

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 35

Because he bought an ELO album with the iTunes gift certificate he'd had for nearly a year. For those of you too-young-to-know, clueless as to what ELO is, that'd be the Electric Light Orchestra.

Anyhow, my honey-man is presently standing before our front room stereo speakers with his acoustic guitar, trying to play along with the bass lines of each ELO song blaring from the aforementioned speakers.

He's such a cute lil' geek! I think I'll keep him. Yeah.

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 33

Because he didn't insist upon going out for my birthday, although he, and my aunt and uncle, had both offered to take me to dinner tonight. All I really wanted was some quiet time at home alone after we'd been away for 12 long days, and then some homemade mac n' cheese.

So I made my mum's mac n' cheese for our din-din, and my aunt and uncle came over with presents and an angel food cake and some pink birthday candles. Oh, and earlier in the day, I had wanted to go see a particular movie, another birthday wish my honey-man dutifully fulfilled as well [and that guilty confession, I'll save for a later post]. OH! Annd my honey-man also did allll our laundry today! He must love me.

It was a nice, low-key birthday. Thanks, baby!

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 32

Because although he claims it's always the music he's into whenever he likes a song (and not the lyrics), he sure knows a lot of the words to ALL the songs of Wicked... and "Defying Gravity" is his favorite..."goose bumps every time," with "For Good" coming in a close second "because of its message."

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 31

Because he spent most of this past Saturday outside, sanding down three (plus a half) of our kitchen table's chairs, so that I can spray them all with primer and hopefully get to painting 'em before this week's end (fingers crossed!).

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I had only managed to finish sanding down 2 of them plus one (but not quite). This past weekend, having hoped to sand the remaining chairs, my sciatic pain made it impossible to continue the effort on my own. Sooo, my sweet honey-man volunteered to help out without any prompting from me. I didn't even hint at it, as I hadn't ever thought to even ask him! [SIDE NOTE: I LOVE to refinish furniture. It's one of my favorite things to do!] Of course, I'm certain he'd also just like to have our table and chairs back inside as well, so there's some self interest at hand here... hee hee.

He was sooo freakin' cute out there in the backyard though, powdered head to toe with sanding dust, the sander roaring away for hours, while the angel boy-O's portable stereo played Joss Stone as he worked, with him bobbing his head, singing along.

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 30

He'd rather I rest and take it easy than have me do the laundry.

Political Turmoil vs. Giving Thanks

I've been stalling on this one... as to what I should say, if anything, regarding our new President Elect...

First of all, before I say anything more, I must say that I do recognize there are A LOT of different perspectives out there, each with their own legitimate and personal issues at stake, and I also recognize many of which do not pertain to me.

Because of those in my family who came before me, foremost, and the efforts of my own parents with their combined educations and cultural and familial backgrounds, their places of employment and their earning power, we could always afford to live in places with good neighborhoods, where I always had access to a backyard and plenty of playmates to run around with, and I always had a parent at home with me during my school years. And because we always lived in good neighborhoods with a mother at home, I had no problems achieving a solid education via the public schools I attended in Salt Lake City, UT, Billings, MT, and Cedar Rapids, IA. Nor did I ever have any problems seeking and attaining a higher education, including a masters degree.

Not ever was I denied proper health care as a child. As an adult, I have never been unable to seek and attain proper health care, always able to afford it, having always reaped the benefits of fantastic health insurance programs via the places of my employment. Overall, I have never been unable to receive the care I need, whether it be medical or therapeutic or psychological in nature.

I have also never been denied public services of any kind based upon either my ethnicity or my socioeconomic status, nor because I simply did not know what was available to me.

I have never been unable to feed myself. I have always enjoyed clean drinking water and clean bathing water and proper sewage treatment. I have always lived with a roof over my head, cool in the summers and warm in the winters, with more than enough clothing to cover my backside however way I want to cover it.

I have never had to give up a child out of wedlock or for any other reason, nor have I ever had to raise a child by myself.

I have never been a victim of violent public crime.

This list could go on and on and on... My point thus far is this: I count myself to be a very fortunate person in this world; ALL of my basic needs in life, they have all been met.

Moreover, I have more than enough in my life, so much so, I can actually acquire things I WANT, beyond basic need... I call these things the 'Luxuries in Life,' such as the following: Cars, cell phones, TVs, DVDs, mp3s and CDs, music players, make-up and nail polish, smelly bubble bath and scented body scrubs, books to read, paints to paint crafty things, knitting supplies, a hefty, an impressive heavy duty sewing machine, THIRTEEN different pairs of black shoes [flat mary janes, Dansko clogs, flat sandals, 2 pairs of wedge heel Sofft sandals, sling back high heels, 2 different pairs of dress wedge heels, zip-up ankle boots, lace-up boots, and a pair of winter-weather Goretex boots], trips out of state, ski trips to Keystone, airfare to anywhere, multiple hand bags and multiple purses [I can't even attempt to count those], a gazillion jackets and coats [paisley ski coat, plus an extra red ski coat, black pea coat, red pea coat, blue raincoat, orange windbreaker, denim jacket, khaki jacket, red trench, woolen tweed trench, light cotton gray hoodie, dark gray sweatshirt hoodie, woolen Irish hooded cardigan, blue pullover fleece, red fleece vest, pink fleece vest, black quilted ski vest, wine-colored blazer, etc. etc.], new light fixtures to match our living room lamps, a 6-cushion couch that has a queen size hide-a-bed, matching wool-woven couch pillows, a Kitchen Aid mixing machine, a blender, a food processor, a mini-food processor, a waffle iron, a heart-shaped waffle iron, a potato ricer, a lime squeezer, a nutmeg grater... you get the point? This list, it too, could go on and on and on... And none of the aforementioned items are in any way essential to life. They are all WANTS; none of them are truly needs. Have I earned these luxuries? Well, I can afford them, yes... and so, does that mean I've earned them? I've worked hard to be able to afford these things. Mind you, many have been given to me as well, and my honey-man and I, we have bought some things together... so I certainly haven't acquired all these things all on my own, and I wouldn't have any of them without certain basics having come first. But I DO gots allll the basics: those are not an issue for me, see? And do we make more than $250K a year? Hell no.

So, about these proposed tax hikes that may come via Obama to those making $250K or more a year? These tax policies won't pass unless won with a majority vote, right? Yet those making $250K+ in the U.S. are not amongst the majority, which is why an affirmative vote is plausible. Simply put, there are more people out there who are living 'without' than with.

SEMI-RELATED TANGENT: When I was an active Mormon, I paid 10% of my income as a tithe to the LDS Church, no questions asked. I used to think of it as my way of helping out, doing my part to better society and my fellowmen and fellow church members. And now? Although no longer active in the LDS church, I still think I should be helping out, especially when my own needs are met well beyond need. Now, about taxes, they have always been a part of how I contribute to the 'general effort,' so they're a given; I have no other choice, and I don't have control over how my tax dollars are spent, although I never had control over how the LDS Church spent my tithing money either. Am I getting off point? My point: I don't mind paying taxes = It's how I contribute. I do more than that to 'contribute' though, directly dolling out a couple thousand $ a year to charities I choose, plus the volunteer time I give to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the American Cancer Society. But the tax money? I can't mind the taxes when my own needs are met.

I have tried to imagine what my life would be like if we made $250K a year... and man, the excess is truly hard to imagine, although I'm certain we'd find ways to spend it, especially if and when we have another child after this one on the way. It's easy to spend money when you have it. It's hard to say how we would feel about a higher tax rate if we made over $250K, even though that amount would place us in a totally different tax bracket anyhow, levels above where we are now. I think we honestly couldn't mind it though - -the higher tax rate, I mean-- and that's because, fundamentally, speaking of myself and my honey-man, we believe that people are meant to take care of each other, and we should help take care of others, and that means EVERYONE who's in need whether they're working hard for their daily bread or living off the system. Even if it means taking more away from what I've worked so hard to earn for myself, that's fine with me because I already have more than enough.

This Thanksgiving and hereafter, I hope to truly focus more and dwell daily upon how grateful I am for all that we have, and all the good fortune of my family and friends. I'm hopeful that such focus will further lighten my load.

oh yeah, and Obama? I'm hopeful about him too.