10 Years

Dada!, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Happy Anniversary, honey (mwah!)! It's our 10-year anniversary today. We don't have anything special planned, except we're going to Tampa for an extended weekend soon.

I got to be Dora the Explorer a few weekends back. You would think being an explorer would be fun, but most of my work involved telling Swiper (Brenden wanted to be Swiper the fox) "Swiper, no swiping! Swiper no swiping!! SWIPER NO SWIPING!!!" Yawn. No where near as much fun as playing a greedy crab.("WHARS ME MONEY, SPONGEBOB?")

Brenden is back in speech classes, and Jon and I trying to work harder with him. His speech has improved, but he tends to get in a hurry and compress the words he's trying to use. Slowing him down and getting him to enunciate carefully is frustrating for all of us. But we do see (hear) improvement.

A few days ago Brenden got on his knees and straddled Big Fat Kitty and pretended he was riding a horse. He grabbed BFK by the ears and yelled "YEEE HA!" I was turning purple to keep from laughing my ass off, and I made Brenden get off the cat. BFK was royally pissed off (which made it even funnier) but he just doesn't fight back.

We are not amused

We are not amused, originally uploaded by Aviator_edb.

These two kitties are Mojo and Karma; Ed and Jen's new family members. I'm stealing Ed's photos again.

So the specialist looked at the MRI of my neck and explained to me what he was seeing. He was impressed with how roomy the holes in my vertabrae (technical term: foramen) are so there's plenty of room between my spine and the vertabrae discs. the bulging disk between my c6-c7 was apparent, but he said time is the best treatment and it should take care of itself. In the meantime he prescribed me muscle relaxants basically to help me sleep. It still aggravates me some when I try to sleep. Nontheless: hooray!

What I'm Watching: I finally saw Watchmen and I was impressed with how faithful it was to the comic book, right down to specific panels. Jon and I really enjoyed it, but we encouraged Brenden to go play on the computer because this isn't a kid's movie. Especially when we get to Rorshach's backstory. Yikes!

Besides the (for the most part) faithfulness to the source material, the casting was spot on. I only recognized 2 names - Billy Crudup, whom I remember from Almost Famous, played Dr. Manhattan (He of the Big Blue Wang), and Jackie Earl Haley, whom I remember from the original The Bad News Bears, played Rorshach. Rorshach was my favorite character from the comic book and Haley gave an award-worthy performance here. It will probably be a Saturn instead of an Oscar, but what can you do?

The Comedian, Ozymandias, Nite Owl II, and Silk Spectre II were all perfectly cast. I was really impressed with Nite Owl II - out of his costume he was a nerdy middle-aged wimp and when he gazed longinly at his costume, the costume looked silly. However when he finally put on the costume again he looked and acted badass and was a completely believable superhero.

I was a little disappointed at the change at the end, but not really at the change at how the destruction was caused, but who was blamed for it. Actually, that didn't bother me nearly as much as Dr. Manhattan not getting the last word in on the bad guy's little victory dance. One of my deeply held beliefs is the end never justifies the means because things don't end, so when I read the comic and Dr. Manhattan echoed that sentiment it really resonated for me. He should have gotten to say that.

Mal(evolent)

Zoe, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

This post is not really cat-related. But speaking of, our two new cats are devil's spawn but hell, they're cats so that's not unexpected.

I've been having problems sleeping, and while tossing and turning last night I got to thinking about BSG. I miss Starbuck and Madame Airlock mightily.

It might be time for a BSG rewatch, but I have been wanting to re-watch the X-Files as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not to mention I'm rewatching Lost.

Speaking of Buffy and BSG, Jane Espenson has a co-creator credit for the new sciFi Syfy show, Warehouse 13. It's a little uneven, but cute and I can definitely see the Jane influence in the humor (but without the bite. Usually with Jane Espenson if something is really really funny you cringe because something is about to happen that's the equivalent of being smacked with a two-by-four. Or kicked in the nuts, take your pick). Still, it's something to watch until my other shows start up again.

I mean, show. The only thing I watch religiously is Lost, and that's ending after next season. Well, there's Dollhouse, but I trust Fox about as far as I can throw a moose. Maybe it *is* time to revisit all those old shows. Remind me to buy Firefly and Veronica Mars on DVD before they go out of stock/print.

Jayne says (meow)

Jayne, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

What I'm reading:

I'm pretty exhausted from reading all but the first two novels (which I read earlier this year) in a row in Harry Turtledove's alternate history series- what if the South had won the civil war? There are 11 books in all - the first deals with a second Mexican war when the Confederate states buy enough of Mexico to extend their borders to the Pacific. The U.S. objects and the South kicks their ass again.

Then the next 3 books deal with World War 1 and the U.s. and the Confederacy find themselves on opposing sides due to who their allies are (Confederacy is aligned w/England and France and U.S. is aligned with Germany). During these books I was ambivalent as to whose side I was on. The U.S. invades Canada and treats Canadians like doo-doo, and the Mormons rebel in Utah and they are treated like ultra doo-doo. The South has problems too, like their black population deciding to rebel (England and France convinced the confederacy to give up slavery, but blacks are still treated like mega doo-doo).

I had hope for the Confederacy even though they lost because near the end of the war they decided to let blacks into the army and promised the ones who fought full citizenship rights. I thought that was a step in the right direction.

My hopes were dashed in the next 3 books, an interlude between world wars, when a bitter Confederate Veteran organizes a political Party that pretty much blames all black people for the South's problems. So this Southern dictator rises to power, browbeats the pacifist Socialist president of the U.S. (ya rly) into giving back some of the land they took in Kentucky and Texas, and then launches World War II (the subject of the last 4 books). He also launches the methodical extermination of all black people in the south.

I was definitely on the U.S.'s side during this war, but they weren't good guys. They didn't allow blacks to come into the U.S. nor when evidence of the massacres come to light did they even seem to care.

The books are very disturbing at this point and I wondered why I put myself through them. I guess because ultimately it was a fascinating read. And once I get started on some stupid series I have a tough time walking away from it. Yes, I'm waiting for the next book in the Wheel of Time series. Why do you ask?

But damn, I'm exhausted. I have started on some Dean Koontz books that Nancy gave me. If Stephen King is the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries, then Koontz is the literary equivalent of a bag of Doritos. Not that there's anything wrong with Big Macs and Doritos (mmmmmmmmm).

What Boykins do Best Part Dos

What Boykins do Best, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

My brother Ed and I 'talk' via IM pretty much every weekday. When we aren't bitching to each other about the pointy headed people that make our jobs miserable, we're gossiping. We do not gossip about our neighbors or about movie stars, but we do gossip about movies and TV. Here's a typical exchange:

Sandy says: NBC is remaking the rockford files
Ed says: Someone is doing a Gunsmoke movie
Sandy says: Eesh.
Ed says: and John Hughes died
Sandy says:Yar, I saw that
Ed says: yah. Probably revenge from Jay & Silent Bob
Sandy says: If Jim Rockford is not a middle-aged shlub who lives in a trailer in this 're-imagining' I'm gonna be pissed.
Ed says: yup
Sandy says: Also, if they don't have the answering machine before the credits I'll be REALLY pissed
Ed says: lol, I forgot about that
Sandy says: Man, that was the best part! I wonder if they'll re-do the theme or use something completely different. You know, if John Hughes is dead, I wonder how far off remakes of The Breakfast Club and Home Alone are
Ed says: Ferris Bueller, 16 Candles
Sandy says: Yar, those too. And one of my favorites, Some Kind of Wonderful
Ed says: Weird Science, Planes Trains and Autos, jeez
Sandy says: Yar, Pretty in Pink. The guy defined the 80's
Ed says: Yeah

What does your dad do for a living?

IMG_2940, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a link to Jon's jump from the blimp. I'm still pretty jealous; he got paid for it!

Kitty Update

IMG_2973, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I took Zoe Mal and Jayne to the vet yesterday where they received some vaccination shots, a de-worming pill (the vet said it was cheaper just to give them the meds instead of checking so I said go ahead), and a general checkup. They are both healthy, rambunctious kitties. They also have ear mites, a gift from their outdoorsy mom.

Because kitty ear mites are highly contagious, the vet recommended I put the prescribed ear drops in Big Fat Kitty's ears as well. Mal and Jayne took the drops in stride, but Big Fat Kitty was having NONE OF IT.

I'm glad I only know a smattering of cat language because I was cursed out pretty soundly by an angry 22 pound kitty cat. Jon helped so I eventually got the drops in his ears.

I have to repeat the process every 7 days for 4 weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

Unintentional LOLcat

More cuteness, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am embarrassed pleased to introduce you to Jayne (grey kitty) and Mal (black kitty). Yes, he's a guy. I thought he had some tackle, but I was going by what the woman who gave them to me said. Oh, well.

Baa Haabaa

bar harbor 045, originally uploaded by Aviator_edb.

My brother and his wife went on an RV vacation last week to Bar Harbor. So I'm stealing his vacation photos.

The pain is managable thanks to modern chemistry. I don't worry about addiction because when I was going through mastectomy recovery and getting my implant filled every week, the plastic surgeon prescribed me oodles of Darvocet and I popped those like M & M's. When I finally had my reconstructive surgery and recovered and the pills ran out, I essentially had been on pain meds for over 6 months.

When they did finally ran out, I was bummed for a week. Apparently pain meds suppress the manufacturing of endorphins (nature's feel-good chemicals) and it takes a while for natural production to get cranking again. I finally started feeling better and while I did miss the drugs some, the feeling didn't overwhelm me.

If I have to face surgery again, I am buoyed by knowing two coworkers who have had discs removed and their spines fused. Both of them are very happy with the results. We also marvelled at the fact that everything starts to break down once you reach the magical age of 40. What the heck happens when you reach 40? Does your body's warranty expire or something?

I need to find recipes that Brenden can safely cook. Non-heat recipes might be best. He has really taken to messing up my kitchen. I supply him with ingredients I don't really care about - rice, oatmeal, salt, sugar, parsely flakes, etc. and he goes to town. All I have to do is sit at the table and read a book and call him 'Spongebob' every once in a while.

Spongebob is a good role-model in some ways. He is a good example of how attitude affects everything. He loves what most people would consider a crappy job (short-order cook) because he's just a cheerful little sponge. And he is a hard-working, excellent cook and employee. I would love Brenden to emulate those qualities. I just hope he doesn't pick up Spongebob's habit of overreacting to everything (I may be a little too late there to stop that ).