So, the test results came back from the 10 (yes TEN) vials of blood that were taken from me on Thursday, and the 24 hr urine collection.
Overall, I'm not in BAD shape, but I'm definitely on the way there. My B12 is low, as is my vitamin D, E, and calcium. So, it's going to be counter-acted with lots and LOTS of supplements, and hopefully in a few weeks I'll be feeling better.
I'm going to be getting a liquid B12 supplement, as well as a once-per-week 50K dose of Vitamin D, a once-per-day dose of Vitamin E, and a calcium with vitamin D daily supplement.
I'm really hoping that, with the increased B12 and D/E vitamins in my system, I'll finally start to feel better, and less like the walking dead.
On the much cooler side, Boo is standing on her own now, for about 10-12 seconds at a time. Since she's now figured out she can do it on her own, she wants nothing to do with anyone "helping" her stand. She'll do it herself, thankyouverymuch... She hasn't moved to the actual walking stage, but I'm figuring in another week or so, she'll be off and running.
Yesterday she had her first "official" run in the baby bucket(tm) swings at the park... LOVES them, and wants to go again and again. Not so sure on the slides, but loves the swings. Giggled through the whole experience, and wanted more - Fred video-taped the whole thing with his camera phone. Slept through from around 6:30pm to 4:30am this morning. Tuckered right out.
I'm starting bellydance lessons again as of this Thursday. I'm so excited! It'll be nice to be able to boogie down and actually get good again - too much belly, not enough dance!
The stitch-and-bitches have been going pretty well so far. Taught how to do a simple chemise yesterday, and both S and Ronnie made their own. I walked them through patterning and cutting it out, and as it got further in, I let them go further on their own until they finished it on their own. Really nifty. We have plans already for the next dress, a viking under-dress, also known as a 10-gore-dress. All the rage at your local Allthyng. If anyone wants a copy of the patterns, I'll post up information on them under the "projects" part of my Myspace info.
~M
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
My personal opinion on the whole thing...
A long time ago, I learned that discussing politics and religion in the office were definitive no-noes. I started my blog with that same general rule. It's just not something I normally blog about unless I can lock the entry. My personal beliefs are just that - personal. You don't necessarily have to agree with me, and I don't have to agree with you, and that's ok. What's not ok is attacking someone when their beliefs don't lie on the same side of the line as yours.
I don't see a spirited debate, where each side has valid, clear points as attacking. That's debating, and my husband and I do that all the time (we love playing devil's advocate, with the understanding that it really is just playing, and is not anything personal). However, when it starts to go downhill into name-calling, mud-slinging and general nastiness, that's when it is attacking - and that's not right. Each individual has the right to have their own opinion, no matter what it is. It could be that they feel that penguins really *do* enjoy having their feathers dyed purple and spiked... Whatever. I don't care. It's your opinion on a subject, and that's ok. As long as you're ok with me not necessarily agreeing with it (personally, unless one can translate what a penguin is squawking about, it's probably just not a good idea to dye feathers or spike them).
Granted, political and religious opinions drive a LITTLE more emotion than the example above. Why? Because, deep-down, we feel much more passionate about it. Religiously speaking, it's my beliefs that are telling me what is right and wrong, and how best to go about proving that to others. Politically speaking, it's those who would support my beliefs that I will support - because without the political clout, my beliefs might lose their ground and get dug under by those who don't want my beliefs to see the light of day.
Politically- and religiously-speaking, however, things are not black and white (no pun intended regarding the current presidential race). They are, in fact, several (hundred) shades of gray. Humans just aren't simple. Our lives aren't simple, our beliefs aren't simple, and so our politics are not going to be simple - no matter how much we hope and/or pray for it.
So far, I've seen a lot of smear campaigning going on - and oddly enough, it's (mostly) NOT directly from the campaign headquarters of the opposing forces. Instead there's LOTS of nasty statements going back and forth from constituants about how one side should be doing one thing, and the other should be doing this and that, and because they aren't doing it, they're obviously either "Anti-American", or "Anti-Global"...
"Anti-War" means that the person doesn't appreciate what our country has gone through to get to where we are now, and what we're doing to help those nations across the globe... "Pro-War" means we're using our huge political and military might to bully those outside the US into a democratic government, forcing those same countries to put aside thousands of years of their own history to suddenly change gears and follow us, because we're at the forefront of national perfection.
If you're a Republican, you're expected to support the war, be pro-life, possibly even move toward faith healing (if you support Palin), teach and support total abstinance without the benefit of any sex education (because that would be bad), support higher taxes for private citizens but support tax loops for high profile companies and rich folk.
If you're a Democrat, you're expected to be against the war, be pro-choice, possibly move toward herbal healing (even possibly some alternative religions thrown in for good measure), teach all kinds of sex education and support gay rights (because being anything but would be bad), support low (if any) taxes, and boo down large corporations, demanding that they and the rich folk give a large cut of their wealth to the little people because everyone deserves a cut.
Unfortunately, it seems that those of us who realize that the world is not only round, but made of about ten BILLION shades of gray (one for every 20 people or so), are left out in the cold. We aren't exactly Republican, but we aren't exactly Democrat. We don't ride the fence on ANY of our beliefs - it's just that our beliefs tend to go 50% on one side, and 50% on the other (ok, so some people are more on one side than the other, but there you are).
My own personal beliefs? Well, I'll tell you only this once. I am not interested in being personally attacked, and I don't feel the need to support my own beliefs because you think yours are better.
I believe that our troups are in a war that they have no choice but to be in. They have signed up voluntarily, given an oath to follow through with all orders given by their superior officers, and have given up their own freedom because they felt it necessary to do so. I did not support the war when we went over there while Saddam was in power the first time. I did not support the war when we went over again. Both times, however, I understood that our troups had no choice in the matter, and both times I hoped and prayed to any diety that would listen, to bring them home safe to their families.
I believe that, regardless of what (and why) we went over there for in the first place, we don't belong there now. Why? Because their government has asked us to leave. We were requested to be there, now we have been requested to leave. End of story. Very few things can be simplified, but this point can be. We have been requested to leave - their government feels they are now able to take care of things themselves. We should respect their wishes and leave, whether we feel it's the right thing or not.
I believe that we are not the watchdogs of the world, we are not the police force of the world. Honestly, until we get paid back the money that we're owed from France, Germany, Isreal and any other country out there who owes us money from when we lent it to them YEARS ago - with interest - we don't need to be running to save anyone. Our countries deficit is badly in need of that money. We are no longer able to look within our country to make that deficit go away. It must come from outside - and if the United Nations wants us to be the world protectors and/or police force, we should get paid for it - just like every other police force gets paid.
I believe that each family should be responsible for their own reproductive beliefs. That being said - I also believe that each child should get sex education, and be told the truth about how their bodies work. I believe that abstinance should be included and stated to always be the best alternative - but I know, having been a teen at one point in my life, that realistically speaking, sex will happen. Better that it happen safely.
I believe that it doesn't (and should NEVER) matter what sexual orientation someone is. I don't care about which sex you like - only if you can do the job that I request of you, or if you can pay your rent on time if I'm renting to you. Other than that, it doesn't matter to me.
I believe that each person has the right (NOT the privilage) to bear arms. And if they commit a serious crime, they forfeit that right. As part of that right, each person should be given proper and FULL instruction on gun safety and at least 12 weeks of practices, and should qualify for a license every few years, with a practicum exam to show that they still understand and practice good safety.
Same thing goes for driving. It's a right, not a privilage, and people should continually qualify for it - and if they commit a serious crime, they forfeit that right. A car, given the right circumstances, can be just as deadly as a gun - and people should respect that.
As for the have's vs the have not's - yeah, I think there should be a balance between them - there has been a widening gap between them, and we no longer have a "middle class" anymore. We have the working poor, the very poor, the very rich, and the uber-rich. My parents used to be middle class... Now, they'd be considered the working poor. And the separation between the working poor and the very rich is getting larger by the day.
As for how, well, that's another entry for another day. So, there it is. That's where I stand.
~M
I don't see a spirited debate, where each side has valid, clear points as attacking. That's debating, and my husband and I do that all the time (we love playing devil's advocate, with the understanding that it really is just playing, and is not anything personal). However, when it starts to go downhill into name-calling, mud-slinging and general nastiness, that's when it is attacking - and that's not right. Each individual has the right to have their own opinion, no matter what it is. It could be that they feel that penguins really *do* enjoy having their feathers dyed purple and spiked... Whatever. I don't care. It's your opinion on a subject, and that's ok. As long as you're ok with me not necessarily agreeing with it (personally, unless one can translate what a penguin is squawking about, it's probably just not a good idea to dye feathers or spike them).
Granted, political and religious opinions drive a LITTLE more emotion than the example above. Why? Because, deep-down, we feel much more passionate about it. Religiously speaking, it's my beliefs that are telling me what is right and wrong, and how best to go about proving that to others. Politically speaking, it's those who would support my beliefs that I will support - because without the political clout, my beliefs might lose their ground and get dug under by those who don't want my beliefs to see the light of day.
Politically- and religiously-speaking, however, things are not black and white (no pun intended regarding the current presidential race). They are, in fact, several (hundred) shades of gray. Humans just aren't simple. Our lives aren't simple, our beliefs aren't simple, and so our politics are not going to be simple - no matter how much we hope and/or pray for it.
So far, I've seen a lot of smear campaigning going on - and oddly enough, it's (mostly) NOT directly from the campaign headquarters of the opposing forces. Instead there's LOTS of nasty statements going back and forth from constituants about how one side should be doing one thing, and the other should be doing this and that, and because they aren't doing it, they're obviously either "Anti-American", or "Anti-Global"...
"Anti-War" means that the person doesn't appreciate what our country has gone through to get to where we are now, and what we're doing to help those nations across the globe... "Pro-War" means we're using our huge political and military might to bully those outside the US into a democratic government, forcing those same countries to put aside thousands of years of their own history to suddenly change gears and follow us, because we're at the forefront of national perfection.
If you're a Republican, you're expected to support the war, be pro-life, possibly even move toward faith healing (if you support Palin), teach and support total abstinance without the benefit of any sex education (because that would be bad), support higher taxes for private citizens but support tax loops for high profile companies and rich folk.
If you're a Democrat, you're expected to be against the war, be pro-choice, possibly move toward herbal healing (even possibly some alternative religions thrown in for good measure), teach all kinds of sex education and support gay rights (because being anything but would be bad), support low (if any) taxes, and boo down large corporations, demanding that they and the rich folk give a large cut of their wealth to the little people because everyone deserves a cut.
Unfortunately, it seems that those of us who realize that the world is not only round, but made of about ten BILLION shades of gray (one for every 20 people or so), are left out in the cold. We aren't exactly Republican, but we aren't exactly Democrat. We don't ride the fence on ANY of our beliefs - it's just that our beliefs tend to go 50% on one side, and 50% on the other (ok, so some people are more on one side than the other, but there you are).
My own personal beliefs? Well, I'll tell you only this once. I am not interested in being personally attacked, and I don't feel the need to support my own beliefs because you think yours are better.
I believe that our troups are in a war that they have no choice but to be in. They have signed up voluntarily, given an oath to follow through with all orders given by their superior officers, and have given up their own freedom because they felt it necessary to do so. I did not support the war when we went over there while Saddam was in power the first time. I did not support the war when we went over again. Both times, however, I understood that our troups had no choice in the matter, and both times I hoped and prayed to any diety that would listen, to bring them home safe to their families.
I believe that, regardless of what (and why) we went over there for in the first place, we don't belong there now. Why? Because their government has asked us to leave. We were requested to be there, now we have been requested to leave. End of story. Very few things can be simplified, but this point can be. We have been requested to leave - their government feels they are now able to take care of things themselves. We should respect their wishes and leave, whether we feel it's the right thing or not.
I believe that we are not the watchdogs of the world, we are not the police force of the world. Honestly, until we get paid back the money that we're owed from France, Germany, Isreal and any other country out there who owes us money from when we lent it to them YEARS ago - with interest - we don't need to be running to save anyone. Our countries deficit is badly in need of that money. We are no longer able to look within our country to make that deficit go away. It must come from outside - and if the United Nations wants us to be the world protectors and/or police force, we should get paid for it - just like every other police force gets paid.
I believe that each family should be responsible for their own reproductive beliefs. That being said - I also believe that each child should get sex education, and be told the truth about how their bodies work. I believe that abstinance should be included and stated to always be the best alternative - but I know, having been a teen at one point in my life, that realistically speaking, sex will happen. Better that it happen safely.
I believe that it doesn't (and should NEVER) matter what sexual orientation someone is. I don't care about which sex you like - only if you can do the job that I request of you, or if you can pay your rent on time if I'm renting to you. Other than that, it doesn't matter to me.
I believe that each person has the right (NOT the privilage) to bear arms. And if they commit a serious crime, they forfeit that right. As part of that right, each person should be given proper and FULL instruction on gun safety and at least 12 weeks of practices, and should qualify for a license every few years, with a practicum exam to show that they still understand and practice good safety.
Same thing goes for driving. It's a right, not a privilage, and people should continually qualify for it - and if they commit a serious crime, they forfeit that right. A car, given the right circumstances, can be just as deadly as a gun - and people should respect that.
As for the have's vs the have not's - yeah, I think there should be a balance between them - there has been a widening gap between them, and we no longer have a "middle class" anymore. We have the working poor, the very poor, the very rich, and the uber-rich. My parents used to be middle class... Now, they'd be considered the working poor. And the separation between the working poor and the very rich is getting larger by the day.
As for how, well, that's another entry for another day. So, there it is. That's where I stand.
~M
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
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