THEY WON THEY WON THEY WON!!!!!

WOOOOO!!!!!!

My Beloved Patriots! They did it! How excited am I? How excited? Did you hear me screaming? I’m laughing, I’m crying, I’m jumping up and down doing the Snoopy Happy Dance, I’m so freaking happy! They did it! They won! They made history tonight!

Most points in a season – RECORD! (589)

Most touchdowns in a regular season – RECORD (75)

Most touchdown passes by a quarterback in a season – RECORD! (Brady – 50)

Most touchdown receptions by a single player in a season – RECORD! (Moss – 23)

Most games won in a regular season – RECORD! (16-0)

Most consecutive regular season wins – RECORD! (19)

Leading passer in the NFL – Brady (4,806 yards)

 

Brady Highlights from the game

 Moss Highlights from the game

Patriots – Giants Music Video

Woo!

Yay! Craig Ferguson will be back on Wednesday!  Did you hear that Raga?  Woo!

It seems that David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, has made a deal with the Writer’s Guild, and all the writers for both his show and Ferguson’s will return to work, and new shows will start airing on late night starting Jan 2 (or 3 depending on your time zone I guess, check local listings).

Maybe this will make some headway into this writer’s strike, and other companies will follow suit.  Honestly, I really don’t know whose side I’m on in this whole thing.  Sometimes I think union members try to hold companies hostage with their demands, and should they really have the right to do that?  Who are they to turn their noses up at a job, good jobs at that?  Some of those writers make $500,000 a year!  Other times I think the companies are jerks for not relenting to the demands of their workers.  Are the workers really asking for more than their due?  I don’t know.

I guess I don’t have a side.  For now, I’m just glad there’s a tad of relief in sight, even if my husband does roll his eyes at me.  Yeah, he’s not especially fond of Ferguson.  Mostly because I like him, I’m sure.  But then, what man does like the guy his wife has a secret crush on?  He hates Johnny Depp too. 

 

A Product Review!

Yeah!  A product review!  From me, of all people!  Usually it’s my husband who does that sort of thing, being the software junkie that he is.  But he recommended a product to me, because of a bit of a conundrum I’m in.

First off, it needs to be said that I’m not a writer.  Sure, I did my share of dabbling in teen angst poetry when I was in high school.  I tried my hand at sappy short stories and what-not.  But, not a writer am I.  However, I’ve had this story churning around in me for a while now.  Like over 3 years.  Actually, it’s so cold I told my friend Sherri it’s not even on the back burner, it’s more like in the freezer, it’s so cold.  So my Love suggested I try out this product that his friend Bryce has, over on his website, Baby Katie Media.  Bryce has been writing a serial story too, like my husband, and I figured those writer types would have something good, you know?

I tried it.  And I like it!  I’ve been playing with it for the last few days to get a feel for it, and even had a bit of an idea as to how to plot out my story.  It’s an outline product, to help you with outlining your plots.  Sweet, and to the point!  Now, for people like me who like to do all the layout and stuff first, it’s a boon.  You can take notes in it, it has a scratch pad for ideas, it has templates for if you’re writing a biography or a novel, things like that.  You can jot down character ideas, and even spell check your work.  You can import and export too, to text and html files.  I like that it’s all digital, since all the little notes and ideas I had for my story were all in longhand because I didn’t have computer access at the time the idea first came to me.  Now I can get it all on the computer and have it all in one place, nice and organized.  I’m sure this will help me figure out how to write the story I want to write.  I’m a “stare-er,” meaning I like to just sit and stare at the screen while waiting for an idea to strike.  Staring at a wire-bound notebook is a pain, having to flip the pages back and forth.  I don’t have to do that with Text Tree.  It’s all there right before my greedy little eyes.   

So I wanted to send a special shout over to Bryce for coming up with the idea.  It’s so cool to be able to collect my thoughts in one place.  I’m so glad you made this, Bryce!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Maybe now I’ll be able to make some progress!  

 

Red Fridays

Generally, I’m not a baseball fan.  Why do I have a link to a baseball site, you ask?  Well, it’s not a baseball post.  It’s an American post.  I just felt compelled to share it with you.  Get your red on, put your hand to your brow, and show some love for our troops.  I’ll Be Wearing Mine …

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And while you’re doing that, put some thought into showing some love for your spouse.  Not only is it fun, it’s good for you too!  Here’s a dozen reasons why …  Oh, and if you have kids, be sure to lock the door!  If you want a little mood music to get you started, get started with this one.  Have fun!    

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Midwife at a Birth*

Like any birth, it was anticipated, but as always, the timing was unknown.  You never know that moment when labor will begin.  As is usually the case, this one happened in the middle of the night.

He’s been stewing for weeks.  Brewing, thinking, pondering, brooding.  Admittedly, he has a lot more on his mind than stories, but I knew that was, in many ways, his real conundrum.  You have no idea what it’s like to watch a creative man go through his own version of pregnancy.  It’s similar emotionally to what it’s like for women.  He was antsy, he was uncomfortable, he slept badly, he was frustrated.  My husband had finished Ghost Hunters weeks before.  He paced out the posting of the chapters to occur long after he’d actually finished the story.  I had the privilege of reading the chapters when they were finished, mostly as a spell-check of sorts, but I had nothing to do with the actual story.  And when that “baby” was done, he was ready for another.  He went through old stories he’d started but hadn’t finished, looking for inspiration; but nothing really came.  False labor if you will.  He really liked the characters from Ghost Hunters and wanted to continue with them, but wasn’t sure if he could summon anything interesting for them to encounter.  I’d watch him sit in his thinking chair, tap his fingers on the keyboard, and … nothing.  Ladies, you know that feeling in the last few days of pregnancy when you just sit there and pray, “Hurry UP!”?  That’s how he was.

Last night after we finally got the little one down around 3am, we smoked our cigarettes and then went to bed.  I opened my book, and my Love opened his, but he started talking – mostly the thinking out loud kind of talk that didn’t really require a response from me.  All of a sudden he said, “Hey! What if …” and he trailed off into silence. 

Now, I’ve lived with this man a long time, and I have learned to keep quiet when he says that.  In fact, I try to keep as still as possible, afraid that any movement or sound on my part might distract him from the path of his thoughts.  I know his wheels are turning, working out all the possible outcomes, their probabilities and pitfalls, and that while his mouth might be silent, there’s a cacophony going on in his head.  To me, it’s genius at work, and I dare not interrupt. 

Then the words started tumbling out of him.  Ah, it’s such a joy to see!  “What if this … and then that … and of course this would have to happen … and then they could ….”  And I, like any midwife, did my best to encourage those thoughts – my own version of, “Relax! Breathe! Push!”  Coaching, encouraging. 

An idea was born!  Right away he jumped up, “Come with me while I write this down!” he cried.  He sat at his computer and typed furiously, as fast as he could, trying to get the words preserved before they floated away into the mists of his imagination.  This time, unlike Ghost Hunters, I got to add my 2¢ worth to the story being born.  I can’t tell you how exciting it to feel like part of the process.  He has so many great ideas for Witch Hunt! This one is going to be really exciting I believe, yet different in several ways than Ghost Hunters.  He’s plotting and planning, making his notes and outlines, taking a much more deliberate tack this time.  I think the effort will pay major dividends. 

Many years ago I used to fancy myself a writer of sorts, with my little short stories and poems.  If I still had any of those scribblings, you could see just how silly I was.  And I used to wonder what it was like for great writers when an idea struck them.  Now, I know.  It’s almost visible, that spark, when inspiration strikes like lightning out of a cloudless sky.  My husband will sit so still, waiting, the energy of desire emanating from him in waves.  Then BAM, he’s a flurry of activity, typing away furiously, so focused on the words flowing out of his brain through his fingertips that I do believe the place could catch fire and he probably wouldn’t notice.  It is truly a beauty to behold.  And I am privileged, and honored, to be a witness.

* For those of you anticipating the birth of a real child, and are looking for a midwife, you might want to check out:

Planned Home Birth  

Gentle Birth

Midwives of IL 

IL Midwives  

HomeFirst   

    

Thing? Here Thing!

I need something to post about.  I’m drawing a blank here!  My kids were fighting earlier, is that something I could post about?  My son, who was playing a video game, got mad when his little sister put a cap on his head.  You’d think the world had come to a close with the fit he threw.  Then he started screaming at her.  “You piece o’ THINGIN’!” he yelled. 

You see, some time ago he picked up a cuss word he’d heard from someplace.  :::looking around the room:::  We had to tell him that some words are just for grown-ups and not children, so he couldn’t use those words.  We probably shouldn’t use them either but … we like them.  Sigh.  So anyway, in his 4 year old way at that time, he said, “So, I can’t say those words but I can say anything else?”  Yes!  We were confident he understood: he’s an incredibly smart kid.  A few minutes later he was looking at something or looking for something, I can’t recall, and asked, “Where the thing is it?”  We laughed, and I said, “Well I don’t thingin’ know!”  A new “cuss” word was born!  He says it all the time now.  What the thing is that?  What the thing are you doing?  Who the thing is that?  What the thing is wrong with you?  Leave me the thing alone!  Get out of my thingin’ way!  Now the baby comes and asks me, “Can you read me this piece o’ thingin’?”  She’s only 2!  I’ve realized lately that “thing” is now merely a placeholder of sorts until they’re adults and can use the big words. 

Honestly, I don’t have a problem with swear words in general.  I think of them as a spice of sorts in our language.  They are strong and powerful, full of meaning and should be used judiciously.  And who decided that some words were bad and some words were not?  There are 26 letters in our alphabet, and as a society we’ve decided that certain arrangements of those letters are bad.  I guess for me personally, it’s more about context.  If you stub your toe and yell, “Sh*t!”, well you are certainly entitled!  A stubbed toe hurts and you have every right to express your pain in the most fitting way you feel!  And to me there’s a difference in saying such things as, “He’s an a**hole” as compared to saying, “What an a**hole thing to do!”  One describes the person, the other describes a behavior.  In general, ad hominem attacks aren’t cool, although admittedly I can think of a few exceptions!  Sometimes, people ARE a**holes.  And somehow, calling someone a rectal sphincter muscle just doesn’t carry the same passion.  It may make them pause however.

Words are powerful things.  They are what make us human, enable us to communicate with one another, allow us to vent our thoughts and feelings whether in printed or verbal form.  I weep when I hear the words to our national anthem.  I wasn’t there, but the words re-create that time and place for me – “and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there!”  What imagery!  What drama!  Can you imagine the emotion of the author?  I can!  I laugh when I read a good joke or funny story – all words setting me up for the punch line.  The seemingly innocent little blog can bring me into someone’s life, someone I’ve never met, and will make me hurt for them or cheer for them; make me feel like I know them or maybe like I don’t want to.  The current writer’s strike will soon have an impact on us as a society – those people you never see, don’t know, probably never thought about, but they have the power to create the stories and characters we love so much.  Those TV shows are simply words acted out.  They begin with words, an idea committed to paper, and end up transmitted to millions of homes across the world.  They shape our thoughts, our beliefs, our hopes and sorrows.  Is there any more powerful story than Ernest Hemingway’s 6-word one?  “For Sale: baby shoes, never used.”  Six innocent little words, when combined, can move a person to tears.  That is power.

Words.  Yeah.  That’s thingin’ power.

 

I’m a Bad Girl

Yes I am.

It’s the weekend.

I’m feelin’ naughty.

But I’m so much better when I’m bad!

 

 

My Nomination for the 2007 Patriots Theme Song

I think the Patriots need a theme song, don’t you?

This is my personal choice.

Enjoy!

One for the ladies

I had a dream this morning.  (Whoa! Stop the presses, she had a dream! Just kidding.)  Actually, it was a bit unnerving because I dreamt I had a lump in my breast.  I wasn’t alarmed in the dream, but I do wonder what would have happened.  As it is, I’ll never know because a kind neighbor knocked on our door to bring over my copy of SI that the mailman had inadvertently delivered to her.

But it got me to thinking, about women and medicine.  Breast health.  It’s not a secret that I’m a strong proponent of breastfeeding, and if that wasn’t known, it is now.  I encourage it, believe in it, practice it.  No, I am not a member of the La Leche League, although I do think they have done some wonderful things.  Did you know they have techniques that can help adoptive mothers breastfeed their babies?  That just flat out effing rocks!  I wish every mom could nurse their baby, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen.  And this is NOT a “bash the bottle feeding mommy” post, so please don’t think that’s going to happen here.  It won’t.  There are many good reasons why a mom may choose not to nurse: some health related, some work related, some physically related.  We all know the health benefits that nursing provides our babies – the list seems endless and every few weeks it seems there’s something new added to it.  One thing I almost never hear about though is how breastfeeding benefits women.  Did you know that nursing can reduce your risk of getting breast cancer?  The more you nurse, the more you decrease your risk.  Not just for breast cancer either but other “female” cancers as well – uterine and ovarian.  How’s that for motivation?  If you could take a drug that would reduce your cancer risk by 50%, would you take it?  Would you nurse your baby for 2 years?

So we know about the benefits of nursing, not just to the baby but to the mother as well.  I’m wondering though, are there risks if you don’t nurse?  Does not-breastfeeding have some kind of hormonal consequence for our bodies that we are as yet unaware of?  We know that an increase in estrogen can cause cancer to grow faster.  But what happens when our body gets all ramped up to nurse and then we don’t?  Does that increase our risk of breast – or any other kind of – cancer?  Has anyone even cared enough to study this?  I know that in the middle of the 20th century, it was common for women to be given pills that “dried up” their milk supply as nursing was considered – get this – unsanitary.  And now it seems that for the past 30 years or so women are getting breast cancer left and right.  Connection?  Perhaps the popularity of birth control pills had something to do with that as well?  Abortion?  The timing of all these events seems to suggest that something is going on.

And I think it’s something we should figure out.

 

Popular? Not so much!

So I was checking up on my blog … and I noticed the numbers were way up.  For me, way up, far more than my usual numbers (and I thank both of you for reading as often as you do!).  I was pretty astounded by the little pink hearts scattered across my little map and I checked my stats to see what was going on.  And it has nothing to with me.  Nothing! People are looking for … (I don’t dare say it because I don’t want to encourage the search engines!) they are looking for that stuff you put on those vertical surfaces in your home, that decorative stuff that’s always so hard to get off when you change your mind or your decor.  And I don’t mean paint! I can’t figure out what’s going on.  I put the same search terms into a Google search, and went through 40 pages and still never found a hit on my site, so what’s going on?  I’m getting hits from all over the world and it’s so cool to see so many different places on my map, but I honestly don’t understand.  I’ve never mentioned that search term anywhere on my blog.  And it just started happening a couple days ago, when I hadn’t even posted anything.  Is that weird, or what?  I must admit though, it’s nice to feel popular, even if I’m really not.