Yeah...we're screwed

When Bush Declared A National Emergency, NSPD-51 Gave Him Dictator Power

More importantly, what are YOU doing to make sure that your life won't go to hell in a handbasket along with the rest of the U.S.??


and in other disturbing news....
Polar Bears Resort to Cannibalism So, Palin, still think global warming is a big hoax?

we'll run till we leave this behind

I've been tagged! Therefore I have to post 7 random things about myself.

1--I collect boxes. Not big ugly packing ones, but tiny boxes that look cool. I wish I had pictures, and I meant to take them before I left, but I didn't. I have a clef note octagonal box that fits into the palm of my hand, two polished wooden boxes from India with flowers carved into them (one looks kind of like a coffin), a cloth-covered box with an ivory button clasping it shut, a fimo box with a velvet interior & a Grateful Dead bear on the top, a lunchbox that says "Attack of the Monster Women" with kitschy alien toys depicted on it, a small wooden box with VT cows on it...I think that's it. All of them have, shall we say, sentimental value? And they all hold small pieces of my life.

2--I am the Clutter Queen. So, I collect boxes. And I collect stuff, too. Bits of paper with notes on them. Notebooks clogged with story ideas. Trunks packed with old stories. Tapestry needles. Books. But all of these things are *necessary*, I don't keep them for the sake of keeping them. I'm a clutter queen, but not a pack rat. I don't keep junk because it might someday become useful.

3--I write all the time, but I've never been published. I have to write a poem about someone before I'm truly over them (I have a large collection of ex-boyfriend/ex-lover/ex-unrequited love poems).

4--I bite my nails, but not because I'm nervous. Because I'm a OCD about them--they all have to be the same length!

5--I talk to myself. And I keep up a running commentary. I don't think it's odd, I really don't.

If I Wanted It to Be 40 in the Winter, I'd Move to CA!

Seriously. All the snow is melting. I slip nearly every time I go down the stairs. It was 40 yesterday, maybe warmer--and it wasn't much better today! Where are the -40 temps? Did we switch places with the East Coast? Now I am REALLY mad about global warming (not that I wasn't mad before, but...)! I miss my winter! Where did you go?
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Thanksgiving: 5 hungry dudes, one hungry me. I must admit I get controlling about the cooking. John helped--he chopped veggies--but I had to time the food and make the gravy--yes, I know how to make a roue, don't shoot me, it's an art!--, I had to bring it out of the oven. We had:
chicken n' biscuits (country-style pot-pie)
shepard's pie
apple pie (store-bought) & ice cream
ham
BYOB
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Randomness: maybe I should have just called this blog Phoebe. You all would have known what that means, then. I think only my mom reads this, though. Hi, Mom!

I'm nostalgic for:
the thrum of the digeridoo licking the hot pavement
salt in my hair and icy waves
giant pines and snap crackle BANG!
hot tubs and ice-cold dark beers
newcomb's field
east putney falls
vt snow
vt friends

I got carded tonight. :( Usually I am flattered, but it was at work! Someone new was working, luckily she was on the phone with Sandy so it was ok, but the way she looked at me? Like I was some kind of icky creature? OMG, sometimes I wish I had the balls to tell strangers to FUCK OFF. Not the smartest move when you work with someone, though.

I suck at blogging.

Tales of an Undead MILF

Actually, I was supposed to be a vampire, but my "fang dentures" made me look like Bucky the Vampire. I guess they're for people with perfect teeth, people whose parents paid for braces not who were told "If you want braces, pay for them yourself. Or better yet, don't fuck up your teeth--they're the only set you're going to get." Screw braces. I like my slight over-bite and slightly off-kilter teeth. That's how I ended up looking like a slutty witch: mini skirt from Hot Topic, stripey red/black thigh highs, serious v-neck black top and black vinyl sling-backs. Except I didn't wear the shoes, I just wore my boots and I won a bottle of wine anyway! $11 down the drain...Unless I wear them elsewhere, which I'll have to, and the skirt, which I LURVE.

Unfortunately, the camera is out of batteries--again!--so I can't post the adorable pics of Orion as a kangaroo. But I promise they'll be up within the next week!

the joys of breastfeeding

Just got over a hideous bout with mastitis. For the uninformed, that's what happens when you have poor latch and you miss a feeding. I mean, I had a bleb (which is what a blocked milk duct is called) and I didn't realize it. Then I got full-blown mastitis while I was at work. It was horrible. I spent about 24 terrible hours sweating, shaking, chills, standing outside on the porch til I was at a "reasonable time" or somewhat to have John take my temp, which ranged from 102 all day and night. The next morning was a different story--I was 103, almost 104 when I finally went to the ER. And did they hook me up to a pump? NO THEY DID NOT. Instead I got the morphine drip and a LECTURE--yes, you heard it right--a lecture on EBF!! (Extended Breastfeeding) I mean, WTH! How dare you push your uninformed personal opinions at me! "Most people don't breastfeed at 17 months"...Maybe in Fairbanks! Certainly other people around the world are, or the World Health Organization wouldn't recommend that women BF their babies until 2 years! Thank you America.

So now Orion won't nurse on that side, I have to pump continuously to keep the milk up--and the size of my boob!

I will be going to NE for Christmas--yay! My mom found a ticket with only one stop (Seattle) on its way to Boston! That means 12ish hours of flight...you guessed it...lap time. I hope to hell I have a free seat next to me for the car seat--I don't know how I am going to keep Orion with me for that long without him throwing an absolute *fit* for the entire flight. Guess how much the ticket was?? You'll never guess. Three hundred dollars. Is that insane or what??

Any special requests for Alaskan, Oregonian, Montana or generally NW beers should be directed to the comments. If you have another request for any other general AK paraphenalia (no, I am not bringing a dog sled or a snow machine back), like salmon jerky (mmm, sq*** candy!) or muktuk (not such a lovely snack: whale blubber), or "eskimo ice cream" (seal oil with berries...it's actually really good), direct that to the comments to. Or to my phone...you know how to reach me by now.

Speaking of phones, I just got a new one, the Nokia 6580. It's a camera phone, not really into that as I have a digital camera, but the phone goes everywhere with me and the camera doesn't so I guess it's a mixed blessing.

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In a totally unrelated note, never do your Halloween shopping 2 days before the actual event. Orion was supposed to be a bat and now he's a kangaroo. A kangaroo and a vamp tramp mama. Whoops, oh well...

it's always a party at chez phoebe...

Earlier we went outside. No, not to enjoy the crisp autumn weather (and it was certainly crisp), but alas, to answer the call of nature. I did *not* enjoy being pregnant in the winter two years ago, for the simple fact that by the time I'd gotten all my layers on and run outside I ended up peeing in the yard before I peed my pants. Most late-night forays of this kind just ended up being me in my long johns with a pair of boots and a sweatshirt on. I was overheated all the time anyway, so when it was -40 I couldn't have cared less. Pregnant in the Great Northwest, the new title of my memoirs... Where was I? Oh yeah...

Orion was in his new Padraig booties from Blueberry Baby, and I was in my ratty bronze-colored flip-flops that were so deliciously new and full of promise in May. Now they are ratty and cracked, just like three dollar Fred Meyer flip flops always end up. This is what you get when you can't settle for anything more than the cheapest item at the store. This is also how I usually screw myself over. If there's a sale and everything is 60% off, do I buy one item? Nope, I buy a whole bunch of things and end up spending more money than I should! That said, I love thrift stores. Nothing like a pair of $5 cords that would have cost you $30 at the store. Other people's clothes? So what, it's not like they died in them!

Speaking of the clothes people died in, the hangman William Cathcart would sell the victims clothes to Madam Tussaud's wax museum (after their bodies had been carted off to the surgeons).

Anyway, there I sat, cancer stick in one hand, book in the other, Orion running all over the yard throwing his ball at the trees (he likes to see the leaves fall down) and grabbing sticks to hit the ball with, when someone went by with their dog team (they were on an atv though, no snow for a sled)! Ok, I admit it, there's something romantic about dog teams...[Not that I could do it, I couldn't deal with that many animals at once. Plus I have a very short attention span, kind of a cross between ADD and a goldfish.] Probably because now that I live in Alaska I get to be a snob about things that take place in Alaska. You know, the place where a person can wear shorts at zero degrees and a tank top at 30? I mean, after it's been -40 to -60 all winter.

Yes, I do indeed enjoy you all thinking I'm crazy when I come down to the Lower 48 wearing a sun-dress when it's 40 degrees and going barefoot when it's pushing 20! Psssh. 40 degrees after it's been -40 is warm to me. Yeah, ok, maybe the arrogance gets a little annoying...but how do you think everyone else from New England feels when you pull the whole “Flatlander” schtick? See? How's it feel for a change to be an (O)utsider? :P Maybe you should come up here in February, then complain to me about winter. Yeah, I grew up in Vermont but I'm a Vermon-Alaskan. Is there such a thing? Reminds me of that song I wrote, "Vermont Girl From Alaska"...I'll YouTube it sometime.

Speaking of YouTube, this video is really cute:

How do you make a video slideshow like that? I would like to make some sort of similar Fbx vid. I DO miss VT snow!! The ice-powder shit here just don't compare, ayuh? Although I was thinking of taking up cross-country skiing this winter, and for those purposes, such snow is purportedly perfect...