I admire much about John McCain. In 2000, he was my favorite candidate in the primaries. Had he pulled a "Lieberman" and gone Independent in 2004, I would have strongly considered voting for him. I didn't like the 2008 McCain, probably because in order to gather the Republican support, he had to take stands on many issues that I don't believe in. I am an unabashed liberal, but I admired his original willingness to take a stand and speak his mind.

Clearly in this election, I was pulling for Obama. I put my time and my money and my voice behind him. I am very glad he won, but this night I was moved the most by John McCain.

McCain invoked everything that is beautiful about America: hope, unity, belief in cooperation and valuing each other's differences. He spoke eloquently about our America, this country that we ALL love. He hushed his supporters when they tried to boo, and made them listen as he praised Obama's sacrifice, tenacity, and strength and purity of character. He encouraged his supporters to help Obama and to come together. "Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans," McCain said. He walked us through the historic moment that this election is to us. He reminded us that just a short while ago, Blacks in this country were treated so unfairly that an invitation for an African American to dine in the White House was seen as scandalous. Now a Black person will be living in the White House and that is truly historic indeed.

McCain emphasized that he ran for President for the same reason that Obama did: because they are both so committed to this great nation and love America so much they would do anything to further her cause. McCain also showed his class by stating that running for President was his proudest acheivement. “Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much, and tonight, I remain her servant,” he said. So often we get so obsessed with winning, that we forget that the process is just as important. McCain reminded us that fighting for what you believe in is more important than winning.

Thank you, John McCain, for reminding us, for reminding ME of that which is so true and so dear. America is a precious nation because we can have differences and yet come together. That the good of ALL people is our highest goal, and that Red and Blue, Republican and Democrat is not what should define us. What defines us is our belief that WE are America and that we all have responsibility to each other.

[h/t to Mindy]

BONUS: I'm not going post this play-on-words graphic here, but if you click on it, you MAY get a laugh.

[h/t to She's a Rebel, She's a Saint for this one (I think that's where I saw it, anyway...)]

The blog is going to be a bit quiet, as I was hired 2 weeks after school started and am frantically trying to get up to speed.

But, I am having the time of my life!

I am so very blessed - this job was truly a gift from God!

This entry started as a response to an entry on a friend's blog, but I thought I'd move it over here and flesh it out a bit. As part of his interesting take on the issues, my friend Alan asks, “Is it valid to question why with a family of four children would you be trying for a fifth when you’re occupying the state’s top position and well out on the bell curve of healthy pregnancies?” And I thought, “Whoa there, good buddy – you are making one hell of a presumption in that statement. You are presuming that the Palins were indeed TRYING for a fifth baby. Actually, you're making another presumption, too: you are presuming that birth control always works."

I’m thinking that it’s pretty obvious that they were NOT trying for a fifth and that baby Trig was the proverbial “accident”. I know that if I were the one in that situation, I would not be TRYING for another baby. I don’t know many women who had older children and were on the cusp of a swinging political (or any) career that would try for another child.

I think that what happened instead was more complicated, and more common, than we may want to believe. In the United States, 40-50% of pregnancies – in or out of marriage – are unintended. Sarah kept her pregnancy secret until month 7, even from her family – if you’ve been pregnant, you know how difficult that must have been – especially on someone so trim and fit. I think her reluctance to tell was indicative of the time it took her to adjust to her new, unplanned reality.

To have an abortion would have made Sarah Palin’s life easier in some ways. Her daughter Bristol’s life would perhaps be easier with the same choice. They acted on their beliefs and chose to keep the babies, but I think their choices also point out the major (insurmountable?) difference between men’s and women’s rights: only women can get pregnant and the results of that in the right circumstances are blessed and amazing; in less-than-ideal circumstances, the results are blessed yet difficult.

Sex and babies are complicated issues. Even those of us that choose to save sex for the instances within God’s parameters (between a husband and wife, according to my particular beliefs) have difficult, and often inconvenient, decisions to make. Sarah had no choice (given her beliefs, and mine) but to keep the pregnancy. But I know if I were in her shoes I’d be pretty devastated - I don’t plan to have more children myself, and another pregnancy at this point in my life would be very inconvenient. Am I callous talking about children this way? Maybe. But it is a reality in this world of longer life expectancies, more opportunities for women, and the truth that even the best birth control has a failure rate.

Dave and I (well, ok - so it was Dave) had a vasectomy as part of our family planning, but even those can fail. (I personally know 2 people with post- vasectomy “surprises”). I know that with God’s help we’d work through an unexpected pregnancy – even one with a Downs or otherwise-disabled child - but it would be unwelcome, and complicated.

I think part of the abortion/sex/women’s rights/contraception debate is missing if we fail to acknowledge the reality that birth control is not 100% effective. Even in marriage, only abstinence is the fail-proof plan. I personally believe God created sex as more than just for procreation, so I am NOT advocating abstinence. So as someone who participates in (and enjoys!) God-ordained, married sex, I have to accept the reality that pregnancies are always, always a possibility.

I also believe that having the choice in how we deal with this reality should always be a possibility

The question: What do the following songs all have in common?
"Celebration" by Kool and the Gang
"Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple
"Funkytown" by Lipps, Inc (really, that's the name of a group?!)
"Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones
"Papa's Got a Brand-New Bag" by James Brown
"Teenager in Love" originally by Dion and the Belmonts

The answer: They are all on Raving Rabbids 2, a game for the Wii. They have a series Rock Band-like levels where you can "play" the instruments to the songs by doing the appropriate Wii motions in time with the music. My kids have played this a lot. A WHOLE lot.

My friend Aaron came through with the winning entry - on only one try! Way to go, Aaron! He says he doesn't have a Wii (yet), so his 3 boys can't torture him with these songs. All in due time, Aaron....all in due time. Maybe you can use that Amazon gift certificate toward RR for your Xbox?

Mike and Jen* got the bonus prize (booby prize?): A CD with all the songs on it! They answered so many times and cracked me up - I had to give them something. And now I hear that their son Eric likes to go to sleep to "Smoke on the Water" as a lullaby. Oh yes, my work here is done.

Thanks for playing, and stay tuned for the next contest!

*Unfortunately, Jen looks like this in EVERY SINGLE picture I have of her. It's truly amazing. In person, her eyes are balanced, vibrant, and an attractive shade of brown.

From China Daily, via AP:
Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the D.C. area, where a northern Virginia spa has been offering them for the past four months. John Ho, who runs the Yvonne Hair and Nails salon with his wife, Yvonne Le, said 5,000 people have taken the plunge so far.

"This is a good treatment for everyone who likes to have nice feet," Ho said.

He said he wanted to come up with something unique while finding a replacement for pedicures that use razors to scrape off dead skin. The razors have fallen out of favor with state regulators because of concerns about whether they're sanitary.

Ho was skeptical at first about the fish, which are called garra rufa but typically known as doctor fish. They were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries.

But Ho doubted they would thrive in the warm water needed for a comfortable footbath. And he didn't know if customers would like the idea.

"I know people were a little intimidated at first," Ho said. "But I just said, 'Let's give it a shot.' "

Customers were quickly hooked.

Tracy Roberts, 33, of Rockville, Md., heard about it on a local radio show. She said it was "the best pedicure I ever had" and has spread the word to friends and co-workers.

[h/t to my MOM - who cut the article out of the local paper for me]

Don't forget to enter my contest. I've gotten many entertaining guesses so far, but no one has got it yet. I may have to post a couple hints.

I thought I'd try something new and check out this Muxtape thing the kids are all talking about these days. As a result, I was inspired to create my own Muxtape (which took we quite a while - but hey - now I know how to rip and burn and slash and warp like all the cool kids). What mix should I make? Why, a mix of the six gosh-dang songs that are in my head on SERIOUSLY heavy rotation these days, of course!

So I had this great idea to post my mix and have a contest: You tell me what all these songs have in common, and WHY THEY ARE RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD (leave your answer in the comments), and I'll send the winner a $10 Amazon or iTunes gift certificate to buy your own songs with. Feel free to buy the ones in this mix, if you'd like them to be in YOUR head ALL THE LIVE-LONG DAY! Track 2 is a killer - just TRY to forget it!

So, let the guessing begin! Contest closes at 7pm Pacific Time on Sunday, July 27. (I'm giving you a while, so those who don't check that often because I've been a slacker poster can have a chance to stop by and enter). The first correct answer (by timestamp on comments) wins. If no one guesses the correct answer by that time (and yes - there is a specific, correct answer), then I'll draw a number at random for the winner.

Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the INTERNAL AUDIO MONOTONY!

Yes, I succumbed. But, they are adorable, aren’t they?! The salesman totally buttered me up, saying I had THE foot for this kind of peep-toe, and that they needed a perfect pedicure, like mine. I knew he was laying it on, but I ate it up anyway - it made this girl feel good! He continued by saying, "Men LOVE women in shoes like this. You are so tall, this makes you all legs! And men love pedicured toes, trust me!" I laughed, "Actually my husband hates shoes and doesn't see the point of pedicures".

Thanks to Kim for tipping me off to the fact that come Saturday, they’ll be on sale at Nordstrom – I’ll have to take them in next week to get a partial discount.

Also - yes - my feet are very very narrow - see how much the strap hovers above my foot? I’m going to have to get those taken in a bit. But? So. Worth. It.

Abigail is getting married in November. I MUST find a way to wear these to the wedding. Which means I need a new outfit, of course! This is how it starts...no wonder my husband hates it when I buy shoes.

I literally collapsed into tears when I got the news. Now I understand when people say, "You should sit down before I continue". My dad was home and called out to Mom because the phone was for her. She spun around and waved weirdly, so he knew something was wrong. He ran down to the beach, and she was talking jibberish moving oddly. Dad turned her around to head her up to the house when she collapsed. He raced up to the house with her in his arms and called 911.

After Dad called, I got my ducks in a row, got my children cared for (thanks Katharine and Giseli!), packed and headed up to the peninsula. The ferry service kindly let me go to the head of the line, passing the long wait for a boat to Bremerton, so I could get to the hospital quickly. Mom had a ton of tests, pokes, prods, questions and procedures, and then they sent her home. Paul, Shanti, and I cooked a salmon dinner and we all ate together at the beach. It seemed surreal to have Mom at the table with us.

I had long planned to take all the kids up to the family beach house for this week, and Mom and Dad still really wanted us to come. So I ran home and had a 36-hour turn-around to get us all ready for the week. Whew! We loaded up the bikes (so cute to have 3 little bikes hanging from the back of my van), the kids and headed up here.

So, no long thoughtful posts, just photos of my kids and niece and friends at the beach. My best childhood friend, Hallie, joined us yesterday with her two sweet little boys. Her oldest and my youngest are just a few weeks apart in age and are good friends. (Her youngest is the cute one napping in the photo) We had a wonderful time, getting baked in the (rare) warm sun. The kids surprised us all by jumping right in to the water and hanging out.

The rhythm of the waves is centering and refreshing in this time. Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers - my body is holding up well under the stress.

THAT was before I tasted THESE:

My Latest Obsession

Oh. My.
I have always used dark chocolate in baking and ganache-making, but semi-sweet used to cut it just fine for me. Then, I decided to go out on a limb and try a DARK chocolate for baking. As in, chocolate dark enough to actually list the % cacao. I used Trader Joe's "Pound Plus 72% chocolate" bars and they DID seem to make the ganache just a bit more ganache-ier.

And here is wherin I wish my camera and accompanying photo (non)skills were up to snuff. Look - just look - at the shape and contours of the individual chips. Are you swooning yet? Oh my! Let's just say that not only are they the perfect shape and size to give chocolate chip cookies the right balance of oomph, crunch, and chocolatey goodness, but they are also the perfect size and shape to sneak right out of the bag and plop into your mouth.

But they are the very very best when made into a scrumptious cookie. (Recipe will be posted tomorrow).

Two days later, I had a very scary experience. I could NOT get up out of bed. My brain did not focus. My mom was having surgery and I needed to drive (and park) in downtown Seattle for her appointments. I was very late, and very freaked out. I had to keep blinking my eyes open and willing myself to concentrate. I felt like it was 3am after a long cross-state drive and I was trying to do just a few more miles. But it was 10 am. And I’d had plenty of sleep. I have never thought so hard about driving and parking and walking in my life.

I thought maybe it had just been a freak reaction of the Lyrica compounded with the couple few many capirinhas I’d had the night before, but the next day was even worse. I had the same staying-awake-after-taking-a-sleeping-pill-feeling, but instead of wearing off at about 2, it lasted until 4:30. And even scarier than being a danger to myself, all of Seattle, and my children by driving my mini-van? Was not being able to write. I sat at my computer, and what was in my brain was not what I typed. What was in my head, I could not put the right words to. I typed and backspaced and typed and backspaced and typed and backspaced and FREAKED THE HELL OUT.

At that point, I knew I could not take this drug any more. I did the customary paranoid Google search and found out that Lyrica was trying to kill me. Of course, according to the internet, my tap water is trying to kill me too. And, orange juice causes three-headed newts with purple glowing tails to grow OUT OF YOUR EAR. But this Lyrica? It can be some scary stuff. Turns out I'd been having more side-effects at the lower doses than I realized - like having conversations with my sister-in-law that I don't even remember.

My doctor’s office said that I could stop it altogether, assuring me that I was not on a large enough dose (!) nor had I been on it long enough for it to cause the Google-proven brain damage by going cold turkey. Or I could taper it over a week if I wanted to. That night I took a half-dose and slept from 7:15 pm till 8:45 am. I tapered one more day and then said, “forget it”. Today, I can sit and write and think my thoughts and my typing is only as crappy as usual and my writing only as bad as my normal brain makes it.

The clinical trial dosages are 400 mg or 600 mg between ONE and THREE TIMES A DAY! How anyone’s brain can work on that is a mystery to me. I’d rather eat nitrate-laden hot dogs, wash them down with fluoride-poisoned tap water, and munch some trans-fat-infused snack cakes than take THAT kind of risk. Or, gargle with radiator fluid.

I now have much more compassion for people who have to deal with horrible drug side-effects. Thankfully for me, I can manage my fibro well enough most of the time through an ever-changing combo of rest, exercise, significantly reduced expectations, heat, Mariner’s games, and tears. (Significantly-reduced expectations help with making it through the Mariner’s games as well, but that’s another story). Some people are in excruciating pain ALL THE TIME. Mine is low-level all the time, and only excruciating occasionally - the fatigue kicks my ass every day. People with nerve damage are grateful for Lyrica because they can actually function. I also know that for some fibro sufferers, Lyrica has been a miracle drug that gives them some function back. I hope the side-effects for them are less than mine were, and I also know their pain is much greater Yeah, the pain's been worse since I stopped taking it, but I'll take it over the alternative.

The biggest irony: the DAY I tapered the Lyrica was the DAY the FDA approved Cymbalta for fibro. I’ve been taking Cymbalta for a while now because it has two other components I already need (anti-depressant, and anti-anxiety) and I had read it could help with chronic pain. I'll stick with that.

How was I able to finish it? My mother-in-law had Peter and I had Henry watch a movie after school so I could completely ignore him and all my other responsibilities and read. Also, it was a really easy read: straight-forward narrative (the daughter and mother supposedly traded off chapters, yet it made NO difference to the story), simple plot, wooden characters...sigh. Since I like to think of myself as a literary snob lover of good literature, I was disappointed (I did bring the book after all - so the blame is all mine).

I still brought the cocktails, but watered them down a bit since I didn't need everyone to feel quite so generous. Even though the book was less-than-stellar, the discussion was spirited enough.

We had my family over on Sunday night where I served these tasty drinks yet again. And this wouldn't be my blog if I didn't go ahead and share the recipe with you.

These cocktails are considered Brazil's national drink (my Brazilian friends assure me I have correct info on this). Like the Cuban Mojito, Caipirinhas have been gaining popularity over the last couple years, especially after they became all the rage in Germany, of all places.

The mojito has citrus, rum and mint going for it - the caipirinha shows off a combo of crunchy turbinado sugar, tart lime chunks and caçhaca. Caçhaca is made from pure sugar cane juice (rum is made from molasses - a byproduct). Some people think it's lighter and smoother than rum, but I think it has a tiny bit of whisky/bourbon taste to it. I don't care for whisky myself, but I like the bit of sweetness the caçhaca adds to the drink.

They are bright, tart, and a bit sweet - perfect for summer (if it ever shows up here in Seattle). Cheers!

Caipirinhas

Some gringos (Giseli - what's the equivalent word for this in Portuguese?) top off the cocktail with an ounce or two of club soda - that's up to you, and whether or not you read the book you're supposed to discuss.

I may have gotten an "A" in all the classes I've taken this year, but I'm pretty close to being on probation for my dismal grade in Life Management. We have missed birthday parties, eaten poorly, and rummaged for clothes in laundry baskets. I have mis-remembered more appointment times than I care to count.

Sure, I've had a lot going on with two close family members having serious health problems, having chronic health problems myself, and still having a 3 year-old. Did I mention I also took 15 credits this year? Just these things combined have more than swamped me. I've been bailing my boat for a long time, yet I sail clumsily along - arriving late, awkward, and looking like a wreck.

I ponder the "fairness" of it all - I often feel that I'm not enough because I can't be Wonder Woman (wouldn't you love to look that great in Granny Undies?). I continue to struggle and process and pray. I need to realize that I did not "win" the genetic lottery and get the unfettered body that only needs 6 hours of sleep and can go like the Energizer Bunny the rest of the time. I actually "won" the entire other end of the spectrum: A body that needs lots of sleep, that is prone to overwhelming fatigue, that can collapse me into bed with bone-crushing pain without much warning. Mostly I'm OK with it now. Sometimes I think I can maybe even see that God is teaching me through it. But mostly I'm just OK. I'm still learning how to balance everything I NEED to do, WANT to do, and CAN'T do. Sometimes, all the balls and plates drop.

This is one of those times.

The latest crash bounce thud crash bang happened this morning. I had planned my next two days of baking and celebrating out in a way that would be (almost) do-able for the real me - and then I discovered Book Group is tonight. TONIGHT! AND: we are discussing THE BOOK I BROUGHT. I had lost the book for a while and just found it last night. I've sure enjoyed the 30 pages I've read so far...but I hear it has a big "twist" ending I need to be able to opine intelligently about.

My strategy? Get my Book Group drunk. OK, so not drunk drunk, but "pleasantly tipsy and therefore generous feeling". I'm hoping that way that they won't notice how little I have to say (about the book anyway). Think it will work?