Hiya!

So Jenn and I have moved. We ran a truck load of boxes each of the last 2 Sundays, then this Monday we had help with the furniture and getting boxes up into the apartment and in the garage (a 2 car garage!!). We are over half way unpacked already. There's new furniture (book cases, tv stand, coffee table, etc) we need to buy but we have already spent $800 on new curtains, couch covers, a deep freezer, and food at Costco. With me out of a job, from this point forward, spending is limited.

We are so in love with this new place. It's 2b/2ba, has 2 patios (1 is about 8x8, the other is about 8x20) - the smaller of the 2 is in the front facing the street. The kitchen is nice and has new appliances (less than 5 years old), the tan carpet is relatively new, the ceilings are vaulted, there is a separate dining area (though we are setting it up as a reading nook), central air! lol

This is the nicest apartment we have lived in; and with the curtains we purchased, it feels like a home. Jenn has never had curtains, and I havent had them since I was 15. They make the place a lot more homey.

Things are going smoothly with the unpacking, but my only source of entertanment is our DVD collection. The cable company is having issues getting things connected, so it'll be at least another week until we have cable, internet, and phone service. So if anything important happens, send me an email - I'll get it on my phone. ;-)

When I have the rest of the boxes unpacked, I will post a pic or two of the place.

Have a good Thanksgiving tomorrow!

~Sent via email on my Samsung Blackjack~

Postcard Project

President-elect Barack Obama has made a lot of promises to the LGBTQ community. We have to make sure he follows through. What better way to do it than to send him a friendly little reminder? Here's what you do...

BUY A POSTCARD - It would be great if it had the name of your city or state on it, but feel free to get creative. Make your own, use one that you have around the house, or grab a free one at your local restaurant. Heck, why not get a bunch of different ones? The more, the better.

ADDRESS IT - A handwritten card is always best, but feel free to print out labels if you're going to send multiple cards. Here's the address...

President-elect Barack Obama
Presidential Transition Office
Kluczynski Federal Building
230 S. Dearborn St., 38th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604

WRITE A MESSAGE - A unified message would be ideal. Let's keep it focused. I recommend something like this...

Dear President-elect Obama,

Please ask Congress to repeal D.O.M.A.! All Americans should have the right to marry. Thank you in advance for advocating for the civil rights of your LGBT citizens.

SIGN YOUR NAME - There is nothing more powerful than that.

BUY POSTAGE AND DROP YOUR POSTCARD(S) IN THE MAIL - Wasn't that easy? Repeat frequently.

The image I posted of a gay ally postcard is an idea, but any postcard will do, it is the message and wording that is key.

Go to Civil Rights Front for more info on Project Postcard.




source: Queers United

Twilight!!

I am pulling it out one more time before the movie comes out Friday. I think this will be the 4th time reading it since I discovered it earlier this year.

I normally shy away from new "trends" in movies and books and did stay away from Twilight for months after he hype started, but I saw someone's YouTube video reading the first chapter aloud and i was intrigued...6 or 8 months later, i have read all 4 books in the series at least twice. Yes, I am a little obsessed. LOL

OK...time to get some reading done hehe

~Sent via email on my Samsung Blackjack~

**Edited to add** Check out how battered my copy is!! Jenn and I have read this book somewhere between 7 and 10 times. LOL.

I'm sleepy.

I woke up at 4am with really bad stomach cramps. It was just below my solar plexus (breast bone) and kind of traveled along the right side of my ribcage. The cramping was so bad that I had to sit almost upright, with one leg bent so I was kind of in a fetal position. The cramping continued all the way up until about 7am. I slept in spurts because the cramping would come and go. I did get up and have some Rolaids and drank a little bit of water, but it didn't help. I couldn't really sleep too much while sitting up and being on my back. I tried sleeping on my side, curled in a fetal position, with my hand pressing into my belly, trying to get rid of the cramping. Unfortunately that made the cramping worse.

I have no idea what caused this. I thought maybe it was gas in my abdomen, but I have no idea. I slept very poorly because of the damn cramping. I'm so tired now. I'm definitely going to bed early tonight.

(Incidently, I had some BBQ chicken and rice for dinner, nothing unusual, so I'm not sure that that's what caused my tummy ache.)

We're in the home stretch

We finally have a move date!! The old managers at Jenn's new property turned in their keys yesterday. They are finally out! This week the apartment will be cleaned, then we get to move in next Sunday and Monday. I'm so excited. Jenn finally saw the apartment today. It's 2b/2ba. That's so exciting. I will be so happy to have a second bathroom. This means no more fighting over who gets to take baths first (or in some cases at all) - we both love night time baths. There are somewhat new appliances in the kitchen (they're probably less than 5 years old, I'm guessing). There's a patio off the 2nd bedroom and a small patio off the kitchen/dining room. I cannot wait to see it.

So this week is also my last week of work. I'm off today, then have 3 days of work making Friday my last day. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. My dad gave me a heads up on a job in Walnut Creek - a new car dealership is opening soon (for the Smart Car) and is looking for all positions - office positions, sales, parts, service, etc. I qualify for office and parts, so it wouldn't hurt to put in my resume. The only hard part is that I'd have to use Jenn's car until I was able to buy one myself. This would leave her without a car. But my dad did also say that it's near the Walnut Creek BART station, so Jenn could just drop me off at the Pittsburg/Bay Point station in the mornings and pick me up at night. But that'll get worked out if I get the job. It would be a great job for me to get right now since I need to have medical insurance and the full time pay (I'm sure I'll make a minimum of $12 in any position, but more likely it'll be closer to $14 or $15).

Anyway, today I'm cleaning house and getting the last of our stuff packed up. I hate packing, but this is crunch time! Of course it doesn't help that we're having a heatwave and it feels like it's 80 degrees in the house.


In baby news - no news yet, actually. Yesterday I had a pretty bad migraine. It's been a while since I had one bad enough to completely incapacitate me, but I had to leave work early and spent the rest of the day in bed with a towel over my eyes (and a baggie of ice wrapped in it to keep my head cool). I completely expected to wake up to my period today because headaches/migraines are symptoms of my period coming the next day. I am a little crampy, but that's actually lasted a couple days.

I'm not even going to consider either side of this thing until this weekend. Today is only day 27 in my cycle - that's the earliest my period has ever come - so my period still may not even show up until as late as Tuesday (day 34 of my cycle - the longest my cycle has ever been). I think I will take an HPT on Saturday, though, if my period still hasn't shown up. But now that I've talked about it, my period will show up later this afternoon. LOL. That's just how life is for me.

Well, I've got to get back to cleaning, so think good baby thoughts for me!!

mmm...cake

and here's how they did it...

Day Care

At no great offense to anyone who puts their child in preschool, I just don't get the fascination with it.

To me, it does seem like it's glorified day care. I can understand sending a child a couple days a week for a half day so they can have interactions with kids other than their own siblings. I guess I don't understand because I was just in daycare from the time I was 6 weeks old until I went to kindergarten. And once I went to kindergarten, I did before school and after school care at the same place - that babysitter took care of anywhere between 5 and 10 kids at various age ranges (I went from an infant to a 2nd grader with this lady), so there was always social interaction whenever I was there. Plus, when we weren't outside playing (on the most awesome swing set ever!!), we were inside playing games or watching PBS (Mr Rogers, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock).

My parents were both working, so they had to send me somewhere, but they didn't seem overly concerned with getting me this huge "head start" with preschool where I'd learn to paint and write my name. They did that with me at home in the evenings, or I did it at the babysitter's house.

Now, I really do understand the SAHMs who want that bit of time to themselves, so they send the 3 and 4 year olds off to preschool 2 or 3 times a week for a half-day, but it's still just glorified daycare.

I'm not trying to say preschool is bad or unnecessary. Perhaps I'm just ignorant on the subject as I don't even have kids yet. So, can one of you (or all of you) explain why you do or don't send your kids to preschool? I'm honestly interested, I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm just curious if it really is beneficial or not.

Festive

I changed my background to reflect the upcoming holiday. I was afraid to change it before because I was worried I'd lose my links and such, but turns out my fears were unwarranted.

On Black Friday, instead of shopping like most other insane people, I will be changing my background to reflect something Christmassy. It'll be like my house - changing the decor for each holiday. ;o)

Repeal Prop 8

I just signed a pledge to repeal Prop 8 and I thought you might be interested in joining me and over 100,000 Courage Campaign members across California.

We have to come together right now to say that we refuse to accept a California where discrimination is enshrined in our state constitution.

Please sign the "Repeal Prop 8" pledge now and forward this to your friends as soon as possible:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/RepealProp8

Thanks!

Another repost from Queers United

Keith Olbermann's eloquent plea to the American Public regarding Proposition 8.