"Fidelity": Don't Divorce...

Prop. 8 Sponsors Seek To Nullify 18,000 Gay Marriages

"The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.

The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief arguing that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions. The document reveals for the first time that opponents of same-sex marriage will fight in court to undo those unions that already exist.

"Proposition 8's brevity is matched by its clarity. There are no conditional clauses, exceptions, exemptions or exclusions," reads the brief co-written by Kenneth Starr."


I don't agree with Proposition 8 but I do believe the residents of a state have the right to decide this matter for themselves. However, nullifying these marriages would violate the constitution of our nation. "In the United States, ex post facto laws are prohibited in federal law by Article I, section 9 of the U.S. Constitution and in state law by section 10." These marriages were legal when performed. Forcibly nullifying them is a clear violation of the provision against ex post facto laws. I also believe that nullifying these marriages would be a strike against decency and morality.

My friend Dora brought my attention to a video put out by the Fidelity: Don't Divorce campaign. This video was compiled to show the country and the world the very real people and lives that would be devastated if these marriages were nullified. It is also one of the most beautiful videos I have ever had the pleasure of watching.




If you feel as I do, click on over couragecampaign.org/Divorce and sign the petition to help protect these marriages.

*Feel free to disagree with me but keep the comments civilized and no personal attacks

Ch-ch-ch-changes

As y'all might have noticed, there are changes going on around here. The look has change. The name has changed. But, at the heart of it, this is the same comfy online home I've built over the years.

During the Friday Blog Roundup on January 30th, Mel asked the question "What would you do if your blog no longer fit--change your title, change your space, stop blogging altogether, keep blogging in the same space and simply change the topic du jour even if all other aspects remain the same?" I had been contemplating a change to my blog for a while but thinking about this question spurred me on and got the change done quicker. After Gabe was born, I thought about the name of my blog and decided (at that time) to keep it as it was. Once The Fertile Infertile, always The Fertile Infertile. For almost 2 1/2 years, my posts were few and far between so all the changes and developments in my life weren't really shown here. Once I jumped back into blogging, I found myself writing about more and more things that are not strictly IF related. As this happened, it became evident that I needed to change this space to really represent me.

My first attempt at redecorating involved a premade dragon template. It wasn't exactly what i had envisioned but it got rid of the ever present dissatisfaction with how my blog looked. However, the more I wrote and the more involved I got, the more things I wanted on my sidebar. It was getting overrcowded and messy. So, I decided I wanted a new header, a new look, and a new name. Yeah, I don't do anything halfway.

With a lot of stops and starts, a lot of futzing with the code, many breaks for hair pulling and consultations with Velda, Pam, and Calliope, this is what I came up with. I love the colors and I love my dragon. Now, the name change is more than a simple change. Yes, I love dragons. Yes, I use the screen name dragondreamer in many online forums. However, the name of this blog, Dragondreamer's Lair, is so much more than just that. My new blog name represents the willingness to believe in the seemingly impossible. It represents the ability to stretch your definition of who you are and what you are capable of. It represents me and what I have become.

Welcome to the new digs. Settle in and get comfy because I intend to be around for a long time.

SHOW AND TELL: My life is about to get really interesting...

or more interesting than normal. Joey's TKD studio is hosting a Korean TKD (kids') Demo team to come to our area and put on a huge exhibition.



Master Lee asked for families to volunteer to host one or more students for the week that they are here. We had volunteered to host one boy between the ages of 8 and 11 but they were short one space so Master Lee asked me if we would take another student. So, starting this Thursday, I am adding two boys to my house for one week...and they speak little or no English. Eek...what have I gotten myself into?

To fit two more kids into my house, the older two boys have volunteered to share a bed (they both have double beds) and the two visiting students will share a bed. We will be responsible for feeding them breakfast and dinner and transporting them to the studio in the morning and picking them up in the evening. Master Lee said don't worry about changing things for them. He said to carry on with our normal day to day life and cook our normal meals. I hope it goes smoothly.

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NAME THAT CAR CONTEST

The winners are Beautiful Mess from Life induces thoughts, mostly random who suggested Millbarge as the name for my husband's Taurus and Cassandra from Baby Smiling In Back Seat who suggested Manatee for my van. Email me regarding your prizes.


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BOOK CHALLENGE AND CONTEST FOR 2009

I am hosting a year long contest dealing with a reading challenge. Check out the details here and sign up in the comments section of that post. The ultimate winner will get a fabulous prize from me at the end of the year.

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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Stitching Post Saturday

Once again, I don't have nearly as much done as I wanted to get done. There always seems to be something else screaming to get taken care of. If you click on the pics below, you can see larger versions of most of them.

I have finished the racehorse I was stitching...


and I got started on the Romanian flag...


I pieced the one side of a tote bag and got the other side cut out and pinned...

The completed side is a design called a friendship star. The other side will be the same size but the pins prevent me from spreading it out.

Check out what everyone else has been up to... Stitching Post Saturday on MiPa's blog.

Political Humor...sad but true...

YES, THEY WALK AND LIVE AMONG US....A LITTLE SCARY
A DC airport ticket agent offers some examples:

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)

2.I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. While I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, she interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts " Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa''

Her response - click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, 'Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!'' (OMG)

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada?'' I said, ''No.'' She said, ''But they look so close on the map. (OMG, again!)

5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)

6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?' She replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!'' After putting her on hold for a minute, while I looked into it (I was dying laughing), I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?''

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?'' I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''

10. A lady Senator called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?'' I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, FL on a commuter plane. She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''

11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those. "I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, ''Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!''

12. A New Mexico Congress woman called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York.'' I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'' ''Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere.' ''The lady retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!''

So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo, do you? ''The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''

Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in! Could anyone be this DUMB?

YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED AND VOTE!


I just had to share this with y'all. My first response was surely our politicians couldn't be that dumb. And, then I stopped and thought about the stellar stories my hubby has brought home from his job as a 911 supervisor and I changed my mind...these have to be true.

Come on y'all...

you mean no one wants to win a prize at the end of the year?!?!?!?!? All you have to do is sign up and commit to read a few books this year. You can set your total as low as 4 or 5. Sign up below the original post.

Can y'all say a quick prayer?

My uncle recently (within the last few years) survived bladder cancer. Well, he was just diagnosed with prostate cancer. His father also fought prostate cancer so my uncle Ken had regular screenings and they caught the cancer while it was still stage 1 (THANK GOD). I do believe they will be able to completely clear it up but that is a lot for anyone to go through. My uncle Ken and Aunt Dee could use your prayers.

Kris (commenter on the weight loss post)...

I haven't deleted any responses hon. I don't know what happened to your original one. I'm not showing ant deleted posts (and blogger leaves a this post deleted message).

The Book Challenge (and Contest Announcement) for 2009

Jen J for *Navigating the Waters of Infertility and Beyond posted about setting a concrete goal to read a specific number of books this year. It can be any type of book. She said, "I'm going to try to mix mine up between easy reads and thought-provoking books. Also a good mix of non-fiction and fiction as well. It will be interesting to see if I can do it." The whole goal is to make sure you keep reading. And, rereading books is definitely allowed.

I think I want to keep track of my reads this year. I am setting my goal at 70 books. Its definitely doable but I could also fail spectacularly. I have a feeling my list will be heavily slanted towards fiction. While I do read to expand my mind, I primarily read for pleasure. I will put a link to this post in my sidebar so anyone who wants to can keep up with the list.

Who wants to join me? You can set the challenge at whatever total you want. If you put up a post like this and add your link in the comments section of this post, I will enter everyone who reaches their goal in a drawing at the end of this year.

1. Your Heart Belongs To Me by Dean Koontz
2. Dark Prince by Christine Feehan
3. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
4. Dark Desire by Christine Feehan
5. Dark Gold by Christine Feehan
6. Dark Magic by Christine Feehan
7. Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands
8. Unravelled by Robyn Harding
9. Remember When by Nora Roberts/JD Robb
10. Dark Legend by Christine Feehan
11. White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
12. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
13. So Close by Tertia Albertyn
14. Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
15. Dark Fire by Christine Feehan
16. Dark Challenge by Christine Feehan
17. Dark Dreamers by Marjorie M. Liu and Christine Feehan...(a)Dark Dreams by Christine Feehan (b)A Dream of Stone & Shadow by Marjorie M. Liu
18. Wedding Belles by Haywood Smith
19. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
20. Dark Curse by Christine Feehan
21. No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
22. The Children of Men by PD James
23. Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton
24. Shadow Touch by Marjorie M. Liu
25. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
26. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
27. Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Liu
28. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
29. Cooked Goose by G.A. McKevett
30. Christmas Cookie Murder by Leslie Meier
31. One Perfect Day by Lauraine Snelling
32. Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown
33. Rock Star by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb
34. The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
35. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs
36. Navigating The Land Of IF by Melissa Ford
37. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
38. Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs
39. Many Bloody Returns by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, and more
40. Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy by Geralyn Lucas
41. Never Nosh A Matzo Ball by Sharon Kahn
42. Marley & Me: life and love with the world's worst dog by John Grogan
43. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (6/20/09)
44. How To Marry A Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (6/22/09)
45. Vamps And The City by Kerrelyn Sparks (6/24/09)
46. Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris (6/26/09)
47. Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steele (6/27/09)
48. Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown (7/5/09)
49. Sugarplums and Scandal by Loria Avocato, Dana Cameron, Mary Daheim, Cait London, Suzanne Macpherson, and Kerrelyn Sparks (7/12/09)
50. Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks (7/14/09)
51. Eat, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
52. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
53. Dark Symphony by Christine Feehan (8/1/09)
54. Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson (8/2/09)
55. High Noon by Nora Roberts (8/4/09)
56. Any Way You Want It by Kathy Love (8/6/09)
57. Fantasy by Christin Feehan, Sabrina Jeffries, Emma Holly, and Elda Minger (8/8/09)
58. Dark Melody by Christine Feehan (8/12/09)
59. Dark Destiny by Christine Feehan (8/14/09)
60. Men Of The Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong (8/23/09)
    
61. The Fire King by Marjorie Liu (8/25/09)
62. Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed by Craig Dirgo (8/28/09)
63. Hot Blooded by Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne, Emma Holly, and Angela Knight (9/7/09)
64. Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan (9/9/09)
65. The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood (9/10/09)
66. A Bite To Remember by Lynsay Sands (9/12/09)
67. The Last Twilight by Marjorie M. Liu (9/14/09)
68. A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey (9/16/09)
69. The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop (9/20/09)
70. Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke (9/22/09)
71. Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan (9/23/09)
72. The Red Heart Of Jade by Marjorie M. Liu (9/28/09)
73. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (10/6/09)
74. Soul Song by Marjorie M. Liu (10/8/09)
75. The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands (10/12/09)
76. Colliding Forces by Constance O'Day-Flannery (10/14/09)
77. A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands (10/18/09)
    
78. Blackwork by Monica Ferris (10/22/09)
79. Love Bites by Lynsay Sands (10/25/09)
80. Tall, Dark, & Hungry by Lynsay Sands (10/27/09)
81. The Lottery by Patricia Wood (10/30/09)
82. Vampire, Interrupted by Lynsay Sands (11/1/09)
83. Shadow Game by Christine Feehan (11/5/09)
84. Bite Me If You Can by Lynsay Sands (11/9/09)
85. Knit The Season by Kate Jacobs (11/16/09)
86. Vampires Are Forever by Lynsay Sands (11/17/09)
87. The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands (11/18/09)
88. Mr. and Miss Anonymous by Fern Michaels (11/29/09)
89. Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark (12/11/09)
90. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke (12/14/09)
91. The Book of Useless Information by Noel Botham and The Useless Information Society (12/30/09
    

*Jen's blog is great but it is a read with permission only blog so if y'all want to read the blog of the fabulous lady who brought this to my attention, get in touch with her.

2009 Challenge Participants: Chris @ Muttering, Music,& More, Another Dreamer @ An Unwanted Path, Jo @ MoJo Working, Vicki @ An Abundance of Blessing, Barb @ Fertility Challenged in Florida, Delenn @ Slaying, Blogging, Whatever..., Jen J @ Navigating the Waters of Infertility & Beyond, Tammy @ Passion, Obsession or Insanity, Miss Tori @ The Winding Road to Parenthood, Nic @ Trying for a baby, Battynurse @ I want to be a mommy, Deb @ All Things Deb, A Mom in Jacksonville, FL @ Alana-isms, Ali @ Cyster A.C.T., TheWorm @ Inconceivable?!, Mrs. Gamgee @ Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings, Susan @ She's Becoming DoughMessTic

Wowsers!

My youngest son continually amazes me with his imagination and creativity. Remember the volcano and the twister...



Well, Gabe decided that wasn't enough variety for one toy...one simple set of stacking cups. Gabe then built a Christmas tree. He added the little pink bowl (from a pet carrier toy) for the tree stand, a toilet paper roll for the trunk, and the beads as decorations...



Then he decided it wasn't quite enough and he rebuilt it and added another level...

What would you think?

How do you feel about weight loss surgery?

I got started thinking about this because my hubby is probably facing this. In his case, he has lost large amounts of weight on his own in the past. However, the medicines he has had to take for his diabetes have caused the weight to pile back on. His case is complicated by the fact that there are very few cardio workouts he can do consistently because he has a blown out knee (bad enough to medically retire him from firefighting). In cases like Vic's, the weight loss surgery is not only medically necessary but can be a godsend.

I'm more curious about how you would react if you heard someone had weight loss surgery without all those medical complications. For instance, I know of someone who has a wonky metabolism. While her thyroid levels are within normal levels, they are on the very low end of normal. Her mother was the same way. Both she and her mom ate relatively healthy...not perfect but pretty decently. When both of them hit their late 20s, the started gaining weight and that weight plateaued at with both of them being about a size 22. Now, her mom has type 2 diabetes and has been classified as having hypothyroidism. The extremely low thyroid levels could explain why both women had/have such a hard time losing weight even when they include a heavy exercise regimen. The younger of the two women does not have high blood pressure. She does not have diabetes. However, she is concerned that is she doesn't take off the weight, she will end up with the same diagnosis as her mom. She is currently exercising but not heavily. At one point, she had a gym membership and worked out 4+ times a week for at least an hour. She did a little strength training but mostly did cardio stuff. While she did lose inches, she actually gained weight during this period. If she were to have weight loss surgery, would you think she was lacking in will power or would you think it was a good decision to help guarantee her future health? If someone did lose weight through surgery, do you think they should tell people?

Weigh in (hehe) with your opinions on this please.

A funny story for you...

Let me preface this story by saying I have my son's permission to pass it on...you can probably figure out which one was involved but I refuse to name names.

My hubby and one of our sons had been watching a show about the international drug trade. The show talked about how people smuggled drugs into this country and they mentioned smuggling it through in condoms. I had been out of the room for most of the show. My son asked me what a condom was (guess he didn't remember from his sex ed class). I told him it was put over the male genitalia (yes, I said that...to avoid him going eeeeew) to prevent transmission of disease and to prevent pregnancy. When I asked him why he wanted to know, he told me the show had talked about smuggling drugs in condoms. I told him that drug smugglers would fill condoms with drugs and then they would have people swallow them so they could be smuggled across the border. His response was...

"OH GROSS...don't they even think about where those condoms have been."

I was laughing so hard I was crying. Once I stopped laughing, I assured him that they bought fresh condoms to smuggle the drugs in.


*I asked him why he didn't ask his dad while they were watching the show and he said he had no idea...LOL.

I've finally figured it out...

I have finally figured out the very best thing about having such an age difference (9 yrs) between my oldest and my youngest. On the days I am told by my (almost) 12 yr old that I care more about school than his feelings but I just won't admit it, my 3 yr old makes me feel better when he wraps his arms around me and says, "I love you mommy." As you might be able to guess, today is such a day.

Marty feels horrible. I can tell he really doesn't feel good because he has no appetite and went to bed early (his own decision) last night. However, he has no fever so I, the infamous Eeeevil Mom, decided he had to go to school. He begged, he pleaded, and he eventried not talking to me. Then, he said I obviously cared more about school than him. He said I never considered how he felt. He even went so far as to say it wasn't fair that I was considering the "what if" scenario more than how he felt. He said that after I asked him what would happen if I let him stay home now and then he got really sick towards the end of the year and it put him over the allowable days lost. He even tried to tie it to a supposed reaction I had to a blog post by someone when I supposedly said them using the what if scenario against their kid wasn't fair. My Much Beleaguered Middle Schooler even tried to make Psycho Dad into the bad guy...

MBMS: "Mom, even though I'm upset with you I don't want dad to drive me to school."
EM: "Why not?"
MBMS acting all emotional: "I don't want to talk about it."

PD hasn't had any interaction with MBMS this morning. MBMS knows that PD doesn't like it when he acts this way and doesn't want to deal with it. MBMS also uses the "dad is evil card" as his fall back to distract EM when he is behaving this way.

EM: "Don't even go there."
MBMS: "What?"
EM: "You always jump to the dad is evil thing when you are upset. I'm the one that laid down the law this morning so DON'T EVEN GO THERE."

EM take PD aside when he comes out to take MBMS to school.

EM whispers: "He's going to try and get you to react. He's mad. Don't respond. Don't let him suck you in."
PD: "No problem."

MBMS stomps around picking up the stuff he needs to take to school with him. He and PD make their way to the car.

Scene fades to black...


Man, oh man, am I glad I have a three yr old who tells me how much he loves me and a trip with Joey to an NC State basketball game tonight to look forward to!

Remember...Contest Time

Its GIVEAWAY time...

My friend Rys is hosting a Name that car contest on her blog. There will be two prizes given...one to each person who suggests the winning names. Rys is supplying one prize...a cross stitched pillow (cute car theme)...and I will be supplying one prize...a custom painted derby car. Whoever wins the car can specify colors and maybe a theme for the car but not the style of the car (the block of wood has already been cut). The car can either be for you or for a child in your life.

The winner(s) will be announced as part of next Saturday's Show & Tell.

Quick Diabetes update

Vic's morning readings are still more than double what they should be but, for the past two days, his afternoon and evening readings have all been below 150. He is taking a ridiculously high insulin dosage but at least things are creeping back towards the normal range!

I have been reminding myself that despite coming in on the losing end of the medical odds way to many times that we have ultimately won our battles (one way or another). Maybe, just maybe, we are going to do that again.

**had to add that I wrote this before he got home from work and found out that a really bad night of sleep sends his blood sugar all out of whack. Yesterday it was all over the place.

SHOW AND TELL: Cars and Trucks and GIVEAWAYS...oh my!

I promised to show y'all pics of Joey's finished Pinewood Derby car so I decided to do that for this weeks show and tell.

We went from this...


to this (click on this to see a bigger pic)...


Here are a few of my favorites that some of the other scouts made (you can click on each one to see a bigger pic)...








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Now, its GIVEAWAY time...

My friend Rys is hosting a Name that car contest on her blog. There will be two prizes given...one to each person who suggests the winning names. Rys is supplying one prize...a cross stitched pillow (cute car theme)...and I will be supplying one prize...a custom painted derby car. Whoever wins the car can specify colors and maybe a theme for the car but not the style of the car (the block of wood has already been cut). The car can either be for you or for a child in your life.
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To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

Thank You

Thank you everyone who stopped by the other day and offered your prayers and support when I was ranting about Vic's diabetes issues. We have had so many weird medical issues over the past 5 to 6 yrs that I think I had just reached my breaking point. I also didn't do to well with the label of "brittle diabetic" attached to my husband because the only other person I know who had that label ended up having to have a pancreas transplant. Logically, I know Vic is no where near that point. Logically, I also know that despite having so many things happen to us against the odds, we have ultimately had a good outcome in almost all cases. Unfortunately, my emotions were ruling that day and not my logic or intellect.

So, once again, thank you for your prayers and support. It means the world to me.

Our World According to Gabe

Life is never, ever dull and boring with Gabriel around. Today, we have talked about giant clams, dolphins, twisters, volcanoes, planets, and meteors.

After watching the Backyardigans: The Great Dolphin Race episode, Gabe decided we had a giant clam just like they had in that episode. Gabe decided our new pet resided in our attic and that the dolphin came to visit occasionally. Then, Gabe proceeded to try and convince me we had to go up in the attic and visit the giant clam.

We also have twisters and volcanoes in our living room.

So far, the volcano has been erupting off and on all day but the twister hasn't knocked anything over yet. We also briefly had meteors soaring through the living room but he did understand when I told him meteors couldn't be inside. So, Gabe converted the meteors from foam ball composition to hard rock composition and moved them out back.

Gabe has also been exploring the planet we have in our den.

According to him there is lots of water on this planet.

As you can see, he has quite an imagination. I never know what he's going to say next.

We will miss you!

Today, North Carolina and the world of sports is saying good-bye to a wonderful, inspiring woman. Coach Kay Yow, the woman's basketball coach at NC State and former coach of the US Women's Olympic basketball team, passed away after a 22 yr battle with breast cancer. Yes, you read that right...a 22 yr battle with breast cancer. Coach Yow was amazingly strong and determined to fight this disease with every bit of her strength. In those 22 yrs, she only missed 22 games due to her cancer. Then 3 weeks ago, after missing 4 games in a row due to flagging strength, she announced she was stepping down for the rest of the season to fight the disease and she had planned on returning to the bench next year. Sadly, that wasn't to be. Her willingness to fight the good fight and the strong, upstanding example she set for the young women she coached won her the love and admiration of people all across the state.

I am so thankful we have come as far as we have in fighting this disease. Without the advances we've made, I wouldn't have people like Monnie or Mary around. Hopefully, one day, we will be able to say good bye to this horrible disease (and all other cancers) instead of losing people like Kay Yow to the disease.

Until that day, support groups like Save the TaTas and The Artfull Bra Project who are raising money to help search for a cure.

Well...Fuck a Duck!

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck...

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I can tell you the latest medical news from our household. About 3 months after Gabe was born, my hubby was diagnosed as a Type 2 (insulin resistant) diabetic. This means at that time his body was producing insulin but it wasn't using it effectively. Many Type 2 diabetics have an easy time getting it under control but some don't. Vic never had an easy time getting his under control despite following doctor's orders scrupulously. This means his body is highly resistant to the insulin.

Vic finally got his diabetes under control...for a while. Then, a couple of months ago, his blood sugar swung out of control again. His diet didn't change. His activities didn't change. The meds simply were doing nothing for it. So, his doc added insulin to the oral meds. Specifically, he added Lantus which is a long acting insulin. This still did very little to control his blood sugar. So his doc referred him to an endocrinologist.

The endocrinologist looked at Vic's bloodwork and realized his pancreas was no longer producing insulin. This changed his diagnosis to Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when something (sometimes a virus) causes your immune system to attack the cells of the pancreas. This damages the pancreas which means it no longer produces insulin. So, all the oral meds he had been taking were no longer any good because they are designed to work with insulin produced by the body not insulin that is injected. However, Vic is still extremely resistant to insulin. The dosage he has already up to is more than the body wants to deal with at any one time (which makes the body more resistant). So, they are switching him off of humalog to a more concentrated form of insulin and they are dividing his lantus injections into morning and evening doses. At this point, Vic qualifies as a brittle diabetic because his insulin resistance is causing his diabetes to be uncontrolled. They are looking into an insulin pump because they help out greatly in these cases (and they also are great for people who have jobs with irregular schedules...like people who run 911 centers). Once his diabetes is under control, Vic is going to consider weight loss surgery...probably lap band surgery. Hopefully, the weight loss that would result from that might solve the insulin resistance making the diabetes easier to control long term.

Its so frustrating because Vic has fallen into the small percentage of people who has trouble controlling diabetes no matter what he does. For some people, the oral meds for type 2 diabetes can cause weight gain which then makes the diabetes harder to control. Vic had lost about 80 lbs prior to dignosis and the meds caused it all to come back. Now, because he is insulin resistant, he has to take extremely high doses of insulin which also can cause weight gain...ARGH. Its not FUCKING fair. Why do we always seem to fall on the losing end of the medical odds?