October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. Everyone knows someone who has lost a baby. Even if you don't know it. Miscarriage is incredibly common, but many women grieve quietly. If you knew some of the things people say when they find out, you might stay silent, too, but that's probably a whole different blog post. Heh. This day is about everyone who knows what it's like to feel the excitement and hope of knowing there is a life inside you and then having that hope disappear. It's entirely unfair. And part of the struggle is that, particularly for women who lose a baby early in pregnancy, others haven't had time to see it as a "real baby." They don't grieve as we do, so the sadness is compounded by a feeling of utter aloneness.
If you're so inclined, this group suggests lighting a candle at 7 p.m. today to remember everyone affected by this kind of loss. The idea is to create a continuous wave of light across the world as everyone lights a candle in their time zone. I don't know that I need the lofty goal of the whole wave of light. But I like the idea of lighting a candle on one day to remember.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Love Purses? Check This Out!
I almost never write about product stuff on this blog, because I do so much of it for my job. But stay with me, girls, because this is fun. Handbag Planet is launching a new site really soon and they're giving away really cute bags to celebrate the launch. So go to HandbagPlanet.com and sign up, choose the bag you'd like to win, and then wait to see if you're a lucky winner. And if you are, you can thank me profusely and let me gaze adoringly at your cute new purse!
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Dear AIG Execs
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=5973452&page=2
You make me sick. Do you realize that there are people who are struggling to even find a job? People who WANT to work? Imagine what more than $400,000 could have done had you stopped thinking of yourselves for one minute and put it towards people who would like to feed their families this week. What about the people who are still trying to clean up after a hurricane? What about the small business owners who are fighting tooth and nail not to go under because there's no credit to be had now? If you can sleep well at night, you're disgusting excuses for human beings.
Oh, and one of my dear friends who is being hugely screwed by the current state of the economy would like her fancy pedicure, too, thanks. It's the least you could do, really.
You make me sick. Do you realize that there are people who are struggling to even find a job? People who WANT to work? Imagine what more than $400,000 could have done had you stopped thinking of yourselves for one minute and put it towards people who would like to feed their families this week. What about the people who are still trying to clean up after a hurricane? What about the small business owners who are fighting tooth and nail not to go under because there's no credit to be had now? If you can sleep well at night, you're disgusting excuses for human beings.
Oh, and one of my dear friends who is being hugely screwed by the current state of the economy would like her fancy pedicure, too, thanks. It's the least you could do, really.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
That Explains Everything!
This afternoon, in the car, on the way to a hayrack ride, Maya was telling my sister-in-law about our new kittens. They are quite cute, but they came to us with ringworm, and one of them is losing her fur as a result.
Maya: Aunt Gaylette, we have KITTENS! And they have... (whispering) ringworm.
Aunt Gaylette: I remember when your daddy used to get ringworm from the wrestling mats in high school.
Me: Well, now he doesn't have to wrestle anyone. He can just get ringworm right in our house!
Maya: So THAT'S how he got bald!
Maya: Aunt Gaylette, we have KITTENS! And they have... (whispering)
Aunt Gaylette: I remember when your daddy used to get ringworm from the wrestling mats in high school.
Me: Well, now he doesn't have to wrestle anyone. He can just get ringworm right in our house!
Maya: So THAT'S how he got bald!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
September Roundup
I can't believe the whole month has nearly passed me by. As many of you know, this is the craziest time of year for me with work, so I am slaving away in front of my laptop, just not here at my blog. When do I ever slave away at my blog, you might ask? Good point. I don't.
Early September sent me to Vegas for the ABC Kids Expo. Lots of walking. Lots of great contacts. Judged the JPMA Innovation Awards, which was pretty cool. Over 100 entries. Only 10 winners. That was hard! Also hard? Finding non-fried foods to eat anywhere in the vicinity of The Strip. You'll be pleased to know that I went somewhere other than my hotel and the convention center this year. I met this lovely person, Anya, who is an expert on travel with kids, and she drove me down the strip one evening, and we also went out for a beer during the week. The beer was bigger than my arm and I had to drink it fast to avoid the liederhosen-wearing, bell-ringing, table-dancing, German band at the restaurant, but that is probably a story for another time.
Mid-September is my baby girl's birthday. She's seven! Hard to believe. I still remember how impossibly small she was when they laid her on my chest. I also remember quickly demanding that my husband take her because, holy crap, I didn't know what to do with a baby, for heaven's sake! He actually didn't know, either. Poor M. She's lucky she's made it this far with two clueless parents. At seven, her favorite color is purple, she is still crazy for horses, she loves Webkinz, reads like crazy, thinks fishing with Daddy is fantastic and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.
Around M's birthday, I always end up thinking about how I ended up hanging around the online pregnancy forums when I learned I was expecting the unexpected baby. That was January 2001, which means that in a few months, the women I met wayyyy back then will have been my friends for 8 years. I was just looking for some answers to my incredibly noob pregnancy questions (if the test says I'm pregnant, I'm, uhh, really pregnant, right?). Who would have guessed some of those women would become my closest friends?
Fall is finally in the air. My favorite season. Not too hot, not too cold. Halloween. My birthday. Clothes in my favorite colors. An excuse to break out giant wool sweaters. Football! Camping. The occasional bonfire at the lake. I love fall.
I'm making an effort to take more walks this fall. The whole "busy at work" thing is having a negative effect on me. My ass is taking on the shape of my favorite recliner. This is not good. Not good at all. Must walk. Must not become furniture-shaped. Might be hard to find cute fall clothes in recliner-shaped sizes.
Early September sent me to Vegas for the ABC Kids Expo. Lots of walking. Lots of great contacts. Judged the JPMA Innovation Awards, which was pretty cool. Over 100 entries. Only 10 winners. That was hard! Also hard? Finding non-fried foods to eat anywhere in the vicinity of The Strip. You'll be pleased to know that I went somewhere other than my hotel and the convention center this year. I met this lovely person, Anya, who is an expert on travel with kids, and she drove me down the strip one evening, and we also went out for a beer during the week. The beer was bigger than my arm and I had to drink it fast to avoid the liederhosen-wearing, bell-ringing, table-dancing, German band at the restaurant, but that is probably a story for another time.
Mid-September is my baby girl's birthday. She's seven! Hard to believe. I still remember how impossibly small she was when they laid her on my chest. I also remember quickly demanding that my husband take her because, holy crap, I didn't know what to do with a baby, for heaven's sake! He actually didn't know, either. Poor M. She's lucky she's made it this far with two clueless parents. At seven, her favorite color is purple, she is still crazy for horses, she loves Webkinz, reads like crazy, thinks fishing with Daddy is fantastic and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.
Around M's birthday, I always end up thinking about how I ended up hanging around the online pregnancy forums when I learned I was expecting the unexpected baby. That was January 2001, which means that in a few months, the women I met wayyyy back then will have been my friends for 8 years. I was just looking for some answers to my incredibly noob pregnancy questions (if the test says I'm pregnant, I'm, uhh, really pregnant, right?). Who would have guessed some of those women would become my closest friends?
Fall is finally in the air. My favorite season. Not too hot, not too cold. Halloween. My birthday. Clothes in my favorite colors. An excuse to break out giant wool sweaters. Football! Camping. The occasional bonfire at the lake. I love fall.
I'm making an effort to take more walks this fall. The whole "busy at work" thing is having a negative effect on me. My ass is taking on the shape of my favorite recliner. This is not good. Not good at all. Must walk. Must not become furniture-shaped. Might be hard to find cute fall clothes in recliner-shaped sizes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
