Tuesday:
1. Chabot Space and Science Center and their free, public telescopes.
2. The random barefoot hike I had with Blondy in the Oakland hills.
3. The dachshund we saw, with a big stick in his mouth.
4. Feeding 5 people for about $15. Spaghetti!!!
5. Being asked what my favorite color is.

Wednesday
1. Found new person to move in downstairs.
2. E'ville Marina walk.
3. Frozen Yogurt.
4. The way Blondy looks with his hair down.
5. Beers on the Porch with Lucky Lene and Josie. And the pussycats.

So, I did it. I went to the doctor and I got a diagnosis. As it turns out, I was right. I have Fibromyalgia.

Here's how it went down: I didn't want to go to a medical doctor, because they only want to prescribe medicines. I've looked up treatments for Fibro, and a lot of them are antidepressants. I am not interested in antidepressants. Thank you.

So a medical doctor can't help me. He or she could diagnose me, yes, but that doesn't help me. I need help. So I went to my old friend, Dr. Naturopath. I just about cried in his office when I told him how much pain I'm in and how exhausted I always am. After the whole examination, he confirmed my suspicion. He gave me some lifestyle changes to make and some handed me some dietary supplements.

Today, I feel better than I have in a long time. I still hurt and I'm still tired, but I feel better. I had been hurting so bad my husband couldn't hug me, but today was awesome!

Also, as a side note, I quit Facebook. That has caused me to do things I've never done before, like dishes! I highly suggest it. Clean dishes are cool.

More updates to come. I see good things on the horizon!

so my kid goes back to school soon and like every summer, i'm feeling guilty about not doing enough shit with her or spending quality time with her. but unlike every year, she's transitioning into middle school. she will be with older kids, more will be expected of her academically and socially and she's nervous about it and a little clingy.

i decide to get her all decked out for school this year so she feels good about it, as much as possible. hence, the bento boxes. if i can get her jazzed about lunch, even if middle school is torture, she can look forward to lunch.

i splurge on a backpack online for her. sight unseen, i pay $50 for a backpack she really likes the design of. of course with the understanding that it will be her middle school backpack, and she will not be getting more until high school or later.

holy fucking shit on a monkey. this thing arrives today, and i'm trying to guess what it would retail for, but frankly, i've only seen backpacks up to $70 at sports stores. this is well beyond that. its got an insulated lunch compartment built in. it's got a plush lined eyeglass case, built in. it's her favorite colors with a floral print. the polyester is that type that never rips, even if you want it to. this thing is... it's beyond our means. i should make her carry a sign saying really no, we can't afford shit this nice, this is a fluke. don't judge me by my backpack. i'm poor, really.

yesterday i take her kickboxing. today, galleries and cupcakes in NY. tomorrow, a new desk. meaning a desk from craigslist. see above.

it was 95 degrees in manhattan today and the stone and metal buildings trap the heat like an oven. we walked and talked and looked at art and took pictures of goofy looking people with our phones. sushi, cupcakes, and i found a copy of dodgem logic, which by itself makes sweating in a gross dirty place worthwhile.

and my puppy was beside himself with joy when i got home.

I want to run. Or refuse. Or say "I forgot" when I know damned well I didn't forget. I don't want this experience, don't want to find out more or get her some help. I want a nice life without kids who cause excursions to court.

I also came home to find that in humid 95 degree weather, our poor box turtle had been left outside on the sunny porch in his sunning tank with no water, food or shade. I was seriously homicidal when I came back to our dwelling to see him with all of his limbs splayed, his head pushed under his empty plate in an attempt to find shade.

High Schooler's excuse for such appalling neglect that was not only cruel but could have literally baked the turtle to death?

"Well, I didn't think of it. I didn't know he was out there."

"You PUT him into the sun tank yesterday!" I shouted, barely able to control myself. "And I told you to CHANGE HIS WATER! You didn't bother to even put the water bowl into the tank!" I was literally nauseated with guilt and horror at the thought of the animal being left to suffer.

"I forgot" she sulked.

After making sure my forty-year-old turtle was still alive and well enough to drink, I went into my room to cry.

Found 'em this weekend. This time I'm not fucking around with OTC shit; I called the pedi and she brought in the big guns, some shit called Malathion that seems to be so ridden with chemicals that it makes me fear for DD's unborn children, although at this point I don't know what else to do. My mum and sister both checked me last night and didn't find a single thing on me, which boggles my mind. I'm still calling my doc again tomorrow to ask for something just in case (called today and was told they'd "get back to me" and never heard anything, douches) because if this recurs again I will officially lose. my. shit.

So everything in the house that can be washed went back to the laundromat and I applied the rifuckingdiculously repulsive Malathion to her hair while she objected loudly and with good reason; shit smells like I doused her with gasoline and lit her on fire, and then doused it with gin. Awful. I feel like a shitbag for having to do this, but it's the third time in two months, and I don't know what else to do. I'm doing everything by the book, just like I'm being told from every direction, and still...those fuckers keep coming back. My mum was all "oh, if the doctor prescribed it then it can't be bad for her." and...well, I wish I could believe that, but I doubt this is GOOD for her. I weighed the risks and benefits-- risks being obviously that these chemicals are a terrible thing to introduce to a three year old'd body, benefits being that if this licks it for good I can finally sleep at night and know she's not going to get thrown out of daycare for having a bug on her head that I didn't know was there-- and decided at this point I don't want to fuck around anymore. Obviously I feel guilty, or I wouldn't be blathering on about it. She needs to keep this garbage on her head for TWELVE HOURS and then we'll get up at the butt crack of dawn to wash it out.

I pray to all that is holy that this shit be done with, here and now. I realize there are far more worse things than harmless bugs; my daughter is healthy and happy and for that I'm grateful a bazillion fucking times over....but for real, I can't do this anymore. Once a year or something, maybe. But three times in 8 weeks? I'm losing my mind. I'm terrified she's going to get booted from daycare for X amount of days that her provider thinks will be "safe" and I'll have to miss work. I can't even sleep at night. So PUH-LEASE, let this be it!!!

Ps- her school still claims she's the only one who has it. Has EVER had it, actually, other than ONE kid five years ago. I smell bullshit, and loads of it. Thursday is her last day at this daycare (not because of the lice, but because we're moving!) so hopefully the Noxious Chemicals and Change of Schools combo will be the ticket out of Licetown that we need. {Crossing fingers}

It may seem irresponsible to your average person, but I have to confess that the combination of sharp things with building fires was the highlight for the kids on our most recent family camping trip.

http://lorriemiller.wordpress.com/

There were no serious cuts or burns. And a lot of fun was had by all. Wild coast of BC is a great place to be!

Filth's post about sauerkraut got my creative juices flowing. Heck, I'd never made any fermented food from scratch. This sounded easy enough.

I already had a cabbage rolling around in the fridge. I shredded it, mixed it with salt, and crammed it into a gallon ice cream bucket, then plopped a plate on it and weighed it down with a big can of olive oil.

That was Sunday. Yesterday morning, I peeked in ready to see my magically-created brine. What I saw was wilted, crushed cabbage. That smelled a bit funny. I tilted the translucent bucket, and saw that there was some brining going on about three inches below the surface, so I crushed and plated and weighted and went to work.

Returning yesterday, I peeked, expecting to be rewarded with brine. The cabbage looked annoyed, but not briney. It was more wrinkly than cabbage usually is, and had some brown edges. Uh, did I forget the brine incantation?

By bedtime yesterday, I gave up and fed it some water, enough to cover the forlorn-looking shriveled pieces on top. Then I put the equipment back.

This morning, I gave it a suspicious look, and I swear it gave me one right back. There are a couple of bubbles around the edges. At first my heart soared...was that scum?? Had I created genuine, coveted, skimmable scum from successful fermentation, or is the cabbage plotting to mutiny by brewing botulism with which to show me a thing or two?

The funny smell is even funnier than it was the second day, and I don't mean ha-ha-ha kind of funny, I mean the hmmmm-with-a-squint kind of funny.

Can anyone tell me if this is food in the making or food turned into something lethal? I'm almost afraid to lift that plate again.

1. Seared tuna steaks, soba noodles and steamed broc. with L-Dawg tonight. Great to have a meal and convo with her.
2. Feel so pretty and Marilyn-y with the blonde. It's really more like butterscotch--not so platinum this time--but I'm still happy with it.
3. Louis CK and his views on parenting.
4. The Fifth Element. Love that movie.
5. Josh.

need a bomb-diggity meatloaf recipe. Yes, real meat. bring it on, mamas!

My yearly fight with Planned Parenthood looms. I thought maybe I could avoid the whole thing by finding a cheap, prescription-free source of hormonal birth control online. I haven't had any luck yet. It seems that cheap and no-prescription are mutually exclusive.

My poison of choice is Loestrin-FE. Anybody have any sources?