Christmas This Year

was actually quite enjoyable. My mom, Todd, my brother, sister-in-law, and my cuter-than-bunnies niece, Kirra, had a very low-key and not overly consumptive day-- both on the food and gift front. We ate and shared a few presents and I, the biggest humbug of the lot, got the most amazing gift from my sister-in-law: a scrapbook of my life thus far. She has been working on it since the summer and it has pics of me and my grandma, my brother, me performing wedding ceremonies, all my hair styles (yes, the eighties were well represented), and my first trip to Europe. She scanned postcards, a poem I wrote for my mom, photos, etc. I cried. A lot. There were photos I don't remember and parts of my life I'd forgotten. Pretty amazing. And to think I thought she didn't care for/like me. Of course I had to consent to wearing the silly hat in the photo above-- ply me with red wine and I might do just about anything... Oh, that was another page, photos of me in various states with a glass of something in my hand. Pretty funny stuff.

Nels Cline, oooh!

The new Wilco with Nels Cline. Yum, Jeff Tweedy and Nels-- a jackpot if you ask me. And just so you know, a friend of mine thinks that the thing that will save me from destitution is my lack of resignation. Cripes, I am screwed! Full disclosure-- This post was written in a red wine haze.

Love Those Anonymous Commenters

Someone decided to let me know, out of the goodness of his or her heart I'm sure, that my previous post might be in violation of a certain company's policy. So I changed the name to protect the filthy rich (a category of which I stand firmly outside). This has been a public service announcement.

*Words Censored* and My Future

Ok, maybe that sounds a bit melodramatic, but I found the perfect little duplex for me and my mom. It's right in the center of everything yet oddly hidden away. And it's on a bridge! It sounds weird, and it is kind of-- it reminds me more of San Francisco than San Diego. Either way, it passed the test: My mom, Todd, and my friend, Mike, are intrigued. Now if we could get inside to see what it looks like on the interior to get the full picture. So far we have just circumnavigated the property and done lots of speculation as to what it might be like. Of course it's abut 95k more than we can afford (remember, this is San Diego) and we can't technically move for a few months. But if you want to help make a dream come true for two sassy redheads, me and my mom, then PLEASE click on my *words censored* and maybe I'll actually make a few $$$. Special thanks to my Blog Explosion pals-- I'll return the favor!

'Tis the Season

for a bad case of pesticide poisoning. Did you know that the average tree from a Christmas tree farm has absorbed 28 pounds of pesticide? Yum! Can you say chemical sensitivity and environmental toxins? And hell, you don't even have to be a tree hugger to do the math: babies, pets, and other living things, when placed in close proximity to an organism that has consumed that much poison, are bound to experience major discomfort, to put it mildly, when in the same room with said organism.

And then there's the issue of "drift," something a friend of mine in Oregon was dealing with when trying to grow organic grapes. She kept trying to get certified by Oregon Tilth but high levels of pesticide residue was showing up during soil testing. They finally realized that it was from the xmas tree farm down that way that was spraying-- something that isn't supposed to happen when there is even the slightest wind-- and the noxious concoction was finding it's way to her vines.

Of course, the toxins do the most harm to those darned migrant workers who insist on taking good American jobs. You know, like working around way too many chemicals day in and day out, six and seven days a week, for 12 hours or more a day. Yep, just so you can have that tree. But the next time you think you may be allergic to xmas trees, or you baby nephew breaks out in a rash, or your dog gets sick just from sleeping under the overly-decorated fire hazard, consider that it may be a case of pesticide poisoning.

Let the Madness Commence!

Buying a home can be a stressful experience. Hell, who am I kidding? It IS a stressful experience. Now, imagine trying to find the perfect abode for your mother and yourself, with extremely limited means, in San Diego where a square foot of real estate sells for about the same price as a ounce of gold. Yep, that's what I'll be doing here real soon.

My mom and I are looking for a duplex or two-on-one and we both have slightly different expectations. Mine, of course, are realistic. This is my 'blog so I can assert that. And actually, my mom was hoping we could find the perfect little matching Spanish cottages with two bedrooms and a great yard for the pets. Sadly it ain't gonna happen. More like two miniature one bedroom shacks with bad vinyl flooring and no roof. Or something like that. We did see a place we both liked-- about 100k more than we could spend, and we both liked the main house. She will most likely get the nicer of the two abodes, whatever we find. And I am looking around my very cute, tiny, perfect little condo and wondering why am I doing this?

So, take pity on me, click my google ads so I can make an extra $4.92 a month or just contribute directly to my Paypal at the link above. Let's see, if 1000 of you contribute $10 each, hmmm, that's $10,000. And if my dog can get some modeling gigs... Ah, never mind.

NaNo Withdrawals

I thought I'd be glad to be done with this whole speed noveling business, but the lack of frenetic writing activity has left a big fat gaping hole in my big boring life. Not that I lack things to do, but the camaraderie and the fervor of writing at a pace beyond what I would have thought possible is sorely missed by me. And what to look forward to? The holiday stupidity? Sorry I am not more chipper, but the season really gets me down.