Birthday Takes

1. Yes, citizens, sometime in the next few days I will again party party in commemoration of my birth.  This year is a fun one because it's what I call the "half birthday," not in the traditional sense, but meaning this is the year that I am half my mother's age.  Not to tell her age on the internet or anything, but since I was born on her birthday (how thoughtful of me) it's fun to be exactly the same age she was when she had me.  And by exactly, I really can say exactly.

2.  You can still win an iPad by going to this Catholic family's blog and following the instructions.  As far as I'm concerned, the "giveaway of cool things" is the most awesome way to raise money for a cause that I can think of.  Someone donates an item and gets to feel good, people get to enter a contest virtually for free and possibly win something they want, the beneficiary gets (a) air time and (b) some dough.  Yes.  And you WIN AN IPAD.

3.  I was intensely amused by this headline: "Hawk Steal's Playboy Playmate's Puppy."  Inappropriate, you say?  But it's so darn funny!  I envision her staggering around the yard in her high high heels, wailing in terror but unable to dial 911 because her nails aren't dry.

4.  I was not amused by this headline: "CISPA Passes in the House."  This is like the Patriot Act, only bigger/worse/different/broader.  This time the ostensible restriction to "behavior or information related to terrorist activity" doesn't exist.  Now it's just information sharing for the sake of sharing.  Le sigh.

5.  I was very amused by two new sites this week.  Everyone on Facebook knows I really like to read Failblog's various incarnations, especially FailBook.  Now I can add to my list a page of really terrible Amazon.com reviews, and a page of people being confused by the Onion. 

6.  My leetle boy is over six weeks old now!  With V, time passed quickly but I still felt like those early months dragged on.  Would he ever sit up?  Would he ever quit barfing?  Now I'm going "Wait!  Slow down!"  This is terrible.  I'm turning old.  As soon as he gets that massive head under control, he plans to crawl.

7.  Yes, I'm still working on that same class.  Blessed thing, since it's on World War II I am able to use sources and knowledge that I already have.  The next project due is a bibliographical sketch, and being the awesome magnificent thing that I am, I actually have a photocopy of the man's actual battle journal to work off of.  I held it in my hands.  I thumbed through it.  (Ok, in the interests of honesty and fairness, my very awesome husband actually went and pulled the file and found the stuff for me after I told him who to look for, then he made the copy even though I told him he didn't have to do that.  But he did and he's cool and now I'm glad he did it because I'm not going to get back to the archives as soon as I thought I was.)  He's a cutie, no?

Now, head to www.conversiondiary.com and link up!

Wee Hours

It's been a long time since my late night/early morning wanderings have brought me to the blog.  You all could have been doing a lot of quality reading all this time, considering that I'm awake for at least an hour every night.  I don't remember the last time I slept straight through from midnight to six.  And it doesn't have anything to do with the baby.  He's right here, snoring away and dreaming about eating.

Anyway, since I'm up, anyone reading can say a quick prayer for my brother.  He's at OCS but is now waiting on some bloodwork about a medical condition no one knew he had.  It could be a complete no-big-deal, or it could mean a medical discharge.  I'm so worried and sad for him.  This is just one more bump in his road.  :(

In nicer news, we had a fantastic time last night with several friends who came over for dinner.  Six adults!  Conversation!  Laughter!  I'm going to be sad to move...after three years in this place I'm just starting to make friends (other than the one or two very dear ones we met soon after arriving, some of whom are already gone).  That's life, I guess?  It does begin to explain how I know all these women who become total blathering BFFs with their neighbor within minutes of unloading the truck.  You have to!  Otherwise you won't get a chance to get to know one another before someone moves away.

Ah well.  Better luck next time.

Update

Some women dye their hair. I change my blog. It's a bad habit, or something.

Please note that I have moved and changed many things. No one who is "gone" need fear! I pretty much went with a most-often-updated-stays rule for clearing the blog list. I don't hate you.

I added many new things, all of which have to do with adoption. I started haunting adoption sites long before I met Leila, and often spent time crying/fretting/fuming over the fate of so many children who wait in foster care or institutions. We had friends growing up who fostered infants while their adoptive families' home studies were being completed. It's a thought often on my mind.

Leila introduced me to a whole new world of adoption stories to cry/fret/fume over: children from foreign countries who are disabled. Despite all our really dreadful problems here, those who are already born have a pretty good quality of life in the United States. Not so in Eastern Europe, Asia, and parts of South America. So I've linked to a bunch of family blogs from those who have adopted or are adopting a child from one of those places. Those who aren't in a position to adopt children themselves (like me) can pray, observe, donate, or simply spread the word.