I'm feeling very blue today. It may just be letdown from the Thanksgiving craziness (we flew to Boston with our kids, and boy, are our arms tired). Things are not helped by our continuing financial stress (made even worse by my missing a whole month of work in October), car trouble, and my still-lousy ennui at work.

I hate to be so spoiled and ungrateful. I have a job, my kids are fed, I'm married to someone who works and spends what little time is left with our kids. I have great help at home, and awesome parents. But it's hard to look forward to the December holidays when I really can't do much for anyone in the way of presents (which I just love to do normally), and won't be seeing much of anyone, either.

Can anyone make me laugh today? I could really use it. Sorry to be a bummer. Hopefully, I'll find something fun to post later.

Thanks to Sheryl for this one:

Your Boobies' Names Are: The Blind Melons

Anyone who has Noggin and any small children in their house should divert their attention to Mimi Smartypants today, a woman who evidently freaks about completely kid-related topics as much as I do.

I couldn't agree more with just about every word she says. The only thing I have to add about how trippy Maisy is, is that I keep expecting that annoying narrator to slowly drawl "What are you doooing, Maisy?" a la HAL.

I'm probably the 10-millionth person to blog this, but it just needs to be seen by as many people as possible. The funniest part (to me) is watching Drew Carey's and the audience's reactions to everything. Okay, the really funny part is seeing the "ABC Family" logo on the screen the whole time.

With thanks to Mousewords by way of Flea.

Thanks to AliciaRose, here is the first part of one of her memes (okay, from September, I'm very behind).

Name Four Bad Habits You Have:
1. Shopping
2. Chocolate
3. Reading while I eat
4. Swearing in traffic

Name Four Things That You Wish You Could Have:
1. A house with a basement/playroom and a backyard.
2. A bigger, newer car
3. My own business (or at least a position in upper management)
4. Enough money to relax and enjoy life more, and plan for our kids' futures better.

Name Four Scents You Love:
1. Clean baby smell - has to be J&J Baby Shampoo
2. DH's aftershave (Wild Rain by Gillette, of all things)
3. Cooking smells, like chicken soup, garlicky Italian food, etc.
4. Fresh air

Name Four People That Know You the Best:
1. DH
2. My mom
3. My friend Jennie 
4. My therapist (oh, like that's a secret)

Name Four Things You’d Never Wear:
1. Hot pants
2. Belly shirts
3. Anything from a former Charlie's Angel's "collection"
4. Wool pants or blazers (too itchy)

Name Four Things You Are Thinking About Now:
1. Helping Jacob through a tough time
2. Ugh, money
3. Preparing to go to Boston for Thanksgiving
4. My mom showing her jewelry at a craft show this weekend (I get to help out)

Name Four Things That You Have Done Today:
1. Took a bath
2. Straightened my hair
3. Read to Jacob (Chapter 1: The Skeletal System!)
4. Put together PTA letters for Jake & Danny's classrooms
 
Name the Last Four Things You Have Bought:
1. Bagels
2. A 12-pack of Coke (the only thing our nanny asks for)
3. Yogurt for Danny
4. Hosin sauce (to make flank steak)

Name Four Bands/Groups Most People Don’t Know You Like:
1. Toy Matinee
2. Smashmouth
3. Will Smith
4. Toby Lightman

Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink:
1. Coke, Diet or C2
2. Water, water water all day long
3. Herbal or chai tea
4. Grape juice

Just like a gas-electric car!

I am a hybrid of: Progressive Girl & Girl Next Door Click on the pictures below to read more: Take the What Kind of Girl Are You? quiz at CookingToHookup.com

With thanks to WhyNotMe by way of my gal Sheryl at Almost Heaven!

At the risk of getting firebombed by legal issues, I'm reprinting a fabulous column from today's Chicago Tribune. For those interested in registering, the direct link is here. Sorry, Trib...

Note to President Bush: Try harder to be humble

Kathleen Parker, Tribune Media Services. Kathleen Parker is a syndicated columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, a Tribune newspaper
Published November 10, 2004

As President Bush gallops into a second term astride his favorite steed, "Mandate," it's hard to suppress the urge to holler: "Whoa, Hoss!"

Confidence is good; conviction is fine; cocksure is even tolerable for a day or two. But hubris, as most second-term presidents and a host of fallen kings will attest, is nearly always fatal. It offends the gods.

Bush's first foray into the winner's circle after the election was something shy of humble and had even supporters squirming. At a news conference, he responded to questions about what he intends to do by saying he was going to spend his political capital.

"I earned capital in the campaign," he said, "and now I intend to spend it."

Well all right then.

As questioning continued, Bush was prickly with a couple of reporters who asked several questions within one, as they typically do. In the first instance, the question(s) went like this:

"Mr. President, thank you. As you look at your second term, how much is the war in Iraq going to cost? Do you intend to send more troops or bring troops home? And in the Middle East more broadly, do you agree with Tony Blair that revitalizing the Middle East peace process is the single most pressing political issue facing the world?"

Hardly a malevolent question. Don't we all want to know the answers to those questions?

Bush answered: "Now that I've got the will of the people at my back, I'm going to start enforcing the one-question rule. That was three questions."

Again, Whoa, Hoss.

Bush's bristling probably was reflective of nearly four years of repressed anger toward an often-hostile media. But the man who owns the most nukes, and in whose name young Americans are dying, can afford to be charitable. Especially to people whose unappreciated job it is to hang on his every syllable, including the extra ones.

Responding to another three-part question during the same news conference, this time about bringing people together, vis-a-vis a consensus candidate for the Supreme Court or a Democrat on the Cabinet, Bush responded:

"Again, you violated the one-question rule right off the bat. Obviously you didn't listen to the will of the people."

Republicans have a right to celebrate their hard-won victory. And if George W. can leap for joy clicking his heels, he should. In private. Remove the spurs first.

In public, however, it would serve Bush well to remember that though 51 percent of voters may have issued a mandate, another 49 percent or so begged to differ. And among those who cast their ballots in the red zone--as in red "Bush" states and regions--were a good many who voted without enthusiasm.

I'm not suggesting that Bush should go out of his way to make nice. Most of those who voted for Bush probably would applaud him if he sent the networks, among the lead dogs at news conferences who sit up front and always are called upon, to the back wall, never to be heard from again.

Given Bush's history with the current crop of reporters, four or five of whom insisted that he admit to mistakes during one recent news conference, it's easy to understand his urge to hurl a brushback pitch their way, high and inside.

Nevertheless, Bush has an opportunity to be recorded as a great president, a historic figure, if he doesn't squander what remains of American goodwill. Don't laugh. If he succeeds in Iraq and Afghanistan; if a Palestinian state evolves and Middle East peace gets a toehold; if Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda are extinguished; if no more terrorist attacks occur on U.S. soil; if he makes strides toward balancing the budget, growing the economy, saving Social Security and improving education--and, oh, by the way, rescuing Africa from the AIDS pandemic--he'll go down as one of history's most brilliant, if accidental, presidents.

Obviously, those are formidable "ifs," but Bush would be easier to root for if he'd jump down off that high horse. People can forgive honest mistakes--failed presidential policies are not rare--but few find it easy to forgive a bad winner.

Without a crystal ball, we may not be able to predict the outcome of the next four years, but we know this much about human nature. Pride usually goeth before a fall. We can afford neither.

But just barely. When last I blogged, a whole month ago, I was prepping for eye surgery. I had that done on a Wednesday, and was in a little more discomfort than I'd remembered. However, I dragged my tired butt in my ugly-ass old-man shades to work that Sunday night, since we were installing software I worked on.

On Monday, I called the surgeon. My left eye looked and felt really strange. (GROSS THING COMING UP) The white part was really swollen and looked like it had a big bubble in it. Not cool. DH dropped me at the hospital, where the doc said I had a very odd, extremely severe allergic reaction, we think to the opthalmalogic antibiotic they used. My eyes dried out so badly that I tore my left cornea. Very bad stuff.

So no work for me. Very little driving, reading, TV-watching, and web surfing. Basically, my whole life went kaput. At the same time, Jacob started having tantrums at school, DH got very sick, and Danny got bitten at preschool two or three days in a row.

Two weeks after my surgery, DH was diagnosed with shingles. I tried to go back to work and my cough was so bad I started throwing up. My eyes still looked and felt awful. Finally, on November 1st, I went to work early for another installation, and then left to see my internist. She listened to my lungs for a long time, and then did a chest x-ray and spirometry.

You guessed it. Pneumonia. Fucking hell.

I went back to work full-time yesterday, a full (almost all unpaid) month after I left. Things have been a little weird. I still have this nasty cough, and while my left eye is much improved, my right one still looks like I stuck a fork in it by accident.

I'm catching up on all my blogs slowly, so I'll post some fun links soon. It's going to take me some time to get up to speed.

So, how have you all been?