Jen, I would just like to say again that you're very cool for sending me the Lorrie Moore Ploughshares. I haven't read any of the stories in it yet, but I finally read her intro the other day, and then saw the Post-It in the front and was reminded that people are awesome.

{{Deena}} That sounds like it was just horribly scary. I'm glad you were strong in the clinch, but still....ugh. Not a fun thing to go through.

And more {{}} for thems as needs them because it sounds like today was a bit of the yuck for everyone. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were all having the craxy 95 degree weather that we are. It's only June! for cry-y-y. This is Wisconsin, we're not supposed to get this crap until the end of July or August. It's enough to make me want to move to Alaska.

How about something like: Thanks for writing. I've looked at your profile and I don't think we have many interests in common, but I'm really flattered by your e-mail. Maybe this online dating thing has something to it after all.

I like that, I think that sort of thing would work nicely. Thanks Deena.

Aww, P-C, you just made me smile. Not an easy thing to do today--I've been in a crap mood all day.

It is my raison d'etre.

I forget where all the damn accents go.

YAY! BT, you just made my day.

I spose dragging the kids out for ice cream at 11pm wouldn't really be the thing to do.

Well, no, not with the bruising and the crying and the fact that they're already asleep. I don't want the cops called--frankly, right now their legs look like I beat them with steel rods or something.

I just skimmed because of my houseguest but ack! Deena! Aidan seems to have taken that "up, up and away" thing a little too literally. On the other hand, I think it would be really cute to hear Aidan say "up, up and away." Does he have a cape? Is there a way to padlock an oven door?

And of course Kara's a prodigy.

vw, life continues to be one damn thing after another, but it really does get easier to cope with one damn thing after another. Just think how well you're doing and how many people are proud of you.

Happy anniversary and happy bean, Cashmere!

AUUUUUUGH.

I'm supposed to go to a coworker's wedding tomorrow. I got the invite before I left on my trip. I can't find the invite now, though! And I think it's a morning wedding. ARGH. Have called another coworker and left her a message, I'm hoping/praying she'll get it early enough to call me in time for me to get ready and so on!!!

Screw the diet, I'm gonna have a cold-blooded jelly donut.

This immediately makes me think of warm-blooded jelly doughnuts. Which...EW. There'd be oooooozing.

I spoke to J August Richards last night. Who wants to touch me?

Oooh. Can i touch him instead? Cause, mmm.

If any of you want bellydancing clothes, I highly recommend visiting Fay in Egypt.

Actually I highly recommend visiting Fay in Egypt even if you AREN"T lookign for bellydancing clothes. But smonster tells me they're literally 1/10th the price, there.

Had my ultrasound today and the wee bean has a heartbeat

Dear lord. I can't wrap my head around you being pregnant again--I'd totally forgotten. I mean...isn't Owen still in utero or something? :)

I have to do some yarn stuff to my comic book

So did you give her yarn? What did she want to do??

The salt is from underground deposits in Redmond Utah from when the Great Salt Lake used to be a sea. And its nummy.

Mini-Meara:

(...which is SUCH a cute image, and reminds me - Flatmate asks if there are any pictures of you in drag up online anywhere, Meara. I showed her the wee snaps among your icons, and she was most impressed. Also? K's best friend back home is SO hot, and I'm v. sorry you didn't see the pics. She's butcher than butch. Certainly butcher than K, who's just got a Number 2 cut and whom we had great fun dressing up in a ghastly blonde bubble wig and assorted other silly things last night. Oh, and as of last night K and C are now "officially" boyfriends, rather than fuckbuddies. Yay team!)

Sorry 'bout that. Right, where was I?

Fay, will you/did you get what was supposed to be coming to you from evil school, or did you decide just to be glad to get out.

Ask me in a week. Fingers crossed - just 4 more days to go...

Fay, the notion that you would be in any wise undateable is purely risible.

Well, y'know - not getting any thinner over here. Unlike flatmate, who has becoming very much more svelte over the past six months. Well done her. Damn it. Yes, yes, I have 'a great personality'. sigh. Well, yes, and ridiculously large knockers. Sorry, don't mean to be all 'I suck', and heaven knows one gets lots of attention, wanted or unwanted, from random ogling blokes over here just by being in possession of a uterus and sans higab, but still, my appearance is the thing I have the least confidence in. I accessorise madly to distract from it. Well, and 'cause accessorising is fun, yo. (I bought a gorgeous Hello Kitty bag from a kids' shop earlier in the week - shiny wipe-clean black plastic with a Hello Kitty design and a 3D Hello Kitty raised up on it, wearing pink. Lovely shape too - v. much the shape handbags are supposed to be in cartoons. I love it enormously. Think I'm going to go back and buy the primary-coloured Elmo bag too. [See. MUCH more fun than dwelling on one's flab.])

It's the tone of voice in these instances, that "I am so pissed that if you are not quiet right now, I may rip your arm off and beat you with it."

Oh yes. It's astonishing the level of violence one can cram into a voice and a glare. When I'm less pissed off I do actually threaten to stab them to death with a pencil, or pull off their heads and feed them to my cat, or some such thing. But when I'm genuinely pissed off, it's all about the tone of voice.

I just got back from a brilliant breakfast with the lovely Sparky and wonderful DH. I had some bacon and good company.

t envy

Whimper. In no way am I half a world away from most Buffistas in a Muslim country, where most all bacon is 'beef bacon'.

Hey, Bitches. I can't believe Fay thinks she is un-anything.(I'll have to remember this next time I think I'm hideous.)

Yeah, well. See above. I'm confident about being clever - painfully arrogant, actually. Being shaggable? Not so much. Although there's a weird doublethink thing where I manage to get along as if I felt confident in being attractive, but it takes very very little to pull the rug out from under my feet.

I spoke to J August Richards last night. Who wants to touch me?

Gah! Gah! Gah! I pretty much want to rub myself all over you. But hey, I'm only human.

You know, the problem is that she doesn't fucking care what I don't want to hear. Because every time she does this, she prefaces it with an "I know you'll just say, 'Unnngh'" or "I know you don't want to hear this, but." I can't escape it. At least the Ph.D. thing. The marriage thing she's just been slipping in every fucking chance she gets like it's some sort of funny joke.

Oh, bless you. Did you guys ever get Goodness Gracious Me? Because if you haven't seen it, you totally should, P-C. Very funny sketch show, with one hell of a good cast who've gone on to do masses of good stuff.

And meanwhile, in mememe news - you may recall I was rambling on about a friend having sort of set me up to meet one of his friends on the basis that he thought we were well suited and (continued...)