Well, I'm just gob-smacked. I just went through the mail that came in after the long weekend, and found a lovely card and even lovelier check from you guys.

Can't even begin to say how much this helps, since I've been basically operating on a week-by-week basis for too long. Money may not buy you happy, but it sure makes you less anxious!

This is seriously one of the nicest things that's ever happened to me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I was just thinking how life-changing my hooking up with the Buffistas was, this just underlines and puts an exclamation point on it.

Thanks again!

Leaving tomorrow with DH and my awesome MiL to head to PA for three days of Bar Mitzvah festivities. Am having anxiety, but traveling with an awesome, loving support system and self-care plans.

But still asking for -ma. Feeling nervous, but confident. Love is the best med.

Update on the status of my mom, Mary.​

She arrived home Tuesday, October 13 and is so very glad to do so.

Mother and daughter team J​ and M went up to visit for the weekend, and when I called on Friday, were reporting mom in good spirits.

Mom is again pushing back against expectations that they want her to use a walker, and prefers her walking stick, as she can stand upright. (She is determined to not get dependent on a walker and detests being hunched over.)

Can I get some health~ma for DH? I got home from a trip yesterday afternoon and he was fine, but early this morning, he's having some odd things going on. Not enough for 911 but enough that we're calling the doc as soon as the office opens.

Can I get a load of job interview-ma for D? He has an interview at 10:30 CST at a very prestigious law firm doing head of security work for a substantial raise, which we could use quite desperately.

D is quite underpaid at his current job and under challenged. So please give some job -ma to the universe in about 20 minutes and cross your fingers, do a dance, dial 3 to sacrifice a goat, whatevs.

ETA: Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the interview-ma. It went fantastically, and he feels 95% he got it.

Can we have a bit more job offer-ma?!

(We're so excited.)

So...D got the job!! He's not announcing until he passes the background check, which is nothing compared to all the government security clearance checks he passed, so he totally had this great new job!

In shock. Happy. Shock.

I have a new grand-niece-in-law, Lily. And yes, named after Lily Munster. I impressed my brother by guessing that immediately.

Hi! The shelter my sister volunteers with is in one of those online vote competitions for money. Today is the last day. No registration required, just a captcha to make sure you aren't a bot. You can vote once per day per device.

My sister is still in a very deep depression and had to put one of her cats to sleep this morning, a cat who had many wonderful years of life because she adopted him when he was sick and about to be put down. A win for her shelter would give her a little boost in a very dark time. I appreciate any votes y'all can manage. Many thanks.

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Ola, Buffistas!

The Kickstarter Project I've been working on has gone live. I want to think everybody who helped in the early formation, in particular Raq who was very enthusiastic and gave me a lot of materials to work with.

The project itself is a very innovative mix of crafting, STEM education focused particularly on girls, gaming and fantasy adventure. Really talented people working on this project: career toymakers, educators, television writers, illustrators, the composer Evan Lurie. And as I've discussed elsewhere, they've got a revolutionary bit of proprietary technology in its computer interface through the crafting jewelry that I think is a bit of a game changer. And the jewelry itself is really quite pretty and well made.

So, please take a second to peruse the short introduction video.

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Posted for Juliana: Alexandra Dorothea was born around 8:30 p.m on Wednesday Nov 18th. She weighed 9.5 pounds and was 21 inches long, and shares a birthdate with her maternal Grandmother.