{{Teppy}}

Wish I had some good suggestions or options for you, babe, but unfortunately, I've got nuthin'. I did like Hec's suggestions of swilling vodka from a bud vase, but more for the imagery, than anything of actual use.

Barb? How's the ankle? Are you being kind to it and yourself?

I had kind of a hard night last night-- didn't realize just how much relief the heating pad had actually brought until I didn't have it. Darned auto-off. So my friend had the brilliant idea to go get those adhesive heating pads to use at night. And because she'd had a bad day yesterday, she decided we needed pie, so she drove, we went to the drugstore, had lunch, had pie, and then we picked up Abby's chocolate birthday pizza, so the upside is, at least I didn't have to drive, which probably would have really hurt. As it is, I'm pretty achy just from the small amount of walking we did.

But tomorrow all will be good because tomorrow is my baby's eleventh birthday. Man, when did that happen?

My gut instinct says "He's frightened and looking for an excuse to stay in the hospital overnight.

My gut went there too.

Mostly because, why would I have the phone numbers of my parents' friends?

So you don't have to play your Dad's dysfunction game by his rules? So you can handle these things on your terms?

I think you have to start setting some boundaries and terms to handle this. It's not up to him to just dump everything on you. You find it burdensome and stressful. So go ahead and set up the phone tree and parcel out the responsibility among those who can take it.

okay, so apparently Sarah Palin was interviewed by People, and was asked

Has [Bristol's pregnancy] changed how you talk about sex with your other children?

Her response?

SP: I've always been a proponent of making sure kids understand – even in schools – they'd better take preventative measures so that they don't find themselves in these less than ideal circumstances. Perhaps Bristol could be a good example to other young women that life happens and preventative measures are, first and foremost, the option that should be considered –

"preventative measures"? WTF? I don't think that abstinence is a preventative measure. Sounds a hell of a lot like she's advocating birth control, or is it just me?

I'm with you. Sure sounds like birth control to me, not abstinence.

unless she thinks keeping your legs crossed is a preventative measure.

Or keeping your clothes on.

I like doin' it with my clothes on.

actually I think I've done it with my legs crossed too. But then, I'm on the pill.

The part of the Pledge that I have a problem with (besides the fact that it's a, you know, PLEDGE of ALLEGIANCE, Heil Amerika) is the "with liberty and justice for ALL" part. Because it's been my experience that not everyone is lucky enough to receive the same level of liberty and/or justice.

Oh, see, I read it not as pledging allegiance to the republic which has liberty and justice for all, but rather as pledging allegiance to the republic and to its ideal of liberty and justice for all. Which I can totally get behind. I've got allegiance to that ideal.