Red dots represent locations where there are more bars than grocery stores, based on results from the Google Maps API. The Midwest takes their drinking seriously.

My old home town (Alpena, MI) looks red, with yellow north and south of it. Understandable. If I still lived in Alpena I'd probably be drinking as much as I could afford.

New England still has some "dry" towns, "blue laws" about selling alcohol on Sundays, and New Hampshire has their state liquor stores. In general around here, liquor licenses are highly regulated and hard to get.

Red dots represent locations where there are more bars than grocery stores, based on results from the Google Maps API. The Midwest takes their drinking seriously.

Okay, my this is my skewed Midwestern viewpoint speaking here, but that just seems so strange. Wouldn't you expect more bars than grocery stores? Bars are small and usually dotted around. Grocery stores are big and generally not in superclose proximity to each other. I honest to god have a hard time even picturing more grocery stores than bars.

So I fell asleep pretty much immediately after whining (sorry Thomas!) and then the dog went nuts barking and the power is flickering from the storm this morning so our UPS boxes are beeping. So I did get a night`s sleep, just not a very long one so I am much less complainy this morning. Hi!

A better comparison would be the number of bars versus the number of churches.

Timelies all!

We have had the Kitty 500 here this morning. Silly cats...

further along in the school year, they'd pop out a "But my mom/dad is Filipino/Black/Puerto Rican/French/Kenyan/White" and I'd be all "Huh. Never woulda guessed. Get on witcha bad multiethnic self, kiddo!"

Can't tell you how many times I had teachers hand me back any number of forms telling me I'd filled them out wrong.

Because I marked "Hispanic" and no damned way could I be Hispanic. I'm white, white, whitey-white with hazel eyes, so there.

I'd have to bring in my even whiter, even lighter hazel-eyed mother and her lovely Spanish accent to straighten them out in some colorful language.

ups boxes are beeping.

? united parcel services?

mac came out of his room last night around 9 and we had something to eat and he was wanting comfort and whatnot. We watched a little tv and then I said we needed to talk. It didn't go well, so I told him back to his room and to have a good night. He came into my bed around 2am. I got the ds and put it away at 3:30. Should be an interesting day. I've told him and emailed his uncle that I will not leave the house with him, so uncle G is coming here.

thank you all for the kind words and good thoughts. this to shall pass.

oh and now he is watching Snow Dogs and I had NO IDEA that the premise is he's adopted. good lord parenting fail.

I hate being lied to. I hate it worst when my health is on the line. I used to like you, Mr. ER Attending. Don't say 'we don't do that here ever." I was there. You do it almost every week.

Also, since the change in my regimen I can't get you to talk to my specalist about, responsiveness would be nice.

Sorry, msbelle. Sorry, ita.

I'm having my own mini-meltdown this morning about seeing my family today.