Barb, so good to hear about Nate's success and happiness.

Trudy, hi! Forgot to say that before, and how awful for your friend.

Steph, thoughtless skinny bitch, indeed. She needs a cluesticking with a telephone pole.

Since we're at the beach, the BIDs are hard to avoid - but as I noted to my sister, I'm less self-conscious about my body now than I was in high school, when I barely weighed enough to donate blood. Thank god for rugby and bellydance. Now I just need to quit smoking and find some new exercise, although apparently I've lost weight from working outside.

And in more mememe, I've burnt the backs of my thighs. I do it every time. The sunscreen comes off on the chair, and I forget or am too lazy to reapply. Dur.

Barb! Protein before a workout is your friend!

I try to be very, very careful about complimenting weight loss. For all the reasons stated above. I have definitely experienced the depression-related weight loss, and the perverse pleasure that it brings.

Wish I had more time at the beach. Also wish there were "non-talking" sections at the beach. We had three very chatty groups around us today, and one women in particular would. not. shut. the fuck. up. I tried to breathe and focus on the ocean, but I pretty much failed. Oh, well.

Oh, yeah, I knew I forgot something. Windsparrow, WTF? That is some major clueless stupidity.

"Fuck you," can be a very heartfelt response. "Heartfelt" does not mean tender or sympathetic or kind.

"Fuck you," can be a very heartfelt response. "Heartfelt" does not mean tender or sympathetic or kind.

Words to live by.

Went to the LDS baptism of my step-grand-daughter today. This is an event that takes place around the kid's 8th birthday, the age at which allegedly they can tell right from wrong and at which sins begin to count. I muttered dire imprecations, as I always do when I have to go to an LDS service, but it's the grand-daughter, so I went.

All the grandparents were there, and this was the first time I'd gotten to meet my stepdaughter's husband--soon-to-be-ex-husband, by the way, for reasons I am not privy to. It was also the first time we'd seen Hubby's ex-wife in about 20 years.

Hubby's first response upon seeing her was "Oh my god," and not in the good way. In strict fairness, I have no idea what medical issues she herself has been dealing with, and Hubby himself isn't the man he was. But I have to be honest when I compared myself very favorably to her. Highly petty, but I'm OK with that. I may have dropped within hearing of her that this month is Hubby's and my 25th wedding anniversary--just in case she'd forgotten.

Unfortunately, mine was not the only less-than-charitable attitude. Daughter's husband's parents--lovely people, who were initially suspicious of Hubby, until they got the other side of the stories they'd been told--told Hubby that they had already hired a lawyer to make sure their son would have all the visitation rights he was entitled to, because Daughter had in the past told her husband, "Oh, you don't really love me, if you really loved me you'd sign this paper saying you'd never challenge me for the kids." Turns out this is the same thing Hubby's ex-wife had done to him, before he knew that there was a divorce in his future. She then proceeded to deny him access on whatever grounds she could think of, then took them out of state without asking permission (and he was too blindsided to make a challenge).

At lunch after the service, Daughter's apparent current boyfriend was there, Husband quietly said he didn't want to sit at the same table as him, so Daughter said, "Fine, I'll sit with him at the other table." Apparently his parents are of the opinion that their son married down.

So a day of drama, history, and religious services I find annoying. Fun! But we went to Ikea afterwards, and we learned what a dangerous place that is.

Connie, you my my complete commiseration about the drama

But IKEA!

re: Ikea

Hubby discovered lots of stuff in the kitchen section that he wants, I had to keep saying, "But I don't have a reason to buy it" in the home organization area, and we did really look at furniture. Next time we'll try the meatballs.

Connie, it made me tired just to read that, much less live it. Gracious.

My sunburned legs have been upgraded to a 4 or 5, and I discovered when I got out of the shower that I have a large sunburn that looks rather like a butterfly on my upper back. The only thing I can figure is that where I put sunscreen and where my sister helped overlapped, and the burn is what I couldn't reach.

Erin, received and backflung!

Oh, ouch, lidocaine lotion?

I always keep some in the fridge.

Barring that, cool cider vinegar or, best, in my oft-burnt opinion, is cold brewed tea. (I always have cold brewed tea in the fridge, too.)

And backflung, smonster and SQUEE,I am getting thisclose to fully operational website, all open!

SO. EXCITED.

Also, kind of terrified.

And I am HITTING THE POOL this week. It is summer, dammit, and I will carve out three hours to listen to music and read back copies of Bust, and swim. My girlfriend's out for summer, too, and she is a big ol' water-slut; I know she'll come.

Good heavens, Connie-- talk about DRAHMA.

smonster, be careful! Lidocaine, yes. Good stuff.

I am back from X-Men: First Class and having deeply inappropriate thoughts now of Michael Fassbender.