November 27, 2005
Okay. I'm on the Mend.
It's gotten to the point where my snot is nearly solid. I'm wondering what sort of projects around the house I should tackle with it. Shame to let it go to waste, you know.
I think I could make bricks out of it.
(Whaaaaaaat?)
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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There was a time when I was a kid recovering from an awful bout of the flu and something finally loosened in my sinuses and I hawked up two balls of snot literally the size of marbles.
I was in awe.
Posted by: Desert Cat at November 27, 2005 06:10 PM (xdX36)
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There was a day when a Lady never admitted to hacking up, excreting, oozing, or expelling anything. Now it's a major motion picture or a topic for Oprah during sweeps week. Today, love has to be so much more than blind.
Posted by: Darrell at November 27, 2005 09:12 PM (Cc0zZ)
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Hey. At least we don't make fart jokes. Or, not as many as men do, at least.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 27, 2005 11:52 PM (JZqY7)
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Actually, we don't all think 'fart' jokes are all that funny. We just don't want to be vulnerable to the indefensible charge of not being a 'real' man. It's just like big breasts. I've always found every part of a woman sexually arousing. Every line, every curve, every angle--and everything else that stimulates the other senses. Those that feel none of these things can only point to the most obvious difference between clothed men and women--breasts. And following that logic, 'big' must mean more sexy. I don't see it that way. But sometimes just saying "yeah" when someone points out big breasts is a lot easier. Also safer than questioning their manhood. I've always found it amusing that when I've told a small-breasted woman how sexy she was, she questioned mine.
And I never said that I didn't see those major motion pictures.
All this from snot....
Posted by: Darrell at November 28, 2005 09:08 AM (XWyfl)
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Hey. I've always had bad allergies: snot is an enduring theme in my life.
And I happen to think the slim, small-breasted women are sexy as hell--particularly those with dark hair.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 28, 2005 09:30 AM (JZqY7)
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Me too!
Including the snot...
Posted by: Darrell at November 28, 2005 11:10 AM (/gRHd)
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There's that fascinating scene in
Lady Chatterly's Lover wherein the gamekeeper Lady C is sleeping with says something about the fact that she's the kind of woman who isn't afraid to shit. (I'll have to look it up now: it struck me at the time as a very earthy passage.)
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 28, 2005 11:32 AM (JZqY7)
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Very earthy indeed!
I only skimmed "Lady C's Lover" as a randy teenager, stopping only when the right words caught my eyes. Your cited passage didn't make it...
Posted by: Darrell at November 28, 2005 08:43 PM (hf5tf)
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November 23, 2005
Hi. I Have a Sore Throat.
I'll be
here until further notice.
If I feel well enough tomorrow, I'll go to see the latest Harry Potter movie.
If I feel well enough the next day, I'll roast a small turkey.
In any event, blogging will be light until I'm good and darned ready to surface.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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November 22, 2005
Different Perspectives on Glasses
I must admit that all the fumbling around is inconvenient—particularly now that I'm in my 40s and have separate driving/computer vs. reading glasses.
But I love wearing glasses almost as much as Goldstein does. Both my pairs are unbelievably cute. In fact, even my supermarket sunglasses are unbelievably cute. Come to think of it, I'm pretty freaking unbelievably cute.
Of course, not everyone likes wearing glasses. Too bad, and somewhat incomprehensible to me. Of course, much of life is just like that.
I seem to remember waking up 20 years ago in a dorm room in Poughkeepsie to the exclamation, "look! It's snowing." So I looked.
And then I heard a somewhat wistful remark: "I wish I could do that."
"Do what?"
"Just look. Without having to do anything else."
Well. Now he can.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
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I like my glasses, which as opposed to being rimless are actually quite heavily rimmed. And I don't always need them, although they are helpful for making out, oh say...someone's facial features at 30 yards.
The only time I wear my glasses when I don't have to (like to the grocery store or walking the dog) is when I think they will cover another flaw I have going that day. Or if I'm just in the mood to look like a smart glasses-type girl.
Posted by: maybee at November 23, 2005 02:00 AM (IW5ZY)
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I'm with the Wish I Could Just Look guy.
I was horribly nearsighted most of my life. Without glasses, legally blind.
That's why I got Lasik.
And despite some drawbacks, it was one of the happiest events of my life.
Seeing is good.
Posted by: k at November 23, 2005 04:24 AM (M7kiy)
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November 19, 2005
"So How Is Your Mother Doing?" My Father Asks.
"Well, she's settling in," I reply. "It was a big move from the Bay Area to L.A., but she certainly has more space where she's living now, which is a good thing."
"Has she found a church down here?"
"Well," I respond, "I know she went to her local Unity church; I'm not sure whether she liked that as much as the one in the Bay Area."
"Why doesn't she go back to her old church in Santa Monica—the Unitarian one?"
"I dunno, Dad. I think the Unitarian church is a bit conservative for my mother."
Then I told him my favorite Unitarian jokes. If you're really nice I'll share them with you sometime, too.
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November 13, 2005
Baby Preparations.
"We're guaranteed to get a baby placed with us soon," my husband insists. "After all, we're broke."
He has a point. We need a crib, and a few obvious items: bottles, diapers, onesies. I'm shopping hard, and won't spend a dime more than I have to (beyond ensuring safety issues, of course).
We're gravitating toward an Ocean/Underwater theme, though the Night Sky is still a possibility. (Pale pink and blue are icky anyway, and some of the pastels in many nurseries give me the creeps. Duckies will be acceptable; bunnies are under review.)
As a style snob I do have guilty pleasures, of course: in my personal life it's Mary Englebreit, and with respect to my baby it could turn out to be "classic Pooh" items based on the original Ernest Shepard drawings for the real A.A. Milne books. Those are colorized in pastel shades, and might not fit with the oceanic theme. We'll see.
But here's my real baby furniture/layette question for the night, directed at the parents out there: Are my husband and I supposed to share a diaper bag? Do I get a reasonably masculine one in black or denim blue or some such, and whoever has the baby for the afternoon takes that along? Or will we each have a diaper bag preference? Can I get one for myself that's more colorful than the average guy would carry around?
I guess the answer depends on that whole singleton vs. twins question. I've been suspecting lately that we might have to settle for a singleton, but Attila the Hub is correct: we're broke. Which would make twins a good deal more likely, if you accept that the Universe/God has an excellent sense of humor.
The idea of how much money the first year of parenthood is going to cost makes me crazy—especially after all the infertility treatments, and the adoption fees themselves. But any project can be approached with a spending plan, and I shall simply have to make one up, and find the money to get what we need.
For some reason, I feel it's going to happen in the spring, though there's simply no way to tell at all.
Posted by: Attila at
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This is so exciting I can't stand it.
Posted by: k at November 13, 2005 05:04 AM (M7kiy)
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I can't give you an estimate of first year costs beyond OH. MY. GOD.
As for the diaper bag question you can do one - think of it as the baby's and not your's. As for what it looks like, it doesn't really matter. A guy can get away with just about anything if it is for/with the baby.
I can recommend this, even if you have 2 diaper bags, keep one or two extra diapers and some wipes in every vehicle. Just in case.
Beyond that, it's all good. Very. Very. Good.
Posted by: Stephen Macklin at November 13, 2005 07:14 AM (ics4u)
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Cost of baby=Annual income. Count on it.
Diaper bags: use a gym bag. Cheaper and carries more. Keep one in each vehicle.
What do I know? I'm a guy. My wife handled all the little details (and most of the big ones since I was deployed when my kids were that small).
Blessings!
Posted by: olddawg at November 14, 2005 09:00 AM (7nc0l)
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Some advice from an active Frontline...
With the first kid, you can think for a few moments about form over function: colors and patterns of bags; scented vs. unscented wipes; disposable vs. cloth diapers.
But, believe me, by kid > 1 it's function over form: recycled newspapers over disposable diapers.
Go with function and use the saved "decision" time for sleep.
Posted by: littlemrmahatma at November 14, 2005 09:03 AM (SodBL)
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November 12, 2005
No. I Mean Really Cold.
It was freezing here in the hills near Pasadena last night. And by “freezing,” I mean “55 degrees.”
ItÂ’s almost too cold to drink gin and tonics. Almost. I may have to switch to dry mini-Manhattans alternated with room-temp water. I like gin and tonics because I can make ginless tonics as well . . . hm. I could always try some sort of scotch and soda variation with cheaper whiskey and room-temp soda. IÂ’ll see.
Or I could just drink hot Tension Tamer tea with five or six valiums dissolved into it.
[Honey, whaaaaaaaaaaaat?]
Posted by: Attila at
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um...it is NEVER too cold to drink G&T's
Posted by: Darleen at November 12, 2005 01:47 PM (FgfaV)
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Hills near Pasadena? Some of the happiest years of my life were spent in Sierra Madre.
And Manhattans are correct under any circumstances, though I prefer doubles to the "mini" version. ;-)
Posted by: Mr. Roberts at November 12, 2005 09:38 PM (kcbRI)
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It's important to remember than I'm a small person; that's why I like to mix my own drinks . . .
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 12, 2005 11:09 PM (jCk4g)
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I repeated this joke at a party this weekend, and some guy tried to "correct" me about what the freezing point was.
I mean, let's be fair: some people have a Y chromosome and a sense of irony. But some . . . don't.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 13, 2005 11:13 PM (jCk4g)
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Since it is well below 55 right now in MT you have my deepest sympathy... NOT. At 55 it is still golfing season but I don't have any black balls to find in the snow so I'm stuck dreaming of next spring.
By the way,... I always prefered hot butter rums on days like this. They even keep the fingers warm.
xy chomobaby
Posted by: Jack at November 14, 2005 09:32 PM (b4Nv4)
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So you're telling me that when you go outside you don't simply put a flannel shirt over your T-shirt to wear as a light jacket?
Next you'll be telling me there aren't any palm trees around, and houses are available for under a million dollars. How gullible do you think I am?
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 15, 2005 01:03 AM (jCk4g)
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Pretty gulliable, today I left my house sitting on 30 acres (considerably less then 1 mil) dressed in only my "T" shirt. The thermometer read about 25 F but there was no wind.
And the trees around here have needles on them. The rest used to have leaves but the leaves are all on the ground.
Do palm trees every lose their leaves?
Posted by: Jack at November 15, 2005 02:17 PM (6FeBQ)
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Please note;
I meant I was not wearing any jacket when I said 'only wearing my "T" shirt'. I did have pants and shoes too.
Posted by: Jack at November 15, 2005 02:38 PM (6FeBQ)
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Wow. It sound beautiful; I almost wish I could see it, but I'm actually a bit of a weather wimp. I'm sure you hadn't guessed that.
Palm trees are a little like evergreens (which we actually have a few of on our property). They're never without some covering, but when the wind kicks up--especially out here, where the air is so dry--the "fans" dry up, detach themselves from the trees, and blow around in the streets. (Keep in mind that SoCal is a desert with a thin veneer of real soil. We steal water from Northern California and Arizona to keep our cities going.)
My mother once made a Christmas tree out of some old palm fronds: she attached several to the wall, decoreated them, and placed a train set below. It was a fun Christmas tree.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 15, 2005 10:02 PM (jCk4g)
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If we get some real snow here I'll send you a picture. It is pretty,.... till you have to start shoveling it off the walkway.
The palm Christmas tree sounds interesting, still prefer the pine and the smell, espesially in the fireplace.
By the way, you are on my blog list, the name is what got me.
Posted by: Jack at November 16, 2005 07:03 PM (W9cbS)
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The only thing I love about snow is looking at pictures of it.
California, famously, has lots of Washingtonias - gorgeous tall palms that actually don't shed their fronds once they're dead. They can make a skirt of rustly dead fronds all the way to the ground even when they're 50 feet tall.
Here we got a lot of hurricane pruning with Wilma - the wind rips all the fronds off sometimes. But the palms don't seem to mind. The plants themselves bend with the wind so well they almost never snap in half. When they do it's a scary sight, something that gives us the willies just to see.
I defronded my 20-foot queen palm when we were still undecided about whether to try to raise her back up. She came down in the hurricane and landed on the orchid tree and then the roof.
We came so close to chainsawing my pretty queenie. But we hoisted her back up instead with my guy's Kenworth big rig. She's already growing new fronds.
AND!!! Mr. Jack, we have deciduous evergreens here! Bald cypress and pond cypress actually drop their needles for the winter. But never fear! we also have odd shaped pines called slash pines and longleaf and loblolly, who never make a cone shape but are well-behaved in the Keep your Needles field.
We make Christmas wreaths from pine branches wound around with lots of Spanish moss.
Posted by: k at November 17, 2005 03:58 AM (M7kiy)
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Whoops, forgot the most important part:
The temperature right now is 70 degrees. The high will be right around 80 today. It'll do that for a week or so then drop about 5 degrees when we get this cold front coming through.
:p
Posted by: k at November 18, 2005 03:01 AM (6krEN)
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November 10, 2005
Light Blogging, Next Two Days
I'll be working at my occasional on-site job today and tomorrow (and very likely the first few days of this coming week).
This will have deleterious effects, on 1) my blog, and 2) my lifestyle of complete and absolute indolence.
Posted by: Attila at
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What in the world are you doing up at this hour?
Posted by: beautifulatrocities at November 10, 2005 08:20 AM (OJ9j+)
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work? what is this foul beast you speak of?
Posted by: caltechgirl at November 10, 2005 09:49 AM (/vgMZ)
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I had to get up really really early to help the husband haul some of our clutter (broken furniture, mostly) out to the curb. It's "fall clean up day" for our local trash collectors. I'm proud that I was able to get rid of some worthless junk, but even more proud that I didn't drive around town looking for stuff other people were throwing away that might "go to waste" unless I rescued it.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 10, 2005 04:36 PM (x3SIT)
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You are another crazy american !
Well, give rice to people, not Rice to USA!
By the way, are the money you are paid to have this blog, enough?
If not, we can offer you another better job...
Think about it...
Posted by: skatoula at November 11, 2005 07:49 PM (Mk7j+)
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Oh, i LOVE that last comment!! You tell her, skatoula!!!!
PS You might not hire her if you have minimum height requirements
Posted by: beautifulatrocities at November 11, 2005 08:58 PM (XuU4L)
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This is just more of your discrimination!-- and distortion, and dissembling, and disenfranshisement, and dissing, and other warmonger words that begin with D!
Which stands for Dr. Rice! I mean, it doesn't!
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 11, 2005 10:30 PM (x3SIT)
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November 04, 2005
Heartbreak.
When I woke up today I looked in the mirror and was delighted: my hair was so thoroughly mussed it was standing up in places. My lips were slightly chapped, and stained with blood around the edges. My teeth were covered with dried blood.
I looked far, far more like a vampire than I usually do—even when sleep deprivation aggravates the natural dark circles under my eyes.
I got up, preparing to creep up behind my husband and surprise him. But, tragically, he was out to breakfast with a mutual friend.
I should have trotted down to the local coffee shop where I assumed they were meeting, still in my robe, and loomed suddenly over their booth. But fear of arrest held me back.
I'll probably always regret this decision.
UPDATE: Attila the Hub thinks I was on the right track, but suggests it would have been better to run into the restaurant shrieking vs. trying the stealth route. He assures me that he and our friend Jack would have offered me a cup of coffee and a place at the table.
That's my honey.
Posted by: Attila at
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you should have taken a picture and emailed it to him!
Posted by: caltechgirl at November 04, 2005 12:15 PM (/vgMZ)
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Better yet...taken the pic, trotted to kinko's and have it made poster size, and put on the back of his closet door.
Posted by: Darleen at November 04, 2005 12:58 PM (FgfaV)
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But what if he liked it too much? He might have started to request that I dress that way . . . um, on special occasions.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 04, 2005 01:08 PM (x3SIT)
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Just from your description, I figure if you had put on the "bitterly disappointed wife" face as you loomed over him, it could have caused major trauma. ("Oh God, what did I forget to do...")
Too funny!
Posted by: Desert Cat at November 04, 2005 02:32 PM (B2X7i)
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Yikes! check out DC, he's on to us! AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!
Good thing Walter's out of town. PHEW.
Posted by: k at November 07, 2005 05:15 PM (M7kiy)
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November 03, 2005
The Bleeding Has Slowed.
I've decided to take a walk on the wild side by going gauzeless for 30-60 minutes.
You know, when I was young I feared there would be fewer thrills available to me in middle age. But no!—setting the gauze aside for a short time after oral surgery. Does it get any better than that?
Posted by: Attila at
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Does the bleeding
ever stop?
Posted by: beautifulatrocities at November 03, 2005 01:41 PM (I3bd/)
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Not if you do it right.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 03, 2005 01:47 PM (x3SIT)
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Hang in there, Miss A., the misery *will* subside!
Posted by: Mr. Roberts at November 03, 2005 08:57 PM (DE+15)
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Bury my face in ice, 48 hrs helps.Yes, it helps. Onward to better teeth!!
Posted by: Jerry Kittoe at November 03, 2005 10:01 PM (iJppY)
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Just avoid chewing on that side. Rinse gently...GENTLY...with salt water occasionally. Too much pressure can give you a dry socket!!!! (The hole will stay)You'll get a nice gell-like clot of blood in the socket. Don't play with it with your tongue! I mean it!
Just sit back and be waited on hand and foot. Have a vanilla shake--the good kind! Read and watch TV and drive your significant other crazy with commands. Ask for foot rubs. Good ones!
Posted by: Darrell at November 03, 2005 10:15 PM (EihMh)
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Yes. The dry socket was what I got that time in my 20s. Lots of pain that no amount of percodan and champagne could touch.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 03, 2005 10:38 PM (x3SIT)
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Booze and Percodan, always a wise choice!
Posted by: Darrell at November 04, 2005 09:18 AM (Q2qAx)
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Booze and Percodan...always a wise choice!
Posted by: Darrell at November 04, 2005 09:22 AM (Q2qAx)
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I was a wild girl. But mixing painkillers and alcohol isn't the same as mixing, say, tranquilizers and alcohol.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 04, 2005 10:24 AM (x3SIT)
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Well, That Was Refreshing.
I had my fourth/final wisdom tooth out this morning. I was too cheap to spring for general anesthesia (besides which, I thought I should remain awake to handle the challenging task of breathing through my nose).
Consequently, I'm just sitting here bored and hungry. Some questions come to mind:
1) Do they make "junior size" gauze squares that are less likely to constantly trigger my gag reflex?
2) How much blood can a person swallow before he/she gets nauseous?
3) How, exactly, am I supposed to eat with a big hole in my mouth? I mean, I get it that I'm supposed to go for stuff like yogurt and oatmeal, but how do I avoid getting food particles into that little canyon in the back of my mouth?
4) When they say, "use the Vicodin if the pain gets too strong," don't they really mean, "take a whole bunch of pills at once if you're so bored you can't stand it"? It kind of sounded like that to me.
I'll see if Ike can entertain me; it's going to be a long day.
Posted by: Attila at
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1-3 I can't help you with.
But 4 sounds good.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at November 03, 2005 01:46 PM (QriEg)
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Water Pic!
That's what they used to tell me when I had mine out. Eat soup! But stuff still gets in The Big Canyon! Squirt it out with a Water Pic!
It worked good.
OTOH, I had 'em out when I was 10 and 11, 2 at a time.
And that was quite some time back. So it may not be the Current Thinking.
Posted by: k at November 03, 2005 05:45 PM (M7kiy)
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Oh! Forgot some.
#1 - Take the given gauze pad and cut it down to size. If you're worried it's not sterile any more, dunk it in alcohol and let it dry out. Or, nuke it. Microwaves are totally underrated as quickie sterilizers.
#2 - Depends on the person. It is, however, perfectly ordinary animal protein.
#4 - Since my own health problems bore me to death, I can really relate to this one. Unfortunately, sometimes all you can do is sit it out. TV, reading, whatever, but your ability to absorb and use that stuff is limited because you're Not Well.
Whereupon, making time pass by sleeping through it is good, too.
As long as you don't have sleep disorders holding you back.
Sheesh!
Gets complicated, don't it though?
Posted by: k at November 03, 2005 05:53 PM (M7kiy)
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Actually, it's coming along fine. Though I do imagine if I'd had a general I could have had a nice nap this afternoon.
I've started cutting the gauze squares in half, which seems to work perfectly.
I don't have a water pik, but I seem to remember when I had some weird complication after oral surgery in my 20s that there was a little cheapie device they gave me for irrigating the hold. Maybe I'll ask when I go to the drugstore tomorrow. It might be my imagination, but I think some of the little Split Pea Pea Coats are floating around back there. (Unless it's that weird little flap of skin.)
I'm actually feeling good enough to go to writer's group tonight. Not that I want to; I'd rather stay home and feel sorry for myself. Oh, well
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 03, 2005 06:25 PM (x3SIT)
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No water pick!!! Dry socket, remember? Gentle rinsing with salt water. Just let the water sit there and roll over the socket.
I apologize for obsessing about your hole! Really!
Posted by: Darrell at November 03, 2005 10:18 PM (EihMh)
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Darrell, you'll need to watch that--you're getting close to a line, there, and if you fall off the edge of the earth there will be monsters waiting for you. Like my husband.
I'm permitted to rinse my mouth as of 10:30 a.m. tomorrow morning--no brushing or rinsing for the first 24 hours, although they didn't say I couldn't
drink water, and I do admit to letting it swish over Attila Canyon, due to my pathological fear of food particles lurking there.
It sounds like the dry socket problem could be related to overuse of the gauze--especially since I tend to chomp down on the dressing when it's there. Fortunately, the bleeding has subsided enough that I probably won't need any more gauze after tonight. So with a little luck there won't be dry socket this time around.
Posted by: Attila Girl at November 03, 2005 10:45 PM (x3SIT)
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I am told... It really was a genuine attempt to get your mind off your surgery. Unfortunatey, eight-grade humor is all I have in my arsenal. It's amazing how little a person can learn in the 37 years since.
Just try not to disturb what forms in that socket for a couple of weeks and you will do fine.
Posted by: Darrell at November 04, 2005 09:15 AM (Q2qAx)
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