my feet on the dash

Bad bad bad

Sorry I've been so quiet.
I'll be back as soon as I'm back to being myself.
Things are very sad here at the moment, in my family.
Thank you for understanding.

My sisters' wares on ETSY.COM

My sister's wares on ETSY.COM, originally uploaded by redmeg8.

My sister, Kate, has made some great stuff and has them for sale on etsy.com complete with offering free shipping and has put everything on sale for Xmas - you should check it out!

www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5246475

Beautiful scarves, earrings, necklaces.... all handmade by her and her beau Mason.

My little sister, Erin, and her friend... Erin, are also making some great stuff - bags, wristlets, etc.

They don't have their etsy.com store set up yet, but, you can get in touch with them thru Flickr, or me. :)

He did it!! Woo hoo!!

He did it!! Woo hoo!!, originally uploaded by redmeg8.

Eric finished his NaNoWriMo quest tonight, finishing a 50,000 word novella in the month of November. I am sooooo proud. :)

Third year in a row.

My Mom had knee replacement surgery today...

My Mom had knee replacement surgery today..., originally uploaded by redmeg8.

And that's about the long and short of how I feel :)

Today is Kate's B-Day! Woo hoo!

Today is Kate's B-Day! Woo hoo!, originally uploaded by redmeg8.

Kate is in Texas and I am not, but I wish I was because today is her big 2-9! I think this photo more than adequately conveys our relationship... even at a young age. ;)

Me: "Oh crap. What is she gonna do next!?"
Kate: "Watch out people! I'm cute, gimme all your stuff!"

Miss you, Kate!

Our wedding slideshow!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAAYYAYAYAYA!!!! This former bride is over the moon today!
Our incredible photographer just sent us notice that she blogged about our wedding today and the slideshow of our pictures is done (click the picture above to see it)!

I am BEYOND over the moon!! :D :D

A survey that's actually worth something...

An original survey by thumbscre.ws found on one of my favourite blogs: DoctorMama.

1. You can travel back in time and visit yourself at [select all applicable] 10, 16, 22 and 30. What would you tell your various temporally-disjointed selves (any hokey "buy stock in Microsoft" replies will be taken out back and accused of antitrust violations)?

10: You totally have this unique look going on. Don't listen to other people. Oh, and you are SO not fat at all.
16: Don't fall so hard. He's going to damage you and it's gonna last for at least 16 years.
22: Don't let him back in. You'll crack if you do and it will taint England. Oh, and since I'm not going to talk to you again until we're 30, DON'T get married in 2001.
30:  Don't work on your PhD - take the leap to med school.

2.  Analogy Tyme:  if your drug of choice was an item which could be purchased at Home Depot for under $150, which one would be be, and why?

Tricky... hmmm.... a "bowl" style sink of frosted blue-green glass?

3.  You can reanimate and spend several hours (say, sharing some Batter-Dipped Choco-Cheesecake Nibblers at the local crap-on-the-walls chain restaurant) with one of the following individuals - which one would you choose, and why?

- A deceased relative of whom you were moderately (but not overwhelmingly) fond.
- A randomly-selected serial killer of moderate notoriety.

Family, for sure. The genealogist in me couldn't resist that.

4. Think of your most esoteric, potentially-humiliating sexual fantasy. Think of another, equally-odd (but completely fabricated) fantasy. Describe them both without identifying which is which.

"in the rain"
'in a "shower"'

5. What is the typical prison sentence for the most legally-questionable act you've ever committed?

Wow - I don't know. A couple of years, maybe? Probation?

6.  Think of the worst physical pain you've ever experienced (childbirth, ping-pong ball-sized kidney stones, atomic wedgie). Think of the worst emotional pain (depression, divorce, disaster). Think of the person who is closest to you in the world (child, spouse, sibling). You must decide whether they will suffer a comparable degree of physical OR emotional pain. If you choose the former, you will be required to inflict it yourself.  If you choose the latter, it will occur without any involvement on your part.  Which do you choose?

Pain. Eric's a bad-ass and could handle it. No one could handle the disastrous emotional clusterfuck that's been me over the course of things.

7. You're granted the power to uncover the truth behind one very, very big secret of the modern age - who shot Kennedy? What the hell is the deal with celebrity Scientologists? You will not be permitted to share this knowledge with anyone, ever - it will be solely to satisfy your own curiosity. What do you choose to learn?

Well, if it has to be the modern age, I'd want to know if there is a Roswell cover up and I'd wanna see the spacecraft :)

8.  While purchasing some plantains at Tienda Mexicano, you find The Lord.  You discover that he is a cruel, arbitrary Lord, as well as one who has read entirely too many "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.  He takes you outside, sits you down on the hood of his El Camino, hands you a can of Jugo de Coco and informs you that you will never see any of your current loved ones again. They will continue to live their lives, just magically sans any awareness of your continued existence. By way of compensation, you'll be allowed to determine your own natural lifespan. You may elect to die instantly, live to 120 or any option in between. What do you choose? Why?

This would have been different in times past, but, I'd choose to die. I'm just too happy with my man and love my family and friends way too much.

9. You are given the opportunity to sample human flesh. Your enjoyment of this unusual entree will not be the result of any amoral acts - the source of your Bruce Burger (Tim Tartare?  Francois Filet?) will be an individual who has died of unrelated causes. Your consumption of said flesh will not be as a result of starvation, nor as a condition of some sick wager ("Take a chomp out of Lloyd's thigh and I'll give you season tickets to Six Flags Over Highly Unlikely Transactionville").  Yea or nay?

Sure. I've got no issues with that.

10. You are given a Memory Dustbuster. It looks like a regular Dustbuster, circa 1989. However, when held against the human skull, it has the ability to suck out specific memories. Like many small appliances, this one has gotten a bit finicky in its old age. It no longer removes single memories... for each one which is removed, an equal-but-opposite second memory is also vacuumed up. You can suck out a particularly awful recollection... however, you'll also lose a happy memory of comparable intensity, and you have no say in which one it happens to be.

Do you use this device?  How many times?

Nope. I hate the painful parts of my past, but, they aren't worth giving up any happy memories for. Hmm... maybe I should ponder my answer more & listen to it...

11.  The Enormous Glowing Sphere of Influence Equation: how many of the following events have occurred in your life for which you've felt personally responsible? By this, I mean that the event in question would definitely NOT have occurred were it not for one or more conscious decisions on your part. Do NOT include events which were confined strictly to your professional life - thus, lawyers/doctors/matchmakers/executioners/etc. should use their discretion on this one.

- Marriages: 2
- Divorces: 1
- Births/adoptions: 0
- Deaths: 0
- Involuntary commitments (mental institution/rehab/prison): 0, that I know of
- Relocations of over 1,500 miles: 0  (750 miles, yes)
- Ascension to a level of fame/renown/power sufficient to interest/impact more than 10,000 individuals: 0, that I know of. Maybe I helped a few people when I was teaching...
- Change in income level of +/- 50%: at least 2 in either direction for a total of 4
- Formal adoption/renunciation of religious faith (or other organized belief system): hmm... maybe 1 or 2? Not sure on that one.

12.  An exercise in writing, randomness and self-reflection (when commenting/posting, only include item "C"):

A.  In exactly 25 words, describe the thing you're proudest of.
B.  In exactly 25 words, describe the thing you're most ashamed of.
C.  Combine the odd-numbered words from A. with the even-numbered words from B.

I am proud of my in talents to that past stuck against this go for how twelve I the hurt few husband were of particularly.

Today is one of my favourite days

Weee!, originally uploaded by redmeg8.

 

New wedding picture!

IMG_6468.jpg, originally uploaded by Anne Ruthmann.

Our amazing wedding photographer, Anne Ruthmann, is working on getting our pics done and I just found one on Flickr that was just uploaded for a blog post. :)

Awesome!!!!

Mom tuning the bass before a concert

Photo on the right: Mom tuning the bass before a concert, originally uploaded by ern the ferle.

My sister took this awesome photo of my Mom last weekend. I see this and find it absolutely biographical of her. I mean, my Mom has many interests, but, this one has followed her throughout her life.

The picture on the left was taken in the early 1960's when my Mom was a member of the accompanying orchestra for the Belles of Indiana. Awesome, huh?