Connect

So I read Inger's blog on a regular basis. She is a wonderful writer and always makes me think. I don't always comment because I don't have anything insightful to say, but I love reading her thoughts. I feel a kinship with her and I don't even know her. I feel a kinship with her son Liam too and am intrigued by the person he is.

All this may sound so weird, like I've really lost my ever-lovin' mind, but I can explain. See Inger is part of the trinity, so am I and so is Liam. We are the faces of adoption. I am a birth mom, Liam is an adoptee and Inger is his forever mom. I am not Liam's birthmother, I'm Gabby's birthmother. She was born almost eleven years ago.

I was beginning my senior year in college when I found out I was pregnant. To say it was an unplanned pregnancy is a gross understatement. I was a party girl; a free-loving spirit, sometimes angst-ridden mostly out for a good time, party girl. I went to a very small Catholic college and I had a wonderful circle of friends and I was pregnant with not a boyfriend’s baby, not even an acquaintance’s baby, but basically a stranger’s baby. What's a girl to do? I was raised by very Catholic, very right-winged parents who went through unplanned pregnancies with 2 other daughters. I was supposed to be the one who learned from their mistakes. I was supposed to be the "good" girl to follow in my parents footsteps; I was attending their alma mater after all. I was supposed to be a shining example of what great parents they were and here I show up pregnant my due date being the day I was to accept my diploma.

Those days after the stick turned were dark days for me. Being raised pro life and believing that life began at conception, I now had a kinship with all of the women who felt abortion was a good option. I had a real internal struggle over that decision. I can't say that I'm a supporter of abortion, but I know I can empathize with those who make that choice. You know that having a baby, or not having a baby, for that matter, will change your life forever. I decided that it would add insult to injury if I went against a basic belief of mine. I mean, how can you live with yourself if you go against something you've believed in with your whole heart? Besides feeling the shame of my pregnancy, I would then feel shame for being a hypocrite; going against my own moral compass? So I decided to tell my parents and face my future head on, whatever that would be.

The rest of the story is for another post. I just read Inger's blog and her struggles and triumphs as a mother and I feel connected to this stranger. How precious life is and how amazing it is that each choice we make can impact another human being, even when we don't know each other. It's a beautiful thing.

Drinking and Scouts

Trudy with the Dancing Booty wanted the exact recipe for the Moscow Mule.

So here it is:

Moscow Mule:
2 measures vodka
1 measure lime juice
4 measures ginger ale
1 lemon & 1 orange wedge

Almost fill highball or Collins glass with broken ice.
Pour in vodka and lime juice.
Add ginger ale and stir well.
Garnish with the lemon and orange slices.

Variation: Substitute ginger beer for the ginger ale.

A very good and refreshing drink.

I wish I had something interesting to post, but not much happenin' in my neck of the woods. I just got back from my kids' awards assembly. They were rewarded by me to a trip to our local candy shop. Right now I'm a golden in their eyes.

Tonight we get to watch the two older boys race their pine cars for the pine car derby through the scouts. I hope I don't offend anyone when I say that the Boy Scouts of America organization are full of weirdoes. When you look around the room it’s full of some of the biggest misfits this community has to offer. Considering that I live in Montana, that's saying A LOT! Subsequently, this will be my boys last year in scouts. After doing this for a whopping two years and going to pack meetings where the pack leader wants us to clap in a circle for "a round of applause" wink-wink; I've had enough!

I kind of thought that boy scouts would be a good extra-curricular activity for Craig and the boys, but not so much. Craig thinks it’s pretty lame and the boys aren't exactly enthusiastic about all of the related activities. I had trepidations about the BS of A because of their stance on gay den leaders, but now I've figured not only is the organization closed minded, but they're teaching my kids how to be complete dorks. As if anyone in my family needed help with that. Well, I'm off. I need to go feed my brood before the derby.

Here's the menu:
Uncle Bubba's Beer Biscuits
Steamed Broccoli with Butter and herbs
Garlic mashed potatoes
Grilled London broil
white and dark chocolate chip cookies

I'll be consuming lots of Moscow Mules while I cook. That way the derby might actually be enjoyable! Caio, Baby!

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Friendly Jester. Where You Lived: Alaska. How You Died: Decapitation.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

What the hell!?!? Decapitation? Yikes!! I guess I wasn't funny enough in my past life profession.

It's not rainy here, but it's a Monday and they can always get a person down. I have about 5000 loads of laundry and clutter in every room in the house. It's hard to get upbeat and motivated when that's what you have on the "To Do" list.

Tunnel of Love

I don't know what the hell is going on, but my hormones are on fire. Since I'm no longer on the pill or having babies or breastfeeding, I've been acutely aware of all the aspects of my cycle. I read somewhere that some women get horny during ovulation. It's all a part of that evolutionary thing of perpetuating the species, I guess. Anyway, holy god have I been one walking hormone lately!!!

I told Craig that maybe I'm dropping a couple of eggs instead of one. He's been pretty pleased with what he's gotten out of my sexual rampage, but he's a bit tired. AW! I also have been reading these erotic novels my sister gave me for my birthday which I KNOW has contributed to the week of non-stop sexcapades.

Normally I read romance novels--don't judge me! I have been known to read mainstream fiction as well, with an occasional biography. Anyway, I think romance novels are good for the sex life because they get you thinking in the right direction. Craig has definitely benefited from my reading because he has less work to do in the foreplay department. Anyway, these erotic books are...well...holy crap! They make me want to jump him when he walks in the door. It helps that they're not just straight porn; there's a plot of sorts. My only complaint is the anal sex. Yes, I said A-N-A-L S-E-X!

I consider myself pretty adventurous in the bedroom, but the anal sex has never been a part of my personal repertoire. It's never even occurred to me. These books have some explicit anal scenes and I have to say that it took me totally off guard. Regular romance novels don't have anal scenes. Shoot, they don't even call male and female sex organs by name. They use euphemisms like "his throbbing manhood" or her "womanly mound". I know, grossly pathetic! These erotic books are more straight forward, which is nice (wink, wink)! However when making references to the anal sex they used the euphemism "dark channel". WHAT?!?!?!?!? EWWWWWW!!! You had me going there, for a minute I was humoring the anal idea, but DARK CHANNEL? I don't think so. That just sealed the deal for me. Anal sex, no, uh-uh, not gonna do it!

So there you have it, I'm horny, but no anal sex for me! Please feel free to give me your feedback on the anal subject. Am I a prude? Is there some unspoken sexual conspiracy out there? Is everyone having anal sex except me? Don't get me wrong, it won't change the facts; no tube-steak, butt ramba going on in this house, but I just want to know the skinny on the subject.

Have a nice weekend, my reader friends.

Gym Ponderings

I was on the treadmill yesterday and couldn't help but notice the woman directly in front of my on the elliptical. It's hard not to notice the person right in front of you when you're on those machines...their ass is right in your face. Anyway, she was wearing a thong with her spandex workout pants. She had kind of a cottage cheesy ass so I was thinking, "Good for you getting back into the gym!" You know, trying to be judgmental and encouraging in one fell swoop. Well, the woman got off the machine and when I saw her profile I immediately saw that she was pregnant.

Now I felt like a real shit for judging her cottage cheese ass, because if ever there's a time you have a free pass to be out of shape, it's when your preggers. Any who, then I was thinking, "Who in the hell wants a thong up your ass when you're twelve months pregnant?" Maybe it's my bad memories of pregnancy hemorrhoids (I know...too much information) or maybe it's my aversion to thongs, I don't know, but it seemed odd to me. Besides, when I'm wearing my spandex workout pants they have a cotton panel in the crotch, I don't wear any undies. I wish the other chicks at the gym would take note. I think it looks repulsive to see there thong through the spandex.

On a slightly different note, here are five reasons I need to get back into shape:

5. I love guacamole more than any human should.
4. Holiday eating got way out of control this year.
3. I think my stamina during sex was better when I was down a few more pounds.
2. I am uncomfortable in my favorite pair of jeans.

...And the number one reason I need to get back into shape:
It's cheaper to get drunk when I have less body fat.

Have a nice weekend!

Moscow Mule's are Kickin'

I have a new favorite drink! I usually love vodka and cranberry with a lime twist and I also adore gin and tonic with lime. Well, I had a Bunko party the other night and I fixed a non-alcoholic punch with pineapple juice and ginger ale. I had a bunch of ginger ale left over, so I looked in my handy-dandy cocktail book for a drink with ginger ale.

The drink is called Moscow Mule. Apparently, it was created here in the States, despite its name. In the 1940's a guy here in the U.S. bought the rights to Smirnoff Vodka. He wanted to promote his new endeavor and got together with a pub owner who had a stock pile of ginger ale. They combined the two with a dash of lime juice and change-o-presto, the Moscow Mule was created. You use a lime and an orange slice for garnish and it's a great drink!

So, I've had a busy couple of weeks, which is why I haven't posted anything new. Yesterday I got back into the gym and then entertained a friend's husband and baby while she was in town working. By the time I picked up my boys from school and started the afternoon battle of homework, dinner, and bath time, I was ready for a drink. I have to say that I'm not a BIG drinker. I mean, I could put away the booze in college, but since I've had kids I don't drink too often. Apparently, last night I needed a little stress relief.

I got the kids to bed and made the first of SIX Moscow Mules. Craig decided to join me in my little pity party and was drinking bourbon and diet coke to beat the band. It always amazes me that after being together for so long, we still learn new things about each other. Booze being the lubricator that it is helped the night evolve into deep discussions about our families and our feelings about who and what we are to those families. It's great to bond like that and feel so close to each other. We had a nice time together and I'm grateful we still have the ability to do that. Having some drunk, good-lovin' afterwards wasn't bad either.

Needless to say, I woke up a bit sore from my workout at the gym and a bit tired from a night of drinking and debauchery with my husband. I looked at my blog and decided that I need to get my butt in gear with my posts. I had a post about the miners cued up, but I just deleted it because I felt like I had nothing new to bring to the table. I keep thinking about the one survivor and if he'll ever recover from this tragedy, both physically and emotionally. Talk about survivor's guilt, holy crap! Anyway, like I said I have nothing new to bring to that discussion.

My life right now consists of trying to get my over-eating butt back in shape and trying to watch my foul mouth in front of my kids. I'm not doing too hot at either endeavor, but I'll keep you posted. Hopefully, now that life has settled in again, I can get back to posting on a more regular basis. I hope you try my new favorite drink!