I actually RETURNED a book to the bookstore. Because I didn't like it. I was something like 75 paages in and I could NOT continue. I did not CARE. So I returned it. I felt horrendously guilty for doing it. There was something WRONG about it.

But it's not like I read the whole thing and then decided I didn't like it...

But I did buy a new book that had me in tears on page 33. So I'm happy.

Oh there is just nothing like Grey's Anatomy on Sunday night. It would be better if it were accompanied by a glass of wine... but there's that whole 'being pregnant' thing. So it's a yummy Chai Latte for me.

And curses to all of you in the McDreamy Camp...

I heart George.

But Major Man has refused my request to name the baby Meredith if it's a girl.

And on a side note. I posted a comment on someone's blog and my, if they didn't get all mad! I am telling you, if you have really thin skin ... then write your thoughts in a diary. With a lock. Because, honey, you out here on the big ol' internet and some of us will actually USE that COMMENT button.

Oh, how I wish Canada would follow the same road.

"Before entering a mosque visitors are asked to take off their shoes," Costello said. "This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks don't enter the mosque. Before becoming an Australian you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objection to those values, don't come to Australia."

Please head on over here to view a beautiful tribute to Canadian Soldiers. (hat tip to small dead animals)

Canadians have lost 8 members of our military in this fight. Many Canadians do not know how many military members we have overseas. For the record there are over 2100 deployed. The majority are in Afghanistan taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Their fight is noble. As a Canadian I am very, very proud of them.

If you would like to join me in thanking them, send them Morale by Mail. You can send a letter or card to "Any CF Member" at these addresses.

There's a running joke in my family that I'm getting dumber by the pound. As my pregnancy progresses, I am less able to remember things, become scatterbrained, clumsey and ... worst of all ... at a loss for words sometimes.

For a writer that is tough. I find myself relying on MS Word for help with synonyms and I purchased the Flip Dictionary for those moments when I can't remember words or phrases.

But I think the greatest impact is on my reading. I was already an easily distracted person - generally I read in the tub and in bed - who had very little time to read. Now I am an easily distracted person who practically has to move her lips to read. Right now I'm reading The Known World and I'm having the most difficult time keeping up with the characters. I know I'm not this stupid and I keep trying to tell myself that it's confusing because it was written by a former accountant. But I know it's my brain. I know it's the changes I'm going through. I know that I really am getting dumber by the pound.

I just hope I recover.

I love it when there's a comment from someone I don't know! Woohoo!

A couple of days ago, I put up a Jahari window because several other bloggers I knew were doing it. And I said, "Basically it's a personality assessment and I'm so totally addicted to those things. I need to feed the addiction."

John responded, "You seem to need to know what others think about you. Why are other people's opinions so important? Sure some feedback will allow you to grow, but you say you are addicted to needing to know other people's opinions of you. I know another who have the same need, so perhaps you or one of your readers could explain it to me."

The Jahari window sort of is about other people's opinion, but it's also about finding out if my view of myself is true to what others see. It was also a cheater post because I'd seen about five others out there on the Blogoshphere, heh.

(And here's where we get into another of my favourite personality tests.)

I am an ENFJ. Taking the Myers-Briggs test several years ago helped me to finally understand why I was the way I was. It wasn't about what other people thought about me... it was that I wondered why I thought I should be more like other people. I could never find my perfect fit in life and I stumbled through several jobs, always wanting something just a bit different, just a bit more 'me'.

When I finally took the Myers-Briggs test, it was like a lightbulb went on and suddenly I knew that I wasn't 'wrong', mal-adjusted or crazy, I was just ME. Perhaps others grew up knowing exactly who they were, but I didn't.

One thing that is vitally important to who I am is living true to ones self. I simply cannot abide with my own self if I feel like I'm being fake, false or not stating my true opinion. And yet, at the same time, I do not like to be in conflict with others. I was truly meant to be a peace loving hippy I'm sure... if I wasn't such a right wing, traditional crackpot.

So I live my life with my feelers out there in the open, taking the temperature of the room for my own benefit. Do I fit in here? Is this home? Are these my people?

Lately the answers in my life have been a resounding yes.

But I still have that wee little addication.

Thanks Mr. Reynolds for your comment, you made me have to think about the whys in my life.

Oh. My. So.. the "new leader" of the Black Panter Party had this rally at the Danish Embassy in Washington DC.

There's video HERE of the 'protest' ... but I can't help but tell you the punch line. At the end of it, he starts talking smack about the DUTCH and their cartoons.

Hello, what? The DUTCH?

What do they have to do with the DANISH cartoons.

I try to listen to both sides of the story whenever there is a big controversy in world news. I will try my hardest to listen without prejudice to the viewpoints on either side. But in this fight I have yet to find anyone on the 'other' side who can even respectfully state their opinion.

For example, the Western Standard has chosen to publish two of the Muhammad cartoons. Read some of the comments on this post. While one side is respectful, the 'other' side is most definitely not, resorting to racial insults and slurs.

Do you know who I LOVE?

Well, besides my husband I mean... oh and my son....

I love GEORGE:

Grey's Anatomy is one of my most insane addictions. I love that show, I can't get enough of it. I end up surfing the show's web site and reading their writers blogs... and this little twist of George finally telling Meredith he loves her... well, I refuse to believe that it will backfire on him. Nope. Not gonna listen. Nope. George loves Meredith. Meredith should love George back. That's it. That's all.

Screw Dr. McDreamy. He chose to go back to his wife. He deserves her.

Now, I'm not quite ready to go posting on the show's forums or anything... but still. The show rocks.

Flemming Rose, culture editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, has an excellent piece defending his decision to commission and publish the Mohammed Cartoons.

If you support him, let him know: flemming.rose@jp.dk

Because we know how those who don't support him are telling him.

It may come as no surprise that I support military action in Iraq. Whether Canadians go or not. We live right next door to the United States and if they are attacked, we could very well be next.

These videos show you what the Main Stream Media (MSM) will not.

That people are proud of the soldiers who fight in Iraq. That despite the Cindy Sheehans, the Minnesota Democratic Party, the unhinged left... the majority of the real world wants to know that they are safe from terrorists, and that Iraq is the way to do it.

I got this from Java Diva, who got it from someone else. Basically you click on six words that you think describe me, and then after a bunch of people do it, we will see what my dominant percieved trait is.

GO HERE.

Basically it's a personality assessment and I'm so totally addicted to those things. I need to feed the addiction.

Good reads today:

Linda Sherwood has a great post up today.
Kira is getting married tomorrow.
Alesia Holliday posted on Literary Chicks today about bad song lyrics, the comments rock.
I also read The Blog of Death every day to learn about people I should have known in life.
Tiny Coconut is a new find.
And of course all the people over there ---------------->

Yes, I'm home today. I took a holiday day so I could get my writing done and here I am blogging but GG (yes, YOU) won't answer her phone at work.

That the only way to get rid of a sinus headache while pregnant is to watch shows that will make you cry until your nose runs.

Fortunately those shows are easy to find when you're pregnant. Heck, even a commercial will do in a pinch. Have you been watching some of those Olympics commercials? Those will make me down right weepy!

Moms are never at a loss for words when they talk to other moms. Diapers, bowel movements, vaccinations, new words, bad words, and eating habits; all tried and true topics of conversations. In fact, total strangers can suddenly find themselves being thrust into the most intimate conversations about what wonders lie inside a child’s diaper.

Recently a friend of mine accused me of being a snob; of looking down on those who did not have children. She stomped her foot and insisted that I felt she wasn’t nearly as worldly or as experienced as she was, simply because I had a child and she didn’t. And she insisted that there was an unspoken club that mothers didn’t want to admit to - some Phi Beta Placenta sorority that probably had its own decoder ring and secret handshake.

And I had to admit that she was right.

The mommy club does exist. If you herd 72 women into a room, they will, by nature, break off into small bands of the “Have Reared" and the “Have Not Reared” tribes. There are several core beliefs that separate the two bands. Let me lay them out for you:

A child is not a dog. Everyone from Oprah to your next door neighbour wants to empathize with you about your childrearing woes. Unfortunately there is no comparison between owning a dog and raising a child. The “I went through the same thing with my dog,” response will likely provoke the raised-eyebrow-forced-smile-head-nod and will separate you from the mommy herd immediately like a limping wildebeast. You cannot put your child out on the porch in the winter while you clean up the pee on the floor, nor can you tie him up in the back yard while you run to the store for milk.

Parenting is not an absolute. As card carrying mommies, we know how liquid life is, how the rules seem to change from day to day. How the blueprints we drew before having children, don’t fit the foundation we are now laying. They are often in direct contradiction.

A side-effect of a first-time pregnancy seems to be the belief that you actually know what you are getting into. I know well the look that crosses a pregnant woman’s face when talk about what my life was like before hand, and what her life may be like once the you-know-what has actually hit the diaper. It’s the “oh sure, that may be what it was like for you because you are a bad/unprepared/unrealistic/overbearing/uncontrolled mother. It will be different for me” look. This is why the first tenant of motherhood should be Never Give Advice To a Pregnant Woman. We are thinking of voting it in at our next AGM.

The number one priority spot is now eternally taken. It is something that the moms can’t explain to the non-moms. No matter what is happening and what is going on around you, your thoughts will be on how this will affect your children or on what they are doing. There isn't really a time in our lives when you can say "but think about your child." Um, yeah, we already have. It isn’t possible to just forget that they exist, or put them out of your mind for a night out. They are there, in your mind, you can hear their voices, see their smiles. That may be why we can’t focus on what you are saying about the horrible mom you saw in the supermarket the other day and what you would be doing differently.

Yes, we know our child is crying. We’ve all seen the looks you give us in the supermarket, on the airplane, at the mall, when our child is crying or screaming, or exhibiting passive resistance by flinging himself limply on the ground. And, really, we don’t much care that your shopping experience is being ruined, or that you think I should just “spank his butt”. Chances are that as frustrating as it is for you, it is exponentially more frustrating for us. This is after all, our child. And if you want peacefulness and calm, go to a spa. Or stay at home.

Junkyard Blog has a fun little video on the Cartoon Riots. You should watch, it's cute.

The best part? "Honorable Muslims - you've been had!"

Leaving the jam on the counter and putting the peanut butter into the fridge.

Turning on the wrong burners. Every time.

Giving your co-worker a 'pep talk' and having him give his resignation ten minutes later.

Losing my hair brush and comb every freaking morning. Without fail.

Wanting a hot bath and then only staying in for four minutes.

Crying at long-distance phone commercials, Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case, Grey's Anatomy, ER, random songs and movie trailers for Disney commercials.

It's just unbelievable to me that there are so many people apologizing for the Muhammad cartoons. Give me a break.

Do I freak out every time someone makes fun of Jesus? A sneer is about a violent as you'll get from me.

Now we find out that these cartoons were published in Egypt over five months ago. I see no riots and burning of Egyptian embassys. Right, they aren't considered "westerners".

By the by, the Muslim law that calls for the death of anyone who deigns to draw Muhammad actually applies TO MUSLIMS, not to NON-MUSLIMS:

"Denmark is being punished at the instigation of radical imams because twelve cartoonists have depicted Muhammad. However, these imams created their own three Muhammad images. They have even presented a French clown as being Muhammad. Because the twelve JP cartoonists are not Muslims, the Muslim blasphemy laws do not apply to them. But these laws do apply to the imams. Consequently, these imams deserve death. They – and no-one else – depicted the prophet as a pig – the highest imaginable insult in Islam." According to Paul Belien.

Were these Christians rioting, I would be ashamed to be Christian. I wonder what Muslims in the 'real world' feel about these events?

I read Michelle Malkin every morning, afternoon and sometimes evening... the woman is smart and fearless... I heart Michelle Malkin.

So the Islamic Extremists are "offended" by depictions of Muhammad, eh?

I wonder why the Americans, the Jews and the rest of society aren't offended by these cartoons from the Arab world?

Now those are pretty offensive. Note that no one is calling for anyone to kill anyone over these cartoons.

I'm also on board with Damian on this one.

Since I met my husband in Italy, this totally fits!

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?