More weekend disparity.

When I log into my blogging account now there is a choice given to log into New Blogger or Old Blogger- somehow, my perception of the phrasing leaves me feeling like a ferret in a dustbin when I choice 'Old', and I picture the decrepit lady with the apple in Snow White; the gnarled, ashen skin and stringy silver hair.




Do you sense the bliss the first moment your body succumbs to the structurally supportive cotton candy welcome of bed and your skeletal muscles begin to liquefy. Do you sigh and stretch and moan out loud in the sensual glory of oozing across the sheets?



As a woman I came with special powers. I can go to bed a B-cup and wake up a size C. I can spend all Monday hoping my rings don't fall right off my fingers yet be unable to squash them onto my sausage stumps Tuesday morning. I can grow clean out of my pants over night.
Seeing me you would not call me fat. Seeing myself I am mildly disgusted. My body is morphing out of my control- I am fattening up like a pasture pony at the hay buffet. It is partly lifestyle. I am still on my feet for 8 or 9 hours every day at work, but no longer racing around after busy residents. Unlike in Maine, it is not entirely feasible here to do my grocery shopping on foot- that is, shoulder my backpack and canvas bags and hoof the two miles each way on a safe sidewalk.
Unable to find a local school or barn I am no longer taking Tae Kwon Do or riding horses. 97% of the group classes at my gym occur during my working hours.
And with nine months of celibate singledom under my (accidental chastity) belt, I am no longer 'on top' several times a week!
And my thighs are staging a coup.
They must be stopped!!!

:) :) :) :-P

Who says I don't get any exercise sitting at the computer for hours? Why every time a piece of candy falls on the floor, I need to bend over and search under the chair and table!
Thank you to:

the used kitty litter I dumped from on high for all going into the plastic bag.

the teen-aged (read as: several years younger than me) grocery store employee who refrained from scolding me when I literally climbed two shelves right next to him to get my box of Raw Sugar.

the gentlemen who hold the door open for me, and who graciously pass through first when I hold the door open for them.

my pajamas for making my body feel like pockets of heaven.

my kitties for being squishably adorable.

Needing to Spew

Everyone has his or her own set of beliefs about the human's place in this world- mine has me damn fucking pissed.
I visited nationalgeographic.com this morning , awed to see photos of the giant squid- albeit feeling badly for the smaller squid used to lure her and slightly awkward that she was ill led. Still, all appeared fine until I read the captioned paragraph and learned she had "put up quite a fight" about being taken onto the boat, and in the process had been killed. Chalk one up for science, huh? Screw that!
Students are discovering a way to turn cow dung into useable energy- Wonderful! Until I read that the bovine providers are kept inside for eight months to provide the poop.
Can we do nothing without destroying other living creatures?

Bad for horses

Your name: Your email: Friend's name: Friend's email: Attach a note for your friend: Send me a copy of this as well

Premarin Approximately 20,000 mares per year are used to produce Premarin (Pregnant Mare’s Urine) and the Premarin family of products, which include Prempro, Prempak-C and Premphase. These hormone replacement drugs are used to treat menopausal symptoms in women. Harvested for their urine, the horses suffer terribly for the production of this drug. They are kept continually pregnant in stalls too small for them to even turn around in order for their urine to be collected by filthy, bulky tubing attached to their bodies. When they can no longer reproduce quickly they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Their meat is then sold for human consumption or dog food. Approximately 11 million women take Premarin each year, making it the number one hormone replacement therapy drug in the world. Together with the six million women who use Prempro, the two drugs had combined sales of $2.1 billion in 2003. A Premarin foal hoisted for slaughter Photo Courtesy: Horse Aid Mare with a urine collection device strapped to her body Living Conditions At pregnant mare urine farms –- found in Canada and North Dakota -- mares in their third or fourth month of pregnancy are placed alone in narrow stalls. They are fitted with a short rope or chain, a harness, and a urine collection bag which scrapes their legs, causing sores. As a result of these restrictive devices, the mares are made virtually immobile. They can take only a step or two in any direction and are unable to turn around or lie down comfortably. Because farmers find sufficient bedding costly and bothersome to clean, the animals frequently have no protection from the cold concrete floor. Moreover, farmers restrict the amount of water given to the mares because water dilutes the concentration of their urine, making it less profitable. Their food supply is similarly inadequate, and they do not receive sufficient veterinary care. Most mares are never removed from the stall and allowed to graze. Deprived of exercise, they cannot utilize their natural athleticism and sociability, kick up their heels, stretch their muscles, or flex their joints. Reproduction The vast majority of Premarin mares give birth to a foal every year. Afterwards, they are almost immediately impregnated again. If they fail to become pregnant, they are sent to slaughter. If they do become pregnant again, their foals are taken from them at the premature age of just three to four months. Most mares naturally resist separation from their babies so they are often whipped, kicked, or beaten with an electric prod until they finally allow their foal to be taken. Foal carcass at a slaughterhouse Foals Some foals are killed immediately after birth. A few of the females will be raised to be "Premarin mares" and join the production line. Most will be sold and sent to feedlots to be fattened for slaughter, then transported by trailer to slaughterhouses and killed. Their meat will be shipped off to Japan, France, or other parts of Asia and Europe for human consumption. Transportation Like other "food animals," mares and foals are typically deprived of food and water during transport to the slaughterhouse. They do not have an opportunity to rest, nor do they receive veterinary care. Instead, they are crammed onto trailers so crowded that the smaller ones, particularly the foals, are sometimes crushed under larger animals. Those that are too weak to stand will literally be dragged off of the truck along with the animals that have died en route. Corporate Greed Thousands of horses suffer to produce Premarin even though several humane estrogen replacement therapies exist (see below under “What You Can Do” for alternatives). Why don't Premarin manufacturers switch to a cruelty-free alternative? Because they say it would cost them more money. The Law Animal cruelty laws and government regulations do not apply to the treatment of mares on Premarin farms. Instead, the standard of care is dictated only by an inadequate “code” which is poorly enforced. Thus the horses receive virtually no legal protection. Health Problems Common to Mares Used in Premarin Production Overgrown hooves • Dehydration • Hoof injuries • Leg injuries, sores, and lacerations • Swollen joints • Edema • Liver disorders • Kidney disorders • Premature death VIDEO CLIPS of our Undercover Premarin Investigation Premarin Investigation Videos High Bandwidth Warning: These Videos are Graphic in nature Click Title to Play Video Pee Barns Auctions Foals to Slaughter Feed Lots Slaughterhouse/ Corrals Butchering/ Transport Lagoons Premarin Investigation Videos Low Bandwidth Warning: These Videos are Graphic in nature Click Title to Play Video Pee Barns Auctions Foals to Slaughter Feed Lots Slaughterhouse/ Corrals Butchering/ Transport Lagoons What You Can Do: Make the Switch If you currently take Premarin, Prempak-C, or Premphase, ask your doctor about equally effective synthetic or plant-based alternatives, including Cenestin, Estratab, Estraderm, Estrace or Ortho-Est. Make Some Noise Contact Robert Essner, president and CEO of Wyeth-Ayerst, the maker of Premarin. Demand Wyeth produce a more humane product! Robert Essner Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Wyeth 5 Giralda Farms Madison, N.J. 07940-0874 Phone: (973) 660-5000 Fax: (973) 660-7026 CLICK HERE for a sample letter. However, keep in mind that personalized letters carry more weight. Please send a copy of the letter to LCA's Campaigns Department at our mailing address, fax, or via email at Campaigns@LCAnimal.org Write a letter to your local newspaper about the cruelty of Premarin production, and the safe alternatives available to women. Educate others about the suffering inherent in Premarin production. Go Vegan A healthy vegan diet can reduce menopausal symptoms, especially those diets supplemented by soy products containing plant-based estrogens. For More Information: June 2005 – the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the U.N.’s cancer research agency, has reclassified Prempro from “possibly carcinogenic” to “carcinogenic.” CLICK HERE to read more. The Women’s Health Initiative has done numerous studies on the health impacts of Premarin products. These studies have revealed the negative health risks associated with these drugs and the danger they pose to women's health. CLICK HERE to view the Women's Health Initiative studies. CLICK HERE to download LCA's "Know the Facts About Premarin Production" leaflet. CLICK HERE to view LCA’s Special Investigations Unit’s comprehensive investigative report of Premarin production in Canada. LCA Claims Victory for 40,000 Horses. CLICK HERE for more information.

Premarin

LIFESAVERS WILD HORSE RESCUE

The Heartbreak of Premarin Farms

Premarin is a drug whose name originates from a key ingredient, pregnant mare's urine. It is prescribed to alleviate the symptoms of menopause by substituting equine estrogens for those naturally produced by the human body.

According to 2000 statistics, there are approximetley 450 farms in Canada and 50 farms in the U.S., located in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Indiana with approximately 60,000 mares.

Pregnant mares used for Premarin production are confined to narrow tie stalls where they cannot turn or lie down for weeks at a time without release for exercise. This chronic lack of exercise can cause severe swelling of the legs, breakdown of the hoof structure and sets the stage for colic. They are harnessed to urine collection bags six months a year. The mares may be kept in pregnant for production for 8 to 9 years. At the end of their use, they are sent to slaughter.

60,000 grade foals, the by-products of this industry, have almost no chance to find homes as sport horses, working horses or pets. The majority will become casualties of slaughter. At two to five months old, the foals will be taken from their mothers and sent to auctions where they will ultimately end up in the slaughterhouse.

Each September, several rescue groups unite to purchase PMU foals from the auctions and from the pmu farms to save them from a horrible death. Lifesavers is working to raise funds to rescue another group of foals this year. The meat packers are paying more than ever for horsemeat due to the threat of Mad Cow Disease as well as Hoof and Mouth Disease infecting beef cattle, sheep and other livestock overseas. The prices have nearly doubled in one year, making it very difficult to raise enough money to rescue, house, vet care and transport the foals from Canada and the northern states.

The cost of saving each individual foal is more than $800. Many of the foals are draft breeds, although some of the PMU farms are now breeding their big mares with more popular breeds such as quarter horses and paints.

Lifesavers will help pay for the purchase, vet and transport of as many foals as possible this year. Once rescued and safely in the U.S., Lifesavers will have the foals delivered to our ranch and will find loving homes for these babies.

Our first two Premarin foal rescues are Dually and Diesel who will stay as Lifesavers ranch mascots to help educate visitors of the Heartbreak of Premarin Farms.

If you are a woman being prescribed "Premarin" which is manufactured by Wyeth-Ayerst as an estrogen replacement ask your doctor about synthetic alternatives such as:

Cenestin by Duramed, Climara by Berlex, Estrace by Mead/Johnson, Estratab by Solvay, Ogen by Upjohn, Ortho-Est by Ortho-Mcneil, Provera by Upjohn, Estinyl by Sherin, Estradrem by Ciba. All of these products are made from plant materials such as soy, yams and other vegetable sources.

The only way we can stop this atrocious treatment of mares and foals is to squelch the demand for the product. Please do not use any product made from Pregnant Mares Urine. The synthetic alternatives are safe, reliable and very effective. Most importantly there are no animals suffering from its production.

The above information was comprised from brochures printed and distributed by the ASPCA, United Animal Nations, and other various animal welfare websites and publications.

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a little Aricept please

After my shower today I had to recall my birth year, and count up...
because I forgot how friggin' old I am. 32, 32, 32... . For 5 months now.
And stuck on 31.
This is not the first or even the second time since July this has happened.

Dear Fellow Drivers,

Item 1: Random Braking
Please do not step on your brake pedal at intervals of 5 to 15 seconds when there is no change to the traffic in front of you or in your direction plans because when you suddenly brake for a good reason I think you are just faking again; plus this repetitive braking makes me want to poke your eyes out and step on your head and in general ruins my mood. If you are unable to work the gas pedal without losing control of it, stay home or pull over and get the hell out of my way.

Item 2: The light panels on your car
Newsflash: When it is sunset, or overcast, or raining, and you are driving a gray/black/brown/dark blue automobile, it is really freaking hard to see you when you don't have your lights on- I will be happy to help jump you or call AAA if you forget to turn them off and your battery dies. I will be unhappy to pick you out of my grill, or vice versa, if we collide because you blend into the freaking dark.
P.S. The blinking panels on the sides of the headlight areas are not holiday lights reserved for Christmas time- they are turn signals, to be used BEFORE you turn; slamming on your brakes and then turning on your blinker is not first choice, but acceptable as a last alternative.

Item 3: Tractor Trailers
Changing lanes into the path of a 65 mph oncoming tractor trailer within 10 car lengths, and particularly within- ahem- ONE car length, is death wish; Knock it off.
If you must get in front of a truck leave at least one car length for every 10mph of speed you have accumulated- otherwise there is a darn good chance the truck driver will jackknife trying to brake in order to save your stupid heinie.

Item 4: Motorcycle riders
Are human beings who don't want to be smooshed under your tires. Stay off their asses and don't pull out in front of them. They are wearing leather, you are wearing a car.

Item 5: Police cars
If you are driving within the designated speed limit and you see a police car, there is no need to slam on your brakes. There is also no need to drop 10mph below the speed limit. The speed limit on the signs is not an April Fool's joke.

more odds and ends

I just hit the 'run program' on our thermostat, and the heat kicked on, and I thought, 'What the hell is the program anyway?'
I just had the urge to photograph my laundry basket; or rather my empty basked and pile of clothes on the bed: the sideways basket, the fabric softened jumble of clean pastels appeared a cotton comfort cornucopia.
I feel an immediate kinship toward anyone else whose spine convulses at the first note, or mention, of, "The hills are alive with the sound of music... ." There was much Nutcracker, Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz, and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory in my childhood. I am maxed, done, overloaded. The only sound I want alive in my hills is squirrels and chipmunks rooting through the underbrush, thank you. Keep Julie Andrews the heck on up outta my camp site.
Peaches, onions, and tuna compliment one another in a green salad.

the meltdown of the melting pot

If Keith Ellison undertakes an oath on his Koran, rather than the Bible, will Christian churches everywhere begin to crumble brick by brick?
Does the country have it s Constitution in a bigger twist over this than it did over our rights to privacy being infringed upon?
I think I sorely misunderstood "Separation of Church and State" in elementary school. The Catholic Church has quite an effective voice in how this country is run.
When violence performed in the name of protecting the Koran is listed, I wonder if all the violence done in the name of the Bible has been neatly tucked aside in the hopes of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Or perhaps if the violence was done to protect 'Your' religious beliefs, then it is acceptable?

Besides, I would hold greater faith in an oath Ellison swears on the Koran than in any he takes on the Bible. What retribution can he fear if he swears on a book that holds nothing over him?

unrelated

I find your blog, dive in mouth open lungs unplugged rolling every word around my tongue and swallowing up your life. Your rib cage is spread, your secrets undefended. I feel like a spy and then I feel entrusted.


It giggles me up inside when my lover makes an excuse with his face and secretly smells my hair.


The real event would infuriate me and draw tears, but walk up to me and say;
"Kick the dog down the stairs and beat it with a stick."
and I will laugh.
What phrases or terms make you laugh every time?

Nice to meet you all over again

Recently reacquainted with an old schoolmate and crush-target I watch his face in amazement. Sometimes it seems the thirteen year old boy opens his mouth and a man tumbles out. The creases around his eyes fascinate me with a tenderness my own will never elicit. His chest hair nearly made me giggle.
What a wonder it is you all grown up sporting that beard!