Dear Editor,

I was born in the United States, which makes the Constitution my birthright. Because I live in South Dakota and I happen to be female, my 4th amendment right to privacy doesn't apply? Referred law 6 might talk about termination of pregnancy, but I see it as a termination of the rights set forth by our Constitution. The term abortion should not be used by politicians, it's not their business what goes on in a doctor's office (not even if you're getting a vasectomy or a prescription for Prozac). We're not talking about *just* a medical procedure here folks, we're talking about denying equal rights to over half our population because they happen to carry XX chromosomes instead of XY. Please, please, please protect all of our Consititutional rights for ALL of our citizens by standing up and saying that women ARE guaranteed the same protection and vote NO on 6.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just submitted it, I'll let ya know if it's published...

yeah, that, again!

Wednesday, October 18th, 2006
Gemini (May 21 - Jun 20)

You might not want to undertake any sort of physical labor today, for you could easily overdo it, leaving yourself exhausted. Instead of being so careful with your feelings, try letting go of them without attachment to any specific outcome. This frees the spirit to feel the nurturing energy all around.

In the middle of my Pity Party...

this horoscope comes today:
You might learn something today that sounds bad at first, but proves beneficial in the long run. It's best not to react with your own fears, for that could just make it worse. Instead, listen carefully to what you are told and then do your best to integrate this new information into your perspective. Flexibility may not come easily now, yet it's exactly what you need.
***************************
Flex, Flex, Flex, Flex... we'll see...

Lonely Bones

...it's my moon time! My face is a mess and I'm bawling all the ding-dang time!! I think it's all the tears I was scared to cry in the first few months, when I was so raw and fragile and needing to be so strong and so on top of every freaking thing in my world... they're here now and they're not afraid to fall. Tim McGraw has been making me cry a lot lately (as you may remember, he's married to Mitch's second choice for a wife, Faith Hill) with two amazing songs:
We Carry On

And we carry on
When our lives come undone
We carry on
Cause there's promise in the morning sun
We carry on
As the dark surrenders to the dawn
We were born to overcome
We carry on

Beyond the picket fences and the oil wells
The happy endings and the fairy tales
Is the reality of shattered lives and broken dreams
We carry on

It's the family that grieves for a lost loved one
It's the soldier who won't leave til the job is done
It's the addict trying to turn his life around
It's picking yourself off the ground when you've been knocked down


& Live Like You Were Dyin'

[Chorus]
I went sky divin',
I went rocky mountain climbin',
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull name Fumanchu.
And I loved deeper,
And I spoke sweeter,
And I gave forgiveness I've been denying,
And he said someday I hope you get the chance,
To live like you were dyin'.

He said I was finally the husband,
That most the time I wasn't.
And I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all the sudden goin' fishing,
Wasn't such an imposition.
And I went three times that year I lost my dad.
Well I finally read the good book,
And I took a good long hard look at what I'd do
If I could do it all again.
And then.
[Chorus]

Like tomorrow was a gift and you've got eternity
To think about what you do with it,
What could you do with it, what can
I do with with it, what would I do with it.

And if you don't know either of those, but you'd like a good cry, check out my page at MySpace (link is in that link list over there or here) and listen to In My Daughter's Eyes by Martina McBride... we'll cry together!
It's late, I think I'm gonna lay in bed and get started...

Have you ever?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula It belonged to my friend Angel in LA, a long time ago.
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone hee hee hee, mostly with my kids ;)
08. Said “I love you” and meant it I'm so blessed I get to do this every single day!
09. Hugged a tree There are trees that smell like cinnamon, Ponderosa Pines, I got to hug and sniff with the Lovejoys and the Traaseths and (abi)gail, our guide.
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise my 20 year HS reunion, most recently :)
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards) Go Dodgers!
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables not by choice; I think I'd appreciate it more, now, as a choice
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars Me and Hayden and Saylor, 'round the fire at the Folk Fest, most recently anyway
20. Changed a baby’s diaper too many to think about, mine and op's
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower and I got jibbed for being a "city kid" for my oooohhhhs and aaaaaaaahhhhhs.
23. Gotten drunk on champagne and it really does tickle!
24. Given more than you can afford to charity and have never regretted it!
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope I feel really small!
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment okay, I confess, it was during Mitch's funeral, the second one, right when the horrific singer started in with "Ave Maria" -- Luckily, everyone thought I was sobbing as I fled the chapel!
27. Had a food fight the only thing fun about summer camp
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger yeah, but he wasn't a stranger for long ;)
30. Had a snowball fight snoball season is right around the corner!!
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can Once my boyfriend snuck into my apartment to surprise me and scared the beejeebers right outta me!! I woke up several folks in the building!!
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster My life IS a roller coaster!! and I like the mechanical kind, too :)
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking ALWAYS!!
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day We'd also do weird things like sing everything for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment MOST EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF MY -recent- LIFE!!
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk Happy birthday Jeremy!
42. Had amazing friends I *have* amazing friends!!
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales with the aforementioned amazing friends!
45. Stolen a sign It was Highlander Drive, I was young and wanted to marry Christopher Lambert so my name would be diana lambert-lambert!
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip lots and lots and lots of them, I recommend them, they're fun!
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach and it's just as beautiful as they portray it in all the movies!
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love that's actually a sad thought, but some folks just don't take long to make a deep impression in my life.
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs okay, Mitch actually did it, but I had alphabetized CDs once :)
57. Pretended to be a superhero uh, like everyday!! :::du du du, Suuuuper MOMMMY:::
58. Sung karaoke Hannah gave this gift to me!!
59. Lounged around in bed all day oooooh, and not very long ago either... someday I want to have a HAPPY day in bed all day; there's a concept!
60. Played touch football but Ididn't like it very much!
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain I just like to kiss, the weather isn't gonna stop me!
63. Played in the mud another cool summer camp memory
64. Played in the rain every time it rains!!
65. Gone to a drive-in theater one rare happy childhood memory; I take my kids often, it's only 14 miles away!!
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken It helps to believe hearts can't break....
69. Toured ancient sites petroglyphs, paha sapa
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married and LOVED it!
73. Been in a movie two student films, ya never know who's gonna be the next Oliver Stone!!
74. Crashed a party and partied with the coolest people!
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch is there any other way??
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo three, so far...
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason there's always a reason, like what a cool chick I am, but on offbeat days they're even more special
84. Performed on stage ~imagine that! ~
85. Been to Las Vegas got married there!
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmm
88. Kissed on the first date xoxoxo
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently trilingual: asl, spanish, english
95. Performed in Rocky Horror I AM COLUMBIA!
96. Raised children - still raising!
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over thinking it's time to do just that, very, very soon!
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking it was amazing!!
103. Had plastic surgery haha, not what you think! reconstructed jaw by plastic surgeon.
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived a few actually, I took the hint and started appreciating my Life.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray a stingless one at SeaWorld
110. Broken someone’s heart if, indeed, hearts could be broken, I imagine I'd be responsible for a few of them...
111. Helped an animal give birth helped? more like witnessed
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone only my jaw
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol all three!
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse and I miss riding...
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi EAT SUSHI ON FRIDAY THE 13TH IN HONOR OF FREYA, I just had some the other day :)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper a few times, twice for administering CPR on a neighbor, weekly when I took part a Dakota Panel somesuch, and most recently in an article with Hayden about homeschooling.
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about Christine, on the first night we met... may have led to the demise of her marriage...
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach In Bakersfield, they really are HUGE!
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey because I wanted to!
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read Only ONE?
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating I didn't expect this thing to be so full of summer camp memories!! Killed and ate chickens in the naaaaaaame of jeeeeeesus!
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language yeah, that's where ASL comes in handy!
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream Right now!
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care Mitch
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair It's got purple in it right now!
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident by my very presence! no, not really, but maybe!
150. Saved someone’s life my neighbor across the street, using CPR

Lambert

I'd never seen this cartoon before and I'd lived with the last name for almost 19 years before Eddie Enderle sang "Laaaaaaambert, the sheepish lion" to me for the first time!! Tonight the video randomly popped up on YouTube and I finally got to watch my namesake. So go grab that cuppa and curl up with Lambert and me for the next 8 minutes -- worth it, I swear :)

life

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was duty.
I acted and behold, duty was joy.”

---Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

The Peace Movement

Pretty dang cool that I got John Lennon tonight... I just returned from a new group at church, Peace Movement. I'm really hoping it will become like our Peace Circle in Rapid City used to be: a safe, calm place to get centered and peaceful-like with our intention and our individual lives. We're collectively reading "Peace is the Way" by Deepok Chopra. It was heart-warming to take turns reading, as adults; we got thru the first chapter and a half... I think we're meeting again in two weeks, I can't wait!!

Hey, I'm John Lennon!

Which Awesome Hippie Are You?

You are John Lennon. You become so popular that you have the power to make political and societal influences. You're a hippie at heart, however, and your own spirituality means the most to you. For as celebrated as you are, you keep down to earth in your beliefs. Keep it real.
Take this quiz!








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Poetry floating to the top...

the other day I sat in the car and wrote two little bits about shoes, all because a woman walked by in a pair of really cool boots. I'll dig them out and share... I don't know if they're meant for poems, essays or spoken word performance... we'll see. Maybe they'll just show up in my book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poor kid's view on shoes: Fashion Boots
I was 8 and I really, really wanted some cool, zip-up fashion boots.
And I got them.
They were the really, really cheap, Payless version, but I didn't care.
I loved them.
I wore the proudly and often.

And then they peeled and they weren't cool anymore.
They were crumbly and gross.
Definitely NOT cool.

They were the only shoes I owned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goodwill Shoes for Xmas
Every year, we'd get that letter, the one listing the participating merchants for the Shoes for the Poor Christmas-thingie from Goodwill Industries. Mostly I remember Brown's Shoes, right downtown, next to the flower shop on 11th and Main. This was not where we shopped any other time of the year, but come November, I got to walk into a clean and quiet store, filled with the smell of leather and the sight of more and different shoes than I could ever imagine. I swirled stories with the shoes, picturing what I'd do when with whom wearing, always, the beautiful appropriate shoes.
Every year, I'd cry when I'd out grow my Xmas shoes.
Oh and I still have an affinity for brown paper lunch bags filled with an apple, and orange and peanuts; one came with each pair of shoes.