For those of you who didn't vote for President Obama...

I came across this article today on msnbc.com, which might make those of you who did not vote for President Obama feel a little bit better about him being elected.

Apparently al-Qaida leaders are concerned about President Obama's growing popularity among Muslims around the world. It's hard to convince Muslims that America hates Islam when the president is popular with people who practice Islam. Fewer Muslims in Middle Eastern countries who feel threatened or hated by the U.S. and it's president is definetly a good for our safety.

Oh, and I am still so excited about President Obama!

That special time in a young kitten's life...

Some of you might have heard of our cat, Charlie. We got him about 6 months ago from my parents in Dallas. He had been part of a litter that was found just a few weeks old whose mother had been killed. We brought him home and he’s been an awesome little terror since (http://amhcarroll.blogspot.com/2008/07/help-us-name-our-new-kitten.html).

He was unfortunate enough to not have a name for about 2 months, until out of the mouth of Bethany (http://abcdugganfamily.blogspot.com/), it became Charlie (http://amhcarroll.blogspot.com/2008/09/out-of-mouths-of-babes.html).

Charlie is a very spastic cat, with no attention span. We’ve actually thought maybe he has some mental problems. Not the same as my first cat, Madison, who has some very interesting stories (taking a ride in the dryer, playing with fire, farting on Amanda, biting Amanda while pretending to sleep, and so forth); but something. Anyway, we were hoping that when we got him neutered, that he would settle down and remained focused a bit more.

So last week when I took him in to get the snip-snip, we were interested to see what changes would happen in him. We were in for a surprise.

I dropped him off at the vet, and told them I thought he might have a slight urinary infection (since he was spending a lot of time giving that area special attention). They told me they would check it out, but if he had one, they couldn’t do the procedure.

About mid morning, I get a call from the vet…not a technician there in the office, but the vet himself. He told me that everything was fine, but the he wasn’t going to be able to perform the neuter today. Thinking he did indeed have an infection, I asked why not. He said, “Because while we were preparing Charlie for the procedure, we found out that he’s a girl.”

I burst out laughing.

So apparently, Charlie is a girl. The vet said that he…er, she…was about to go into heat which is why she was spending so much time cleaning the area (and it also explains why our dog Emma was wanting to do inappropriate things to her all of a sudden…that’s a good story in itself). Of course, we went ahead and had her spayed.

The funny thing is, Amanda and I had been talking just the night before how small Charlie’s testicles are.

I can’t help but think what transpired in the vet’s office when they discovered the oversight. I can see some poor Tech shaving Charlie’s area thinking, “I know they’re around here somewhere.”

All in all, we’ve had a pretty good time with this event; and Charlie has been very cuddly the past week. I guess it makes sense though. I mean, he did have some organs removed, not to mention he ‘s had to deal with the fact that he had those organs to begin with. Very traumatic for a kitten.

Anyway, thanks for listening, and remember to “have your pet spayed or neutered”…just be sure you do the right one.

-Marcus, SGB

what's playing on my ipod monday..

There were a lot of good performances yesterday at the Inaugural Celebration. My favorite was this performance of "A Change is Gonna Come" by Bettye Lavette and Jon Bon Jovi. He is a big Obama supporter (as if I need another reason to like Bon Jovi), even hosting a fundraiser for him last year at his home in New Jersey.

Enjoy.

I'm so excited...

President Elect Obama takes office on Tuesday and I am super excited about it. I’ve looked forward to January 20th 2009 since the November 2004 election! The fact that I am enthusiastic about the person taking President Bush's place is a great bonus!

In general, I am so looking forward to having a president who doesn’t divide up the entire world into two categories good/evil or us/them, one who is not so ideological and divisive, but is instead practical and willing to find common ground with others, one who will uphold America’s basic freedoms and values instead of making a mockery of them in the name of fighting the war on terror. In short, I think it will be nice to be proud of my president instead of being exasperated or embarrassed by him.

(I do have to say that President Bush has done a fabulous job during this transition period. His administration has worked really closely with the incoming administration.)

Here are some specific things about the incoming Obama administration I am already super excited about:

1. President-Elect Obama’s nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder Jr, told a Senate committee that waterboarding is torture. This is something that members of the Bush administration refused to admit. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28672011/

2. The House and Senate are already working on a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and it should be ready for Obama to sign shortly after he takes office. President Bush vetoed a similar bill twice. CHIP is a joint state and federal program that provides low cost health insurance to children whose famlies make too much to qualify for Medicaid but can not afford private health insurance. According the U.S. Census Bureau, 11.7% of children in this country have no health insurance. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28542769/

3. Obama has promised to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Actually John McCain promised to close it too). And here’s a really radical thought, he is actually going to charge the people held there with crimes and make them stand trial or, if there is not enough evidence, release them.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28624679/

I know that many of you are not nearly as excited as I am (I wish we could all be thrilled about the outcome of every election), and you may have found this post annoying and are eagerly awaiting January 20th 2017, but I can't help it. I am just so dang excited!!!

Random Wonderings

Here are some things I wonder about:

1. Why do they still make regular Oreos? Seriously. Is there anyone who prefers them to the double stuffed Oreos?

2. How is it that I can buy a 60 pack of pony tail holders or emery boards and then months later not be able to find one? Where do they go?

3. Why does my dog Emma sniff my knee pits every time I change pants? And if she were taller would she sniff something else instead?

4. How did Marcus and I not know for 6 months that our cat Charlie was in fact a female cat? We are not new to cat ownership.

I was not imagining things...

A few years ago my doctor switched me to the generic version of my birth control pills. After taking them for 2 or 3 days I noticed that I was angry. All the time. And not just a little upset, I mean angry. I had a hard time not yelling at Marcus. Which was weird because Marcus rarely annoys me and I’m not a yeller.

Anyway since the generic pills were the only thing I had changed recently I went back to the name brand and within a few days I felt like myself again. I thought that maybe I just got a bad batch of pills or something.

It turns out though, that generics may not be an exact replica of the name brand drug. The most common difference it that they release the drug into your system more quickly or slowly than the original name brand drug. I just read an article in my O magazine about it. Here is a link to it on the website.

Who knew?

Gaza Crisis

Here is a link to an abcnews story that includes several agencies that do humanitarian work in Gaza http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=6604378&page=1



I chose to donate to Mercy Corps because I could direct my donation to the Gaza crisis (they also have several blog entries from teenagers in Gaza), but there are several more to choose from.



Since the fighting started more than 250 children have been killed in Gaza, and since 56% of their populaiton is 17 or younger the number of childern killed will probably go higher.

I am blessed..

So I need to brag on my husband. Which I don’t often do because it seems pretty obvious to me that he is awesome, so no need to brag.

I woke up in the middle of night last night vomiting. Marcus ran in the bathroom, held my hair back, grabbed a wet washrag for my neck, got our step stool for me to sit on so I wouldn’t have to sit on the floor, cleaned up the toilet when I was done, and helped me get back to bed. Then he did it all again when I woke up 2 hours later.

So basically my husband is awesome, but the downside is that this sets the bar very high for me. I am prone to stomach ailments and have thrown up many times since we’ve been married. Marcus is sweet like this every time.

I on the other hand have a hard time not vomiting when someone else is, so when he is throwing up I am pretty much useless. Fortunately he does not get stomach bugs very often.

In fact the very first time he vomited after we were married was at his brother Chris’ house. I didn’t even know he was sick since he vomited in their master bathroom (he was sleep walking, all in all Chris and Stephanie were very lucky that he made it to their bathroom in his sleep)

So anyway I apologize for the vomit laden post, but I just wanted to share how very blessed I am.

I love the library

I’ve always been a big reader and I love bookstores and buying books, but since I left ACU we haven’t had quite as much money for extra things like books, so I discovered the library.

Actually, I have yet to step inside the Abilene library. I can pick out a book online from any Abilene library branch or college library in town and within a day or two it will be at the main branch downtown waiting for Marcus to pick it up for me. (He works right by the library).

It has worked out really well. The only problem is that lately I’ve been into novels set in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and wouldn’t you know it, the Abilene libraries don’t have very many of those.

Fortunately I got 4 of those books for Christmas, so I’m set for a few weeks at least. Hopefully by then my India kick will be over and it’ll be back to the library.