So are the stains of our lives...

Today I am wearing on my shirt: toothpaste...coffee...cat hair. You know you're a mom (and a working mom) when your business wear suffers as a result of your scurrying around like mad to start the day - and you just shrug and realize you're doing your part to keep the stain remover companies in business.

One Sunday we had two visitors, which is unusual, and I wasn't at all prepared to have company - the house was a mess and I hadn't put any effort into my appearance, thinking I wasn't even going to be leaving the house. You know that's one of my petty annoyances, right? The first visitor was an old friend of my husband's who has always had the worst luck (much of which he makes himself). He got out of the Army and was working for a defense contracting company which did not get it's contract renewed, so he was terminated. While he was on vacation! He doesn't have a cell phone apparently (seriously, dude, that puts you at a technological disadvantage to most middle schoolers), so no one was able to contact him and he went into work as usual when he got back, only to find out then that he had no job to come back to. Then he wondered why he got a $20 pay check. Turns out the company had docked his pay for the vacation time he had used but hadn't quite earned yet. So he's got a wife and five kids (four of his own and a nephew he's helping to raise) living in another state while he tries to look for opportunites here. Not the most well though out plan in the world, is it? Our second visitor was our new neighbor from a couple of houses down. She's an elementary school teacher with a grown son, and seems very nice. She's very friendly, which is great for other really social and friendly people like my husband. I just end up feeling awkward. She ooohed and ahhhed over our house (even in its cluttered and unfinished-project riddled state), since she's in the process of fixing up hers, which she got at a bargain because nothing had been updated since the previous owners lived there. It still has the old oil furnace and window units instead of central air, and has the original terazzo like our house does, so when she's unpacked she wants us to come over and check it out. Actually, she invited us over Sunday evening, but I hedged. Like I said earlier, I hadn't planned on stepping foot outside of my front door...hopefully I didn't come off as rude by saying no.

My husband has been all hustle this week with projects. He has out-patient sinus surgery next week which will put him out of commission for a while. He won't be able to lift heavy things or do anything remotely strenuous for at least two weeks after next Tuesday. The surgery is scheduled for the first day of school, so I'll have to get up extremely early to take him to the hospital, then drop my son off for his first day of 1st grade, and then go home and wait for the call that my husband is out of surgery and can be picked up. Then pick up my son from school. This is the reason I took the entire day off. I really didn't feel like trying to juggle work time in between all of that. It sounds hectic enough...

M will visit me this Friday. Our plans are a little...seat of our pants. The original plan was we were going to have a night in, full of DVD watching, snacking, and copious drinking. But there is a party I've been invited to at a local bar that night, which may involve members of the Beach Boys and Flock of Seagulls showing up, as well as other local celebrities and music industry folks. So maybe we'll watch some DVDs and snack until midnight, then zoom across town to see if we can get our pictures taken with semi-famous people. Then come back and drink our livers into total submission. Yes? No? Indifferent?

And I had to point out, mostly to M, who sometimes misses out on certain types of news, that our ever illustrious and forward thinking Commander in Chimp (sorry...couldn't resist) is considering altering the Endangered Species Act to allow federal agencies - not scientists and wildlife organizations - to determine whether construction of dams, highways, and other "infrastructure" projects will be harmful to threatened or endangered plant and animal populations. Basically, this change could work to the advantage (and benefit of the bottom lines) of contractors, developers and special interest groups that might have high levels of influence in the halls of government.

Here's a couple of key excerpts from a CNN.com article:

New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

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The proposal would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.

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Under current law, federal agencies must consult with experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether a project is likely to jeopardize any endangered species or to damage habitat, even if no harm seems likely. This initial review usually results in accommodations that better protect the 1,353 animals and plants in the United States listed as threatened or endangered and determines whether a more formal analysis is warranted.

The Interior Department said such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects, according to the 30-page draft obtained by the AP.


The story can also be found 0n MSNBC's website.

This is just the beginning of the last few months of our current "leadership" doing whatever they can to royally screw us over on the way out the door - mark my words!

Mission Accomplished!