Tuesday, October 13, 2009

So I went to a seasonal flu shot clinic and all I got was swine flu

Now BabyGirl has asthma. Really really really baaaad asthma. So, we as a family all have to get seasonal flu vaccines because when a child with asthma catches the flu, it can became very serious very quickly.
So, I did what I always do:
In early September, I scheduled seasonal flu vaccines for both of my kiddos with their pediatrician. All is well, right?
Nope.
In the first week of October, the pediatrician's office calls to infom me that the kiddos' flu shot appt will have to be cancelled due to the fact the practice has completely run out of all seasonal flu vaccines.
Bloody hell.
What to do, what to do.... oh yeah... I now get to spend boatloads of time on the phone trying to figure out where exactly can my 7 yr old and 2 yr old get their flu shots given the fact that every flu clinic at CVS, Target, Walgreens, etc insists that the child must be at least 9 yrs old to receive a vaccine at their sites.
Bloody hell times two.
But a ray of light appears.... in the form of a flu clinic... courtesy of the County Board of Health.
So, I ask my mom to come with the kids and I because I have no idea how this wonderful adventure is gonna go. I also pull BabyGirl outta school for the adventure. And off we go!..... where we get to wait and line up, wait and line up, and wait and line up (did I mention we got to wait and line up???) and then finally, for a mere $14 per child and $20 per adult, as citizens of our county, amongst the hoards of folks who also waited and lined up for a freakin' eternity, we were able to get our seasonal flu vaccines.
We had very sore arms and a giant red welt where the vaccine was given, but all seemed well.
UNTIL
4 days later.........
WHEN
BabyGirl, Lil Man, and I all spike uber high fevers out of no where (BabyGirl's highest was a horrid 105.6, Lil Man's highest was a terrifying 106.8!!, and my highest was a nasty 104.5), we develop stuffy noses with zero breathing capability (yet we get to have loads of snot pouring out... weeee!), we have throats that feel like we gnawed on shards of glass and tossed back a lava chaser just for shits and giggles, we have burning chests that feels like white-hot phlegm is churning around in our lungs with every hacking cough, and we get these lovely body aches that feel like we were run over by a high-speed train and backed-over by a Peterbilt.
On Monday (October 12th) after spending an hour and a half in the waiting room with an endless sea of sick kiddies, the pediatrician performs flu tests and determines that we 3 have H1N1 flu.
Hubby and I look at each other in horror, and the good doc is kind enough to write out Rx's of Tamiflu for all 4 of us and informs my Hubby that the odds are that he has it (and has just not developed symptoms yet) given that the rule of thumb for contracting the flu is this:
If you spend 4 or more hrs with a person who has the flu in a confined space, then chances are that you got it.
(hmm... kinda like the hrs we spent waiting and lining up and waiting and lining up at the flu clinic amongst the hoards of folks?...uh, yeah.)
Well, let's see what the odds for Hubby, who did not go to the flu clinic:
All weekend long, the kiddos and I were blowing our noses, sneezing, and hacking up our lungs in the house.... the house that Hubby lives in with us (plus he and I share a bed).... hmmm, is that confined enough for ya?
Uh yeah. Hubby so has this, too.
Soooooo, I went to a seasonal flu clinic and all I got was the swine flu.
And oh yeah...
The cost of the 4 Rx's of Tamiflu? $210.
The number 1 side effect of Tamiflu? Nausea.
The number 2 side effect of Tamiflu? Vomiting.
The 4 of us now have both... plus all of the glorious symptoms of H1N1, and we're out $210 for the medicine that makes us feel all pukey.
Bloody fucking hell to infinity.

Posted by Tina :: 7:11 PM :: 4 Comments:

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Guns at health-care town hall meetings? Rallying against healthcare when you blatantly spew zero facts? This gun toting liberal says "Shut it!"

Now for those of you who don't know this, I am a gun-toting liberal.
Is it because I was born and raised in Ohio? Maybe.
Is it because I am the daughter of a dad who loved his weapons and really really really distrusted the govt after the Vietnam clusterfuck took our nation over the cliff? Could be.
Is it because I'm married to a guy who walked around his family farm with his first .22 rifle as early as the age of 7 years? Probably so.
But most of all, I just personally love guns so much that I really, really really wish that this site were for real and not merely satirical. (Oh Hello Kitty and My Little Pony... you are so sparkley and so very, very pretty!)
In all truth, Hubby and I both have conceal-carry licenses, we have a virtual arsenal in our gun safe and our lockboxes, and IMHO, there is nothing more fun than shooting our AR-15, our AK-47, or my particular assault rifle fav, our Steyr AUG.
But would we ever become members of a militia?
Uh, not bloody likely.
Who the hell wants to hang out with these types unless you are supah dupah creepy?
Well, not unless a highly unlikely zombie outbreak were to occur, and then quite frankly, it is only the well armed who are willing to join together and travel in numbers who will stand 2 hoops in hell of surviving, and I would like to see our liberal views survive that kind of apocalypse..... wouldn't you?
.... but I digress....
Would we ever drop a weapon at a town hall meeting held for Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords?
Uh, no freaking way.
If you're so goddamned stupid that you actually drop your weapon, 1) you don't deserve to ever have a weapon in your possession-- including a rubber-band shooter-- and 2) you don't deserve to make the rest of us weapon owners look like gun-dropping morons.
Would we ever strap 1 of our handguns to our thighs AT a townhall meeting that the 1st black president of the US is holding (a prez who receives 30 death threats per day, by the way) WHILE parading around a sign that spookily proclaims "It is time to water the tree of liberty" --- (ya know, that often distorted Thomas Jefferson quote that people love to spew when they want to back up their love for killing folks and over throwing the govt... ya know... like Timothy McVeigh... who wore a t-shirt with that quote on it when he was arrested for the Oklahoma massacre of scores of innocent children and adults??) ---
Uh, not on your FUCKING life.
Why?
1. A weapon is most probably not needed at such events (let's face it, Secret Service and local authorities got the gig well covered).
2. You might run the risk of showing up at such events only to find out that firearms are not legally allowed (believe me, LOTS of public places have these signs posted and you had better be damn well aware of them or else risk the consequences).
3. Why on earth would you run the risk of being overpowered and having that gun taken off of you at one of these mob-mentality rules/foaming at the mouth events and have a politician and/or innocent people shot with your firearm???
.... but more importantly....
4. We, as responsible gun owners and conceal carry license holders in this kind of uber-polarized/ facts be damned in the face of absolute lies kind of shitstorm that has become America, should never ever want to risk looking like freaking nutcases at a mob-mentality/ foaming at the mouth event-- and further this belief that only nutcases carry weapons and cherish gun ownership-- and therefore give more fuel to the fire that gun rights should be severely restricted and risk losing our legal right to carry a weapon at all.
.... and besides....
.... we're really really really sick and tired of white people always looking like mouth-breathing morons in public ALL the time. Don't believe us? Watch this, or just Google "arrested kill Obama" one time for shits and giggles and then try and tell me that we white folks don't look like a pack of racist, hateful freaks and morons...sigh...
.... and oh yeah....
.... if you do not have a will and/or at least a living will, and you care 1 iota about your loved ones and your possessions, then you are an incalculable imbecile. .... unless, of course, you happen to be a lying piece of drug addicted bloated whale crap, or you are a "talking out of both sides of my forked tongue mouth because I had my own Alaskan death panels" and "I encouraged end of life directives while Gov of Alaska" uber-nitwit like Sarah Palin, or maybe you happen to be 1 of those "we're lying 'cause our lips our moving" /"we demand less govt in our lives" spewing kind of Republicans who then inexplicably salivates in delight at the thought of elected govt officials getting involved in your private family's medical decisions, just as they did in the unspeakable Schiavo debacle.
Posted by Tina :: 5:55 PM :: 12 Comments:

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Friday, July 17, 2009

I have something in common with Meghan McCain?

It is almost painful to type this...... but...... I. have. something. in common. with. Meghan. McCain.
We both proudly sport a set of overspilling size double D's?
Yes.... but naaaw.
We both have male relatives who were driven slightly crazy by their unspeakable time in Vietnam?
Probably..... but nope.
We both think Joe, whom cannot even Plumb, is a complete dumb-ass?
Uh, well yes.... but not quite.
We're both preternaturally white skinned and devilishly cute?
Yeah, we are.... but again.... no-sir-ree-bob.
Believe it or not, we are both proud fag hags who openly profess our love for the beloved gay men in our life.
I know. I know Can ya freakin believe it?
Well sure, she is still a member of the Republican party that cries from the rooftops that they are "the party of less govt in your lives"...... unless you happen to have the misfortune of being gay... or a minority... or a woman... or poor... or a non-theocratic Christian, but it's a start, right?
And yet, despite this huge social leap, I feel the need to "one up" my gay loving conservatard counterpart. So, while I'm no expert, my uber-liberal and slightly competitive side says I'm willing to bet good money that I've been a proud fag hag waaay longer than she has.
And this has nothing to do with the fact that I'm older than her.
This has everything to do with the fact that I became a hag to my 1st gay friend in the 4th grade. Sure, we both didn't have a concrete absolute he was gay then... but he and I were close friends way back then and I was the 1st person he came out to when we both turned 18 yrs old and I'm still his hag today, so that kind of history counts, damn it. So try and top that lil Miss Blondie-pants.
And if you total up the yrs I've been a hag to my 1st gay friend and the years I've been a hag to my 2nd gay friend, we're easily talking 20+ yrs of hardcore fag-hagging, so you just take that Miss McCrazy is My Daddy and shove it where the Judy Garland, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, and Scissor Sisters music doesn't shine, m'kay?
And last but not least, I'm seriously willing to bet that lil Miss My Momma is a Millionaire has never wanted THIS little ditty to be her ringtone and has never ever ever responded to being lovingly called "a breeder" on her voicemail to lovingly leaving THIS on her gay's voicemail in return.
So there....
Posted by Tina :: 1:00 AM :: 5 Comments:

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Yo Che! Pass the beret! We're officially "socialists" now! Viva!

It is with revolutionary glee that I can now proudly slap on the Che beret (no... no... not THAT beret. THIS beret) and exclaim it officially:

Hubby and I are socialists.

Why exactly, you might ask? Have we taken a recent trip to rub elbows with that filthy Che-loving' Fidel? Uhhhh..., not so much. Although if keeping it real in the Fidel fatigues looks half as fun as these guys make it look, I'm so into that.
Naw, ya see, the clock on the lease on our General Motors' 2005 SUV ran out this week, and given that we adore the vehicle, that we treated it with tender loving care and that we strapped a mere 23,000 miles on it---- (Yep. Ya read that correctly. It is 4 yrs old and has less than 25K miles on it) we would have to be brain damaged and/or Republican to NOT buy out the car after the lease is up, right?
Well, not if we freaking love Uncle Sam and bleed red, white, and blue like all "real Americans" do, because apparently, real patriots applaud war, the failure of America, poverty, hatred and fearmongering, murder doctors performing legal medical procedures, shoot up Jewish museums and murder a black guard, turn a willingly blind eye when people like this enlist in our military, call Michelle Obama's ancestors "gorillas," send emails that show Prez O in blackface, whore out your children for politics when it suits you, deny gay people the basic human right to marry the adult person they love because you claim it somehow "threatens hetero marriage" while a man, a wife and a married mistress makes up their own "God approved' marriage equation, pray for war with Iran when that nation's election reeks of fraud (hmm... wonder how these freakos would have felt if Iran would have talked about launching a war against the US when BushCo was blatantly engaging in voter fraud in 2004 and was selected NOT elected in 2000?) and boycott GM.

According to the likes of rightwing buttplugs like Hugh Hewitt and Heidi Harris, all good little KoolAid chuggers hope for the economic failure of 1000s upon 1000s of Americans. Why? 'Cause their hatred for Prez O is so gianormous that they'd happily wish for the economic destruction of their fellow Americans and the possible economic destruction of our entire nation. Those are some super duper patriotic family values types, no? And so Christian!
Ya gotta check out Harris as she let tons of this serpentine spew roll off her forked tongue on Hardball with Chris Mathews. You'll swoon as she breezily tosses out this compassionate conservative gem: "We just need to let it (GM) die... All those GM lazy, shifless union bums... err... hardworking middle class workers need to just get new (yet completely nonexistent) jobs at other auto manufacturing plants. You know, there are other places you can work. And they can adapt... it's not the end of the world. "
Makes your heart melt from her cavalier and mercenary abandon, no?
I guess when your own vitriol towards the Dems, our Prez, our unions, and the American working class is so white hot that you personally pray for the demise of nearly 90,000 GM jobs and 40,000 Chrysler jobs ( and those job losses will certainly result in the loss of further countless unforeseen vehicle-related industry jobs) then the liquidation of the very industry that we the tax-paying people own a 60%+ stake in, somehow makes sense in that vacuous hat rack you call a head and that black crumb you call a heart, right?

Well, it makes zero sense to me and mine, so Hubby and I plan on happily wearing our Che berets with shiny socialist pride, loading up our little comrades in our GM SUV, and going for a nice lil Sunday drive this weekend... and anybody in the "real American" crowd who doesn't like it can suck it.
Posted by Tina :: 12:00 AM :: 6 Comments:

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Hey Miss CA, flashing your fake jugs for Jesus?... I must have missed THAT part of the Bible

I've been silent on "TittyGate", but after Carrie Prejean claimed that Satan was tempting her in the form of Perez Hilton (really???... Perez???... I always figured Satan would be so much more ravishingly handsome and charming... but what the hell do I know), that it was her God-ordained duty to defend God and His supposed position on gay marriage, and that she was told by God to "witness" to all of us gay-rights supporters, I"ve had my fill of this nutcase (and so has Keith O) and I simply cannot keep my yap shut any longer.
Now I'm no religious scholar, but I think I'm familiar enough with the Bible and Chrisitian teachings to know that posing for multiple sets of semi-nude photos (especially while a minor), repeatedly lying about the existence of any "morally questionable" pictures when entering into a written contract, tossing aside the knockers that God personally gifted ya with and getting a set of fake titties to further your chances along in a beauty contest... all while crazily claiming that God wants (and needs??) the likes of you to defend "His" supposed position on gay marriage... is 100% UN-Christian behavior.
Add to this that Toupee Trump proved that her "punishment" claim is 100% crapola because she did NOT have the scores to win-- with or without the gay marriage question, and call me crazy (although NOTHING says crazy like this wackadoodle example of the ramblings of a teary-eyed/ voice cracking Carrie ... seriously, ya blamed the wind for flashing your titties?... really??? I would think that Miss Cali would be used to those powerful Santa Ana winds, but what the hell do I know), but one really isn't being a good little wingnut while bearing false witness (by repeatedly lying to the pageant) and coveting anything that belongs to a neighbor (like wanting those pageant-winning fake titties over your God-given tiny ones). You are familiar with the Ten Commandments, aren't you, Miss Prejean? I know you may have been busy getting your hair bleached or your caps whitened or your boobs reinflated, but bearing false witness and coveting anything that belongs to your neighbor are CLEARLY part of the Ten Commandments, whereas absolutely no where do the Commandments make mention of gay marriage and the threat "the gays" pose to those of us who have entered into "opposite marriage"... but again, what the hell do I know.
Posted by Tina :: 1:00 AM :: 8 Comments:

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Save our history! Save our 200+ yr old tree!

This post is dedicated to my lifelong BFF & her park/ tree/ family- fun loving' dad and mom (whom my kiddos lovingly call Yia Yia & Papou) and to the city in which I grew up.
See that gianormously gorgeous tree behind the lovely lady in the hat? Well, that tree is about 200 yrs old. As Papou says in his op-ed to the local paper: "On Feb. 11, the Canton park commissioners gave approval to destroy one of Canton’s city parks, which includes five magnificent oak trees. Four of the oaks measure 11 ft in circumference and are estimated to be 125 yrs old. The fifth oak measures 16 ft 2 inches in circumference and has been estimated to be between 200 - 220 yrs old, making it one of the oldest oak trees in Ohio. A 200 yr old oak means that the tree was in its young life when Thomas Jefferson was president. And if a few years older, it was growing when our Constitution was signed."
That gianormous beauty, and the 4 other mentioned lovelies, are located in a nice family friendly park that offers "free" fun for families in the form of a basketball court, an ample field area to run and play ball, and the dazzling bounty of such old and sublime and stately trees. This park is directly next to an architecturally old yet sound and beautiful brick firehouse (in the hot days of summer, the firefighters frequently chat to fascinated kids that naturally gather in amazment of the awesomely cool firehouse), the park borders on a large retirement home, and also happens to be smack dab in the middle of a quiet middle-class neighborhood.
The problem? The former Mayor (Janet Weir-Creighton (R-lapdog) whom is locally famous for getting a Bush "position" after her mayoral defeat in '08, getting a personal phone call from Karl "I should be a convict for all the crimes" Rove , the rotting whiff of GOP corruption *gasp!* and for posing for a newspaper pix while puckering up & kissing a Bush bobblehead... I knows... I knows... position, pucker, kiss, & Bush bobblehead connote ALL kinds of horrific images... must not vomit... must not vomit) arranged to have these trees axed down before her defeat so a spanking new firehouse and firefighter training facility could be put up.
Now don't get me wrong. I love lives to be saved and cherish fire safety as much as the next Smokey the Bear, but in this ravaged county, which can proudly boast of a massive 10.4% unemployment rate, finding any free, family friendly and lovely spots of brightness and beauty are far and few between, while finding large rundown areas and bazillions of foreclosed/ abandoned homes that could be used for a new firehouse and/or fire training center, are literally everywhere. Not to mention-- can I tell ya again-- that one of these freakin' trees is 200+ yrs old?? That the other 4 are at least 125 yrs old?? Historical preservation anyone??
One would think that when your citizens are and have been economically suffering as much as Cantonians are, that the old mayor (along with her mythical conservative GOP family values) would have wanted to save as much money as possible, foster "free" family entertainment, and preserve as much precious heritage one could. But in Canton, where Repuke rule had an ironfist stranglehold for a looooong time, such virtues are chucked, especially given that the money set aside for this wreckage of natural beauty and old architecture, can only be used for this particular wreckage of natural beauty and old architecture, and nothing else.
Sigh... I fear for these majestic beauties, and for the families who enjoy the park, but maybe the new Mayor, William J. Healy II (D-economically downtrodden), can be convinced to save the gorgeous trees, the family friendly park, and the lovely old brick firehouse? Maybe...
Mayor William J Healy II
P.O. Box 24218
Canton, OH 44701
Phone: (330)438-4307

CANTON CITY COUNCIL
218 Cleveland Ave SW
Canton, OH 44702
Phone: 330)489-3223
Posted by Tina :: 10:00 AM :: 17 Comments:

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Friday, March 06, 2009

Note to self: Remember to drink and pee

Illness has hit our home like a ton of bricks for about 5 months now. Seriously, since Halloween of '08, I have taken my kiddos to the pediatrician about every 2.5 weeks. It is so bad, that when I call, the receptionist recognizes my voice. I've gotten sick a few times from my precious germy little bastards (.... that's not really true. Hubby and I were married a full 2 yrs before we conceived BabyGirl, and were married at least 6 yrs before Lil Man came into the picture, so bastards they are not... but I digress) so I've seen my own doc a handful of times in this reign of illness, too, although I really would rather seek homeopathic care while sick (colloidal silver sprayed into sinuses when yucky snot is present, probiotics to build up immunities, and d-mannose to keep e-coli flushed from bladder) but I do resort to medical expertise when all else fails.... and sometimes things do fail. Badly.
For example: 2 wks ago, I picked BabyGirl up from school, and she was sporting pink flushed cheeks and a 103 fever, which quickly developed into a wicked respiratory ick that has infected all of us now. This particular ick knocked us on our asses (and BabyGirl has asthma, so every respiratory ick can quickly turn to pneumonia and full blown asthma attacks so serious around the clock breathing treatment care must be given), but given that I am the mom, I have to take care of everybody else and furiously clean to keep the germs at bay... all while nobody takes care of me. In fact, while flitting around in nurse-gear, I often forget to eat and drink. Well, that chicken came home to roost... and it left me in a shitload of hurt in the process.
I was busy playing Florence Nightingale to my kiddos and hubby, while hacking and coughing up a lung myself, and scrubbing my hands like Det. Adrian Monk and Lysoling everything in sight when I noticed that I had this killer back pain and felt hot and feverish. I figured I was just really really tired and blew it off.
About 2 days later, this back pain was becoming truly unbearable and my fever was now full blown and I was miserable. I called my dr to see if I could get in, but no luck. Ya see, my dr is in a practice with his dad, and unbeknownst to me, his father had just suddenly passed away 3 days earlier, so they were beyond swamped and probably felt about as bad I did, so I really did not want to "bother" them given what was going down at their office. Wrong.
Flash ahead 2 days even later, I can now barely have anything touch my back, I am peeing what I think is blood, I'm feeling like death would be a welcome relief, and I'm actually considering going to the emergency room, so I call my dr again, explain how bad this is, and they tell me that they have no appts, but that I can come in and they'll somehow squeeze me in. Great.... especially since our insurance fights us tooth and nail if we "dare to have the audacity" to go to the E.R., but now all I have to do is load up Lil Man with my broken back and get there.
Long story short: I was peeing blood, my kidneys were what was making my back hurt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck, and I have NEVER ever had a urinary tract infection like this before (and I've had my fair share of 'em) where the urge to frequently pee "lava" was completely absent and yet the infection hit me like a tidal wave, and as far as I'm concerned, I could live my whole entire life and NEVER ever experience this again, and I really really really hope this Cipro Rx does the trick.
So, I guess the lesson learned here is this: While playing Florence Nightingale to everybody else, please please please remember to drink and pee, drink and pee, drink and pee... or else risk suffering this ungodly fate again.
And of course, while waiting in the waiting room with my Lil Man, every freakin' person in there was hacking and coughing and tossing their damned germs around my precious kiddo, and he is now freshly sick with god-knows-what new illness (thank the gods we have health insurance, although if ya ask Repukeycans, health coverage is a mere want, NOT a need, and it certainly ain't a right cause to them it is "a privilege" ) ... sigh... but I'm so damn sick of being sick... grrrr.... and please please please remember to drink and pee, drink and pee, drink and pee....
Posted by Tina :: 5:00 PM :: 9 Comments:

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