Dear Chaz Bono; I Still Have My Labia.

I am about to tell you some surprising facts. And then I am going to give a few personal opinions.

First Fact. My oldest son, IKE, is related to Chaz Bono. So, as a FAMILY member, I have the right to comment on her. Him. I know you want to know how IKE/Chaz are related, so here it is. IKEs Great Grandmother was a Bono. Her sister begat Sony Bono. Sony is Chazs' father. He died in a skiing accident after being the mayor of Palm Springs and outlawing thong bikinis. Anyway.

Second Fact. Chaz and I have an enormous amount of things in common. Like the whole transgender thing. Wait for it...

When I had Breast Cancer, I had bi-lateral mastectomy's. Lost both boobies. Then, because I had estrogen receptive cancer, the doc decided I would do better, (whatever that means) if I had a total hysterectomy. Sure, why not? Take it, I said.

I lost my hair, my tatas, and my parts. Ass-kicking but still alive. It was all cool until one day when I was in treatment, I was watching some day time court TV show, and I discovered that in some states, I could be considered a MAN. Because I had undergone a sex change. Un wittingly.

If you could only imagine my confusion. I had been a tomboy. (male) But I had kids. (Female) I love wearing guys clothes. (male) But I also love wearing girls clothes. (female) You can see how this rocked my world. Who was I? The good news is if I ever have to go into hiding, I can totally move to another state and legally check male when applying for a new drivers license. Woot!

Ok. Back to Chaz. He knowingly had a sex change.

And got a penis that pumps up. Right on. Good for him. Personally, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But here comes the opinion. Everyone knows you are a woman that doesn't want to be one. And since you are a celebrity-(ish) you can't just move and start over. Your womanhood will follow you forever, no matter how hard you try.

That is all whatever. What concerns me most is your upcoming appearance on Dancing with the Stars. I think you are very brave, because you have no chance of winning. Not because you are transgender, although that will play a big part in your loss with the mid America set. No. It's the fact that you have stated you are ONLY going to wear a tasteful tuxedo. Sorry. Buzz. XXX. You will not be winning. We all want to see the costumes! The guys who wear the tight pants and the Paso Doble outfits. The guys who dress up in rock star outfits and unbuttoned to their wastes flamenco shirts.

You clearly do not take after your mother CHER, who LOVES to dress up. We get that. We understand that you have made a decision. But it just seems to me that if you were truly brave, you would don the costume. Just sayin. Because you're not the only one who has had a sex change operation. Big deal. You are not special.

Also, having a sex change is not all it's cracked up to be. I should know. Hot flashes, weight gain, whiskers, (which we all know you are trying to grow)a deeper voice, a bitchier, (I mean more manly) attitude...oh the list goes on. And I still loook like a woman. And I still have my labia. So I guess this makes me a transgender transvestite?

Good luck Chaz. I'll vote for you. Because that is what family does.

I WASN'T HERE BUT YOU DIDN'T MISS MUCH!

Yes. I have been missing for a while with no explanation what-so-ever. Not to worry my precious’s. I am alive and well, no worse for the wear. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. Here is the wrap up…

IKE came home on leave from Virginia. It seems he was very lucky as there was a mind blowing earthquake there.

In case you missed the sarcasm, we live in California. We have real earthquakes that take out bridges. Also, the folks in Japan would laugh, but they are too busy dying from nuclear fallout. Ouch.

Anyway...
I went to San Diego to pick him up, because that’s where the NAVY flew him into. A day later he went to the hospital with what I thought was appendicitis. Here’s how the conversation went between all of us.

IKE: I don’t know what’s wrong. (Laying on the floor.)
Me: I think we need to go to the hospital.
IKE: Nope.
Me: Yes.
IKE: No.
Me: You have appendicitis.
IKE: I’m not going. How do you know?
Me: Because I do.
BTM: What’s happening? (Laying in bed.)
Me: Ike has to go to the hospital. He has appendicitis.
BTM: No he doesn’t. He’s a pussy.
Me: Ike. Get up. Get dressed. I am taking you to the hospital. And then I am leaving you to drop the boy off at school.
IKE: I am not going to the hospital for them to tell me I have gas. That would be embarrassing.
Me: So you would rather DIE from appendicitis?
BTM: He doesn’t need to go to the hospital. How do you know it’s appendicitis? Have you ever had appendicitis? Have you ever had experience with appendicitis?
Me: Ike. Get up, get dressed, get in the car.

As I dropped him off I yelled out the window: Tell them you are having trouble breathing! They will get you right in! Later he had surgery removing his appendix. Dear BTM. It seems I do have experience with appendicitis.

In case of emergency in Los Angeles, please follow these rules.

When you call 911 in a non medical emergency, always tell them you saw a gun. Cops will arrive in 2 minutes. They love a guy with a gun.

When it is a medical emergency and you need to go to the hospital, always tell them you can’t breath. You won’t have to wait for 5 hours to see the doctor.

A week later, I brought IKE back to San Diego, which is his new station, and I got to stay over night on the base. Which I thought was really cool, but I couldn’t stop giggling every time I drove onto the base and the 19 year old kid with his machine gun would stop me and ask for my ID and pass.

The Boy started school and it was a whole thing, because we moved and we live in a different school district and I wanted him to go to school at his old school. I had to go to the district office to get a transfer and this really sweet lady who was very kind asked if she could talk to me privately. I followed her to a room and sat down. She dove right in. “Look. There is no easy way to ask this, so I am just going to come right out with it.”
I sat there expectantly wondering what in the hell she was going to ask.
“Are you homeless?”

More on this story later. Because it’s too fabulous not to tell you.

Also, I cleaned the garage. Now I can hardly move. Rhuema-fucking-toid arthritis.

I am sure a whole lot of other things happened, but my short term memory is shot. It could be old age, or brain poisoning. Which is also another story.

A Day at the Races

Have you ever met someone who shared at a group level too much information? Sure you do. We all do. I usually love it when someone shares too much information that is personal. It makes for really good humorous interpretation later. But what happened recently made me feel really awkward and uncomfortable and I still can’t process it.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I am not Super Mom. I am however, Supportive Mom. If my kids want to do something, I am their biggest cheerleader. I buy gear, get lessons, bake cookies, show up , yell louder than anyone, and most of all embarrass my kids at every single event. Because that is my job as a parent. I do it even when I don’t want to and even if I disagree with whatever it is that is going on. Take for example, The Snake. He still lives.

So on Sunday, I was at the dirt bike racetrack. The Boy loves to race. He is good at it. He loves it so much that it is one of those things that you can threaten him with when his behavior is less than acceptable. So I let him keep doing it. We wake up early, drive to wherever he is racing, spend the day, I hang out in the bleachers, and yell my ass off.

This race track is owned by a really nice young couple. She is one of those women who had a baby 2 months ago and today looks like she is malnutritioned. She is pretty and sweet and everyone likes her. So imagine my surprise when she opened up the day on the very good PA system with “Hey everyone.” And then she burst into tears. And then she went into this whole thing about how mean people are because her husband is charging so much money for the race fees. And then she talked about how her husband works really hard and works 3 other jobs just keeping the whole thing afloat and how we just don’t understand. And then just when you think it can’t get any worse, she goes on to tell us that her husband has had a really bad life, and that his dad was a raging alcoholic and he wasn’t treated well as a kid. Then she went on about how he promised himself his kids would have a better life. And her husband wasn’t there.

And all I kept thinking was-’someone please take the mic away from her. PLEASE.’ And then we all sat in stunned silence. Later, it was all people talked about, and I just kept saying that she must be having a post partum moment.

That was the start of a really awkward day. It was too hot,the little kids raced at the end of the day, and there were too many injuries and too many competitive dads. Especially this one dude who even on his best day couldn't be cool in his safari hat.

But the worst part of the day was the port a potty. Yep. I said it. It’s time to get real about what happens in there. It was 105 degrees in the desert. There were a total of 3 Andy Gumps spread out over 5 acres. There were 500 hundred people. And they were placed in a way that allowed not one ounce of privacy. Just walking to one was the walk of shame.

When one little boy got hurt I had to turn away and await the verdict from others who could bear to watch. He was ok. When I mentioned in passing to one of the mom’s that yes, this is a very dangerous sport, I got this response, “Yes, well, they could get hit on the street by a bus tomorrow.” You can imagine how hard it was for me to not engage with her.

Anyway. The Boy won first place in his race and then he won first place in the summer series. And now I have 3 weeks before I have to look the woman in the face and pretend like she didn’t have a nervous breakdown, and 3 weeks to prepare for my next round with the outhouse.
And of course, The boy sleeps like a log.

That’s what I call vacation.

IT'S TIME FOR RESENTMENT ROUND UP!

Welcome to Resentment Round-Up! Resentment is our number one offender. If we don’t deal with the little things, they become big things. So just to get it off my chest, these are the things that have bothered me over the last week.

ROAD RAGE:
1. You know when there are multiple lanes on the freeway, and the cars in front of you line up and drive the same speed, which is always 57 miles per hour, and you can’t get around them? Mmmhmm.
2. And then there is a guy in the fast lane and he is driving 62 MPH? And he’s not old.
3. And then there is the lane jockey that keeps cutting you off because he is driving insane?

CHRISTMAS IS IN DECEMBER!
I hate it when it’s August and I look around and its 104 degrees out and then THAT house has Christmas decorations still up. And then I look around and it seems to be a trend. It’s August you lazy asses! And if you are one of these people and you are reading this: I.DON'T.CARE.

REVENGE:
My feelings are hurt because I am new to this blogging thing and I read that I am supposed to comment on other blogs that get a big audience, so that they can get to know me. And then I made a comment, and I was really excited because I was one of the top 50 comments, and then I checked to make sure it had posted, and it had, but when I went back to check this morning, it had been deleted by the admin. She is so threatened by me. And guess what? It’s ON Biatch! I WILL win your bloggy award next year!

I'M A MAID:
BTM and The Boy seem to think I am their personal maid. Would throwing your trash away and not on the floor kill you? Or maybe try getting your clothes in the basket and not just fling them around the room. I am sick of cleaning my house. And I have decided to use paper plates and cups and plastic serving ware for the next 2 weeks. I hope the plastic fork stabs you in the lip. (too harsh?)

STUPID DOG!
Poor Eddie peed on my foot. No wonder he was in the pound when I got him. You would think he would be grateful I saved his hairless ass. And he peed on BTM’s hat, which we then threw away. But if BTM didn’t throw his hat on the floor then it wouldn’t have happened.

OTHER RANDOM RESENTMENTS:

I called the boys’ doctor to get a refill on his prescription. He won’t fill the whole thing because I need to make an appointment to come in to see him. I got 10 pills. The appointment is in 16 days. Clearly I need to find a doctor that count.

I got a splinter under my fingernail and I can't get it out and now I am afraid it's going to travel through my bloodstream and into my heart.

I think that’s it. Feel free to add your own personal resentments below. Get it off your chest. You will feel better. Really.

Come Here Snakey Snakey!

For the most part, I love animals. I have 2 boys and as such I have thrown the pet owner hat into the ring more times than I can count. Here is a list of animals I have owned over the past 22 years.
8 dogs.
Three died, one ran away (who can blame him) I lost one in the divorce, we put one down, and two still live. Barely.
3 cats.
I lost one in the divorce, and the other 2 died.
More fish than I can count, frogs, a black widow (for scientific purposes) a praying mantis, a scorpion, a bearded dragon, a hamster, and a parrot who hated everyone. I am not a stranger to creatures. I have systematically pared down our animal intake. I am the ONLY one who takes care of them despite pleas of ‘but mom, I’ll take care of it this time. I promise!’(LIAR!)
For years I have taken in the strays with only ONE rule. NO SNAKES! I have stood adamant. Firm. Unbending.

This is why BTM didn’t ask my permission when he and the boy went to the pet store and reappeared with a corn snake. I can not begin to tell you the level of affront I felt.
I told them it was not allowed in the house. I don’t care. Put the cage in the garage. No. I won’t feed it or water it. No. I won’t buy its food of tiny baby frozen mice. No. I won’t clean its cage. No I won’t hold it. No. I don’t care if it dies. And most of all, NO it’s never allowed in the house. EVER.



I don’t like snakes. The original snakes’ real name is SATAN. Check Genesis in the BIBLE. They don’t blink and they smell with their tongues. They are sneaky and hissy and they bite. They feel icky and a big enough snake can squeeze you to death, or kill you.

And we already have a snake. An insidious dangerous creature that hides in our back yard and his name is The Rattler. And it tried to kill my poor dog Eddie and it’s a miracle that he lived because the snake is bigger than him. See the photo.

“But mom! This is a corn snake! It’s so little and even if it bit me, I wouldn’t feel it because it’s teeth are so tiny! And it’s not poisonous!” And then the boy started to cry and said that he couldn’t believe that I didn’t CARE if the snake died. And then BTM said, “Now look what you have done. You have broken the boys heart.”
And I stood firm and the snake went to the garage. For a week. Because then there was a cold snap in California. So then I was all, ok, you can bring the snake into the house but it has to stay by the front door. And so now we have a giant snake tank sitting on a pony wall right when you walk in and it balances precariously there, and threatens to fall off whenever the door is slammed. Which in my house is all day everyday.
I know you are wondering why I have explained all this to you. Well. I will tell you why. Because on Friday night when we got home at midnight, after sitting in Riverside Carmageddon, the snake appeared to be missing. You heard me. It escaped. And the boy was sleeping, so I put him in bed, and BTM was in such a spin that it was almost worth it that the fucking snake had gotten loose. Almost. Cripes Almighty. I thought he was gonna cry.
So then we spent the next hour moving the couch and checking under shit with flashlights, and looking in the dogs’ mouths for any sign of snake. (One could only hope that Poor Eddie had his revenge.) And I was getting more and more pissed, and BTM was all how he was so pissed at the kids, and then he took out a frozen mouse and laid it on the floor and turned all the lights off and then went up to a loft with a flashlight and stood watch waiting for the snake to emerge. And I went to bed. And I dreamed of a giant snake biting me in the face.

And then every hour BTM got up and shined his flashlight downstairs. And then I heard this thumping, and then running, and I thought sure enough the snake had killed him. And then it got quiet. I didn’t go look, because as I have said before…I. DON’T. CARE.
And then BTM came to bed and said he got the snake and I didn’t have to worry anymore. Because now he is a snake hunter.
And now the snake is hiding from me, and won’t come out. Because it knows. I. DON’T. CARE. And I have time to wait my precious.

10 FACTS ABOUT BREAST CANCER

Today I am a 6 Year Survivor of Breast Cancer.
I have never lived in a dream world. My life has been such that I have never been allowed. Reality has had a way of snaking itself into my life from a really early age. It hasn't been all bad. The lessons I have learned are pretty phenomenal. As a result of my life experience, one of the greatest things I have taken from it is my incredibly twisted sense of humor, which I love about myself. I amuse myself to no end.

That being said, I try with all of my heart to give others that come to visit here a small window of escape from their own problems and lives. Just a few minutes of mindless humor from my point of view that may allow others not to take life so seriously. I am so very grateful to those who stop by to read my blog. It let's me know that there IS hope for all of us, and that you believe in me as I believe in you.

Today, however is slightly more serious. I don't know if what I say may save your life, or the life of someone else. Someone you love with all of your heart. These are facts about breast cancer. Please don't turn away. Please don't move from the page until you have read them. You can read the facts in private and quiet away your discomfort all by yourself. Know one has to know that you don't know. Or that you don't WANT to know. Just learn from MY experience.

FACT #1 You don't have to feel a lump to have breast cancer. I didn't. I had breast cancer inside of my milk ducts.
FACT #2 If you have a bruise on your breast that doesn't go away, get it checked. There is more than one kind of Breast Cancer.

FACT #3 A mammogram can save your life. Yes they are uncomfortable. Yes it's a big old drag to take time out of your day to have your tata's squished flat. And yes it can be embarrassing. So what? Are you really using that as an excuse? And if they want to biopsy, just do it. It may be nothing. Don't get dramatic. If you have cancer, you'll have plenty of time for that later.
FACT #4 Breast Cancer is not an old lady's disease. I was in my thirty's. If there is history in your family, book a mammogram at 35.
FACT #5 Your doctor may try to deter you from having a mammogram, stating that "there is no lump" or "you are too young" or "you have no family history" Yes. That happened to me, and if I hadn't insisted, I would be dead. You HAVE to take care of yourself. If you can't afford it, there are clinics that offer them for free. Call around. Don't be lazy.
FACT #6 80% of lumps are harmless. But 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer.
FACT #7 By the time there is a lump, it's way more serious if it's found to be cancer. That's why you have to go early. Get the fucking mammogram.
FACT #8 Cancer is scary. But if you have Breast Cancer, today is the best time in history to have it. If they find it early, your odds of surviving are really really high. And even if they don't find it early (as in my case) your odds are still really good. You do however have to follow through.

FACT #9 The treatment does suck. Sometimes, if caught early, a lump can be removed. Sometimes there is no lump and then you have to have surgery and chemotherapy, which is given through an IV. You will lose your hair, which is really hard, because women have an identity through their looks. The chemotherapy will absolutely be terrible, but it will most likely save your life. You will get through it. The doctors are trying to save your life, not let the treatment kill you. Also, just rock a wig, or or wear your head bald. Also, this picture is not me or my kid. I didn't take any of when I was bald. Sadly. Because I have a great head. This picture speaks volumes though.
FACT #10 If you get breast cancer, even if it is the earliest stages and your treatment is almost nonexistent, (one day surgery, no chemo, just radiation)your life will be forever changed. You will be part of a club that you didn't sign on for. You don't, however, have to be dramatic and wear your 'cancer card' on your sleeve. If your intent is to educate people then great. If you just want pity, well...

Look. Having a great set of boobies is great. Losing your life because you couldn't or wouldn't isn't. People love you. And you have to survive for them.

Surviving and then continuing to survive is a whole other story, and one I will most likely run during breast cancer awareness month. Which is in October.

Make me proud, sisters.