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LFCA Latest Issue: Friday, September 25, 2009.

Latest Post on BlogHer: Parenting after Infertility.

My Status: Fed Josh's almonds to the squirrels. They needed them very badly.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Friday Blog Roundup

Even though yesterday was Thursday the 12th, it somehow didn't occur to me until this moment that today was Friday the 13th. I would say that it doesn't bother me, but then the what ifs start cropping up inside my head. What if I said it didn't bother me and then all hell broke loose just because I said it didn't bother me. What if my Friday the 13th would have been unremarkable if I had just admitted that the date bothered me?

What if? I mean, really, what if? And aren't what ifs more powerful than any superstition? Or are they really one and the same thing?

So instead of discussing superstitions, throw out your best what if or answer another one that you see in the comment section.

I'll start: what if you were told that if you didn't delete your blog in the next three seconds (giving you no time to back it up or save any entries--you would lose the whole thing), you were going to have your car stolen. Is your blog worth more than your car?

And don't just answer mine--leave your own so I have something to muse on all weekend.

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On the topic of the number 13, Josh often shows me videos that are either amusing or contain people we know or both. Last night, he sent me this. I kept waiting for Paul Rudd to pop up during the song or for Andy Samburg to be shwanking off in the corner--an overgrown 13-year-old. Except that it never came. So I finally turned to him and asked him who made it and he said, "Mel, this is an actual musical." Isn't that scary? I mean, it's scary enough to live through being 13, but to also sing about it? Why is everyone 13 also white? And why is that guy throwing paint on the wall?

Freaked. Me. Out.

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So I obviously didn't post the first A Side Order of Help With That (ASOHWT) yesterday because I'm now doing the final proofread for the book and have been sidetracked. So feel free to send in any other questions this weekend via email because I'll post on Monday (read the post if you don't know what I'm talking about). The ones that have come in so far are interesting. Um, including mine. At least I think my question is interesting.

The offer for the sessions is closed. I put everyone's name on scraps of paper and pulled one out of a hat. I'm contacting them today and contacting everyone else who put their name into the ring. It would be wonderful if more people would donate to the community in exchange for the advertising space. Spread word that we want free Gonal-F, many boxes of pee sticks, an IVF cycle.

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And now, the blogs...

Weebles Wobblog has been writing an ongoing series about her daughter's reunion with her birthfather and this week had the third part in the series (the other two posts are linked at the top of this post in the series). I think this series is not only hugely important for others who may find themselves in this position one day--helping their child with a reunion--but it has also been blowing my mind from time to time with small details that I never considered before. It is a beautiful, emotional set of posts.

Miss E's Musings has a post called "Stealing Beauty" about comparisons between twins. It begins with a comment someone makes about one daughter being more beautiful than the other and it's not only rude, but hits a raw nerve. She writes: "I think nearly all women can relate to the feeling that they aren't as attractive as their mother, sister, roommate, or best friend. The closer the age or relationship, the more inevitable the comparisons and comments, and my daughters are just 1 minute apart. It will be an ongoing challenge to learn how to deflect others' comments, as well as to help Ivy and Nina interpret them." It is an interesting post about how we compare beauty--from generation to generation but also between those close in age.

Bloorb has a fantastic post about the second wave of friends who are now becoming pregnant. She describes the sensation of watching them to a game of bowling and writes: "The kind of bowling pins I've been trying to knock down for YEARS, only THEY seem to have been given gigantic bowling balls that couldn't miss if you tried, and I'm still stuck over here with my tiny ping pong ball that dives in between. A ping pong ball I've spent over $20,000 to upgrade, but apparently money doesn't matter." You need to click over and read the whole thing because many will be able to relate to her thoughts.

Lastly, Busted Babymaker has a post about missing the Doodles. It is simple and straightforward, grief laid bare. She writes of the clothing that was purchased for her first children and how seeing these tangible outfits makes the idea of her first babies so much more real. It is impossible to go through a second pregnancy--especially passing markers along the way--without missing the children who came first. It is a beautiful post about love and grief.

The roundup to the Roundup: give us your best what if, keep emailing your blogging questions for ASOHWT, and lots of blogs to read. Catch you back here on Saturday night for Show & Tell.

16 comments:

Bea said...

They can have the car. I am imagining I have a car, of course. I have had one in the past, so it's not hard. Ye gods, I should totally back up my blog, shouldn't I?

What if you were transplanted into a place and/or time where nobody spoke your language. What words would you learn first? Second? Third?

Bea

battynurse said...

Yup, they can have the car. Granted I like my car but I like my blog a whole lot better and I have insurance on the car. Besides, I've been wanting a new one anyways. That said I really do need to figure out backing up my blog along with the rest of my computer.

HereWeGoAJen said...

Insurance on the car! No insurance on the blog. (And now I am trying to figure out how to back up the blog.) I think I have really good insurance on the car too, so that I could get a new one. I highly recommend USAA to anyone who is eligible for it. :) Wait, what were we talking about?

Courtney said...

Take my car! Now i'm going to go print out all my entries!

chicklet said...

They can totally have the car. While there's a lot of stuff in my blog that shocks me how angry I can be, or embarrasses me that I put out there how crazy I can be, it's a place for me that documents how this has all been, and more than anything, that's why I started it. I'd be devastated to lose it.

And thanks for the mention sista:-)

Eve said...

Um, I gotta go with saving my car, and this is why:

My blog is free, and although I've poured my heart into it, I'm sure I could do it again as I've learned that I have a never-ending spillover of words in my head.

My car, on the other hand, cannot be recreated on a free website despite all the words I might have. And IF and a 2-year have made me poor.

Here's my what-if:

What if you could trade jobs with anyone? Who would you choose and why?

infertilityrocks.wordpress.com

MrsSpock said...

My car is worth $1500 blue book. I'm jonesing for a new one. Take my car, please. But don't take my blog!

Kristin said...

Yup...take the car. We have functioned with one vehicle before and we could again. I must have my blog.

ultimatejourney said...

I haven't gone back and read any old blog entries for fear it would be embarrassing, but I still want to have it. There are definitely important memories in there. I'll keep the blog, thanks :)

Cara said...

SO funny that you should ask! Just this morning I said to DH, "I MUST buy an external hard drive...and soon!"

So - THE CAR is your answer! I would love to downsize - a little - and that would be the perfect opportunity.

What if WE were the speck (ie - Whoville) - what would you imagine Horton to be?

Brenna said...

I'll freely admit that my blog is scattershot and ill-conceived...it's just a big brain dump. At the same time, I'm really not a car person, so--hmm. Tough one. I guess they can take the car, sure.

What if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life. What would it be and why? (As usual, I'm hungry...)

Lori Lavender Luz said...

*I* would vote to lose the car.

My SON would vote to lose my blog!

Thanks so much for the shout out, Mel. XO

Lollipop Goldstein said...

Bea--my first word would be "stop" because it is an all-around good word for buying time. My second word would be "vegetarian". I assume they'll understand by touching my mouth that I'm talking about food, but I'd want to know if I'm eating an animal. Third I would choose "peanuts" because it once was a useful word to know when I was in Spain and I assume it would be useful again.

Eve--trading jobs...that's a great what if. I'd probably trade with someone over at NIH. I've always wanted to work there and applied for a job once, but the process took so long that I had to take a different job before I could finish the interview process.

Cara--now I need to reread the book.

Brenna--it would be--no contest--burritos from Bueno y Sano in Amherst. So damn good.

Okay, more please. More what ifs.

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Blog, all the way. My car is as old as my fertility journey, therefore over the hill.

What if you had to choose between letting the twins eat bacon double cheeseburgers or learn to shoot guns?

Lollipop Goldstein said...

Damn Cassandra is good. I would let the twins eat a bacon cheeseburger because right now, kashrut is ours(and it has to be theirs because they are currently still an extension of us) but unless they own it in the future, I expect that they won't remain kosher. Meaning, I hope they do, but they have to find their own way with Judaism (or with another religion or with no religion at all) and I have to support them in however they think it is best to live life.

BUT, I really couldn't handle the gun thing. I come with gun baggage.

Alana said...

1st time posting here. Your blog is wonderful! I am especially fond of your blogroll which has helped me to connect with women who have undergone similar circumstances. SO nice not to be "alone."

My blog is my outlet...and I hope to share it with my daughter (and hopefully at least one other child someday.) So to answer your "what-if" question, the powers-that-be could definitely have my car. Even though I love it so. :)