To heal, all you really need is the love of a good....Cat.

Emily, my cat, is very much enjoying my convalescence...

All is good...

You know how you can save voicemails on your cell phone and they periodically come up for review, then you listen to them again and determine if you want to save or delete?

Well today the voicemail Cousin Dale left when he arrived at the hospital in Denver for his bone marrow transplant in March of 2007 came up for renewal.

This is not an unusual event in and of itself, it does so every 40 days...but that it came due today, on my 52 birthday, when I am convalescing from surgery (I'm so not a good patient), away from my son, my favorite feline, unable to visit my dad and feeling quite sorry for myself, does seem a bit uncanny.

I choose to believe that it is Dale's way of telling me, as he said in his message to me, "all is good".

Thanks, Dale.

Saying ta ta to the ta ta's...

I've had neck problems for most of my adult life, but they have worsened considerably in the last 2 years. The doctor said it is because my body has gotten smaller, but the "girls" have not.

I woke up in the morning shortly after my 16th birthday with enormous breasts. I was a tall, thin and lanky and loved to play basketball and shoot pool and these unwanted female accessories did nothing but foul up my free shot and my break. In later life, my son's friends would comment to him that I had "bodacious ta tas". Sigh...

My recent weight loss has put a lot of stress on my neck. Apparently the girls, who haven't shrunk at all in cup size, are too heavy, now, for my significantly smaller frame.

Neck problems, shoulder problems, numb arms and hands and a constant headache finally took me to a doctor who told me she thought the cause of my malaise was my overgrown knockers.

Having long since tired of having the pains and aches they cause, I visited a plastic surgeon who, after a myriad of tests they apparently have to give to a woman of my advanced years, advised a breast reduction.

I am NOT a fan of surgery of any type and the thought that my mammary glands would be whittled upon truly scared the sh*t out of me, but a two month headache finally turned the tide and I decided to go for it.

Tomorrow is the big day. I have had almost 3 weeks to "prepare" myself for the operation...and the closer I get, the more nervous I become. The kid cousins have entertained me with shopping, board games, twister and even poker, and it has been a godsend to have them keeping my mind off of things, but as the time draws nearer, I have to say I'm very anxious.

I just have to keep thinking that by doing this I will be free from the headaches, my shoulder and neck will stop aching all the time and it is even possible that men will notice that "my eyes are up here".

I believe it is a win-win situation, but after having waited this long...a monstrous winter storm has hit the city of Billings, knocking out power lines and causing all kinds of chaos. My hope now is that the weather will stabilize and I will be able to have the surgery in the morning and all will go well.

And I will finally be able to say ta ta to the ta tas.

They say it's your birthday...

It's that time of year again when I beg you all to send my daddy birthday cards.

His birthday is September (thanks WW) 29 and since that is a Monday, we are holding the party the Saturday before.

There will be cake!



And balloons!



And presents!



And most importantly...



family...





and friends.



A few will be missing for one reason...



or another





but we know their spirits will be with us.

So please, if you have a moment this week, send a card to dad. It would mean a lot to all of us.

Bill Kelley
350 West Pike Avenue
Columbus, MT 59109

And if you are in the neighborhood, by all means, stop by! We'd love to have you join us.

What I did on my summer vacation...

Much of my vacation was spent enjoying the company of my wonderful family and friends. I doted on daddy, spent time with the cousins and kidcousins and even saw my brother for a short while. I truly had a magnificent time.

I hardly even thought of work, for once (thanks for that, Bobbi--friend and co-worker), and was able to unwind for the first time in I can't remember how long.

I even managed to take a one day trip to Yellowstone Park, but true to form lately I forgot my camera! Thankfully my companion had an old one along so I was able to get a few shots, including this one of an elk and her youngun' wading in the Yellowstone River.


And this one of a buffalo (why, oh why did I forget my freaking camera?).


Here's one my friend insisted on taking. Once again I say, how much weight do I have to lose before I only have one chin? Does anyone know the name of a good plastic surgeon?



Our turbo trip took us to Yellowstone Lake, probably my favorite place of all, where the last three shots were taken.






So there you have it in a nutshell.

I've missed you all and very much look forward to going to your blogs to catch up with what is going on in your lives.

Big hugs and lots of love,

Laurie

Color Me GONE!

Flatlanders, eat your hearts out. I am going here...


and here...


To see most of my favorite beings in the universe.


Don't hate me, please, but in four days I will be escaping the confines of my office and life here in Forsyth to go to Billings and Absarokee. I'll see my dad, my brother, my cousins, the kidcousins, Shasta the Disasta and Gabby girl.

In order to make my escape, I have to put in a hellishly long week (3 major events to put on in three days), but it will be worth it in the long run. I am taking eleven, count them, 11 days off and I'm telling the office that unless someone loses an arm or a leg, I don't even want to know about it!!!

So hugs to you all...

and have a fantastic week!

Bleh...

Obviously, I've not been blogging much. There are several reasons...

I work too much.

It's been too hot and the central air in my apartment isn't working very well.

A gal's gotta sleep sometime!

Seriously though...it's currently 98 degrees outside, 82 inside, and although I usually LOVE LOVE LOVE the hot weather, it is starting to get old.

Today I found myself longing for...

I'm scared to say it...

Are you ready for this...

winter.

Radioactive?

My brother Mike is a doter. He took wonderful care of our mother and now of our dad. He spoils his nephew (Wolf), Uncle John, the kid-cousins and pretty much everyone he knows, (including myself) rotten.

His dog, Shasta, is as extremely well taken care of and so are his two newly acquired cats.

A few examples...

His cats, Cuddles, the one he inherited from Lois our favorite neighbor, and Floyd, the one that traded in his old owner (traded up in my opinion), were shedding quite a lot. I attributed it to the change in weather, but Mike set out to find a solution to the problem.

Since neither of them were fond of being brushed (can you say kevlar gloves and sleeves needed?), he went to Pet Smart and bought them kitty treats that were guaranteed to prevent excessive hair loss in felines.

There was one catch...you had to get them to eat them. Neither cat was at all interested in the crunchy delights, in fact they avoided them like the plague...going so far as to walk around them on the floor or even leave the room altogether.

Mike, in his infinite wisdom, decided that the treats were RADIOACTIVE so I agreed to take them home with me.

My cat, Emily, did NOT find them radioactive, in fact she loved them so much that she carried the bag around in her mouth...she loved them so much that I have recently bought stock in the company.


Not long after the ill-fated cat treat adventure, Mike went online in search of the perfect cat condo.

A few weeks later it arrived in the mail. Standing almost 7 feet tall it had seven levels upon which were situated a house, a cave, several pedestals of varying sizes and a hammock. Yes...a hammock. :-|

Once again...RADIOACTIVE

Apparently Emily is immune to radiation.

Help!

I haven't had any time for blogging or anything else lately. Today I had some downtime, before going to job #2 and when I tried to view blogs (my own included) I was unable to do so.

I'm not sure when this started...a friend from Canada said he's not having the same problem, so I'm not sure if this is my computer (and the dreaded Vista) acting strangely or if there is a problem somewhere else.

So...I'm asking that you please let me know if you had the same problem and if so, how did you fix it.

Thanks so much!

It takes many colors to make a rainbow...

As most of you know, I'm the proud mother of a wonderful gay man.

On my recent trip to visit him, I was lucky enough to be able to attend PrideFest 2008. It was an incredible gathering of incredible people who were there to celebrate diversity.

I could NOT have had a better time. I was loud and I was proud!

The photos that follow were taken at the parade held on Sunday, June 22 in beautiful downtown Denver.



































































I cried a dozen times during the 10 hours we were in downtown Denver, hanging out with my son and his friends.

I cried for joy at the beauty I saw, the hands of the young lovers entwined...the parents marching in support of their gay children...the children marching in support of their gay parents...the mothers and grandmothers arm in arm...all of those things made me cry.

Other things made me cry too, but not for joy: the words of my son's roommate who said Pride weekend was the one weekend of the year that he could hold hands with his lover in public without fear of being mocked...the people holding rude signs and chanting "repent sinners" as the parade passed by their "church", and most of all, I cried when I thought of all the young gay men and women who had to move from states like Montana and Wyoming to find a modicum of acceptance in the big city.

I wish I was a poet, or even a writer...I'd have profound words to say...words that would make a difference, but I'm not and I don't and I can't.

Next year Pridefest will be held on June 27th and June 28th in downtown Denver and I'm going to be there. Once again I'm going to be loud and proud.