Winnah!

The Adorable Girlfriend wins! AG, watch your email for how to redeem your prize. Note that the gift code is only active through January 31, so don't delay!

Thanks to all -- um, two of you -- who played.

I Suck

I told you several weeks ago that I had a give away coming up for you, then never posted it. My bad! But the nice people at CSN Stores say it's not too late, so here we go...

CSN Stores is currently promoting their flat screen TV stands site, which looks pretty damn comprehensive. But you can use the $65 gift code on any of their 200 online stores, such as cookware.com or luggage.com. To enter, leave a comment on this post by noon Sunday, telling me how you would spend the money if you win! The winner will be chosen by random drawing. (As CSN can only ship to the US and Canada, the winner's ship address must be in one of these two countries.)

Full disclosure: I am not receiving any compensation for participating in this promotion other than the warm fuzzies I get from passing free stuff to one pretty reader. Go forth and comment!

Better Late Than Never...

And the winner is Insomniac Ellen! Something very fitting about a blankie going to an insomniac, I think. Maybe it will help?

Thanks to everyone who played!

***

In other news, I'm exhausted and fighting a cold the kids have both had in the last week. Send chicken soup, 'cuz I need my mojo back fast.

Zen FAIL

You all are so wonderful and supportive, I think it's time for another giveaway. Don't you?

























Isn't this throw yummy and cozy-looking? As these September evenings get more and more crisp, I fantasize about being the kind of person who wraps herself up in a throw such as this and sits on the perfect wicker chair on the back deck with a mug of tea, watching the squirrels hide acorns for the winter and enjoying the tranquility of leaves falling.

But we all know that I've got eleventy-thousand things I'd have to get done before sitting on the deck (like sweep scrub power wash the deck, clean replace the furniture, weed napalm the gardens, and take a three Valium), so the throw would be wasted on me.

But you, my pretties! I have high hopes for you and your leisure time. Leave me a comment (with a working email, please) between now and midnight Wednesday, and I'll do the random-selection thingy on Thursday. You can read more about the throw here, and it is being furnished by the nice people at CSN Stores, who sell mattresses, bedroom furniture, bedding, and more. Thank you for sharing, CSN! The winner will be able to pick their favorite color (I am partial to the taupe).

Okay, now I want a cuddle. Anyone?...

We Have A Winnah!

HG, you were randomly selected out of the hundreds dozens several entries to win the cute marble jungle toy thingy. Email to follow. Yay, HG, and thanks to everyone for playing!

My First Giveaway and My Sixty-Eleventh Rant

First the rant. (You're welcome.)

Yesterday while waiting for the morning school bus, my neighbor told me that she's just been diagnosed with long-standing Lyme disease. As in, her blood work shows that she's had it for a long while -- probably a year or so. When I asked her whether she had been aware of being bitten by a tick, she said no, but that her health has been dodgy for the last year -- urinary tract infections, aching joints, heavy fatigue, and the like. At one of her many doctor visits prior to diagnosis, she mentioned the fatigue and was told, "Well, you're a mom. Of course you're tired."

WHAT THE EFFING FROCK.

I am sure that the medical establishment does this frequently -- brushes off complaints of fatigue from women (particularly mothers) because it is assumed that we, in our multiple roles as caregivers, workers, home tenders, etc., tend to overdo it, get tired, and then whine about it. OF COURSE YOU'RE TIRED, the message runs, YOU POOR LITTLE THING, YOU'RE OVERDOING IT AND CAN'T BE TRUSTED TO PROPERLY GAUGE YOUR OWN HEALTH AS A RESULT. And the medical inquiry stops there. And the potential Lyme disease, or potential depression, or potential thyroid problem, or potential anemia, or potential (fill in the blank) goes undiagnosed and untreated.

(Please pardon the shouting, but I am THAT PISSED OFF.)

Has this happened to you? Because it's happened to me. The exhaustion I felt when the kids were littler and before my kidney failure asserted itself through high blood pressure was bone-deep and pervasive. My then-doctor tested me for anemia (negative), but stopped there. Was there anything else wrong with me? Who can say? It's quite possible that my on-again, off-again depression was lurking, or that the early signs kidney failure were asserting themselves. There's no way to know, now, whether there was something treatable going on that would have spared me some of that exhaustion that I could ill-afford.

AND! Can you in your wildest dreams imagine any doctor saying something similar to a male patient complaining of fatigue? Michael and I both work full-time, stressful jobs. We put in a fairly equitable amount of house- and parenting-work. And yet, I guarantee you that if he were to complain to his doctor of heavy fatigue, he'd get tested up, down and sideways for heart problems, blood disorders, and anything else the doctor could dream up. There is no way in hell that his doctor would say "Well, you're a father -- of course you're tired" and send him on his way with a pat on the head.

This makes me so angry I could SPIT.

***

Now, the fun stuff! A few weeks ago I was contacted by the nice people at All Children's Furniture and offered a chance to do my very first bloggy giveaway. I must admit to being somewhat ambivalent at first -- I have no experience with this company and can't vouch for them in any real sense -- but the person who contacted me is very nice and has put up beautifully with my dithering and delays. And their product line is quite extensive -- I spent LOTS of time browsing everything from kids furniture to play kitchens to organizational systems. Plus, we're in a recession and free = good, right? And don't you all need a jungle marble maze from ALEX toys, rated for ages 3 and up?






















This maze has won a "Best Toy" award from Parents' Magazine and is made of solid wood blocks. (There's a detailed description of the maze here.) If you'd like to enter the drawing, please leave a non-anonymous comment (with a working email address) before Sunday, June 8, at midnight. I'll do a random-number-picky-thingy (or put numbers in a hat, more like) on Monday and announce the winner then. Weeee!