There is a current grassroots effort to send an empty envelope on April 10th to the governor and your legislators.  On the back of the envelope print or write this:

"This envelope represents one infant, child or adult with disabilities whose life will be critically impacted by budget cuts. This envelope is empty because it represents what the lives of people who are vulnerable will be like without the support they need to live with dignity and respect. It also represents the emptiness that our communities will experience without the inclusion of people with disabilities. Sad... lonely... empty. Is anyone listening?"

http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp

 

Please pass this on.

For those that may be curious as to the answer to "When are you and Chris moving in together."

Courtesy of bluebeegirl :
( Read more where I wax depressive, although I am not really at the moment... )

I figured out the point of this meme- it makes you post! My answers to spookyfish24 follow:
( Read more if you dare... )

Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given. The meme is from all over, but these subject/things are from elmocho.

1. Acceptance is not defeat.
This life philosophy comes from many places, I think. It may be rooted in growing up around and with disabilities, as well as my training as a therapist. It is also from body image circles- Self-acceptance is not defeat. It is also a big peace of mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy. It is also why I am still going and a big piece of both my personal resiliency and our family resiliency.

2. Wine knowledge and lore.
I am not sure about the knowledge. You know more more about beer than I do wine. Wine is nostalgic for me. It reminds me of California and the Central Coast and my Dad. I love to find wine from the Santa Rosa vineyards and other local wines from both Santa Barbara county and from Arizona.
I find something therapeutic about drinking wine. It is more than the alcohol. There is a ritual to it- uncorking, pouring, the feel of the glass in your hand. I don't drink unless I have me time, so it is also associated with time for myself and relaxation.

3. Practical cleaning knowledge (use of vinegar and other non-packaged items).
Years of poverty and gleaning tips from elders and peers. Lemon juice, tang, baking soda, denture tablets, vinegar- all wonderful cleaning products.

4. Science Fiction fandom
We talked about this on the phone. Since you meant fantasy, I will take it as that. I never considered myself a 'fan' but just an enthusiast. I do have a large collection of traditional fantasy, which I grew up reading. It is pure escapism. I am surprised you didn't say princess, but that piece is related to reading fantasy and putting myself in the heroine's role. I preferred heroines who kicked ass, and did not realize I was reading a separate genre of feminist fantasy until my late 20's. It is also, similar to spookyfish24, it is also related to my background in Roleplaying games.  We were partners in crime, and I will let it stand at that.

5. Baking
I miss baking.  The feel of dough on my hands.  The rhythmic movement of kneading.  The smell of cookies fresh out of the oven. The first bite of gingerbread still hot.  My mom and dad did most of the cooking, but the one thing they really involved me in was the baking.  I remember making dozens upon dozens of cookies every Christmas for Dad to take to work with him.  I made my first efforts at real bread in high school and started to take homemade bread to all SCA events.
Making bread is cheap.  You can buy the basic ingredients fairly easily, and if you had storage, in bulk.  We survived the 2 months before we lost the house in Flagstaff on my bread.  I had a ton of left over baby cereal (fortified, yaknow) and dried milk that I used to increase the nutrition.  Beans and bread....  the staff of life.
I don't really bake now because I don't have the time nor energy.  I will again, and I know I have the skills to keep my family fed no matter what happens.  I have even made bread in clay ovens before.

And now you know.

 I am writing about this journey over on my blog.  It is not an easy time.

So I can play it every morning. Sound familiar, Chris? If you want a surgery update, check my blog. :)

And just because everyone else is:

Your result for The Ultra Ultimate Personality Test...

The Giver

You scored 52 Extroversion, 65 Intuition, 59 Emotional, and 33 Spontaneity!

Take The Ultra Ultimate Personality Test at HelloQuizzy

Community [is] a group of individuals who have learned how to communicate honestly with each other, whose relationships go deeper than their masks of composure, and who have developed some significant commitment to “rejoice together, mourn together,” and to “delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own.”… Genuine community is not easily achieved or easily maintained; its avowed goal is to seek ways in which to live with ourselves and others in love and peace…. Once a group has achieved community, the single most common thing members express is, “I feel safe here.” (Scott Peck, 1987)