Having recently unlocked my blog after a rogue module went haywire, keeping me out until I had time to deal with it, and this also being the winter solstice and first day of the year-long countdown to the fabled "end of the world" according to the Mayan calendar, I'm taking this opportunity to begin a countdown of my own, one that is more in line with the actual meaning of 12/21/2012 date - a transition from one era to the next.

A friend has been posting articles for some time on Facebook on green smoothies and how they've helped with her intake of vital nutrients, as well as to lose some weight as an added benefit.

Yesterday, my son celebrated 13 months of life having been born on the 13th day of the month. I chose to see significance in those numbers and today have been feeling as if I am starting over somehow - the fact that I've been revamping Mujerista and learning the Drupal ropes most certainly contributed to this forward movement of the spirit. Many times over the past year I have been overcome with feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, disappointed, powerless, ashamed, desperate - you name it, I've felt it.

I'm sending this to my staffer friends for those electeds who have co-jurisdiction with the Sheriff's Department (regardless of whether you cover the Eastside) and other members of the community who might share my concerns. I know I should probably be writing a "strongly-worded letter" to your offices so you it can be officially input into whatever tracking system you might have for "constituent concerns," but I'm the mom of a very active 10-month-old and I need my sleep. This is my rant from the middle of the night followed by some thoughts. Do with it what you will.

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

1. Anne of Green Gables series - Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. Little House on the Prairie series - Laura Ingalls Wilder
3. Trixie Belden series - Julie Campbell Tatham
4. The Cat Who series - Lillian Jackson Braun

(I read these series over and over and over as a kid - they must inevitably have fused with my psyche somehow, thus their inclusion)

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde