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Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

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Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

Our first hurricane since our move back to Florida! Woo-hoo! Well, I say that now. When I think of these small hurricanes, I think of them as an excuse to stock up on goodies, hang out with the family and not leave the house for a day or so. But of course the possibility is there that we could lose power for a few days, which would seriously put a hamper on my classwork (I have a group project due this coming weekend. Sorry guys, natural disaster and all that, lol!) And we do live only a hop, skip and a jump from the Sound, which has been known to flood the road that runs a block behind our house. Hmmm, we shall see. Most of you probably remember Petey's wind anxiety. When I told him that Ida had been upgraded to a hurricane he got very upset...at me. "You shouldn't have told me!!" I replied that I wanted him to know so that he had time to process it before he went to school (if they go to school tomorrow, that is.) He's not sure how he feels about it. Part of him is somewhat excited to see a hurricane, but the other part is in fight-or-flight mode. He took out my Macbook so he could google the question, "Is hurricane Ida hitting Fort Walton Beach?" He typed in "Is" and then google provided him with several options, the top two being "Is lady gaga a man?" and "is lady gaga a hermaphrodite?" Sheesh. I thought it was interesting that he turned to the Internet like that, though. That's the first time I've seen him try to research on his own without asking me to help.

My visit with my mom was wondrous. We had such a good time and the weather on Saturday was just beautiful (feeding the fury of Ida, no doubt.) We went to the beach and the kids swam for well over an hour. I thought the water was freezing, but they loved it. Fun, fun day.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/video/?vs=Ponderosa

http://www.greyswriters.com/2009/11/stacy-mckee-on-invest-in-love.html

Original Airdate: 11-5-09

OK. So I am currently writing this blog (and when I say writing, I mean longhand. In a notebook. With a pen. That’s right, people. This week I’m blogging old school!) early on a Saturday morning as I stand in line at a horse racing park near the Los Angeles Airport. I, along with easily 500 other people, am waiting in line to get my H1N1 vaccine. 

So far, I’ve been in line for 35 minutes.

This is one of the only places in the city offering the vaccine right now and while, ordinarily, I totally wouldn’t bother getting up early on my Saturday to go stand in a ridiculously long line for a shot… At this particular moment, I really don’t have a choice. 

My OB was pretty darn insistent. As was Shonda, who called me out of the writers’ room on Friday to try and convince me to leave work and go home, suggesting I should seriously consider spending the next several weeks safely sanitized inside a large plastic bubble. (Greys and Private have already had 3 confirmed H1N1 cases emerge in just the last week, so the likelihood of me being exposed is… well... not absurd.) 

So everyone’s freaking out. And insisting I go get vaccinated. And all of this just because --I’m pregnant. You wouldn’t think that being pregnant could cause such a fuss.

Guess what? It can. 

And you probably would think that being pregnant – newly pregnant, mind you, and ridiculously hormonal – might prevent me from getting assigned to write the all PEDS episode this season. Seems a little cruel, doesn’t it? To ask the newly pregnant girl to tackle the one episode in which every major patient is supposed to be a SICK KID?

We’ve been planning an all PEDS episode for some time. Arizona is a regular now and we’ve started seeing more and more of her – but for the most part, we always see her helping Callie through crisis after crisis. We haven’t yet really given Arizona a crisis of her own. So what better chance than in an episode where every patient is – in essence – her patient. Every patient is from the PEDS floor. PEDS, where things work a little bit differently, where the patients believe in magic. Because they are kids. Sick, dying KIDS.

Guess what? As concerned as Shonda was about me living in a plastic bubble, she was just as equally NOT concerned that perhaps making me write the all Pediatrics episode was just a teeny, tiny little bit of torture. “It’ll be great,” she said. “Use your new maternal instincts to make the episode better,” she said. “NO, WALLACE CAN’T LIVE! I DON’T CARE HOW PREGNANT YOU ARE. THE ADORABLE LITTLE SICK KID MUST DIE!” she said.

Okay, maybe she didn’t say that last bit exactly like that. But still. Even I knew I couldn’t really tell Wallace’s story properly if I let him live. And as sad as it might have made you to watch his mom come into the morgue and try to usher his final resting bad dreams away - I’m telling you people - it was even more terrible and heartbreaking and so so so sad for me. ‘Cause all I could think of the entire time – as I wrote it, as I sat on set and watched us film it, as I sobbed all the way through it while watching a cut of the episode in my office – all I could think about was: Oh my god, what if that were MY baby. What if I were that mom? What if I were the one visiting my child in the morgue?

And then I would officially declare to anyone who would listen that I was a terrible person. A terrible, terrible person to write such a horribly sad story about a dying child -- WHILE PREGNANT.

You know how, when Alex is standing there all shirtless and Derek is mocking him, Alex blurts out: “Bailey made me!” – Well, that’s how I feel about this episode. Shonda made me!

I still can’t get through a cut without crying. Stupid me for killing stupid Wallace when I’m this stupidly hormonal.

It’s a good thing you aren’t here in line with me, cause I’m actually starting to cry right now, just thinking about it. And I’m pretty sure my crying is starting to make the volunteer line monitor in the red vest a little anxious. She keeps looking at me and whispering to the red vested guy next to her.

Btw, I’ve hit the hour and 10 minute mark now. And the line hasn’t moved since I started writing this.

So, to balance out all the sadness in the episode, I knew I had to incorporate a story that would make me (and you) feel good, too. Enter Alex. Saving a teeny tiny baby. In the NICU. Shirtless. 

See? A happy miracle baby story! And a half naked handsome man! I’m not such a terrible person! 

Alex’s story came from these cases I’d been reading about tiny, preemie babies where the doctors had done everything medically possible, but the babies just weren’t strong enough to rally. So, a lot of times, the parents would just pick up their little babies, thinking that at least they would get to hold their child for a few minutes while it was still alive. 

And then these miracles would happen, where the babies would feel their parents’ warmth and hear their heart beat, and the babies would, miraculously, start to thrive. One of the articles described how no incubator could mimic the simple act, the simple comfort of the baby being held.

Which was why this story was so perfect for Alex. He feels so completely helpless right now, so utterly useless and alone. And then he encounters this little baby who’s also struggling, also alone. For a moment, Alex finds a purpose. And he’s reminded that he can make a difference in somebody’s life, even when his own seems to be falling apart all around him. On the most basic level, these two little lost souls just need each other.

Ooo! Just moved up in line. Several whole inches. This is progress, people. 

The surprise party, by the way, is based on a true story, too. A true Grey’s story. It happened a few years ago, when we threw Krista Vernoff a surprise baby shower. It was the best kept secret our office has EVER had (because, basically, no one in our office can keep a secret. We’re a bunch of blabber mouths. The fact that the party was genuinely a surprise still surprises ME!) – Anyway. Shonda told Krista to come to a meeting at her house one morning, a morning where Krista was in the middle of a million different rewrites and script pages and stress. Lots of stress. So Krista kept calling people from the office, and none of us would pick up our phones because – of course – we were all crouched in Shonda’s living room, waiting for Krista to arrive. So by the time she got to Shonda’s, Krista had probably had one of the worst mornings ever, just in time to walk in the front door, have us all yell SURPRISE, and to have poor Krista burst into tears. Full on, pregnant and hormonal tears.

Obviously, right now, I can identify.

And that is exactly what happens to Arizona. She steps into the apartment wanting nothing more than some quiet time to just decompress and maybe vent a little and just feel her feelings and instead – she’s met with a room full of party goers. 

Mark Sloan is right when he says that surprise parties are hostile. Because they ARE! (One of my favorite unscripted moments in the episode comes from Cristina when she’s eating breakfast and listening to Mark’s take on surprise parties. If you notice, she TOTALLY sides with Mark as she chomps on her bacon. It’s hilarious!)

And, if you were paying attention, you may have noticed that the surprise party moment is the ONLY moment in the entire episode where Arizona cries. Even though, as we’ve established, Arizona tends to cry in the face of authority figures. Arizona is a people pleaser –Which is why she winds up agreeing to a surgery she doesn’t believe in – she’s trying to please Richard. He’s the chief. She doesn’t want to let him down…

But even after standing up to him, after kicking him out of her OR, she still doesn’t break down and cry. After losing Wallace, Arizona still doesn’t cry. After having to face the Chief and face Jennings in the wake of losing Wallace, Arizona still doesn’t cry. 

Until the party. Where it all just comes flooding out. In the most horribly embarrassing way.

I love, though, that then she gets it out. She cries with Callie, but when she gets back to the hospital, even in the morgue with Wallace’s parents, Arizona doesn’t break down. I feel like it’s a big turning point for her. 

Meanwhile – I’ve now been in line an hour and 45 minutes. This vaccine better be worth it.

I can’t, of course, blog without talking about Meredith and Derek who, admittedly, don’t have a LOT of screen time this episode. But the time they have is, I think, utterly charming and adorable. I love seeing them be happy and married and totally in sync with one another. 

We were, of course, limited a little by the fact that when we filmed this, Ellen had JUST had her baby. In fact, this is the first episode we filmed with her post pregnancy. (It was really fun, actually. She had tons of adorable baby photos to share. That is one cute baby with one FANTASTIC wardrobe. Just saying.)

And finally – one of my favorite moments in the entire episode comes in the very last scene – from Callie. 

For those of you who have been watching Grey’s for a while, you know that Callie tends to blurt things like “I love you” out – often prematurely. She did it with George, and he never could say it back. She’s a gal who jumps in head first, sometimes blindly, and we’ve seen it bite her in the ass.

So what I love love love is the moment when, after the horrible day that Arizona’s had, after the disastrous party, after losing one of her favorite patients – Arizona comes home, takes one look at Callie in her lingerie and that silly party hat – and Arizona says “I love you” first. 

The look on Callie’s face when she hears that? Oh man, I’m starting to tear up again. It’s just so unbelievably vulnerable and sweet and lovely. Okay. Totally crying again.

…Just as Red Vest is motioning for me to move ahead in line. I think maybe I’m about to go get my H1N1 shot. FINALLY. After over 2 hours of waiting. 

At least, I suppose, I’ve put all the waiting to good use. I’ve blogged. I’ve cried. And I’ve given myself a lot of extra work for Wednesday night, when I’ll inevitably be typing all this up. So that’s it for now, kids! Talk to you again in a few episodes!

Feel free to discuss your thoughts on tonight's episode within.

Remember, posts in this thread may (and probably will) contain spoilers. Enter at your own risk.

Remember to use LJ-Cut any other posts. Thanks!

Because of Sophie's AMC she cant sit on a regular chair but to be fair she IS only 3! today we were at McDs and they had high chairs but only with a bar across the top which makes it absolutely useless for a child with Sophies condition as well as any other child with orthopedic issues or casts or splints or AFOs. there is no getting them in. booster seats? umm no such thing. so guess who had to sit and hold her with one arm and try to feed myself with the other? I mentioned to the manager and she smiled her nicest smile, the one that means she isnt likely to do anything about it. I also called corporate McDs. I mean seriously high chairs with a bar across the front went out with the dark ages. A bar between the legs is sufficient to keep them from sliding out, a bar across the top too is overkill. probably wont make any difference at all. so now apparently I have to start hauling a booster seat around with me in addition to my stroller (and kids!) so that if we stop to eat Sophie will be allowed to eat? that is ludacris. am I not a paying customer? shouldnt seating be available to all not just the ones that function the same as everyone else? after I told the manager, another employee who was standing nearby continued to stare at us the rest of the time we were there. I didnt bother saying anything. I guess its just the way things are going to be. but after our experience with McD employee who was shocked that Ethan was russian and looked just like us! I am not impressed with McD.

Wesley at the end of Dwayne's driveway. Dwayne (former co-worker of Bill's) does a haunted garage every year and there are TONS of trick-or-treaters that come around and they scare the pants off of even teenagers. This picture was taken just as we were about to take the kids trick-or-treating before settling down at Dwayne's for the evening.


Olivia, all excited to be going trick-or-treating.


( Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat! )

The kids just before heading out to the Cub Scouts Trunk or Treat on Thursday. They were so excited. :)


Olivia and her pitchfork/trident thing. Unfortunately some rude child stole it after Olivia let him borrow it for a few minutes when he asked. I was really annoyed. How could a parent not notice their child had something they didn't arrive with? She had picked it out herself at the store because she said she wanted to be a devil dragon...whatever that is..heh.


( 2 more...CANDY! )

I seem to have a baby possum that has taken up residence in my yard/my neighbors' yards. I discovered it this afternoon when Max was going crazy barking at it. It just lay there, playing dead under a bush. Seemed to work too, because Max didn't actually attack it. He didn't know what to do with it. He just barked and sort of waggled his paw at it. I've always wondered what he would do if he caught a squirrel. Now I know: nothing! I brought Max in and went back out to check a few minutes later. The possum was out of my yard and into the neighbors. He just sat there looking at me through the chain link fence. I walked right up to him, and he slowly closed his eyes and lolled his head to the side, playing dead again. I thought that would be the end of it now that Max had given him a fright.

I was wrong. This evening when we came home after Scouts, Max found him again on the back porch. This time he seems to have used the bathroom on the patio, which is not cool because possums carry disease that can really harm dogs. Max loves to spend hours outside at night time because we have so many interesting things in our jungle of a back yard. I think his favorite thing to do at night is chase toads. But now I feel like I can't let him out there because of that darn possum! I need to trap it and take it somewhere else. I wonder where it is living?

And, since I'm posting pictures, ( Here are pics of Halloween! )

aiyatheydidnt
The Chinese version of ONTD, AIYA is a dynamic international community that welcomes users who share a love of contemporary Chinese pop culture. Dedicated to celebrity gossip and entertainment news, you'll enjoy gorgeous photos and breaking stories featuring the glitterati of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

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Designed to rescue fashion victims everywhere, this Brit-based community reads like a rag-ezine. Published once or twice weekly, you'll view bizarre highlights of the global fashion scene through captivating photos and delightfully snarky editorial. Sit tight for a virtual fashion tour from the runways of New York to Milan to Paris and back home again to London in homage to the adage: you can't buy good taste.

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A passionate community for veterans of all ages (mostly American), plus families, friends, and supporters. View poignant snapshots detailing life in combat and back on civilian soil in the form of original artwork, personal narratives, poetry, and photos. Be forewarned that members don't shy away from describing their disappointments, disabilities, and struggles.

Wes had invited 3 people from his class and some other friends. One of the classmates was away all that week from school with Swine Flu so he didn't come, but the 2 other classmates, one with a sibling tagging along, and 2 other friends did show up and they all had a great time. Wes had asked me to make him a birthday cake that looked like a Halloween treat bag with all candy coming out the top, so that's what I did. He was happy with it and that's what counts...and the kids all happily helped themselves to the candy once Wes had blown out the candles. :)




( Birthday party fun :) )

Presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Star Wars Lego and Leapster game. He's a happy camper. :)


The cupcake cake I brought to his classroom on his birthday. He picked it out at the store. :)
When I asked him what happened to the little toys, which he'd been looking forward to getting, he told me he gave them all away to friends in class. That's my Wes. :)


Wes in the green shirt in his classroom. I was so busy dishing out cake and extra ice cream that I didn't really get a good picture of him in class. Oh well. :)


( A few more...at the fire station that evening with the Tiger Cub Scouts )

Survivor XIX: S’Moa

Brotha from Another Buddha

I laughed way too hard at this. Chia Obama

It's a little too creepy for me, but so funny!

Private interviews that never made it into the show.

I have a question regarding the voted off people. Do all the voted off people go to Ponderosa for awhile? Then do they go home after the episode of them getting voted off airs? They don't go home right away right?

During the earthquake that took place a couple weeks or so ago it was stated that survivior was not being recorded. So have they already finished filming this season?

Thank I'm just curious.

http://www.greyswriters.com/2009/10/pete-nowalk-on-give-peace-a-chance.html

So there’s a lot to talk about here – the fact that this was an all-Derek-all-the-time episode, that this was Chandra Wilson’s first time directing, that Izzie's still MIA...  But before I get into any of that, answer me this:

You’re on a road trip.  You’ve been driving for hours, your 3 kids all under the age of six are asleep in the backseat, when you realize you have to pee.  Do you…

A)    Stop at a gas station, wake the kids, and drag them into the restroom in order to relieve yourself?

B)    Use one of your kids’ diapers, thereby allowing yourself to keep driving and let the kids keep sleeping?

C)    Stop reading this blog because you’re so disgusted by this topic?

We played this game in the writers room one day.  Shonda had seen an episode of Oprah where a mother confessed to doing B.  (Here’s the link: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090311-tows-mom-truth/3).  Naturally, we all went around the room debating what we’d do.  Would we really use the diaper? Or would we do anything in the world to avoid said deplorable action?  Some of us thought this mom was smart -- who wants to schlep a bunch of kids into a public bathroom?  Others were a little horrified. Diapers are for babies.  Or astronauts.  Not grown adults who should know better.  The diaper, you see, became a controversial topic around here.  

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.  "That's your job?  To sit around and have potty talk??  And now you’re admitting that to the entire blogiverse?????"

I don’t blame you.  But this is the way a writers room works.  You chat, tell stories, discuss Oprah...until an idea hits.  And then you work like mad to fit it into your episode.  Hence, the diaper.  

Do surgeons really wear diapers?  Well, depends who you ask.  Our wonderful medical researcher Meg found a blog that mentioned surgeons wearing diapers during particularly long surgeries.  And one of our consulting surgeons said dude surgeons sometimes wear condom catheters.  (Yeah, that's a real thing apparently.)  Point is, it wasn’t that big of a leap for us to go diaper.  Our doctors are hardcore by nature. Combine that with the threat they're feeling from the Mercy West residents and you can understand while they'll do anything to win.  As Lexie tells Jackson, if she needs to pee in a diaper to help Derek get through his impossible surgery, she'll pee in a diaper.  Which of course just drove Cristina crazy jealous...  

Cristina was a shoe-in to win that pen-in-a-cup contest...but then she choked.  Happens to the best of us. That left Owen having to cope with the fact that his girlfriend was fiending to put on a diaper.  Admittedly, it's not the sexiest thing to picture your partner wearing.  But I think it speaks to Owen's overall good nature that he found a way to be okay with it, even gifting Cristina her very own marathon surgery to cheer her up.  And then, when Derek thwarts that plan, he goes as far as to sexily teach Cristina the right way to work the microscope.  You gotta admit, the dude's a pretty awesome boyfriend.  

Speaking of awesome boyfriend...  I'm sorry, I mean awesome husband...  

Derek Shepherd.

This episode probably felt different.  I only say that because that’s exactly how I felt the minute we started working on it.  As you've probably noticed, we’re trying to experiment more this season.  And that’s probably uncomfortable for some of you.  It was for me.  When we first decided to focus this episode solely on Derek and his patient, I was a little scared.  Most of this patient story (inspired by a case told to us by Dr. Robert Bray, an amazing neurosurgeon here in LA) involves Derek staring at a tumor.  Not cutting, not operating, not talking to anyone.  Like I said, scary.  

In retrospect I’m really glad we told this story this way.  As Derek says in the voiceover, what drew him to surgery was the quiet.  The deep, intense, long-ass focus required to make it through a marathon surgery where any wrong turn can result in death.  And this episode really reflects that.  It’s quieter than a typical episode.  More single-minded.  Derek is our sole focus.  And really, what an amazing character to spend an entire episode with.  Watch Patrick Dempsey on your screen and you can’t help but be struck by how much he says without saying anything.  The guy can pretty much give you an entire soliloquy with just one look.  That’s a rare talent, and we really wanted to use that to our advantage in an episode about stillness and peace.  

It also seemed like the perfect time to do our Derek-focused episode since we had little time to shoot with Ellen Pompeo (8 1/2 months pregnant at the time we shot this one).  Typically, if Derek's doing a once-in-a-lifetime neurosurgery, Meredith would be at his side.  But since we couldn't physically do that, we had her be there for him in a different way -- by helping him talk through the problem, by holding a phone to her ear for 26 hours...  (I'm guessing Cristina and Meredith have an unlimited friend-to-friend calling plan in case anyone was worried about their minutes).  So Mer was there for Der even when it seemed impossible...and I'm very jealous.  That's the truth.  I’m jealous that Meredith and Derek get to work together and support each other and speak their secret surgery language together AND still actually love each other.  I guess they’ve been through their fare share of relationship crap.  They’ve earned a little peace.  Still, I'm jealous.  

Back to the very different nature of this episode, helped along by the fact that there's still no sign of Izzie. She's still off god knows where and not telling Alex squat.  Which is just harsh.  Sure, the guy tried to pretend that he didn’t care whether she’d show up for her IL-2 treatment, but we all know that's just his way of coping.  Who doesn’t show up for their life-saving IL-2 treatment?  Especially a doctor??  That’s just irresponsible.  And crazy…  Yeah, I could go on.  Poor frigging Alex.  If I was Reed in that last scene I would have wanted to give the guy a hug.  And I think the look on her face said pretty much that.  But they just met.  They’re not even friends.  Or frenemies.  No hugs allowed.  Which is why that scene at the end with Alex sitting in the support chair with no one to support just kills me.  WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO IZZIE???  

Okay, it’s a little insane for me to pretend I don’t know where she is.  I do.  And eventually you will, too. Onward...

Last but not least, I'd like to applaud Chandra Wilson.  She acts, she sings, and now she directs... and sometimes all at the same time.  I have a feeling Chandra’s the kind of person that’s good at everything she does.  You know the type from high school – the classmate that’s all quiet and unassuming and not saying anything about the Algebra test you’re freaking about because she already knows she’s gonna ace it.  Cause that’s what Chandra did directing this episode.  And it wasn’t an easy one to direct, let me tell you.  All those scenes in the OR are very hard to shoot – very technical, very hard to dramatize -- and she rocked it.

Alrighty then, I'm off to set to watch some scenes for episode 610 (our holiday episode, written by the awesome Krista Vernoff.)  The end of this blog means the official end of episode 607 for me.  In other words, my own sense of peace.  I'll sleep well tonight.  Hope you do, too.