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	<title>Meenadirtqueena's Million Dollar Zoo</title>
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	<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com</link>
	<description>Where dogs and cats and men and big old houses drive a woman stark raving mad.</description>
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		<title>Meenadirtqueena's Million Dollar Zoo</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com</link>
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			<item>
		<title>Ina/Murphy</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/inamurphy/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/inamurphy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:16:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Actual Romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Baby]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=514</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The images were, to say the least, startling and mesmerizing.  It was so clear!  There on the screen, in a dark little room with a sweet student technician, I saw my baby for the first time.  And I could tell that it was my baby!  There was a head, and legs, and arms with precious little hands, and a mouth that would not stay closed.  (Definitely mine.)  I saw a spine and ribs and a tossing, turning little bundle of Ina/Murphy, and suddenly I didn't really care whether it was a he or a she.  That was my baby!  And it was perfect.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=514&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<title>The Folks on the Corner</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/the-folks-on-the-corner/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/the-folks-on-the-corner/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2009 15:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Rants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Town]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=512</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I began writing this blog, I made a conscious decision not to write about politics, religion, or anything that might cause serious philosophical arguments between myself and my reader-friends.  But something has been festering inside me, something rotten and biting, and I just can't hold it in any longer.

This spring, I avoided paying my taxes until the last possible moment.  It wasn't for the usual reason--my desire to keep my money away from the wasteful "people's" government for as long as possible--but because I simply did not have the money.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=512&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Why I Never Intend to Marry</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/never-intend-to-marry/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/never-intend-to-marry/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:32:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Actual Romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The not-so-Romance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=509</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More than one man in this world thinks I'm crazy. Most of the time, I would have to agree. But lately, clarity rules in ways that are mystifying...and terrifying.

Strangely, pregnancy seems to both magnify and subdue my usual rants and tantrums. The words are more bitter, the reactions quicker and more fierce. At the same time, my blood pressure remains neutral, and a shocking lack of physical symptoms accompanies my outbursts. It is as though my emotions are reserved only for this tiny life inside me, and only my thoughts and words carry venom.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=509&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>The Heaviest of Kittens</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-heaviest-of-kittens/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/the-heaviest-of-kittens/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:16:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Dogs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=506</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today I journeyed into the rain with two of the sweetest friends I've ever had.  I carried them in a plastic box, balanced to my side awkwardly like a five gallon bucket of slop in danger of spilling.  When we reached our destination, I learned why it was such a struggle to walk with them in tow:  Willie is a fattie.

....In my eyes, Little Willie will always be my baby, just as Biscuit will always be a puppy (though I never knew him as one) and Carter will live forever.  I love him just the same after today, but the rose-colored glasses have been wrenched from my eyes by a stone-faced doctor who sees only the objective reality in front of him.  I am now forced to view Willie as he is:  a big cat, and getting bigger in an unhealthy manner.  In a way, it is good that I see him today as a big boy.  It is time for a new baby to take his place.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=506&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">meenadirtqueena</media:title>
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		<title>My Perfect Love and Pain</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/my-perfect-love-and-pain/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/my-perfect-love-and-pain/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:13:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Actual Romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Cats]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=502</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Carter became mysteriously ill.  It wasn't the first time I'd thought him close to death--and unfortunately, it would not be the last--but it was the first time I was dealing with it completely alone.  The new vet was far away, and night had set in, as had his lethargy and vomiting.  I didn't sleep at all that night, watching and waiting for a sign that he might snap out of it. <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=502&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/my-perfect-love-and-pain/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">meenadirtqueena</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">0327091619</media:title>
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		<title>Catsup, or Catsoup?</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/catsup-or-catsoup/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/catsup-or-catsoup/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:52:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[My Faraway Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Actual Romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Jobs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=499</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I find myself playing a game of catch-up in the story that is my life.  This would be a mundane task for a Saturday night, had my life not advanced several years in the past week!<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=499&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/04/04/catsup-or-catsoup/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">0402090850</media:title>
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		<title>Progress, and Regress</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/progress-and-regress/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/progress-and-regress/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:55:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Actual Romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Jobs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=496</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was lately pointed out to me that, for a woman of action, I spend an awful lot of time pondering what might be, instead of actually doing anything to bring it about.  (The boxes in the hall bear witness with their not yet installed ceiling fans and pedestal sinks.)  In many ways, my life is not so much a life, but a series of theories.

When it comes to Graples (or any job, really) I am somewhat efficient, tidy, and proactive.  My reputation has been one of a woman who can "get shit done."  As an Operations Manager, I've mastered the art of problem-solving by anticipating and heading off concerns.  I direct my worries into pre-emptive strikes aimed at making my own life and experience easier.  I hate surprises.  I do whatever I have to do to avoid them, and am rarely caught off guard.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=496&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/progress-and-regress/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">meenadirtqueena</media:title>
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		<title>The Long Way Around</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/the-long-way-around/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/the-long-way-around/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:52:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[My Faraway Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The not-so-Romance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=494</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As I walked the Terrible Twosome around the village of Hoosick Falls today, I was struck by how the simplest things can bring back waves of long-buried emotions, releasing cobwebs from the heart and replacing them with billowing dustclouds of painful nostalgia.  Today it was the slightest crispness in the air--not our usual coat weather, but the first hintings of spring that signal a real change in season.  While I know it was only a tease, a pre-cursor to tonight's snow, it poked at my aching heart just a little.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=494&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">meenadirtqueena</media:title>
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		<title>Manifesting Destiny</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/manifesting-destiny/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/manifesting-destiny/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:54:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The Rants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The not-so-Romance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=426</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My luck has been greatly decreased by my habit of rushing into relationships with my bleeding heart held firmly out in front of me, chasing emotionally unavailable men who cannot escape quickly enough.  Somehow, the fact that their backs are turned as they move away quickly in the other direction has escaped my notice, each and every time.  I've begun to question my grip on reality, especially after seeing the smiling photos of one recent non-boyfriend with his MUCH older ladyfriend, with whom he re-entered into a relationship while I was still under the impression we were dating.  He seems truly happy--if he is indeed capable of a positive emotion--and that really pisses me off.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=426&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Saint Patrick</title>
		<link>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/saint-patrick/</link>
		<comments>http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/saint-patrick/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:57:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meenadirtqueena</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[My Faraway Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Town]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com/?p=489</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I've met plenty of people who have managed not only civil, but friendly relationships with their ex-spouses.  Perfect strangers have told me their stories, including one woman who let her ex live with her for years after he lost everything in a fire; and a man just the other day who has become "roommates" with his ex-wife--his best friend--for the financial benefits of couplehood.  Unfortunately, these stories are not the norm.  We speak in hushed tones, eyes wide, amazed to have found kindred spirits.<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=meenadirtqueena.wordpress.com&blog=3785866&post=489&subd=meenadirtqueena&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
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