Monday, January 31, 2005

Never turn down a mint.

I went to a shindig tonight with my hubby. It was a dinner at his college. Mostly to rub elbows with those who he needed to rub elbows with.

There was a gentleman there...so sweet. Nicest guy you could meet. He came up to my husband and me and chatted. The thing is, the guy is a close talker. You know. We ALL know one. We started the conversation 10 feet from a table and he kept creeping so close I could see the vein in his neck beat. I mean, he was so close his shoulder was touching mine. So, I would scoot back a little. And he would scoot forward a little. Finally, next thing I knew I was stuck up next to the table with no where to go. I decided to bite the bullet and let him talk an inch from my face. After all, my back was starting to hurt from bending backwards over the table and it wasn't helping. He was bending OVER me over the table.

And then I don't think I really heard a thing he said because all I could think was I hope my breath was OK and I was trying to remember if I put on the appropriate amount of deodorant.

In the car on the way home I said to my hubby "so and so is sure a nice guy. He's a close talker, though". Bryan said that he noticed and it was pretty obvious I was uncomfortable. He noticed my scooting back. I'm hoping he just noticed because he knows me so well. After all, if the guy noticed certainly he would have stopped. Right?

Question for the day....What characteristic of people have you noticed that makes you uncomfortable?


Sunday, January 30, 2005

This new bird feeder ROCKS!

I went to Wal-Mart and got a bird feeder. For the weekend place where my husband lives. If you've never had a bird feeder, I would recommend it. Of course, I think we are enjoying mine so much because we are in the country and the birds like it out there. We've seen little finches, blue birds, blue jays, cardinals, and other more interesting ones that I have no idea what they are. They haven't told me their names.

I was going to get this expensive feeder, but I went for a cheap $6 one. Believe me, you can spend a heck of a lot of money on a bird feeder. I chose cheap, hoping it wouldn't have the same outcome as the cheap toliet paper that I spoke of earlier. Good thing, the birds don't seem to care. They are loving it. We probably have 20 birds at the thing at a time. I think one winked at me and lifted his wing just a bit, as if he was saying "thanks".

Poll question of the day....What is your most prized posession? (And you can't say kids or pets. You're allowed to be materialistic this once.)


My previous post...

Wow. I didn't even have to put on my bunny slippers to feel all warm and fuzzy today after reading your comments!! :) It restored my thoughts of humanity...that the people who would like to spread joy out number the grumpy poopy heads 20 to 1.

I do seriously appreciate all of the sentiments. And don't worry, I wasn't losing sleep or anything over Little British Kid Poopy Head's comments. But I did give it a thought and that in itself perpelxed me. It did make me ponder why I blog. Hence the poll question.

So, I wanted everyone who reads my blog on a regular basis or even just pops in on an occassion to know that I appreciate it. It means something to me that you take the time to read, and even more that you comment. It brightens my day. And I appreciate your opening your lives just a little and letting me read your blogs, too!

Saturday, January 29, 2005

Blogging...the good, the bad, the ugly.

I had someone visit my blog, which always makes me happy. However, this person wasn't very nice. I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe someone peed in his cornflakes that morning. Or, perhaps his tea, as I was looking at his profile and he is British. And 21.

I don't know why I'm letting his comment bother me. Or I even gave it another thought. And I wish I didn't erase it, but I did. He made a comment that went something like "who cares all about this stuff, you need to worry about your president and world peace" or something.

The thing that irritates me is he just doesn't get it. He just doesn't realize that if you focus on the bad things all the time you become this grumpy thing that he has become. It's not that I don't think of those things. I think after 9/11 I decided if I obsess about these things I will die young. You know, the 'ol serenity prayer "God, grant me the serenity to recognize the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference". I had nightmares after 9/11. I know a lot of people did. The last election had me in a tizzy, too. It was ugly.

I watch the news. It upsets me. It frusterates me. It makes me want to punch the TV most days.

Then, there is blogging. What Mr. kid British guy doesn't realize is I blog for FUN. I blog to vent. I blog to relax. I don't blog so the world will hear MY opinion of politics. I realize no one CARES my opinion. No one will change their mind because of my opinion. Now, if only the celebrities in Hollywood would get to the same conclusion.

This brings me to the poll question of the day... Why do you blog?


Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Living Spaces....Poll of the day...Wednesday

My weekday living quarters is an apartment. I am on the bottom floor of a three story apartment complex. It isn't the MOST expensive apartment you could find in Houston, but it isn't a hole either. It's respectable, clean, has nice facilities, and I don't think anyone has been murdered here.

My upstairs neighbors, however, never sleep. I'm sure of it. I hear them at 6am, 3 in the afternoon, and WAY more often than I'd like to at 2 or 3 in the wee hours of the morning. I think they have a love-hate relationship. I hear them fighting. A LOT. But I also hear a squeaky-squeaky noise that makes me think they are getting along quite well, and gives me nightmares all at the same time.

Many nights, however, I can only speculate what they are doing, the noises are too weird.

Here are my neighbor's top ten things they seem to like to do from the noises I hear at 2am.

10. Play Twister with small elephants
9. Invite the entire Boston Marathon participats to practice running in their megar 800 square feet.
8. Have a seance to extract the evil spirits out of their spaghetti-o's.
7. Cook vegetables in the shower
6. Do the entire Richard Simmons workout tape from start to finish. With roller skates on.
5. Try their hand at bowling using a frozen cornish game hen and 10 glass beer bottles.
4. Have a Jewish wedding ceremony.
3. Watch Titanic over and over until they sob uncontrollably.
2. Practice to play opposite Paris Hilton in the next controversial Paris Hilton video.
The number one thing?
Screaming at the top of their lungs

I think I'm just reliving my college years. When I was in college I lived in some pretty crappy places because they were cheap. I've stayed in a few hotels that were not so nice because my company's travel department didn't know what they were doing, too.

Now, the poll question: What is the worst place you have ever had to live or stay?

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Worst feeling in the world.

When you bite into your Manwich sandwich and you bite something hard.

I'm going to throw up now.

Can't wait for Raspberry to be a teenager

This is an ACTUAL e-mail my sister sent to my neice's teachers:

Hello! Even though this is the most embarrassing thing for Krystal (so she tells me) I am needing her average again. Sorry to be such pest but her social life depends on it. Thank you!

Cyndi
Krystals "I can't believe she is doing this to me" Mother


ROFL! I can't wait for those teen years.

Poll of the day.....(I hope no one at my company knows about this site...)

I am quitting my job on Tuesday. I'm putting in my 2 weeks notice. I'm DOING IT.

Once I do it, will someone please make sure my pulse is still running? I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't have a heart attack or stroke right there. Or both. The only way I'm getting through today is that I know I have a week to change my mind.

I was going to quit to be a stay-at-home mom, anyway. Actually, I was going to quit a few months before that. But, being 4 hours away from my husband sucks. So, we decided eating raumen noodles and sharing a vehicle (as they say in Texas, veHICle) would be worth it so we can be together (ok, everyone together, say "Awwwww, how sweet"). Babies can grow in the womb when the mother's diet is limited to raumen noodles, can't they? Maybe I can chew on some clovers in the back yard for fiber. And we have a pecan tree. I can fight the squirrels for pecans. They have protein. And calcium, believe it or not. I looked it up. Not the squirrels, silly. The pecans.

Poll of the day: What is the WORST job you ever had?
And (this is a two parter): What is the BEST job you ever had?

Monday, January 24, 2005

I'm feeling BAD.

I started this "Poll of the day" stuff on Friday. I discovered Happy and Blue's site on Saturday. And, guess what? He has a poll of the day. He doesn't call it that, but he asks random questions based on past experiences or miscellaneous ponderings like I do. He has been doing it much longer than me. He is much better at it, too, I have to say.

So, Happy and Blue, I promise I didn't steal your idea. With your permission, I'm going to keep the "Poll of the day" because I like it. Unless, of course, you have your lawyer send a cease and desist letter. Or you ask me nicely to stop. Either way.

Go check out his site. It is hilarious. Full of adventure and mischeif. And mindboggling. All at the same time. Siskel and Ebert give it two thumbs up!

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Poll of the day....Sunday.

I was at my sister's house on Friday night. I spent the night there because she lives 2 hours from my one home in Northeast Texas and 3.5 from my apartment in Houston. She was having a Stampin' Up party and I wanted to partake. (Those things are fun, BTW. If you know me on a personal level, don't be surprised if you recieve a hand-made card from me sometime soon. Please pretend you like it.).

I used her bathroom, as you would suspect I would being I was there for 24 hours. After I went potty I wiped myself and realized her toilet paper was the scratchiest stuff I've ever used. I was glad I didn't have a case of diarrhea because repeated uses of the stuff would have definitely given me a rash. And hemorroids. And I asked myself, is saving a few pennies on toilet paper worth it?

I use Cottonelle. I used to use Charmin, but when we moved here the church gave us a pounding (if you don't know what that is...well, I think it's a Methodist thing. Maybe not. They gave us essentials and canned goods when we moved in. Why they call it a "pounding" I don't know) and someone gave us a pack of Cottonelle. I discovered it was much nicer than Charmin. And the rest is history. But, I digress.

As you know I am going to be a stay-at-home mom soon. I am looking for ways to save money already. I know I'll have to switch to generic mayonnaise and cheap shampoo. But, after my experience at my sister's house, I have decided I will not scrimp on toilet paper. Even if I have to go and get a part-time job. No, siree, bub.

So, the question is: What is it that you will never skimp on, no matter how much you have to pinch pennies?

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Poll of the Day...Saturday.

I know I'm not the only one that does this. I've asked a couple of my friends this question several years ago. One fessed up and the other said she didn't. So, now I need to know from a wider audience.

This is for the women. Well, men, if you qualify I guess you can answer, too.

Poll Question: Do you wear your bras more than one day before washing?

The way I figure it, they may be undergarments but it's n0t like UNDERWEAR, where you actually secrete body fluids. If I didn't sweat that day they are good for another go. And they are so sensitive to the wash, if you washed it after every wear then you'd be buying bras left and right. And those little (or big, depending on the person) elastic buggars are expensive!

I will say it took my husband a good 5 years of marriage to figure out I did this. And when he DID realize it he was very grossed out. I think he has now blocked it out of his mind.

Friday, January 21, 2005

Poll of the day.

OK, first, I must explain this poll thing. I have an unhealthy obsession with what everyone else does. Or, should I say, what the majority does. I'm curious. I'm wondering where I fit. So, I am going to start asking questions. Things I often ponder while driving in the car or taking a shower.

This first one I was wondering as I was looking in my refrigerator. I was thirsty, and being I just went to the store, I had several options. (which actually is unusual, because I absolutely hate going to the grocery store so I wait until I'm out of every blessed thing and have to clean my underwear with bar soap because I'm out of laundry detergent to go).

My opitons were: Coke, Milk, 7-up, water (with lemon), and Cran-apple juice.

Knowing full well that I should chose the milk for health purposes, or even the water, I decided on the Coke. Every time I do this I hear my parents-in-law in the back of my head. They think anyone who would drink something other than milk at mealtime are not only the products of bad parenting, but possibly the spawn of Satan himself. So much so that even though my husband usually choses a diet beverage at dinner time, if his parents are within 10 square miles of our house he drinks milk. We've never talked about it, but I know it is because he doesn't want to hear it from his mom. I don't blame him. Oh, and if you have a soda for breakfast in their presence (even though they drink coffee like it is going out of style) then, move over, you may not be invited back into their social circle. And you will certainly be talked about.

I do agree that milk is better than soda. I'm sure I'll have my kids drink milk or water.

Anyway, my hubby and I have a regular discussion of what most American's drink at dinner time. My theory is most drink a carbonated beverage. If you go out to eat milk is certainly not a common thing to order. If most people drank it, it would be. I think more people probably drink wine or beer at dinner than milk. He says I'm wrong. He says people drink milk the most.

So, now is the question: What do you drink at dinnertime? What do you make your kids drink?

They were THERE!

The arms and legs were there! Yes, we had our third sonogram this morning and everything is NORMAL (something about me is normal?) and moving along nicely. All four arms and legs were in their prospective places and wiggling, the heartbeat was 168 bpm (nicely in the 120-180 "normal" range), the cyst on my ovary went away, the ovaries are where they need to be so that the placenta is doing its hormone job now. And the BEST part of it all, the doctor said the risk of miscarriage goes down to 1% now. Woo Hoo! We got another picture and a video tape. I'll have to find someone with a scanner to post the picture.

Who would have thought you could be this constipated and this happy all at the same time?

I now switch from the "infertility/high risk specialist" to an average, every day Obstetrician. As much as I don't want to switch doctors, hey, it's a milestone.


Thursday, January 20, 2005

Hmmmm.

I went to the store. I didn't get celery.

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

In the mind of a pregnant woman...

An actual conversation I had with myself earlier this evening, and one more reason I should be chained to the sofa.

My stomach is getting puffy. Certainly I'm not showing yet. I'm only 9 weeks. Too early. Does that mean I'm eating too much? I AM hungry all the time. But the thought of just about every food makes me want to vomit. And I just took one bite of an apple and threw it away because it didn't sound good. So, that can't be. Maybe the pregnancy is molar. I just read in the book how molar pregnancies cause a woman to get too big too fast. Oh, NO! No, you saw the heartbeat, dimwit. Calm down. Maybe I just need to eat healthier. Maybe that's it. Oh, no. The book said if you gain too much weight you can have complications during childbirth. What am I going to do?!? Celery! Buy some CELERY! The fiber would do me some good, anyway. Yea, definitely would. Go to the store NOW. No. I'm too tired. I wish I could teach the dog to go to the store for me. No. She'd probably eat all of the dog biscuits in the dog aisle and never make it home with celery.

OH. MY. GOD.

My dad went to Mexico to get his teeth cleaned. He is retired. My folks are on a limited income. They don't have dental insurance. So, they went. It cost him $10, American. He said he felt like it was sterile enough, and that it was a pleasant experience. Me...I'm glad I have dental insurance. Even though my copay is more than what he paid for the whole shebang. Whatever.

Anyway, today I had my DOG'S teeth cleaned. First, I have to say, I didn't ask how much it would cost. I had it done a few years ago by a different vet and it wasn't that bad. So, I didn't ask. But, holy crap, let me tell you. Well, I'm just too embarrassed to even TELL you how much it was.

I love my dog dearly. She's been mine for 12 years. And I think a lot of people would say I go beyond most when it comes to her comfort and care. But, holy CRAP. I think a cleaning for ME here in the US would have been less expensive. Now, they did do a lot of precationary stuff that they didn't do last time because she is in the beginning stages of renal failure. They gave her extra IV's, did extra blood work, and a lot of other things I have to squint at to pronounce. But, if it was going to be THAT MUCH more, you would think they would at least MENTION it.

And now she's mad at me...again. lol.

I wonder if they have doggy dentists in Mexico?

Monday, January 17, 2005

Reality Bites

I finally did it. I faced the reality that I'm not going to be skinny again for at least a year. I've leafed through clothes in my closet for about two years, not willing to get rid of them or put them away because I anticipated losing weight. Now that I'm prego I could finally admit to myself that I won't lose those 20 pounds anytime in the near future. So, I went through my drawers and closets, and made two piles: "Skinny" and "Medium". It is funny how the difference to me between "skinny" and "Fat" are only about 20 pounds. And a lot of my fat clothes I can wear when I'm "skinny" or "medium". And my medium clothes I can wear when I'm "skinny". But I absolutely cannot wear the skinny clothes at medium, or the medium at fat, even though the difference between the two stages is 10 pounds. It's probably a psychological thing. For instance, I have an issue wearing sleeveless things when I feel fat. I feel like my arm fat is flapping around. The thought grosses me out.

So, I figured instead of torturing myself every time I look in the closet or dresser, I would put them away in a nice plastic bin (or donate some of them) until I can face them again. Then it will be like getting new clothes!

Oldest woman to give birth

Oldest woman to give birth (67) has twin girls
Bucharest: A 67-year-old Romanian yesterday became the oldest woman known to have given birth, although one of her twin girls died soon afterwards. Adriana Iliescu, a retired university professor, had undergone fertility treatment for nine years before succeeding in becoming pregnant. Realitatea TV said she had given birth to twin girls, one of whom had died almost immediately. The surviving infant, which weighed 1.4kg, was in good health. The previous record was held by an Italian woman who gave birth to a baby boy at the age of 62. Doctors had implanted the egg of a young Italian woman which had been fertilised by her husband's sperm. Doctors who handled the Iliescu pregnancy maintained total secrecy about the case, which only became known to the Romanian public from one exclusive interview Iliescu gave on Realitatea last month.

Retired: In the appearance, the retired professor said she "had not been able to resign myself to not having a child". "I always dreamt of being a mother and now I'm experiencing the happiest time of my life, waiting to bring my twin daughters into the world," the greying academic had said. Iliescu said she did not feel the effects of her relatively advanced years. The case has sparked widespread controversy. "She will be too old to see her children grow up," lamented the newspaper Cotidianul, questioning the ethics of doctors who consented to her being artificially inseminated. But the Church has adopted a conciliatory position. "The Bible preaches love and procreation at whatever age," said the press office of Patriarch Bogdan Teleanu, head of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Lucia Cornea, of Romania's centre for assisted reproduction, does not agree: "It's a scandal." Gheorghe Borcean, the head of the Romanian medical profession's ethics committee, criticised the mystery that had shrouded the case." A case of such prominence should require academic debates and not just one single television report," he said. - Sapa-AFP Published on the web by Mercury on January 17, 2005.
© Mercury 2005. All rights reserved.

********

That's just wrong.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Pet Peeves

Tonight my hubby and I had three different conversations that had the same contents. They went like this:

Him: mumble...mumble...mumble

Me: HUH?

Him: Oh, well, I was just...nevermind.

Me: What did you say?

Him: Just forget it!

That's on my top ten pet peeve list. If I take the time to say "HUH" (or, heaven forbid I actually put some effort into it and say 'what' or 'pardon me') then he should tell me what he said.

Some other pet peeves:

1. People playing with used pieces of paper (yes, many a friend has told me they can institutionalize me for that one)
2. Unorganized cabinets. This drives me INSANE.
3. Sheets that are messed up before you crawl in bed. (Bryan is VERY aware of this)
4. Loud noises or the TV up too loud (this one scares me considering I'm having a baby soon)

The more I look over these the more I wonder if I SHOULD be in an institution.

One of my friends, Angie, has a pet peeve of the sound of cotton squeaking. I still laugh at that one. My other friend, Cindy, has a pet peeve of any condiment. Mustard, Mayo, Ketchup. They gross her out. Although I don't know if that's more of a pet peeve for her or if it has gotten to the 'phobia' stage. Yea, she's that crazy when it comes to condiments.

Do YOU have a weird pet peeve??

Upclose and personal

Just thought I'd post a picture of our baby at 6 weeks! This was about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Yea, that's a baby, if you can believe it. Well, a baby and my uterus. Nothing like an upclose and personal picture of my insides posted on the internet!


Ultrasound Posted by Hello

We saw and heard the heartbeat at this ultrasound. You just can't fathom how amazing that is until you experience it. This friday we're supposed to see the arms and legs. Woo Hoo! I get nervous before my doctors appointments. But I'm getting more relaxed as time goes. I still can't believe it, though!

Bryan asked me nicely not to bore people with a bunch of ultrasound pictures. I figure, though, if I post it here you can just scroll down if it bores you.
According to BabyCenter.com

Your Pregnancy: 9 Weeks
How your baby's growing: Your new resident is nearly an inch long — barely the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, but he's poised for rapid weight gain now that his basic physical structure is in place. He's also starting to look more and more human. His embryonic "tail" is now completely gone and his body parts — including organs, muscles, and nerves — are kicking into gear.His eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. He has earlobes, and by week's end, the inner workings of his ears will be complete. His upper lip is fully formed, too, and his mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The tips of his fingers are slightly enlarged where his touch pads are developing. All major joints — his shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles — are working, enabling your baby to move his limbs. As for his heart, it has divided into four chambers now, and the valves have started to develop. External sex organs are there, but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

Raspberry is now a grape!

Thursday, January 13, 2005

I'm clueless!

The more I get into this pregancy the more I realize I know nothing. When do they start on cereal? When to they start walking? When do they start talking?

I was watching Nanny 911 last night (OK, nothing I'm proud of), and as pathetic as those parents were with their kids, I kept thinking "I know nothing about raising kids. What if I'm as pathetic as these people and don't have a clue like they don't?" I mean, this woman was screaming at her kids and she didn't even realize she was doing damage to the poor little things!

Would one of you PLEASE tell me if I'm that pathetic at child rearing?

Teachers

My cyber friends and I were chatting about teachers, and it made me reflect on a teacher I once had.

The best teacher on the face of the earth was a woman by the name of Pat Beisel. I had her in 4th grade. She normally taught 3rd grade, but was put in 4th this one year to fill a need. She was single and put her heart and soul into teaching. I think the thing that made her the most unique is she thought outside the box. She taught us the three "R's", but she also taught us how to treat one another. She also wasn't afraid to talk about world issues and how they effected us. She treated us in 4th grade like we were "somebody" who had opinions and mattered. She had spent time teaching in Japan and Germany, and took what she learned there and taught us all about it. She showed us slides from both places and explained the different customs they had. Twenty-Two years later I still remember seeing those slides and hearing her talk about it.

I remember one school picture day. There was a little girl who came from a very large, very poor family. Her clothes were rarely clean, and her hair never combed. As we all know elementary school kids can be cruel, and most kids avoided her and didn't include her. This particular day we were standing in line waiting to get our pictures taken. I remember miss Beisel coming up to this little girl and telling her how pretty her dress was, and then asked her if she would like her to comb her hair. The little girl's eyes lit up. You could tell she was just tickled that someone cared enough to comb her hair. I was only about 9 years old when I saw this, but even then I understood the situation. And I understood Miss Beisel was a special woman for doing the things she did. She taught me that day to be kind to everyone, no matter how unpopular.

I also remember her teaching us about what is right and wrong. The school had a laminating machine, and Miss Beisel would let us laminate our art work to bring home. She wasn't supposed to do this, after all, it was expensive to laminate stuff. The principal found out and she got in trouble. She actually had the guts to go in front of the class and to tell us that what she did was wrong and she was sorry, and that she couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't believe that an adult was admitting to us 4th graders that she was wrong! It made me respect her even more.

When I moved from Pennsylvania to Texas after 4th grade I had a hard time adjusting. I was so worried about moving and missing my friends. Miss Beisel took me aside before the end of the last day of class. She told me she understood that I was scared about moving. She gave me her address on a little piece of paper and told me I could write to her any time when I was homesick. And I did. And she wrote back. And when I wrote her a particularly upset letter when I was about 13 and going through that 13-year-old-girl-rough-stage she even called me! For about 15 years we were pen pals. I visited her twice when I went back to PA. Unfortunately, I haven't written or heard from her in the last couple of years. Last I spoke with her she was retired and was getting married for the first time to what sounded like a wonderful widower that she had known for years. I sure hope it worked out. If anyone deserves to live happily ever after it is Miss Beisel.

Do you have a teacher who you particularly admired? C'mon! Tell me about it!

To the "lady" whom I would love to say this to...

Why do you enjoy being destructive? I just don't get how someone can actually ENJOY being miserable, back stabbing, and destructive. What do you get out of it? It HAS to be something, otherwise you wouldn't do it.

Why do you do and say things behind someone's back that are mean and then to their face act caring and sweet? Yes, this passive-aggressive behavior does take us longer to realize how you are, but when we do (and we ALWAYS do) it makes you that much worse.

How can you do this and call yourself a "Christian"? I realize I'm committing a sin just by saying this. By judging you. And it makes me even more mad that you are making me a horrible Christian, too, because of the things I am thinking about you and feelings I have toward you. Yea, you are truly a test. And I'm having difficulty not failing this one.

Perhaps you should examine why you take this destructive approach toward things, instead of the adult, mature, constructive approach when you think things need to be fixed. Oh, wait. I guess I know why you don't do that. Because no one else in the world thinks your things that need to be "fixed" really need to be fixed. YOU are the only one making them a problem. If you are the only one in a croud of 150 people that think this, perhaps you should admit you are wrong, then. If you would like a REAL problem, beleive me, the world has plenty of them. Why don't you pick one of those?

If you want to live in misery, then please, please, do not make the world live that way, too. One bad apple really does spoil the whole bushel.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Anyone know a good pregnancy journal?

I wasn't going to do one. I have a blog. It's about as much journaling as I ever thought I would do. But I'm getting pressure to do a pregnancy journal, so I thought I would at least investigate. The only one I found talks about "me and my PARTNER". Such as "I told my partner I was pregnant by....." and you fill in the rest. As much as I'd like to think I'm a modern woman, I would rather it say "husband". Or even as if talking to the baby "I told your daddy I was pregnant by...."

Now, I don't want a bunch of posts saying I have a problem with gays. If I want my journal to say "husband" because that is who my "partner" is, then that's OK. If someone would like it to say "partner" because that is who their "partner" is, let them buy the book.

This is interesting.

How depressed should I be that NOTHING good has happened on my birthday in history. Oh, OK, it was the birth of Quantum Theory. Whoope. (yea, yea, you physics buffs out there are going to give me hell for not being excited about that. Forgive me. It's not like it was the day the human genome was discovered!)

This day in History

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

I'm headed to Tucson

Tucson, Arizona. Hmmm, is there a song about that place? I guess not. In my head I'm singing "Hotel California" and replacing "Tucson, Arizona". I guess that doesn't fit.

Anyway, yearly we have sales meetings and this year it is in Tucson. And, I'm going to sound like a spoiled brat here, but Tucson is a downer. Not to insult anyone who lives there. But, I've been with this company for almost 5 years now, and they've sent us to Maui, Hawaii twice, Puerto Rico once, and well, even Boca Raton, FL was better than Tucson. The temperatures there are going to be even colder than they are at home. But, alas, I shouldn't gripe.

Usually it's a fun time. People get together, drink on the company dollar, learn a lot and have a good time doing it. Every year on the last night we have an awards ceremony where we dress up in semi-formals and have a dance. (as a side note, Bryan has a big problem with this, being they don't allow spouses on these trips. I see his point. And there DOES tend to be a lot of hanky-panky that goes on. It's sad that people can't be responsible adults and still have fun). Last year the last night I literally stayed up all night and drank way too much. As a team builder we made "movies" based on old movies and adding our own scripts. We were "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". We actually changed it to "Bitch" Cassidy and I was "Bitch". It was a blast. Then the hotel TV played all of them on their courtesy channel. So, we drank and chatted until 2am, then about 6 of us went to my room to watch the movies until 6am. Of course I won't be doing that this year, being prego.

Honestly, I think I'm getting to another phase in my life. A phase where I'm ready to settle down, forget the traveling, get past the selfish "me" phase, and stay at home on Saturday nights taking care of little ones and watching movies I get from Netflix. Good thing, too, considering I'm pregnant and going to be cutting our income by a very, very considerable amount. We'll be lucky to afford Netflix. (OK, not that bad. lol.) I'm sure my contentness to sit my fat white butt on the sofa won't last. When the kids get older we'll be active. I'm just not the type to sit around. I still have a "list" of things I want to do in life before I die. But, I'm ready to put the list away for a few years.

Saturday, January 01, 2005

My dog is mad at me.

She's mad. She won't speak to me.

Two reasons really. First, at Christmas I gave my sister this Kermit the Frog doll. Not that she's 7 or 8 years old or anything. She's 35. But we both love the muppets and because she's single we're always joking that Kermit is her prince. So, I got her a Kermit doll.

We started goofing around with this thing, taking pictures. Then Casey, the dog, became the object of the pictures with Kermit. It was probably one of those things that you had to be there for, but we laughed, and laughed, and laughed.


Casey and Kermie Posted by Hello

That was just the start of it. You see She's lost a lot of weight. Her sister died in April, and shortly after that she was diagnosed as being in the beginning stages of renal failure. She is now on a low-protein diet. Which, thank goodness, is helping her renal issues. But the combination of the depression from her sister and the new food, she's lost about 3 or 4 pounds. And she's only a 15 pound dog to begin with.

And, to top it all off, Bryan likes to keep the place cold. He is always hot. But poor Casey, now that she has no fat on her, likes it warm. So, she shivers.

Which leads up to the second reason she's mad at me. I bought her a sweater. She hates it. And I'll be the first to admit she does look stupid. And to make it worse Wal-mart had ONE sweater left and it looks like a BOY sweater. I wasn't about to drive 20 more miles to get to petsmart to look for a girl sweater. I've never been one to like those things on the dog. Dogs do like their dignity. I don't care what people say.

So, now she won't look at me. Except to give me a dirty look. I swear dogs can give dirty looks.

What's in a name?

It's going to take all freakin' nine months for us to think of a name for this kid. Anything I like Bryan doesn't like, and vice versa.

So far we've come up with

Girls:
1. Rachel
2. Laura
3. Angela


Boys:
1. Brayton
2. Jacob

Although something may sound good one minute and get scratched off the list the next. I think we're going to just wait until we know the sex to make it a little easier. Lord knows we have time. We're only 6 1/2 weeks into this 40 week adventure.

Or, we could just stick with "raspberry".