spinning-jennie: Babble archives

Early A.M. Sanity Disclaimer
Everyone probably isn't this way. Driven to a state of gestational hormonal madness at, well, not what I'd say small provocations, exactly; they're sizeable enough, especially when you begin with a nearly pathological loathing of sudden change or perceived outside takeover. Usually I can manage to either write things out of my head, or find a sympathetic online eye to talk me down, so I've only lost control and "let" the most irrational, morbid fears escape into the neighborhood of hysteria (the kind usually reserved for stereotypical sitcom pregnancy) a couple of times in the past two months.

Today was one of Those.

I wish I could lend some of this chemical, errr... perspective, even for a day, to the more estrogen-impaired among us. Because, yes, I probably AM currently certifiable. My physiology has gone haywire, a situation that my recalcitrant troublemaker of a placenta is not helping in the least; it's gone and added a whole new layer of intermittent heavy-armed fatigue and dizziness to the equation. And though I'd like nothing more than NOT to weep (usually quite privately, thankyouverymuch) over even the tiniest scrap of thing -- believe me, my sinuses are killing me here -- I can't say it'll probably go down that way.

As much as I would like it to.
01/22/10 01:13 AM in Babble  |  Comments


Things I Should Be Doing...
...right now:

  • Brushing the cat
  • Writing out cards
  • Baking cherry nut bread
  • Baking any cookies, any at all
  • Making up gift mixes
  • Wrapping/shipping gifts
  • Ordering other gifts
  • Making cuttings for the rosemary wreath
  • Studying for the final
  • Cleaning up the kitchen

    • But I'm drinking coffee and messing around the 'net, mostly. That, and finding it difficult to muster much guilt.
    12/05/09 01:01 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    NaBloPoFAIL
    Well, that went well, no? Ha. I can't overcome the fact that, at the moment, my best writing time conflicts with my hormonally-induced coma time.

    I've indulged in some real coffee, so I've got some ramble in me. Let's see...

    What I've been thinking about re: The Holidays: I've plotted my cookie list for December. Even though D. won't be eating any, I plan to gift some, and use some as Christmas dinner dessert. Aside from the traditional frosted cutouts, Daniel has requested gingerbread men again, and I'll be trying Swedish rye and Linzers (couldn't resist that special Wilton cutter at Michael's).

    What I'm avoiding right this minute: For the second year in a row, I'm attempting to design a t-shirt for an 8th grade math field day, as part of a contest which my college department sponsors. Currently, I'm blocked and sucking. Maybe it's because I still reflect upon my own 8th grade math teacher with something very much less than like. Also, there's an XML lesson sitting open in front of me, which I am likewise attempting to ignore.

    Which USPS package I'm most anticipating in eighteen days (give or take): Pre-ordered. I know, just shush.

    Which holiday craft I said I would not attempt again but am because everything in stores is wholly unsatisfying/made in China/$$$$$: Making my own cards. Nothing fancy. Still probably inadvisable. I should be putting my three years of InDesign skillz to work and just having something printed up, but that runs into money, too.

    What event in January am I facing with some trepidation: Speaking of ID. I'm sitting for the ACE exam, so I can flash that official Adobe Certified Expert logo and, in lieu of a Real Design Degree, feel partially legitimate when I start begging for print design e-lance stuff.
    11/20/09 10:47 AM in Babble , NaBloPoMo  |  Comments


    Space
    We love our house. But one of the things we consciously gave up for the sparkly newness and a not-scary neighborhood was space. We've no dining or family rooms, no big pantry like in the townhome, and the three non-master bedrooms are miniscule. The attic is nothing but a network of closely-packed trusses and completely unusable.

    My PC and I have been camped out in one of the small bedrooms, but two children would never fit in one room, so I'll be homeless in the forseeable future. Anticipating this, I never bothered to get attached to this room, never decorated. So I'm not really emotional over the loss, so much as baffled by the logistics of it all. I've been trying to put off thinking about it with any seriousness until after Christmas, when I'll be out of class and hopefully in the easiest phase of pregnancy (not be dragging butt, but not waddling yet, either) and can work on it slowly and comfortably.

    D. thinks I'll fit in his office. But those quarters are a little too close for comfort. And I don't like Rush ;-).

    Luckily I'm not married to this desk, either. There's a perfectly decent large corner in the master, with nothing at all important occupying it. Hopefully I can find a computer armoire that will a) accommodate large dual monitors, b) not be a tacky veneered particleboard monstrosity, and c) cost less than a small car would. If I buckle down, I can probably compress my supplies into half of a bedroom closet (we've got three) with the help of a good shelving system.
    11/08/09 01:43 PM in Babble , NaBloPoMo  |  Comments


    Awake. Woo!
    Still awake, amazing. Even made it through the entire RiffTrax of Titanic, when normally I'm lucky if I can stay awake through an entire episode of Fringe or FlashForward.

    Not being up at 6:30 helps, I suppose. That, and I caved and had a mocha Frappuccino. Don't tell my OB (whose "Don't" list includes "Being in the same house as Windex" and "No canned foods." I'm supposed to pick and stew my own pumpkins for pie, I guess...).
    11/07/09 11:49 PM in Babble , NaBloPoMo  |  Comments


    Finally
    I think it might just be fall. The high today is only 68, it's cloudy, Daniel picked up colored leaves on the way to school, and I'm drinking apple cider. I even picked up a couple anticipatory ginormous bags of assorted Fun Size bars.

    Tomorrow morning I think we'll have some pumpkin pancakes.
    09/29/09 10:42 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Blogoversary
    Wow, nine. Wouldn't have even noticed if it hadn't been for the commenters in the post below who dropped by via blogoversary.com (hello!). And not sure how meaningful it is, given my lack of prolificacy the past year or so. But there it is.
    09/23/09 10:56 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    O RLY?
    Alternate title: Dearth of a Salesman.

    Solicitor: Hello, how are you today?

    D: Uh, fine. Are you selling something?

    Solicitor: Yes I am.

    D: points to big, black "NO SOLICITING" decal on door

    Solicitor: I can read, you know!
    07/10/09 02:12 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Yeah. Three Months and All I've Got is This.
    So, we're getting all set for Easter. What little decoration we have is up. I have the supplies to reinstate a childhood tradition. I bought our Paas, and yesterday, a dozen Trader Joe's white eggs (normally I prefer brown, for farm-fresh sentimentality and aesthetics) to dye.

    Of course I peeped in at the eggs before buying, to be certain that all were intact. What I didn't notice, however, was that each individual shell was stamped with an expiration date. Which would normally be semi-useful (???). But kind of irksome right in the middle of a dyed egg.

    They're in the steamer right now, and some of the dye looks runny. Maybe it'll at least wash to a fade.
    04/09/09 01:56 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Unresolved
    I decided not to make traditional, sweeping resolutions again this year. Aside from the daily walking (which has been on a end-of-semester-induced hiatus), they never stick.

    So I'm making more of a to-do list instead.

  • Use Illustration Fridays often to really get a handle on my Wacom tablet
  • Reorganize craft storage system, restricting materials to one closet
  • Clean desk
  • Find volunteer print design opportunities

    • To be edited as I think of more.
    12/13/08 12:15 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Thirty and Out
    Wow, November is over already? And I posted every day? No one is more astounded than I am.

    Time is going to be a bit tight for the next couple of weeks. Of course I painted myself into a tight little corner with my final project, and I'm cutting things close. Very, very close. Oh, why mince words -- idiotically close. And then decking the halls and writing cards and all that. And then, just over a week before Christmas, my final exam (which is a real classroom buttnumber with Scantron cards and number two pencils and the attendant undercurrent of nausea). So I'll try to ride the wave of posting momentum I've generated this month, but things'll probably taper off. If I know me.
    11/30/08 10:39 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Thanks
    We went out. The homey hilltop place where we've been the past two years shut down a few weeks ago, so I had to scurry to find a new one. It was... well, it was a restaurant. Being able to choose between fish and prime rib and turkey is nice, but I'm growing kind of wistful (homesick???) for more home-grown dishes like green bean casserole and cranberry sauce with the can lines in it. And I'm really thinking that the practice of sitting in a booth for two hours may not be fair to/appropriate for a small child (or at least ours), to the detriment of the enjoyment of all. I think next year I want to be at home, tiny kitchen be damned.

    I'm also sick, but it wouldn't be a major holiday if someone wasn't, would it? Regardless, I'm trying to feel appropriately thankful for my blessings, which are many, and include you. Thank you! I hope you had a nice day together.
    11/27/08 11:50 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    "Meh" Is a Real Word Now
    I have meatier stuff that I want to get out, I do. But I seem to be out of the practice of writing (anything, at all), and I put it off and off each day, and then we're left with eleventh-hour blurbs. Blurbettes.

    And too, I feel so stationary right now. No plans. Or I should say, plans not coming to fruition. My body, motivation, and inspiration have seemingly conspired to betray me, at least for the moment, and it's a battle to not let frustration hold sway.
    11/18/08 11:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Busy Day
    It's been so unseasonably warm! Today we took another trip down to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, and, considering where it's situated, I was surprised at the heat even there.

    We had the sitter come tonight so we could see Quantum of Solace, but thanks to a lack of basic research on my part (I thought it released last week), it was sold out. So we just wandered around instead. Had some dessert. And I scored some half-off Christopher Moore (and found out he may very well be in town again for the release of his next book in February), so the evening wasn't a total loss!
    11/15/08 11:10 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Pre-Holiday Notes
    ► It's getting tougher to shop around the kidlet. Packages have already begun arriving from afar, and he is downright indignant that I won't open them immediately, like normal everyday packages. Luckily I can still distract him with Halloween candy.

    ► There's a house just up the street that was already decked out and lit like a rainbow conflagration last week. I find it anachronistically annoying.

    ► I'm only 35% done shopping, but at least only 5% remains unpegged in my head.

    ► The forecast high is 83 tomorrow, which I can believe because it felt nearly that today. But also, I can't, because SOLSTICE IS ONLY THIRTY-EIGHT DAYS AWAY. Ungh.
    11/13/08 11:20 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Today
    The Good: the bub's fort-bed arrived on time, and all was rapidly assembled. Also, snatching perfect $148 CK dress pants at Ross for $24, not bothering to try them on, and finding they fit like a charm is pretty sweet, too. Sad (?), I can't remember the last time I owned a pair of pants dressier than khakis.

    The Bad: The delivery people forgot a box, so we had to drive back up to Santa Rosa to get it. Service, harrumph.

    The Ugly: Summons for jury duty next month. Ungh! I used one of my two annual postpone-your-"civic-duty-or-be-incarcerated" cards, though -- it's right at the tailend of my class, which is also at the tailend of my first certificate, and I can't have any potential conflicts with the final exam.
    11/10/08 11:14 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Barely Over a Week In...
    ...and I'm already at a bit of a loss, just remembering to post at the last possible moment. Sheesh. Like Blogathon, and it's 4:00 a.m., and the caffeine/sugar has pushed things over the crest and into a fantastic nosedive.

    Nothing exciting today, just a trip to the library for a new pile of kidbooks (my Paperbackswap queue is massive, and I rarely interrupt it with anything else). Plugging away at Series Four of Doctor Who. Eating pizza. Rainy Saturday stuff.
    11/08/08 11:46 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Return of Bessie
    I hate to admit it, but the pink cruiser I bought three years ago hasn't seen a whole lot of action. You know those little spiky rubber nubblies that new tires have? Mine still have most of them.

    I've had a host of reasons excuses: the coaster brakes are crappy, those high chopper handlebars impede steady navigation, and the kid trailer is just a big pain all around. I replaced the handlebars with something far more moderate and comfy (and I added shiny-shiny sparkle grips!), so that's one thing down. I'm thinking of installing caliper brakes; the ability to come to a complete stop without dragging my feet would be nice.

    Lately, our feet aren't fast enough to keep up with the bub and his wheels (especially fueled by trick-or-treat trappings, ungh), so cue the bikes. It's been kind of nice. Enough so that I might even get brave enough to hitch up the trailer again.
    11/05/08 08:34 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    More Things I Don't Understand
  • Why people, especially those driving neutral-colored cars, whip around our roads like idiots, not using headlights, when it's foggy.
  • This.
  • Lots of things about Facebook.
  • What the hell the people at Best Week Ever were/not thinking.
  • That goes for Heroes, too.
  • Why, when the only weather we get is rain, I can't find a single pair of boys' rainboots locally. Or a raincoat, for that matter. I guess little boys aren't supposed to jump in puddles anymore, now that they have Wii.

    • 11/03/08 08:48 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Walking My Butt Off
    I knew if I could return to even a moderate daily walking routine, I'd eventually lose some weight. And, after weeks and weeks of hoofing it 'round the neighborhood an average of just 1.5 miles a night, I was finally awarded proof: two pairs of pants, which before would accept nary a buttcheek, are now zippable (if not cozy yet). Huzzah!

    I refuse to weigh myself, especially in the earliest stages of fat loss, since my lower body is building visible, heavy muscle. Even though I know I'm burning, not seeing the numbers go down (or go down as fast as I think they should be) can be a blow. A Pocky-sucking blow.

    What's really helping me stick to it is MapMyWalk. You can Googlemap your routes (publicly or private; mine are the latter for security, since I walk alone), saving them to use in your Training Log again. Plug in the start/end times, and it'll calculate your estimated calorie burn and miles per hour. There's a MapMyRun Facebook app (it can record "running/jogging/biking/blading/walking/hiking/swimming") which keeps a list of the most recent mileage; it's encouraging to see how much distance I've covered in a month! Signing up for new monthly mileage challenges keeps me from resting on my laurels.

    And, if the Garmin Nuviphone is ever released and we can get our hands on a couple, that will automate the recording even further. Sweet.
    08/19/08 02:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Zap! Zap!
    Tomorrow is my LASIK consultation. I feel all multiple personality about it: "Oh noes! What if you aren't a candidate?" and "Won't it be a relief if they can't do it? No knife! Woo!"

    I was going to go to a practice that offers blade-free IntraLASIK, but their home page also touts "aesthetics" like injectable wrinkle-eating poisons, laser hair removal... that kind of thing. So, obviously, they understand the fact that vision correction is serious, LIFE-ALTERING SURGERY on your EYEBALLS.

    Clearly in the same class as skin peels.
    04/16/08 11:26 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Some Signs the Day Might Be All Right
    -The artisan garlic bread arrives just as you have at the grocery store, all warm and fragrant. Too bad you have to restrain yourself from eating it with your coffee right away!

    -The bub is only contrary for the sake of contrariness once or twice before school. Aaaand, it's gorgeous outside, so you know they'll be running off a lot of steam in the park today (woot!).

    -Following this Roy Lichtenstein-y tutorial has been pleasant and fun.

    -It's not Monday!

    ETA: Oh, how could I forget? No horks! We're on Day 4 now!
    04/15/08 11:04 AM in Babble , Link  |  Comments


    Bugging Out
    We're being invaded!

    Always, now, I'm seeing one flitting on a wall or ceiling, just out of the corner of an eye. I'm not bug-phobic. Much. But hosting relatively large, uninvited, winged guests en masse does get old after a few days.
    04/13/08 11:50 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Garage Can't Hold a Candle
    I miss basements. There are almost none in California, and I know there are reasons -- water table, stringent (read: expensive) building codes, no need because of lack of freeze. But the temps spiked into the high 80's today, and the thought of a cool, dark, maybe damp-ish basement to work and hide in was so appealing. I can almost smell one now -- earth and rock and concrete.

    Adding to the subterranean yen: I got a decent workout at the Scandia air hockey table tonight. If we had a basement, a table could live right here. See, a basement would be good for my health.
    04/11/08 11:33 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Picking Up the Ball, Dribbling it All Over, Crazy-Like
    Whoops. Missed a few days there. It seems as if I blink, and, *pwoof!* a week has passed.

    Been in a decidedly more domestic mood. Spring? Finally feeling really well? Don't know. Meal planning and hanging out laundry and organizing, at least. Cleaning... well. And my desk is still trashed, but only because I'm never alone with it long enough during a frenetic-energy period to scrape it all up and start over. Looking at it right now, I find I've got a deep urge to burn it.

    Say! I cured my own rotten sinus infection. Without antibiotics. Now, don't go all "That's dangerous! Tsk, tsk!" on me. I did the whole antibiotic thing, ten years ago. Again, and again, and again. Until the rest of my body was a mess, and my nose was in a vicious merry-go-round of wellsickwellsickwellsick. So you'll have to pardon my very last resort policy when it comes to the -cillins and their brethren. Of course, as always, your mileage may vary.

    Anyhow, yes. The NeilMed Sinus Rinse is a minor miracle. No wonder there's not a negative review to be found. I've been using it for about, what? a month now? starting with three times a day during the very worst of the infection, and now down to just mornings. And I swear, I can't remember the last time my nose was so CLEAR. Breathing, no yellow gunk. They say that the benefits of consistent use accumulate and really peak after a couple of months, and I have no reason not to believe it. Hooray!

    I did some other things, too, during the worst of it. Lots and lots of hot green tea and mineral waters, time-release vitamin C, garlic caps three times per day, vaporizer with eucalyptus at night, and long daily steams with a couple drops of tea tree oil added to the water. I'm still taking the C and garlic -- they certainly can't hurt at all.

    I used the Get Prints feature on Flickr for the first time today. I'm curious to see if I like it better than Snapfish. I hope so, because Snapfish is a ginormous pain in the tookus.

    My goal this month was to pick up all the little crafty projects I've abandoned, and just finish them already. Not going great so far, which you might have noticed. Doesn't bode well for my Etsy opening in fall. Sigh. Maybe this summer, when I don't have a class.
    04/07/08 11:07 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    More Random Observations - The Organic Edition
    -The sweet gum pods are in full mock, with their tentacles and empty eyes. Whispering, whispering. "Come, step on us. Twist that weak ankle again, you can hardly avoid it, we're everrrrrrrrryyyyywheeeerrrrre."

    -At the marsh tonight, there were swans! Lots of them. I've never seen a bird big or brave enough to get aggressive with a Canada goose, but we watched one repeatedly attack what appeared to be a nesting pair. The geese did hold their own. Interesting stuff.

    -When I arrived at the preschool this morning for pickup, the class had an uninvited guest zooming around overhead -- a hummingbird. Both outer doors were wide open, so I assume it eventually made it to the outside again.
    04/01/08 06:56 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Very Random and Pointless Observations from Today
    -When stirring pasta in an oh-so-slightly ridged-bottomed pan, it sounded almost exactly like the TARDIS taking off. It reminded me that there are still a couple seasons to queue up.

    -Big. Freaking. Opossum. Huge! On my walk tonight. The only other mammals we've seen in the immediate area are cats, dogs, and mice that the cats have, erm, dispatched, so you might imagine my surpise as it lumbered across the darkened sidewalk in front of me.

    -Our DVR has a personal problem with Mansfield Park. The first time the program aired, the machine completely ignored it, no error message, nothing. It did record the re-airing... at least the picture. The sound, it cut out five minutes in.
    03/31/08 10:59 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Things That Fly
    The wind was perfect and the sun was shining, so Daniel flew his first kite today. Just a Gayla plastic dealie, but it flew really easy, which made it all that much more fun and less potentially exasperating for one who is a little too quick to fuss lately.

    We gave him his choice from the small display at our KB outlet. How happy was I that he pooed the licensed character stuff and went for one of the birds (a bald eagle)? Pretty chuffed. It would be nice to get something a little sturdier, eventually; we may have to take a little drive to Bodega Bay (and now that I've seen The Birds, I kind of want to see the schoolhouse, too).

    Did you know there's an American Kitefliers Association? I did not.
    03/30/08 10:44 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Dorks 'r Us
    Ha! Clip on sunglasses. I now have them. So chic, that's me. But they work, and will make driving a hell of a lot safer for the next few weeks.

    Maybe I can get these sometime after I get zapped.
    03/29/08 09:46 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Dagnabbit
    I missed a day! We watched I Am Legend until late last night, and I just completely forgot about posting. Anyone who's still around probably knows my pet genre is postapocalyptic/dystopian, so I may get a little brainhyper when I get my hands on a blockbuster, especially starring someone I love to watch (squee).

    Sooooo. I have to make an appointment (haven't quite nailed down my choice of practice yet), but I'm going to get LASIK. Or preferably bladeless IntraLase if that turns out to be not awfully cost-prohibitive. The pain of it currently is that, since I've been using soft contacts for about twenty years, I've got to stop wearing them a few weeks in advance, because they change the corneal shape. Which makes me wish I'd decided to do this in December -- I don't have prescription sunglasses, and driving around during the day HURTS like a mofo now that it's sunny. I'm a temporary vampire.

    Luckily temporary vampires can still enjoy garlic.

    Before I forget, here are some easy printable dolls for Karyn and co.
    03/28/08 08:32 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    haikuku
    midnight drawing near
    eyes burn like one thousand suns
    so here is a link
    03/25/08 11:35 PM in Babble , Link , Music  |  Comments


    Strangeness
    It was kind of a weird day.

    Around noon, I glanced at my Google Desktop, and it was displaying a temp of 89°. Errr... no. No way. Went outside. 65, tops. Then I checked out Wunderground, and it was reporting 85°. I checked the temp a half hour, maybe hour later, and it was reading back in the 60's where it very clearly belonged. What makes it weirder is that the Wunderground data comes from a Personal Weather Station a few blocks away, and I'm pretty sure Google's doesn't. Just strange.

    Then I opened my mailbox to find an issue of Domino. Not that I have anything against it, really, but it's not something I would pay for, even just one issue. At least it didn't remain a mystery long -- I remembered that, aeons ago, I made an Amazon order and was offered a "Free Subscription!" to my choice of one of about five publications. Oh! Duh. I never would've remembered it on my own.

    We made a trip to Longs before dinner. The bub went up the aisle a bit, out of our sight, and we heard a dull, sickening THUD, and exclamations of surprise/fear/concern. My heart went into my throat for the few seconds it took to find the bub, safe and sound. Apparently an older gentleman, while waiting at the pharmacy, just toppled straight backward with no warning. The paramedics arrived impressively fast, and the fire truck shortly after. I hope he's okay.
    03/24/08 09:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    And Some Things I Have Been Wondering
    -Why people here seem to have a thing against sidewalks. We don't have places to walk to, but damn if we haven't got the best sidewalks! Wide, flat, everywhere. So why walk down the middle of the street? Sometimes three abreast, with dogs? For the love of vehicular safety, why???

    -Is Jericho coming back? Well, is it?

    -Why bring chocolate pudding to school on 3-year-old Picture Day? Hmmm?

    -Why "if you write it, they will come" no longer applies. I must be more boring-er. Or I'm consuming too much garlic.

    -Why the flak from other hardcore fans? It wasn't that bad. Really.
    03/13/08 09:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Some Things I Have Been Doing
    -Taking garlic caps. They're supposed to be good for sinuses (among other things). Upped the vitamin C for the same reason. Trying to sleep more, and drink more water. Still rinsing nose religiously. Outlook better.

    -Swearing in the kitchen. Lesson learned -- never, NEVER use a brand-new recipe when time is of the essence. If you must, have 48 pre-made cookie dough balls on hand just in case. I still can't believe I had to throw away cookies today, they were that bad.

    -Revisiting Serenity. We don't get SciFi in Petaluma (WTH?), but no worries, because I have the series on DVD (a rarity for me).

    -Walking again, now that I can stand without wobbling. I got bored with my music; a sharp, emotional, but not terribly demanding audiobook is just the motivator I needed.

    -Getting the smackdown at Scramble. Clearly this is not my game, but I'm having so much fun playing that I don't really care.
    03/12/08 10:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Nose Knows
    Well, I'm washed out, shaky on my sticks and still hacking, but I've managed to make it since 3 a.m. without drugs or a high fever. And, you know what? My nose has never felt this good at the end of the flu. Never. Usually the secondary sinus infection would be kicking my butt. But I've been faithfully rinsing, three times a day, since Saturday, and I can BREATHE. Through my nose! There's still a little pressure and drainage, but nothing I've needed to drug up to survive through.

    And it's not bad to do, the rinsing. I've actually begun to look forward to it, because my passages feel so cool and refreshed after. The NeilMed solution doesn't burn at all, not like my homemade stuff did with the Waterpik adapter.

    So I'm almost believing that, as testified time and again, I'll cut down drastically on sinus problems if I'm habitual about rinsing. Woo!

    *knock on wood*
    03/03/08 08:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Cheap Date
    It was Parents' Night Out at the preschool. I had two (two! light!) gin & tonics at the local "upscale" "nightclub," and I've been flying almost stupidly high. It seems like I tolerate liquor with less ease the older I get. Sigh!

    It sure is nice out tonight, though. Pleasant to wander around a safe downtown, with a big local bookstore to browse, and good pizza to eat, all by the river.
    02/22/08 08:44 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Off the Wagon
    We went to Sacramento for the long weekend, where I fell off the post wagon. Because the internet connection was crappy, and I didn't bring paper to manually write down posts. I guess I didn't bring enough inclination to overcome that ridiculously small barrier, either. And then I got home yesterday, and found myself completely lacking the will to post.

    Will to drink? Check. Will to sleep until about Thursday? Cheeeccck. Will to blog? I must've lost that three counties east. Intent to carry on henceforth? Okay.

    So, yeah. We went to the zoo. Old Sac. Spaghetti Factory. Pancake Circus. Ran out of oomph for Ikea (strange, considering all that carb loading). The bub was generally compliant. It was nice to get out of town.

    I just wish I weren't so wiped and cranky today. The pollen (or something -- smog?) was getting me over there, and I did constant battle with my sinuses. Sleeping is usually an issue in hotels. And then up early this morning, for preschool. Yaaaaaawn.

    Just need a day to recover my noggin. Too bad boys seem to have a spidey sense that hones right in on girl weakness. Hope everyone is caught up on their rabies shots!
    02/19/08 10:39 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    More at Eleven
    I'm making my first quilt. Actually, a crib-sized quilt gone wall hanging for the bub's room, but I'm hand-stitching it and all. It has trains! Just doing the basting now. Pics... when I'm farther along.

    We went letterboxing today, a semi-successful second attempt at a hunt which we failed miserably (and I do mean miserably) the first time, in Napa. A couple photos... tomorrow.

    Yeah. Dumb young pop stars. Some of them are messed up. Some of them are really messed up. I GET IT. I get it so damned clearly that my tailbone itches at the mention of the name. More compelling -- nay, crucial -- analysis... when my cerebrum falls out.
    02/09/08 09:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I is ur naybor...
    ...heerin ur supah bowl partay.

    Not a big fan. In fact, I only know that one of the teams playing is the Patriots because I read a blurb on some blog about John Krasinski not dressing "appropriately" in support of "his" Boston team. Such is my obliviousness.

    I just got back from my walk, and there've been massive parties in about every other house. Just judging by the uncharacteristically large number of cars I had to circumnavigate. I also learned that our walls are thinner than I've believed for the past three years. Whoops.

    You'll let me know if there were any good ads, though, won't you?
    02/03/08 08:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Drippy Skippy
    Yesterday it rained all day. And I don't mean mild, friendly showers. I mean torrential winter rain, the kind that shuts down major highways and forces evacuation of riverside homes. But you wouldn't have known it today; even the gutters were mostly dry by the time we went out at five, and it was so balmy during my walk just now that I had to push up the sleeves on my hoodie to stay comfortable. Of course it started raining again before I could get back, but nothing newsworthy.

    So with that, and the crud, we've been trapped all week, and it was nice to get out. Tonight was Parents Night Out at the preschool, and let me just tell you that this may be the best thing since sliced bread. The bub gets to go to a safe, familiar environment for three hours, and have treats and a movie and games. And we get, well, three hours! For an insanely incredible fifteen dollars! And they do this every month! So we went to see J.J. Abrams' latest, more on that tomorrow; won't be posting here, but over there.
    01/26/08 09:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Dear Jennie,
    Listen, now. I'm not calling you stupid. But sometimes (well, let's be honest, often) your head-in-clouds, scatterbrained (autism spectrum?) forgetfulness makes you appear not exactly the brightest bulb. Not quite... all there. Especially when you're impatient or in a hurry. You know there are certain circumstances under which you can't function without itineraries, routines, or lists, and I implore you not to try.

    As a recent example. If you're going to a restaurant with a small person, you know -- yes, you do -- that, not being adult, they're not going to be happy waiting for food without a distraction. Which you seem to have a self-punishing fondness for not remembering to provide. And then the other big person will be irritated with your forgetfulness (again!), and give you that exasperated Look/Tone, and chaos will ensue (as usual), and you'll wonder why it is, exactly, that you repeatedly choose to eat at establishments which don't offer plastic flatware and a playscape. A simple solution would be to just keep things in the purse, and remember to carry it. But then you'd also have to remember to quash the all-too-easily-leading gut feeling of "Ick! Purse!"

    Maybe you should be writing this down on paper.

    I've spent years doing my best to save you from yourself, but I can only nag so much. I guess I'll see you tomorrow when I prevent that paring knife from slipping out of your hand and into your instep while you daydream about bottlecaps or bread machine recipes (again).

    Warm Regards,
    The left side of your cerebral cortex
    01/25/08 10:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Suspended Animation
    Bub has the sniffles again, but nothing as bad as before Christmas. Just enough to keep him out of school this morning and without the energy to be too broken up over it.

    So it's cold and damp, and we're inside. I've been reading some thick and trashy chick lit (for which I get a strange hankering every year or so), watching fascinating/depressing stuff, and marinating pork. Hopefully the rain will hold off so I can walk later, and then do a bit of studying. Not an exciting day, but I'm not complaining.
    01/22/08 04:47 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Not-Fun Part
    Tonight is the night we head down to the Castro. If you've been around for awhile, you may remember that we do not, as a rule, do well driving in the city. Nooope.

    But, as we've no choice (and with a spendy sitting schedule leaving no room to quickly learn and deal with public transportation), maybe you have a nice Castro Theatre parking tip or two to share with a hapless, hopeless Midwestern hick? I would beg with a Yoopish twang, but I hope it won't come to that.
    01/17/08 08:22 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Slipping Already?
    Sheesh. Almost called it a day without writing. I'm just so exhausted today, like I haven't been since I was sick. It's not lack of sleep (well, no more than usual); I scored about six hours last night. Come to think, I'm pretty sure that not a drop of coffee passed my lips today...

    Anyhow. I started my new online class today (InDesign I). It's something that I've always been interested in, moreso than web/graphic design, and I'm thinking about doing the whole three-course run, and taking the ACE exam. We'll see if I can stay in one county long enough to pull it off!
    01/14/08 08:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Powerless
    Along with about a million other California homes and businesses, we lost our power yesterday. It looks like the whole east side of town was down with us, from about three p.m. yesterday until 5 a.m. this morning.

    Our whole house still reeks of wood smoke -- we tried to have a nice fire, but now we're certain the chimney hasn't been cleaned in ages. There was some draw, but not enough. I'm just waiting for my sinuses to chime in.

    On the bright side, the night sky was fantastic. I don't think I've seen that many stars in years! After a decade away from Upper Michigan, it's easy to forget just how dark it gets with no moon or light pollution.

    There were a lot of downed branches (small ones), but I haven't seen any real damage yet. It looks like the Bay proper, and areas to the south and east, bore the brunt of the wind; 70 MPH on the Golden Gate, and upwards of 100 on some mountain peaks! Nothing like that here.

    I had bread in the machine when we shut down, with no idea how much time was left. It must've had only minutes to go, because it's a fine loaf (new recipe for me, it's really quite good for a plain bread).

    There was more wind and rain and even thunder this morning, during which the lights flickered ominously. So if the site goes again, you'll know why.
    01/05/08 01:12 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Blah Blah
    We've all had a turn being sick here, hence the long silence. It started with D. (bad cold), and then Daniel (bad cold, one day of wellness, and then an ear infection). I was certain I'd escaped, but no -- the most horrible, flu-like sinus infection I've had in years... and then the bad cold. Daniel and I are both still a little gunky, but I think everyone should be okay by Christmas (phew).

    I have to say, there aren't too many things that will make you despise nature, the universe, and Your Deity of Choice more than being fresh off a bad sick, and being awake all night with a fever-sick child. Especially if you're not exactly a spring chicken anymore. It does, however, renew the appreciation of fanatical handwashing.

    Oh, it's time for the Mayfly Project again. Let's see:

    Inlaw, family, playing tourist. Moving AGAIN? No. Adjusting to close quarters. Mild summer, fall. More inlaws. Reading, reading, reading. Bub in "school." 2008 calls.
    Now I'm going to sleep, and hope that my throat doesn't feel so raw in the morning. After all, tomorrow is "Fetch the ham and rolls, and make devilled eggs" day.
    12/23/07 09:55 PM in Babble , Link  |  Comments


    More on Decorating
    Last night, we drove around our side of town a bit, searching out the more fantastic holiday displays. We weren't let down -- one cul-de-sac had teamed up with whole-house displays, music, a garage made to look like a giant department store window, house-to-house light ropes, and even decorated lightpoles. In a home just around the corner, part of one of the rooms was divided off with red fabric, making another "storefront" display with animated figures. Novel and charming!

    I was hoping that at least one or two of the folks living on Hogwarts Circle would have done the fanatical thing and indulged in a bit of magical theme decorating, but no such luck.

    The people who live across the street (not our circle street, but the main street past our back "yard") have decorated their roof with cutouts of about a dozen characters from South Park and Beavis and Butt-Head and the like. Odd choice.

    When we go walking near the airport park, there's a large front window that never fails to make me jump in my coat a little, even if I'm mentally prepared for it. It features a nice average tree, and then, to either side, life-sized, costumed Santa and Grinch figures. The Santa is very convincing!

    I'll have to get photos of our decorations up. I'd like to finish one more house for my village before I do, though. Soon.
    12/09/07 01:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    *shudder*
    Am I the only one who gets slightly uncomfortable around the daytime deaths of holiday yard inflatables? They remind me of this television episode that I had nightmares about as a kid -- I think it was a Sid & Marty Krofft production.

    Goodness, but they're gaining popularity, at least in our neighborhood.
    12/05/07 08:40 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Doh!
    So I make it through twenty-nine of thirty days... and then miss the last one by half an hour. Thanks, extra-long Harry Potter RiffTrax.

    Sigh. Guess there's always next year!
    12/01/07 12:33 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Still Here Plugging Away Inside My Vacuum
    So today I made another batch of paneer, but with a double boiler. Oh, the perfect snow-pure curds! I'm going to make mattar sauce for it tomorrow, assuming I can find a recipe I like (and have the right spices for). I only hope the paneer will last that long, it's so squeaky and tempting to nibble it all away.

    I also purchased and put up outdoor lights to string around our doorway. This after taking down the previous set, which went half out after being oh-so-carefully tacked into place. And, woo, if the new string didn't pull the same. exact. stunt. So we're thinking it's a problem at the source (a light socket with a plug adapter inserted), though a similar setup at the very front of the house works just fine. Bah.

    Aaaand I made a point of getting a box of Trader Joe's frozen chocolate chip cookie dough. You know, for, uh, science.
    11/28/07 10:50 PM in Babble , Food  |  Comments


    Brown Owl
    So I'm sitting here, gearing up to write another "UPS, blah blah BLAH" post, because it's almost eleven PM, and my package had been "out for delivery" since 6:48 AM. In fact, this is the very last thing I'm doing today; face is washed, teeth are brushed, I fell asleep during a RiffTrax and I'm phoning it in again. But just as I logged into MT, the unmistakeable brown behemoth pulled up outside.

    And so this is officially the latest in the day that I've ever received a package. Though it's still not marked as such on the tracking page.
    11/26/07 10:46 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Gobble Gobble
    Well, I had salmon. And a pumpkin bread pudding that was... ummm. It was like autumn, on my plate. If autumn were smothered in vanilla ice cream and drenched in caramel sauce.

    We ate at the same restaurant as last year, but enjoyed something new and definitely not on the menu -- tantrums. Even though the meal was a full hour shorter. D. had to remove him from the building for ten minutes just to get him to stop screaming. So I'm officially submitting this as Exhibit B in the case of Terrible Two vs. Terrorizing Three. Now pass me that Advil, there's a dear.

    Goodness, but he looked the charmer, though. Photos up on Flickr tomorrow.
    11/22/07 07:47 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Deer Island
    Today we hiked around Deer Island in Marin.

    I was determined, in the beginning, to make at least borderline substantial posts every day, but tonight this is all I've got in me. I have some kind of chest/throat thing going on, and am very much not into the thought of... thinking.
    11/17/07 08:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Shoppery
    Cuties are back in our stores! Hoorah! I had two for dinner. They're the perfect thing for a scratchy-throated malaise. Which, unfortunately, isn't the best time to wander around the supermarket, finding clementines. Ugh.

    Before the grocery, we hit Staples to find bulldog clips. You know, the traditional scary things that could pinch the skin of your finger off right down to muscle. I need twenty-four of them for a project, but they only sold them in packages of three, and at about four bucks a pop, there was just no way. It looks as if Awful Despot isn't much better. Maybe a traditional office supply shop will carry them in bulk. Or any other suggestions would be appreciated, too, keeping in mind that I really need them yesterday!

    Extreme! Girl Stuff Ahead: I'm trying out this. There are pros (environmental soundness and better health obviously at the top of the list) and cons (I won't gross you out, but), and I'm hoping to find that I can live happily with the latter. I got mine for $20 at LuckyVitamin.com, which means it pays for itself in about three months, but should last for years.
    11/16/07 09:09 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Merry (and Bright)
    Oooh. The mail was like early Christmas today:

  • My super-sweet new holiday knits stamps
  • Three Paperbackswap books (one of vintage ornaments)
  • Some reuse crafting supplies from Etsy
  • Freebie Spanx from a promotion that I'd long forgotten (just in time for "dress" pants at Thanksgiving)
  • The same Chutes and Ladders game that we had as kids -- still in the original wrapping! -- for just a couple dollars more than what a new (far less charming) game would cost


    • Hooray! Now, only if it hadn't been hot in a t-shirt and long pants at the playground this morning, I'd really be in the holiday spirit.
    11/13/07 02:54 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Things That Seemed Like Good Ideas at the Time
  • Going to Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday. A rainy Saturday.
  • Thinking that All Free & Clear in a spouted bulk container would not just be an incredibly heavy, drippy, sticky mess.
  • Not bringing extra kid pants to Chuck E. Cheese.
  • Leaving a pile of to-do sewing on top of the dryer. Next to the big honking jug of All.

    • 11/11/07 07:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Friday
    The upswing in posting is me warming up for NaBloPoMo. I'm not certain there'll be any official organized thing this year, but it's still a good goal. (ETA: Oh! New shmancy site and everything.)

    Daniel woke up with a little cold yesterday. I sure wish I could bounce back from stuff as quickly as he does! The silver lining is that he sleeps in for two or three hours.

    It's been raining, and the oven is getting a workout. Baked wild pears, banana cornmeal muffins, acorn squash... More chickpeas and maybe iced pumpkin cookies over the weekend.

    We were planning on the pumpkin patch this weekend, but, if Daniel is up to it (and it's not raining in Vallejo) we may go to Discovery Kingdom instead. The lower temperatures will scare off the natives, and it won't yet be too chilly to enjoy it.
    10/12/07 10:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Psychiatric Help, 5 Cents - The Doctor is In
    I took the Autism Spectrum Quotient yesterday, and scored 30. Apparently the average for women is 15, and scores above 32 have been shown to correlate strongly with autism spectrum disorders. Scores below 26 generally indicate normality.

    So, interesting. I mean, I won't be falling over myself to see a psychiatrist anytime soon, but there are some components of Asperger syndrome that did strike a deep chord. Especially this bit:

    People with AS may analyze and distill their observation of social interaction into rigid behavioral guidelines and apply these rules in awkward ways—such as forced eye contact—resulting in demeanor that appears rigid or socially naive.
    My motor skills have always been well below average (ask every one of my gymbeastresses; at the time, I would've given my own teeth to even be slightly competent on the balance beam). I can drop the same object several times in the span of a few seconds; it needn't be slippery or necessarily difficult to hold. If there's a way to bruise an elbow, shin, or knee, I guarantee I'll find it (I'm nursing a deep and nasty one on my kneecap from last week). Tripping on nothing is my special speciality.

    And then there are the vocal issues -- pitch, volume, rhythm, etc. I've seen and heard the footage, so don't try to deny it! Ha.

    To sum, yes -- I am a blast at parties. And I book fast, so call now! ;-)
    10/11/07 08:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Now We Are Seven
    The blog is seven today (at least, that's the first official Blogger-blogged date -- there was a site and entries well before that). So I figured I should make an appearance, anyhow.

    I'm probably happier than I should be that the fall season officially starts tonight. Family Guy a la Star Wars, woot! The Office starts again on Thursday, and I'm a little more manic/Jim-swoony about that. I've heard that Target is featuring tons of awesome Office office supplies -- mugs, notepads, stickies, pens, mousepads -- in their schmancy dollar bins, so hurry and check that out if you're a rabid, swag-craving fan.

    I've very recently started playing some Scrabble on Scrabulous, which you can access via Facebook or email. It's not only fantastic, it's free! so if you want to play either way, drop me a comment or email and I'll start up a game with you. I still love the PixiePit, but most folks would rather not pay to play.

    I made cream of tomato soup today, from scratch. Soup is something I very rarely make. Almost never, actually. I eat canned soups a lot. But it's fall and homemade soup seemed a good way to mark that. Turned out a little heavier on the milk than I'dve liked, but it's still soothing. Too bad I'm the only one that will eat it (well, maybe that's for the best).

    We walked at Helen Putnam Park again this evening, where we met a man with two dogs (on leashes) and one goat (not). He told us that she "thinks she's a dog." Sure enough, we watched her trot complacently after him, his setter, and a chihuahua. I think he called her Duchess. And, now, damned if I don't want a well-trained goat to take on hikes, too. I'd name it Severus.
    09/23/07 08:27 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Loser!
    Down a painstakingly slooooow 15.5 pounds since March -- but three of those in just the past week. I'm beginning to think that getting up early might be good for more than just motivation and sanity.

    In other news, the bub woke up pretty much as early as I did today, he was even more tantrumy and talkbackish than normal, and this morning's behavior at the library has scared me off taking him there again for some time. Clearly quite tired, but no nap. Needless to say it's been an incredibly long day. I've been hiding behind my borrowed copy of The Road (just, wow) and counting the minutes until (early!) bedtime.
    08/28/07 06:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fall Semester Again
    So class started back up last week, and, for lack of any Adobe courses that I want/need, I'm taking something a little bit meatier -- JavaScript. Haven't taken a lick of programming since *cough* 1990 *cough*, so it should be interesting. My brain can use the workout, and my site the adrenaline.

    Because goodness knows it's not seeing much in the way of writing these days. You can blame that on 1) boredom, 2) a bit of grumpiness, because of 3) complete stoppage of naps, and also 4) dealing with the mental fallout from tantrumy refusals, much of the live-long day. I'm not really sure where studying is going to come into play, and then all my crafty plans, and exercise. I've been trying to get up very early now, and tomorrow it'll be six (coffee machine timer at the ready!), so I hope to at least get my assignments squared away, bit by bit, in the peaceful times before anyone else is up.

    Several times now, I've read that rising early can ward off depression, too -- and I think I can definitely use a little of that, in any case.
    08/27/07 09:03 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Playing Girl
    Sometimes, when I get in a staying-at-home rut, I like to dress up a little bit for errands -- you know, pretend I won't spend the rest of the day scrubbing up cat puke and "washable" stamp ink (another story for another day). Which for me just means pairing my usual plain tee with a skirt instead of jeans or short pants, and wearing sandals nicer than my aging Timberlands.

    I guess I don't do it enough. Because this morning, after I'd put on my long linen skirt (courtesy Old Navy c2006), the bub pointed and said "What's THAT?"
    08/21/07 09:50 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Out
    Did I mention that we went out last week? As in, adults only? I don't blame you if you don't believe me; I hardly believe it myself.

    In a place with no social or family network, finding a sitter is a daunting (if not terrifying) task, reasons for which I'm sure you can imagine. Over a period of months, I watched Craigslist, passing up hundreds of ads, most of them more than reliable, I'm sure. But paranoia won out. Then, in a cartoon-style lightbulb moment, it occurred to me that I could look on the local college job boards, instead, where students who needed experience for their child development degrees would surely be abundant.

    They were, and I started making calls to bright, promising, and presumably motivated students. To my disappointment, then frustration, and then fury, a string of no-shows commenced. Doing nothing to bolster my faith in younger Gen Y-ers, and demolishing my resolve for another half year.

    Last month, as our fifth anniversary, D's 35th birthday, the bub's third, and The Simpsons Movie were about to converge, I resummoned my pluck and tried again. And success! This time 'round, someone more our own age, someone with a degree, and stellar references, and a day job.

    Unfortunately, that job may or may not have her relocating soon, and so back to square zero for us. But it was nice while it lasted.
    08/11/07 10:00 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Hum Dee Dum
    Here we are, in the mood to go some distance for a drive-in, and the only bub thing playing is Ratatouille. Which, according to other moms of young children, doesn't hold their interest long at all. I almost don't care -- it's double-featuring with HPatOotP (which I've already seen, but, hey, free), and he'd fall asleep before then, hopefully.

    We've got a chart and star stickers taped to our downstairs bathroom mirror, a seat "permanently" installed in the toilet. So far, things aren't... well, going. I wouldn't push, but I'm thinking he'd really, really benefit from a handful of preschool hours per week (and honestly, so would I), but he needs to be out of diapers for that. Plus, it just feels like it's more than time.

    You'd swear it was fall this week. Fall, in the middle of August. I've been wearing jeans for days! Rock.
    08/08/07 08:58 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    At This Very Moment
    Bloglines was down all night. Unannounced, unacknowledged. I think I "lost" a bunch of updates. Bah. ETA: looks as if the lost updates are trickling in now.

    It's our fifth (?!?) anniversary. The traditional gift (which I just now looked up) is wood. My naughty mind can't help but wonder how many innuendoed "gifts" have been attempted by men over the years.

    Going through yet another contact-hating phase of fascination with the bladeless IntraLASIK procedure. It's readily available all around us, now.

    Been mooning a bit over Harry Potter. Silly, being a supposed adult, and all. But I always have been apt to get a little too attached to my literature. I'm going back and watching each film to string at least the major plotlines together in my head. Here there be some of Rowling's epilogue commentary, if you're done reading and curious.
    08/01/07 09:27 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Resurfacing
    Momentarily emerging from my funk to say howdy. The brightness and long days and insomnia are keeping me cranky. Last week (I think it was? or maybe the week before) we had one blessed day of fog and clouds and cool, it was lovely. And it even rained another night -- a real gift, when there are watering restrictions. I can't complain too much about the heat, since temps have been tons more liveable than last summer.

    We had a garage sale on Saturday. Didn't quite hit $100, which is pathetic, but it was only three hours long (and a nice enough day), and we got rid of a bunch of clutter, so not really a waste of time. Though it did a) remind me why I tend to the antisocial (ugh) and, b) reinforce "one man's junk, another man's treasure;" the stuff I think will never sell always goes first, and vice versa.

    Of course I'm reading HPVII; had it delivered on Saturday. My time with it is limited, but I've managed to make it to the 600's. I'm torn between dying to find out what happens, and not wanting it to end. I'll be catching up with my email when I'm finished, which will, hopefully, be tomorrow.

    Ellen tagged me, and, in the interest of content... Though I get the feeling I may have done this one before.

    Players start with eight random facts about themselves.

    People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

    1. John Krasinski is slowly overshadowing my Zach Braff love. Sorry, JD!
    2. My serger still terrifies me. After four years. Stupid, huh? Luckily I bought it for a song. I wish I'dve saved the posts from Sew Wrong, because that's where I wrote about it first. And the Wayback Machine is down. Oh, well.
    3. My upper arms are made of nothing but tissue and raw nerves, I swear. It's annoying, painful, and slightly embarrassing.
    4. Suddenly I'm nostalgic for this 1974 Playskool set:

    .

    I hear there was a Holiday Inn set, too.
    5. A big part of what's hindering my weight loss is not having anything to walk to. In Antelope, there were useful stores a half-mile away, close enough to be sane, far enough to matter. And so I ended up doing the bulk of my grocering by foot, several times a week. I still walk, but lack of a concrete destination just isn't as attractive to me (and I mean the routine, same-neighborhood kind of walking, not hiking in wild yonder). Deep suburbia often pisses me off -- I mean really, really pisses me off -- and leaves me feeling trapped, in that regard.
    6. I will watch almost any Little House rerun, almost anytime. During which it is almost assured that I will a) cry, and/or b) be able to recite a scary percentage of the dialogue in my head. I am also aware of most of the timeline and character discrepancies.
    7. I really need to get a home business plan going... like now.
    8. I hardly enjoy magazines anymore. Not even good ones. Maybe it's because I've been more or less forced to choose between them, and books. In any case, I'm taking a hiatus.

    So many people I read have done this already, and I can't remember who, so I'm not tagging. If you do it, feel free to comment and let everyone else know.
    07/24/07 07:28 PM in Babble , Meme  |  Comments


    Retroactive Regrets
    Things I've discovered or learned to appreciate recently that I wish I'd done long before:

  • Maple syrup. I remember tasting it once as a kid (Laura Ingalls Wilder liked it, after all, why shouldn't I? Of course she also enjoyed headcheese...), and hating it. After decades of "pancake syrup," I tried it again (I think it was called for in a recipe), and now it's all I eat in my yogurt.
  • Which has also just recently become only local plain yogurt, preferably Pavel's Russian Style 2%. Mmm.
  • BBC's Dr. Who. Kind of cheesy. Good for summers. Too bad Christopher Eccleston doesn't make it past the first season, nor Billie Piper the second, though (says she with the inadvisable fangirl crushes).
  • Crochet. It's about a hundred times less painful than knitting. Which is the major reason you rarely see me doing that. And easy! Why didn't I know?
  • Having a cup of hot chai tea, and then using the bag to brew another cup for the fridge, to enjoy iced the next day. I reuse one of those tall lidded POM glasses for that.
  • Helen Putnam Park. Especially just before dusk. Man...
    • 06/24/07 04:51 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Notes
    If you've been watching the Flickr stream, you'll know that, really, things haven't been as boring around here as the lack of posts would have you believe. I'm just not feeling real writerly.

    Some things:

  • The Swimsuit '07 Search is off. Hoorah!
  • Numi flowering teas -- official grade of Awesome. Fascinating to watch open, especially for little ones. I can't stop thinking about the Golden Jasmine...
  • All my favorite shows -- Lost, Scrubs, The Office, Ugly Betty -- are done for the season after today, and another (Jericho) is gone forever (unless these people somehow get their way...). But at least The 4400 starts its fourth season June 17th.
  • Sundance darling Waitress is coming to town. Our little downtown theatre has had an increasingly difficult time attracting licensing for indie/indie-esque films, so I hope to support this one if I can. And, yes, seeing Nathan Fillion does add a big scoop of delicious motivation.
  • Our local (but reasonably-sized) hospital has never offered reliable epidural availability for birthing mothers. Terrifying much? Luckily last month it joined the 21st century.

    • 05/23/07 08:34 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Me Oh My Oh
    I'm still here. Not here as in writing, or taking pictures (there goes 365, whoops), but here. Alive. Semi-dieting. Giving myself shin splints. Watching and still thoroughly in love with RiffTrax. And Lost, and Heroes, and The Office, and Jericho, of course. Also:

    Been spending time poring over the confessions over yonder. Almost like anonymous group therapy on a large scale.

    Gearing up for our third (!!!) year down there this weekend.

    Thinking about getting schooled right where I sit over the summer (no classes that apply to my certs, may as well have some "fun").

    Hacking away at the overgrowth out back. I've already filled five lawn bags with dead vines, branches, errant shrubbery, and English Ivy (oi), armed with shears and a lovely wicked little folding handsaw from OSH (they had a machete -- don't think I wasn't tempted). And I'm not finished yet! D. said today that I should've taken a before picture, and I do believe he's right.

    And the family P. arrives from afar next week, so we'll be occupied for the near future. We haven't seen my quasi-twin in three years, which I think is a record, and also unbelievable.
    04/25/07 08:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Do You Ever...
    ...have days (weeks, months?) where it feels like you've got both real-life and virtual spinach stuck in your teeth? Or you forgot to put on deodorant? No matter where you go?

    Yeah. Um. Me neither.
    04/13/07 07:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Up To
    Not much of anything exciting, really. Waiting. And:

    - Scavenging boxes. There's just enough of being sneaky to make this fun for an uptight rule-follower like me. But I'm still damning Murphy -- there are always tons of ads giving away free moving boxes... until the very moment I start collecting them. We pass our good ones on after we move (even when we've purchased them), so I'm waiting for even just a little bit of that karma to come back.

    - Trying to do moving math for every single possession -- the cost of replacement vs. pain in the ass/cost of moving it. And making the subsequent mental piles for a rummage sale this weekend.

    - Playing lots and lots of Super Scrabble. It's addictive, especially when scores up in the 700's are easily achievable. Nice little ego stroke, that.

    - Dropping my latest class. I was already having a difficult (almost impossible) time concentrating, and now there'll be a move smack in the middle, without connectivity and a decent machine that can handle CS2 for ??? days, weeks? Better to cut my losses than fail it. Hopefully my existing credits will transfer into a similar program elsewhere.

    - Watching Flickr turn into my blog.

    Yesterday as the bub and I brushed our teeth, I was once again repeating "brush stays in the MOUTH! brush stays in the MOUTH!" (as opposed to scrubbing the walls, sink drain, carpet...). And I realized I sounded almost exactly like a faceless Peanuts adult.
    03/19/07 10:10 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Note to Self: Buy Pepto.
    Wow. I'm really slacking, eh? Let's catch up.

    Super Scrabble. With Quad Word Score. Pixie Pit was always well worth the $10 annual fee, but this just sweetens the pot.

    The oatmeal returned to our TJ's! much to my glee. I found it again on Wednesday night. Maybe it was just a very lengthy supply blip. Anyhow. It's back! I'll probably still keep making my own fruited version, though, for some occasional variety.

    Dear Green Waste: why oh why didn't you unload our bin this week? It was properly placed. It wasn't over-filled. You took all our neighbors' stuff. And we forgot to put it out last week, so now we're swimming in three weeks worth of recyclables.

    My sincere apologies to Wyoming and Indiana.

    Things are likely to change in these parts again in a bit, as they seem so apt to do. I don't know what to say about it, really (other than pass me another bag of chips. And a half-gallon of ice cream. No, not that low-fat crap -- that doesn't scream self-destructive crisis eating! Gosh!). Nothing that you haven't already heard here before.

    At least Lost is back. Though I'm one of probably a dozen people nationwide that didn't make the Danielle/Alex connection on her own. Duh.
    03/02/07 11:23 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    February... In Like a Hyena?
    I made it through January pretty much unscathed, but then February comes, and bites me in the ass right off the bat.

    I'm just bitter because my PC bit it yesterday. The one that I use for classwork. And stuff. And as much as I adore and worship my laptop for what it is, the one thing it's not is CS2-worthy, nope. So D. is valiantly trying to restore my desktop just enough to limp along until a new setup can be ordered and received, but it looks bad right now. I should be grateful that this week's homework didn't include any designing, just blahblahblah reading and a virtual worksheet.

    I've been using Pixenate to do some quick-and-dirty photo editing via browser, and recommend it highly if you can't/don't want to mess with downloading software.

    To ease through what's left of our "winter," I made this crockpot oatmeal yesterday (see), and froze it in single-serve plastics (generic, six for $1.50). I admit, I was a bit worried about the texture, but it had a hearty bite, probably helped along some by the walnuts. It was even good enough for the bub, and he's a very discriminating customer. The only thing I'd change is the cooking time -- four hours might have been plenty. But then, YMMV, because my "low" setting has always seemed a little fast.

    I had a bit of retail therapy tonight. We were in desperate need of another set of sheets, but I've been spoiled by the cool sateen sheen of our current set (the red and white ones you're tired of seeing in my photos), and didn't feel like settling for less, but didn't want to think of them as an investment, either. So back to Ross, where I picked up a lovely Nine West beige-y floral number, retail value $120, for just $30. Nothing to perk up the old adrenaline like a good bargain.
    02/07/07 09:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Catchup
    Not that I regret participating in NaBloPoMo or the less-famous but still-effective DecBloPooPoo, but now I've got a case of blog burnout (BloBu?). Plus, much of my sparse winter creative juice is flowing into Flickr.

    I'm thinking about LASIK again, and this time, seriously. I've been done nursing for months, so no worries about hormones and eye pressure fluctuations. And I just learned that, instead of a mechanical blade, a laser can now be used to make the flap, presumably with greater accuracy (plus, the thought of a metal blade SAWING INTO MY EYEBALL really gives me the heebies; see, I'm visibly shuddering again). I'm sick of glasses that are never clean, and contacts that irk during allergy season. And I'd be trusting a pioneer in the industry, so that helps allay some of my fears. Well. We'll see (ha).

    Type A question of the day: do you organize items in your grocery cart by type, and then try to put them up in the order they should rightfully be bagged, too? Cold dairy, frozen boxes, cans, health, etc., with crushables at the tail end. Most baggers realize that you don't put Borax and bread together (the alliteration notwithstanding), but some don't, so I figure every little bit helps.

    A friend of my sister suffered terrible loss last year -- both her parents in the span of a few months. Even so, she was kind enough to offer up her mother's classroom collection of books (she was a first grade teacher), and we received a large boxful. Truly a fantastic treasure. I've catalogued (albeit very basically) them all here.
    01/16/07 09:34 AM in Babble , Books  |  Comments


    Beat.
    It's been a busy, busy few days -- D's mom has been staying with us, and we've been doing the tourist thing (which we'll repeat, to a lesser extent, with my family again in May!). It was fun, but, damn, am I tired. Lots of catching up to do. For now, you can look at my Flickr stream, if you haven't already.
    01/07/07 09:40 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    New Year
    Hey, look. I can type when I'm drunk! Whee.

    Happy 2007. If you're having fun where you are, maybe you could save a little for me.
    12/31/06 11:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Eve Day
    I'm not sure what to write today.

    If I were to be completely honest, none of it would be particularly cheery (a bit of homesickness) or very PC (a whole little naggedy storm has been brewing in my head all season re: Christmas vs. Holiday blah blah, more annoying because I can't pick a "side" and stick with it) or sensical (just a dusting of snow might be nice!) or grateful, or patient, or, or, or. Maybe it'll be better as the bub gets older, and I can pass on at least some of the traditions.

    We did drive around a bit, looking at lights. It was strange: the beautiful old Victorians, the ones you'd think would be most likely to show off their gingerbread with tasteful light displays, were undecorated. We were hoping to find a neighborhood like the one we used to visit in Sacramento, where everyone got together and really put together something special as a group.

    I am, though, looking forward to morning, hoping the bub will be excited to see what Santa's left him around the tree. And then, of course, is the ham.

    I hope you're enjoying a peaceful evening.
    12/24/06 10:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Mega Happy Cleaning Fun Party Time
    Okay, having two hours before the holiday alone in the house is one of the best presents ever, when I'm on a cleaning tear. And I'm not saying this because I'm high on Doc Bronner's Eucalyptus, no I'm not. I washed all the downstairs floors (this is scrubbing every inch on hands and knees), vacuumed, washed the livingroom mirrors, shook out the rugs, and wiped down/decluttered the corner of the kitchen where the paper junk monster grows.

    So blissful not to have anyone underfoot, or have to worry about how much noise I was making.
    12/23/06 08:57 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Another Christmas Miracle?
    I had the best DMV trip ever this morning. I don't know if it's because everyone is at the mall, or what. But the (nice!) woman at the entry desk told us not to even bother sitting down, it would be that fast. And it was! And the woman who served us was nice, too.

    And it was all clean and sparkly and open, not crammed and skankified like the Sacramento offices I've had the pleasure of visiting. Rawk.
    12/19/06 12:16 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Rather Mysteriously...
    ...the package showed up on our porch while we were eating dinner today.

    My faith in humanity, if not FedEx, has been restored for the moment.
    12/18/06 10:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    There Will Be Much Baking of Cookies and Drinking of Nog
    Ugh. This final project is kicking my ass. It's not making a whole lot of sense to me at the moment, but then I've only been staring at the screen non-stop for three hours, and look what time it is, so that doesn't help. Rasterizeclippingmask-adjustmentlayercowheadonfishbodyunderwaterbaseball-whowhatwhatnow?

    I almost forgot to post, even. That's how mushified my poor brain is.

    Thank goodness it will all be over by Sunday. Then I can enjoy the holiday in peace. Well, you know. At least more than now.
    12/14/06 11:40 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ooga Booga.
    I'm so tired tonight. Why am I not in bed?

    Oh, yeah. Because I'm here, trying to force myself to post. Why am I doing this again?

    Oh, yeah. All the adoration and money.

    I'm going to drag the bub to storytime tomorrow again. Let's hope he doesn't break into a voluminous rendition of that old Bon Jovi classic like he did today in Target. We've created a monster!
    12/07/06 10:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Things That are Making Me Happy Today
  • Packages
  • Another PBS book request, whee
  • Kati Kim and daughters found, alive
  • Cookies far more inspired than mine
  • The return of commenty goodness
  • Getting the hugest ever unsolicited bub hug in Albertson's parking lot
  • Pumpkin Spice Coffee-Mate
  • Kashmiri Chai
  • Everwood reruns. Yes, I'm just that sappy. Especially at the holidays.

    • 12/04/06 04:37 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fin.
    They're hinting that tonight we might break record lows set in the 30's. Curious, I went and looked up just what that would mean.

    27°, in 1936.

    Now that I've stopped laughing...

    I know, I know. I know. And I shouldn't get annoyed when neighbors talk about how "bitter" it is at 40°, either. I shouldn't. But... holy mighty, that adjective irks here. The temperature range is so, so narrow. About 70 degrees? I won't go into the whole "I walked to school in -30 windchill both ways" spiel, but, gah.

    Anyhow. November is done! I definitely got the quantity down, perhaps a little shaky on the quality. I've decided to string it out another month, see what happens. I might even go a whole year. Run, run while you can!
    11/30/06 11:59 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    This is Day 27.
    Oooh, just getting under the wire on this one. I can't help but wonder how many of the original ??? NBPM participants end up sticking it out the whole month. Percentages would be interesting!

    I finally found a use for the little warming crock that came with the big slow cooker. Chopped up some peels from the half-dozen clementines consumed today, tossed those in with a few whole cloves and a little water, simmered all afternoon, and, voila! the kitchen smells all citrus-spicy. Big improvement over burrito-leftovery.

    Somehow I suffered a fairly deep, sore scratch on my forearm, and don't remember how. I've sustained many bruises that way, which I believe is fairly common, but mysterious flesh wounds are new for me. Senility, or toddler-induced dementia? Who can tell.

    I've been using the library a lot more now that the bub will sit still for stories at night (usually). Because, damn, those picture books are shorter than I remember, and we go through them like water. And I'm not big on close repetition. I also didn't remember hating the ending to the first Curious George book. Huh.

    The tree is now decorated. We'll see how long the branches lower than four feet stay that way.

    11/27/06 11:57 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Babbly
    Clementines! Thank goodness they're here again. Because it's awfully nice to be addicted to something that's, well, good for me. I wish I felt this way about broccoli. Or any fruit would do. Or at least that clementines weren't so temporary.

    IE 7. Not feeling the love yet. Can't get a new tab to open. Feeling like an idiot. Grumble. Yes, I should probably just RtFM, but that sounds too much like work at the moment.

    Elli is getting more mellow towards the bub, which is nothing short of astounding. He can, every now and again, even manage to pet her before she streaks off to hide beneath a heavy piece of furniture.

    You people need to stop having such cute little squishies, it inflicts side effects on the surrounding poor unwitting uteri!
    11/21/06 10:13 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Daisypoops
    Okay, enough with the snarfing. In an effort to allay my seething crank, I will make a list of things that are recently or currently cheery or amusing to me.

  • When the bub leans over and demands a "kees!"
  • Joel McHale
  • The thought of Elmo riding in one of these
  • Cool, partly cloudy days
  • Lost being gone until February Oops, sorry -- wrong list
  • Puuuuuuummmmpkin Pie shakes at Jaaaaaaacccckk, mmmmmmmm
  • Pumpkin ale
  • Pumpkin pie that I don't have to bake
  • Secret gifties arriving all week
  • Living in a neighborhood fairly buried in golden leaves
  • Anticipating the first Netflixed CD of Sesame Street Old School arriving tomorrow
  • Finding new blog comments on my newsreader
  • Engagement news from old friends
  • The day after a cold is finally, really gone
  • The bub recognizing letters of the alphabet
  • John Krasinski
  • Hazelnut coffee
  • Getting my way on at least half the propositions and measures
  • Roasting my own chicken for the first time (yup!)


    • And wasn't that cathartic?
    11/14/06 09:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Now With 100% More Miscellany!
    After about a month of asking and poking around, I finally found a casual, inexpensive restaurant for Thanksgiving with decent reviews, right down the highway in Marin, and I'm stoked. The only problem will be choosing my entree -- traditional turkey, ham, prime rib, salmon, pork, or vegetarian pie. How about a sampler plate? Mmm.

    The bub and I went to our second library storytime this morning. They were setting up for the library book sales (whee!) in the meeting room, so we had to cram into a corner of the children's area. And the bub was just too distracted by all the stuff to listen (or let anyone else listen, for that matter). So we lasted all of ten minutes. You can tell he really wasn't having any fun -- he didn't put up even a tiny bit of fuss when I took his hand and led him out.

    I began to have technical difficulties with my putz house (re: sugar snow glitter) and got discouraged. Hopefully I'll finish off my test house this weekend. Dammit, I knew I forgot something at Michael's yesterday -- spray adhesive.

    I am now offering a finder's fee for a reliable date night babysitter. Yes -- just that desperate. Did you know that there are 16-year-olds out there who expect $18 an hour (not a typo)? 16-year-olds who, it would seem, don't realize that some "old" mother would/could use an email address to look up their MySpace page, and rule them out by virtue of their partial nudity/lapdancing, drinking, and hoochieguttermouth? Yeah. Sometimes this alone drives me to the verge of packing it up and moving back to the Upper Peninsula.

    Breakfast for dinner can be the best palliative, no? So tonight it was baked French toast with Vermont maple syrup, vegetarian sausage patties, and fruit salad (entirely off-the-cuff, with some media crema I'd picked up to try on a whim, and a dash of amaretto syrup).
    11/10/06 08:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Am I Boring You Yet? How About Now?
    Yeah. Material has been a bit, well, thin lately. Or classified.

    October is nice, aside from all the election detritus. It's a peeve -- mailbox stuffed with flyers, signs littering every available bit of real estate, porch and doorknob attacked by literature. As if it's not enough the candidates and propositions are constantly on radio and television, and plastered all over the editorials.

    The brush roller on our vacuum died. FedUp not getting me the replacement anywhere near fast enough + two cats + one child = complete and total shame and embarassment over the current state of our carpeting. This is yet another good reason to shear my hair off, but I figure I only have another ten years before all the curl grays right out, and I only have one real vanity, so. We're just going to continue consuming vacuum parts and Drano like they're going out of style.

    It would seem our stay in this townhome will be more permanent than you'd expect of us. So (naturally?) I'm beginning to balk at not fixing things. Don't think for a moment I'm not scrutinizing you, crappy industrial flat paint job, or you, nasty linoleum, or even you, God-awful vanities. You've been saved only by our volatility, and perhaps lack of guests.

    The bub has a cold, so I look forward to catching that any minute now. I should've known something was up when he refused to eat peanut butter toast.

    I made some Swedish Rye Halloween cutouts. They had a unique, hearty flavor, and I'll make them again at some point, rolled thinner and baked longer.

    I've finally begun the putz village I've been wanting to create for years. My first attempt has been experimental, and hardly elaborate, but very rewarding. As the building materials are happily all recycled, I'll have a few details up on RB soon -- I intend it to be my personal best project ever, if more for nostalgia than anything else!
    10/17/06 03:55 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Swear They Look Exactly Alike
    Generally, my dealings with the police have not been pleasant. A strange thing, when you consider none of these run-ins have been for the truly illegal activities of long-gone college days, and I always just looked the person least likely to cause trouble. No, it's pretty much been classifiable as harassment/power tripping/unneccessary unpleasantness. And yes, I'm lumping the ten-over first offense $300 speeding/non-current address ticket in with that, too.

    So it might be stupid, but I still tend to get nervous when there's an officer around. There were two at the grocery yesterday, in produce, and when one walked up to me... it's amazing I kept my Bartletts in check.

    So how did it melt my cold, black heart then, when he grinned large and said "Ma'am? Does your son like stickers?" And handed us a little yellow badge?

    And how much did I rescind that warmth when, looking at the sticker at home, it said "Jr. Firefighter?"
    10/10/06 01:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    That's Better.
    The garage is now overhauled. I think we still need at least a Craigslisted loveseat out there, but D thinks there's not enough room.

    And there were "before" shots, from move-in time. Pretty nasty, huh?

    The cobwebs have been removed, the walls have been painted, utility carpets (and the area rug from our old place) have been put down, the gap beneath the garage door sealed (with foam pipe insulation), shelves and workspaces have been installed, and general reorganization has been completed. Aside from drumming and recording and pounding, makes a great open space for a bub to play with his trucks, too!
    10/01/06 02:37 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Wreck Room
    We are converting the double garage into hobby space (though D. is by far doing more of the work). For drumming, and pounding, painting, assembling, sawing... We didn't take a "before" pic, so this "in progress" one will have to do.

    The disgusting popcorn ceiling (WTF were they thinking? In a garage? Really?) drives us a bit mad, but trying to paint it only results in ceiling crumbs everywhere, and we're not quite motivated enough to rent a sprayer.
    09/21/06 01:13 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Indulge Me.
    I caught the bub's cold, so be nice to the sniffly woman with the raw throat and low-grade fever!

    I'm curious about you -- what's your Myers-Briggs personality type? Not that short, free tests are necessarily the best, but if you've no idea, they're okay, and there happens to be a decent one here.

    *taps foot, waits...*
    09/07/06 09:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Spreading the Lurve
    I've got five more Vox invites, if anyone that doesn't have one yet happens to be reading.

    I really like having a dedicated place for my little book/movie blurbs -- it's a great way to keep track of my habits.
    08/25/06 04:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Domesticity
    I've really been on a domestic/re-organizing tear lately (noticed?). Other people do spring cleaning, but these days I find myself more motivated in the fall.

    I was so lucky to find a Jerker-like desk (only wider!) with a hutch right here in town for $50, so out with my crippled (read: moved one too many times) corner tower. I love that I'll have room for my computer and a little crafting space, too. I plan on mounting tasklights inside the hutch.

    Today, during the bub's nap, I moved my small bookshelf from the office into the pantry, and completely reorganized the foodstuffs and table linens. Tonight I'll be streamlining the contents of my desk, culling out things for AmVets curbside pickup on Tuesday, and starting on the craft/linen and office closets. I have to milk this drive for all it's worth!
    08/19/06 03:35 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Nuts! Oh, and Wackos.
    I understand how you came to be at my site. But, dude. It's prostate, 'kay?
    08/12/06 04:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Acrobatically-Challenged
    I just turned in my last assignments, and A-minused the last quiz. Hoorah.

    I wish the story I could tell you went like this:
    Jennie harbored a tiny bit of resentment against all things PDF. She admitted (grudgingly) that this attitude might be ever-so-slightly unfounded, and even possibly only due to the fact that Acrobat has a nasty habit of wreaking havoc on her otherwise-robust computer. This was not aided at all by the fact that a course covering just that was required for her certificate.

    After a few weeks of intense study, she found that Acrobat is really a lovely, powerful platform for document sharing. An October wedding is planned.

    The End.


    But it went more like this:

    Jennie harbored a tiny bit of resentment against all things PDF. She admitted (grudgingly) that this attitude might be ever-so-slightly unfounded, and even possibly only due to the fact that Acrobat has a nasty habit of wreaking havoc on her otherwise-robust computer. This was not aided at all by the fact that a course covering just that was required for her certificate.

    She halfheartedly limped through the summer course (which felt much longer than eight weeks), all the while wishing she could be reading fluffy chick-lit while pretending she'd ever go on vacation, instead. She learned a few tricks, and may even be more inclined to create her own PDFs in the future. But still, she finds herself hitting "View as HTML" when given the choice in a Google search result. The product of their ill-advised union, named A Minus, will be attending boarding school in England in the fall.

    The End.
    08/11/06 03:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    An Ode to Changing the Subject
    Petaluma, you are one cruel siren.

    I'm in neck-deep. You knew you'd snag me, sometime, with your hills and history and misty dawn. Vestiges of farm-town sensibilities and chicken days. Rallying around the broken bits, even.

    But I don't see how this relationship is ever going to work in the end. If we want a home, you'll work us until our fingers bleed. We'll prostrate ourselves, all the while forced to ignore the bay breezes... or give up. And then you'll just find some other silly Midwesterners to torture.

    Geographic codependency -- who'dve thunk?
    08/06/06 10:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Recovered
    I think I'm caught up on sleep, and back on a normal schedule already. And, bonus -- every time I even so much as look at a can of soda, I get slightly nauseous.

    I'm swearing up and down to you, dear readers, that this was my very last 'thon (that's your cue to breathe a collective sigh of relief, right there). It was physically more torturous than years past, and it's more difficult to get support, with blogging not being quite the priority it once was, so mentally it was a strain, too. I will look forward to being an enthusiastic spectator next year.
    07/31/06 12:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    And Now, Back to Our Regularly-Scheduled 80's
    It's back! Our beloved marine layer came back! It never hit 90 today, and, when I went out this evening in sandals and short pants, my tootsies got cold. Cold! And the hills were all misty, and the breeze was blowing, and I just now had to close the kitchen window because I was chilled. Huzzah!

    Just in time for Blogathon. Which is this weekend. Just in case you forgot. I've got snacks, the webcam is at the ready, and there's a new drive-thru Starbucks up the street.
    07/26/06 10:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Eh!
    I apologize for boring you. Hell, I'm boring me. But it's been kind of meh -- meh happenings, meh class, bubbins tantruming left and right all the live long day. Potential CL'ed Saturday sitters all falling through, no fun there. No exciting plans of any kind in the forseeable future. No projects -- no energy for them. Suffice it to say that homemaking is biting my butt just a wee bit at the moment, and not in a kinky way.

    I'm walking every night, though. Two weeks now, without fail, regardless of any walking I've done during the day. Hard, fast, walks, at least two miles each. Already it's easier, and sometimes I feel I should fly into a run. But I know I'm not ready for that again yet, not nearly.

    A couple of nights ago I met a toad on the trail, and he didn't even hop away.
    06/27/06 09:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Cool.
    Of course it would figure that, as soon as we put in the A/C, the forecast would almost immediately change down by at least ten degrees all week. I actually woke up cold this morning. Not that I'm complaining! It's just typical, is all.

    The next time a real hot streak threatens, I'll go out and buy a kiddie pool.
    06/18/06 10:31 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ta Duh
    Okay, so here's the "new" design (it's been in the works since I was pregnant, eesh). Yup, some things are broken, and the comments template needs tweaking, but it'll get there. And I promise that my archives won't be unreadable anymore, past, oh, next week sometime?
    06/15/06 10:21 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    June... Gloom?
    I know that June Gloom is supposed to be an L.A. thing, but I swear we're getting our share of it up here, too. All-day clouds, cool breezes.

    No overwhelming desire to stab my sun-scorched eyeballs out or hide in the fridge (not that it's been as bad in Petaluma! because it's soooooo not even nearly comparable to that other valley).

    Nothing gloomy about it. I hope it lasts until July!
    06/13/06 12:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    What Would We Do Without the Internets?
    The previous owner of my car went REALLY heavy on the wax. Enough so that it clogged my driver-side windshield washer sprayer. I managed to remove what was visible, and it works if I leave it out in direct sunlight for an hour or two, but not otherwise. I figured, well, it's wax -- eventually it'll all be washed right out of the nozzle by washer fluid, right? But no. After two years, no.

    Why, yes. This is a perfect example of just how well I can procrastinate.

    I haven't tried canned air yet, but I'm going to, very shortly.
    06/06/06 12:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Where is the Time Going?
    I just checked my Photoshop I grade -- an A! And I was sure I was getting a B, after that final exam. I'm stoked to take Photoshop II in the fall. This summer I'll be taking a short Acrobat course (eh); at least I'll have that out of the way.

    I took photos (albeit not great ones) of a little easy "art" project I did last month. Just two el cheapo art canvases joined with a couple of steel mending plates from the hardware store, enough heavyweight fabric to wrap carefully around the frames and attach with a staple gun, and voila! Lightweight art that we can hang over the bed without fear of being crushed by it in case of earthquake. A surprising sense of accomplishment for such an easy bit to put together. And the whole thing cost about ten dollars. In retrospect, I wish I'd used four canvases; I had enough fabric, and it doesn't fill that gargantuan space as well as I'd envisioned.

    The bub is showing a sudden intense interest in climbing/perching precariously upon things. Furniture, toys, boxes, baskets. I can't even tell you how many near heart attacks I've had just today.

    Tim, I totally ordered it. Photos of my, uh, rack forthcoming.
    05/25/06 07:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Catharsis by Clothesline
    I've been cranky and in pain (sinuses) for a few days, so waking up this morning to a fresh, cool breeze, unclouded by any negativity on my part, was a pleasant change.

    It's also nice not to smell cat pee every time I near a certain corner of the great room. Vodkawater, you are my new chemical hero.

    Obviously the jury is still out on the Xlear nasal wash.

    I finally strung up that clothesline I've been wanting so long. A couple of days ago I hung up a nightgown in the patio doorway, and the resulting smell was so irresistably fresh and home-like, I had to have more. The sun is peeking out in patches this afternoon, making our whites whiter.
    05/03/06 02:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Somebody's Ringin' the Bell
    I must say that the imminent arrival of two packages (one needing signature) via different services provides a perfect* excuse... not to vacuum today.

    *ETA: Not that I don't have a whole host of imperfect excuses for the rest of the week.
    04/27/06 12:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Two Things...
    ...I'm trying at the moment:
  • Xlear Nasal Wash. I don't find it particularly "soothing" as billed, but, after a week of use, my shnoz does seem to feel better the rest of the time. We'll see if it cuts down the sinusitis attacks in the long run.
  • Vodka and water spray. For odiferous fabrics, 1 part vodka to three parts water. I've just used it on a stinky secondhand frame carrier, and some areas of the carpet. Keeping my fingers crossed while waiting for it to evaporate...

    • 04/19/06 01:30 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Newsy
    We finally picked up a video camera this weekend. Nothing terribly fancy, but the price was great, it's very small and lightweight, and it appears to work just fine. It's fun to follow the cats around with the Night Vision mode.

    When we first moved to Petaluma, you might recall that I had a heck of a time attracting birds to our new feeder. Now, a year later, I literally can't keep up with their demand for seed! Our trees make a perfect rain shelter for chickadees, doves, and nuthatches. I'm almost certain there's a nest out there, too, hidden among the leaves.

    We had kielbasa, creamed peas, fresh veggies, coleslaw, Swedish rye (without caraway seeds, boohoo; I didn't have molasses for dark rye, either, and I was bummed), and devil's food cake with white icing. At the last minute I decided that the tiny ham and mashed potatoes were really just overkill for 2.5 diners.

    For the first time, I attempted making just dough in the machine, and transferring it to the oven for baking. It was far too dense. I'm wondering if I should've let it rise again in the pan for a bit before baking.

    My Easter Bunny brought me girly booze. I so need a martini glass!
    04/17/06 11:51 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Minutae Trail
    Someone is building a nest in our front porch overhang. Aside from all the poop, it's kind of friendly, hearing feathers rustle past the kitchen window now and again.

    Speaking of birds, tomorrow there are a couple of egg hunts in town, and I'm thinking it might be fun to take the bub to one. A good photo op, if nothing else.

    Speaking of eggs, I really have to see if his chicken costume still fits. It's almost time for Butter and Egg Days again, and the Cutest Little Chick in Town contest, and I think he's got a shot. I mean, you've seen him in that costume, right?

    Speaking of looking at stuff, here's my de-grottified oven drawer, just for Suze. It was all rusty underneath before, but now, post swearing session, I don't mind putting our pans there.
    04/07/06 01:48 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Of course...
    ...the really neat thing about MySpace is that, thanks to the School search, you can bump into people you used to play tag with when you first moved to Michigan. And they'll write you a real nice note, and your whole week will be made.

    So there is that. But there's also the fact you can be friends with Ryan And Pam -- they'll add you while they're taping the show, on-set! Whee! Apparently Dwight couldn't keep up and had to remove his. Man.
    03/23/06 09:39 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Mmm-Bop.
    So I got sucked into MySpace (beware, it's very much a work-in-progress). Said I wouldn't. Did it anyways. Yes, that place where glitter graphics, unreadable contrast, and those hideous cackling free smiley ads go to die. I guess I'm channelling my inner seventeen-year-old. Or, "if everyone else jumped off a cliff..." Heh.
    03/22/06 10:27 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Psycho Babble
    The sun did make an appearance this weekend, but of course I was struck by another bad cold. I'm feeling much, much better today -- just in time for more torrential downpours. The house-crazed part of me wants to pack up and head over to the valley for a day (brand-spanking-new IKEA?) -- but, no, even there, precipitation in the forecast as far as the eye can see.

    The bub hasn't been out in days, so I think that, this afternoon, we're going to try to dodge the drops on my still-shaky legs, even if only for a short trip to Whole Foods. I haven't had a chance to pick up my Xylitol yet, and they're the only game in town that carries wholesome bub treats not tainted with high fructose corn syrup (grr).
    03/20/06 09:35 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Give Up!
    We're not going to pretend that the weather is going to clear today. We're not even going to get dressed. We're going to hang out on the floor in jammies, nap, and watch Wonder Pets. Oh, and lots of Sucrets Sore Throat lozenges for me, because the scratchiness back there is about to drive me mad.

    I have to give up on the Mars Trilogy. I rarely have the stomach to abandon books halfway, but with the bub, I'm realizing that life and time are too short to spend on fiction I'm not deriving at least some enjoyment from. Apologies to Robinson fans...
    03/16/06 11:15 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Bad Limerick Sunday
    There once was a driver named Jennie
    Whose meetings with red lights were many
    But if her takeout was tipping
    Or her CD a-flipping
    Heaven forbid she'd get any!
    03/12/06 08:53 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Too Bad About All That Socialism, Though...
    I've just recently found out that codeine is OTC in Canada. Now if that, paired with the fact that I needn't sign a contract to get my (very, very necessary) pseudoephedrine, isn't a good enough reason to chuck it all and move to Vancouver, then I don't know what is.
    03/06/06 12:44 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Cell Follies
    I think my cell number must be very similar to that of a local real estate agent, as I've been getting the weirdest messages. First, her secretary had some client on the line and they left a whole conversation about a meeting. This morning, a barely-understandable guy was all excited about some appraisal or other.

    Maybe I should start answering my phone, have a bit of fun a la Crank Yankers. I guess that'd be one way of handling my housing market angst.
    02/10/06 01:57 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Nyquil... You Complete Me.
    I know there are more annoying things than having a cold with a toddler that has a cold... but you'll have to forgive me if I can't think of them at the moment.

    The bub is determined to do things repeatedly today, things that he knows are off-limits. Including, but hardly limited to, standing in the cat water.

    More amusingly, he's been trying to learn the ABC song like mad, after he heard me do it along with his Laugh & Learn Home. Today, I spun around as he sang "Aaaayyyyy, behhh, seeeeh, bleeble glorp block doopy..." The impressiveness was magnified tenfold by the fact that he'd simultaneously learned to undress himself, and his pants were nowhere to be found.

    While he's napping, I'm making emergency cold soup. Which includes:

  • One half of a sinus-reaming onion, coarsely chopped
  • One single-serve bag of baby carrots, chopped
  • One jar of Beech Nut toddler chicken, including "juice"
  • One cup of chicken broth
  • Six cups of water
  • Six teaspoons bouillon powder
  • Garlic powder, lots
  • Italian seasoning
  • One bay leaf
  • Half a package of Japanese soba noodles


    • From what I can smell, it might not turn out that bad.
    02/06/06 12:48 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The One-Word Answer Post
    It seems like my posts tend to grow shorter and shorter, no? I guess I'm not in the mood to be expansive, and of course my attentions have been focused on other things, lately, too.

    So I'll sum up some recent stuff with ultimate brevity.

    War of the Worlds: Disappointing.

    Smart Pop Books: Addicted.

    Alito: Nervous.

    Chinese New Year: Jealous, but

    Crowds: Noooo.

    Girl Scout Cookies: Ordered.

    01/31/06 10:59 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    King Me
    Before we ordered our Select Comfort king (halleluia!), we had a very inadequate queen, which we bought when we moved out here. Our perfectly acceptable king mattress stayed in Michigan with a guy who just happened to be in the right place at the right time (we were ready to put it next to the dumpster - not something we'd planned or wanted to do, but the movers, who royally screwed us on truck space, made necessary).

    Notice that we didn't order a California king. Nope! Because, in my limited Midwest king experience, it was easier to find bedding for a regular old king. I didn't realize that Cal king was a literal phenomenon, and that finding bedding for an "Eastern" king locally would be impossible.

    I can't figure. Why would you want your bed to be longer, rather than wider, especially if you're married and not a basketball player? Do native Californians grow naturally taller than other Americans? Is it the wine? Or have they somehow mastered photosynthesis?
    01/24/06 12:22 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Internet Needs a Foam Pit
    There's nothing to refocus the misplaced angst in your little world quite like hurling and flopping yourself out of the foam pit at the gymnasium, in front of other adults. Losing your socks and dignity in the process. And laughing about it anyways.
    01/21/06 12:54 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Responsibility is a Four-Letter Word
    I swear, I've spent five days straight online. Like Blogathon, but longer, and with some sleep. None of it with my email, RSS, IM, or, obviously, website. My butt, eyes, and stomach lining may well never be the same again.

    If you're a mom (or dad!), and you'd care to take a peek at the fruit of our ulcers carpal tunnels labors, why not join us at the freshly resurrected mommietalk.net? The threads are already flying fast and furious.
    01/17/06 03:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Updatery
    Let's see, what am I up to? Aside from January grumpy slump, of course.

    We took the bub to his very first Kindergym outing on Saturday. A real gymnasium (complete with chalk everywhere and the bouquet of unwashed leotard), with lots of climbing, sliding, hanging, jumping, and overall thrilling things for a small bubbins to do. This week I'll shoot some footage so you can see for yourself.

    Every new year does seem to encourage my spirit of auld lang syne, if not a willingness to make resolutions, so back to the Googlemachine. Tim, I think I just snagged us a new member for the Class of '83 Scrabble League.

    The official Best Thing in the World right now is 100 Calorie Pop(corn). It's the only enjoyable post-holiday snack that I can nosh daily without aftershocks of crippling guilt.

    Tick-tock, forum. Your non-functional days are shortly numbered. And it's looking as if we get to do things the hard way...
    01/10/06 08:40 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Druuuuuuuugs.
    A bazillion Advils later, and I'm almost feeling human again. At least the forecast tomorrow doesn't call for rain, if no sun.

    Speaking of drugs: no, I don't know what's going on with The Forum. I will say that, come Hell or high water (or both), it's getting moved to the new server by the month's end. Even if it means chucking it all and starting from scratch. Sick to death of the downtime, as are the dozens of people drifting away. Are you with me?

    At least the bub amuses, even while sleeping. Through the monitor we'll hear little tossings and grumpy gruffles, until his crib aquarium music starts up. Smart little guy.
    01/05/06 11:13 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    "It's the sun, it's the sun, it's the beautiful sun..."
    Sorry. With all of Daniel's singing and talking toys, certain words have become associated with songs, and I can't help but break into them.

    So, yes... sun! Our second day of it, in three weeks. There were floods, people. Floods! With evacuations, even.

    Pre-bub, a rainy stretch would've meant a good excuse to drink a lot of coffee, read, and watch bad movies on cable. All in jammies, in front of the fire, of course. But now it means hours alone with an antsy-turned-cranky bub that doesn't get his outdoor time. Not pretty, that.

    No mall. KMart flooded (literally!). Roads out of town unsafe. Even getting out to my car with him was often impossible, such was the force of the wind and rain.

    So yesterday we went to the Community Center to sign him up for his Kindergym class and walk around the duck pond. I had to bring the oilcan for my atrophied legs, but the bub was tickled.

    But what am I doing in here? We need to get outside while it lasts.
    01/05/06 09:35 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Bin There
    I was up in the office, with a clear view of the curb, when the recycling truck came... and took our bins away with it! And the new one (single stream, woot!) hasn't arrived yet.

    I mightn't be quite right in the head, because the thought of lacking a bin has made me a little twitchy all afternoon.
    12/27/05 02:08 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    We Now Return to Our Semi-Regularly Scheduled Programming
    Three-hour power outage this weekend, to the tune of 5,300 customers. Made our little home network pretty unhappy, but it looks like we're back to good now.

    You remember how I joked about the bling-bling a few posts prior? Well, my delightful Secret Santa made her own deliciously pimpy version just for me! And here I thought I was crafty, pshaw.

    D. says that, no, I can't leave it on the tree. Even though it's red and oh-so-sparkly (not to mention the only decoration on the tree at the moment, aside from lights and a smattering of cat hair). Bah humbug. I guess I'll have to put it on my dashboard, instead. Sort of like the wee vases in the VW bug. But for an entirely different kind of bud!

    Ahem.

    I enjoyed this op ed muchly:

    Solstice is the Reason for the Season

    Thank you, Mr. Wilkey. And a very, very Happy Solstice to you.

    What white wine do you recommend for a nice salty holiday ham?
    12/14/05 05:02 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Camera is Not a Death Ray
    So, I decided that, no, I don't feel like dragging Daniel twenty miles up the road alone, and then forking out two hundred dollars for portraits. After a rainy week, today was crisp and clear, perfect for taking a quick little snap out in the back with the ivy, right?

    Um... right?

    A half dozen blurred shots, a screaming bub (dirt's not food), and an internalized mommy meltdown later, I realized what a completely braindead idea that was.

    I just want one simple, clear, digital shot of a smiling bub, that I can take over to Long's and have whipped into wallets in about an hour. I don't want the mall, fancy backdrops, people with helicopter beanies and feather dusters, or my choice of sepia tone or special holiday matting, YOURS FREE! with $50 purchase.
    It doesn't even have to be perfect. And, if you know me well enough... you can guess just what level of desperation that implies.
    Continue reading "The Camera is Not a Death Ray"
    12/02/05 05:10 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Mixed Nuts
    I'm resolved. The VERY FIRST THING I'ma doing post-holidays is getting another carseat (yes, thinking about one Marathon, but not sure if Goore's with a discount will be cheaper than Target without one...?) Being housebound on a Sunday with the little crankmeister is just poopy.

    We risked the fireplace again, this time with a nice little CO detector. Everything is clear, so it was likely just a stuck flue last time. Which makes me happy, because even what passes for our winter doesn't seem quite right without a fire.

    No, I probably won't see HPIV until it's out on DVD. At least Serenity is out in December, which is a nice enough appetizer.

    I am never going to be able to get the daylight hours/Daniel moods/D. home stars to align in time for any kind of Christmas photo. I'm taking Daniel to Picture People, and may God himself strike me down if I get suckered into buying every pose again. Ah, the hazards of having an almost criminally adorable child.

    I think I'm addicted to Ghirardelli Double Chocolate. My word.
    11/27/05 04:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Needly Things
    Things I could use about now:

  • A clone
  • ...or at least a babysitter
  • Pocky
  • A screwdriver (Absolut, not Craftsman)
  • Dr. Sears' cell number
  • A second carseat
  • Elf
  • Time to get the long-overdue new design up and running here
  • A lung vacuum
  • Balls, for to quash the nagging once and for all
  • Someone kind enough to return that library board book I left on the plane
  • Six or so hours entirely alone
  • A magic Christmas Gift Idea Fairy

    • 11/07/05 05:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Linky Loopy Doopty Loo
    My links list is so out of date, I don't even know where to begin anymore. People change blogware these days like they change their underwear, and my fuddled head can't keep up.

    Nevermind the whole password issue. No offense, but I've almost entirely stopped reading passworded posts (unless you're on Blogger). I'm getting ever shorter on time and equally sick and lazy, so if I can't remember what my password was every time my computer craps out my cookies... well. It's too much hassle for something that's supposed to be easy and fun.

    P.S. Get thee some RSS!
    11/04/05 09:46 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Adieu
    Leaving for Detroit tomorrow, early. Flying out from Sacramento (a much friendlier airport than any 'round here, with a bub). Gone for a week, though I'll probably poke in from time to time. Wish us luck!
    10/21/05 04:46 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Rawk
    Not necessarily the easiest credit ever earned, considering the bub, and all the projects - but certainly made under less duress than the two job, twelve credit, organic chemistry days...
    10/20/05 06:53 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    That Spells Relief
    Finally - finally! - real cloudy days. So I can have the patio blinds open, and see hummingbirds enjoying the morning glory vine more than even I do.

    Seriously, I feel like I've been half-blind since April, and just had my sight restored.
    10/19/05 10:02 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Misc. Meh
    My IE toolbars won't stay configured. It's DRIVING me MAD. Yes, I'm still using IE - I hate FF, even though it means I'm doomed to infiltration by the enemy. Just like not using a Mac means coolness will forever evade me.

    <intentionally vague>
    Your duplicitous login habits are creating a conflict of interest for yours truly. Please, I beg you (all) to cease and desist. Virgos can only lie through omission for so many months before they implode. </intentionally vague>

    Oh, man. I could sure use some Vietnamese noodles right now.
    10/14/05 06:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Natural Order
    I couldn't remember the name of the nearest party store chain, so I (rather inadequately, I know) searched for "party."

    The results made me so much happier than those intended. Hee.

    Related, I voted last night. The eighty pages of analysis made my head hurt. Or at least the twelve that I actually read. Measure M was the real beast. Good thing about permanent absentee voting - it goes well with rum.
    10/14/05 09:57 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Hole in the Wall
    Luckily we've no shortage of storage in our townhome. In fact, we'd even have quite a surpus if I could just get my act in gear and do some serious reorganization (read: if I could lend out the bub for a weekend, as he likes to "help" when I undertake big projects).

    The cubby that has my focus at the moment lives in the dining area beneath the tile kitchen bar. It's basically an unfinished hole with a nice door, taking advantage of the space where the kitchen cupboards make an otherwise useless corner. Someone threw together a rough shelf of particleboard, and this is where I'm re-building our emergency stockpile. We do, as I'd rather forget, live near a major fault line. Add in the various other international and biological threats, and that makes a good case for some basic preparedness.



    So far it only contains:
  • 9 gallons of drinking water
  • 4 nutrition bars
  • 3 cans of soup
  • 1 can of fruit
  • A few dry milk packets


    • Will be adding, in short order:
  • More bars
  • A backpacking stove and fuel tabs
  • A hand-crank AM/FM/shortwave radio/light


    • We tend to keep the pantry and cupboards well-stocked with rice, cereals, pasta, fruits, snacks etc., too. And our water cooler has a three-gallon jug, so there's that. And we've got a decent stock of first-aid supplies. And drugs. Of course.

    We should probably keep a pile of firewood, too. Our half-dozen recycled "logs" probably wouldn't cut it in a real mid-winter outage.
    10/10/05 02:37 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Old Streets
    Gorgeous weather here this morning, so we decided to stroll around downtown. The river footbridge construction obviously isn't finished, but at least they're still allowing people to cross.

    We enjoyed our first visit to Rex Hardware, all winding rooms and creaky old wooden floors. It took a little time to find the colored electrical tape we were looking for, but the hunt was interesting.

    The big furniture store is closing, so we ducked in to check out the sale. The tags only showed the original prices, and haggling sucks, so I don't know if it's worth a return or not.

    Since the thrift store was relatively quiet, I decided to risk cramming the stroller through the aisles. Good thing, because I picked up a couple of nice handled cloth activity books that should keep Daniel amused for at least a while on our flights next month.

    And throughout all this (plus a trip to Copperfield's, of course), he was just perfect and charming. So I thought we'd split a cookie at Pollyann's... but it was gone! Lovely tiny friendly bakery with the pretty cookies and pastries, sob.

    So we shared a kid scoop of vanilla at Baskin-R0bbins* instead. I'm fairly certain it made him just as happy.

    *Note to self - they have pumpkin!
    09/27/05 01:56 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    34
    Today brought:

  • The Season One & Two Moonlighting DVDs from D.
  • ...and some really sinful confectionery (Bitterman S'Mores Balls, can't find them online)
  • New trail shoes, courtesy funding from my Grandma
  • My name and link in a front page story
  • A Scantron sheet, for my exam tonight, meh
    • 09/14/05 02:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Mercy
    Mother Nature is being merciful today. This whole week has been sheer relief, but today... today almost makes up for all the "you won't need A/C in Petaluma" lies.
    09/09/05 02:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Panicpanicpanic
    I can't find the camera anywhere. It's not on my desk, in the stroller, on the kitchen counter where we shove stuff after entering the house, in my purse... not anywhere it would logically be. And I've searched most of the crazy places, too.

    I think I'm going to be sick.
    09/07/05 11:13 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Embrace the Agoraphobia
    Yesterday we finally made it down to Ikea. Traffic was blissfully light, and if I didn't trigger my vertigo by looking down into the open gutters on the Richmond Bridge, the trip was relatively stress-free.

    Now the crowds inside the store itself - that was a different matter entirely. Pushy, shovey, just too many. In the end I was just too jittery to even look at stuff. The cart made it worse, though; if there's a next time, it'll be with the umbrella stroller or carrier. Or maybe just at the crack of dawn.
    09/05/05 06:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    What I Am Up To That's So Damned Much Important-er Than Posting Here
  • Getting my ass kicked thither and yon at online Scrabble; I may well have lost my mojo

  • Finishing all my assignments over a week early - even the extras (read: embracing my inner Hermione)

  • Planning for a trip to Detroit for D's brother's wedding at the end of October (flying with bub = everyone should at least get some codeine, possibly Percocet)

  • Figuring out how to keep the bub strapped into the bike trailer - stupid grumble grumble POS harnesses

  • Not sleeping

  • Watching reruns of The Office. ♥ ♥ ♥

  • Waiting patiently for Serenity. Okay, perhaps the patience part is a little inaccurate.

    • 08/27/05 12:52 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Class-ified
    I think this class is going to be a very, very good thing. The rusty old mindgears are beginning to whirr again. Learning is fun! Whee!

    Silly me - I thought I'd be among the oldest in the room. But I hover somewhere a tad lower than the average. Strange.

    So, being new to the community college thing - what's the standard etiquette for addressing an instructor that doesn't have an advanced degree? It's always been "Dr. Such-and-Such," or first names for graduate assistants. I was five minutes early, but she had obviously covered serious matters before I arrived (harrumph!), so I might have missed out on that bit of info.

    My only real complaint concerns the single parking permit meter on campus: a) There's only one? Really? and, b) You should be prepared when you approach it, so as not to make the line of three thousand twenty-nine students behind you wait for ten minutes so that they worry about being late on their first day.

    I already have this week's lab finished. I'm such a nerd.
    08/17/05 10:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Disregard the Poor Me Wah Wah
    My Illustrator class begins on Wednesday evening. I haven't been inside a college classroom since 1997, so it should be interesting.

    Hopefully it will provide the added benefit of yanking my mind out of its current mire of bilge, which causes pretty much every misguided, stupid, or unmeant thing that slips out of my mouth to be met with impatient sighs, if not the quite-obvious desire to throttle.
    08/15/05 09:13 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Don't Rain on My Cloudy Day
    There have been periods of cloudiness today. And, yes, believe me - that's noteworthy. My poor eyes need the break.

    Daniel and I drove up to Target for a few this-and-thats (and, yes, I did restock my supply). Then we had lunch at Panda Express. I'd always avoided eating there, thinking that, while there are many badly-prepared foods I can handle, Chinese isn't one of them. But it wasn't too shabby, at least not moreso than your standard takeout.

    Am I the only one? Really? That hates (hates!) it when I'm a ped, and I'm crossing some or other road (like, say, in a parking lot) that doesn't have a designated place to do so... and someone stops to let me pass. I know you think you're doing a good deed, but, really - it would just be so much quicker if you'd just go as you were supposed to, none of the waving/"okay, you're letting me go" realization/running to beat traffic coming the other way/backing up traffic dance. Just go! You have the right-of-way! Ack!
    08/09/05 05:06 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    And That Was the Third
    Whew, Blogathon was a long haul this time. I started with a short night of sleep, where normally I'd try to get at least nine. And then Daniel wanted to be up with me all through the wee hours, but ever so crankily. $275 is an amount with which to be pleased, though, so I'll still consider it a success!

    I slept much of the day away, and then we went to Denny's. I really do appreciate that they offer Boca substitutions - that way I only need to feel guilty about the fries :-/

    If you didn't get the chance, and still want to pledge for our efforts, the link is over to the right there. Blogathon will accept them until Tuesday evening.

    P.S. - our mail server has been compromised, and we still need to sort out which pieces went out (and which services haven't blacklisted us, gah). I probably did reply to your mail - you just mightn't have received it yet.
    08/07/05 08:51 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Not Here
    Hey, we're over at Reusablog for the next 20 hours. Why don't you hop on over and join the chat room?

    While I'm gone, promise me you'll all play nice here. Stay relatively on-topic and be polite, to me and each other. I'm dead f**king serious when I say that I will remove comments from this site if they become a hassle.
    08/06/05 09:06 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Christmas in July
    So I organized a swap with some forum cohorts on Elfster back in December (the only way I'll ever do a swap now, it's awesome). A few days ago, I received a package from the Elfster elves - a tee with the site logo, and a nice handwritten note. Thank you, elves!
    08/03/05 04:18 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Busyness
    So, let's see...

    Yesterday was our third anniversary. I celebrated by wearing a skirt for the first time in eons. We went to get Daniel's 12-month portraits taken in Santa Rosa, and, luckily, there were no tears.

    Gearing up for the Blogathon. Have more work ahead than I thought, so I may have a pre-all-nighter all-nighter, since that's the only time I can be alone on my own computer and concentrate. Still need to get coffee and be-sugared snacks. I may run up to Krispy Kreme the night before - the slight staleness shouldn't be a problem once I hit two a.m. We still need any unique reuse projects you might have completed (we can't think up all the brilliant stuff on our own, after all!).

    Tomorrow D. turns the same age as me (a condition which lasts for only 42 days, and then I become a cradle-robber again, hee).

    The Saturday after this, Daniel turns one. We're having a small Cookie Monster party. I've yet to find a low-sugar but not artificially sweetened (or even a recipe that I like). Off to Whole Foods sometime next week, I think. Oh, and, as I've mentioned before - I effing hate Elmo.

    We're waiting for D's bike to arrive so that we can all go for a nice ride. The high handlebars are such a switch from my old Trek, I'm having a bit of a time adjusting. And coaster brakes are a real kick. I ordered silver rubber hand grips (with sparklies!) and a solid chrome bell. No... I think I'll have to stop short of purple streamers.
    08/02/05 04:38 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Right Place
    We were having lunch at the Outlets today (in the sad, one-vendor food court), when it was announced that Harry & David was selling its frozen stock at 75% off! So we went, and sure enough. We scored over $40 worth of yummy nummy gourmet stuff for a quarter that. Some kind of sinful pound cake dessert (which itself was $25), some chocolate coated cookies, and a cheese and tomato torta.

    And, yes - it was because the freezers were on the verge of complete meltdown. Lucky us!
    07/27/05 09:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Your Content/Commenting is Protected...
    ...from well-meaning idiots like me.

    I love y'all and your blogs, I do. But I simply can't keep track of all the different assigned username/password combos. I have conversations in my head that go "Did I sign up for her blog? I think I did. I don't know. My usual handful of passwords... don't... work... Fcuk! I give up."
    07/23/05 07:02 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Reasonings
    Other staying bonuses (please bear with me, I'm shoring myself up here ;-) ):

  • Our very own Michael's and Pier One opening soon
  • We can finally get bikes for the neat (and ever-expanding) trails 'round here
  • I can go hog-wild with my new Hawaiian kitchen theme (pineapple cookie jar on eBay, you are so mine)
  • No need to put away my sandals anytime soon
  • Now I can really get my organizational freak on, what with all the closet/garage space we opened up during our "moving" sale
  • I do admit that driving fast-fast on the nearby farm roads is a sweet, cherished little hobby of mine
  • Don't need to deal with the DMV anytime soon
  • I would miss our lovely new town cinema dearly
  • This neighborhood may isolate me, being filled with older folk, but it sure is quiet
  • I bet that, in WA, I wouldn't learn 75% of the street names within four months
    • 07/22/05 12:26 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Phase Three: Profit!
    Better last-minute offer right up the street, so no move to Washington, after all. At least for the time being.

    Disappointed, yes. But, like I said - no packing. Or long drive with three cats. And now I get to do the Blogathon (more details very shortly, I'm already way stoked), and take an Illustrator class as I'd planned in the fall. And that day trip into the city via bus is do-able now, too. Maybe I'll even paint this horribly vanilla livingroom.
    07/21/05 04:24 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Phase Two: ???
    This morning I said - and rather meant it - "At least we wouldn't have to pack."

    Still not a great time to be a control-freak Virgo, though.
    07/19/05 10:26 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Phase One: Collect Underpants
    Law of Moving #32: When it's time to collect moving boxes, that's when all the good local ads disappear from Craigslist. Gah.

    The garage sale wasn't stellar, but we did get rid of quite a bit of big stuff, and made about $300. Still have the Link-a-Doos swing, and that big poufy frothy beaded tulle wedding dress I never wore, and all of D's tech books. Craigslisting some, donating others. I think I'm just going to call Salvation Army up.

    Nope. Property owners do not want to rent to us without meeting face-to-face. Not that I blame them much, really. But we just can't travel up there again between now and the move. Cannot. So we're probably going to have to hunt down a bland beige box apartment yet again, like we did when we moved west. I guess we'll live.
    07/18/05 09:36 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Fury and the Sound
    There aren't any movies playing on which I'd want to waste money, and I certainly don't need to shop at this point, so I used my Night Out to go for a walk.

    Plus, well... I just really needed a walk.

    I don't have the Garden State soundtrack loaded on my MP3 player yet, and that was all I wanted to hear, so I dug out the old Philips CD player instead.

    And, wow. I'd forgotten what a high-quality, uncompressed recording on a nice player with decent headphones sounded like. I heard instrumental bits that I'd never been able to notice before. I've enjoyed the album immensely since day one, but I think it's been pretty much ruined for the car stereo or tiny PC speakers.
    07/14/05 04:14 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Definition of Peaceful
    Dusk is my favorite time of day, most especially in summer. And very much especially on days in the nineties in a house with no A/C, when it's the only time to breathe.

    Yesterday, I was looking out the second-story office window into the trees, which were illuminated only by a dimming orangey-pink. My eye caught something twitch a bit at a branchtip - the tiniest gray feathery something. It rested for about ten more seconds before buzzing off... a hummingbird. I don't believe I've ever see one sit still that long. The embodiment of restlessness in repose left me feeling very peaceful.

    I am holding fast to that cool, quiet image today, as a guardian of some measure of sanity in the merciless sun and heat. And the sudden, if small, possibility of endless more.
    07/12/05 10:12 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Organizey
    I'm having a rummage sale next weekend, something I haven't done since 1996 (when an ex and I moved to Detroit and sold off pretty much all of our worldly possessions to do it). I tired of selling bits off piecemeal via Craigslist and eBay - it just won't get done, and we'll end up moving with all the crap yet again. This way, I may make less, but I can get rid of most of the clutter in five hours and one fell swoop.

    I got stencils yesterday. Is it wrong to be this turned on at the thought of making signage? Hmm.

    What would you expect to pay for run-of-the-mill, nothing special hardcover books at a rummage sale? A dollar?

    The very barrel bottom stuff goes, too, via a freebie box. That'll make some kid pretty happy, I'd bet.

    My paring down to-do list:
  • Picked up a pretty stripey expanding file yesterday - all papers must fit inside, or be deemed not important enough to keep.
  • No more old magazines. I put my foot down! The best ideas get clipped and filed in page protectors in a three-ring binder. Something mindless to do while I watch the idiot box.
  • Keeping unisex bub clothes only (in case of bub-ette). He had waaay too many tiny beginning outfits, anyhow.
  • Time to get real re: clothes in smaller sizes. With the postnatal baby Pinstriped Pooch n' Butt Combo™, I'm probably not going to get into those jeans again anytime real soon.
    • 07/06/05 11:54 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Sorry So Scarce...
    ...but, meh.
    06/20/05 04:33 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Bits
    The wife of a very old friend was to be induced this morning. I'm wishing them luck.

    Bub has his own old keyboard to pound on. Of course not much short of deleting our latest projects will make him happy, though.

    Second night in the bub's room. Not what I'd call successful. Ugh.

    Warning: I'm getting worse about returning/acknowledging correspondence in a timely manner. I can blame it on so many things - the developing ulcer, lack of sleep, keyboard stolen by bub - but really, it's mostly because I suck.

    Thanks for getting me addicted to Postsecret. Why, oh why? can't there be posts every day?

    Cold urticaria. It's a stupid, stupid allergy. We were out walking on the riverside marshland yesterday, wind chill of about, oh, 60, and my bare arms broke out in giant, ugly patches of itchy hives. How the hell did I not succumb to anaphylactic shock in all my subzero days on Lake Superior? Stupid.
    06/16/05 11:38 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Better
    I got a good nine hours in last night. So let's talk about something else, shall we? Something relatively positive, since it's Friday, and the whole depression thing is getting boring.

    I've reconciled myself to the possibility of moving. Again. Far from thrilled, of course, but at least it'll happen before we got married to Petaluma. We'd never, ever be able to afford a house here anyhow. In fact, when we're walking, I like to play a little game called "Guess the Asking Price." You just need 1) a modest home and 2) a For Sale sign out front with info flyers. I'm getting quite good at it. In this neighborhood, a nice but no-frills three bed will fetch well over $700K.

    Ridiculous. Let's all be prostrated by crippling debt for the remainder of our days, shall we?

    Not really positive, this, was it? Snarky, perhaps. Maybe I can muster something on Monday. We're taking the ferry to Fisherman's Wharf this weekend - rather looking forward to that!
    06/10/05 11:29 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Sleepless
    I need to stop not sleeping like this. The bub is finally getting some, and I should be, too. But all seems to be conspiring against it. I'll try for a good solid three hours on the couch.

    And what the heck is wrong with the laptop? D. doesn't believe me, but when I plug it in next to the couch where I normally use it, the battery dies. It's dead right now. If I try anything else in the same outlet, that thing will work fine. Plug the laptop in a different outlet - it's fine. Perhaps insomnia really is just screwing with my head.
    06/09/05 02:53 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Stream-of-Consciousness with Ham Sandwich and Fennel Tea
    Up. Shouldn't be. Can't sleep. Can't sleep, at least in part, because I can't contain the anxiety over things I can't control. Am I addicted to change since it's become so damned commonplace (what, forever ago)? And yet still terribly weary of it? Which change will be the pivotal one? The one that breaks the cycle (curse) for at least, oh, ten years? Ten years would be good.

    The other factors are caffeine too close to bedtime, and noise.

    Here's a meme, since I'm so very up, and was tagged. 
    3 screen names I’ve had:
- Petrel 
- Petrel71
- Jen Pelky

3 names I go by 
- Jennie
- Jenn
- Pelk (no, that wasn't by choice)

3 physical things I like about myself:
- hair (sometimes)
- eyes
- wrists

3 parts of my heritage:
- Mohegan
- French
- German

3 things I am wearing right now:
- Blue nightgown 
- Green undies
- Wedding ring

3 favorite bands/musical artists I like 
a lot:
- Ben Folds 
- Guster
- Chris Botti (hott!)

3 favorite songs I really like:
Well, if I *have* to choose... This changes 
daily.
- You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
- Fa Fa - Guster
- The Luckiest - Ben Folds

3 things I want in a relationship:
- Humor 
- Respect 
- Shared love of carbs

3 physical things about the preferred 
sex that appeal to me:
- Butt
- Eyes
- Hands

3 favorite hobbies:
- Reading
- Movies/TV
- Intarweb

3 things I want to do badly right now:
- Sleep twelve hours in a row
- Lose twenty pounds
- To make the next 40 days to be over so 
that I can get my paws on Harry Potter VI

3 things that scare me:
- Cancer
- Car accidents
- Daniel getting sick/hurt

3 of my everyday essentials:
- Coffee
- Contacts
- Internet

3 Careers you have considered or are 
considering:
- Ecologist
- Web Designer
- Librarian

3 places you want to go on vacation:
- Hawaii
- Mexico
- Paris

3 kids’ names you like:
- Laura
- Olivia
- Benjamin

3 things you want to do before you die:
- Get off this continent at least once
- Earn a graduate degree
- Adopt a child

3 ways I am stereotypically a boy:
- Rather dirty mind
- Growing aversion to chick-flicks
- Hate soppy, long-winded greeting cards

3 ways I am stereotypically a girl:
- I'm a crier - takes next to nothing to 
get me going
- Harmless spiders creep me out, even 
though I should know better
- I get all gushy over cute babies

3 celeb crushes:
- Zach Braff
- Jon Stewart
- John Cusack

3 favorite books:
Again, if I must choose...
- His Dark Materials Trilogy - 
Philip Pullman
- Anne of Green Gables - 
Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Little House Series - 
Laura Ingalls Wilder
    I'm not going to tag anyone. No more tagging here, as it's become a rampant trend, and I'm hardly a trendy girl.
    06/07/05 12:50 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Well, This *is* What the "Babble" Category is For
    There's a mother's board that I help moderate. Or rather, a half-paralyzed patient that I aid in prodding with an electrified metal pointy thing every now and again to get it to scootch forward another agonizing millimeter. My attempts are getting lamer as my brain gives in to summer mooshification.

    Frankly, it's making me tired and more depressed than it really should. Is it worth it anymore? I still like the folks there, mostly. Haven't been happy on other boards. Find I can use the online chatter and advice, when it exists. But what the hell did I do with my time and sanity before the Intarweb? Oh, yeah. I read. Books, if I recall.
    05/26/05 05:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Just Me?
    I love classic cars. I do. They make me smile when I see them tooling around town.

    Strange, maybe, then, how I loathe classic car shows. Always hot, crowded, too gleamy, and a monstrous pain in the ass when you're trying to get somewhere or do anything within a five-mile radius.
    05/21/05 09:07 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Happy Friday the 13th
    There once was a girl at the P.O.
    Who had two packages for outgo
    She purchased both labels
    But Muttering Mabel
    Made her forget one - Oh no!

    And that's why I got my own postage-less package back yesterday. I'm so easily distracted, it's insane.
    05/13/05 09:44 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    mmmph.
    So now I have Daniel's cold, too. It's not really very bad - just enough to make my nose and throat miserable. We bought a vaporizer yesterday, but it didn't seem to do much good last night.

    Serenity trailer!

    I got a "ticket" this morning for parking in our own driveway overnight. The HOA's policy is no parking in driveways past midnight, to keep people from storing their trashy vehicles there, and getting the concrete all oily. Yesterday I had lots of groceries and stuff, and of course the bub, so I parked there and left it. And forgot to move it to guest parking in the evening. There are very, very few babies here (I've seen only one other), so I guess they could really care less about how very difficult it is to get even the simplest of things done with one. While I understand the reasons, I can't help but despise the rule.
    04/27/05 10:41 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Monday, Monday, Can't Trust That Day
    Doctor's offices, argharghargh! How can I stay on permahold when the bub takes very limited naps? After half an hour this morning, I finally had to throw in the towel. I'll try later, I guess (Teletubbies???). Failing that, I'll just drive over there tomorrow. Nice thing about this town is that it, like everything, is just up the street.

    I highly recommend Boca Italian "sausages." Just had one for lunch in a whole wheat tortilla. Yu-um.

    The cats are in full-on puke mode again. It's mostly Elmo - he eats carpet fibers, and anything else that happens to make its way down to paw level. And I suppose they're starting to shed harder, too, which doesn't help. We just moved in, and already I feel it's time to pull out the carpet steamer.

    Speaking of Elmo... It's impossible to find anything Sesame Street without his high-pitched little yap all over it. For a Cookie Monster cake pan (doing a little advanced planning for Daniel's birthday, too), it'll be off to the eBay machine. I'm not even going to dignify the recent atrocities inflicted on C.M. with a response. "Sometimes food," my ass.

    Spring has volunteered to throw herself on the pyre of insomniac psychosis with me one night this summer. Rawk.
    04/18/05 12:10 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    That's Better.
    A good solid nine hours of sleep and a shower later - I feel like a whole new person. Whew. Let's not do yesterday again anytime soon, shall we?

    At least until Blogathon, which is alarmingly near. I've got a plan - but do I have the stamina and the time to do what I'd like? Which is to retool and resurrect Reusablog, on that night, in support of 4-H. With 24 projects and links, and they have to be stellar. I've thought up about... oh, three. Better if I had a partner... You think you've gots the goods?

    Wow. Mental rebirth makes me so optimistic.
    04/17/05 10:43 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Oh! What Fun it Is to Ride
    Amazing, truly. How the retail environment changes so drastically a mere ten miles up 101. Daniel and I went to Michael's yesterday Thursday for some beads and other small things, and I can honestly say that it was the worst Michael's experience I've ever had. Nothing I wanted was stocked, and the cashiering was painfully abominable (luckily, at least, Daniel has become a good sport about lines as long as there are interesting people to look at - and the friendly grizzled gay bikers in front of us made for a good diversion). Doesn't help that I've been spoiled by shops in our relatively friendly hamlet.

    We opted out of the traffic on the highway for Petaluma Hill Road. Oh, what gorgeousness there! The hills, sheep and cows, stately roadside trees, rusty barns, breathtaking Victorian mansions, and all the bumper-room you could want. Hard to be homesick for the Midwestern countryside when it's all just a stone's throw away.
    04/10/05 01:29 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Blocked Duct and All
    Drove down to Novato to catch a letterbox at the Marin French Cheese Factory, and then to Petco. The Petco was nowhere to be found, but we did at least find the box. What nice picnic areas they've got there, beneath the blooming apple trees. And you can buy a little bottle of wine and some sandwiches inside (though I'll warn the shop is small and crowded and none too stroller friendly), and eat them next to the pond. Not that we did; it was far too windy and cold yesterday.
    04/03/05 11:13 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Damn You, BBC
    "Tinky Winky bag! Tinky Winky bag! Tinky Winky bag!"

    Well. At least there's no screaming today! Tomorrow I promise to post a clip of Daniel crawling - he's so good at it now, it sometimes scares me how fast he can be.
    03/22/05 04:40 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Bleeble Bleep Bork Blork
    Quiet here, I know. Can't seem to brew anything of substance; the franticness and companion adrenalin has given way to the comparative meh of day-to-day adaptation (how will those nasty stains come off the kitchen wallpaper? what did they do to the bathroom sinks? and can I move the washer and dryer upstairs, because how the f**k do you manage laundry every day on multiple floors with a cling-on baby? things of that ilk). It's mostly been cloudy, and right now I sure could use more caffeine than I'm allowed to have. I've finally resigned myself to the fact that I will never sleep in again (well, at least not for years) though the thought is fairly depressing.

    Daniel is on the teetery cusp of crawling. He's become a black belt scootcher, and is learning to open drawers and pull things off shelves - and right quick, too. He can rock on his hands and knees, but doesn't know how to move them in tandem yet.

    We've eaten in family-type restaurants a few times since moving here, which has surprisingly been successful. It seems Daniel's becoming more interested in watching things and people move, which also helps with the car (though nothing takes more than ten minutes to reach). Having a couple small toys that he doesn't see otherwise is a good idea, too. Last weekend at IHoP he got a little too happy and excited, and started shrieking like a baby pterodactyl. It was hilarious and kind of horrifying at the same time; luckily we usually eat early enough for places to be empty.

    Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo (oooooooooo) fed up with the familial child-rearing advice. The pushy kind. The kind that disregards everything I've studied, and learned from doctors and other mothers. The kind that just won't give it a rest. The kind that, at this point, I am beginning to believe is geared just to get a rise out of me. I should sell tickets for this end of my next phone conversation. I can almost guarantee you'll see fireworks.

    In entertainment news... Alias is beginning to suck. IMHO... Lost is interesting, but coming up on a six-week hiatus... Did you know that Petaluma doesn't have a movie theater? 70,000 people and all. They're building one downtown right now, but it's still weird, especially for a town that's been featured in so many films... I'm still in deep denial about the new Chocolate Factory... Only seven months until Serenity!
    03/04/05 01:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Big To-Do
    It occurred to me while in a nursing half-trance earlier that, while your activities say a lot about who you are, the things that you wish to do, but for whatever reason can't at the moment, may be just as or more telling. Deep, huh?

    Here are some of my on-hold interests:

  • Hike at least part of the Appalachian Trail
  • Study wolf and moose ecology with Dr. Peterson some summer
  • Do some modest model railroading
  • Keep a koi pond
  • Build and outfit a realistic minature house (electricity and all)
  • Go to Galapagos! (and I see they're in Egypt right now, certainly wouldn't pass that up)


    • Hum. I think what I've learned from this little exercise is that I need a couple of jobs.
    02/25/05 01:07 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Make Mine a Mountain, an Eagle, and the Flag. Yee-Haw!
    What if I told you that I've always been a little obsessed with RVs? Would you chalk it up to my origins in the stickiest sticks, or would you finally realize that I'm actually a 60-year-old grandmother of three?

    Maybe it's the compactness. A moveable house, with tiny appliances, where organization is crucial. Like balm for the Virgoan surrounded by a little too much of her own hoard. And a lifetime appreciation of all things small doesn't hurt.

    Perhaps it speaks of family. My sister and I were friends with the neighbor kids in Escanaba, proud owners of a popup camper. So many games of checkers and Go Fish were won and lost on the little drop-down table. We were always envious of the close family of five, with their silly fights and long rambling vacations, and jocular dad. Camping epitomizes family to me - but maybe that's because we never did it.

    Could be frugality. Why spend sixty bucks a night for a Motel 6 when you can grab a spot beneath the trees for ten?

    Or maybe it's just my envy of those ultra-cool murals you can have painted on the side. That's gotta be it. Erm.
    02/22/05 10:06 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Last WalMart-less City in America
    It's weird, returning once again to a relatively small and slow-paced town. How long, I wonder, will it take to slip back into the drawling rhythm, where strangers stop and talk to you for no apparent reason? And you know the names of your neighbors in a matter of days? And those of their dogs? D., having spent far less time in this kind of environment (two years as a boy, maybe?) will probably have a tougher time acclimating.

    Too bad it won't stay that way long. Already the commuters are throwing up their $500K paper clones everywhere. Soon I'll bet we see them encroaching upon the gorgeous hills and plains, just like in Sacramento.

    The trees in our small back "yard" are fantastic; I can't wait for all the leaves to appear. Birds will love tormenting the cats from the branches.
    02/08/05 01:56 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Here I Yam (Or, Not Dead Yet)
    So the gang's all here, with our ten thousand bags and fifteen million boxes of stuff. Stuff sucks. We seriously need to reconsider our stance on stuff, specifically the having of stuff. More specifically, the having of SO MUCH DAMNED STUFF. If you move a bunch of your own stuff in three trips out with the RAV and a small UHaul, and it still costs almost 1K to move the rest - it's probably time to do some serious Craigslisting.

    The kitchen is grody. And I mean that in a "our dishes and foodstuffs are no way, no how touching those cabinets" way. Layers of greasy, sticky Contact. Yee-uck. I don't even want to speculate on how things get to that point. D. is going to coat them in sealant. Yesterday I spent a good half an hour scraping crud off the stovetop. Work cut out.

    Extended basic doesn't include the SciFi channel here. We're seriously pissed. <sarcasm>But at least we have the Hallmark Channel now. Lovely.</sarcasm>

    If you ignore the kitchen, this place is good for our health, at least. The mirrors are not flattering in the least (very motivating!), and the stairs are killer. We haven't lived in a two-story in nearly five years, so the calves and thighs are getting a real workout. And Daniel is having a better time on wall-to-wall carpeting than the old hardwood.
    02/05/05 01:34 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    A Case of the Shakes
    Everyone keeps congratulating us on our move to the "North Bay." I must politely insist that isn't the case, if only for my own peace of mind. If I don't think about the earthquakes, they won't happen.
    01/27/05 08:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    You Had Me at Funky-Breathed
    I'm stealing this quote from BabyTalk. Sums my own opinion pretty nicely. I may just have it printed on cards, to hand out when given such sage advice.

    'Sleep when the baby sleeps' is a load of crap! Unless of course you want to be a funky-breathed, smelly, matte-haired starving sack of goo 24 hours a day. Yes, if you want your home to fall into shambles and have the city declare it unfit for human habitation, then, by all means, sleep when the baby sleeps! -- Laura Fortson-Williams, Williamstown, NJ
    01/26/05 06:52 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Past, Tense
    First off, I would like to applaud the California DMV. They're really a paragon of inefficiency. Not only do they charge exorbitant fees, but they make you wait hours in cramped, dingy offices like cattle to do it [bend over] only to inform you that they've lost your irreplaceable paperwork [and take it up the sphincter]. Oh, and, by the way - that was over a year ago. Did they fail to tell you? You mean, you didn't infer that's what happened when you didn't get your registration renewal this year in the mail? Tee hee hee, oooopsies!

    So, yeah. Between yesterday and today, I've spent about six hours on a problem with my title from 2003. Supposedly it's taken care of now... but I've heard that before. At least I've got new stickers for my plates.

    While I was waiting around after my second vehicle inspection (they had no record of the first, of course), I checked out the Antique Trove next door. Antiquing is very soothing, lots of vintage Pyrex to supress the volcanic urges to go postal.

    But I should know better than to look at the photographs, those sepia stares in their cardboard stand-up studio frames. Today I saw a chubby, cheery baby boy, alone amongst the china and trinkets, and it made me tear up. Some mother had that photo taken long ago, lovingly, and now it would seem there's no one to care about the fate of that once-baby. I keep picturing it, and getting melancholy all over again.
    01/19/05 09:23 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Location, Location, Location
    It's colder in Petaluma than it is here. Don't know why I didn't think it would be. But that bodes very well for summer. As in, fewer eyeball-melting days.

    It only took one day of driving around to find a good condo/townhouse (what's the difference? really?) to rent in a nice Petaluma neighborhood, and only minutes from where D. will work! Private owners, super friendly retired folks who live on a tiny farm. The place is definitely 80's - mirrors everywhere, those weird ornate gold-glass lanterns hanging above the stairs. D. digs that. Lots of room, with three bedrooms, a double garage, 2.5 baths, and tons of storage (my favorite is the closet right off the living room, awesome for toys?). It'll take some getting used to, having neighbors living on either side again, when the neighbors we have on only one side now are often gone for days at a time.

    It'll also certainly take some getting used to, living in a town without Target or Raley's (oh, the hardships, huh?). The hills are pretty, there's Whole Foods and Borders, and the library looks interesting enough. The town is a big antique center, so that may be what everyone gets for gifts from now on. It could take weeks to explore all the shops. And it sounds like there'll be no end to fresh local produce - can't wait to get my hands on some nice brown eggs.

    Daniel did okay on his first overnight trip away - only one real screaming incident when he'd seen just one too many rentals on Saturday. And we're not allowed to eat in sit-down restaurants anymore, hrmpfh. We left town in such a hurry on Friday that he missed his bath night, so I ended up sponging him off with our room ice bucket, of all things, which he seemed to find as humorous as I did. Luckily we didn't seem to screw up his sleep schedule too badly.

    Daniel and I took a little nap when we got home, awaking to find that D. had been out on an aggressive box-scouting mission. Guess there's no excuse not to pack something or other tonight now.
    01/16/05 02:54 PM in Babble , Baby , Photo  |  Comments


    On, Wisconsin
    Mom: I think I'm going to visit Milwaukee for a few days.

    Me: I kind of miss Milwaukee, sometimes.

    Mom: Well, it really wasn't all that great there, you know.

    Me: Well, it sure as hell beats Sacramento. There's the great zoo, and the Lake, and the real museums... and the food...

    Mom: That's true.

    ------------------------------------

    I think that it's the long list of places to visit that I miss, more than living in the city itself, or even the people I know there (for shame). The last time I tried being a resident was briefly in 1993 - would I have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been in the death grip of severe depression?

    Oh, well. In any case, someday I want to take Daniel to see all of my very favorite childhood things there.

    ------------------------------------

    This somewhat disjointed and not particularly in-depth trip down memory lane brought to you by the letters M and T.
    01/11/05 07:53 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    C'mon Baby Finish What You Started
    So now I have three simple resolutions for the year. One: walk more. Two: make at least one new IRL friend.

    And three: finish up the project I started way back in 2002. Because, jinkies. It's only 2005.
    01/08/05 11:52 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Raging
    Half of our beaded garland has broken off and blown completely away. Something on the roof made a terrifying sound, enough to make me jump, and then shake, and Daniel cry in fear. I still haven't gone out to see what made it. The tree in the backyard looks like it just wants to topple into the house.

    Today is supposed to be the worst of the winds, I guess. It's bad enough to keep us from our planned visiting. We never get real weather, and we never go visiting, so what an annoying coincidence. Daniel is never happy about being stuck inside all day, and hearing him whine when I get tired of walking around the house with him sure doesn't do much for me, either. I'm pretty sure he's just starting to cut a tooth, too - excellent timing!

    But at least we're sleeping.
    01/07/05 02:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Stuff & Stuff
    My first night alone with the bubby. D. is off in Shakytown, interviewing tomorrow, being put up in the coolest of wharfside digs tonight. I'm having Jennie-suitable pizza and catching up on my idiotic and most embarassing 25-year-old vice (and, *pwoof!* there goes half my readership).

    While packing, D. found two things in his closet: insect damage to his wool sportscoat, and nasty mold. Hopefully not of the killer variety. It gets me, really it does - these places were built in the fifties, and my grandma's old house was built in the late 1800's. Guess which one had fewer problems, aside from routine maintenance-type issues?

    My hair has stopped falling out in scary gobs. Even the "bald" spots are starting to fill back in. Too bad a good percentage of the new hairlets are grey...
    01/06/05 07:03 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Longest of the Shortest Days
    Ugh.

    The shots weren't any worse than last time - for Daniel. But, unlike the last, he didn't keep his eyes closed the whole time, instead screaming and looking back and forth between us with a wholly betrayed expression - "Why are you letting this happen to me? Don't you love me???" No holding back the tears until the waiting room this time, I'm afraid. The poor nurse-in-training was looking slightly traumatized, too.

    But our doc says that he's nearly two months ahead developmentally, and it's because of attachment parenting. It's nice (though hardly necessary), after having your methods constantly questioned, to have them validated by an authority.

    Three pounds in two months. How does he do it, with all that squiggle? If it weren't for the holidays, I'd actually be losing weight without much trying. No more chocolate after this week. I mean it! Dammit.

    The possibility of a move to the Bay is looking a bit more concrete/necessary. Concord? Vallejo? Points nearby or between? That's what we've been lightly tossing around, but, seriously, we think of the metropolitan area as a big urban blobbo, and have absolutely no idea what's what. Ack. It's not like in the golden olden times, when we could just up and drive around and explore neighborhoods until we got sick of it. Now we have a very unwilling backseat driver to consider.
    12/27/04 07:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Lengthening Days
    We frosted cutouts last night. I guess I'm just not as into cookie decorating as I once was - it was all pretty slapdash. Though not so much as D, who - in all seriousness - challenges himself to create the ugliest cookie possible. Yes, mixing all the frosting sprays makes brown.

    Maybe the key to making it fun again is drinking.

    Oops. Did I say that out loud?

    The decorating sprays we used are very, um, misty. And aren't parti-colored boogies festive on a glum winter's morning?

    Little D. has more shots today. We weren't given any numbing cream, but it didn't work last time, anyhow, so we're pre-dosing him with Tylenol drops. I hope that's a little more effective. Babies screaming in pain is one of the worst kinds of torture, especially when they're yours. Also, no one really likes to see a grown woman crying in public.

    Someone, please hide the chocolate. Thank you.

    This Red Cross Commemorative Knit Kit is pretty nifty. It includes everything you need to make the original World War II Serviceman's Socks. It's sold out right now, but it's still a good idea to visit and make a little donation, circumstances being dire as they are.
    12/27/04 09:41 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Currently Obsessed With...
  • Kappa Ebisen - and now that I know I can get a bag at the walking-distance grocery for forty cents... oi!
  • Candy-flavored balms - I used to beg my mom to get me flavory lip balms from her Avon catalog, and now I'm overcompensating. I also have too many Lip Smackers; the new Starburst flavors are scrummy.
  • Choc 'o Liquor - Almost suspiciously delicious - there must be a layer of sweet, sweet crack sandwiched between the chocolate and the drippedy alconectar. I hope our dealers benefactors will come spring us from the pokey when we get busted for possession.
  • Pumpkin everything - is there some vitamin in pumpkin that Daniel is taking from me? Why didn't Raley's have any pumpkin pies left? Why do I keep typing it pumkin?
    12/23/04 08:04 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Christmisc.
    Daniel is back to sleeping 7 to 7, thank goodness. And he's been getting some really long stretches in there again, so hopefully we're back on track for a bit. He seems so much happier during the day when he gets enough nighttime sleep and naps, and I know I feel a ton better.

    Moving to the Bay Area - not ideal, but a possible neccessity. Please share any info on East/North/South Bay areas that are safe and family-oriented (maybe even affordable?), and allow easy access to the city via ferry. T'would be very much appreciated.

    All gifts done and wrapped. Cards all sent and mostly received. Today I'm baking. Yesterday Daniel and I found the perfect turkey portion - a whole breast - for just us three, so we're happy. We're not doing anything terribly extravagant, just the usual. Generally I prefer ham for Christmas, but we kind of had a Thanksgiving ham when my family was out, so turkey now, then. I wish D. liked pumpkin pie, because I'm really craving one, but I don't want to eat it myself. Share it with me?

    Well, I guess I'd best take advantage of the rest of Daniel's naptime by doing something constructive. I hope you're all set for the coming holidays!
    12/21/04 10:58 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fa La La La La
    Well, my holiday shopping is almost finished. Pretty rare, so early. Just a couple more things, some baked gifts later, and my Secret Santa gift (you really should try out Elfster if you've a group to organize an exchange for; it's the most fun I've ever had doing SS!).

    We're getting our first family photo taken on Saturday (at a mall - what are we? suicidal?). Kind of depressing that I had to buy clothes specifically for the photo, since anything not jeans/tees that I already own looks a tad unflattering these days, what with the Buddha Pooch. In anticipation, Daniel has of course managed to somehow sharpen one of his little nails even more than usual (does Elli do this for him when I'm not looking?), and used it to scratch up his forehead. Thank St. Nick for Photoshop, with which I can edit out the White Trash Baby marks before they end up on our holiday cards.

    We put up the tree last weekend, without my usual anal-retentive attention to detail. By the time Daniel is old enough to help, I'll probably just be tossing stuff into the branches.

    We weren't going to decorate outside, but dagnabbit! if there aren't prizes at stake (though some folks down the street emptied Wal*Mart and the Dollar Store of all their decorations, and had their five-year-old arrange them on the lawn, so they'll probably take first). And we didn't have Christmas last year, not really, so I'm determined to make up for it. Which means at least lights in the yard, and no El Torito for our holiday dinner.
    12/02/04 11:17 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Happy Thanksgluttony
    Oh, so crammed with foody goodness. Turkey fillets on a big ol' bed of stuffing that I totally just improvised and was frankly delicious (raisins, onions, Apple Hill apple, mushrooms, sourdough cubes, cream, egg, butter, herbs), orange cranberry sauce, pumpkin mousse, steamed new potatoes, croissants, white corn, and amaretto cake (thank you Trader Joe's!).

    So full, and yet I'm still thinking about that leftover stuffing, all lonely in the fridge, without my fork in it. Cripes.
    11/25/04 08:38 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Man, That Was Some Serious Hair
    My four-year blogiversary was just recently, but I've been doing regular features for over five now. Wow.

    Go back and party like it's 1999. D. and I drove from Detroit to Delaware, and back through Canada. But forgive the crappy design, please - I knew about five HTML tags at the time.
    11/06/04 08:11 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Breather
    Tonight is a Mommy Mental Health night. D. takes the Bean for a few hours while I go out and do stuff, hopefully without reaching down to take Daniel's wee hand or pet his head every five minutes. Which is pretty much what happened last time, a few weeks back. Sad, huh?

    I shopped that time. Don't know what I'll do tonight. Much-lusted-after movie which has (disrespectfully, humpf!) been shifted to the bargain theatre? Coffeehouse and a read (if you hadn't noticed, my book consumption has slowed to naught)? Leisurely dinner at a favorite cafe? Bookstore? I can't decide!
    10/28/04 03:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Thanks, Great Pumpkin!
    Samhain miracles:

  • I can get back into my jeans - without struggling (though a lot of my favorite tops still look stupid and dumpy)
  • Daniel is often sleeping six or seven hours at a stretch now.
  • I didn't smack/strangle/kill the last person that told me I was spoiling him because I wear him and move around a lot to keep him from crying.
  • I haven't raided the trick-or-treat candy yet.


    • I loves me some Halloween.
    10/27/04 08:59 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    How to Attract Me
    Set up true family restrooms in your mall. Including lockable "comfort stations" that look like tiny livingrooms, with rockers for nursing, a bottle warmer, and television and playtable to occupy any older children. And a large stall/room with both adult and cute little child-sized toilets!

    The weather has been unattractive for our morning walks lately, so we've been hanging out in various local malls instead. I think we just found our favorite.
    10/26/04 01:16 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Just Thinking About the Weather
    I've got current temps for some of my favorite places on my home page. I rarely ever look at them, but did just now, and thought the comparison kind of interesting. Strange to me that our temps here are pretty much the same as those in Upper Michigan, where peak fall color has come and gone, and flurries could happen anytime now - especially on the Lake Superior shore.
    10/23/04 11:06 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Kibbles
    My hair has begun its exodus. Gobs. And then more gobs. It's a bit disturbing.

    Daniel has a giant head - 90th percentile. I thought as much.

    Almost fresh cider time, just a couple more weeks now...

    Dear Raley's/Bel Air/Nob Hill baggerperson. We like you, truly, and many people need your assistance getting groceries to their cars. "No thank you," though, means no. Said three times, it means we're getting really irritated.
    10/23/04 09:04 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Harvest of Neglect
    So I brought in the harvest from our poor vegetable garden yesterday - a handful of stubby little misshapen carrots! After all that work plotting it out and lugging soil around while pregnant... I cleaned them, and cut them into buttons, and we'll eat our tiny portions with pierogis and Brownie Bread that's rising in the machine right now.

    Out of respect, we won't even discuss the state of the flower bed.

    I honestly never thought for a minute that I'd have absolutely no time free to tend these things. Back in the days of my blissful naivete, all those visions of baby napping or burbling happily in the shade while I weeded and hoed... It wasn't even a possibility that I'd need to be wearing him - and moving! - almost every single moment of every day - the thought simply never crossed my mind, because no one ever mentioned it could be that way. So I had all these small projects lined up, but as it turns out, it's extremely rare that I can sit down alone to eat a meal! My mom and sister are coming out next month, and we had a few of our favorite restaurants in mind, but I don't know if that'll even be possible.
    10/17/04 03:12 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ashes, Ashes
    I didn't think the air quality could get any worse here in Sacramento, but I was wrong. Yesterday the smoke floated high, and I, in a day of baby-induced ignorance, just thought it was cloudy - or unusually smoggy - all day. And maybe the sun looked a little weird.

    It wasn't cloudy at all.

    Today the air is thick and pungent. Our white sills sport a thin layer of ash. We tried to take a walk, but after a few blocks I decided we were harming our health more than benefiting it. So now we're locked inside, HEPAs churning. I know my sinuses will throb by evening.
    10/15/04 12:01 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    A Little Slow on the Uptake
    It's been nearly a year since I left my job - and I still have access to my employee email account.

    Crazier, no one has even bothered to remove my name from the group email list. Which, I admit, has provided much amusement on many a house-bound day.

    Nuttier still - a woman that left three years ago is on the list, too. Her inbox must be pretty frightful by now, I reckon.

    Wonder how fast they'd notice if I started mass-spamming myself. But then... Nah. I'd rather find out how many years they'll let it be.
    10/13/04 11:04 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Jennie's Super-Mega-Duper* Weight Loss Plan 3000
  • Have baby who now screams when sitting still (I'm wearing circular grooves in our flooring)
  • Breastfeed almost hourly
  • Cut out all unnecessary (and some necessary!) sleep
  • Long-ass walk daily (sometimes twice), pushing stroller and Only Car Seat Made of Lead
  • Eat when baby allows
  • Realize that you can keep baby happy for over half an hour (!!!) by singing and dancing like a deranged chimp in front of Media Center playing "Upbeat 80's"**

    *but completely unintentional!
    **no. you cannot even imagine.
    10/12/04 07:26 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    "Gimme your tots!"
    We saw Napoleon Dynamite at the drive-in on Saturday. Fun fun, and lots of 80's pop standards, strangely enough (have you been to a school dance lately? even in backhills Idaho? no sugar pop there). I love how everyone mispronounced Mexican foods. Best, the Bean slept through the whole thing - and I didn't! Wooee!
    10/11/04 07:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I'll Be the Crazy Lady Wearing the Respirator at Target
    Frankly, I'm scared s**tless of the flu this year, last year's severity still fresh in my mind. Daniel's too young to be vaccinated (four more months), and with the shorter-than-usual supply, there's no guarantee D. and I will both be able to get shots even though being his parents puts us on the priority list. I rarely ever bothered getting vaccinated before (maybe twice?), but of course I have a healthy, mature immune system (mostly). Two-month-olds, though...

    If push came to shove, I don't know that I'd be above playing the [practically nonexistent] asthma card.
    10/08/04 09:17 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Welcome to Zombieville, Population Me
    Lack of sleep is making me slow and clumsy. Yesterday I launched a glass into a thousand pieces off the kitchen counter. This morning, in the very same spot, a canister of oatmeal took a dive from my hand. The aftermath of both was much fun.

    But worse, it's making me sick. Chronic sinus infections and babies mix poorly, too. I'm trying harder to get an afternoon nap in every day. I've found it takes a bit of work at first, but eventually Daniel falls asleep if he knows I'm staying with him. Today we caught a very nice and necessary three hours.

    I'll forgive the books and people who told me that new babies sleep most of the time. They didn't know I'd end up with a reincarnation of my sister as a bambino.
    10/04/04 04:09 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Detritus
    The temps have been reasonable for Sacramento in September, so I'm starting to feel that fall is really coming, after all. It rained. Rained! And hailed, but not in this part of town, weird.

    D. is having Lasik done today. I'm generally not squeamish about the eyes (I put my fingers in mine every day), unless you're talking about cutting a flap in your cornea. Then I've got to yell "LALALA, I can't HEAR YOU!!!"

    Lost. Not everything I'd hoped for. Definite cheese factor I hadn't expected. Will give it a chance because I like Alias so much.

    I get the Walter Drake catalog for fun. It's like porn for the über-consumer. Or doppelganger to Lillian Vernon. Favorite picks from this issue: Eek! Um. Erm. Ew.
    09/23/04 02:05 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Pants Rants
    Daniel wears 3-6 month tops now (!!!), but his short little legs don't quite fit the pants yet. He doesn't seem to mind his stubby legs, though.

    I now weigh less than I did before starting Weight Watchers last year, but I don't have a single pair of jeans from that era that fit. And I don't mean just because of the bit of gut I've got left - I can barely squeeze them on at all. I knew I lost some muscle mass over the pregnancy, mostly being too tired and barfy to do much of anything. And then I wasn't working, too, not constantly lifting all those book boxes. But it still came as a bit of a shock that so much more of my weight is now fat. I should've bought some pants a size up, I guess. Ah, for some foresight. Now it'll be all I can do to order them online, forget trying anything on.
    09/20/04 10:59 PM in Babble , Baby , Photo  |  Comments


    33 With a Bang
    So very sick last night. Fever spiked to 102, chills, sore, all that jazz. Been taking the SuperMegaIbuprofen given me by the hospital since, and made it through the night in one piece. Daniel was even kind enough to sleep a little more soundly. I haven't taken any since eight, and am waiting to see if my temp spikes again. I'm pretty sure it's a viral sinus infection (I usually get infected up there when I've been washed out or stressed too long). So it's all up to liquids, decongestants, steam, and rest (hah!).

    D. brought me nice b-day gifties, which helps, too.
    09/15/04 01:15 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    They Say it's Your P-Day
    Walked into the nursery early this morning to a hideous stench. Turns out dear Elli had snuck in and hid at some point, and left piles of liquid and solid birthday gift for me right on Daniel's frog rug. She couldn't have done it on the poorly-finished parquet, nope. I took the rug outside and hosed it off, but you know how cat pee is. I was (am) sooooo mad!

    Immediately after that discovery, Daniel made a fountain of himself while I was changing him. Oy!

    And then. I had a raging fever late this morning, probably sinus-related. And, after graciously allowing me a half-hour nap, Daniel was just not happy today if he wasn't in the sling with me, and I had to be moving. Luckily the ibuprofen wiped the fever out completely and the headache almost, though it took an excruciatingly long time to do so. Of course everything seems excruciatingly long with the screaming.
    09/14/04 03:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    A Day A.D.
    Shower at six-ish (though really awake-ish about 4:30); D. holds Daniel if he gets fussy in the meantime. Throw some shorts on, diaper bean, grab cereal and yogurt, and we plant ourselves on the couch with the Boppy for an hour. I'll watch a bit of tube, or click around left-handed on the laptop (the lack of posts is really due to my general one-handedness, not lack of computer time).

    Then we have our small adventure for the day, which I've determined is necessary for sanity's maintenance. These trips can only be accomplished with the use of the Snugli or New Sling (my own should arrive by Friday, yay! but which I still haven't mastered entirely, either wrapping it so loosely that Daniel's head goes floppity-flop, or so tightly that I can barely get the straps stretched over his diaper - it never looks half as well as it does in that picture!). Yesterday it was the neighborhood Rite Aid for a few geeting cards and witch hazel. Today our longest walk to date - up to the junk food market, where you can get any flavor of 50 cent Sather's candy bag imaginable, but nothing even resembling a decent loaf of bread. But it's a good destination, walkwise, even if the only motivator for reaching it is a little bottle of orange juice for the way home. Eventually we'll make it farther afield.

    The rest of the day is spent feeding, changing, surfing, reading, and doing small chores as possible. Daniel rarely naps during the day, and only in tiny bits when he does, but his awake times are at least getting more interesting. He just started grinning a bit a couple of days ago (another thing to make mommy tear up!), and you can hold little "conversations" with him.

    Then bathtime at seven, and a usual nod-off between that and 8:30. My bedtime is, of necessity, around 10; we're up every couple of hours for a feed after that. I've either adjusted or turned into a full-fledged zombie, because I rarely feel exhausted during the day now. And this without a drop of caffeine!
    09/08/04 10:40 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Happy Happy Joy Joy
    Not even 10 am, and already we've accomplished so much.

    First, a walk! Daniel seemed very happy this morning, so out we went. It was so crisp and blue and windy, that if it weren't for the fact that today's high is 92, I could almost believe fall was here. Nice! And Daniel didn't cry a bit. Exercise for me, yay!

    My good luck with that adventure emboldened me, so I decided we'd try out a short car trip. Just up the street to the ATM and car wash. Well, he did start to scream - and scream but good - about halfway there, but quieted down surprisingly quick. He's still out right now, in fact.

    Next week - we take on the mall.
    09/03/04 09:54 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    At Least the Black Widows Stay Outside
    I don't generally worry much about sharing my house with the occasional small insect or spider. If I were a bug I'd probably find it one of the safer places to live - our cats are pretty inept at hunting.

    But wasps... now that's another matter entirely. A couple weeks ago, I found a live one on our bathroom wall. And today a dead one on our bedroom window sill.

    I really don't like wasps.
    08/11/04 11:33 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Weekend
    Did lots of nothing yesterday - too sore for anything but making a big dent in the couch (stupid exam! stupid me for letting 'em!). Luckily I was much improved today, on our second anniversary. Dressed in the nicest stuff that fit and went out for yummy pasta. I really shouldn't be eating so much in one sitting at this point, but I could hardly help myself. Chicken alfredo, mmm.

    Everything is packed for the hospital, right down to the camera. We've even got both carseat bases installed (thanks Rachel! the RAV base was LATCH-equipped and super easy!). Not that I'm having any signs of it, but I could really go into labor at any time now. I'll probably have plenty of time in the early stages to let you know here.

    Where's that last burst of nesting energy? I have things that need to be cleaned!
    08/01/04 10:12 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Don't Leave Home Without It
    Yesterday I was at the fabric counter of an evil and annoying but oh-so-convenient megaplace, waiting for some yardage to be cut (and is my machine out yet? you'd think so, considering the number of days up there to the right, but no). And I was crossing said item off my list.

    Fabric Lady: Are you good about keeping lists?
    Me: Oh, I don't have a choice - I can't function in a store without one.
    FL: I try to make sure I have one when I shop, but it doesn't always happen. And then I end up wandering around, getting everything I don't need, and almost nothing I went to get in the first place.
    Me: Uh-huh, that sounds about right.

    And, at least for me, it's been so much worse with all the mischievous hormones wreaking havoc in my poor head. The list keeps me sane. I must be one with the list. Leaving home without the list means nothing short of doom.
    07/29/04 04:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    SOS
    When the Safeway.com deliverywoman was here yesterday (grocery shopping hurts), McFly freaked out (that's just his MO), and, since we've blocked off his access to hair up/screw with the wiring inside the back of the entertainment center, his new favorite place to hide is beneath my desk. Way back there behind the tower. On the power button atop my subwoofer. And now I have no sound, and I'm too freaking huge to crawl back there and turn it on again.
    07/28/04 11:17 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Defeatism is FunDamental
    Today started brilliantly, but has quickly degenerated to sub-sewer. Besides which, I itch like a mofo. So, between visiting Project Blog sites, I'll be periodically pouring all my pent-up cynicism and self-pity on you, you lucky devils.

    Henceforth, I'm officially removing myself from anything remotely political. I'll smile and nod politely, or leave the room. I don't have a leg to stand on, I'm not good at debate/argument, and it's a waste of time. I've seen the light - those who've told me that what I strongly believe in is irrelevant are correct. He doesn't say it, but my own husband thinks I'm a nutjob. So I'll cast my vote for that popular guy, the one who isn't actively trying to lambast every last shred of our civil rights in the name of, well, The-Big-You-Know-Who, making the marks on my absentee ballot with my right hand and holding a big fat drink in my left. Which, incidentally, will make me no less a nutjob.
    07/24/04 01:01 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ranty
    Do I have enough on my plate without worrying about infantile family feuds, too? Yes, I think I do.

    I keep reading more and more about women who are pressured or even attacked legally by doctors and hospitals when they won't kowtow to their increasing need to induce births with drugs or deliver via surgery. I understand that sometimes these things are medical necessity, and I'm grateful that they exist in real emergencies. But. Given some flak I've already been subjected to by my own practice for not bending to other unnecessarily harmful procedures, this has me a bit concerned. I think these last weeks of appointments will determine if I pick a closer alternate hospital at the last minute. I wonder if my doctors could take legal action if I stayed at home (not that I think I'll be trying it).

    Related, someone on a board was shocked yesterday to find that their insurance covered vasectomy, but not tubal ligation. Viagra, but not birth control. Also recently discussed - many women have apparently been under suspicion when their babies don't grow in line with national weight charts. Even though they're eating well and plenty. I guess I didn't realize we were living in the reproductive Dark Ages.

    If you want sponsorship for Blogathon stand-in Project Blog this weekend, perhaps your site shouldn't be password protected. Just sayin'... I'm still digging around for the perfect combination of Needs Sponsors, Cause I Can Get Behind, and Writing I'd Like to Follow All Night.
    07/21/04 12:07 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    You Rock.
    I love you, new neighbors. You only make normal people noises (and sometimes the occasional puppy bark, but who could find issue with that?). I never hear loud, trashy diatribes coming from your yard. Your three little boys must be angels. Tomorrow is trash day, and I see you haven't purposely parked a rusted-out mini-van in the only safe place along the curb to put the bins. I want to bring you cupcakes and give your puppy the biggest Nylabone I can find.
    07/19/04 09:59 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Wow, That Was Fast
    We already have new neighbors! - they're moving in right now. And they seem nice enough. They had a whole cavalcade of family helping, and one of their mothers even stopped to talk. So much better than being greeted by hostile stares right off the bat. Hopeful...
    07/16/04 05:20 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I NEED TO SLEEEEEEP.
    There really isn't any other way to properly handle it. Anyone who uses a weed-whacker mere yards from my window at 7:30 am will from this day forward summarily be shot on sight. Consider yourself warned.
    07/14/04 08:26 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    First Time for Everything
    Well. I've never been asked by a department store (Kmart) clerk if I needed help out to my car before. Not that I'd ever accept it unless I had a piece of furniture or something - and I'm too independent, so I wouldn't get something if I couldn't handle it myself (unless it's at OSH, where they always load the heavy stuff right into your trunk from a special dock, preggers or no).
    07/09/04 01:58 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Can I Get a WooHoo!?!
    Do you hear that?

    No screaming. No thumpy music. No cackling. No wall-crashing.

    And, look there, do you see? Where are the rags hanging over our fence? And the piles of crap in the driveway? What about our daily dose of silent stares?

    Our duplex-mates moved on Monday, apparently very quickly, quite unbeknownst to us. I went to get the mail yesterday, and was surprised to see the place cleared out. Of course the next tenants could always be a treat, too. I guess we'll just enjoy the silence (and cleanliness) while we can.
    07/07/04 09:03 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Time Flying While Frying
    So, I realized today that we've been in Sacramento exactly four years. Because Sunday will be our fifth Citrus Heights fireworks, and we arrived a couple of days before the Fourth in 2000. I've been here almost exactly as long as I was in Detroit. Though do I whine about living here - it's really still a huge improvement.

    Unless you're talking about European food. Then, not so much.
    07/02/04 11:10 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Guess I Needed to Wash the Floor, Anyhow
    I did something that was, apparently, incredibly stupid today. The patio chair cushions were grody, so I decided to stick one in the washer. I used to do this in the old apartment washer without incident. But the new washer doesn't like it, and showed its displeasure by spitting up a good couple gallons of rinsewater on the kitchen floor. I mopped up as much as I could before my back went wonky, then left for a bit. The good thing about living in such a dry climate is that much of it evaporated while I was away.

    Again, the cats sat in the kitchen doorway and looked amused, while I was not.
    07/01/04 02:15 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Tropical Penguin Weekend
    At one point this afternoon, the thermometer in D's car read 108°F. Not that that was the true air temperature, but it sure felt like it on the pavement. I had to nap for an hour just to recover from the wilting. Trying to breathe while walking is often interesting under the best circumstances, but in extreme heat... ugh. Mid-eighties by mid-week, so at least there's that.

    We did finally get to Goore's. Most impressed by the furniture that most of us are only wealthy enough to look at. I don't know what it makes me, that I was more interested in hanging 'round the old guys at Bruce's Train Shop down the strip. They had a terribly unintelligible, one-trick parrot in back ("He keeps us all in line.").

    Dodgeball was stupid, silly fun. Of course. I'd forgotten that Alan Tudyk was going to be in it!
    06/27/04 10:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Randomness
  • Our neighbor cackles not unlike a bad stereotype of a movie witch, very loud and very, very often.
  • If you are eight months pregnant, a queen-sized bed with very narrow air chambers may make you a little bit miserable.
  • Joseph's Sugar-Free Brownies don't taste like they are, and they're made with organic unbleached wheat flour, to boot.
  • No, you can never get enough Ben Stiller in one week. IMHO.
  • VH1's Ill-Ustrated is often quite funny. The ads for the upcoming I Love the 90's make me hot for Hal Sparks and Michael Ian Black all over again.
  • Grilled pork cutlets, corn-on-the-cob, and rolls for dinner. Summer yum.

    • 06/21/04 05:10 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Little Box of Horrors
    Our mailbox is very unpredictable. I don't mean the mail - you pretty much know it's going to be junk, bills, one of a handful of magazines, or Netflix. But the fauna, now that's something else. One day a daddy longlegs, another a wasp, and then yesterday... another big furry spider. It hitched a ride to the house in a rolled-up pile of ads, and scurried out towards me when I put them down on the dryer. Heart attack much?

    They're out to get me.
    06/15/04 09:24 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    To Identify, Please
    I opened the gate to our service yard this evening, and almost screamed when a fat spider rushed out of a crack at me. Spiders aren't my favorite animal by any means, but this one looked particulary nasty. I should've taken a picture, but I thought I could find it easily enough on the web. Nope! And of course the one field guide I don't have is...

    So have you seen one? Entirely black, plump/squat, body approximately 1.5 cm in length. Three small but distinct white spots on upper abdomen. Blue-black fuzz on legs [shudder]. Scary fast.

    Wait... D. just found a picture of it on an "unidentified spiders" forum (see 4 June, about four-fifths down the page). But it was posted last year and - apparently never identified. Sigh.

    Tarantulas, black widows, and ??? Gotta love central California.
    06/10/04 10:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Classifried
    I do love Craigslist, I do (especially now that they've added a "baby+kids" category - very helpful!). But when you're in the middle of negotiating what appears to be a successful transaction, and the seller suddenly stops communicating... argh. It's fine if they've sold the item to someone else, but it sure would be nice to at least get the courtesy of an email.
    06/10/04 08:57 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Catch-up
    Yesterday we started to tackle the "garden" area in the front yard. The landscapers are supposed to take care of anything that's not enclosed within our backyard fence, but... well. They don't, and I got so tired of looking at a hardpack patch scattered with a few volcanic rocks. Bricks and stepping stones are much cheaper than I thought (33 cents and $1.59 on sale at OSH), so we're going to town. Last night we dug a shallow trench around the perimeter for the low brick retaining lip. It already looks ten times better. Today we'll break up the dirt and cover with a few bags of topsoil. Then some annuals, and a bark nugget mulch. I took a Before picture, and I'll post it in a few days with the After.

    The nursery is nearly finished. I just need to do some paint touch-up (which I've been avoiding) before we can scrub the floor and move the furniture in. So far we're really happy with the way it looks.

    So, about that GTT I was supposed to have on Saturday. Yeah. Didn't happen. I do yet another sugar-free Friday, I fast for twelve hours, am already mildly pukey from nerves and no breakfast for preggie, and we get there at SEVEN FIFTY AM ON A SATURDAY... and I can't take the damned test. Because my doctor's idiot assistant didn't fax the paperwork over to the lab like she promised she would do immediately after putting down the phone. I really should've checked up on her, given her history. I've never been nasty on the phone, but I'm considering it this morning. If I didn't like most of the doctors so well... grr.

    Only about ten weeks to go... yikes!
    06/07/04 08:13 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    More Technical Difficulties
    Comcast sucks. Which you may have noticed by now.

    My blood sucks, too. Not much, mind you - just enough to send me to the next level of Hell. I failed the one-hour again (the assistant said "by a little," and I was feeling too defeated to ask how much), so, against my better judgement, I'm doing the three-hour glucose test on Saturday. They'll be taking my blood four times, and I'll be drinking twice the glucola on a completely empty stomach, so please send some non-collapsing/vomiting vibes my way. I'll be needing them. Along with books, puzzles, etc., etc. It'll be like jury duty, but with purposely-inflicted nausea.
    06/03/04 03:35 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fairely Bursting
    The Fair Oaks Tudor Fayre is coming up in mid-June, but neither outfit I own will accommodate my girth! It's been years since I've gone to a Faire un-costumed. I wonder if chemise and skirt, sans bodice, is authentic?
    06/02/04 03:56 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Experiencing Technical Difficulties
    The power supply died on the tv PC, just when we were nearly finished watching Return of the King. I don't think I'd realized the extent of my addiction to Media Center - no cache of recorded shows! no skipping through commercials! (though, I'd have to say consequently, I did finish pasting up the nursery border last night). D. has been at Fry's half the weekend, but has had terrible luck getting a machine that works.

    The high chair was the last thing on our Get List, but we took a run through Cargo Largo on Sunday, where everything was 20% off, and they had a nice Graco model. It folds up, and has two trays, and toys! We couldn't pass it up at about $30 less than retail. I assembled it this morning... at the price of exposing the kidlet to a few harsh words, and the possible loss of yet another toenail. The cats all watched from a safe distance, evidently amused.

    And I can't post. Gargh.
    06/01/04 11:04 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Red and White Stripes for the Holiday
    We went to a Memorial Day parade this morning. I had my usual moisturizer with sunscreen on my face and neck, but totally forgot about the arms (and farther down the front of the shirt). And the parade was long. Itchy ow.
    05/31/04 06:10 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    But It's Only a Cute Widdle Sodee Pop
    Brought a straw this time (what would I do without the 'net?), much easier to chug the glop. Had some spare time to read the label, something to the tune of "Warning: may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or headache." Lovely stuff, really. Oh, and it also said "To be administered to diabetics only under direct supervision of a physician." I could be wrong, but wouldn't something like that send a diabetic into shock?

    I thought I'd made it through without incident, but on our way to a much-needed breakfast, I nearly passed out three times. Stomach felt much better after eating, but I've slept most of today.

    I was lucky enough to have the same phlebotomist. I adore people who are nice and are skilled enough not to have to jab me over and over to get a couple ounces of blood. In which case I don't have a problem with needles (as long as I don't have to watch). Someone was talking about their needle phobia online, and was awarded with the idiot quote-du-jour: "If you hate needles so much, why did you bother getting pregnant?" Too bad that "pregnancy as a disease" is an idea that really has permeated our culture (I guess I've made my slant on this pretty clear by now).

    French toast for breakfast, with strawberries. Pancake Circus can temporarily assuage any suffering.
    05/29/04 03:57 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Friday Free-Form
    Tomorrow is the retest, so no sugar today, which is more difficult than you'd think. And I'm not even talking Twinkies or cola here; I've actually been good about empty calories lately, considering. But giving up bananas, and yogurt, and even my soy milk... Luckily it's only one day, because the potassium and calcium I get from those things are apparently crucial to me not waking up in the middle of the night with screaming charlie horses. Yeouch.

    Almost Memorial Day, and aside from freak early hot spells, the weather has been, well... nice! I think it's because I got a pool (and who knew reverse psychology worked on the weather?). The cool mornings are just bliss. It even rained a little last night, and it was all so damp and fresh. There's a 30% chance of precipitation again today, and I've got my fingers crossed we'll see a little more.

    The border in the nursery is half complete. There are bits that insist on not staying adhered to the wall, and I'm not quite sure what to do about that, having followed the directions for installation. Get some wallpaper paste and inject a little from the edge with a little syringe? Re-soaking it with a sponge certainly doesn't seem to work. After this, I probably won't be trying wet-and-stick wall products again.

    Yawwwwwn.
    05/28/04 08:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ice Always Helps, Too
    But then all is well, because there's recorded Best Week Ever and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. And the bread is oddly appealing, in a dense, doughy sort of way.
    05/17/04 10:20 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Embracing the Boredom
    Not much of note here. It's quiet (unless you count the long-distance familial infighting, on which I refuse to dwell, except to say that this pregnancy has at least granted me a long-needed backbone). Lots of sleeping, reading, and eating. Trying to muster energy to make headway on the nursery today; just the stripes and pasting of the border left. Pretty boring for you, but not bad for me.
    05/04/04 12:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Pardon My Smoker's Hack
    I think I'm finally out from under the cold. So unbelievably difficult to have something large growing into the bottom of your respiratory system while it's being attacked upside, too! Exhausting. I'm glad it was only a cold.

    I couldn't find a small but deep inflatable pool anywhere in town, so I ordered one. Even then, it was a challenge locating anything that wasn't ridiculously expensive (it's a vinyl wading pool, fer cripes). I'm past caring what it looks like - I just want the soak.

    If you give me a sure-fire way to keep rotten little Elli monsters off my kitchen counters, I will repay you in love and cat-hair-free cookies.
    05/02/04 11:39 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    It Comes Earlier Every Year We're Here
    A: The maintenance guy. Oh, yeah.

    Q: Who's the person you'll be happiest to see when more record highs hit, and your A/C isn't working?
    04/27/04 06:45 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Don't Name My Clothes. Really.
    Want to see a moody pregnant woman panic? Misplace her security blanket - the Big Old Sweatshirt (we'll call it the BOSs, for brevity's sake).

    Wednesday night Darin's coworker and family had free reign of the house they'd just signed a lease on, right down the street in our complex. Of course! we'd love come see it (= compare and contrast with our own duplex). It was in the high fifties, maybe, but I didn't feel like trying to squish into a jacket. The BOSs, though, would still fit just fine.

    It was born of a bargain bin at the NMU bookstore a good dozen years ago. $8.00! Navy, very much oversized, and made not of fleece, but some more substantial knit - kind of a nubby weave on the inside. Of course it's been washed a thousand times, and maybe not the prettiest thing, but it's the most warm and comfortable object I own. It's especially good at nursing colds.

    But... it wasn't with the other warm stuff in my closet, or out of place further down the rod. It wasn't hanging with the coats, or in a drawer, or even fallen to the floor.

    It was terribly cold when we moved, and I was wearing it a lot then, back and forth between places... Had I left it in the old apartment? or in the car that I donated? Did it get shoved in a Goodwill box by accident? The horror!

    Dejected, I put on the Big Old Wool Sweater, and we left.

    At bedtime, I was shuffling through the warm-weather part of my closet, trying to find something that I could still squeeze into for sleep. And there, wedged at an odd angle on its hanger so that it was hidden behind the tees, was the BOSs. I went to sleep happy.

    The End.
    04/24/04 12:10 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Visiting the SickDeathbed
    I was feeling ambitious today. Which, to clarify, means that I'm in the shower by nine. Heh. Anyhow, when I get in the mood to do these days, it's better to use it for good than evil. I decided to knock a few more items off the Baby Essentials Get List (bathtub, butt balm, baby wash, powder, brush & comb, first bag of diapers, burp cloths - check). Didn't want to drive through Citrus Blights or Roseville traffic to get to a Target, so I decided to go halfway to one of the three remaining KMarts in the area. To which I'd never been (adventure!), and I was jonesing for some of that cheap Martha green (if even just to look).

    And Lo! and Behold!!! It was a big old school KMart, with a sit-down eatery! The memories. When I was very small, my dad was receiving manager at a Wisconsin KMart. My mom and I would shop, and then have chocolate milk and a cookie at the eatery. In college, during a very harsh mini-depression in Upper Michigan, the KMart eatery was (literally) the only place I could find a part-time job, slinging eggs and burgers in my dopey black pants and red polo (though a year later, when the job market had picked up but KMart was hitting yet another of its hundred rough patches, I was laid off, and found better work as a children's museum office intern - no poly uniform there).

    It was filled with the typical morning crowd of seniors. If I'd been remotely hungry, I would've gone in and had soup, and pie. I should've done anyway, parked my cart at the rail, and had a decaf. Because they really mightn't be around much longer, this time.
    04/20/04 02:34 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Stay! Good Breakfast.
    Saw Hellboy on Thursday. It was pretty much what I expected - entertainment for two hours, but nothing real special. There were Nazis. Wasn't expecting the half-empty parking lot (never happens, whee!) or the $9 price tag (!!!).

    Saturday afternoon saw us scoring a loop of five letterboxes out in residential Folsom. Pretty new hike 'n bike trails surrounding a natural wetland. D. was jealous of some of the behemoth million-dollar homes across the water; I don't find them particularly inviting, myself. Though I wouldn't turn up my nose at an oversized bathroom with a marble spa.

    I spent most of yesterday staying warm inside while napping or struggling to breathe (giant uterus is tough on the old asthma!), and this morning the green bucket and I hung out on the couch. No idea what that was all about, because I woke up from my snooze ravenous. Now I'm so verrrry cautiously eating an English muffin.
    04/19/04 01:48 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    More Girlie Stuff
    I ran out of my favorite cosmetic of all time, and couldn't find it anywhere. So I wrote to L'Oreal, who replied, rather lamely, that it had indeed been discontinued, but they were "certain that I could find other fine L'Oreal products" to meet my needs. Bah.

    I scored a tube on the cheap a la eBay, and there are more to be had. Question: if I bought another tube or two, could I keep it safely in the fridge? Would it still break down, as old cosmetics are wont to do?

    Or maybe I should just buck up and try something new. Sigh.
    04/15/04 11:41 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Them Dang Duke Boys
    I saw the stupidest stunt today.

    It was on my way home, in not-quite-yet rush hour traffic. The rail crossing gates, four cars ahead of me, started to come down. I don't mind waiting out trains if I don't need to be anywhere; with all that graffiti, they're like a long mobile urban art show.

    But the guy in the black sports car two up in line was in a hurry. So much that, even though the gates were completely down and the train whistle could plainly be heard just down the track, he simply had to break rank and whip a screeching zig through the breach.

    I guess some folks don't watch the news.
    04/12/04 10:33 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Normalizing
    Turns out letterboxing on a stomach full of Togo's in Goethe Park on a sunny afternoon is therapeutic. Who knew?
    04/08/04 08:08 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    eBay and Pancakes
    Yesterday evening we drove over to Vacaville to get the two biggest purchases out of the way - crib and dresser/changing table. And our kid now officially has nicer furniture than we do. Solid maple, worth about $750. We got them barely-used on eBay for less than half that! From very nice people for whom we quickly became very sorry - they'd been happily living in Portland, but were recently posted here by the military. We all concurred that our goal was to be living in OR before the kidlets started school.

    On the way home, we stopped for dinner at a nice empty IHoP in Dixon. It didn't have the traditional comforting blue triangle roof, and was extremely difficult for us to find in the dark (we almost had to settle for Denny's for the pancake love, so wrong). But the only thing that could make a flawless transaction better was eggs scrambled with diced ham and pancakes with the trademark Row 'o Syrups. My heart lies with boysenberry, but will occasionally make a tasty dalliance with butter pecan.
    04/06/04 12:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Yeah, I Know, Stop the Presses.
    I don't know about your Target, but ours has racks of Barnum's Animal Crackers in odd places throughout the store. Lightbulbs - Barnum's. Birdhouses? - and Barnum's. It's just weird.
    03/22/04 08:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Calling All Backyard Ornithologists
    We like birds. We want them in our yard. Still waiting on the hummingbird garden, we hung a feeder for other little birds on our tree. But it's been a week, and no visitors (aside from a spider who's made her home in one of the spouts). No, the cats probably aren't a deterrent - at our last place, the guys downstairs hung a feeder below our balcony, and birds still frequented it, even with three drooling fanged heads leering from just two feet above. Here they're three yards away, behind glass and wire.

    What do we need to do to let them know the feeder's there? Put out a menu board in chickadee? Spray l'eau du worm on it? Learn the finch call for "hey, over here, guys!"? We want birds!
    03/17/04 10:19 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Day Tally:
    Pros:
  • My car is clean and shiny, because I found a car wash that doesn't have a slippery bar you have to drive over with wet tires (last time, unaccustomed to a lighter car with a less powerful engine - I guess? - I got very stuck, and consequently gun-shy)
  • I have a new, grownup chef's knife. Nothing terribly extravagant, but no one will lose a finger using it.
  • Some people are still doing Blogathon-type things - yay!


    • Cons:
  • Yes, you may think the Liz Lange maternity line at Target is all hip and fresh (for a department store), but good luck finding a decent selection there. And just try to find your size, I dare you. Also, you can forget about swimwear.
  • Another challenge - try to find the maternity bras in lingerie. Then spend half an hour digging out your size.
  • It's still too warm for March. Dammit.
    • 03/16/04 04:32 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    While the Gettin's Good
    I love the time of open windows. An all-too-brief period here, shmushed between four months of cold rain and six of searing heat. But I enjoy it while it lasts. It feels less isolated with a little breeze puffing through, birds visiting the yard, or voices passing. Even chores seem a bit less antagonistic.

    That's one of the things I miss most about the house in Escanaba. Sitting around with coffee on summer mornings, the corner windows open to let in just enough lake chill to freshen before whatever humid heat settled for the day.

    But there are plenty of windows that open here. Even in the master bath, which makes me giddy, because showering near an open window is one of my particular joys. I can wash pans in front of a window, or make the bed in a cross-breeze between two set in opposite corners. The only unstirred air that remains is in the office, a deliberate cave for the glare-sensitive among us. The window latch is far beyond reach, so fresh air will never enter. I may have to abandon my computer for the month of spring. Which might not be such a bad idea in any case.
    03/11/04 04:35 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    "Mommy, There's A Whale in the Pool!"
    It doesn't bode well - not one bit - that it's only March 9th, and a short trip to the library and drugstore has me sweating like a pig. And my new car has A/C, and I'm wearing a tee shirt and sandals.

    At first, I only joked to myself about getting a small inflatable pool for the summer. But now that the annual scorch is approaching, it may just be practical. The complex pool-in-progress will be less than inadequate for the couple hundred families that live here, and I really don't think I'll want to show off my swollen, bloated bod by the time it's finished anyhow. But I know I'll want a nice quiet soak in the shade.
    03/09/04 04:31 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    No Corpses Out There Yet...
    Despite yesterday's pseudo-hangover, the vegetable plot (an old makeshift built-in sandbox) is ready for planting. Not much room for veggies, but I'll cram in as many cukes, carrots, green onions, peas, and tomatoes as possible. We're fortunate enough to get two or three growing cycles in the warm season here, so plenty of time to experiment with different stuff, too. I laid out some hummingbird & butterfly mix in one of the smaller plots, and we've got a new birdfeeder, so hopefully our yard will be colorful and interesting (especially for kitties behind glass) by April.

    Much to D's back's chagrin, the soil everywhere is sandy and poor, so we've had to mix it up with a dozen giant bags of planting mix.

    I can hardly believe how thick and green the lawn is, considering it began as mud. D's actually cut it three times in the past two weeks!
    03/08/04 10:29 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Leaving Solitary
    We stayed out way too late, eating baked potatoes and sugar and playing board games with people I hadn't met aside from a short acquaintance through an online group of locals. It was fun! but if you know how uncommonly introverted I am, you'll imagine how physically exhausting spending eight (!) hours with a large-ish group of people can be. I'm wiped.

    Sigh.

    Now I'm here because I'm fantastically sugared-up and a bit past the point of no return for sleep, and it's going to take some serious nonfiction reading to get me into snooze mode.
    03/07/04 01:46 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Slack Attack
    It looks so nice out today. I'm feeling better. I should go have a shower and get out there. Yeah. I'm, uh, gonna go do that. [yawwwwn] In a minute. Really.
    03/04/04 09:49 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Weekend Recap
    I caught part of the "Great American Celebrity Spelling Bee" finals. Nice little ego boost there. Sure, you may be famous and/or rich, but humble little me can whoop your ass in a spelldown any day.

    Otherwise, slept a lot. Finished Tam Lin - yawwwwwnnn. Killer sinuses again and nothing but Tylenol to turn to for comfort (yes, my dear, sweet ibuprofen is way up there on the Bad For Tadpole list, as I'm sure is D's generously-offered Vicodin). It's keeping my fever in check, not so much the pain. I've resorted to coating the end of my nose with VapoRub, which isn't going to win me any beauty contests, but it does seem to be helping open things up a little.

    The thought of the Oscars does nothing for my health, so disinterested am I in any of the categories. And Billy Crystal. But maybe that's just because I'm feeling cranky.
    02/29/04 04:35 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Witchy Wind and Water
    As a rule, we don't get weather here in the valley. But today the lights are flickering like mad, chunks of branch are being flung about, my little weather.com tray icon is blinking red (flood warning?!?), and the house is making funny/disturbing noises up top.

    All this, of course, on the one day a month I *have* to venture downtown for my wait/weight/blood pressure/pee/condescending
    & cursory q&a session/done! appointment. I'm leaving an hour early and taking the streets, because heck if I'm risking life and limb in my little Breeze on a highway with folks in Expeditions who don't know how to drive in the rain.
    02/25/04 09:33 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Public Pot-Smoking is the Official Sport of Sacramento
    Yesterday we went tromping around what we expected would be exciting woods, from the pictures on the 'net. The only evidence of wildlife was some rustling in the thistly thickets, lots of mating frog calls, and four happily stoned teenagers atop a small mountain of granite. We also saw one horse butt sticking out of a barn, about a dozen sewage grates, humongous homes of the disgustingly wealthy across the creek bed, and Miwok acorn-grinding mortars (kind of like these) in a boulder.

    Then we came home and I made waffles. The end.
    02/16/04 10:01 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fire That Groundhog
    I know I do my share of bitching about the unremitting triple-digit temps part and parcel of a Sacramento summer (a condition that's none too likely to improve when I'm toting a bowling ball in my pelvis this August), but there certainly are some nice compensations.
    02/12/04 04:48 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Just a Quote for Today
    "The continuance and frequent fits of anger produce in the soul a propensity to be angry; which oftentimes ends in choler, bitterness, and moronity, when the mind becomes ulcerated, peevish, and querulous, and is wounded by the least occurrence."

    --Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887
    02/09/04 09:15 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    There Goes That
    I'm so disappointed. I found a great deal on a well-used but loved green and silver Schwinn Cruiser Four ($50!) on Craigslist, but it sold before I even got the chance to go see it [stamps foot]. I really want to replace my cranky Target bike (whose string of debilitating ailments has frustrated me into not riding altogether) with a quality beach cruiser, but don't want to shell out hundreds for a new one. If you or someone you know is parting with one for less than $100, I'm interested. Only other stipulations are that it still rides smooth and not be coated in rust - I don't mind fixing or replacing some stuff. And I'm partial to blue, and fat whitewall tires :-)
    02/04/04 01:07 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    You're Making Mister Rogers Cry in Heaven
    It's too bad we only have the one neighbor. Really unfortunate.

    Right after we moved in, I was out getting the mail (we have one of those six-box curbside affairs) when I heard a shuffly noise behind me in the dark. A bit startled, I turned to find it was the woman next door. "Oh, hello!" I said.

    To no reply, just seeming irritation that I was taking too long unloading my stuffed box (the previous five - yes, five, not counting big canines - tenants never bothered to get their mail forwarded). She bristled past as I made off with my load.

    Their daughter has shown an unfortunate penchant for loud, thumpy music and standing in the yard wearing her mother's glare, with the addition of that nineties-style preteen snot that sent me over the edge at school.

    And the little boy just screams and screams in the driveway.

    We probably won't be borrowing sugar any time soon.
    01/28/04 05:37 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Next One Still Comes From Russia
    Physically, today is no better than the yesterday that prompted the "okay, okay, over two months of mild stomach flu is long enough" rant, but it did at least help to put it out there. And there is some cause for hope - I've mostly stopped retching on my toothbrush.

    One positive: I've virtually stopped shedding. When you lose 100 of my caliber hairs per day - mostly, but in no way limited to, the shower drain - it has a definite impact on the household. Now I'm down to about three when I wash my hair. In six months I suppose I'll look like Rapunzel.
    01/19/04 03:04 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Land of Misfit Appliances
    So we've got a gas stove. It wouldn't be my first choice, and the whole "cooking with fire" thing was a small hurdle, but I'm over that now. My biggest beef is that there's no way to tell when the oven is at the right temperature. Even if I've let it preheat for half an hour, it still takes far too long to cook stuff. So I guess we'll be getting an oven thermometer. Like in the Stone Age.

    Our washer and dryer, of necessity, were installed backwards. Dryer on the left, washer on the right. And the lid on the washer opens - of course - to the left!
    01/15/04 09:27 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Escanaba Tangibles
    Everyone knew someone that worked at Mead in Escanaba. It's still the Big Industry in town. They mostly make coated paper for publishing - magazines, catalogs, textbooks. And employees never lacked for paper. My mom's brother and most of his inlaws were lifers, so there was always a steady stream of little scratchy notepads. At The Camp out in Bark River, where we spent summer Sundays eating raspberries and listening to bear stories, there was a huge industrial roll of white paper that kept the kids in coloring paper for years and years. I don't miss the cooked pulp smell in the summer, but I when I had to buy a pack of Mead notepads at the store the other day, it made me a little sad.

    The same folks also kept small herds of beef cattle, mostly for family use, and there's nothing better (or safer!) than truly fresh steaks. And they were all successful hunters, too - which meant unbeatable venison sausage and, sometimes, melt-in-your-mouth bear roasts (tastes like pork).
    01/13/04 11:36 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Do Not Wear a Plastic Nametag While Shopping
    I went to Target yesterday. Not just any Target, mind you - Target Greatland, the only one in the metro area. We're now close enough to it once again that it's not completely silly to make the pilgrimage. Far enough that I won't be doing it often, but I had business just a couple blocks north, so it was more than justified this time.

    One of the things I needed was a small wastebasket. Nothing pretty, just something Sterilite to shove into the little closet (specially vented and meant to be a hamper, but it's nowhere I'd care to put my frillies) in the bathroom. And there was really nothing. Of course I was getting impatient with the crowds by that point, so I may not have searched all that intently. In any case, there's a dollar store across the street, so I figured I'd walk over there and pick one up on the much cheaper.

    For a dollar store, they carry some really cute Valentine's stuff. I was browsing some little heart-y stamp kits, when a tall skinny guy whined over the shelf from the next aisle, "Don't you carry calendars here?"

    He wasn't looking at me, and of course I didn't assume he was *talking* to me. He shuffled around the aisle a bit, peevishly, and then walked around the endcap and whined once again - quite clearly at me - "Aren't there any calendars here?"

    And I reply, from my heavy black winter coat, "Uh, I really have no idea."

    "You mean you don't work here?" More high-pitched impatience.

    "NO."

    "Oh, sorry," snottily implying just the opposite.

    And this isn't the first time. It also happened a couple years ago, while I was looking at kitchenware in a KMart, wearing the same coat and carrying a big purse and shopping basket. At least that lady was nice about it, though.

    I did work at KMart for two years in college. Maybe the smell of retail sticks.
    01/09/04 08:58 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Incurring My Wrath Since 1998
    D: [upon seeing one of these at OSH] It won't be long until *you're* going to need one of those!

    -----

    [Palmer's Cocoa Butter ad comes on, giant preggo belly appears sporting violent violet stretch marks]
    Both: Ah!!!
    D: You need to get that!!!

    -----

    Me: I wonder... Do other animals feel this crappy in early pregnancy? I mean, they still have to hunt, and stuff.
    D: No, only human chicks are whiny.
    Me: ...I hate you.
    01/04/04 06:51 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Beats and Digs
    Hey, lookee, we're back!

    First, the important stuff. I had a second ultrasound on Tuesday, and there was a heartbeat, fast and small. The doc couldn't get a clear picture of any heads or parts, thanks to a mercilessly overproductive bladder on my part, but there was definitely a bigger bean in there.

    Reliable sources tell that my mom is already scoping kidwear. I sometimes feel bad that her first grandchild will be two thousand miles away. But at least we'll be flying her out next Christmas.

    In the past week I've become ravenous. I like to eat as much as the next guy - oh, probably more - but it's all getting a bit frustrating now. I can eat, for example, a lovely balanced breakfast of cereal, peanut butter toast, yogurt, and juice, only to be rumbling an hour later. And I have to obey or risk getting woozy and nauseated! All day long. I've lost all control, aaack!

    We're mostly in the new place. I was going to take pics the first day, but things were in such a deflating state. Neverever have I seen such a drastic disparity between model and unit. The previous occupants had large dogs, which left large untended poop - which left maintenance with no option but to raze the entire back yard. Oh, and they took good chunks out of the siding, too. Our wonderful wall 'o windows now looks upon a field of mud. And the entire interior was ruthlessly splashed with nasty flat white paint, covering whatever crossed the path of the brush (including some embedded things which I don't care to examine too closely). So the next few weeks are going to be filled with paint, all Trading Spaces-like. I even saw a respirator at Home Depot yesterday that filters paint fumes, so I can join the fun for as long as I can stand unwobbled.

    I'm up at such an ungodly hour (for me) because our bedroom is not unlike a butchery cooler. The rest of the house? Toasty warm. I've even been surprised at how warm the living room is, what with most of the back wall being glass. But I'm finding it miserable even reading in bed, my hands and nose get so cold. I think it's a combination of leaky windows and poor heating duct flow, but whatever. I'm going to get at least one good night of sleep on the couch!

    But then there are the hardwood floors (a bit worn and thoughtlessly finished but still not carpeting), not hearing a peep from our neighbors through the thick shared wall, and the breatheable kitchen. We had to find our own washer and dryer, and did, at a used appliance warehouse. A nice matching set of giant-capacity Kenmores with all the bells and whistles that we'd never have spent the thousand or so on new. Someone built a workbench in the storage room outside, and won't that be fun to pound on?

    We did have a bit of Christmas, with our last fire and some lively Mexican food out. I got an MP3 player, a couple of good print design books, another of good recipes for the long-abandoned CrockPot, a handy little kitchen chopper, and an electric knife (a bit of a head-scratcher from my mom, but I suppose it just means that hams and turkeys and roasts must be had more often, no?). New Year's, though, was ignored entirely. I think I was asleep by eleven.
    01/02/04 01:58 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Oh What Fun it is to Ride in a... 14' U-Haul?
    We are suspended in fog. It takes so much longer to dissipate here, by the river. I have to go out, but I see the all the stupid rear-endings on the morning news, and think I'll wait until it lifts. Of course then I'll have to deal with [thicker] crowds. In any case, I have to have things like orange juice and carrots and yogurt and Tums. And paper plates and cups so I can pack the everyday dishes.

    I still have to take care of The Beast, a small mountain of thrift store donations, this teetering pile of crap on my desk, about a dozen holiday cards, and the DMV's double-cross (my seller is now in Utah, which makes things all the more interesting). Someone wants to visit, but I need to do laundry and the place looks grubby for my nauseated neglect and the teapot is packed, and we're moving small stuff and our bed on Saturday. I'm supposed to be walking every day, but it's damp and dark and I feel wispy, even though I'm on Super-Mega-Pregga Vitamins and I'm eating like a cow. I should probably break it into two smaller walks.

    The only sign of Christmas here are the gifts on our empty living room bookshelf - my very first ever un-Holiday - and I'm too harried to be depressed about it.
    12/22/03 09:31 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Crest Reflex
    I can't help it. Every time I read the likes of "keep saltine crackers next to your bed to munch on when you wake up" as a remedy for morning sickness, I nearly gag. See also: 7-Up and green Gatorade.

    I consider myself lucky in that I'm not throwing up. Just shaky and sub-barfy much of every day. We won't discuss the fresh Hell that is toothbrushing [clears throat].

    Allowing myself to eat a little more meat and dairy sure is a kick, though. How I missed cottage cheese! Delicious with fresh baby spinach wilted in a bit of olive oil.
    12/15/03 12:59 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Doctor Doctor
    We managed to squeeze in a visit with my busy Primary Care Physician today. Mostly paperwork! Reams and reams of paperwork. I had arrived with certain expectations - that, at the very least, I'd walk away knowing a little more than I did this morning. But they didn't even do any bloodwork. Just the same test I did at home (with the same results), blood pressure, and all that superficial throat-ears-eyes stuff. She referred me to a group of OB/GYNs upstairs, which left me a little bit sad, because I wished I could just stick with her. But she doesn't handle pregnancy and birth anymore - "too old!". Sigh.

    Next Wednesday should take care of all the fun stuff.
    12/08/03 06:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Strangeness
    I haven't really had enough days "off" for the reality to sink in, yet. Reality of course being that I'm voluntarily unemployed. Today I met with the district librarian so I could bring her up-to-date on projects, hand over passwords, and all that jazz. She didn't try to talk me into coming back with as much vigor as I'd expected (which was appreciated!) - said she knew it was coming to this, that I'd often warned how unsuited I really was to the stress of the age group and the peculiarities of such an aggressive faculty.

    So many people have been asking "what's next?" I wish I knew! There isn't much in the way of employment in Sacramento, that's sure. I may, after the holidays, pick up some low-stress/responsibility job for a bit. Which may be easier if we move to another part of town, a decision we're pondering seriously (we love it here but the rent is getting waaayy out of hand). Since Portland seems to be off the table again for a bit. We're currently thinking about north Fair Oaks and downtown near the Capitol. The walkability of the city has always been appealing to me - not to mention the tree-lined streets. Here in south Natomas we're quite stranded on foot, with only a tiny convenience store reachable on a walk. And a handful of restaurants. And a Starbucks. Of course.

    It would still take quite the stellar pairing of low rent and high amenities to get us motivated enough to do it.

    I'd appreciate any ideas or info re: legitimate work-from-home concerns, in the meantime!
    11/25/03 01:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Could Use a Latte
    My desk and computers are cleaned, the files organized, and little explanatory notes have been left on stuff everywhere. It's the end of the trimester, so I've suddenly got zero classes on my roster... and I'm mind-numbingly bored. Which isn't making my last hours here go any faster.

    This very morning, on my second-to-last day, they moved the construction trailer and porta-potty from my picture window view of the green fields behind the school. Figures.
    11/13/03 11:46 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    As a Perfect Example...
    ...of just how distracted and high-strung I've been these past few days. I was sitting here just now, wondering why, exactly, I'd been so shaky in the shower, and my hands were so jittery on the keys. The Sickness was abolished yesterday, after all.

    It took me a good half minute to realize that, in the four hours I've been up, I'd had three cups of coffee and not a bite of breakfast. Duhr.
    11/11/03 11:26 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Hausfrau
    Today is for laundry and baking cheater cookies. And watching Ellen. Which I've only chanced to catch bits of, but they've been funny and endearing bits. Seems strange to pair "talk show" and "endearing" in the same thought, no? But that's exactly how it struck me. Low-key, good-natured humor. Today Will Ferrell is on, yippee!

    And then I begin to worry: will all my posts be reduced to household chores and daytime TV?
    11/10/03 12:23 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Not Neo... Nyquil.
    Battled a little sick starting Friday night; slept through most of yesterday. It gave enough that we could go to the library and The Movie (meh) this afternoon. I won't complain too much, because the timing was at least obliging - I've got two more days off to fully recover. Then three last harried days of work, and then a semi-impromptu early Thanksgiving trip.
    11/09/03 07:32 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Vague? Me?
    My body has shifted into overdrive. Little tolerance for food or sleep, restless fidgeting, mind racing, and a rather undesirable consciousness of my own stomach acid. Leavetaking would've been the culprit on its own, to a degree, but reckless abandon has gone and partnered with wild hope.
    11/07/03 06:43 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Viva
    I've been thinking about Vegas again. All color and light and non-depressingness (unless you count those nudie bar brochure passers-outer on every Strip corner). We never got to go downtown, or ride to the top of the Stratosphere, see Star Trek or any bad lounge acts, watch the gondolas glide by, or tour the Hoover Dam. Aladdin, Paris, New York, or the Venetian? Wait, that last one's a wee bit out of my league. It might be kind of fun, though, to ditch the mega-casinos for something more Rat Pack traditional.

    Is Moon ever really going to happen, I wonder? Ah, looking at the "Press Releases" section, they still seem to think so.

    Maybe I should just keep listening to my Ultra-Lounge. Cheaper and kills less brain cells.
    10/09/03 08:26 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    "Who let you in?"
    This weekend I:
  • Kicked tush at mini golf (!!!)
  • Didn't wait until late Sunday to finish the laundry
  • Scrubbed all the floors
  • Watched D. go into Fry's without buying anything
  • Not so me and Michael's - spent too much on a decade-old obsession
  • Drank lots of coffee
  • Was bad
  • Read on the couch in my bathrobe
  • Found a new bike trail...
  • ...and got uncomfortably numb when seat of bike threatened to pop off
  • Jonesed for a decent theater movie (The Eye and Kill Bill can't start soon enough)
  • Cheered when Syd told off the NSA jerk in the men's room
    • 10/06/03 04:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Something in the Air
    There's a whole lot of not sleeping going on around here tonight. I heard D. get up sometime after midnight, and I took my turn well before six, which would mean less than six hours of sleep (probably some kind of record for a Sunday). At least it's a switch from the Groggy Jennie of yesterday. In fact feeling pretty spry for a 32-year-old.
    09/14/03 07:24 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    The Cats Will Hate Us All
    It's shouldn't be difficult to see why I'm so in love with these dogs. Gorgeous pics of a charming and beautiful pup!

    Maybe in Oregon, someday, I can adopt one (that's been brought up with cats, of course) myself. It's too cruelly hot here.
    09/08/03 03:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Bear With Me, Please
    Changes happening in dribs and drabs. I've had a new design under wraps for some time, but I'd like to get the hang of MT before implementing it. Archives and all that stuff will be back when I get brave enough to import my old entries.
    08/30/03 10:57 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Hmm....
    Nope, I have no idea why the comments aren't working. I've dug through the forums a bit, but no eureka moment yet.
    08/29/03 09:30 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ch-ch-ch-changes
    Well, it appears to work. Right now I'm too tired and cranky to play with it any more. Things will look much more normal after this three-day weekend.
    08/28/03 10:32 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Finally...
    Testing!
    08/28/03 09:55 PM in Babble  |  Comments