Tori Rambles

Not-A Blog-a-Puss

2009-08-31T09:21:00.003-04:00

No blogging for mommies. I haven't been writing or reading blogs -- nearly 200 unread items in Reader of those categories I normally read daily. Sitting at the computer -- when not required to be employers -- just isn't a priority these days.

I did take the time to make this animated gif though.

Recent Challenges

2009-05-29T09:13:00.004-04:00

Things that are nearly impossible to complete with a baby in one arm:
- Butter toast
- Use a pen
- Turn the laundry over from a front loader whose door does not remain open unaided
- Fold that same laundry
- Pay nearly enough attention to the dog

Something that is merely annoying to do with a baby in one arm:
- Write a blog post

Two Months Old

2009-05-13T15:09:00.002-04:00

Josie is two months old today. We're struggling with getting her to take a bottle in preparation for my return to work, but other than that, it's blissful. She has been smiling and cooing and gurgling up a storm. She is sleeping for a five hour stretch almost every night. I almost miss snuggling her multiple times during the night but am grateful for the extra sleep. I NEVER thought that five hours would be a lot of sleep for me. I used to sleep nine or ten hours regularly.

Last night Josie and I were cooing at each other at the dinner table -- soooo much fun to have her answer my "oooohs" and "aaaahs." We might need a staff of surgeons on hand for when she says "mama" the first time, because my heart will probably explode out of my chest and onto the floor.

Nicknames

2009-04-23T08:00:00.007-04:00

We knew we'd probably end up calling Josephine something other than Josephine most of the time. At this point "Josie" is winning as the preferred nickname. I really want to buy something with her name on it to put up in her room, but can't yet commit to either of the two names, so I'll wait until we settle on one or the other officially.

As for the silly little pet nicknames, the ones she will never write on her papers at school:

When we first brought her home from the hospital, we called her Monkey for several days, because of the little noises she made. We bought her some pajamas with a monkey on them as an homage to this name (which she has now outgrown).

Maybe she outgrew the nickname, too: My friend Rachel told her daughter Rebekkah that we had a baby named Josephine. She replied, "Oh, like Josefina!" When I relayed to Ryan that our baby's name was shared, in the Spanish pronunciation, with an American Girl Doll), he misunderstood what I said and asked quizzically, "José Peanut?" which, of course, launched a nickname that sticks. So far.

Soooo big!

2009-04-22T19:55:00.002-04:00

I've done such a bad job of documenting Josie's first five and a half weeks -- not just on this blog but anywhere -- that I thought I'd at least jot this down.We officially put away the newborn sized onesies and pajamas today. And our home computing situation is again a bit sketchy up so I can't yet post the picture that documents this momentous occasion.

Josephine Grace

2009-03-18T18:05:00.003-04:00

Everybody who reads this blog already got an email from us on Friday night announcing the arrival of Josephine Grace on March 13th at 9:41 AM. She weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. She also stole our hearts and I'm not sure where she has put them.

I'm trying to post pictures daily to flickr. Posting pictures takes less brain power than writing. More soon. I think.

Amazon.com recommends for me...

2009-03-11T08:55:00.004-04:00

I got this email this morning from Amazon.com. I don't even really have a witty comment for this because it's just too funny as it is. Except maybe, why didn't they recommend part 1 to me first?

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga ~ Jennifer Wolfe have also purchased Primal Man Classics- Turkish Oil Wrestling II on DVD. For this reason, you might like to know that Primal Man Classics- Turkish Oil Wrestling II is now available. You can order yours for just $14.99 by following the link below.

Description
From the historical archives of the Triangle Dream video collection comes this rarely seen documentary of the annual men's oil wrestling competition in Turkey. Shirtless wrestling, no nudity.

Also available, part I.

No news is... no news.

2009-03-10T17:48:00.001-04:00

We saw the midwife yesterday and the baby has dropped, but that could mean still two weeks to go!

Magic Gumbo

2009-03-04T19:51:00.003-05:00

Managing my heartburn has been something that requires ongoing changes in strategy. I was just taking Tums, then shifted to generic Zantac, and am now taking generic Pepcid. Those of you who know how much I hate taking most western medicines know this means the heartburn has made me pretty miserable. It has kept me from falling asleep at night, woken me up in the middle of the night, and prevented me from participating in activities that involve bending my abdomen in the least (which around here is normally just stooping to pick something up off the floor, so I guess that's not a big loss, except poor Ryan has to take on more than his share of the house work).

People have suggested cutting out flour, white flour (or any white starches in general), spicy foods, greasy foods, or soda, not lying down for an hour after eating... the list goes on an on. But nothing has worked consistently. Drinking water before the drive to work has caused worse heartburn than eating a burger and fries for dinner. The medicine has only granted partial relief. I often have to fall asleep sitting up in bed. Last night I learned that lying on my left side caused less reflux than lying on the right. The most frustrating thing is that plain water seems to exacerbate the condition far more than carbonated drinks do. I am eagerly anticipating the day when I can gulp down a tall glass of water without consequence.

Recently though, I think I've found a formula that works. For breakfast: Odwalla Chocolate Protein Monster quenches my thirst and tides me over almost till lunch. Dinner requires a little more variety -- but standard American square meals (meat + vegetable + starch) seem to work well. On Mardi Gras, however, Ryan made gumbo. It was a little spicy, and it was served with white rice and white bread -- but mostly, it was delicious and did not cause heartburn! I got the best night of sleep I'd had in weeks that night. I ate it again the next night. It worked again. So Ryan made a second batch of what we now call "Magic Gumbo" a few days later. I've eaten leftovers for lunch and dinner over the past few days.

So right now Ryan is cooking salmon and asparagus (yum) and, on the side, whipping up a third batch of Magic Gumbo. This batch, however, will not be consumed immediately but will be frozen for easy meals after the baby comes. Even if my heartburn subsides after the baby as one would expect, the Magic Gumbo will get to work its magic on my taste buds once again. My husband pretty much rules.

North vs. South

2009-03-02T09:00:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we got the most awesome snow "storm" I've ever seen, only because it was the first of the season and it was in Atlanta. Big, fluffy, sticky flakes fell all afternoon. We walked (I waddled) with the dog a mile around the neighborhood and caught snowflakes on our tongues like elementary school kids. I don't have a waterproof coat big enough to fit around my belly, but the cold and wet was a small price to pay for such an unusual treat. It was a magical day.

The snow cleared up by at least 7 PM, and Ryan and I went out to dinner around 9, driving safely on roads that were perfectly clear by that time.

This morning I was working from home after a horrible night's sleep (perhaps Eggplant Parmesan doesn't induce labor but, rather, it prohibits sleep?) before my 11:15 AM midwife appointment. I planned to head into work after the appointment. I'm just under two weeks away from my due date and over a week and a half from my last appointment, so I have been eagerly anticipating this morning's visit.

A few moments ago, the midwife's receptionist called me -- from home -- to tell me that the office is closed today ... due to INCLEMENT WEATHER.

Um. What? REALLY? Do I really live here? I guess this is something else about which I can agree with the president.

Eggplant Parmesan

2009-03-01T22:51:00.003-05:00

We learned in our childbirth class that eating spicy food is one way of naturally encouraging labor. Our instructor also passed along an Atlanta myth that one particular restaurant's eggplant Parmesan is nearly guaranteed to cause labor. We have since heard about this legend from countless other Atlantans. We've kept this in the back of our minds for some time now, of course. So when eggplant Parmesan came up in conversation unrelated to pregnancy earlier today, my craving kicked in and we naturally decided to head to Scalini's tonight to try their version.

I felt a little silly ordering the eggplant, but I did. The waitress asked me after she brought our check if we were there to try to have our baby soon, and I sheepishly admitted that we were (my due date is two weeks away). She took my name down and said that if I have the baby within 48 hours, we will get a Scalini's t-shirt for the little one and dinner for two for us.

I put no stock in this myth, but they sure seem to -- check out the wall of Scalini's babies' pictures on their website. It was fun to participate in a little bit of Atlanta legend, though.

Now I just have to digest all that food before I attempt to sleep...

Preparing for Grandmotherhood

2009-02-26T12:34:00.004-05:00

Today I am wearing compression knee highs to help with the swelling in my ankles and feet. They actually feel pretty good and are helping a little.

Apparently I'm pretty lucky, though. This just started kicking in within the last couple of weeks. Some women, like Dooce, outgrow their shoes much earlier in pregnancy.

Stacy Would be Proud

2009-02-20T09:43:00.004-05:00

When I received a job offer from my new non-working-from-home employer back in October, Ryan brought home a gorgeous orchid plant for me. It has been the only real decoration in my cube since October 27. Of its two stems, one has a single remaining blossom, the other has been bare for weeks now. I have never been able to bring back orchids after the initial blooms wilted.

My boss pointed out this morning, however, that the bare stem now has two new buds forming. I'm totally thrilled and even just got off the phone with Ryan to let him know the news. It's the little things, I guess.

Four Years Ago Today: An Official First Date

2009-02-19T09:00:00.004-05:00

I've lifted this entry from our wedding website to commemorate the fourth anniversary of our first real date.

I was joking with Ryan this morning that he freaked out a little bit when we started dating because things were moving a little fast (especially compared with the four years of ignoring the obvious signs that we were supposed to end up together). I mused that he must have been thinking at the time, "OH. MY. GOD. IF THINGS KEEP GOING THIS FAST, IN FOUR YEARS SHE'LL BE NEARLY READY TO DELIVER OUR FIRST CHILD!" And it's not the baby that was scaring him, it was the fact that he'd have to PAINT THE BABY'S ROOM.

*****

"How We Met ... Or, how to woo each other in four short years."

TORI: We met through friends in late summer 2001. We remained casual acquaintances until 2002, when Ryan asked me to the opera. (He had season tickets that year and was apparently inviting all the girls.) I got all dolled up, in an almost-floor-length black gown. But I kept telling myself it was not a "real date," especially since at that time I was 29 and he was 25. After the opera (which we both agree was terrible, unfortunately), I felt awkward, panicked, and jumped into the first available cab that I saw. The evening was made perfect when I ripped the hem of my dress on the way up to my apartment when I got home.
RYAN: I wanted to rip that dress, dammit!

TORI: Ryan shrugged and wrote it off, thinking I was a little weird.
RYAN: I also resolved never to pay for Tori's opera tickets again.

TORI: Despite my poor behavior at the end of that night, we remained friends. I accompanied Ryan to his company holiday dinners for the next two years.
RYAN: Tori was a great stunt date. My co-workers liked Tori more than they liked me. It was the only reason I was invited every year. In fact, I think she still goes to Christmas parties with those guys.

TORI: We spent many hours complaining to each other about our dating lives. I admit to periodically calling my friends and wondering out loud if I should date Ryan. Ryan is not yet forthright about his interest (or not) in me at this point in the story.
RYAN: Yeah, about that. You know how some people pick up subtle hints(tickets to the opera, the ballet, rides home that are waaaaay out of the way) and some people don't...
TORI: You kept telling me that you were interested in all these other girls...
RYAN: Jesus, what does it take? Should I have hit you over the head with a club and dragged you back to my cave?

TORI: At any rate, nothing really heated up till the end of 2004. That year, Ryan asked me to attend yet another company holiday dinner with him, and things just started to click. In January, Ryan took me to the movies on my birthday, and in a stealthy romantic gesture, brought the cake to my party the following weekend.
RYAN: Stealthy romance my ass, I just wanted to make sure the cake was good.

TORI: This whole time, neither of us was quite sure whether this was turning into a romance or was just an extension of our existing friendship. Through the grace of God, we took it a day at a time until clarity arrived....
RYAN: Webcam flirting is HOT!

TORI: .... which it did, on February 19, 2005, when we officially went on a date, to the annual Ignatia House dinner dance. We even shared a slow dance together, and later, our first kiss.
RYAN: The club, the cave...

TORI: The rest is history.
RYAN: Not all of the rest is history, I mean some of it is the present, cuz we are still together. And some of it is future, cuz we are making plans for then, and some of it is pluperfect....

I have a car seat in the back seat of my car

2009-02-18T09:45:00.001-05:00

Yes, I do. Just in case.

A twinkle in my eye

2009-02-16T18:44:00.005-05:00

Wow, it's been a while. I've been really busy lately with .... just getting ready for this baby, I guess. Ryan is wrapping up the second coat of paint on the baby's room right now, and I'm trying to get a quick post in before my eyes go bonkers:

This morning I during American Morning on CNN I noticed an annoying bright spot in my vision. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a bunch of criss-crossed flashing lines of light, knitted together into a crescent shape. I thought it must be from unintentionally looking into a light at some point that morning, but as I tried to wait it out, it would not go away. Then I realized it was spreading outwards and towards my peripheral vision. I got Ryan out of bed (it's his day off, poor guy) and we found this article that scared us a bit more. This is pretty much exactly what happened to me:

Some flashing light phenomena involve the experience of a very distinct, often multicolored or fiery jagged line of light with or without an adjacent black spot in the vision. Such "fortification scotomas" may start in the center of vision and then spread to the side, or start at the side in the first place. Often, if you carefully close one eye and then the other, you will notice that the flashes are actually going on in both eyes, but are just more prominent in one or the other. This type of flashing light typically lasts from 5 to 30 minutes, and may or may not be followed by a bad headache. These flashing lights are different from the flashing lights caused by tugging on the retina described above, and represent the eye portion of a migraine (with or without a migraine headache). This type of flashing lights is usually not serious, but if it is the first time you are experiencing them, or you have any doubts, you should contact your ophthalmologist.

So, knowing that pregnancy can cause eye issues we decided it was best to call the midwife and my optometrist. The midwife's nurse was worried about my blood pressure, so she suggested we stop by for a reading... stopping by is a 12 mile drive though, so we opted to visit our local fire station. One very cute fireman gladly took my BP which was completely normal. (I think I had a tour of a firehouse when I was in kindergarten, but have not been in one since. It was pretty cool, even if the firemen weren't so darn hot in their firesuits.)

ANYWAY to wrap up this boring tale: We visited the optometrist at 10:30 and he dilated my eyes to examine the retina, just in case it was torn or detached. All looked fine to him, so he concluded it was probably pressure on the optical nerve, and he asked if I've ever had migraines (as the article we found would have suggested). No migraines for me in at this point in my life yet, thank goodness.

I quickly realized at home that my full-dilated pupils would not mix well with a day staring at the computer screen, so I called in "sick" and hoped to get some writing on my current project done this evening. However, my eyes feel quite tired from writing this post (which was supposed to be a lot shorter to avoid said tiredness) ... so I guess I'll go fold some more laundry.

Fewer than four weeks to go!

2πr

2009-02-03T08:48:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we had an ultrasound because at our previous visit the midwife was concerned that I was measuring small. It turns out our baby girl is just fine - 5.5 or 6 pounds right now, at 34+ weeks. She's also head-down (as we suspected) and facing my back, in perfect position for birth.

Meanwhile, I routinely wake up around 4 or 4:30 in the morning for no apparent reason. I am usually relatively comfortable in my bloated body (except for the occasional hip pain from lying stagnantly on one side all night). The baby may be lightly kicking, or not. I may or may not have to pee. I just wake up. My brain wakes up, too. Sometimes it ponders how we will ever pick a middle name. Sometimes it tracks to work and everything I have left to do before starting maternity leave.

So early this morning, while attempting to quiet my brain and fall back asleep, my brain rebelliously turned to musing that I'd learned during the ultrasound that the baby's head is about 31 cm in circumference. Since Jr. High geometry class, I don't think I've ever actually needed to use this particular formula, but at about 4:34 AM, my brain was suddenly dividing 31 by approximately 6.28. And then doubling that (my foggy brain didn't realize I could just divide by pi instead of dividing and then multiplying to find the diameter).

The answer is dangerously close to 10 cm. About which my brain immediately asked me, "Isn't that the max dilation of the cervix? Does her skull continue to grow for the next six weeks?"

Needless to say, this did not help me fall right back to sleep. I did sleep, eventually. I trust that my body will figure this all out.

[And yes, I realize the baby's skull is soft and it smooshes into a cone-head for the actual delivery. This math was just a little startling!]

Presidential Traumatic Stress Disorder

2009-01-28T09:04:00.003-05:00

This morning I was preparing my Neil Med Sinus Rinse with CNN in the background. A story came on that mentioned our new president without using his full name. Apparently my knee-jerk reaction to hearing the phrase "The President" is still to clamp my hands over my ears and yell "LA LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Eight years of this does some damage. It might take me a while to realize that "The President" is actually an awesome dude now.

Mommy's Mommy

2009-01-23T12:26:00.004-05:00

My mom is in town this week, to help out with getting us ready for the baby. She has offered to clean, cook, and organize. How could I say no to that??

It's pretty awesome having her around. Not only is it good to see my mom, but yesterday, she straightened up the baby's room, did a butt load of laundry, walked the dog, and planned and cooked dinner - I'm probably forgetting a few things, too. She's made a list of all these organizational tricks and gadgets that I need to apply to my kitchen and laundry (which I've THOUGHT OF, but just never GOTTEN TO). I have a feeling tomorrow (Saturday) will be a busy day. But a fun one.

Happy Inauguration, Mr. Obama!

2009-01-20T09:17:00.002-05:00

Ry and I listen to NPR news while we slowly wake up. There was really only one story to report this morning. After listening for a while, Ryan mused, "The NPR-ers are beside themselves today!"

Yes indeed they are. And so am I.

Best. Birthday Gift. Ever.

2009-01-19T00:01:00.003-05:00

Today is the last full day of the G.W. Bush administration. I don't think I could ever get a better birthday gift. Ever.

The sweet taste of victory

2009-01-17T16:54:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty bummed that Ben and Jerry's new flavor Yes Pecan! is not available in the grocery store. It would make a perfect inaugural-night dessert. Election night I rationalized my pregnancy cravings by eating what I thought was the perfect B&J flavor for that occasion: Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream. (It is DELICIOUS. Maybe I'll have to settle on splitting another pint with the hubby on Tuesday...)

All Positions Go

2009-01-15T10:37:00.003-05:00

As of my midwife appointment Monday and my chiropractor appointment Tuesday, the baby has moved into head-down position.

This is wonderful news. It has also affected me physically in two ways:

1. Her heavy head pointing down is allowing gravity to pull her butt and back away from my internal organs a bit. I think my belly has grown a few inches in only a few days. The maternity yoga pants that were baggy in the "waist" last week are fitting pretty nicely now. People are still telling me that I'm "small" though. It's pretty funny to be 5'10" and of "athletic build" and continually hear that I am "small." This has never happened to me before in my life. Ever. I kind of like it, actually.

2. Anybody else think that having a skull the size of a softball jammed into your already-scrunched-up digestive organs could exacerbate heartburn and reflux? I haven't taken Tums more than a couple of times in the last few days, whereas before I was popping them several times daily. This is also great news!

Grandpa-to-be

2009-01-12T10:37:00.004-05:00

The other evening, I called my dad on the way home from something or other to tell him that I had decided to buy a Garmin, inspired by the Christmas gift we kids chipped in to get for him, highly motivated by the number of times I've had to visit Google maps prior to driving anywhere and then getting lost anyway. (The great sense of direction I once thought I had has gone into hibernation here. Atlanta has a maze of poorly-marked winding roads that offer few alternate routes between destinations, there are no consistently visible landmarks, and the folks who named the roads needed lessons in creative writing. For example, 71 streets have a variant of "Peachtree" in their names.)

Dad had lectured me about driving and talking on the phone when we visited over Christmas, because he had heard recent studies comparing the dangers of talking on the phone while driving with that of drunk driving. (Another article about this came out on Reuters just this morning, in fact). I know that driving and talking on the phone is not a smart thing, but I always tend to think that OTHER PEOPLE are the ones who shouldn't do it. I justify a quick call here and there as "necessary," or longer calls (hopefully with my headset on) as good time management. I do know, though, that it's not a good practice and I need to stop.

So when my father heard that I was indeed driving and talking, he said without hesitation: "If you are driving then I'm going to have to hang up now, because it's the only responsible thing to do as the grandfather of your child." And he did. He hung up. It was pretty much the cutest thing in the world.

Burris

2009-01-06T08:03:00.002-05:00

I've been asking myself for the past few days why anybody would ever accept a senate-seat nomination from Rod Blagojevich.

I was wondering that same thing when a piece on the nomination and career of Roland Burris came on NPR Morning Edition this morning.

It all makes a little more sense now. Especially since he named both his children after himself. Hm.

Oh my aching... everything

2008-12-31T11:51:00.003-05:00

I visited the chiropractor yesterday, at the advice of my midwife. As I reported earlier, the baby is breech. The Webster Technique, administered by a qualified chiro, can help remedy the situation, by relieving "intrauterine constraint" that keeps the baby from being able to move around freely. The midwife sent me to a very specific chiropractor who is very good at this maneuver. Her name is Linda Mullin, and she decidedly rocks.

I decided at my visit to also complain about my various other aches and pains: aching hips when I wake up in the morning, sharp pains in those same hips throughout the day, mid-back pain, and lower back pain. Apparently, part of the Webster Technique's success comes from administering it as the only adjustment to a patient on the same day, so my other pains will have to wait, a sacrifice I will gladly make to help the baby turn into position.

After the treatment (which caused a very satisfying crack to emit loudly from my pelvis and back), Linda checked my abdomen for sensitive pressure points that the tension she had just relieved would have caused. She commented on the strength of my abdominal muscles -- she used to be a physical therapist so I'm taking her word for it. I have been told from time to time that I have an athletic build, but since my career in any given sport is always short and not entirely successful (yoga not withstanding), I always dismissed that assessment (unless, of course, I needed an excuse for my thighs not fitting into a particular pair of jeans). ANYway, she pointed out that women with strong muscles tend to have more aches and pains during pregnancy, since the miraculous hormone that relaxes the ligaments in preparation for childbirth, relaxin, has no effect on the muscles. So when the ligaments get all loosey-goosey in there, stronger muscles are left to try to catch up, causing more aches and pains.

This may be her observation only, I haven't done any research on it, but it was just a little comforting to know this. I have been thinking to myself the past few months: I wasn't in terrible shape before I got pregnant, why am I so achy? Knowing that it might just be the fact that I was in decent shape before I got pregnant makes me feel a little better about the whole situation.

Finally, the doctor taught me a few stretches that she says every pregnant woman needs to know, so please let me know if you are pregnant and I will teach them to you. One of them is even called The Hooker Stretch. Sounds like a fun one for an expecting woman, eh?

Nervously Eyeing Midway

2008-12-24T12:45:00.003-05:00

In my former lives as a consultant and a long-distance telecommuter, I relied on this website from the FAA to tell me if I was going to make it home or not. Now I don't have to look at it as often, but for some reason whenever I do, my departure or arrival city always seems to be orange. Today O'Hare is struggling but Midway seems to be chugging along, not an uncommon occurrence. Hooray for flights to Midway... I hope.

A Little Tough to Motivate

2008-12-23T11:08:00.004-05:00

I only received three days of vacation at my new job this year, since I started at the end of October. I'm actually a little bit relieved that my new employer heavily discourages against carrying vacation days over to the next year, because if they did not, I would have saved those three days to count toward my maternity leave next year (some of which will be unpaid). Instead I am forced to take three days off (six if you count the weekend and Christmas day). When I left my old job, I received two weeks of pay for vacation accrued but not taken, so I am definitely due some down time.

I don't think I have ever worked so many days of the last two weeks of the year, though. The office is pretty empty and it's hard to motivate. Tomorrow will be worse, I'm sure, because I'll be looking forward to my evening flight to Chicago all day....

Seasons Greetings from Skeletor

2008-12-22T16:07:00.007-05:00

We were thrilled to get an unexpected ultrasound this morning at our 28-week midwife appointment. The midwife felt the position of the baby through my belly, thought that she is breech, and then confirmed it via ultrasound. We aren't worried at this point; I have twelve weeks to go, plenty of time for some natural encouragement for her to move her head down. I'm wondering if this explains why I get heartburn when I eat or drink almost anything -- a hard head rammed up into my stomach and lungs can't be quite as comfy as baby 'tocks. (When I say "almost anything" gives me heartburn, I mean it... this morning I drank a sickeningly sweet lemon-lime glucose drink in preparation for my gestational diabetes test, and even THAT gave me heartburn.)

The ultrasound confirmed again that she is a girl ... and gave us a snapshot of a smile more worthy of Halloween than the December holidays, but I'm sharing it here anyway. If you can't decipher the picture: the lightest area in the middle is her sideways jaw. Her eye sockets are to the left of there.

A Guide to Understanding Flow Charts

2008-12-18T13:53:00.004-05:00

I am tewtally copying my friend Kegz by posting a comic from xkcd.com

Cravings

2008-12-12T16:10:00.004-05:00

Everyone asks me if I have had cravings during pregnancy. I already confessed to the bizarre things I ate during the first trimester.

(I never did confess here to the bizarre feelings of contempt I had for my dog and my husband during that first trimester. I could not stand the physical presence of my dog. Or my husband. It wasn't until I realized that I didn't like chocolate anymore, either, that I realized that this change COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE PERMANENT and I had only to wait for the hormones to normalize before I could pet my dog, kiss my husband without grimacing, and EAT CHOCOLATE again.)

With the return of love for man and beast and chocolate has returned a fully-functional appetite. Some might argue that it's overly-functional. In fact, a coworker commented, not unkindly, that he predicted an eighty-pound weight gain for me. That's funny, I said, most maternity office pools are focused on how much the BABY will weigh, not the MOTHER.

So the cravings have been mostly just for food; I vacillate between feeling overly-full and overly-hungry from moment to moment. There have indeed been some strange cravings though, and definitely those items that I want again and again and again once having tasted them. This rather short list includes, so far:

Pinkberry frozen yogurt, for which I mildly curse TK for her introduction to this fabulous concoction which is only obtainable in NYC and California,
Raspberries (I ate about six pints of them in in one week right before Thanksgiving. This trend was probably spawned by the lack of Pinkberry in Atlanta - I had them on top of my fro yo in NYC),
Rotisserie chicken, including Boston Market's Chicken Carver sandwich,
And my current obsession, crispy-shelled tacos (with salsa verde, whenever possible)

The oddest one to me is the chicken. Before I gave up meat about five years ago, I never enjoyed meat, least of all chicken. So to actually CRAVE chicken is very, very strange. (The tacos can be with or without meat, there is just something irresistible about those crunchy shells wrapped around the juicy, savory ingredients ... mmmm... can't wait to get more tacos....)

And I Thought that I Missed the Snow

2008-12-11T12:45:00.006-05:00

It is snowing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana today, home of Ryan's clan.

According to my sister-in-law, Emily, the last time she saw snow there was in 1980, and they didn't get nearly the amount they've gotten today (2-4" is the best I can glean from weather.com).

I have never seen my in-laws so excited. I have gotten three text messages about snow today, two of which are picture messages, all with multiple exclamation points. I got an email with additional pictures of my niece Avalyn playing in the snow, posing next to her snow woman (not sure why a snow WOMAN should be headless - I will leave that one to Emily**).

It's fun and kind of hilarious to see all these grown-ups get so excited about precipitation. And I admit, I'm a little jealous. Okay, a lot jealous.

** Update: The first picture I had of the snow woman was confusing. It looked like a three-tiered creature who had lost its third tier. But then I saw the picture of her FROM THE FRONT!!! I have updated the photo, so cute! Avalyn discovered that you can draw on snow WITH CHALK! Thanks Em!

Little Monday Morning Chuckle

2008-12-08T09:56:00.001-05:00

What to expect when the price of gas falls below zero.

Wii Fit: Six Months Later

2008-12-02T16:11:00.003-05:00

A coworker posted an ad for a used Wii Fit for $100. I guess that's a good deal, since every place that has a lower price doesn't actually have any in-stock items to sell you.

I got curious.

I googled.

I found this guy.

Anybody buy a Wii Fit and like it?

Preparing to Birth

2008-11-26T12:30:00.008-05:00

The past few weeks have been filled with activity preparing for the kind of birth experience I am imagining.

A couple of weeks ago, we hired a doula, Kim from Labor of Love. We are very excited to work with her. We met most of the doulas from Labor of Love at a tea meant to allow prospective moms to choose the woman with whom they click the best. I had imagined at first that my doula would be a mother figure of sorts, but after meeting with them all, I realized I enjoyed and felt very comfortable with the older-sister-like qualities of the doulas closer to my age. I felt like Kim would be a comforting and motivating presence at the birth. She was also skilled at shooting comebacks at Ryan as fast as he was firing off-the-wall remarks at her. (Ryan wrote "Fang" on his name tag at this event, which I'm sure made us quite memorable to the entire group ... I remarked that our doula would have to be a "Fang Wrangler" as well as a doula ... otherwise stated: a "Fangler.")

Two weeks ago, we started a Hypnobirthing class. The class basically teaches self-hypnosis to use during childbirth. Hypnosis really just boils down to "deep relaxation." I am still skeptical at how deeply relaxed I can get - in OR out of labor - but figure anything that helps me learn to breath properly and focus on relaxing can only be good for me and for the baby. What I've learned in this class has also helped me believe that I am capable of birthing, that it doesn't have to be a horrible experience, and I'm actually starting to get EXCITED about birthing. Not just about the baby being here, but about the birthing process itself.

As of Monday, we switched medical practices to Isis OB/Gyn in Roswell, and it is worth every minute of the extra drive. We met with Kay, one of the midwives. She was warm, funny, and attentive. Nearly every midwife and doctor we met at our initial practice remained standing for the entire exam, lingering near the door, and I literally felt like I had to tug them back by their sleeves to ask one or two questions each visit. Kay sat down in a chair and chatted with us. She helped me refill a prescription I need and continued to chat with us at the front desk while we made our next appointments. I was told by a midwife during our very first visit at our old practice: "This visit is more for me than it is for you. We know you're pregnant and the baby is in your uterus. Come back in four weeks. Any questions?" Compared to this most recent visit, it was like night and day. We will also be able to birth at North Fulton hospital now, whereas before we would have been tied to Northside, which has one of the highest C-section rates in the country. To be fair, I know women who have had wonderful birthing experiences there. All the mothers I know who wanted to do natural births, though, favor North Fulton. They also offer water birth, which I'd like to keep as option, even if it just means laboring in the tub for a while.

Finally, I'm reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. This book is also helping me build confidence in trusting my body and my instincts about my own birth experience.

The biggest problem is trying to find time to do everything... yoga, walking, different breathing techniques, 30-minute-long relaxation CDs, reading the books, trying to figure out what baby gear we need to buy and/or register for, sleeping enough, kegels, trying to eat some food with nutrition in it... oh and that little thing called "my job." The baby isn't even here yet and time is already getting tighter!

Spam on the Rise

2008-11-23T09:43:00.001-05:00

And I'm not talking about email.

Mmmm....

Google Map Overlays

2008-11-21T09:40:00.002-05:00

I am probably late to the game in discovering all the fun Google maps add-ons. But just in case you're later than I am, here's a link to the directory.

Baby Names

2008-11-18T08:29:00.004-05:00

I became quite enthusiastic a few years ago when Kegz found and posted about the Baby Name Voyager. It's pretty fun, you should check it out.

This morning I got a website that I will waste similiar quantities of time on, but this time I have a reason to: Nymbler. It suggests names you may like based on a set of "inspirational" names. Love your girlfriend's choice of "Rapunzel" for her baby girl, but don't want to copy her? Nymbler suggests Mehitabel, Rosemary, Ramonita (and others) instead.

(Ha! You thought I was going to let slip some of the names I'm actually looking up, didn't you?)

Baby Got Bump

2008-11-17T17:05:00.002-05:00

Ryan, Maddie and I took a "hike" around Big Canoe a couple of weeks ago.

We took pictures of flora and developing fauna.

Oh yeah, that!

2008-11-07T12:26:00.004-05:00

I never posted on Wednesday, November 5, about the incredible results of the election the night before. I was up till midnight, glued to my television and the internet. The acceptance speech brought me to tears - before it even started.

Today my Gmail had a link to a Larry King interview with Bill Maher. It was interesting, thoughtful, and funny. Excerpt ....

King: You recently issued one of your new rules decreeing that Obama must give comedians something to work with. Any suggestions?
Maher: No. It's very difficult. We have been spoiled, first with Bill Clinton and then George Bush. And here's a president now who -- he's not stupid. He's not angry. He's not a phony. He's not fat. He's not cheating on his wife.
Who needs a jerk like that around for the next four years? Come on.
(LAUGHTER)
But look, he's going to be the president and we're going to have to get over our nervousness about making fun of a black person. He's not a black person. He's the president.

Mommy's Wardrobe

2008-11-06T12:27:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, having all-new clothes, albeit maternity clothes, seemed like an awesome idea.

Now, however, I'm having a few issues with my new wardrobe, especially since I'm no longer a work-from-home gal:

1. Those cute dresses that I bought seemed to fit just fine in the store, but for all practical purposes they are too short to be comfortable in at work. Once my belly grows even more, they will be downright inappropriate to wear to work. (Not that anybody will be checking out my legs, at the rate I'm putting on my "pregnancy" weight - which, for some reason, is also on parts of my body nowhere near the 1-pound baby I'm carrying....) I need to try to find maternity dresses for tall chicks.

2. Waistlines in maternity clothes are a big pain in the ... waist. The first time I tried on maternity shorts I thought "WOW! ALL SHORTS SHOULD BE THIS COMFY!!" Those shorts are still comfy, but it's a bit cold to wear them. The pants, however, are a whole different story. The below-the-belly band doesn't quite stay where it should, so I feel like I might moon my coworkers at any moment. So I wear the pants with a belly band. Which rolls up at the edges so I'm constantly having to adjust it when I stand up. The full-panel pants look funny on me now b/c my belly still dents in a little bit where the band hits it, so it looks like my belly is divided into two fatty sections rather than one pregnant belly. It also doesn't always stay up over that belly, and is slipping down, leaving me again at risk for above-mentioned mooning; at the very least, the band itself shows from under my maternity tops. Very. Sexy.

3. Shoes. My work shoe wardrobe has always been minimalist, because I prefer comfortable shoes that are also stylish enough. Hard to find. Now, I am advised to wear low, chunky heels for optimal support. My favorite pair is a few years old - comfy black Mary Janes. However, it's getting harder to buckle them; my body just doesn't bend that way right now. If I buy a new pair now of shoes now, there is no guarantee that they will fit next month, since my feet will probably be growing. So, why bother? Maybe Ryan will agree to buckle my shoes for the next four months.

4. I won't even bother with a link back to my first post about maternity clothes, but apparently I also risk not knowing how to dress myself in the morning right now. So, there's that.

Campaigning LOLs

2008-11-03T23:26:00.004-05:00

Historically, I am a procrastinator. So it's not a shock to me (or my friends and family) that my first effort to volunteer for the Obama campaign came tonight, on the eve of the election. I must admit that until very recently I thought Georgia was a lost cause. Recent polls predict I could be wrong, so I knew I had to do something or I'd kick myself later. Moveon.org requested volunteers, so I signed up and showed up at the local Obama HQ in Decatur at 7 PM tonight. They put me on phone duty, but I only got to place ten calls before the callers caught up with the data entry folks and we ran out of numbers to distribute for a bit. I reassigned myself to stapling duty for the rest of the night. Those ten calls made a big impression, though. Here's how one of them went:

Me (timidly, since this is only the third call I've placed where a human being picked up, the second of which hung up on me before I finished my first sentence): Hello, my name is Tori and I'm calling for the Campaign for Change here in Georgia. I'm calling for Barack Obama.
Lady on Phone: Girl ... ! We Republicans!
Me (trying to follow the script without sounding ridiculous but also trying not to sound defeated): So, can Senator Obama count on your support tomorrow?
Lady on the Phone: We don't cross that line!
Me (giving up, as instructed by script): Thank you for your time and have a lovely evening...
Lady on the Phone, laughing: I'm just messin' wit' you! Course we votin' for Obama!

The ninth call reached a man who said I was the second person who had called him tonight, and that he planned to vote for Obama. As I thanked him for his support and apologized for the duplicate phone calls, he interrupted me to say that nobody had called to ask for his wife, would I like to speak to her? I said of course I would, and she got on the phone to proudly tell me that she also supports Obama. It was a pretty bitchin' ninth phone call.

I hope I can sleep tonight. I'm excited and nervous. And going to bed. So I can get up early and vote.

Three Things I'm only a Little Bit Tempted to Veer off the Road and Drive Over

2008-11-03T07:26:00.004-05:00

All of which are all over my neighborhood right now.

1. McCain and McCain/Palin signs.
2. Garden waste bags full of leaves.
3. "Slow! Children at play" signs that look like yellow mutant children.

Two out of Three Atlanta Friends Surveyed are Voting for McCain

2008-11-02T19:07:00.002-05:00

No wonder I miss Chicago at times.

Breaking the Silence

2008-10-31T12:21:00.011-04:00

Since I last posted about my last day working from home, we've been up to a lot. Just not a lot of writing:

Visiting our new nephew Brennan in Baton Rouge. He was 3 weeks old at the time and sweet as can be. Pictures soon to follow (issues in uploading pics, see item below about home computing).
Wrapping up my last week on-site at my former employer in Chicago. I stayed with Elizabunny and had a great dinner with Dad and Linda on Friday night.
Eating lots of meat. Especially rotisserie chicken.
Wondering what the future architecture of our home computing environment will be, given the relinquishment of my laptop to my former employer. The IBM Thinkpad is on the fritz and Ryan's desktop is inconveniently situated at present.
Lots of sinus rinsing. Elizabunny was sick with a particularly nasty cold when I crashed on her living room floor. I have somehow escaped it ... so far.
Marveling at the ultrasound of the baby girl we are expecting in March!
Starting my new job here in Atlanta.
Being grateful for my sister-in-law and her stash of maternity clothes that saved me during my first week at said new job.
Finally changing the light bulbs over the front door (they burn out SO quickly) so that the trick-or-treaters will be able to see the skeleton/ghost hanging on our front door and know we're handing out the goods.
Consuming an entire gallon of Garrett's popcorn cheese and caramel mix (which surprisingly is the same ridiculous price on line that it is in O'Hare).
Realizing it's probably going to be less painful to vote on Tuesday than to stand in line at the ONE early voting center available in Dekalb county.
Thinking about volunteering at the Obama office in Decatur on Monday evening.

Last Day

2008-10-17T09:20:00.003-04:00

It just hit me moments ago that today is my last day working from home for this job. We head to Baton Rouge tonight to visit our new nephew, and from there I'm heading to Chicago for my last week of work at my current job.

So, today is the last day I have to work alone at my desk.

I'm really, truly, happy and grateful.

Cats and dogs living together

2008-10-16T14:11:00.003-04:00

This has been going on for a few weeks now, but the dog lingers slightly longer each time. The cat just discovered how comfy the dog's bed is, and the dog has ceded her spot. You can almost see the fear in her eyes....

Tired.

2008-10-14T19:00:00.003-04:00

I am really, really tired. (This is not one of my more refined posts. It's pretty much just a vent.)

Sunday was a long football day. We got up at 8 to get down to the Georgia Dome by 9:30 for a breakfast tailgate. It was totally worth it. Our friends L and T cooked blueberry and banana-nut pancakes, veggie-sausage strata, sausage and more goodies, on their portable grills in Parking Lot A, underneath an overpass in downtown Atlanta. Delicious food and great company.

The game itself was a snoozer until the second half, when the Bears starting to come out of hibernation and actually moved the ball... a bit. Then as everybody who watches Chicago football knows by now, they lost their last-minute comeback in the last 11 seconds.

We headed back to the tailgate, trying a different route than the one by which we had arrived at the game. We promptly got lost in a sea of fans and concrete. The rap music blared loudly, our t-shirts screamed "DA BEARS!" and the proud Falcons fans jeered at us. I panicked a little. It was kinda scary.

We finally found our way back to Lot A, where we enjoyed Part II of the copious spread. Returned home by 7, promptly fell asleep on the sofa for two hours, then woke up to work for 3 more hours before retiring at midnight.

Last night I worked till 11, fell gratefully asleep by midnight, then was awakened by a production support call at 12:30 or so. Up till 1:30. Up again this morning at 8. Long, long, long, terrible day of production support issues and continuing fights with the reports I'm trying to wrap up before my last day at my current job. (Hm... did I post explicitly about having given three weeks' notice last Monday??)

Nervous breakdown at 3 PM when I discovered I'd forgotten the dog in the backyard. She had jumped over the fence as she is wont to do, and rolled in something dead, her recently acquired favorite activity. Found her sprawled out on the neighbors yard eagerly accepting belly rubs. And smelling really, really bad. I scolded her pretty harshly. Just. So. Tired.

Called Ryan, and cried, about how tired I am and how these reports will never be done and how I just want to sleep for three days.

It's seven now. I can't wait to go to bed. I think we finally had a breakthrough on these reports - have a few more things to wrap up in order to get them to the users by tomorrow morning.

Aren't I supposed to be taking care of my body and my baby extra carefully right now? Why am I working so much?

The Highlight of the Game

2008-10-13T09:38:00.001-04:00

I am going to post a longer story about our weekend adventures, which included great seats at a depressing Bears game here in Atlanta at some point soon. But I couldn't wait to share that the highlight of the game was the result of the "In-Game Voting" presidential poll, via text message.

Baggage

2008-10-10T08:29:00.004-04:00

As we all know, airlines recently started charging to check bags.

Interestingly, I flew home last night and just as on the trip out, I was reprimanded about the number of carry-ons I was trying to smuggle through security. I admit that I normally have three carry-ons rather than the permitted "one carry-on and one personal item": my suitcase, my backpack with laptop in tow, and my purse. Until this trip, I have never been bothered by anybody about this; TSA, counter agents, flight attendants, they all let me pass in peace. I can easily fit the backpack and purse under the seat in front of me, so I have felt little guilt about cheating the rules a bit.

Now that they stand to make a profit from their vigilance, they are monitoring the security line more closely for bag counts. To be fair, both women who accosted me on this trip did suggest I place my purse inside my backpack, which I did. However, the motive seems clear to me....

Modern Marriage

2008-10-09T08:51:00.002-04:00

I get daily emails from WhatToExpect.com.

This morning's email started out like this:

Each week we'll send you a note to share with the dad-to-be in your life. Pass it on!

You're being the best partner you know how to be, and one of the things you're doing to earn that position is to sign up for dinner duty now and then. Right?

I had to smile at this one as I read it in the cab on my way to work in downtown Chicago today. I am one of the luckiest women alive. Not only does Ryan do most of the cooking in our family, but he excels at it. I was certainly self-sufficient in the kitchen before I started dating him. However, I am definitely a cook book kind of cook, not a great improviser. He can reproduce meals we've had at nice restaurants and even improve on the originals. His technique with kitchen tools of all kinds is far superior to mine, and I think he's a little frustrated that I still haven't retained the knife basics that he's tried to teach me over the years.

This might be why the other day when I offered to make dinner, he said: "Are you kidding? It will take you twice as long. Go watch TV."

Pink Cloud

2008-10-08T09:29:00.004-04:00

I have officially entered the pink cloud phase of my pregnancy.

Everything is going amazingly well in our lives right now. I could
not be more elated about the simple fact that I am pregnant. I can't wait till the baby comes, but I am also looking forward to the physical, emotional, and spiritual journey the remaining months of pregnancy will bring.

I am also wearing my clothes the right way.

For the time being, fears about this momentous change in our lives have left me. The baby is about the size of my outstretched hand (crown to rump), so the reality and fears of birth haven't sunk in (yet). I have plenty of energy, so I'm (naively) not worried at the moment about the sleepless nights to come. I am showing but not so much that I'm constantly uncomfortable.

All is well, today. Incredibly so.

Enough Already

2008-10-07T21:41:00.022-04:00

Words and phrases I'm either tired of hearing or have not heard that much but simply find ridiculous (without even beginning to get into Peggy Palin-Hill's gaffes):

From McCain:

reaching across the aisle
You've probably never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac until now.
my friends (referring to US Citizens)
maverick
earmarks
it's like nailing jello to a wall
It's not that hard to fix Social Security, Tom.
Senator Obama has never taken on his party leaders on a single issue.
President Reagan is my hero.
Oh wait, no, sorry. My hero is actually Teddy Roosevelt.
I looked in [Putin's] eyes and saw three letters: a K, a G, and a B.
"that one"
What I don't know is what all of us don't know.

From Obama (This is not an unbiased report, so there's only one):

aaaand

And from both of them:

The United States of America is [a/the greatest] force for good.

Now for the truly important stuff: McCain's suit, my sister pointed out, fits him poorly and looks a little... cheap. His tie, it looks like a candy cane. Obama's look, on the other hand, has been tailored to perfection. The muted blue tie is sublime. Perhaps McCain is spending too much money on all his mortgages and has to shop at Mens Wearhouse?

Also. McCain sounds like he's teaching kindergarten when he speaks. His tone of voice is downright condescending.

Just say No to Drunk Typing

2008-10-07T11:27:00.004-04:00

"Mail Goggles" Prevents Regrettable Late-Night Email

This really would have come in handy say, oh, eight years ago.

(Thanks, FC!)

Blogger

2008-10-04T08:41:00.007-04:00

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Ryan started a new blog, to which he's posted one item so far.

I helped him set it up the other day, and we quickly discovered that none of the blogger URLs he wanted were available. I can't remember all the combinations that he tried, but he even got desperate enough to check the availability of Ryan Rambles. I had a similar experience finding my URL, though admittedly Tori is a less common name than Ryan, so I had a little better chance of finding something with my name in it.

The kicker is when I actually looked at some of the blogs belonging to our coveted names. Tori.blogspot.com is a blog that appears to have been started in 2001, and has a whopping total of zero posts on it. I nearly contacted Tori to see if I could take her URL. Though I admit that saying that I ramble is not the nicest thing I could say about myself, this woman's blog is even more more self-deprecating. Her tagline: A bunch of worthless crap dedicated to my worthless life -_-. Apparently there's not a whole lot to say when you think you have a "worthless life."

RyanRambles.blogspot.com is a similarly titillating website. This particular Ryan has posted one entry to his blog, back in August of 2006, entitled "Hooray, you found the first post!"

This is how my Ryan ended up with a name like My Dog is Ridiculous for his blog. I don't think he intends to blog solely about said dog, Maddie. But I have a particularly ridiculous story to tell about her. I am giving Ryan exactly two more days to write about it, then it's all mine.

Fact Checking the Debates

2008-10-03T14:50:00.002-04:00

Factcheck.org does good work.

The presidential candidates.

The VPs. It drove me nuts that Palin kept saying that proposed tax cuts would be "budget-neutral." Waaa...??? Don't budgets involve INCOME as well as EXPENSES?

Sheesh.

Butterfly

2008-10-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

I think I felt the baby move for the first time last week. There is really no other way to describe it than what you hear moms say about those first movements... flutters.

The Disintegration of an Ideal

2008-10-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Prior to becoming pregnant, I hadn’t eaten meat in four or five years. I had had fish once in a while, thanks to Ryan’s extreme talent at cooking irresistible salmon. But no other dead flesh had passed my lips for quite some time.

Early in my pregnancy my appetite nearly vanished. I didn’t have cravings so much as I had things I could imagine possibly … maybe … eating. Over those six or so weeks, our fridge and pantry were stocked with blueberry yogurt, (fresh blueberries, at times), apple sauce, saltines, “good for you” higher-fiber white bread, peanut butter, grape jelly, Apple Jacks, and Fruity Pebbles. I usually supplemented grazing on these foods with one “real” meal per day, which depended on what mood struck me at the time. There were many days of PB&J for lunch and dinner, though.

One evening after work I was watching television when a Subway commercial came on. I was suddenly struck with the notion that what I wanted to eat was a turkey sub from Subway, with cucumbers, tomatoes, and Dijon mustard. I was feeling pretty lousy but courageously drove down the street to our local Subway. During my drive, I started to remember the rather slimy texture of turkey meat from Subway. So while in line I followed the lead of the woman in front of me and ordered a chicken breast sandwich, instead. I knew full well that this chicken breast sandwich was no real chicken breast, but was instead a not-too-distant cousin of the hot dog, made with chicken parts. I ordered it with cucumbers and green peppers. I couldn’t fathom having the texture of the mostly-water iceberg lettuce comingled with the crispier vegetables. (Textures were a very key part of what I could and could not eat back then.)

I wolfed down 95% of that compressed-meat delicacy.

Another day, I was at a picnic. They were grilling up burgers and dogs. I decided hot dogs would taste quite good. I ate not just one, but three of them. Happily.

Since then, I have consumed at least half a dozen more hot dogs, sausage in a scramble at The Flying Biscuit, and several bites of chateaubriand at a wedding. Monday night I stopped by the Whole Foods hot bar to pick up dinner. I got a random mix of vegetarian options for me, and Cajun chicken with all the trimmings for Ryan.
By mid-meal I was gnawing Ryan’s Cajun chicken off its bones.

He took pictures.

Southern Smell

2008-09-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

Ryan ran to the grocery store on Sunday evening while I worked (again). I had asked him to pick up a few personal items for me while he was there. One of them was Secret Platinum deodorant (the only deodorant that seems to work for me). It comes in a bazillion scents; I left that choice up to him, since he sometimes doesn't like the scents that I choose.

Knowing how I feel about all things too southern, Ryan came home with the perfect choice: Southern Peach.

By the way, Ryan is blogging.

We Aren't Kidding about this Thing

2008-09-29T10:25:00.002-04:00

Ryan and I had breakfast with another couple on Sunday at The Flying Biscuit. We weren't sure we should really waste our gasoline on a non-essential trip. But breakfast cravings won out.

We then stopped by a baby furniture store that I'd been wanting to visit, because it wasn't too far out of the way. It was closed. Needing to feel like we're doing SOMETHING to prepare for this child's arrival, we set off for Babies R Us, which was admittedly a little far away. Before long, we got stuck in yet another traffic jam caused by long lines at a gas station.

We changed our minds about the shopping therapy and headed home. Wondering when this will ease up. Public transportation in Atlanta, in a word, sucks. Our local Kroger is 2.5 miles away. By car this takes us under ten minutes. According to Google's new-ish public transportation directions, the same one-way trip, on a roundabout route, would take about half an hour on Marta, including nearly a mile of walking. This would do in a pinch, but this gas shortage has certainly underlined for me what was formerly just a nagging guilt about all the damn driving we do around here.

This morning, USA Today published an update; one particular quote was pretty interesting to me:

The Southeast, the only region of the nation that has no oil refining or major gasoline storage capacity, pumps all of its gasoline in by pipeline, [Kenneth Medlock, energy fellow at the Baker Institute, a non-partisan public policy think tank at Rice University in Houston] said.

How could the only section of the nation with no oil refining or major gasoline storage capacity ... also evolve into a section of the nation with the least adequate public transportation?

The Robot has Arrived

2008-09-28T16:15:00.001-04:00

The Roomba arrived yesterday. I had to wait for it to charge overnight. I woke up today feeling like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn't wait to get downstairs.

Ryan was skeptical, but he was amused by my excitement. The dog and cat appreciated the newest addition to the family the least. The cat was actually pretty indifferent to the little round machine that traipsed haphazardly across our open floor plan, and she even let it bump into her once (that got her out of the way). The dog panted nervously the whole time it was running. We did our best to muffle our snickering when the vacuum scooted towards her from under the couch -- her scrambling exit was swift and anything but graceful.

Our Roomba got stuck twice: once on some tangled cords under the sofa (they've been reworked and will no longer get in the way), and once when it tried to go up the half-inch bump of the fireplace hearth and got wedged between it and the guitar rack in the corner. I'll be playing with the iRobot virtual wall lighthouses to avoid that from happening next time. It also stopped once when it sucked up a rubber band that became so entangled in its rotating brushes that they stopped turning. Finding the problem was easy -- just as the users' guide promised, it sounded a beep that resembled “uh-oh,” then one additional beep which indicated that the brushes could not move.

After circling the floors for about 45 minutes (“Not as loud as I thought it’d be,” says Ryan), it found its home base and docked itself for charging, emitting a triumphant beeping sound. I inspected its work. Overall, I'm quite happy with the Roomba's cleaning performance. The floors feel noticeably cleaner underneath my bare feet today. A lot of dog hair was sucked up into the dust bin. It did not clean the dog hair from every inch of the floor, however. It also seems to have made our kitchen mats hairier than they were before; however, the clumps of hair it left around their edges are much easier to pick up than single hairs strewn about the floor.

We envision putting our new little pal to work a few times a week while we walk the dog -- it wouldn't be fair to her to leave it on while she's stuck in her crate alone. It will be a nice treat to come home to cleaner floors. We will still have to do some spot-cleaning of tiny corners the robot can't reach, and will probably have to pick up a few clumps of hair here and there as well. I also don't know how reliable this thing will be and how long it will last. Overall, I give it a B+ or even an A-.

I want to name our robot. Any suggestions?

Running on Empty

2008-09-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

Since I work from home, I've been fairly sheltered from the gas shortage in Atlanta that appears to have no end in sight. I didn't initially believe Ryan when he called me from work earlier this week, advising that I fill up as soon as possible; the lines at the pumps were snaking into the streets.

I figured I'd wait as long as possible to fill up, hoping the supply once met by pipelines emptied by Ike could be recovered by the time I'd need to replenish my supply.

I recklessly drove to yoga this morning on 3/16 of a tank. Most gas stations I passed resembled an apocalypse movie set. During savasana, the many thoughts I tried to push from my consciousness included, "Where will I find gas?" and, "Will I make it home?"

Fellow students assured me there was gas at the BP just down the road. I attempted to make a stop, but the line was at least 20 cars long, and the cops directing traffic in and around the station were none too friendly. I still had nearly 3/16 of a tank, so I headed home, planning to stop somewhere with slightly shorter lines... if I could find it.

Luckily, I did. I waited only about ten minutes, behind three others cars. Lines had formed behind each side of each pump, so the cars in each line were waiting for both pumps on that side. When I stepped out to swipe my credit card, I noticed that the line I'd quickly shot through had since doubled in size.

I also noticed that a woman had pulled up in front of me, facing me, hoping to bypass the line behind me. I pointed towards her, then towards the end of the line, to indicate that she had to wait on line like the rest of us. She didn't flinch. A hand-scribbled sign adorned the pump urging customers to purchase, at a maximum, eight gallons. I obeyed, and as I took my receipt (surprisingly "cheap" at only $32.99) I again indicated to the woman attentively poised in front of me that she needed to take a number. Again, no reaction. I gave up and pulled away and noticed happily that there was also a car behind me that moved in faster than Ms. Cheater's did. I didn't bother to stay to witness any ensuing drama -- my gas was too precious.

I realize this story is pretty anti-climactic. I just get disappointed when fellow humans behave so selfishly. I'd hope that a common crisis would bring us together, but when it comes down to our basic everyday needs, which in this day and age in a city like Atlanta includes gasoline, it's apparently every woman for herself.

The roomba can't get here fast enough

2008-09-26T16:02:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, I wooted a Roomba.

Yesterday, I took the dog to the dog park.

She gleefully dashed down the hill after a set of rambunctious boxers, not listening as I called her back as she disappeared from my sight. I realized only too late that she was so excited because they were headed to her favorite (and my least favorite) part of the park.... a dirty little creek that runs through it.

By the time she recovered from temporary deafness, it was too late. She was covered in smelly creek water.

A quick bath in the front yard later and she's now shedding her summer undercoat at record speed. The house looks like it hasn't been vacuumed in weeks (and it's been four days). Downy white fur is scattered like snow all over my dark wood floors.

As soon as I get off work we'll be paying a visit to the back yard with the furminator, but I can't WAIT for the UPS guy to come back.

Hooray!

2008-09-25T14:11:00.000-04:00

The Office is back tonight!

Perfect timing, too. Project Runway is down to only four contestants, the end is near.

2.5 Things I Like about Atlanta

2008-09-24T13:17:00.001-04:00

I just got back from a quick walk around the neighborhood with the dog. I took nearly two months off of all exercise during my first trimester. I was feeling so nauseated all of the time that it was all I could do to just watch TV. So I've been trying to motivate and get back into my yoga and walking routine. I'd like to add swimming back in as well, but I'm focusing on those two things first.

It's 73 degrees out and the sky is crystal blue. It nearly reminds me of fall days in Colorado, albeit more humid. I couldn't help but be reminded today that I really do like the fall and spring here. This led me to start creating my mental List of Things I Like About Atlanta. I thought I'd post the start of this list to partially make up for all those times when everybody gets sick of hearing me complain about how much I miss Chicago:

Things I Like About Atlanta
1. Fall
2. Spring

I must interject here that I also love fall and spring in Chicago. However, fall and spring in Chicago are far more fleeting than fall and spring in Atlanta, so I think Atlanta wins the battle for best transitional seasons.

Number 2.5 on my list: Winter.

It only counts for half a point because the winters here are much easier than up north, but I do tend to miss the cold and snow. My Chicago friends tell me I missed one of the roughest winters on record last year, whereas Ryan and I went hiking in t-shirts in February. But I was giddy with delight when it snowed here on my birthday last winter - I imagined it was a gift from the Snow Queen herself. I got the camera out. I felt like a real southerner for that part.

I also really dislike summer here -- but I didn't like it in my former city of residence, either. It's only a few degrees hotter here than on average there. I just do not like heat and humidity. If I had to pick a place to live in summer, it would be Colorado. You can bet I have counted my blessings that I don't have to go through the later months of pregnancy in summer!

(It always comes back to the pregnancy. Sorry about that.)

Sales of Palin Saryh wine plummet since VP announcement.

2008-09-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

Bottle shock

Thanks, SHARON!

It's good to be back

2008-09-22T20:59:00.001-04:00

I just ate a hummus sandwich on 9-grain bread with tomatoes and cucumbers for dinner.

That'll be $1000, please.

2008-09-22T16:31:00.000-04:00

Palin's town charged women for rape exams

EPT?

2008-09-21T19:22:00.000-04:00

The morning sickness has subsided, I'm not as tired as I was (though I AM tired, from working too much this week), but I'm not technically showing yet (though I don't look very good in a bikini, either).

Am I actually pregnant?

Okay, okay - I know I'm pregnant. I'm just in this weird phase where I don't feel or look like I am. The second trimester is rumored to be the best months of pregnancy -for some women, the best months of their lives. I am probably going to look back on this post and laugh in a few months, but I sort of wish I looked and felt pregnant. It would be a little more comforting. I was envying the bigger bellies in my prenatal yoga class yesterday.

Excitement!

2008-09-20T19:44:00.000-04:00

Any day now, my sister-in-law Emily is expecting her second child, who will be a perfect little baby brother to the previously posted adorable Avalyn.

We're very excited and wish we could be there for the big event, but will have to settle for a visit shortly afterwards.

There's one big advantage to being a little late in the child-bearing game... I have a lot of family and friends who have gone before me, who can tell me that it's normal to be repelled by the smell of the dog or my husband's otherwise normal breath. Or that labor doesn't actually hurt, that's just an old wives tale. :)

My blood is boiling

2008-09-17T08:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Ali for pointing these out to me.... I'm a little slow since I don't always get to listen to news in the morning.

Lose your house, lose your vote.

Obama campaign files suit over "voter-foreclosure" plans

If you can't laugh at yourself....

2008-09-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

Last week I mentioned having to shop for a dress for K's wedding. It was, at first, quite frustrating. I tried on about twenty dresses at Macy's, where I had incredibly great luck the last time I went dress shopping. Everything during that visit looked great; it was just a matter of finding the best of many options. This time, however, was an entirely different deal. I am not quite showing yet, but I don't have my normal figure, either. So dresses fell into one of two categories: they made me look a little fat, or they covered my almost-bump adequately but were too revealing for my newly-acquired plus-sized-bust AND were simultaneously too short to be appropriate for a woman my age. (Stacy and Clinton clearly say: No Mini Skirts after 35!)

I finally gave into the siren call of the maternity store. Feeling incredibly silly for walking in looking like I was a woman who had not ever stopped taking her birth control, I was quickly comforted by the sales associate. She assured me that coming in "this early" was quite normal. She quickly found something quite similar to this dress on the sale rack, and it was perfect.

Emboldened by the initial plunge, I also bought a dress for the rehearsal dinner. Then I went a little crazy and bought something to wear to the office. The grey jumper resembled something I had tried on at a "normal" store that just didn't quite fit. So I was pretty excited.

The decision to debut the pregnant-lady clothes during my trip to Chicago last week was nerve-wracking. I wore my normal pants with the buttons secretly fastened with rubber bands the rest of the week. (Thanks, Deborah, for teaching me that trick!!)

Thursday morning, I was ready. I put the jumper on over a white blouse and was instantly dismayed. It wasn't NEARLY as cute as I remembered in the store. I looked less pregnant, too. I was annoyed but simply tied the ever-present-pregnant-lady-bow in the back and headed off to work, proudly sporting my mini-bump for the first time.

I noticed on the way to the office that not only was the dress not as cute as I'd remembered, it was downright unflattering in the back. The butt was poofing out uncontrollably. I spent most of the day walking with my hands clasped behind my back, my notepad tucked under my arm, trying to conceal the poof, feeling resentful that I’d spent money on such a poorly-made garment.

At four o'clock, a coworker stopped by. She's a mom and we've been exchanging pregnancy stories.

"Tori... don't hate me, but I have to ask....

... are you wearing your dress … backwards?"

--- Update, 9/17 ---
Yes. I was. Wearing it backwards.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

2008-09-16T09:12:00.001-04:00

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

Thanks, Aunt Sarah.

Why?

2008-09-08T19:15:00.000-04:00

I used to travel every single week to my client sites when I was a consultant. My last gig took me from Chicago to San Francisco, Monday through Thursday. There wasn't much to complain about those trips except for the sheer length of the flights and the the bad food (American Airlines served meals, then, and I ordered the vegetarian meal which was most frequently sandwich garnish in a whole wheat pita pocket, with nary a bite of protein nestled within). My flights were rarely delayed, however, and though I left home early and got back late, I normally arrived on time.

Now that I fly from Atlanta to Chicago ONCE A MONTH for my job, however, I am delayed nearly every time I fly. The last three trips were delayed, in fact. And so is the flight I was supposed to have boarded 20 minutes ago. We may embark in 40 minutes. There goes coffee with dad after he picks me up at the airport.

13 weeks

2008-09-06T18:32:00.000-04:00

For the most part, yoga has protected my lower back, which is prone to giving out on me, from injury for the last seven years. The "morning" sickness kept me from my practice (which had already been waning, anyway) for most of the summer.

Eight weeks off the mat and one bad night of sleep later, I woke up with back pain the likes of which I can't recall ever having experienced. A trip to the chiropractor on Wednesday seems to have helped, so I decked out for my first prenatal class at Peachtree Yoga this morning.

It was awesome. It felt so good to be doing yoga in a safe environment where the instructor knew what would be good ... and not so good ... for my rapidly changing body and baby. The studio felt like a sanctuary, much more conducive to focus and relaxation than the multi-purpose room at the Y.

After class I chowed down on a salmon quesadilla at the cafe at my local health food store (terrible web site, great food). It was the most food I've eaten at one sitting in a while, as well as the most flavor. And it rocked.

I briefly hit the stores afterwards to half-heartedly look for a dress or two for K's wedding and rehearsal dinner next weekend. I had to wait till the last minute to look since I had no idea what my belly would be like at this point. I didn't find anything. Those 70s blousy dresses are all the rage right now and they would be a logical option for me.... but they just don't look right on my figure. I am hoping not to wear one till my baby bump is bigger than my butt bump.

Came home afterwards to meet our new cat sitter. Then tried to log into work only to find that the database I need is down.

I haven't had this full of a day since we got our happy news. I have ten thousand things to do before I leave for Chicago on Monday. I think I need to prepare by taking a nap now ....

Shenanigans

2008-09-04T20:13:00.001-04:00

I really don't watch The Daily Show frequently enough. I got this link from Mr. Armstrong over at blurbomat.com.

My feeling that Sarah Palin was stretching the truth just a teensy-weensy bit when she spoke last night has been confirmed by objective news sources. Heather Armstrong posted an article worth reading, and I love her description of it:

(please read this, it's a report from the AP, not some spooky liberal blog that wants to kill babies)

Queen of the Hill?

2008-08-29T14:55:00.000-04:00

I was chatting earlier today with my hilarious vegetarian coworker, S, about McCain's VP pick of Sarah Palin. I had recently confessed to S that I had eaten bacon, among other meat products (for reasons I think almost everybody who reads this already knows). We started digging up internet gossip on Palin, and S immediately noticed a similarity to a familiar animated face. She shortly thereafter sent this image to me. (Apparently Palin enjoys hunting.)

Craving

2008-08-21T11:04:00.001-04:00

I would like a gigantic English Muffin, at least the size of a personal pizza, slathered in Earth Balance. Nooks and crannies as far as the eye can see.
Why don't they make them bigger? Before I can fully appreciate the combination of the buttery flavor oozing tastily from within the nooks and crannies, it's already over.

Photography hell

2008-08-19T21:33:00.001-04:00

Friends of Ryan's got married at the Atlanta Zoo last weekend. They were budget-conscious when planning their wedding, something we could appreciate. Unlike us, however, they decided that professional photography was not required. They asked us (mostly Ryan) to take the pics using our relatively fancy Nikon D40. Up until very recently, we have used it only as a better-than-average point and shoot. I understand the rule of thirds. I like composing shapes. I always somehow ignore light. I like setting the camera to the "sport" setting and taking action shots of our dog. That's about as fancy as I get.

I was sure they didn't know the magnitude of what they were asking us to do. I even invited the bride over to look at our professional vs. amateur wedding pictures so she could see what a difference there can be, but she didn't bite. They persisted, we relented.

It was a bit of a nightmare. We had the wrong equipment and ... the wrong experience ... to shoot in this venue. Not only was the bride wearing white as you'd expect, but so was the groom. Oh, and, the ceremony and reception both took place inside a poorly lit white tent. It was an over/under exposure nightmare. Fortunately, when we were vacationing with my dad's side of the family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina a couple of weeks ago, Ryan had spent some learning more about exposure in general from my Uncle Bill. I therefore happily relinquished most of the responsibility for the event to him. He definitely did get some great pictures, but I think he wishes he could have gotten more. I took a few shots of the bride getting dressed, and a few of the groom's family. I tried a few artistic shots of the flowers and decorations, too. This is the only photo I'm relatively proud of.

Those crazy Germans

2008-07-11T17:57:00.000-04:00

Drunk infiltrates team of firefighters

First!

2008-07-09T08:11:00.000-04:00

Even though I work from home and live in an hour-later-timezone than the people I work with, I love it when I log in in the morning and nobody else from my team is on-line yet.

First!

Delayed

2008-06-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

I love sitting on the runway/at the gate on a Sunday evening for a flight that's delayed two hours. It's much better than being at home with my husband and pets.

Guitar Band

2008-06-26T07:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday over lunchtime I went to the bank. After depositing a hefty check that came as a refund from my former mortgage company, I decided I should definitely check out the Game Stop next door to see if they had any Rock Band for Wii in stock.

They did. But the guy at the counter talked me out of buying it - yet. He showed me the latest copy of what I'm assuming is their publication, Game Informer, which promises Guitar Hero 4, complete with drums and microphone, and recording studio (??). Instead of dropping the cash today and then again in the fall, I took a baby step and finally bought that long-coveted second guitar for GH3.

Oh. My. God.

So. Much. Fun.

I'm not saying we won't buy Rock Band for Wii... I think we'll be researching the song sets and seeing how long our infatuation with Guitar Hero Band Career mode lasts before we decide. There's also a lot of Mario Kart yet to be played, as evidenced by the butt-kicking delivered by Jason last weekend.

OK FINE! I ADMIT IT!

2008-06-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

I went to a Braves game last night and I had fun.

Ok?

As much as I whine about hating baseball... I guess I don't.

Ryan and I were planning separate excursions to the ball park with our respective boys/girls on the same night. He then stumbled into free tickets six rows behind the catcher. I sat in the nosebleed section on $6 tickets and watched him eat nachos from my perch. It was a warm, beautiful night, the pizza wasn't bad, the peanuts were even better, and Chipper Jones hit his 400th homer.

I'm a long way from wanting to watch a game on television, though. The ballpark is a whole different, er, ballgame.

He's no Numbnut

2008-05-31T13:51:00.001-04:00

I'd never seen a spelling bee or a movie about a spelling bee, so I certainly wasn't expecting to watch the National Spelling Bee last night. However, I got hooked instantly while listening in when I thought I was surfing to find something else to watch.

I couldn't help but marvel at and root for all of them (okay, ALMOST all of them). By the end of the evening, though, I was cheering audibly when Sameer Mishra took home the cash and prizes (about $40K worth). His even-keeled manner and deadpan humor won me over instantly.

If you missed it, you must see this video from whence the title of this post comes, which is when I really started rooting for this kid to win.

Computer Vacation

2008-05-27T22:10:00.000-04:00

Dad is wrapping up his visit right now with several encores of Slow Ride on Guitar Hero. Yesterday, we walked 1/2 mile straight up Brasstown Bald, Georgia's highest point, and then scarfed down boiled peanuts at a farm stand sporting rebel flags alongside good old American ones. Today was lazy but concluded nicely with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (Without giving anything away: did anybody else think they wanted to preclude the possibility of yet another sequel with that last scene with Indy scooping up his hat?)

What I really wanted to say today is that I think I have spent fewer than 30 minutes a day on-line since my four-day weekend began. It has been downright freeing. I had no idea I felt so handcuffed to this machine.

Real Estates

2008-05-22T10:55:00.001-04:00

What kind of home 1 Million Euro will buy you around the world.

That's about USD 1.6 M. If I had that much money to blow, I'd probably pick Phuket or Marrakesh for the awesomeness factor, but staying state-bound I'd definitely go for the SF flat.

Forbidden topic

2008-05-22T09:02:00.000-04:00

Work is consuming my consciousness from morning into the dark hours of the night; it's not yet invading my dreams but it's only a matter of time. We're struggling with an issue right now that is taking a long time to figure out and an even longer time to fix.

Working from home is wonderful on many levels, but honestly it's not optimal. Without the social interactions and water-cooler BS, I find myself glued to my chair for 8 to 10 hours straight (or more), save a few 10-foot trips to the bathroom and kitchen. I think most will agree that this doesn't usually happen at the office, where coworkers' stories about their kids, birthday donuts and farewell lunches, and even the occasional fire drill provide – at the very least – relief from computer eye-strain. Some might argue that chatting it up with a coworker in the hallway on the way to the office kitchen or the washroom (shout out to Chicago!) sucks up valuable work time.... my jury's still out on that one. I am definitely more productive hour per hour at home than in the office, but those mini-breaks just might increase my ability to focus while seated at my desk.

Perhaps I need to plan to take more time to step away from my desk while working at home. But how do I hire the stand-in coworkers?

This dog, she sheds

2008-05-16T16:48:00.000-04:00

I had planned a whole dramatic post with a series of photos showing the increasing size and number of white dog hair tumbleweeds floating around our dark wood floors. It might not have been the most exciting thing to read, but I was looking forward to documenting just how quickly our hardwood turns into natural fiber carpet.

Then Ryan cleaned the vacuum filter, turning this into a lot shorter project.

We use the shop vac on the hardwoods because there is just that much hair to suck up.

Holy lack of posting!

2008-05-16T16:46:00.000-04:00

Um, yeah, so this isn't going as I'd planned.
Why is it so hard to post when I'm out of town?
And then again when I'm back IN town?

More signs that I'm turning into my mother

2008-05-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I yelled at Ryan the other day for washing his hands with the guest soap after he finished doing the yard work.

Basic Instincts

2008-05-04T19:15:00.001-04:00

As we were saying farewell to to our neighbors who had stopped by for a visit, M and her baby E , we noticed that the first brave baby bird had jumped from the nest and was wobbling across our side yard. M's dog made a dash for the helpless youngster, but M was able to call her off with no harm done.

We breathed a sigh of relief and headed towards the back of the house, looking again for the bird, hoping to get some action shots of his flying attempts... but we weren't in time to prevent what happened next. The poor little thing had decided to head back through our fence towards its nest, underneath which our dog Maddie was waiting. I'm sure the scream that emitted from my throat scared more than just the dog (and probably convinced my neighbors that I am a little crazy). Maddie did drop the fledgling after a second shrill scolding... but it was too late. We buried the little guy near where he had spent a few fleeting moments of his too-short life, hopping and flopping around like a baby bird should.

I'm not sure whether my tears pushed him to do this, but Ryan promptly put up a makeshift fence around the nest so that the other three, when they become bold enough to take that leap of faith, have a fighting chance.

Dinosaurs

2008-05-01T13:07:00.000-04:00

Luckily, they are much cuter from the top.

I've got a set over at Flickr with the rest of the pics.

Slippery when wet

2008-04-27T21:07:00.001-04:00

Today it rained off and on, which is a blessing considering that Atlanta is still suffering from a drought. Yesterday was stormy as well, and so the dog hadn't had any decent exercise in a while. We found out how she felt about it when we came home from Guitar Center yesterday to find what was left of the book that I had borrowed only hours earlier from my neighbor M. Before yesterday, the only canine casualties in the house had been one of the most delicious running socks ever invented, the grey yoga pants my mom made for me, and three of the corners of her own bed. Cause and effect with long delays between the cause (chewing one's bed) and the effect (sleeping on the floor instead of one's formerly cushy bed) aren't lessons readily learned by dogs, apparently.

After several months of keeping her in her crate whenever we left the house, we started giving her the run of the first floor a few weeks ago with no problems so far; so I was stunned and more than a little angry to find the still-wet shredded bits of book strewn about the entrance way. Maddie got a scolding and some bitter apple spray. We got a reminder about how much exercise she needs. (We also think the thunderstorm might have scared some naughtiness in her, or perhaps smelling M's dog Emma on it may have aroused some jealousy.)

Today, in between thunder showers, we took a drive over to the dog park. When we first arrived, we thought we were the only pet owners crazy enough to bring their dog (never mind white dog) to the wet, muddy park. However, as we strolled the short path inside the fenced area, a short encounter with a sopping-wet labradoodle reminded us about the little beach by a widened area of the creek that lay a few hundred feet away. We decided it was warm enough for a romp in the water. These pictures are from a hike we took on an abnormally warm weekend in February, but Maddie exuded just as much glee today as then, her first time to play in water:

On the hike down to the creek through rapidly growing weeds and vines, I slipped more than a few times on slippery patches of mud. When we decided to head back to the car, Ryan slipped on the embankment leading from the creek shore to the main path. Finally feeling vindicated that I wasn't the only who had lost her balance today, I said, "See? That's what I was slipping on before."

Ryan reached his hand out to help me up the same bank, and my feet promptly slipped completely from underneath me. I fell flat on my stomach, face first into the mud; as I landed, a broken branch fell on my head. I was covered in slimy mud the color of newborn baby poo. When I took my Treo out of my coat pocket to make sure the fall hadn't broken it, I saw that the hard landing had created an event on my calendar, entitled: "Eeee."

I'm going to leave it there, it seems to fit.

Maybe they should have fallen asleep at their desks while designing this one

2008-04-25T14:36:00.001-04:00

Britain's Office of Government Commerce has a new logo.
Be sure to check out the gallery of other distrastrous logo designs. Some doozies.

(Thanks Mom... via Jane ... via Eva!)

Frazzled

2008-04-24T18:11:00.001-04:00

This has been one of those weeks where each day I look up at the clock astonished to find it's already 6 PM. Where has my week gone? So much to do... so little time. Literally. Going to bed late last night and then getting up relatively early today didn't help. So I'm pretty much just pooped. Eyes burning, shoulders aching, brain scrambled pooped.

I think a double-header of favorite shows might help . . . new episodes of Lost AND The Office tonight. I heard they will reveal something about the Smoke Monster. That plus a healthy dose of Jim Halpert outta do the trick.

Completely unrelated photo of outlandishly adorable niece Avalyn follows.

Cock-Eyed

2008-04-23T22:59:00.002-04:00

This is one of my favorite wedding pictures of Ryan. Our friend Yvette was our photographer. She brought along Jasmine to take pics as well. We did a couple of traditional things in non-traditional ways at our wedding - for example, Ryan and I both walked down the aisle with both of our parents. I decided early on that since we had two photographers, I wanted one of them to take pictures of Ryan getting ready for the wedding too. I've decided to spare you, Oh Internet, from the shots of Ryan sporting various poses in his underpants (though these are some of my OTHER favorite pictures of Ryan from the wedding).

Hatchlings

2008-04-23T08:41:00.000-04:00

As of yesterday afternoon, the nest is three eggs short and three birds long. It is absolutely amazing to me that almost immediately after they hatched, they started seeking food from their mama and papa. My heart jumps every time one of the little heads wobbles uncertainly but then points to the sky and the beak cranes wide open.

Nature! In my own back yard!

Perfection

2008-04-23T08:11:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we noticed a robin's nest built on the exterior light above our side garage door. The light is located just below the door to our back porch, so we can look down from the porch directly into the nest. A couple of days later we noticed two, then three, and finally four perfectly tiny blue eggs. The parents don't seem to mind that we peer down from time to time. I have to confess that I haven't yet distinguished the male from the female; apparently they look quite similar but the female is paler. I'll pay more attention next time.

The water's always wetter

2008-04-22T19:25:00.000-04:00

Why does Simone always prefer to drink out of Maddie's bowl? It's the same water from the same tap. Whatever it is, the cat shuns her own dainty bowl for the vast expanse of the dog's water served in stainless steel.