Rock of Laughs

I finally watched part of an episode of Rock of Love, because so many people I know watch it that I finally caved. I had to see why seemingly intelligent people were tuning in. From what I saw, it must be the train wreck effect. A horrible, unbelieveable mess, hard to watch, yet oddly riveting.

This was an episode of Rock of Love 2, and it was down to the final three. One decent-looking girl, Destiney, one older-looking one, Ambre, and one complete skank-a-rama, Daisy. They were waiting in their flimsy little outfits for the verdict. The tension!! Bret came down the hall followed closely by his general factotum/bodyguard. The girls (that's what Bret calls them, and it's his show, after all, so I'm going with it) were all on edge. Oh, who will get kicked off and lose her shot at fame? I mean love!

They had reason to worry. Ambre turned out to be 37 but had LIED TO BRET and said she was 31! Destiney couldn't wholeheartedly say she was in love with Bret! Daisy, apparently, didn't have anything to worry about except being the least attractive. Oh wait, that's to me. So that didn't matter.

Bret approached the girls and told them how hard this decision would be, yada yada. He asked if there was anything they would like to say. (Oh, this isn't scripted or anything, NO.) Skank Daisy completely ratted out Destiney and said that when they asked her if she was in love with Bret, she said no, and Skanksy further alleged that if it was anyone else's show, Destiney would be there anyway. Only she made her tattle-tale argument much less coherently. (To give her a break, I'm sure it's hard to think with all that silicone and collagen or Restylane and whatnot surging through your body (or sitting there very stiffly and yet naturally and attractively) and false eyelashes and possibly sequins weighing your eyelids down.)

Bret looked at Destiney as if he was very disappointed in her. "But Dad!" she said. "I mean Bret! I care for you very deeply, I just can't say I'm in love with you yet. I'm not like..." Well, she sort of implied disdain for the other two, I think, but maybe I'm giving her too much credit. Bret "deliberated" and then called Destiney down. She knew what her fate was, Destiney did, and she took it very well. Bret hugged her and told her how much her father had meant to him and that he was sorry, whatever, and he walked her out and cried. He came back in, wiping his eyes in a very manly way, and told the other two -- who are, of course, deeply in love with him, and crying like idiots -- that he wasn't a crier (this may have been one of the only honest things anyone said in the whole show), blah blah, and that they needed to pack their bags for CANCUN!! Whoo!

(Ed. note- With the amount of money he ought to have and how popular this show is, I'd be expecting Cabo at least, but whateves. Cancun it is!)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that he will choose the stripper over Oldy McLiar. (If Rock of Love 2 is already over and everyone already knows which one he chose, SORRY. I have no idea when RoL airs! You know how shows are on all the time nowadays, it's tricky.)

Oh yeah, and I think BM (heh) has a lot of nerve kicking off Destiney ostensibly because she wasn't in love with him. When he was on Ellen (yes, I saw a clip), she asked if he fell in love or not, and he said he'll fall in love when the ratings tank. He tried to play it off like he was just kidding, but please. I hope no one believes these reality shows about love are about anything other than being on TV and making money.

And Bret, no one is fooled by the bandanas and hats or the pictures of you with the long flowing locks. We know we'll see you on Hair Club for Men commercials when Rock of Love FINALLY PLEASE GOD SOON dies its inevitable trashy, sweaty, and slightly sticky death.

(We are also not fooled by the Rock of Love in your pants, Mr. Stuffy McSock.)













On a side note, has anyone else noticed how much ole Stuffy looks like the love child of Michael Keaton and Yoda these days? (It's more obvious on the show. Look and you'll see it.)












+










=

Heeeee!

Who would have thought LiLo had a sense a humor about herself? Go here to see.

Wacky drummer of a Korean band steals the show.

This is hilarious. And probably what Jeff Goldblum will sound like in 20-25 years.

-----

THIS JUST IN: Bunny is still adorable.

He's not as congested as he was, and his fourth tooth is out, so he's feeling better all around, thank goodness.

He clapped yesterday! It's the first time he really got the idea of bringing his hands together (not just toys), and he did it several times, and mimicked us doing it. (For those of you who aren't parents, that right there's a developmental milestone.) That was fun! He also was fascinated with my shirt (a blue tee shirt) and laughed and pulled on it, and then pulled on the neck and REACHED INSIDE. He was like, Hey, I remember those! Anyway, it was hilarious. He was in such a good mood, laughing at almost anything we did. He's such a little dream.

As for me, I am about to start a regimen of allergy medications that could probably take down an elephant, so wish me luck with that. I have some sort of respiratory something disorder something, not just allergies, not quite asthma, but all of the related problems lumped together, so I'll be swallowing pills, inhaling aerosols, and spraying mist up my nose every day for the next little while. FUN. But I'm so tired of coughing all the time, I'd try almost anything at this point.

Très Horrible!

One of Joss Whedon's new projects, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day. It's a musical web short, coming soon, though I'm not sure exactly when. For more information, check out Whedonesque. You know me, I tend to like everything Joss, but Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible? A SINGING Dr. Horrible? Who doesn't want to see that?!

Awwwww

Have you ever seen a baby kangaroo? If not, go here. Adorable!

Twofer!

The last day of the month, but you get TWO posts. Whoo!

Hallelujah

Last day of March, suckas!! I am so glad. And very proud of myself for managing to post every day except one! I'm still mad at myself for that one, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I guess I'll try NaBloPoMo again some other month, but not for a while. It's difficult when you work full-time and have a baby. ANYWAY.

Last night -- or rather VERY EARLY this morning -- I was changing Bunny's diaper. So he was lying on a changing mat on our bed (changing tables are for namby-pambies who care if their backs develop permanent kinks from hunching over to change a million diapers; you know who you are) and I had put a washcloth over his, um, personals, in case he decided to wee, which is pretty common. Something about the breeze, maybe? As I was wiping his little bottom (it was just a wet diaper), I realized he did, in fact, wet the washcloth. With much self-congratulation for not only putting the washcloth there but keeping it there as I cleaned him, I proceeded to put a new diaper on, humming a merry tune. Okay, that's going too far, there's no way I'm humming at 4 am, but you get the idea. As I'm putting the new diaper on, I realized the mat under him was damp. No, wet. Oh no.

I moved Bunny over, thinking, What the...? Okay, I guess he wee'd quite a bit and it ran over a little. Oh, but no. NO. As I moved him, I realized (yes, this was quite a night for realizations) that the side and back of his little pajama shirt was SOPPING WET.

I asked Andrew (who was also up, because why should one be up without the other? No, really, he got up to take the dogs out) to move the mat and see if the bed was wet. And lo, it was much sodden. Well, there was a wet spot on the coverlet and both sheets.

Apparently, Bunny quite fortuitously had a powerfully full bladder when I decided to change his diaper and when he felt the cool breeze wafting around his little joystick, he yielded to sweet temptation and enjoyed life to the fullest.

Well, why not?

Les Miserables

Well, Bunny's fourth tooth is coming in, you can see it now. My poor baby has been sick and cutting two teeth at the same time. Miserable? No, not at all, why do you ask?

He has been remarkably good-natured throughout, it amazes me. I hope he keeps this outlook on life as he grows up. It will make for a happier life for him.

Cruisin'

My parents are planning a cruise later this year and, since they've never gone on a cruise before, they would appreciate advice. So if you have any to give, please let me know! It can be which line is best or worst, any good or bad experiences you had (directly related to the cruise), what ships are best, what areas are best (they're planning Caribbean), how much cash they should take along (if any), if they can take bottled water along, anything at all.

Things I've Learned

Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Mother:

1. Baby teeth are sharp!
2. Baby food is like glue.
3. Baby food is also invisible until you're ready to go somewhere, then hey presto! There it is in the eyebrows, behind the left ear, in the wrist crease...
4. Baby drool is a force of nature; think Niagra Falls, only stickier.
5. Babies are amazingly strong, especially when pitted against my hair.
6. Once baby food is started, poop diapers achieve a level of stinkatiousness that can make a grown man shy like a frightened horse.
7. I'm equally dreading (see "stinkatiousness" above) and anxiously awaiting the start of "grown-up" food.
8. The weight of responsibility for another human being can be overwhelming, even paralyzing.
9. Nothing prepared me for this, or could have.
10. There is absolutely nothing better than having this new little person in my life.

The Many Fugs to 16

One of the sites I really enjoy, Go Fug Yourself, is currently running a competition in the manner of March Madness. They're calling it Fug Madness and they have brackets of celebrities going head to head to see whose fug reigns supreme. Meaning who dresses the worst. And, believe me, there is some stiff competition out there!

So, I am following along and voting on who I think is the worst of the worst, and maybe you should, too. I'm hoping for a final match between Juliette Lewis and Bai Ling or maybe Posh and Chloe Sevigny. I really think Bai Ling has an awesome shot at the title, but who knows what's going to happen.

Besides Fug Madness, they are continuing their usual practice of pointing out the unfortunate -- sometimes calamitous -- fashion paths some celebrities take, apparently willingly, so if you aren't interested in the competition, you can still have a laugh.

Go check it out for yourself.

Hello, McFly!

Funny video by Tom Wilson, best known as Biff from the Back to the Future movies. He was also a coach on Freaks and Geeks, and has done tons of other stuff. I totally lifted this from Fussy, but whatever, it's funny!

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?!

I think this is great, but on YouTube someone said they think the animals are drugged. I don't think so and I certainly hope not.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring

I am stuffed after eating our traditional Easter meal of barbecued ribs. YUM. I also may have partaken of a little chocolate cake.


Bunny (!) was adorable at church in his little navy blazer, with khakis, white button-down, and yellow and navy striped tie. He was a hit! He looked like the world's smallest frat boy. (But a cute one.)


Anyway, happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it, and happy Spring to those who don't. Here's a bunny for you either way:

Sunshine and Ducks and Toys, Oh My!

Today we took a trip to a quaint small town, to take Bunny to see the river and the ducks and go to a nice toy store there. It was fun and Bunny was a dream. He's so well-behaved. He just looked at the people, and the ducks, and the water, and the toys, and whatever else he could see. And he charmed everyone we came near. We are so lucky!

Life

I miss…

• Jacques Cousteau.
  
• Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. (I just saw that this is back!)
  
• The Wonderful World of Disney. (The Disney Channel is not the same.)
  
• the Carol Burnett Show.
  
• Choco-Lite candy bar.
  
• my Big Wheel.
  
• running around outside, doing… I don’t know. A little of this, a lot of that.
  
• playing.
  
• life being wild with possibility.
  

But there are certainly compensations. Now, my life may not be as wild with possibility as it was, but I have a clearer idea of what I want to do with it. And, most importantly, it is absolutely riotous with possibility for my son.

Here's Peeping at You

In honor of the season, some Peeping fun:

Peep Show










Peeps At the Library

Scientific Studies of the Peep

Funny

I had a video by Demetri Martin interpreting the song Selfish Jean by Travis posted here but I was having trouble with it, so if you're a fan of Demetri, Travis, or funny stuff, click here to see it!

Get Me a Prescription Pad, STAT

As I was telling a friend of mine yesterday, the highest reading we got for Bunny's temperature was 101.4° (rectal -- and wasn't that fun!), but we ran off to the emergency room because: (a) we are new parents, (b) his temperature was going UP despite Tylenol, and (c) we are new parents.

He was REALLY hot all over the other night but we didn't take his temperature because he was already crying and Andrew thought he was not as hot as Thursday night, so we gave him medicine and some time to see if he would cool off and he did. Whew. WHEW.

Andrew took him to the doctor yesterday who said he thinks it's roseola, which is what I thought it might be. Who needs doctors when you have a good book?!? Well, okay, they hold the keys to the medicine so I do need them for that. But the conflicting information we got -- alternate Tylenol and Motrin every two hours; alternate but not as frequently; don't alternate at all -- makes me really nervous and even less trusting of the medical profession than I was before.

So, zero?

Top O' the Mornin' to Ye!

An Irish joke for you:

Paddy was shaving when he knocked the mirror off the shelf. It fell to the floor and cracked across the middle. Paddy gazed down in horror. 'Bejabbers, I've cut my throat,' he gasped.

Fun information about St. Patrick's Day here, here, and here.

On the Upswing

After waking up at 2am to find Bunny burning up -- I mean, his whole head, his hands, his neck, his back, his armpits, his stomach, just as hot as could be -- he now seems to be sleeping well and is cool to the touch. Cool, people! He was due for more Motrin at 8:30 this morning and felt cool then. !!! He hasn't felt cool when due for medicine (or even after it, necessarily) since Thursday! We gave him the Motrin anyway, in case his ear or tooth was bothering him.

Oh, how wonderful to feel a nice cool forehead! I never imagined something like that could bring so much plain, unadulterated joy.

Dose by Dose

Poor Bunny is still really sick, running a fever, stuffed up, cutting a tooth, and now with the added misery of gutty-whats in a turmoil from the antiobiotic. We just take it medicine dose to medicine dose, and I'm hanging on to the hope that by this time next week he'll be feeling all better and sporting a shiny new tooth!

Still Sick

Well, we had to take Bunny to the emergency room last night. He's been congested and yesterday really couldn't breathe at all, and then he was running a fever. We gave him some Tylenol, but after about an hour his temperature had gone up instead of down, so we got worried and took him in.

Of course after we got there, they gave him some Motrin and by the time we got called back (two hours later), he had started feeling cooler and had finally fallen asleep. He was up for most of the wait. (This was in the middle of the night.) Then when we finally saw the doctor, she poked and prodded and he cried and then a nurse gave him a shot and he screamed and cried. It was heartbreaking, just inconsolable cries. My poor baby. Anyway, now he has medicine and it seems to help though he is still feverish and out of sorts today. So, send us thoughts, prayers, dollars, whatever. (Just kidding about the dollars. Send hugs and kisses.)

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Go here. Now. Go.

Quiz Show

31%

So, friends, odds are it's not me gnawing your leg.

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

One instance where I don't mind being referred to as mostly dog.

You Are From Mercury

You are talkative, clever, and knowledgeable - and it shows. You probably never leave home without your cell phone! You're witty, expressive, and aware of everything going on around you. You love learning, playing, and taking in all of what life has to offer. Be careful not to talk your friends' ears off, and temper your need to know everything.

What Planet Are You From?

Hmm, I'm not sure how accurate this one is. I do like to know everything, that's true.

Five Things I Hate About DST

I'm anti-Daylight Savings Time. I used to like it but now am completely against it. I can't imagine getting a child -- someday, my child -- to come in from playing so he can eat supper/do homework/get ready for bed WHILE IT'S STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE.

It doesn't even save energy, which is what it was intended to to. And Congress in all its wisdom has EXTENDED it. That's about right.

Okay, so here's the list, five things I hate about DST:

1. It's dark in the morning.
2. It stays light way too late; it throws me all off.
3. Losing an hour (though I admit I like gaining the hour in the fall).
4. It doesn't save energy/money.
5. Congress keeps fiddling with it so my computer would not change over even when I manually re-set the clock; it kept changing back.

Cold Season

I have a cold and it is not fun. I can't breathe and I have a headache; it's as if my head is truly stuffed to capacity. It wouldn't be so bad if colds didn't linger so long with me.

The worst part of it is that I think I caught it from Bunny. My poor baby! I have no idea how he got it; we hardly take him anywhere and wash our hands and all of his things constantly. He is still so good-natured, though. We are really lucky with that. I just hate to hear him struggling to breathe. We've been using the humidifier and saline nasal drops and the aspirator, but it all only helps so much. I can't wait for him to feel better!

Vacation

We're planning a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, in the fall. If anyone has suggestions of places to stay or eat, or things to do (besides the obvious), please let me know!

I Don't Like Those Hermit Crabs

Fun with Internet Explorer

Okay, I was trying to do a meme a friend sent me (thanks for that, Amanda!) and Internet Explorer "encountered a problem" and shut me down! Ugh. I don't have time to re-do it now, so I may get around to it later.

Mea Culpa

Well, I'm out already, as I was afraid I would be. Being at the conference, with no easy access to a computer, I completely forgot to post yesterday until it was too late (the hotel business room, whatever they called it, closed at 5 pm). I'm going to try to post the rest of the month anyway.

Now on to ze lists.

Things I did not like about attending this conference:
1. Not many interesting sessions.
2. Staying in a hotel room -- I always feel like they're dirty. And this one was; not disgusting, but not really what I call clean, either.
3. Being away from my baby!!

Things I liked about attending this conference:
1. Catching up with old friends and prior co-workers. Serious awesomeness.
2. Hearing authors speak about their works. Donald Crews and William Joyce, both fabulous.
3. Um...

Off We Go

Today I have to go to a conference, so tomorrow I may or may not be able to blog. You'd think I could have foreseen this and not signed up for NaBloPoMo in March, but... well, you'd be wrong.

I'll just post an update about Bunny. He's still growing like a weed, sits up fine, stands with you bracing him, because the little dickens is so used to being held or sitting in his Jumperoo that he doesn't hold on! He just assumes he's being held up. So that is something we'll have to work on. We have to get him a new crib because the hand-me-down we're using won't let us drop the mattress any, some of the little pieces that hold the mattress for the lower settings are broken. So until we get that, he can't try to stand in his crib. But we're about to order it! We're planning to get the Da Vinci Kalani in Cherry. PLEASE tell me if you know anything negative about this crib!!!

Well, here I reluctantly go to my conference. I'm going to miss my baby!

Lists!

Things that bug me:

• People who don’t use their turn signals. A little warning before you go haring across my lane to get to the Dairy Queen would be nice, bumblewit!
  
  
• People who go the same speed side-by-side on a highway. The left lane is called the passing lane for a reason, slowpoke, move over already!
  
  
• People who pull out right in front of me and then go 5 miles an hour. What happened to the emergency that caused you to pull out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME two seconds ago?!

(Sense a theme? I could go on, but I’ll move into non-vehicular peeves now.)

• Competitive parents. Yes, it’s amazing that little Johnny is only 8 months old and has already written a novel. I’m sure Harvard will care. I do not.
  
  
• People who block exits/aisles. Hello, you are not the only person in the world! Move on or move over! Grrr.
  
  
• The misuse of its and it’s. Its is possessive, like “The rose has lost its petals.” It’s is a contraction, like “It’s a nice day today.” It’s easy to tell them apart: when you see the apostrophe, just think “it is” and you won’t be confused anymore!
  
  
• How everyone says everything sucks all the time. Find another word, people!
  
  
• How I say everything sucks all the time.
  

So I’m not just a Negative Nellie, here are some things I like:

(Skipping the obvious, like the way my son smells and how soft his tiny hands are and his laugh and his long eyelashes and his tiny teeth and… )

• When all the lights turn green just as I come up to them.
  
  
• When I don’t think I’ve got something that I’m really craving and Eureka! There’s one left!
  
  
• When a good song I haven’t heard in ages comes on the radio.
  
  
• When I get the scissors at the right angle and just slide them up and they cut like a dream. I especially love this because I can’t cut straight to save my life if I think about it.
  
  
• Free shipping.
  
  
• This picture:

Two Days in a Row!

I’m going to try NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) again, as you can see. I don’t know why. I have a conference to go to on the 4th and I'm not sure I'll even have access to a computer! Argh! Oh well, I’m going to make an attempt.

The theme for March being lists helps, though I'll post full-scale ramblings if I have time and thoughts.

Reasons for me to participate in NaBloPoMo:
1. It's good practice.
2. It's a challenge.
3. I get to type NaBloPoMo.

Reasons for me to not participate in NaBloPoMo:
1. It's anxiety-provoking.
2. March may not have been the best month to choose, see above.
3. I'm not sure anyone wants to see 31 straights posts from me!

Okay, Here We Go

Here's a little video to start the month:

People Get Ready

Mommy's Log

I forget that sometimes people check this blog to see what's going on in our lives. Der. Anyway, here's a quick update.

Bunny is still wonderful and fabulous and perfect and all that jazz. He sits up really well, only falling over occasionally, and stands really well if he's held. He babbles a lot and knows some words, like his name, passy (pacifier), bottle, Mommy, Daddy, and the girls' names (the dogs).

The other night I was feeding him (he was in his high chair) and Andrew stood a little behind him and said his name. And he turned to Andrew. (We were testing his hearing because the nurse-practitioner at his last doctor's visit poked him with the ear thing and poor Bunny cried. We're seeing the doctor from now on, thank you very much.) Then Andrew decided to make sure he knows his name and wasn't just looking at him because he heard him speak, so he waited a few moments then said, "Molly." Bunny looked down at the floor! Because he knows that's where the girls are. He did it for Sassy, too, but not Penny, for some reason. Possibly because he thinks her name is "No, Penny!"

Let's see... he eats pretty well, though he doesn't much care for green vegetables. He loves the yellow/orange ones and likes fruits pretty well. He doesn't really like our food yet, I think because he isn't used to the texture. We've tried banana scrapings (okay) and mashed potatoes (okay at first, then a gag) and smashed peas (gag gag gag). It's an adventure for all of us!

He LOVES his Jumperoo! He liked his ExerSaucer but oh, the Jumperoo. He jumps and jumps and then stops, poised on his little tippy-toes. Then off he goes again. It is so dang cute.

He's a fan of American Idol, too. We had it on last night and he watched it for a little while. He got bored when they weren't singing. He loves singing, even his mother's.

That's all for now. I'll post more if I think of anything else.

Good Ole Charlie

Charlie bit me!

This video makes me wonder if we could teach Bunny to speak with a British accent. And then have another boy. And name him Charlie.

A Leg Possessed

This is funny, and yet... that poor dog!

Cutest - Puppy - Ever

(Sorry, Sass)

With Teeth

Guess who has teeth coming in?!

Yes, that's right, I said teeth. Both of my baby's bottom front teeth are coming in AT THE SAME TIME. He is not a happy camper, poor baby. Well, he still is, just a little more cranky than usual.

I would upload a picture but we can't get one; we barely get to see the teeth (just little white lines now). We end up practically doing gymnastics to get at the right angle to see them while he's laughing or talking. If we try to pull his lower lip down (gently, of course, calm down), he sticks his tongue out. And sometimes he just clamps his lips together, and forget it, people, a crowbar ain't prying those little lips apart!

Rock the Party

So my husband and I watched some of the Flight of the Conchords on HBO and then I got him the first season for Christmas and we watched it, and it is so funny. We've seen them somewhere else, too, where they were just performing on stage, but I can't remember what that was, probably a Comedy Central special or something. Anyway, here are a couple of clips from the HBO special. Enjoy!

Business Time (a little racy, not for kids)

Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring

2007 Year in Review

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?

Had a baby!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, & will you make more for next year?

I didn’t really make any, so I guess I kept them fine. This upcoming year I want to get in better shape, like most people.

3. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?

A house.

4. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

Bunny’s birth, of course!

5. Did you suffer illness or injury?

C-section – OUCH.

6. What do you wish you’d done more of / less of?

More learning photography & writing / Less worrying

7. What was your favorite TV program?

The Flight of the Conchords, Extras, Doctor Who, Project Runway, Top Chef, America’s Next Top Model, The Shot, Jon & Kate Plus 8. Wow, I really got into reality TV, didn’t I?

8. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I’m not a hater, though I do wish Paris Hilton didn’t exist. Does that count?

9. What was the best book you read?

Pregnancy/baby books.

10. What was your greatest musical discovery?

The Flight of the Conchords, which is admittedly more comedy than music.

11. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?

Personal fashion concept?

12. What kept you sane?

My baby! While simultaneously making me so exhausted I was hallucinating.

13. Who did you miss?

Friends that I never get to see anymore.

14. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I’m sane but I’m overwhelmed.

Finally, Pictures!

Okay, as promised, here are some pictures.

Visiting the Pumpkin Patch, getting ready for Halloween...

.

.

.

On to...

Halloween!

Beginning of the evening...

.

.

.

.

.

.

two minutes later...

.

.

.

.

Sorry for the dots on this post; what can I say, Blogger STINKS. I had to finagle to get the spacing anywhere near right.

Happy Thanksgiving

...a little late. Ours was good, the food was yummy, but since we are all sick, not as yummy as usual. Poor little Baby Bunny can hardly breathe most of the time. It's really hard to not be able to do more to help him. He's been so good-natured anyway, way more so than I have!

At his checkup earlier this month, he had more than doubled his weight and grown 7 inches since he was born! The doctor said he is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. His head is apparently small, though, in the 25th percentile. The doctor said not to worry about it, so I'm trying not to. He measured my head and said I'm in the 25th percentile, but I don't know if he really checked or if he was just trying to reassure me. Anyway, don't we have quite the little man?! He doesn't look fat, just has huge thighs and chubby cheeks.

Happy Halloween

It's been a while, so I'm just posting a sort of placeholder entry for now. I am hopefully going to be posting a new picture or two soon, so please keep checking! We are planning to upload pictures as soon as we can clear some things off our hard drive.

Baby Boy is great, absolutely amazing and perfect! He is almost 16 weeks old, holds his head up really well, reaches for things, can bring things to his mouth, is gnawing on everything, talks and smiles and LAUGHS OUT LOUD! It is the cutest thing imaginable. If I can figure out how to upload a little movie, you can see him laughing. We haven't been able to catch the best laughs, of course, but we've gotten some.

That's it for now, I'll post pictures or a video soon, I hope.

Wow, two months!

I'm posting a quick update because I know it's been a long time. I've been a little busy, you know!

He is wonderful, precious, adorable, beautiful, perfect... He's sleeping for longer periods at night now (3-5 hours, usually), is growing like a weed, and has discovered his hands. He smiles and laughs and recognizes me and Andrew. It's just amazing, he's amazing, and we're so lucky.

Thanks to everyone who has sent cards or gifts and/or come to visit, it means so much to us!

Voila!

Finally, the post you've all been waiting for! Andrew got pictures uploaded and I've gotten a chance to get on the computer for a minute. So here he is, in all his glory, our handsome and perfect boy:

Update

Alas, still no bambino! He apparently likes it in there. We're in week 39 now; his due date is July 15.

Here is a picture from about 3 weeks ago, so at about 36 weeks. I have some recent pictures where you can see my bare belly, but yuk! Not being Demi Moore, I'm not posting those.

You can see he has definitely grown. The doctors estimate his weight at about 7.5 pounds. I'm ready now for him to make his appearance -- it's really uncomfortable hauling around 7.5 pounds in your belly!

Serious Stuff

Those of you who know me know that I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon's -- mostly due to Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Serenity (though he also worked on scripts for, among other things, Toy Story, Speed, and X-Men) -- and I just came across this article he wrote about a month ago. You should check it out: http://whedonesque.com/comments/13271

I'm It, Apparently

I've been tagged, so I have to post 7 little-known facts about myself. I'm supposed to tag other people but I don't know anyone with a blog, except the friend who tagged me. Get in the twenty-first century, people!

Here are my facts:

1. I hate crowds with a passion, and thus hate shopping at Wal-Mart. (Well, partly for that reason.) The whole experience is just such a hassle.

2. When in kindergarten, we were given dittoes of a flower and told to color it red for our mothers for Mother's Day. Not "color it," mind you; it had to be red. Being the creative rebel that I was, I decided to color it all variations of red, each petal a different color. So here was a carnation pink petal, there was a violet one. All within the red family. So basically following the rules, right? WRONG. The teacher snapped at me, snatched up the offending picture -- that I was coloring for MY mother, remember -- crumpled it up and THREW IT AWAY. Then she gave me another one and told me to COLOR IT RED. With much seething resentment, I did.

3. I've never gone to Spring Break in Florida. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

4. Within seconds of walking outside, I have multiple insect bites. It's like I have an All-You-Can-Suck Buffet sign over my head that only insects can see. Or maybe I just smell that good.

5. I'm so pale that my own father once asked me why I'm so white. I said, Duh, YOUR GENES.

6. When I was little I had a sneaking suspicion that dolls and stuffed animals were alive on some level. Not really alive like I was, but that they had feelings. As a consequence, I was usually very kind to my toys. I think they appreciated it.

7. I once got angry and ran away from home. I only got next door before I thought better of it. After all, the chocolate milk was back there.

Completely Buggy

There don't seem to be any instructions for this game but you'll figure it out and then you won't be able to stop playing.

http://www.donpixel.com/play/en/060413201807/

The Great White Whale!

Finally, here are a couple of pictures of me since my belly has inflated.

April 2007

About 26 weeks along

(that's 6 1/2 months -- out of 10 -- for those of you who haven't been through this)

May 2007

My first Mother's Day

31 weeks along (almost 8 months)

My Big Secret

...and getting bigger all the time.

Yes, we're expecting! I've been waiting to post about it because I want to add pictures but that may or may not happen before the baby actually arrives, so here's the big news...

We are 30.5 weeks along, we are having a boy, everything is on track so far, and we haven't decided on a name yet.

Oh yeah, and we're still looking for a house or land on which to build.

I need some stress in my life. Any ideas?

2006 Year in Review

Here's a 2006 review that I never got around to posting. I shortened it, so I'm hoping it won't bore the pants off you. Or any other article of clothing, really. (Why is it always pants?)

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before?
Hmm… I can’t really think of anything. (And we're off to an exciting start!)

2. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
A baby.

3. What 2006 dates will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Let’s see… I’m no good at dates. I remember we adopted our Boston Terrier, Molly, in February.

4. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Learning photography; writing.

5. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying.

6. What was your favorite TV program?
I like The Office and my husband has gotten me hooked on some sci-fi shows, so I like those… Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica. I keep trying to like Gilmore Girls, but it’s just not very good anymore. My guilty pleasure is America’s Next Top Model, though I wish they’d show much less of the stupidity and much more photography.

7. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I hated Paris Hilton last year, too.

8. What was the best book you read?
I read so many, I’ll have to think about this. I should probably keep a list.

9. What was your greatest musical discovery?
That I’m really not following music at all anymore, and I miss it.

10. What kept you sane?
Sassy and Molly.

11. Who did you miss?
Friends that I never get to see anymore.

12. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I’m sane but I’m overwhelmed. (This applies even more to 2007 so far.)

Me, Me, Me!

According to a CIA personality quiz I took today, I am an "Impressive Mastermind." I wonder if I'll get a call soon?

I also took a Meyers-Briggs test online for about the millionth time in my life and was scored as an INTJ.

Your Type is INTJ

Introverted (56%)

Intuitive (50%)

Thinking (25%)

Judging (20%)

This apparently means that I am moderately introverted, intuitive, and thinking, but only slightly judging. I don't know why they considered the 25% for thinking as moderate instead of slight, but they did.

The INTJ type described by Kiersey states that I am a Rational Mastermind. I'm enjoying this theme! If only I could get the people around me to do what I want. Doesn't that seem like the kind of thing a Mastermind should be able to do? I guess I'm not very good at it. Yet.

Some famous INTJs:

~Real~

Augustus Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus)

Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)

Hannibal, Carthaginian military leader

C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia)

General Colin Powell

Thomas Jefferson

~Fictional~

Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

Gandalf the Grey (Tolkein's Middle Earth books)

Wow. I just went from being completely proud to be in such company to complete despair. What happened to me??

Here She Is, Miss... Something

Finally, here are pictures of Penny. I took the first one not too long after we got her; as far as we know, she's a chihuahua/miniature pinscher mix, though she sometimes looks like she has some pharaoh hound mixed in. She's very small and quick, a little hyper, surprisingly tough, and equal parts frustrating and adorable. The green in her ear is from a tattoo they gave her at the Humane Society. For scale, I'm posting pictures of her with Sassy and Molly. Please excuse the alien eyes in one and the blurriness of the other.

Finger Lickin' Good

Have you heard about the rats in the KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village? Go check it out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=su0U37w2tws

I think the rats look awfully clean and healthy for city rats, but then I'm a small-town girl, what do I know? I just know I always pictured them bigger and sort of greasy and snarling all the time, and these look pretty cute. For rats. In a restaurant. Urk.

Gone to the Dogs

It's been a while, I know. Things have been a little hectic lately. We added to our household recently, because I am either stupid or crazy. Or maybe a little of both. Before you get too excited, it's another dog I'm talking about. Yes, a THIRD dog. Everyone rolls their eyes when they hear that, and I understand, I do too whenever I'm in a buyer's remorse phase. But she's so cute!

My dear husband has been very patient about it. He's almost as soft-hearted as I am, so that sometimes spells disaster or at least Extremely Frustrating Situation, as it did this time.

We've named her Penny because her toenails are copper-colored, which I think is supercool. And she's no bigger than a penny. And she keeps turning up around the house like a bad penny. No kidding, you think she's gone in one direction and suddenly there she is coming from a completely different one! It's a little spooky.

She's coming along with the house-training, though she still has accidents. Our biggest problem so far is keeping her off our bed. She is really determined to be up there. Nothing we've tried is really working, though we have yet to try spraying her in the face with water. It didn't work on Sassy, though, so I'm not holding out much hope it will work with little Miss I'm-All-That. We may have to call Cesar Millan and see if he can whisper her into shape.

I'll post a picture as soon as I can.

Too Much Information?

Single or taken → Taken
Favorite color → Midnight Blue
Sneakers or Flip-flops → Crocs -- they’re comfortable, dammit!
Are you a health freak → Uh, no; wish I were
Do you like yourself → Most of the time

FIRST...
Surgery → Wisdom teeth removal
Best friend → Van Dine!
Award → I think I won an honorable mention in a junior high science fair
Sport you joined → I didn’t really do team sports; I took dancing
Pet → We always had at least one dog; first I really remember are Coco & Taffy
Vacation → That I remember, either Colorado or Disney World (not sure which came first)
Concert → Probably Louisiana LeRoux because I remember a parent chaperoning us (All right, settle down, you remember the song New Orleans Ladies, don’t you? There you go, that’s Louisiana LeRoux)
Love → Alan in 5th grade; he wasn’t worthy. Oh, also Captain Kirk. Totally worthy.

HAVE YOU EVER...
Run away from home → Yes, but I only got to the yard next door
Been arrested → Nope
Turned someone down → Yes
Cried when someone died → Well, of course, I’m not a robot. I cried when a character died on a show last night, as a matter of fact. Of course, the actor also died young a few years after that episode was filmed, so that made it extra poignant.

New Year, New Shampoo

I know it's been a while, but hey! I was busy. Mostly eating, but that's the holidays, right? Anyway, I'm back now though I don't have anything exciting to say. Wait -- of course I do, keep reading!

I've been pondering something that looms rather large in my life, and that is shampoo. Since when did shampoo cease to be something to clean your hair and become some wonderliquid that repairs Nature's blunders, along with any damage you've done to it yourself? Do we need shampoos geared toward every different hair type the industry has defined? Are the formulas really that different? Do we really need Pro-Vitamin B5 in our shampoo?

I miss the good old days, when shampoo was just meant to clean your hair and, incidentally, leave it smelling fresh and clean and sometimes terrific. All the fancy stuff was done with the conditioner. And we liked it that way.

I can't tell you how excited I was to find this not long ago:

Prell, baby! ORIGINAL. The hard stuff. It cleans the dickens out of my hair and doesn't leave any weird stuff behind. Love it!






So, um, I guess that's it. Happy 2007! Do your hair a favor and go buy some Prell. You'll thank me later.

Tragedy in Snow

Click image to enlarge.

Christmas Quiz

You Are a Snowman

Friendly and fun, you enjoy bringing holiday cheer to everyone you know!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Bein' Green

What Color is Your Brain?

GREEN:

At work or in school: I work best by myself. I like to focus on my ideas until my desire for understanding is satisfied. I am easily bored if the subject holds no interest to me. Sometimes, it is hard for me to set priorities because so many things are of interest.
With friends: I may seem reserved. Although my thoughts and feelings run deep, I am uneasy with frequent displays of emotion. I enjoy people who are interesting and of high integrity.
With family: I am probably seen as a loner because I like a lot of private time to think. Sometimes, I find family activities boring and have difficulty following family rules that don't make sense to me. I show love by spending time with my family and sharing ideas and interests.

Take this quiz!




Quizilla

Ever Wondered About Charlie Brown's Skeleton?

Or Shmoo's? Or Marvin the Martian's?

Check it out:

Skeletal Systems

Bizarre in an awesome sort of way. Or awesome in a bizarre sort of way, if you prefer.

Bipolar Express

We watched the movie Polar Express last night, and I confess I spent most of it going, “Wha?” I did not enjoy it, and I’m a big fan of kids’ movies -- when they’re well-done. Granted, I did not read the book, mostly because the illustrations didn’t appeal to me; I’m guessing that reading it would have at least cleared up some of my confusion, because confusion there was.

To begin with, this strange conductor shows up in the middle of night and carts kids away, supposedly going to the North Pole. Okay. It’s a kids’ movie, I’ll stifle my adult urge to scream, “Don’t go with the pedophile, kid!” and go along with it.

After picking up the main character, the "hero" (who is not heroic or even particularly interesting), they pick up some little poor kid who has to sit in the back train car by himself. What is up with that?! He has to sit alone, in a train car that is precariously attached to the rest of the train, where it looks cold and dark, and doesn't even get offered refreshments? I suppose that was a gimmick to show the heroic qualities of the two hero characters, but it just seemed excessively cruel to me. And did I mention gimmicky?

Then there was the ongoing (and ongoing and ongoing) frustration with the ticket, the incredibly dangerous train ride, and the surprisingly inept crew. I mean, wouldn't you think Santa would have the best? The conductor seemed bipolar, the engineer was clumsy and slow, and the guy helping the engineer (not sure what his function was) was like a character out of Dogpatch.

The staff who brought the hot chocolate seemed magical, pouring scalding hot chocolate into cups from yards away while they twirled and sang à la Disney. But then the train ride itself was one ridiculous and dangerous mishap after another. Where was the magic then? I guess the kitchen staff got it all.

Then there was this mysterious hobo character who was there, but then not there, saving other characters now and then. I found him strange and off-putting. He was clearly a gimmick (again), put there just to save characters when they needed it, but why? It seems like any other kind of character could have worked just as well, if not better. This character was mysterious to the point of eeriness. Maybe it was intended as a Homeless-Person-As-Hero Don't-Judge-A-Book-By-Its-Cover sort of lesson? I suspect this is one instance in which the book could help me out.

When they finally got to the North Pole, our protagonists of course managed to get lost because they were DOING THE RIGHT THING (in a very clumsy way), but then of course ended up, despite themselves, where they were supposed to be anyway. Again, Santa's whole operation seemed to be inefficient and bumbling, though one near tragic mishap was -- again, of course -- stopped at the last minute and the conductor said something about the whole operation being a "well-oiled machine." A well-oiled near death trap, you mean.

Then Santa finally came out after much Jonestown-like singing and chanting by thousands of elves all dressed alike, making them disturbingly uniform from a distance, like an army of Christmas Orcs. The elves they showed up close were out-and-out creepy-looking. One might even go so far as to say evil-looking. One of the elves spoke to the poor boy, saying "Trust me" in this sinister serial-killer way, sort of winking like he's a good-natured pirate who really can't be trusted but is charming so you give in anyway. But the elf was supposedly actually trustworthy. So, Mr. Zemeckis, why make him seem sinister and shifty?

Santa was dull and not really on-screen for long and made a big point of saying how he was a symbol of Christmas. Not heavy-handed at all, no. And of course he chose Our Hero for the First Gift of Christmas, though the "hero" hadn’t earned it in any way I could see. Oh, wait, he believed. With all of the proof right in front of him, he took the brave step of believing. Yes, I get it now.

I realize this movie is intended for children and most may have loved it, but I thought it was contrived, ran much too long, suffered from logic gaps that bright children will spot easily, was mostly boring though interspersed with somewhat violent parts that I think would scare young children, and overall, was just downright unsettling.

If There's One Thing I Can Do...

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

Underpants Gnomes Strike Again!

Apparently it’s all the rage these days in Hollywood for young starlets, pop tarts, and heiress wastes of space to go about all panty-less. Maybe it’s the warm weather in California: naughty bits need a little fresh air now and then. No?

It’s not a new idea; we all know Marilyn Monroe didn't wear underwear. Yet La Marilyn didn’t stagger around drunk in micro-minis, struggling to get in and out of limos and yachts and whatnot, either oblivious to flashing everyone or pretending to be oblivious while secretly hoping everyone noticed. I’m sure that many people back in the day didn’t consider Marilyn to be the epitome of class, but look, Ma -- by comparison she seems like such a lady, doesn’t she?

I don’t really see what the appeal is for these young women. Do they think it makes them seem more daring? Devil-may-care? Saucy? Sexy? I think it just seems desperate. Desperate to be considered sexy, desperate to be in the limelight, desperate to have their pictures splashed all over the world, even for this. Do they not care about class, dignity, respect? Okay, okay, that's going too far, I guess, expecting too much.

But does Britney really have to do this to feel sexy? Maybe after having two babies and being married to the bowl of Jello -- tough Jello, though, yo, like green, maybe -- she does. But she was famous for being sexy before all that, more even than for being a singer. She could easily have gotten that back and it looked like she was on her way until she hooked up with the heiress oxygen-suck and broke her own previous record for the downhill run. Not that she’s ever been anything other than trash. We all know money can’t buy love; it doesn’t seem to be able to put a dent in poor taste or a complete lack of class, either.

Though I’m the first to admit that it is indeed bold to go panty-less, staggering around drunkenly flashing your lady parts at whoever might be looking your way is a little too close to the world’s oldest profession for me. And we all know how much respect they get.

Another Reason to Love December

Not that I didn't enjoy NaBloPoMo or think it was a good idea. It was just the pressure.

The same sort of pressure keeps me from subscribing to magazines: the fact that I have to read this, at least some of it, every month, or God forbid, every week, or I've completely WASTED MY MONEY. Ugh. I can't take it. (Except for Consumer Reports. That one I love.)

I don't like feeling obligated. I can't tell you how much I resent flossing; if I didn't have to do it, I wouldn't mind. But oh, since I have to...

I realize it's a weird way of thinking but I've learned to accept it. Just please don't subscribe me to any magazines.

Insanity Explained

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Dedicated Reader
Book Snob
Literate Good Citizen
Non-Reader
Fad Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

The Most Expensive Time of the Year

For my last post as part of NaBloPoMo, which I realize I failed miserably, I'm just going to throw some fun links atcha. Heads up!

http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com
(funny AND they sell stuff)

http://www.missdoxie.com/
(if you don't want to read the post, scroll down to where she starts the gift idea list)

http://www.ohmythatsawesome.com/
(various neat gifties)

http://www.rarebirdfinds.typepad.com/
(again, vng)

http://www.beccalights.com/
(yummy candles)

http://www.hellagoodproducts.com/
(yummy bath products)

By the Thundering Horse of Jove...

You Are a Pegasus

You are a perfectionist, with an eye for beauty. You know how to live a good life - and you rarely deviate from your good taste. While you aren't outgoing, you have excellent social skills. People both admire you - and feel very comfortable around you.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love this time of year. Partly because Christmas is my favorite holiday, partly because the weather is FINALLY cooling off, and partly because, hello, gifts! Giving and getting. Also people seem friendlier this time of year. Or they used to. I think the whole world is grumpier than it used to be, me included.

Anyway, I've got the Christmas music cranked and wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season!

TomGag

I wish everyone would stop talking about Tom Cruise. I don't care about his wedding to Katie, I don't care about how powerful he is or what a superstar he is. I'm really tired of people claiming to speak for all women and how we just love Tom Cruise. I don't. I never have. I didn't like him in Risky Business, when all my teenage friends were crazy about him (yes, I'm dating myself), I didn't like him in Top Gun (same character he played in RB, and he had as much chemistry with Kelly McGillis as he would have had with, oh, I don't know, his sister maybe?), and I hated the whole Jerry Maguire masterpiece of mediocrity. Except for the little boy, he was cute.

Has no one else noticed that Tom plays the same basic character in every movie? Everyone was going on and on about his daring role reversal in Collateral, but it was exactly the same, he was just a bad guy instead of a good one. Let's see him take on Shakespeare or Jane Austen convincingly. Then I might be impressed.

And I don't want to hear him talk about anything anymore. I think he's ignorant and insipid. Perhaps no more than most high school dropouts; perhaps no more than most celebrities. But I don't want to listen to them, either.

True or False

Until recently, I had been reading only non-fiction books, and while I enjoyed them, I wasn’t completely satisfied. I felt gratified, more knowledgeable, and sometimes alarmed or outraged, but not satisfied. It’s like dessert -- I can enjoy a dessert that’s not chocolate, but it just isn’t really dessert. It’s not fully rewarding. It doesn’t make the soul sing.

Now I am back to reading fiction and it is like sinking into a nice, warm, fragrant bath. Or slipping on a pair of perfect shoes. Or meeting a new friend that you feel immediately comfortable with, almost as if you’ve known them before. Aaaah, is what I’m saying.

Mea Culpa

This has been bothering me and I'd just like to say that I wanted my blog url to be littlegraycells but it was taken (by someone who hasn't updated since February of 2005! Grrrr). Since I love Poirot and have the last name Gray, I didn't want to give it up, so I made it littlegraycellz. Normally, I don't like to misspell things and I don't like the downward (dumbward?) slide our language is in, but I made an exception. I suppose I should have been more creative instead, but now it's too late.

I feel a little better.

Good Wife. Now Sit!

(Click image to see larger version.) (Please ignore the marks; they are not mine.) This may be a fabrication; its status on Snopes.com is Undetermined. Still, amusing, in a teeth-gnashing kind of way.

The Joy of Plumbing

Well, we have the plumbers here for the third time in as many months (right? close, anyway) to fix the same problem: our bathtub won't drain.

It goes in a predictable procession: flushing the toilet causes the tub drain to gurgle; we say uh-oh; tub starts retaining fluid; it eventually drains; tub retains with a vengeance; doesn't drain at all; toilet will no longer flush. It's fun!

They're now telling us that they may have to replace the pipes from the bathroom to the street, or wherever it goes. And that might take a couple of days. No bathroom for a couple of days? No problem! Luckily we live in the same town as my parents, so we can stay with them if need be. I just hope that if they have to do that, it doesn't take any longer than a couple of days. And that it really fixes the problem. Which they say is tree roots. Thanks, trees! What'd we ever do to you?

Here are Sassy & Molly, waiting for the intruders to leave:













You can see that they aren't too thrilled with their prison. And who can blame them? Here's what they're used to:













Update: They fixed the problem, again citing tree roots (damn you, trees!), but claiming that they shouldn't cause a problem again for six months. Ha! We'll see about that. It's us against the roots now. This means war.

Now please excuse me, I have to go light some candles to counteract eau de plumber...

Can You Say OW?

That was my first root canal. (I'm sure it won't be my last; thanks for the crappy teeth, Mom and Dad!)

As my little nephew would say, "It was kinda horrible."

Here are a few observations made while under the drill:

• I love whoever created Novocaine.
• X-ray squares HURT.
• When the dentist is cleaning out your tooth canals, it sounds like you’re chewing Silly Putty. (oh come on, you know you’ve done it)
• It's scary when the assistant holds out an implement to the doctor and he looks at it blankly and asks, “What is that?” And then he USES it.
• Root canals suck, but not as badly as letting your tooth go until you’ve got an abscess and it feels like your jaw has exploded when you eat ice cream.

Peace Out

Tomorrow I go in for a root canal, which I am equal parts dreading and eagerly anticipating. My tooth is starting to hurt again a little bit, so it will be good to get it over with. I don't know how I'll feel after it, so I may not post tomorrow. Alas, poor NaBloPoMo!

Attitude

For those of you who don't know, I work in a library and am stuck on the reference desk as my desk, my home away from home, even though I shouldn't be, but that's another story. I just have one question I'd like to pose: WHY CAN'T PEOPLE BATHE AND USE DEODORANT? It's not hard. Have a heart, people.

Now for something kind of related and not really surprising:

Your Attitude is Better than 35% of the Population

You have an average attitude. You take the good and bad in life as they come. Though sometimes you could use a little more good.

How's Your Attitude?

But I'm From Louisiana!

Your Linguistic Profile:

40% General American English

30% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

There Once Was a Little Pea Brain...

Well, if I weren't out of the contest already, I am now, all due to my wee little brain. I had a feeling it would come to this, though I expected to make it further into the month. I wasn't at a computer yesterday so... I just forgot. Until Molly woke us up to go out at 1:30 a.m. THIS morning. Then I oh-so-helpfully remembered. Good job, brain!

Quirks

Does anyone else like House Hunters as much as I do? I suppose I like it so much because we are looking for a house ourselves. Although we don't have nearly the options that most of the people on HH have since we live in such a small town. We're lucky to have a few houses to consider every few months or so. I envy those people their choices.

Those of you who watch the show, tell me which episodes are older: Suzanne Whang with bangs, or Suzanne Whang without? I don't know why I feel compelled to know this, but I do.

My husband doesn't like the show as much as I do, but he loves how in some of them (older or newer episodes, I can't tell!) she introduces herself and then pauses, as if expecting applause. "Welcome to House Hunters. I'm Suzanne Whang." ~pause~ "Joe Schmoe is looking for a new place to live..."

That is funny, but not as funny as a girl on a Standard Deviants video we watched (my hubby is a teacher) who would say whatever she was scripted to, then flash this big beauty queen smile. Regardless of the tone of whatever it was she had just said. That struck me as really funny. Apparently, her Indian name is Desperately Hoping to Be Noticed by a Hollywood Bigwig and Become the Next Julia Roberts Like Sometime SOON So I Don't Have to Do These Lame Educational Videos EVER AGAIN.

I Should Study Science!

You Are An INTJ

The Scientist You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you. You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.

What's Your Personality Type?

Okay, I am kind of an idea rat, I am constantly trying to improve things, and I like to be logical and organized. Skeptical, check. Critical, check. Stubborn, check. But a scientist? I don't think so. I don't have the concentration. I'm more like Frankenstein's monster than the good doctor. Alive, yes, but very confused.

Good Old American Dentistry

So I went to the dentist today. Wow, that was fun! He poked, prodded, drilled, and swabbed his little heart out. It hurt. Verily it hurt.

And I have to have a root canal next week. And my jaw hurts from the shot, and my tooth still hurts from all the drilling and prodding. But at least I can see light at the end of this particular tunnel of doom.

I can't believe I'm looking forward to a root canal.

Well, sort of.

Teeth Shmeeth

I don't know if you've ever had a toothache, or any kind of trouble with your teeth. If not, I hate you and want your teeth. If so, you know what it's like. You can feel my pain.

Because oh, yes, pain there is. It started Saturday night when I was innocently eating a little ice cream. All of a sudden, WHAM. It was like someone hit me in the jaw with a sledgehammer. (Well, okay, since that might actually kill me, I'll change it to a rubber mallet. Those things still hurt.) It was horrible. My whole head hurt. It finally subsided into a dull, throbbing, constant ache that has been with me since. With occasional flare-ups of intense head-shattering pain.

And of course the dentist can't work me in until tomorrow.

I have two crowns where this pain is originating and have been told I need root canals. I'm guessing they were right. And as much as I dread having a root canal, I want this pain over with even more. Just make it stop, that's all I ask. And make sure it never returns.

At this point, I'm willing to have these teeth pulled, if that's what it would take. Just call me Lurleen-Mae. At least I would be gloriously free of pain and able to eat whatever I wanted. Mostly.

I Am So Mad

Well, that's just great. I'm going to be out of the contest now, all because of BLOGGER. I posted yesterday, and at first had trouble getting Blogger to publish; finally it published and the post was there. I even checked my site twice and there was my little post, a few words of wisdom that I liked. So I come in to post today and guess what? Yesterday's post is GONE.

I would love to know how that happened, I would love Blogger to find it and republish it, AND I would love an apology from them for this.

You Can Call Me Scoot

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick.You're always willing to lend a helping hand.In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going."15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Wild Child

While recently reading about the Jersey Devil, I discovered a link to an article on feral children. Reading some of the entries mentioned in that article, I discovered further proof (as if I needed any) that animals really are better than people. (I make a vast, sweeping, and even gross generalization here, I know. I actually do know some very nice people, and a few kind of mean animals, so I recognize the flaw in my sentiment. But still. Overall.)

Here’s what blows me away: first of all, that parents abandon their own children -- okay, that’s shocking enough, but sadly, not as shocking as it should be these days; the really astounding part is that animals take them in -- something that isn’t even of their own species -- and raise them!

Do the animals stop to consider whether or not there will be enough milk to go around, or juicy berries, or yummy rabbits, or whatever? Apparently not.

So, at least in these cases, the animals definitely win the moral tug-of-war.

A previously unknown (to me) and intriguing detail mentioned in several of the cases wherein children were raised by wolves or wild dogs is that the children were found to have exceptional senses of sight, smell, and hearing. I can think of several reasons why this would be so, but it never occurred to me that it would be. I think that’s fascinating.

I guess that’s why I was a psych major in college.

Get Your Post On!

In a moment of reckless abandon, I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo, which is National Blog Posting Month, created by the fussy Mrs. Kennedy. This means I have to post every day for the month of November. Every day.

I did this not just because there are prizes involved -- mmm, prizes -- but also because I think it will be good practice for me to have to write every day. Of course, the biggest problem is going to be my memory. There's every chance that I'll forget, not just because of weekends, when I like to avoid the computer after working at one all week, but during Thanksgiving. A holiday! My memory ain't what it used to be, folks.

Anyway, here goes. Wish me luck, a good memory, and ideas for what to write!