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.