I Cry Over Spilt Milk.

Ummm...yeah...so when you have to fight for every half oz. that you can pump out of the old tata's for the child that's plummeted from the 90th percentile on the growth charts to 45th in a matter of 6 weeks, you do indeed get a little misty-eyed when you wake up in the morning and you forgot to take the pump parts off the tops of the storage containers to seal them up and said milk is spilled all over the yogurt containers and queso jar. And, yes, I realize that there was absolutely nothing grammatically correct about that sentence.

The sad thing is that the amount that was spilled (spilt?) wouldn't be enough to trouble most lactating women, at least those who have a normal supply. It was just overwhelming to wake up to Lac St. Leche knowing that I couldn't just pump an extra bottle here or there because I already pump after every. single. feeding.


On a completely unrelated note, one of my favorite bloggy things to do is go to my sitemeter and see which countries my visitors have come from. Of course, something like 96% are from the U.S., and I have a few Canadian visitors (Hi, Hillary!) But these were the countries that fascinate me...India, Singapore, and the U.K. So India is perhaps my cousin and his wife. Singapore might be Thanga or Li-Ern (some friends from college). The United Kingdom...??? Inquiring minds want to know!! I'm so curious now. How does one end up on my Captain Random blog from India if one is not my cousin?

The Party at Which I Reveal that I'm a Big Nerd and A.J. and Jon Reveal that They are Not

So we had our church small group's Christmas party last night. Fun was had by all (although that is the last time that I attempt to keep the Pea out that late...it was World War 3 trying to get him to sleep, 2 hours past his bedtime...I'm a horrible mother)

Anyhoo, we played boys vs. girls Catchphrase (if anyone is unfamiliar with this game, it's like a cross between Password and Hot Potato. Your team guesses the word your describing, and you pass on the little machine. Whichever team is stuck holding the little machine, the other team gets a point. If the other team can guess what you were describing, they get an extra point). Bill had the phrase "Nimbus 2000", and he described it (very well) as Harry Potter's broomstick. So I'm thinking "Nimbus 2000" or "Firebolt". And I'm just writhing to yell them out. He managed to get them to say "2000", so I'm now just squirming to yell "Nimbus 2000! Nimbus 2000!" Blank stares from absolutely every other person in the room. Time runs out, and Bill sighs and says, "It was Nimbus 2000," before I had a chance to yell it. "I KNEW THAT!" Bill sighs again and gave us the point because he knew that, yes, indeed, I did know that. So, yeah, I'm a big dork (and secretly a 14 year old girl).

But the funniest moment of the evening came when it was Jon's turn. I think this is better written out in dialogue form:

Jon: Okay, I think this guy was on Star Trek."

A.J.: Uhhh...David Spade!

Jon: No...

All the Other Guys: Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Spock, Captain Picard, ???

The word was "Alex Trebek".

To his defense, A.J. said that he just yelled the first name that came to his mind. I'm not sure that Jon has a good defense on this one.

Shark Jumpin' Friday

I decided to change my "jump the shark" posts to Fridays.

And I believe that this story is proof that, yes, indeed, your Chuck E. Cheese franchise has jumped the shark when you have to install metal detectors at the door, and the biker bar down the street doesn't.




On a completely unrelated note...
Overheard in my head yesterday at Wal-Mart:
"I'm sure that the Great Value sausage biscuits are just as good as the Jimmy Dean ones that I normally buy."

Overheard from my mouth this morning:
"Not as good!  Not as good!"

So I'm Curious...

What is your most direct link to a celebrity?

Mine would be a tie between my sister dating Jennifer Garner's cousin in high school and a friend of mine's father being Ed Harris's cousin.


ETA:  I thought of a more direct link than even those.  Bill's Nana (who I claim with full Nana status) is friends with Jimmy Carter.  She even kicked his heiny in high school in a writing competition.

A Bed, A Bed, My Kingdom For A Bed!

Seriously...I need some sleep. And I can't even blame it on the Pea. He's sleeping through (most of) the night. But then again, he also spends about half of his waking hours eating. And he's decided that he doesn't nap for more than 30 minutes at a time...most likely a sleep regression. So post-7:00 p.m. is the only time I have to focus on activities/chores that take longer than 20-30 minutes (i.e. everything but dishes or laundry). Well, and I've figured out how to feed him and e-mail at the same time. It's not pretty, and he gets distracted laughing at the computer screen, but it gets the job done.

But, nay, I'm not getting good sleep. I've gotten to sleep at 11:30 or midnight (shudder) for the last 3 nights. Still, I'll take this over getting up with him at midnight for the first time of the night any day.


Oh, and super shout-out to my little sister who is now a card-carrying genuine Twilight lolfan (and also, secretly, a 14 year-old girl)





And, ehh, a Pea webcam shot just because I like you and he's so cute:

It's Greek to Me!

I got an e-mail a few weeks ago from a professor at my Alma Mater inviting me to send a letter for another professor's retirement party. It was actually sent to an old e-mail address that I rarely check, so I didn't get the message until after the party, but here is what I would have written to Dr. Farthing (I should mention that I was quite the little straight A perfectionist in college...well, life):

Dear Dr. Farthing,
Thank you for being an interesting, eccentric, thoughtful, kind, and intelligent teacher. Your classes made me stop and think, and I enjoyed every one of them.

But the thing I most want to thank you for is my experience in Koine Greek. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Koine Greek, this is New Testament or "Common" Greek, somewhat looked down upon by my friends who took Classical Greek or "Snobby" Greek as I prefer to call it). The class was a bit awkward for me at the time as it was just me and 3 other guys, one of whom I had dated (and broken up with) the year before (we set our schedules before I broke up with him, and we were both too stubborn to give up the class that was only offered every other year). I enjoyed the first trimester, and I did pretty well memorizing letters, basic words, and trying to talk you into including pronounciation of a dead language as a section of the final. And you almost went along with it because you indeed liked my pronounciation. But you fell for the protestations of the boys who sounded like they were coughing up cheeseburgers when they read the text aloud.

I'm sure that you remember your grading system as I doubt it has changed since that class. We could take the final as many times as we liked until we got the grade we wanted. That first trimester, I took the final and missed a few vocab questions the first time around. I went back to my dorm and reviewed. I walked away with an A the next day.

The second trimester kicked my heiny. Apparently, word order meant nothing to the New Testament Greeks. Ex and I were past the "civil" stage and on to the "snarky" stage (culminating a few years later when we ran into each other at a friend's wedding, and he called me a "punk"). I did not enjoy that trimester to say the least.

When I went in to take the final, I was the last one to leave (which is not usual for me). The other 2 guys gave me pats on the back as they left as if to say, "There, there, little greek-iot". You gave me a B-. A mercy B-. I was determined. I went back to my dorm and reviewed. When I came back the next day, I got a B. I was still determined. I went back to my dorm and reviewed. When I came back the next day, I got another B. And you said something to me that forever changed the way I look at a lot of things. You said, "Karen, in Greek, I think you're just a B student." You asked me not to take the Final again. I cried my eyes out.

The final trimester, I memorized the first chapter of I John in Greek and loved it. I went in to the Final, and when I walked into your office, you said, "a solid B performance". I didn't even bother sitting down to go over the test. I said, "See ya next fall!" and walked out smiling.

I wish I could tell you how many times I've looked at myself in the mirror since that day and said, "Karen, in ________, I think you're just a B student." And I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

Thanks--Karen

P.S. I still think you should have included a pronounciation section on the Final. Those boys had no scope of the imagination.

To Start Your Week Off On An Adorable Note...

I'm not sure why this shot cracks me up so much. I took it on the webcam when the Pea was about to call his grandparents. The incredibly messy desk in the background is, of course, mine:

This shot is pure Pea personality...our little suave/goofy baby, raising one eyebrow (wait, he has no eyebrows):

ETA: Can I just say how funny it is that the GoogleAd that's popped up right now is for "Eyebrow Restoration"...hee hee hee.

I Smell Like Vermont.

Apparently, fenugreek is used to flavor artificial maple syrup, and that is exactly what it tastes like (even through the capsule). Maple syrup. When I burp...maple syrup. And reading up on it, it can make your sweat and pee smell like maple syrup, too. Oh, and also the Pea. Maple syrup.

The Epic Battle of the (Not) Thrush 2: Electric Boogaloo

So...not thrush after all.

After all that, it turns out that I have Raynaud's Phenomenon. It is often misdiagnosed as thrush as it has very similar symptoms.  So after spending an obscene amount of money and effort trying to get rid of the yeast, it turns out that all it took was a heating pad and $3 bottle of Vitamin B6.  But the pain is gone, so hooray.  Turns out, sometimes, when you hear hooves pounding in the distance, you should think zebras.

But it would appear that my milk supply never recovered from the initial mastitis (and B6 is known to further deplete supply), so the next step in Adventures in Breastfeeding is attempting to increase that.  I'm crossing my fingers over fenugreek working.  The Pea just isn't gaining at the rate that he should.  Part of the problem (and I'm NOT complaining) is that he's just not fussing about not getting enough and he's sleeping so much at night that he really needs to get those calories in the day.  He's just so dang happy most of the time.  Seriously, he's just too adorable.  He makes baby pandas look like this in comparison.

Home Sweet Hotel

Wow. I'm so ready to be back in my own house.

The Pea seems to have finally figured out that I'm asking him to sleep in a travel crib (the HORROR!) To his defense, it's rather small, and when he rotates around, he gets stuck with his head and feet touching the sides.

And there are no words for how bad Sonny has been (well, no non-expletives). For example--he's not allowed on our couches or chairs. He knows this. This has been a rule since the very beginning. What is the first thing he does when he walked into the hotel room? He curls up on the sofa. Another example--this morning, I ran down to grab some continental breakfast, which has been quite excellent thank you very much, and when I got back to the room, I put my tray on the table and took the Pea back to the bedroom (thank goodness for suites!) for his nap. It took me approximately 3 minutes to put him down, and in that amount of time, Sonny crawled up onto the table and ate my sausage. The jerk! Methinks someone needs another tranquilizer today.

And I think the Pea's going as stir-crazy as I am. He spent most of yesterday afternoon yelling at me. Not like "I'm mad" or "I'm sad" or "I'm wet" or "I'm hungry". I don't know how I knew, but it was just very clearly "I'm bored".

At least tomorrow's check-out day. Then I just get to spend the weekend putting my house back together. :)

Tougher Than My Dog

So I was watching the news tonight (local news, I should specify), and one of the top stories was about this dog that was found in a small town in my area (of Arkansas). I perked up at the story because his name was Sonny just like my oh-so-brave doggy, but Sonny II would kick my dog's heiny.

Anyway, he was found in SmallTown, and when the vet who found him by the side of the road called the owner's # on Sonny II's collar, they discovered the dog had travelled from Chattanooga!! AND Sonny II had to have one of his legs amputated due to a GUNSHOT WOUND. What on earth happened to this dog???

Compare this to my dog's day: We're currently staying in a hotel due to having our floors re-done, and Sonny had to be doped today because he was so worked up over the change in scenery.

Shark Jumpin' Galore!

I think that JumpTheShark is one of the first/only internet crazes that I was an early adopter of. I read an article about it in some magazine in 1997 or 98, and I visited/voted on the site when there weren't that many shows. And I'd just like to point out that I believe they themselves have jumped the shark...oh, right about the time that someone added Jake and the Fat Man.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the origins of the "Jump the Shark" phenomenon, it refers to part 3 of the 3-part episode (which right there should give you a clue) of Happy Days which originally aired September 20, 1977 in which Fonzie literally (ski) jumps over shark-infested waters. Basically, there was nothing they could do after that episode to top themselves...took the cake...it peaked...went downhill...insert metaphor here ________. Happy Days went on to produce more than 100 episodes after that, but you get the gist.

And I'm kind of bored with debating which T.V. shows have jumped and why. The only two which haven't in my opinion (30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother) are the two shows I watch. Well, those and The Office, which repeatedly jumps every time they mess with our hearts with Jim & Pam, but I don't care. And some might argue that HIMYM (or him-yim as Bill and I refer to it) jumped after the second Robin Sparkles video, but I disagree.

But, nay, I am here to discuss a monumental, nationwide shark-jumping of a phenomenon. Which brings me to another internet fad...rickrolling. In case you're one of the 3 people in America who has not yet been rickrolled, here's a detailed explanation. In a nutshell, somebody (say, your little sister) e-mails you a link to check out (something like www dot adorablebabykittensandpuppies dot com or similar), but when you go to the actual link, it takes you to a video of Rick Astley singing "Never Gonna Give You Up". I'm probably not telling you anything new here.

But, HELLO!, did you watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade when ALL OF AMERICA and probably a good deal of Canada got rickrolled simultaneously?? One minute, I was watching some bizarre children's puppet show float that I will unfortunately probably be very well aquainted with in three years, the next minute, it was a rickroll of monumental proportions. Rick Astley LIVE!! And the parade producers didn't even insist that he use an updated track to lip sync to--it was his original recording. It made my day.

So I've decided that I love talking about Shark Jumpin' so much that I'm going to make it a regular feature of this here blog. Feel free to leave ideas for future shark rants. I'll pick an arbitrary day...hmmm...Shark Jumpin' Thursdays (but not this Thursday as I have limited internet access this week due to our floors being re-done...long story involving water damage from Hurricane Ike and culminating in me spending 8 hours a day locked up in a hotel room with an overtired baby and Sonny acting like a squirrel in a paper bag).

Really, Really Not a Geometry Whiz...

Thank you to Megan for pointing out that that would not be two 2X4's. Two 2X3's...no two 3X4's!!

Okay, seriously, I hated geometry.

Geometry Whiz...

I was always pretty good at math in school.  Okay, perhaps I'm downplaying that a bit.  I was one of those students who went and competed in MathCounts and the state Trig competition and such.

However, I always stunk at Geometry.  Not like bad grades stunk...I still got good grades in it, but I hated every minute of it.  Postulums and theorems and proofs...drawing countless cirles and triangles and angles and lines.  I knew that I didn't want to be an engineer or architect, so I didn't really see the point in any of it.

Until last night when I printed off umpteen thousand pictures of the Pea's announcements (and that's a whole other side story of why my child is over 3 months old and I'm just now getting around to sending out announcements. Let's just say that I learned my lesson in the old "I'll just make my own announcements" department.  Crafting is to be used strictly for recreation and gifts at this point.)  Turns out, dividing a 4X6 picture yields not two 2X3's but two 2X4's.  Sigh.  And duh.  So now, the project that WILL NOT END has become the project that WILL NOT END NEVER EVER NEVER NEVER EVER.

Must go and crop a few more pictures.

Cool Kids' Table

I feel like I'm in high school all over again (only with a 3 month old chewing on my arm).

So here's the deal:  I am an extrovert.  I need adult interaction.  Bill and I host a church small group (which we love), and I'm in a women's Bible Study (which I love).  But I would really enjoy having a circle of mom friends for informal get-togethers, playdates, etc.  A Mom's Group, if you will.

And there are many out there.

One of which I remember reading about while I was still pregnant.  It made an impression on me because (a) one of my friends was in it and was quoted in the article, (b) the women in it seemed genuinely tight-knit, and (c) they stressed that they valued "coolness" in their members...they actually used another word but I don't want to disparage the group.  I really appreciated their philosophy of not just being a mom's group, but a women's group--they really acknowledge the fact that you don't cease being an individual just because you have kids.  So they schedule things like girls' nights out sans kiddos.  In short, I'm more than just a pod for the pea.  I filed it away in the ol' noggin as "hmmm...remember this for after the pea bursts forth from said pod."

And today, I decided to look them up online.  And they are...closed/full.  Apparently, I should have submitted an application while still pregnant (I'm not kidding). 

So my question is this:  What would you do?  Wait around for an opening (stare longingly at the bench until a girl named Holly or Jennifer moves away then skootch in)?  Call my friend (Ashely ha, ha that's for you Sara) and see if she can get them to bend the rules and let me in?  Say "forget this, I'll make up my own group!" and then never get around to actually doing it?  Find another group to join?  Any suggestions of specific groups are appreciated if the latter is your vote.

The Tale of Emo Baby (or How I'm Losing the Epic Battle of the Thrush)

So there's a reason why it looks like my child has been in a bar brawl with a magic marker. And the hair...well, sometimes it gets brushed correctly after a bath, sometimes not.



When he was 4 weeks old (that being over 2 months ago), I had a wicked good case of mastitis. The doctor treated it with antibiotics, and my sugar-loving little body (now with milk!) let the candida albicans go wild. Thrush.

So I've tried pretty much everything to get rid of it:
-monistat
-diflucan (lots of it)
-vinegar rinses
-grapefruit seed extract
-garlic
-bleaching everything but the Pea
-changing nursing pads every other minute
-shirtless Thanksgiving '08
-cutting out sugar from my diet

and finally...
-gentian violet (hence the spawn of Pete Wentz above)

And I'm still losing the battle. And I've pretty much given up hope. My doctor, lactation consultant, and dermatologist have all given me the "awww shucks, this is beyond me" headscratch and don't know who to refer me to. The La Leche League friend that my sister introduced me to has been the only one who isn't shocked/disbelieving that the thrush is still hanging around, but I've now tried all of her treatment ideas to no avail. I'm even to the point that I question that it is thrush (although I don't know what else it could be). The Pea has never had any symptoms other than a slight diaper rash. I'm the only one who's symptomatic, and none of my treatment providers seem to give a hoot that it feels like I have knives lodged in my chest.

Oh, and I kind of want to simultaneously hug and punch Salma Hayek for this.

I Won, I Won, I Won, I Won, I Won

I won.

"Deranged" is in the Eye of the Beholder

So how much do I love these dueling celebrity mag sidebars? So fascinating from a psychological point-of-view. (Let me first say that the mags--Life & Style and In Touch Weekly--were found laying in the airport by my hubby, which says something about my secret shame of loving them that I touched and read them during cold & flu season.)

Also, I should add that I'm a Twilight fan (and secretly a 14 y/o girl).

Anyhoo!

It's the SAME picture. But I find it impossible to look at each picture without thinking, "Why, yes, he does look deranged," and "Hmmmm...yes, he is a sexy man." But if you cover up the captions, suddenly, he just looks bemused. And perhaps a little scared. Seriously, anyone who compares the screams of teenage girls to the "sound you hear at the gates of hell" is cool in my book.

And apparently, Angelina Jolie is pregnant again, officially making her the most fertile woman I've heard of in both the biobaby and adoption world.

And the Misnomer of the Year Award Goes To...

Lil' Pea = Not so Lil'. He shall henceforth just be known as "The Pea".

Yep, I pushed out just one oz. shy of a 10 pounder. And he's adorable. And sleeping well (errr...better). He's around 3 months old and cracking me up. He gave me his first belly laugh this morning, and it had me rolling. At first, I wasn't sure exactly what the child was doing...he sounded like a cross between Balki from Perfect Strangers and a baby bullfrog. It is delightful.

So, yes, I'm back to the blogworld (with a cute new template, might I add). I apologize for the weeping and gnashing of teeth that I'm sure was taking place during my hiatus.

Frenemy

So who knew that pregnancy was going to bring a new enemy/best friend into my life? And that frenemy is...food.

Let me preface by saying that food was never really something that I gave much thought to in my life before that second line appeared. I'm not trying to say that I didn't have my body image issues like any All-American Girl, but "food" was just not really something that I dwelled on throughout the day. Kind of like "House" on Fox. It's not really a T.V. series that I give much thought to, but if I'm in the mood to watch a show and I'm flipping through the channels when it's on, I'll stop and watch it.

I've gone through periods of my life where I feel guilt about not eating healthy foods, and I try to remedy the situation. But again, when it's not something that you particularly think about all that much, such intent focus tends to fall by the wayside rather rapidly.

Well, enter Lil' Pea stage left (a.k.a. the world's most beloved, adorable and efficient parasite). All of a sudden, food is an obsession. Am I eating the right amounts of protein? Too much fat? Too little fat? The right vitamins? Did I remember my prenatal vitamin? Am I gaining too much? Too little? When was the last time I ate? Do I need to have a little snack?

But here's what has contributed to the "frenemy" label: at any given moment, I feel simultaneously (to quote my mother) "stuffed to the gills" and "starved off the pockets". Like right now, my tummy is saying, "Oooh...I could go for some Sun Chips", but there's this other part of my tummy (the part that is pushing acid into my throat 24/7) that is saying "Hmmmm...if you eat one more bite, you will either explode or dissolve into a pool of stomach acid."

Adventures in Budgeting

I remember my mom and dad telling me stories growing up of when Dad was in med school and they were newlyweds and so poor that they had to take a clicker counter with them to the grocery store. Once they had clicked their quota of dollars, either stuff had to start going back on the shelves or they had to just stop shopping. It made an impression on me, and even though Bill and I have a more substantial budget than they did back in 1970, I felt the call of the clicker. I just felt like every time I went to Wal-Mart, I was playing Russian roulette at the checkout line...how much would it be? Would I hear the "click" of $57 or the "bang" of $190. And I've gotta tell you, when you get to choose between 2 clicks for Green Giant corn and 1 click for Great Value, it makes you really stop and think, "Hmmm...how many places can corn come from? Iowa or Iowa?"

Bill and I have read several personal finance books lately, and (a) it makes me want to write my own personal finance book and (b) it truly makes you stop and think about that can of corn. That 1 click in the IRA could be worth 100's in 30 years.

On a completely separate note, I give you...

Top 5 Reasons Why Rachel Ray Annoys the Snot out of Me:
5. That laugh...that laugh

4. The fact that her show is called "30 Minute Meals" and I have yet to see one recipe that I could prepare in less than an hour

3. The way that she squeezes lemons and tells you how to squeeze them. every. single. time.

2. The fact that she assumes that people have things like roasted red peppers, porcini mushrooms, and capers sitting around in their pantry

1. The number of times in any given episode that she refers to extra virgin olive oil as "EVOO" and the sheer number of recipes that she puts it in (i.e. everything)

And yet for some masochistic reason, I still watch her show occasionally. Well, I know the reason--her recipes aren't all horrible. Some are quite delish.


OH, and Lil' Pea update: It's a boy! And he's kicking up a storm. I felt it on the outside the other day. It was a like a scene from Star Trek.

There and Back Again

Well, I was in Arizona last week visiting my parents, and it was the most beautiful weather I've experienced in a long time. Cool in the mornings, warm in the afternoons (okay, some days, it was HOT), 0 humidity, wispy white clouds in the sky. Very nice. I approve of the desert. My parents are having a great time there. They got a Harley, claim that they are acclimated to the heat, and a new Target opened up in their town. What more can you want?

But seriously, it is hard having them on the other side of the country. And it's hard having Bill's family on the other other side of the country. I know that we both experience that feeling at the end of trips to visit our families (when we travel without each other) where it's like hitting a brick wall...I miss my spouse, I miss my dog, I miss my friends, but I also know that in just a few days, I'll be missing my parents, my sister (although my little sister is on the other other other side of the country so her visits will be taking place here for awhile especially with Lil' Pea in me).

So that's just lots of rambling to say that I miss my side of the family and Bill's side of the family, yet the air travel to get to said families has put a big X on any trips for the next year or so. It's hard enough taking a baby on a plane when it's inside you. Forget about it when the other passengers can hear the cries, smell the poops, and germs don't get filtered through my immune system first.

On a completely unrelated note, have you been to my sister Ellen's Etsy shop? So far, she is selling these adorable portraits for parents adopting from China, but there's a rumor (okay, I'm starting it, but I've already discussed this with her) that she'll be selling other children's portraits soon as well as little ornaments, her cartoons, and other fun stuff. And, yes, I still have plans to start up my own Etsy shop (I even have username set up). However, I'm just now getting over the nausea phase of pregnancy, so I'm just now feeling back to my self and creative. I'll keep you updated and even add "Etsy" as a blog post label. :)

Welcome to the Shire

Yes, pregnancy has turned me into a Hobbit, at least for the first trimester (which I recently said au revoir to and, to be honest, will not miss).

So, yeah, pretty much, right after breakfast, I'm like, "But what about 2nd breakfast? Elevensies? Lunch? Snack? Supper? Dinner?"

I don't know if I've ever blogged about this before, but Bill and I have decided that during pregnancy, the Puppy Rule is more important than ever. Basically, we both realized after about a year of marriage, that the way to keep me happiest was to think of my needs as a puppy's.

Karen is happiest when:
1. Fed
2. Well-Rested
3. Feeling safe
4. Being snuggled
5. Dry
6. Feeling loved
7. Warm

Typically, all or almost all of these conditions are being met. Occasionally, several of them aren't. I can only think of one time that every single condition was being broken at once. That was in New York around this time last year, when Bill and I were there over St. Patrick's Day. I shall not speak of that trip anymore other than to say that, at one point, it felt like someone had come and stepped on my tail.

Fast forward to now, I just have to say that I have the best husband in the world. He doesn't complain about the pillow fortress of solitude that I have set up in the bed, leaving him about 6 inches to sleep on. He, at one point, stopped at 2 separate fast-food restaurants on the way to church for me to get breakfast biscuits. He scooped all of Sunny's poo out of the yard for the past 2 months. He went to stay at my parents' when he came down with a cold recently to try to keep me from getting sick. He's just wonderful.

And this Hobbit/Puppy is very thankful for him.

It's been awhile...

Sorry for the blog silence. I've been in one of those periods of my life where I didn't really want to get on my blog and say, "Not much is up" (a blatant lie), but I wasn't quite ready to get on my blog and say,

"I AM PREGNANT!!!!" (a beautiful truth)

Yep. I've got a plum-sized little person in me. It's been a long, long road, but somehow, I have this gut-feeling that when we meet Lil' Pea in person, I'm going to say, "OH! That's what the wait was for. Thank you, God." I'm already convinced that he or she is the smartest, most fabulous, best embryo (almost a fetus!) ever. I wish I could just hook up an ultrasound machine in my living room and take a peek at him/her whenever I felt like it. :)


This picture is of the first pregnancy test that I took. It's uber-darker now.

And the World's Ugliest Turkey Award goes to...

me.

So I had some dear friends over on Monday: Jason and Jaime, Shelli and Justin, Meg and Chris, Dave and Sarah. And I was in charge of the turkey. One thing.

I roasted it upside down.

It tasted okay, but imagine this scenario:

Justin (kindly carving the turkey)--Hey, heh heh, this turkey doesn't seem to have too much meat on it.

Bill--Hmm, maybe that spot, or that spot.

Justin (beginning to sound really worried looking at the 2 cups total of turkey meat on the platter)--Umm, no, it really doesn't seem to have much meat on it.

Bill--What on earth? Karen?

Me--I bought a 20 pound Butterball! Oh, no, I bought a dud turkey!

Justin--No, wait. It's just upside down.

That's right. My mom forgot to mention that very key step...Make sure that the turkey is right side up. (But she and my friend Sara did a shout-out job of teaching me how to season and prepare it!)

At Sara's Request

I have been formally asked, on this blog and in person, to update my blog.

Here's the problem...not much to talk about. Things are going pretty well here. I visited my new nephew in Atlanta. He's stinkin' adorable, but he's developed some bad acid reflux, and my sister-in-law is at the end of her rope. Thankfully, my mom-in-law and Nana (well, Bill's Nana, but I claim her with full Nana status) are headed over to watch baby Myles tonight so Julie can head over to a friend's house to get some sleep overnight. I'm hope-hope-hoping that she gets a good, full night's sleep and every thing is a little bit better in the morning.

I am instigating a new meal-planning system for Bill and myself, complete with charts and recipes set out in advance and paying attention to (but not obsessing over) nutrition. It's a brave new world, but (a) both of our eating habits are not great and need to improve, (b) our grocery budget is ridiculously high and then I end up not making half the meals I had planned out so that needs to change, and finally (c) I've gotta get a handle on this before we start a family and things go really haywire. I'll never have more spare time and energy than I do right now. [Sorry for the world's longest run-on sentence, my grammar police friends].

Let's see...what else? Oh, I'm going to start selling these little wall plaques and door hangers that I've been making on etsy.com. It may not happen until after Christmas, but I'm very excited about it nonetheless. I'll keep my readership posted on that!

leapin' lizards!!

So I was on a walk the other day, and suddenly, I felt a bug (or so I thought) fly onto the back of my neck when I walked past a grove of trees. I grabbed said bug (or so I thought) and threw it on the ground. It was a big-feeling bug, and my first thought was "dragonfly??" so I looked on the ground. There sat a tiny, tiny lizard.

I checked to make sure he was not injured. He was not. He went on his merry way, and I went on mine.

Note of Explanation/Hooray, Bill!

First of all, I would like to say that it has been brought to my attention that my last post may have made it sound like I was being snarky about or even contemptuous of the big chicken of Marietta. I was certainly not attempting to do that. I have nothing but affection in my heart for the big chicken. Continued affection that I feel time and again as it is pointed out to me by my husband each and every time we drive past it on I-75.

Speaking of my husband, huzzah huzzah for him running a local 5K benefitting Habitat for Humanity. Yay, Bill!!!!

New York.


Paris.


London.


Marietta.

wanderin...

Well, I was gone for 10 days, then came back to a new job, so this is the first time I've had to just sit down and blog.

Okay...the trip. We went to Cape Cod, Nantucket, NYC, and Georgia.

Cape Cod--quaint, cranberry-licious, dang expensive.
Nantucket--even more quaint, even more dang expensive (just to get out there even).
NYC--treated me kinder than it did last time (read below).
Georgia--as Georgia-rific as ever. New Coke museum not worth your money, especially if you visited the old Coke museum. :)



Funny conversation from Nantucket:
Karen: Look at all these adorable shops!
Bill: Yeah, these are the types of shops that people in our area (AR) think that they can open but then they fail 6 months later...like a nautical dog wear shop.
K: Nautical dog wear!! Hahaha!

(Later in day, eating at a quaint Nantucket eatery, looking through a quaint Nantucket guidebook)
K: Oh, my goodness, there's an ad for a nautical dog wear shop.

I went to it. It was quaint.



So NYC. Here are my thoughts...first of all, I had a much better time than in March. I didn't lose my wallet. I didn't have to slush through snow and ice while we were there losing my wallet. I didn't have to dodge around the 4 million (I am not exaggerating) extra people in town for St. Patty's Day. No, the weather was delightful. We walked around Central Park, did every touristy thing imaginable...it was thoroughly pleasant.

However, I am still not ga-ga over the place. It just seems to be this place of amazing converses. You can walk down Madison Ave. and see some of the most amazingly pristine shops in the world. But on your way to that shop, you can easily walk through pools of dog (I hope it was dog) urine. You can receive some of the best service of your life in quaint restaurants. You can step off the curb and have a taxicab driver plow within 2 inches of you while flipping you off.

There seems to be one universal truth in the Big Apple. You can't afford it unless you're willing to sell a kidney.

Really Like!

Found this on candycritic.org. It is officially the weirdest candy wrapper I've ever seen, and yet I find it quite adorable.

Apparently, this is what the package says:

"Tare panda"
"Choco snack"
"soft capsules inside"
"strawberry flavour"
"Really Like!"
"Chocolate"

good hubby

I love my husband, yes, I do.
He gets me stuff that is very cool. Like the Mirror of Erised that I mentioned a few posts ago. (The above picture looks nothing like my new mirror, but it makes me happy nonetheless).

8 little facts about me.

I have been tagged by Jaimelo.
The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

one.) When I was three, I had a pair of panties that said "I am 3" on them that I insisted on wearing everyday. My mom would wash them each night and I'd put them back on in the morning. During college, a "legacy" white elephant Christmas gift got started when my friend Katie made me a brand-spanking new pair of "I am 19" panties. I have no idea who has those panties now.

two.) One of my favorite smells in the whole world is a freshly opened spice cabinet.

three.) Even though I haven't been a student in many years, I still get very excited around this time of year about the first day of school approaching.

four.) After swearing that I would never go to NYC again after my bad experience in March, I just found out that Bill and I are going again next month. I will be wearing a money belt the whole time I'm there.

five.) Growing up, I had popcorn and fruit for dinner nearly every Sunday while we watched Murder She Wrote as a family.

six.) My middle school principal who I hadn't seen since 1990 is now my next door neighbor.

seven.) I'm bad about flossing, but I tend towards periodontal problems, so every night, I look at myself in the mirror and silently say as a little pep talk, "I am a flosser. I floss. That is what I do."

eight.) I am a notary public.


That was a bit harder than I thought it would be. Here is who I am tagging:
Amy, Ellen, Emily, Meg, Rebeckah, Stephanie, Tisha, and Sarah is double-tagged since she hasn't posted from Jaime's original tag.

Compliment of the Week

(from a teenage girl as I was leaving PetsMart with my freshly groomed doggy this afternoon):

"Wow!! That is the most beautiful dog I've ever seen!"

I was about to launch into my "you wouldn't believe how awful he looked when Bill got him from the pound" story when I checked my tongue and simply said:

"Thank you so much!"

(Above are some of my favorite pictures of Sunny, the first showing him smiling, albeit with creepy eyes, and the second taken by his Aunt Sara.)

Dang ticks.

That's right. My dog has both Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (how could a place so nice bring us a disease so nasty??) and Ehrlichia. And I would first like to say that, despite what it says on many internet info fact sheets about the diseases, a tick does not have to feed on your dog for 2-3 days in order for the illness to be transmitted. We keep Sonny pretty well "frontline"d, and the most time that a tick has spent on him would be under an hour, if that. Sunny's vet (the wonderful Dr. K) confirmed this. He's seen a lot of cases lately where the same tick seems to crawl around and bite several times, thus transmitting the disease.

But Sunny's enjoyed some perks to being ill, and so I give you...

The Top 7 Things Sonny Will Miss About Being Sick:
7. His mommy following him around checking on him and pampering him.
6. Napping all day without feeling guilty (oh, wait, he does that even when he's feeling fine.)
5. Morning yogurt probiotic drink with his mum.
4. Going out to go pee-pee 15 times a day.
3. Weekly visits with Dr. K who gives him kissies on the head.
2. That funny look dad and mom get on their faces when the vet bill comes.
1. Hot dogs filled with antibiotics and prednisone (he just doesn't realize they're in there.)

Vive el Santino!

lead of love

Looking back at the road so far
The journey's left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight

Looking back it is clear to me
That a man is more than the sum of his deeds
And how You've made good of this mess I've made
Is a profound mystery

Looking back You know You had to bring me through
All that I was so afraid of
Though I questioned the sky, now I see why
Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love

Looking back I can finally see (I'd rather have wisdom)
How failures bring humility (than be)
Brings me to my knees (a comfortable fool)
Helps me see my need for Thee


It's interesting how different songs speak to me at different times of my life. For awhile there, it was Johnny Cash's "It Ain't Me, Babe" when I was super-stressed with boundary-pushing areas of my life. There have been times when it's been "Sometimes by Step" by Rich Mullins. Right now, it's Caedmon Call's "Lead of Love".

I feel like I've spent a considerable amount of time walking the rocks of this infertility, and let me preface all this by saying, no, I am not pregnant. For a long time, I thought that pregnancy would be the mountain view or perhaps having a child through adoption. But no. The mountain view is just resting in the knowledge that God loves me and He's been walking on the rocks right beside me. He knows the desire in my heart for a child. He put it there. How and when and if He chooses to fulfill that desire is completely, utterly, and totally out of my hands. The knowledge of that fact is a gift. A difficult gift to receive, but a gift nonetheless.

Harry Potter

Well, I am finished with the final Harry Potter book. Don't worry...I'm not going to give away any spoilers.

I must say that it ended as it should have and the parts I cried in were not the parts I expected to cry in, but I must say, reading that final page, I was crying more for myself than anyone. Harry Potter reawakened my childhood imagination, and that is an amazing gift to be given. I started reading the books right before the first movie came out, right after Goblet of Fire (book 4 for you muggles out there). Even at the time, I remember that I was so very sad that the journey was already over halfway complete.

During college, one of my friends was reading Chamber of Secrets (book 2), and it was the first time I had seen an adult read the books. I asked her if it was a good children's book, and she looked at me with the most serious expression I had ever seen on her face and said, "These are my favorite books. Not children's books. Books." She's a surgeon now.

During grad school (before I started reading the books), I worked at Steinmart...or the Stein as I like to love/hatingly refer to it...in the children's, gifts, and linens sections (I know...those have so much in common with each other). Anyway, the Christmas of 2000, we got flooded with kitschy Harry Potter items. Stickers. Figurines. Owls. Wands. Glasses. Gringotts piggy banks. Well, one of the items was the Mirror of Erised, and without even having read the books, I just fell in love with this weird little item. It was just a mirror with a gawdy gold surround, but it was actually well-made, and for some reason, I just really liked it. I always regretted not purchasing that mirror.

Then, later, after Ellen had talked me into reading the books and I finished kicking myself for not starting them sooner, I met this boy named Bill. He had seen the movies but not read the books, and I told him that, no, he must read those books. He went out that night and bought them. And now he lets me hog the covers and he even let me hog the final HP book (but I've been sworn to utter secrecy until he finishes it as well).

These are just a few of the many good Harry Potter memories along the way. Thanks, JK.

How much is that doggy in the window...

...the (extremely untrustworthy) one that chewed a hole in our (rented!) carpet??

And he also has a waggily tail.

Goodbye to my Dear Friend

God has called a beautiful soul home to be with Him. My friend Carrie fought a valiant, brave fight against pancreatic cancer for the last two years, and God is laying His healing hands on her in Heaven. I will miss her so very much.

Please pray for her family--Gary, Nathan, Andrew, and Amy.

Once upon a time, a girl got a haircut...

So this was going to be a blog post a few months ago, but first it was too painful and then I forgot...but now, I have a fairy-tale happy ending to go with it, so I'm read to share.

I had a love/hate relationship with getting my hair cut. I love, love, loved my stylist and the way she cut my hair (she's extremely sweet, kind and stylish without being pretentious, and she must have a pair of elvish scissors). I did not enjoy the salon experience. I blogged about this a couple years ago, and there was not much change. Until about 2 months ago. I had an appointment set with my precious Kelli, and 2 days before said appointment, I got a call from the snooty salon receptionist informing me that Kelli was no longer there, and she would schedule me with another stylist. "Oh, no, no, no," I replied and asked if they could tell me where she was. No. I told them that I would continue to use their other spa services (Ha! A total of 2 bikini waxes) if they would tell me where she was. To no avail. Kelli was lost to me. Forever, I thought.

Okay, backing up just a little bit, a couple weeks before the failed appointment, I had seen Kelli from across the room at a new church that Bill and I were visiting (and proceeded to really like and decided to start attending regularly). So I was all happy that my hair budget was going to a Christian to boot. And then, after the failed hair appointment, Bill and I had a busy few weeks (trip to China, move, surgery), and hadn't been to church every week. The weeks we were there, I kept my eye open for her but did not see her (and felt a bit guilty for spending more time looking around before the service started than preparing my heart for worship, but that's neither here nor there).

Well, I was starting to look a bit like a ragamuffin about 6 weeks ago, so I finally relented and called another salon. I first checked if they had any Kellis there. No. I got a so-so haircut, and I accepted my hair fate. Even if those around me couldn't tell a difference (I've got some mad Chi skills), I could. It was just harder to style when Kelli hadn't cut it.

Sooooooo...this morning, I walked into church and sat down. I pulled out my bulletin and started reading it. Then, Bill pokes me and says, "Isn't that your old hairstylist?" It was like a spotlight shot down from the ceiling and a chorus of pre-pubescent boys started singing as I saw Kelli sitting directly in front of me.

Well, long story short, Ellen and Jason met us there, and I poked Ellen (who I had introduced to Kelli's fabulous skill and who had been left in a similar despondent lurch as myself) and said, "Look! It's Kelli!" Well, needless to say, we practically pounced on her after the service--actually, I tapped her shoulder and said, "Kelli?" rather sheepishly, and she gave me a big hug and said that she had tried to call me before she left, but she couldn't get to her client records (which I understand why the salon owner did, but it still grieved my heart).

So the fabulous news is this: she's opened her own salon with a couple friends in a little house right around the corner, and she said it's completely laidback and pretty much the opposite of the frenetic, industrial atmosphere of the old salon. I have her cell number safely tucked into my wallet, and I hope to have an appointment in my planner by tomorrow.

And my hair lived happily ever after.

little life update

I apologize for it taking me so long to post anything new. Quite frankly, I've spent the past week laying on my couch like a big slug because I had surgery last week. It was laporascopic surgery to check out what was going on inside me, and while I haven't felt horrible afterwards (well, a little horrible for the first few days), I also haven't been up for much past the occasional short jaunt outside.

And here's what my surgeon found: nothing. Well, almost nothing. A little patch of endo on my appendix. But no evil gnomes living on my left ovary, which is sort of what I'd hoped they'd find. "Well, Mr. Karen, the surgery was a success. You're wife's doing fine. Just the one evil gnome, so looks like you should be able to get pregnant in the next month or two." Nope. Just a tiny patch of endo. So what's the next step? I don't know.

But our house sale went through just fine. And I'm enjoying my lazy summer in the apartment. And my awesome mom came and stayed with me the week of the surgery and took care of me and babied me (and Sunny), which was wonderful.

So I'm not complaining. Just still stumped.

shameless product promotion

And, no, I'm not getting paid for this. I just wanted to take a few moments to squeal like a girl about the makeup that I've been using for a few months. It's bareminerals from bare escentuals, and it's fabulous! I love how my skin feels with it on. I didn't even realize that I had sensitive skin until I started using it, and I stopped getting pimples. I. just. love. it.

I actually started using it after I realized that the first thing I wanted to do after putting on my previous (liquid but not really that heavy and from a good brand) makeup, was wash my hands. I thought about it, and I realized, if it feels so gross on my hands, why am I putting it on my face? So I switched to bareminerals, and love, love, love it.



And I'm creating converts. So come join us on the fabulous side of makeup. You won't regret it.

2 pradas and a gucci

BEST PRESENTS EVER!!!! EVER!!!!!!!!

So Bill brought me back a veritable parade of gifts...that is what he called it on the car drive home from the airport, and I doubted him, but I was so wrong to doubt him. It was a cornucopia of gifts!!!!!

So the Gucci is the more suspect of the two brands of bags. Completely fabulous jacquard Gucci logo with pink trim, but yes, it is probably a knockoff--but a really good knockoff! But the Prada bags, oh the Prada bags. They actually have a better shot of being real since Prada had a factory literally right down the street in Shen Zhen (one black and sporty...adorable; the other is the logo jacquard with red trim...much like this, only tan with red trim:)




So anyway, welcome back, best-husband-ever, and thank you for knowing one of my biggest weaknesses and indulging it. :)

Oh, and he got me a chick flick and Season 1 of 30 Rock (wait a minute, that's not out on DVD yet...or is it?)

time well spent

This morning, a box turtle spent the better part of half an hour crossing our backyard, and I spent the better part of half an hour watching him (rather than doing what I should have been doing...packing. Oh, how I wish I were a box turtle and could carry everything I needed around on my back.)

So anyway, he made it all the way across the yard, and I began to grow worried because he made it to the border of our yard, but there's a 4 foot drop-off to the woods. So I ran outside and picked him up (I had to find him...he went to hide under a pokeberry bush when he saw me coming), and I lowered him down the drop-off. Actually, when he saw me coming, he tried to throw himself over the edge before hiding under the pokeberry bush. Very sad. That turtle preferred certain injury over my help. Hmphh.


On a hippity, hoppity, hap-hap-happy note, my husband is coming back from China in a few hours. My goodness, I've missed that man. AND he's bringing me back presents.

Note of Explanation on Previous Post

After a very excited and happy e-mail from my friend Shelli (sorry for the confusion, Shelli), I feel I need to make a small note of explanation about my last post.

A phlebotomist is a person specially trained to draw blood. Not a doctor. The phlebotomist's opinion about my ability to get pregnant seems to be based sheerly on the facts that (a) he figured out that I was having the blood tests for infertility given what tests they were so he asked if they were for infertility, (b) he seems like a nice guy who wants good things for others, and (c) he had just jabbed me mercilessly with 6 needles, and I think he was willing to say anything to get me to smile at him rather than grimace.

No doctor in his right mind (especially a reproductive endocrinologist) would make a statement like, "I'm sure you can get pregnant" because that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen if someone were litigious.

It's actually a bit of a pet peeve of mine when people tell me that "they're sure we'll get pregnant" because they are not. They hope we get pregnant (a sentiment that I appreciate). Just say that.


On a completely separate note, I am a veritable whirlwind of packing right now. Sunny is extremely upset that some of his favorite spots on which to lie down are now covered with boxes. He'll get over it.

New Things I Have Learned Today

1. Moving to a one-bedroom apartment temporarily after living in a much-too-big-for-us house is very freeing.

2. Carrying our (too many) possessions up two flights of stairs is not so much freeing as horrid.

3. Play It Again Sports does not buy used roller blades back (no energy right now to share why I am getting rid of said roller blades, but it's a humorous story...actually I may have blogged about it already. I'll check my archives and link here if I did.)

4. San Francisco Bread Co. does not have as good iced mochas as Panera Bread Co.

5. Men's Warehouse requires more than an hour to press a man's suit (hence the trip for the iced mocha).

6. San Francisco Bread Co. does have free internet access (hence this blog post).

7. My little sister is moving to Washington state (Yay, Sara!!!!!!! She got the job she wanted.)

8. I have puny veins (I actually didn't learn this as a new fact today, but it was reinforced at the doctor's office).

9. The phlebotomist at my doctor's office thinks that I will definitely get pregnant (he gave no corroborating facts to support this opinion, but he seemed very positive about it).

10. Rich Mullins' music lifts my spirits no matter what (also not new information, but in case you are not familiar with his music, please do yourself a favor and check it out).

11. Nothing else. I just like the number 11 and wanted to end the post with this number.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

Then comes highly invasive infertility testing and painful medical procedures.

Well, I had my first appointment with a reproductive specialist (an RE or Reproductive Endocrinologist, for those of you who are still deluded into thinking that babies come from having sex...silly, silly you). There were no earth-shattering "AH-HA!!" moments. (D'oh! We should have taken the CONDOM OFF!) Next step: blood tests and surgery for me to poke around in there and figure out what the heck is going on. And, yes, I do want to stomp my feet like a 2 year-old and scream that it's not fair. But God has blessed me so much in so many other areas of my life (see Post Title). So I'm not stomping. I'm not screaming. I'm praying and looking forward to hopefully having some answers.

On a side note: The King of Queens had their series finale, and that is NOT how International Adoption from China works. At all. AT ALL. But I shouldn't be surprised. When they covered infertility testing on the show, Doug and Carrie (a) dropped by the doctor's office on their way to the airport and (b) the doctor said that everything was fine. Ahh, just like our appointment.

On an even further side note: Had a great garage sale last Saturday. I feel 10 pounds lighter, and that is a WHOLE LOT of stuff that we don't have to move. Yay!

Sunny's List #2

Things that Sunny Enjoys:

1.) Licking himself.
2.) Licking the carpet.
3.) Licking others.
4.) Having his ears scratched.
5.) His little blanket nest in the hallway.
6.) Going on runs.
7.) Barking at leaves.
8.) Following me around at a distance of 6 inches.
9.) Placing his paw on people he likes.
10.) Food.
11.) Sitting on Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jason's couch.
12.) Bill's arrival home from work.
13.) His binky and his hot dog toy.
14.) Food.

Sunny's List #1

Things That Upset Sunny:

1. caterpillars
2. going collarless
3. toads
4. going to new places
5. babies crying
6. rustling in the woods
7. thunderstorms (this one should actually be #1)
8. being left at Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jason's house (even though he is uber-spoiled over there)
9. not knowing where I am at any given moment during the day

Red Dots of Shame

Bill and I are in the process of selling our house, and the home inspection was last week. When I got home, there were red dots all over the place where things have gone slightly awry (windows that are stuck, closet doors that don't have knobs, etc.) I feel as if these people are judging us, and they've never even seen our faces. Sigh.

Not much else going on here. Bill and I are getting over the flu and getting ready to run (ha...or walk embarassingly slow in my case) the Race for the Cure.

For those of you who have been following my blog, still no baby. Not even so much as a hint of a second line. When I worked for an adoption agency, I had one client say to me (who had experienced unexplained infertility for several years) that the first year is the worst, and then it just kind of becomes a nagging, background, white-noise part of your life. Which is somewhat true for me. I think a lot less about it. I've stopped avoiding certain things in the "two week wait" after I've ovulated and before I can test (not that I was ever chasing raw oyster shots down with a dose of meth, but I do enjoy my occasional Coca-Cola). I've accepted that I will never have a surprise "oopsie". It doesn't even hurt as much anymore when I hear about other people's pregnancies. But I do think that every infertile/subfertile woman has to go through a little bout of grief each month. And for each woman, I think that there are one or two things that she is especially saddened to miss out on. For me, it's (a) how I would tell Bill that I'm pregnant and (b) shopping for the perfect diaper bag. (If you know me, you know about my slight obsession with purses, and what is a diaper bag if not the ultimate purse?) So anyway, no baby yet.

But through all the stressors in my life right now (house, flu, peeing on ovulation predictor sticks), the verse I'm clinging to remains Phil. 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Pics from All Over

The rare shot of Bill and me together, taken at the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was amazing while we were in San Francisco!


Norm!




We were THIS close to getting on the Today show (before our lovingly-made sign melted), but here's a shout-out to Nana, Anna, and Owen right now!


Me taking in Times Square for the first time. It's incredible during the day and awe-inspiring at night.

I Left my Heart in San Francisco and my Wallet in a New York Cab

That's right. I've been a travelin'. Bill and I, in the past 3 weeks have been to Wisconsin, the Twin Cities, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and New York. Call it our U.S. Tour 2007.

The tour ended badly.

The very last day of the last of our trips (to Boston and NYC), just after seeing the Statue of Liberty, I left my wallet in the cab. It was a little metal wallet, and I had on new jeans and didn't realize how shallow the pockets were. It must have just popped out. And I didn't feel it because I had a heavy winter coat on because it was so very, very cold.

So instead of getting to spend the day as planned (dinner at Tavern on the Green and seeing Celtic Woman at Radio City Music Hall...which we did catch the end of), Bill and I got to spend it in a genuine NYC Police Station. There were many tears and many fears of just how I was going to get back home without my license.

But I will say this, that time spent with the NYPD (did I mention it was St. Patrick's Day, with 2 million visitors in NYC for the parade?) almost felt like a tourist attraction in itself. It was almost funny how cliche everyone was acting. There were all the policemen with their Jersey accents yelling the F word as noun, verb, and adjective every 5 seconds. Example: (I will use the word "boing" in place of the expletive) "Whaddya mean Jimmy didn't bring in da boinging paperwork after lunch? I boinging told that boinger to bring the boinging papers (pronounced 'pay-puhs')! Well, fuh-get about it, you boing! I'll boinging do it myself now!"

And the dispatcher lady who "helped" me with the paperwork was EXACTLY like Roz the monster in Monsters Inc.

All that to say, it ended unfortunately, but we had a great time at all of our locations. I've never before been able to say that in less than 3 weeks I've ridden a roller-coaster in a Mall, gone skiing, gone to Disneyland, visited Bill's Alma Mater, seen the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Ghirardelli Square, driven down crazy Lombard Street in a convertible, eaten at Fisherman's Wharf, visited Boston Common, the Freedom Trail, Cheers, and a church that Bill and I thought was the Old North Church ("two if by land, one if by sea") but wasn't, went to New Hampshire (ehh), tried to get on the Today Show in the middle of a winter storm, attended a Conan O'Brien taping, followed Jeff Goldblum out to his car, saw Bebe Neuwirth in "Chicago", toured the NBC Studios where Bill saw Finesse Mitchell, gazed upon the Statue of Liberty (where I realized my wallet was gone), made it to an hour of Celtic Woman, and rode a train from Grand Central Station.

And now, I'm back home with my doggy.

I'm still here...

Bill and I just got back from Nashville and Atlanta for a business trip that he had to go on and to see his family (in that order time-wise, not importance-wise). Alas, I did not get to see the baby panda at Zoo Atlanta because it was so, so very cold most of the trip. I did get to go to the High Museum with my sis-in-law Julie, and we saw pieces of art on loan from the Louvre. Very fun. Also got to hang out with my uber-cool nephew who thinks I am "so SO funny" and enjoyed our trip to BlockBUSTer. Of course, I am pretty much chopped-liver next to his Uncle Billy, but then again, so is everyone when Uncle Billy is in town. :)

Not much up here, which is the main reason I haven't been posting. One fun bit of news: Bill and I are going to NYC in a month, and we got tickets to see Conan O'Brien taped while we're there. He's my favorite late-night host, so, yeah, I'm a little psyched. I'm crossing my fingers that he'll have the Walker Texas Ranger lever up and running while we're there, but I'm not holding my breath.

I woke up this morning to a thin blanket of snow on our driveway and house, and can I just say how ready I am for spring?? No, really, I am very, very ready for spring. I'm sick of being cold. I want the spring to come. Soon.

Anyhoo, that's it for me.

just to brighten your day

Baby pandas...is there anything cuter?? After seeing a couple news stories about them (there's a new baby panda at Zoo Atlanta and apparently China has had a large number born recently), I have decided, no, I don't know that there is a cuter baby animal.

And so I give you....

BABY PANDAS!

Q: for those of you who know my dog...

...what is wrong with this picture?




A: He is doped up for his car-ride to Oma and Opa's for Christmas. Isn't he adorable???


Typical picture of the Santino (hint...look in the lower right hand corner):

lampapalooza

I'm in love with a lamp.

I was walking through Hobby Lobby, and it was like in a movie where the skies open up, angelic music plays, and a stream of light filters down through the clouds to the most wonderful lamp I'd ever seen in my life.

And it was 50% off.

And it was the last one.

I walked up and down the aisle trying to decide if I should get the lamp.

Pros to getting the lamp:
-it would be mine.
-it would not be someone else's.
-it was beautiful and adorable at the same time.
-it would be mine.

Cons to procuring the lamp:
-even at 50% off, it was a big chunk of money.
-no place to put the lamp with current "interior design" (ha!) arrangement.


And then, it was all decided for me when a woman walked down the aisle and I practically body-tackled the lamp to make sure she wasn't going for it (she wasn't...but if she'd seen it, she would have). And I knew that I wouldn't be leaving Hobby Lobby without the lamp. And it was a good thing that I did get it when I did because when I was walking to the front of the store to purchase it, I received several compliments on the lamp, but they were more like, "Ooooh, if only I'd seen it first..." compliments.

So it's in my newly formed "reading nook" now. That's right. Bill and I rearranged all the furniture in our house to make a spot for the lamp. It was time for the change anyway. Now we have a proper dining room...and a reading nook. And my lamp.

Seriously, if I weren't already married to Bill, I would call the justice of the peace and marry this lamp.

NO Phone Home

To my real world friends, FYI, right before I left on the cruise, my cell phone pretty much disintegrated in my hands, so if you've called me in the last week or were expecting a call from me and haven't received one, that's why.

But don't despair. My cute new pink phone arrived today, and it is being charged as we speak.

More Cruise Pics

Because there's nothing more fun than looking at pictures of other people's vacations:

The Flying Dutchman from Dead Man's Chest on Disney's Island


There were roosters all over the ports of call. This one was in Key West. Like pigeons but louder.


The Disney "Hooray for Everything" Dancers kicking off the cruise. There was this one particularly infectious song from "High School Musical" that they played constantly. The shot is actually of the big screen TV on the top deck that they would show movies on during the day and sports games at night


Bill and I getting ready to go to the fancy restaurant on board. The waiter actually refused to bring Bill what he originally ordered because it didn't taste good enough in his opinion. (The waiter ended up bringing Bill some of the original order on the side...and he was right, his recommendation was better)


All of us gussied up:

Ahoy, Matey!

Well, I am back from the Disney Cruise with Bill's family. Very, very fun. Here are the details:

The ship did a really good job of corralling the Disney cheesiness to certain pre-set times and places, but everybody was there with kids in one form or another (child, grandchild, nephew/niece), so it was fun to be able to go to the character breakfast and dancing with Snow White (who was c-r-e-e-p-y, let me tell you) and stuff like that with Owen, our nephew. But at the same time, at any point, Bill and I could go to the section of the ship that's designated a kid-free zone. They had an adults-only pool, coffee shop, bar, piano bar, cabaret nightclub...all of that was kid-free. Plus, on their out island, they had an adults-only beach, but we didn't bother going there because we found a secluded spot for the family. There was just so much to do at any point that it was impossible to be bored, but I spent most of my time hanging out in lounge chairs napping or reading.

The shows were amazing...apparently, they were voted the best of any cruise line, although they were all Disney characters, so if characters really annoy you, not a good idea. Bill and I were both "show"ed out by the end of the week. There's only so many times you can cheer for the "Hooray for Everything" dancers dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming and ooh and ahh when Mickey and Minnie hit the stage. But they were all very well done. If there's one thing Disney does well, it's entertainment.

We didn't do any excursions at the ports where we stopped, so they were kind of "ehh" compared to the ship. We went to a hotel beach in Grand Cayman where Bill's parents stayed earlier this year, which was fun, but a bit stressful trying to get the whole family organized and to & from the beach. Key West was neat. We ate a slice of key lime pie at Sloppy Joe's, that bar where Ernest Hemingway hung out. Really, whenever I got off the ship (with the exception of Disney's island which was really just an extension of the ship to a tropical paradise), I just wanted to get back on the ship and find a good chair and relax.

The food and the service were incredible. I had one day that I literally got sick because I ate so much, but it was just so hard to say "no" to the food when it was in front of you and oh-so-very-yummy. All the crew were from different countries, so it was interesting getting to talk to people about where they were from and their experiences on the cruise ship.

We had good weather until the last night, and the boat started really rocking and going over big waves, and the whole bed would shake. I didn't realize how much I got used to the sea movement until I got home, and it felt like the whole house was rocking back and forth for 2 full days.

And that was our cruise in a nutshell.

Blessings and Random Thoughts

Well, after emotionally vomitting on my readership, I decided to let you know about some of the huge blessings in my life right now:

1. After my car was smashed up, I got a new car which I like very much. It is silver and pretty, and we got an amazing deal on it. Even the guy in the revenue office who issued me my tags made a comment on what a good deal we got.

2. I've been going to physical therapy for my back issues as a result of the wreck, and it's been working. I really do feel better than I did, and the PT has taught me a lot of good stretches, etc. that I can do at home.

3. No baby = more time with my husband. I've really had to struggle not to be sour grapes about the whole lack of pregnancy thing (and this probably sounds like sour grapes), but this is really true. Every weekend that we just laze around in bed doing nothing all day but watch movies and eat pizza, I consciously think, "I will not be able to do this once/if a squirtlet arrives." Also, as my wonderful hubby has pointed out, we've been given this time to really know that we want to be parents and prepare for it.

4. Roof leak--gotta be honest with you, I don't see any positives or blessings coming out of this other than that we have good homeowners' insurance and much of it will be covered (oh, and it wasn't wind or hail damage, so hopefully we'll have a smaller deductible.)

5. Everyone in our families is in good health.

6. Sunny has not peed on the carpet in several months.

7. I've been feeling creatively inspired lately, which hasn't been the case in a long time.

8. Also, with all of these, I feel very, very blessed that I've been able to take some time off from working and just get everything done and focus some attention on my marriage and our home.

So that's my life in a nutshell right now.

The Answer to "Where Have You Been?"

Sorry for the absence. I give you:

Why Karen Has Not Posted in a Long Time

1. I was in an accident at the end of October and my car was totaled.

2. I have been in Physical Therapy for back pain as a result of said accident (don't worry...I'm okay--just annoying and frustrating more than anything).

3. About a week after accident, a roof leak was discovered in our house with resulting ruined wall and mold forming.

4. I have been dealing with myriad people regarding the above two incidences: insurance agents, auto adjustors, health adjustors (hisss), doctors, physical therapists, roofers (oh the roofers), auto salespeople, auto finance people, more insurance agents, gutter contractors, general contractors, mold remediation specialists, health insurance providers, more insurance agents, assessor's office, collector's office, revenue office, and yet more insurance agents.

5. Hubby and I hit the one year mark of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant. It's depressing to me.

6. We're going on a cruise in a week and a half, and while that has nothing to do with why I haven't kept up my posts, it is a bright spot that I would like to share.

7. Sunny the diabolical fiend has kept me tied up in a chair for the past month and only lets me loose to go the bathroom and give him food...ha ha, this is especially funny if you know how un-bright my dog is.

h.s. reunion

I had my 10 year H.S. Reunion last week. It was good. Nothing earth-shattering. I was a little surprised by who came up to talk to me and who didn't seem to give a hoot whether I was there or not, but it was nice to see the people that there was no question as to how we'd greet each other--much jumping up and down and squealing.

It struck me today that there's a whole lot in high school that you learn and never wish you had to...like what it's like to a lose a friend--to death, to a bitter heart.

And there's a whole lot that you need to learn in high school and don't. For me, this was discovered sitting as a freshman in Cell Biology, praying that the professor would not call my name and wishing that my stupid 10th grade biology teacher had taught us something more than Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, & Species of the common butterfly (lepidoptera) and how to serve a mean ping-pong ball.

the big change

All right, I'm going to do it. I'm going to start eating better.

For those of you who know me well (or remember me sharing this around this time last year), I've always loved juicing and the ***concept*** of eating in a healthy manner, and yet I'm still strongly addicted to Coke and candy and the typical American diet of Doritos, frozen meals, white sugar, white flour, red meat...and so on and so forth, yech, yech, yech.

Well, it's a new day, and while I'm never going to be a vegan or a raw foodist, I do have to wake up and smell the coffee (which thankfully, I am NOT addicted to), and start eating healthier. It's not going to be easy...I actually dreamed about cookie cake last night.

But something's got to give.

So what will this mean? Eating the recommended number of fruits and vegetables a day. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day (which I actually usually already do). Cutting out Cokes (eek...I said it). Cutting down on sweets. Drinking freshly juiced stuff (which I actually look forward to...mmmm...love my juices). Eating more whole grains (I have hope on this one...last night, Bill loved the whole grain rolls I got). Eating less meat, more fish, more beans.

It's all stuff I've known forever. I just need to bite the bullet and do it.