In the meantime...

I shouldn't be so concerned with making a nursery because this is what the second bedroom currently looks like:

We got a new (KING SIZED) bed this weekend so the old bed is currently on top of/around the bed in the second bedroom. Anyone want a three-year-old Select Comfort queen sized bed?

Also, this is what I looked like last Wednesday.

Nursery Thoughts

Let's be honest...this has officially turned into a baby blog. Oh well!

I can't decide between green or yellow for the room. Specifically, I am very obsessed with gray/yellow right now.

These are the colors that I was originally interested in:

I think the circular crib and flamingo thing are weird but I really liked the green/brown/white combo.

I was also obsessed with this ridiculous pewter crib.

Let's play a game called "my kid doesn't need this crib", ok? I won't even tell you what it costs but I would have gotten a hefty discount because of my stepmother's job. It would still be expensive even with the discount. Ick. Also, I'm pretty sure that a METAL crib is not the best idea.

Surprisingly, Mike really liked it a lot too. I was pretty sad to walk out of the store without it!

So moving on, I think I've abandoned the green room and pewter crib for yellow and gray (or grey, if you prefer your tea or your cats to be British).

So here is my new color obsession:

I wouldn't go with the super dark gray but I do like the idea of a lighter gray (like the side walls in the picture). I think it's nice and calming.

Also, the crib in these pictures is from Ikea. Impressive! I was definitely skeptical of buying a crib from there but it seems that most people are very happy and the safety features are pretty impressive (thanks, CCBL!!!).

So grey/yellow/white or green/brown/white? What do you think? Also, thoughts on the Ikea crib?

Also, thanks to KLG for sending me to a great decorating website with lots of photos!!!!

There you are!

Well, I'm pretty sure that this is not a hysterical pregnancy since I started feeling the baby move on Tuesday afternoon! I wasn't sure for a few days but it's pretty obvious now. YAY!


Today is the 20 week mark - yay for halfway there! This was the picture that I got in this week's email...I'm pretty sure that my child is a bit lower but I'd say this is fairly accurate as to where I am feeling the kicks...aka RIGHT ON MY BLADDER!!! :)

I may have actually told my long-awaited child to "quit it" yesterday. I'm a really sweet momma, apparently.

Also, I'm entirely too lazy to edit out "your baby is practicing swallowing" and "click for the big picture" out of the image.

I wish I could think of a pun about backs.

Soooo...in my last post, I complained that my back hurt. I thought I had just slept on it funny so I tried massage, acupuncture and heat...no resolution so I finally went to the doctor today.

Turns out that my rotator cuff injury from 2007 has come back to haunt me.* The muscle under my right scapula is apparently visibly larger than the left. The only problem is that I am no longer allowed to use excessive amounts of heat, cortisone injections or prescription pain relievers (or muscle relaxers).

Anyway, I'm off to Physical Therapy 2x/week for the next 4 weeks - that should fix it! I'm slightly disappointed that there wasn't a quick fix but I'm definitely relieved that there is a solution!

* I should say that the injury is only mildly "haunting" me...I feel worse for Mike who has to listen to LOTS of whining and is now responsible for basically all physical work in our home. Oooops!

Lots of venting

Need to vent/complain....

1. We were supposed to have new windows installed on Wed and Thurs. However it was too cold yesterday so they are finishing them today. I am hiding out in the basement. I am irritated because I cancelled lunch plans today because all I wanted to do was nap/relax (my back hurts) and instead I had to get dressed before 9am on my day off. Wahh, life is SO hard for me!

2. I get irritated when people have a long-standing problem and don't do ANYTHING about it. We all know that I had a hard time getting pregnant. It sucked and I was sad and depressed. There were plenty of times when I felt like I would never have children. BUT I always had a future plan...I took medications, I drank gallons of decaf green tea, I did acupuncture, etc... I had three doctors with a medical plan...and if that failed, I had two adoption seminars lined up for this autumn. Just do something!!

Ok, I guess it's obvious that I've never been actually clinically depressed. Also, I'm apparently not compassionate.

3. A lot of people are telling me that I'm having a boy because I haven't gained weight in my face. This is sort of a half-assed compliment.

4. I used to consider myself pretty good with babies. I was really good at swaddling, calming, etc...somehow I have lost this skill. I don't know if it is related to working in the ICU or struggling to get pregnant but either way, it's not very good timing!

5. I get nervous when people make baby plans before the 12 week ultrasound. I worry that they will get too hopeful and then be disappointed. Conversely, I am now 18 weeks pregnant and I haven't done anything. Ooops.

6. My husband is fantastic. That is a whole other post. Let's just say that I am no longer mad about the "Whoa. Preggers!" comment.

7. I have photos from the 18 week ultrasound last week! They are a bit boring but I will scan them.

6 and 7 weren't really "venting"...darn. I will have to work on my pessimism.

If you're so upset, tell the internet

Two things my husband said to me yesterday...

1. He walked by while I was changing into my pajamas and says "WHOA. Preggers!"...about two seconds later, he says "You look beautiful!" but really in those two seconds, I almost killed him.

2. A dialogue:
JSinP: blah blah blah, something about getting stuff done before the baby comes...
M: It's okay. We have six months!
JSinP: Ummm, no, we have five months.
M: No, it's mid-December and the baby is coming in mid-May so that's...oh...shoot....that's five months.
JSinP: Yeah.

If you're curious...

...this is what I look like lately:
At least this is what I look like when smirking and posing in Au Bon Pain in the middle of a workday.

Comment Commentary

I have to respond to a few of your comments from my last few posts:

1. I deleted a comment that mentioned my last name. Sorry!
2. Gange's posts about Christmas gifts were surprisingly right on.
3. I was at Logan Airport yesterday for the world's fastest and stupidest trip and I bought Good Housekeeping on Meghan and CCBL's suggestion. Ummm, it was great!!!!!!!!! I am fully committing to the fact that I am now in the appropriate age demographic for it. Wow.


And some other comments:

1. My FB wall is still blocked. I don't know if this bothers anyone but Meghan.
2. I ordered a ton of maternity clothes because I am sick of squeezing into tight clothes. I want to breathe!
3. After a huge rainstorm, it is now 60 degrees and gorgeous outside.
4. Mike's fancy holiday party is in two weeks. I guess I should go try on my dresses and see what fits. I'm assuming that they will fit because they are all sort of loose.
5. For those that don't know, I am mildly obsessed with dresses. This may come as a shock since I never WEAR dresses.

Can't we just do gift amnesty?

I need some suggestions for Christmas gifts. Ideas? Here’s my list:

- My parents – I think we’re all set for them. We bought them a calendar from an artist friend (who I won’t mention here because I’m afraid it will make the blog google-able – but the info is in the image!) and I think we’re going boring this year – kitchen stuff, new cordless phones, etc…
- Mike’s parents – calendar and NO EARTHLY IDEA. Help!
- My grandmother – oy. No idea. Maybe a new phone?
- My grandfather – probably nothing. He lives in a nursing home and told me he doesn’t need anything (this is kind of true).

- 18 year old cousin (boy) - gift card to somewhere???
- Cousins – either individual gifts or group gifts for the siblings:
o Siblings - almost 7 year old girl and 3 year old girl
o Siblings - 3 year old boy and 2 year old boy

Please share your thoughts! I need help!

I'm bummed that I won't be spending Christmas this year with these characters:

You might want to click on it to get the full awesomeness of the 80s.

I need a new magazine

I need a new magazine...something a little craft-y, a little homey but not too "housewifey". Suggestions?

As you know, we already get a lot of magazines so I have some opinions:

- I can't stand Rachael Ray.

- I want some nice articles about cute gifts for people or trendy/inexpensive clothes for me.

- I like articles about women's health issues.

- I want some nice recipes for relatively healthy meals. While I love Martha, her recipes are too lengthy for a normal Tuesday night dinner; Real Simple's recipes are too...well, too simple.
- Self and Glamour are great but they don't have anything too crafty/homey.

Suggestions?

Terrible!!!

More names from Virginia!

Harlem - I kind of like this! I have a friend from Australia who named her daughter Sydney.
Nzingha
Changin
Souleymane
Paishance
Jazzmen Bunnie
Godsee Joy

Siblings -Zuyaun, Jujuan, Tyjuan, Dujuan, Zuyjaun

And, Virginia, you are not the above-mentioned friend from Australia. I can't believe I have two friends from Australia and neither have accents. Can you work on that?

When did this happen?

Last weekend, I wore my favorite jeans on both Saturday and Sunday. No worries...they zipped up in the am and, although they were a little tight by the evening, they fit fine. I definitely noticed that my clothes fit differently but they FIT so I didn't really care.

On Monday and Tuesday, I wore scrubs.

On Wednesday, I woke up and pulled on my jeans. Ummmmmmmmmmm....they no longer zipped painlessly. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? In three days????? I could zip and button them WITH GREAT EFFORT but it wasn't a pretty sight.

So this happened:


This is really not a good look for anyone (I'm just sayin')...I think it's time to accept the weight gain and buy some maternity pants.

I didn't think the body changes would bother me so much (it's for a VERY GOOD cause...also, let's face it, I was already significantly overweight) but it is really a strange feeling to be eating fairly well and exercising but still have an evergrowing pooch.

While I'm at it...

While I'm logged in here, I might as well comment on some other things:

1. I bought Swiss chard. WTF. Suggestions?
2. I ran into my former personal trainer at the gym and told her "the big news". Now I kind of think she's pregnant...she had a few random comments. I was surprised that she knew that pregnant women should consume an extra 300 calories/day. I don't think I knew the exact # before I was pregnant...did you???

Superstitious

For those of you with children, when did you buy your first item for the baby?

As you probably know, I'm a little cynical about this pregnancy. I'm very excited about the possibility of a baby but I'm also worried about getting too optimistic when I know that things can go wrong.

I received some children's books last week and a big stuffed kangaroo this morning so I feel like it might be time. We were in BabyGap buying an outfit for a friend's baby this afternoon and we found the cutest onesie...and we bought it....and now we're feeling superstitious.

It doesn't help that the onesie has little skull and bones on it. :)

More information

Since you've all been asking the same questions, I'm totally going to take advantage of the self-serving nature of having a blog and write about it! Plus I think it will be nice to remember all this information later on.

When are you due?
May 16th

Do you want a boy or a girl?
I really don't care. When I'm awake, I think it's a boy. But in my dreams, it's always a girl. We won't find out before the big day!

Do you have names picked out?
No. I am taking suggestions. Winter Coates will not be used.

What are you most excited for?
Holiday traditions, definitely! My mom had great traditions with us and I can't wait to honor her by sharing them with her grandchildren. By the way, this wasn't a real question...I just wanted to mention it.

Other stuff?
My endocrinologist asked when my last day of work would be...he was not pleased with the answer of "May 15th". Apparently pregnant women should not work. He was the fellow though - the attending didn't say anything about it. Work does sort of suck though - it's not easy being on my feet for 12 hours. I think I am going to start wearing sneakers. Also, I would like to win an Oscar so I can use the time to thank Mike, friends and medical professionals for getting me to this point!

Photos!

I hope I told you all the news...otherwise, these photos are going to be a surprise!

Profile and Hamburger (according to Mike)

Full body profile

Upside down

Happy birthday

Happy birthday, Mike! We're now the same age for a whole 2.5 months.

I made you a key lime pie.

Also, Carnation, don't be stupid. You should not bill sweetened condensed milk as a good source of calcium.


If you do, people will check the back label and see that you are also a fantastic source of sugar and fat.

Now key lime pie is delicious so I'm willing to forgive you but I think you should reconsider your label.

Boring

Well, Gange has confirmed that I'm a boring blogger...sigh. He also had a great suggestion - Perhpas you could write a blog entry giving a short blurb describing who all of your blog followers are?

I don't know what "perhpas" means but I like this idea. Who should I profile first? I'm thinking of going in order of people who live comments. Who wants to be first? Gange, it's probably going to be you.

Cottage Cakes

I was talking to Mike last night and saying that my blog had been really boring lately. He looked over at me and said "well, it's kind of always been boring. If I didn't know you, I wouldn't read it."...ouch.

ANYWAY!!!!!!!!! We went to Manchester VT with my brother and his wife over Labor Day weekend. The inn served these awesome cottage cakes for breakfast. It's SO easy.

1 cup cottage cheese
4 eggs (beaten)
4 tablespoon melted butter or margarine (this is a TON of butter - I think you could reduce it)
1/2 cup flour

1. Whisk the first 3 ingredients together.
2. Fold in flour.
   
3. Pour batter on a griddle, using medium high heat.
   
4. Serve with syrup.

And head up to Manchester VT! It's awesome and there is a quarry!

Baby Names

I can't believe no one has asked what cottage cakes are! I want to share the recipe!

Anyway, VA gave me some more fantastic names:

• Equaija Attrelle Ann (how do you pronounce Equaija?)
• Pinky
• Asian
• Ocean (ha, there was a kid at my hospital this week with a similar name)
• Yeternity
• Berry
• Egyptian
• Cherysh
• Senator
• Harleigh
• Cinnamon
• Rockqwell
• Darlin
• Destyne Luck
• Goodness

Itchy

I think this is my last gardening email of 2009!

Updates:
- I finally planted crocus and hyacinth bulbs this morning. Yay! There is a good chance that I'm allergic to something since I haven't stopped sneezing/itching since I started planting them. This also happened on Friday in the car on the way home from buying them. Oy. Oh well, they will smell pretty in the spring - even if I won't appreciate them because my nose is so stuffed.
- The store was out of daffodil bulbs. I didn't think it was worth going elsewhere for more.
- Bulbs are dirt-cheap. Get it? "Dirt-cheap"???? Ha ha.
- I finally took down the 2nd Topsy Turvy. The green tomatoes were never going to redden. Grrr. What were other people's experiences with tomatoes in New England this summer?
- I should have brought the basil inside two weeks ago.
- I planted an old squash this morning. This is a Tony trick. Let's see if it works.

Gardening updates are boring. I need to find some Benadryl. Also, I need to make cottage cakes for my handsome husband.

Less than a week later!!

The Ganges would be so proud of me...I'm updating and it's only been five days since my last post.

Anyway, I've been up since 0230* because I worked Fri/Sat/Sun overnights, slept all day on Monday and then only slept four hours last night. Icky but at least I've been able to catch up on TV this morning!

I've been really trying to give all of the new shows a decent chance this year...I can't even believe how dorky that sounds but it's** true! So here's the rundown of my DVR by day of the week:

Sunday - Mad Men, Brothers and Sisters, Entourage, Army Wives (although I'm losing interest)
Monday - How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, Greek
Tuesday - Melrose Place (meh), 90210 (double meh)
Wednesday - Glee, Modern Family (holy crap, funniest new show in a long time), Eastwick
Thursday - The Office, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy (losing interest), FlashForward, Private Practice

I wish I could get into The Good Wife but it's not doing it for me. Anything else I should be watching?

* I think it's impt to use military time as often as possible to annoy people who are not nurses or former army sergeants.
** It's vs its annoys me SO much.

October 15th

I'm not sure why but I won't allow myself to turn on the heat until Oct 15th. Basically we've been freezing for two weeks. Poor Mike - I'm a cover hog so he had to grab a blanket from the basement couch recently to keep covered. Hee hee.

ANYWAY!!!! The heat is now on and I am so happy.

Also, my brother was stinking cute this morning when he called. I'll have to write about it later.

The plants are all done (although the hydrangea is actually GROWING) and now I've just got some mums and pumpkins by the front garden. I need to plant daffodil bulbs asap if I want them for the spring. I don't really have anything else to write about! Suggestions?

Bruschetta!

Hmmm...I emailed the bride (what???? I'm possessed!) and she gave me the same advice as CCBL - just call the restaurant!

Anyway, here's the deal: it's just bruschetta! REALLY? WHAT?

So he gave me the ingredients:
- tomatoes
- onions
- fresh garlic
- balsamic vinegar (that must have been the sweetness)
- capers (interesting)

I guess I'll try it out!

Secret Food

Ok, I need some help...as you may know, I'm obsessed with tomatoes. I tasted something tomato-y and AWESOME this weekend but I can't figure out what it was.

We were at a rehearsal dinner this weekend at an excellent Italian restaurant in Lenox MA. The appetizers were served buffet-style on different tables. On this particular table was small slices of bread and then hummus, baba ganosh, olives, etc...very Mediterranean/Italian/Greek. In addition, there was a tomato mixture of goodness. What kind of tomato-y dish goes with those other dishes? It was sort of bruschetta-ish (supposed to go on the bread) but BETTER.

I can't even figure out the ingredients - something sweet? Balsamic vinegar? Tomatoes were definitely the main ingredient (no cheese, grain, etc...).

Please help - I can't stop thinking about it!

Sidenote: if you're ever looking for a good weekend excursion in the fall, I would definitely recommend Lenox. The wedding was obviously the high point of the weekend but Lenox on its own would have been pretty great too!

Thank you, KLG

I thought this was pretty funny:

http://kanyelicious.appspot.com/http://jobsatisfactioninparaguay.blogspot.com/

Cute

Well, I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the x-rated produce. Also, I apologize for the ten day absence - I forgot I had a blog!

Anyway, I'm totally going to gush about Mike. Annoying but whatever, it's my blog and I can brag and be mushy about his cuteness. He went away from Friday to Sunday...when I got home on Friday night from work, these notes were all over the house.

Too freaking cute!

I can see Gange rolling his eyes right now.

Whatever.

Interesting

Huh. This is how the cucumber, lemon and lime were arranged this morning by the cleaning lady.

By the way, after the economy tanked while we were in Hawaii last year, we got all grown-up and stuff and canceled the cleaning lady, the Globe delivery and HBO.

We were back with HBO and the cleaning lady within six months. Having a clean house after working a 12 hour shift is an amazing feeling.

Two posts, one day

I am still loving this email and now I want to add my own commentary to some of them. I'm sure that will bore some of you...and to that, I say "get your own blog".

1. More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I canthink about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tellmy own story that's not only better, but also more directly involvesme. (I've never thought this...except ALL THE TIME)

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when yourealize you're wrong. (unfortunately this happens much more than I want to admit with my husband)

3. I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink tohave fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint andsticks when they've invented the lighter? (YES! I also think non-drinkers have fairly boring stories. Again, I'm sure that some of you will say "JSinP, you're a TERRIBLE lightweight drinker"...but whatever, at least I try! Also, get your own blog)

4. That's enough, Nickelback. (hmmm...I don't really care one way or the other. I could say it to Coldplay though.)

5. There is a great need for sarcasm font. (Also a font for "you're a moron but I work with you so I don't want to be too mean")

6. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it. (well, no, because my movie-watching was severely limited by the PBS-loving parents...but this totally happens when I reread books)

7. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actuallybecomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone'slaughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a littlebit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still theonly one who really, really gets it. (Again, I haven't seen a lot of movies - definitely happens with TV shows though)

8. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in. (only my brother will appreciate this - this is also true when trying to bring all of my grandmother's groceries into her condo. She'll suggest that you take a rolling cart through the handicapped entrance and up into her place but instead I'd rather have my hands fall off as I carrry a year's worth of Parmalat through the front door)

9. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. (ALL THE TIME)

10. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nodand smile because you still didn't hear what they said? (this has been happening a lot lately - I am blaming it on swimming a lot but I'm sure what my excuse for deafness will be when the pool is closed)

11. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired. (ALWAYS)

12. Bad decisions make good stories. (so one time I was at a wedding and they served boxed wine...)

13. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say theirname and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem... (I have this problem a lot...this is ridiculous because I love public speaking but this paralyzes me)

14. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at workwhen you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day. (I miss these days so much - unfortunately my current job doesn't allow for F'ing around on the internet)

15. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste. (YES. Also, Mike would count in that statement...I hate when I am all dolled up and I don't see him. I kind of feel bad for him...he only sees the gross JSinP)

16. I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes. (ummm, yes)

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call. (this is a common conversation between me and Mike - should we delete those #s or not?)

18. It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text. (I thought everyone else loved the video!!! I hate it)

19. The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, sawthey had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to thinkabout it, and then estimated that there must be at least four peopleeating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating bymyself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat ba$tard before dinner. (ALL THE TIME)

Still laughing

I sent Mike an email complaining that I had to pick up TEN books for him at the library this morning.

This is what he emailed me in return:

Ok, that's pretty funny and I'm totally going to do the same thing to someone else.

Ser?

Virginia sent me another list of AWESOME names.

amiracle
symphonie
oprentiss
lover
jubilee
kapri summer
knicholas
gaybreil
airyn
silver unique
miangel
preshus
tru blessing
hosanna
winter sky

Is it weird that I sort of like Airyn and Winter Sky?

Also, the title of this post is the hot new word for Fall 2009 (TM C. Gange).

That's enough, Nickelback.

I got this as an email forward...I was pretty sure it was another cheesy forward but I ended up snorting a few times so I thought it was worthy to share. Also, Mike who usually hates forwards thought it was awesome...so that's a ringing endorsement. :)

I wanted to add my own commentary but it's probably not necessary.


I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard.
This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will
never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't
work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically
fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all
know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards
or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped
on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom.
Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I
tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We
played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I
finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a
mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is
me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

How the he11 are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all
I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod
and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a di ** from cutting in at the front. Stay strong,
brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to
be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an
overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their
name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem...

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching
TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge
me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching
this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the
room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China
and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that
when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? ), but
when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to
voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run
away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing
anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not
know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I
find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from
the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the
Donkey - but I'd bet my a$$ everyone can find and push the Snooze
button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time
every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would
happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the he11 do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the
link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,
someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think
about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people
eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by
myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat ba$tard
before dinner.

Topsy Turvy

Before I touch on the topsy-turvy, I'd like to give a shout-out to Gange and CCBL for being such loyal commenters. YAY! Also, big props to CCBL for finding out that she's got one of each "flavor" to that belly of hers!

Anyway...topsy-turvy...I think it's pretty cool. As you can see, I have some cherry tomatoes growing now. It definitely took ALL summer but I think it's because of the lack of sun for all of June and most of July. I actually had two planters originally but the second one got even less sun. I'd like to try it again next summer - maybe move it to a sunnier area (my neighbor offered her garden) and start with nursery-grown seedlings (and not started from seeds).

All this from a commercial on NESN!

Photos and commentary on acupuncture coming soon (aka when I upload the photos).

The Kindle

I had the opportunity to play with CCBL's Kindle in MN. Here are my thoughts.





Pros:
- dude, it weighs like NOTHING. Imagine going on vacation - you can bring ten books with no worries!
- I'm sure it eliminates clutter on your bedside table.
- you can download books instantaneously. That is pretty awesome. In fact, CCBL found out that she was having twins (yay) and immediately bought a book while waiting for the OBGYN.





Cons:
- I think it's a lot of money (too lazy to actually look this up).
- I like to flip back and reread certain pages - it might be hard to do this on the Kindle.
- the "books" cost $15 apiece
- I'm a big fan of the library and rarely buy books.

So while I don't think it's worth it for ME, I can definitely see the appeal.

Gardens

I took the GRE this morning and I feel that I can FINALLY relax...well, until I have to worry about applications...and then actual schoolwork. What am I thinking?????????????? :)

Anyway, my gardens look like craaaaaaap so let's focus on KLG's instead. She built a cool box garden earlier this year. It has been very productive!

Isn't that incredible?!?!? And here is her harvest for just ONE DAY last week:

Awesome!

When I get around to it, I'll post pictures from my topsy-turvy. Everything else (including the hydrangea) died while we were on vacation. Also, next week, I'm going to take some pictures at the acupuncturist's office.

Awesome Friend

Well!

This touched me:

http://keepinghercool.blogspot.com/2009/08/24-see-my-city-like-tourist.html

Props to Virginia

Oh boy, Virginia has some new doozies from my old hospital:

Desmonde Tutu

Elvis (a girl)

Legacy

Modesty

Versace

Margarita

Yoyo

Ebenezer

Sirjerome

Little John

Queetia Paradise

Siblings: Marqueisha, Markeisha, Markella, Marche, Marcus, Markell, Marnisha and Jamarr Marquette

Twins: Major and Minor (I think I listed that one earlier)

I am not even going to spellcheck this post. Something tells me that "Sirjerome" will not be in the dictionary.

Awesome Food News

http://boston.grubstreet.com/2009/07/el_pelon_to_rise_from_the_ashe.html

Plus I like that the link ends in "ashe".

Thoughts

1. I am going to Minnesota in SIX days! I'm so excited! Someone (guess who?) thinks this deserves a full blog post but I really don't have much else to say yet!

2. I can't believe I didn't update in almost two weeks. I really don't have many stories lately! Someone else gave me a hard time about my lack of updates (again, guess who?) so my plan is to take some awesome photos of his daughter tomorrow for my next post.

3. Meghan's hydrangea is gorgeous. If I saw this a few weeks ago, I'd be jealous...but now that my hydrangea is a wilted, watery disaster, I'm GREEN. I'll post a picture of mine tomorrow.

It's pathetic and requiring stakes to keep it upright.

Little Burgers with Greek Salad

Recipe #3 - I pretty much stole this from Real Simple magazine but I took out stuff I didn’t like and added other stuff (ummm, cheese).

Box of couscous
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
Salt and pepper
Other Mediterranean-like seasonings
4 plum tomatoes, quartered
1 cucumber, sliced into half-moons
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Hummus
Feta Cheese
Pita chips (cut up some pita and stick in oven at 350 for 5-10 min)


1. Start making the couscous.
2. Mix the beef, salt&pepper and any other seasonings together and make little patties.
3. Stick the little patties in a glass dish under the broiler for 5 min; flip them over for another 5 minutes. Apparently it’s impt to keep a close eye on this because the fat in the burgers can catch fire under the broiler. Thank you, Google. I used 93% lean so I figured I might be ok.
4. Mix the couscous, tomatoes and cucumbers together. Dress with olive oil and lemon juice.
5. Serve salad with mini burgers and pita chips and hummus.
6. Throw feta all over everything.

Fish Tacos

As most of you know, I'm OBSESSED with a certain Mexican place that has burned down and I obsessively have been looking for a fantastic steak burrito or fish taco since the fire. I never even thought about MAKING it on my own until last week.

Also, Mike has a tendency to buy random protein products and stick them in the freezer. He's really good about cleaning out the freezer (whereas I usually forget to even look in there) but he would be happy with a random George-Foreman-ed piece of meat/fish and I like something a little fancier.

Anyway...Mike bought some Mahi-Mahi from Trader Joe's a while ago and it inspired me to find a recipe for fish tacos.

Mahi-Mahi (dude, if I knew how much, I would have my own cookbook)
Olive oil
2 limes
Taco seasoning (we have A LOT of taco seasoning in this condo – we make a lot of tacos)
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Sliced red onion
Tortillas (we use the low carb ones – SO yummy)
Shredded white cabbage
Salsa
Sour cream

1. Mix together oil, the juice of 1.5 limes, some taco seasoning and some of the chopped cilantro leaves. Cover the fish with this marinade for 20 minutes (NO MORE THAN 20 MINUTES or you risk making seviche).
2. Grill the fish and the red onion (you’ll have to look up specific grilling instructions; I have no idea).
3. Place the fish and the red onion in tortillas and top with cabbage, salsa and sour cream.
4. Enjoy but realize it’s not as good as a certain Mexican restaurant.

Beet Salad

Here is the first of three recipes that I love:

Beet Salad - this is a Mamma original and takes about 30 seconds to pull together. It's nothing fancy...
- can of beets
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar (balsamic doesn't taste as good)
- one clove of garlic - minced (should be fresh if you can)
- oregano or Italian seasoning (which includes oregano)
- salt and pepper

1. Drain most of the beet juice and place the beets in a serving dish. It's best to do this in a wide dish so that the beets aren't resting on top of each other.
2. Drizzle with oil and vinegar, scatter garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Let it sit out for a few minutes (20 min would be ideal for the flavors to seep together).
4. If you're worried about garlic breath, you can pick them out now (the flavor is already seeped in).

Thoughts

1. I am SO happy that Mike is now a follower. I feel very cool.
2. I am waiting for before/after pictures of Meghan's hydrangea. I saw the cell phone pic and it was dangerously impressive.
3. I have three great recipes to post...but I've since found out that one of my recipes is actually a dirty word (according to the SW at work).

Hydrangeas

Everything else in my garden looks awful but the hydrangeas look awesome.
May 18:

July 6:
Also, I made a beet salad for lunch and fish tacos for dinner. I should post the recipes.

Maine-y is Rainy

I had two days off before I had to work on the holiday wknd (boooooo) so Mike suggested that we head up to Maine for an overnight visit. He has a friend who LOVES Portland so we figured it would be a fun city plus we could catch a Seadog (minor league) game.

Anyway, the game was canceled (apparently it's been raining a lot here in New England - maybe you've noticed) so we went to the hotel bar on the roof which is supposed to have an awesome view of the area. As you can see from the picture, the view was just a tad limited! They did have wine though so we were all set until our 930 dinner reservation. By the way, 930!! Who eats at 930?!?!?! Gange, that's 2130 for you.

Also, Mike looks cute in a blazer. :)

Anyway, we woke up to sun the next day so we walked around Portland for a while and then headed to Kennebunkport for "the best lobster roll in Maine". Since I don't eat lobster, this was wasted on me but Mike said it was good...and the exploring was awesome!

I'm off to take photos of my water-logged plants for future blog postings. Sadly, I think only KLG and Gange are excited for that post.

Brudda

My poor "baby" brother had an appendectomy last Saturday morning. Poor guy!

This picture is pre-op...I missed this but I saw him post-op...he wasn't so smiley then!

You might see him tonight!

Topsy Turvy

I almost forgot...I did plant one of the Topsy Turvy planters. I'm sure it will be cool but it's unimpressive at this point because the lack of sunshine is really hindering its growth.

Also, my hydrangeas are out-of-control awesome.

I hope it's sunny tomorrow so that I can take some photos!

Boring Blogging

Well, I received two complaints today (Gange, KLG) about my lack of blogging so I felt like I needed to write something. I'll be honest - I have NOTHING to write about...I haven't done anything fun in two weeks now because of the rain - no gardening, no fun hikes, no fun trips, etc... Plus I haven't cooked much because I've been working so much. In related news, I'm going to have an awesome paycheck because of all the overtime and pager duty. I'm trying to get it all in while it's gross out so i can relax when the sun is shining again.

I wish I had some reproductive news but I've got nothing...this was an emotionally rough week for me for a number of reasons but it's over now and I'm looking fwd to Mike's party!

Neti Pot Videos and Baby Names

As I mentioned, I deleted the videos...I ended up leaving them up for 48 hours and it sounds like you guys liked them. :)

Also, Virginia has a new great baby name, courtesy of my old employer: Winter Coates.

This may be the winner, folks.

Comments on the Videos

1. You need to watch it with sound because you can hear me (A) trying to breath through my mouth and (B) basically choking/drowning.
2. No boogers ended up in my hair.
3. I did the second video by myself...is it obvious? Ha ha.
4. The boogers falling out of my nose in the second video were probably not necessary.
5. I am only leaving this up for 24 hours so get your fill.

Second Video

*DELETED*

Limited Time Only

Ok, for a very limited time, I am posting the Neti Pot videos. If I knew how to edit video, I would.

The first video:

*DELETED*

More great baby names from Virginia

Singletons:

satchel

nosmo king (no smoking)

winner

brilliant

blue

king victorious

cafeteria

myprecious angel

iwanna miracle

precious melody

cocochanel

khemistry

kashmiere

izeaiyah (isaiah)

mountain

island

vanilla bean

millenium

unique diamond

 

Twins:

Orangejello (or-ahn-jalo)

Lemonjello (le-mahn-jalo)

(I always hear that one but I've always assumed it was an urban legend)

Angel

Gabriel

 

Derrick

D'errick

Neti Pot Update

The AV Club of Village Green Drive recorded two videos of the Neti Pot this evening. Neither are suitable for public viewing.

Book Suggestions

I was asked for some book suggestions and I went a little crazy. For pure documentation purposes, here's the complete list:

Good fiction
- Anything by Jhumpa Lahiri. I just reread The Namesake and I couldn't believe how awesome it still is. Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth are short story collections and are also awesome.
- Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida is fantastic.
- The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
- Free Food for Millionaires by Jin Lee
- Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen


Borderline chick-lit
Any book by Marisa De los Santos
The Senator’s Wife by Sue Miller
The myth of you and me by Leah Stewart
How to be single by Liz Tuccillo
The secret life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
Lorna Landvik is cheesy but I love her books (especially Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons)

Non-fiction (I like memoirs)
Orenstein, Peggy - Waiting for Daisy
Armstrong, Heather B. - It sucked and then I cried
Patchett, Ann - Truth & beauty (actually anything by her)
Dully, Howard - My lobotomy
Gladwell, Malcolm
Pipher, Mary – Reviving Ophelia
Alvarez, Julia - Once Upon a Quinceanera
Walker, Rebecca Choi, Annie - Happy birthday or whatever
Sonnenberg, Susanna - Her last death

Dinner (again)

Dinner was so freaking good.

- Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
- Pork Chops (marinated in honey and soy sauce)
- Corn on the Cob







The salad is really easy and so good. For two servings, you need 1/2 avocado, 1 grapefruit, a little fresh tarragon (random), olive oil, salt, pepper and either lime or lemon juice.

1. Slice the avocado. 2. Cut the grapefruit into pieces (do this over a bowl so you can save the extra juice. 3. Mix the avocado and the grapefruit together. 4. Rip up a small amt of tarragon into little pieces. 5. Take the extra grapefruit juice and whisk it with the tarragon, some olive oil, some salt and pepper and a small amt of lime or lemon juice.

Gange will love this post

I'm sick of looking like a 14-year-old so I went to Sephora today to get a "makeover". My waxer (wow, Gange is HATING this) works there part-time so I had pre-arranged it and didn't awkwardly walk in and announce "Make me over".

Anyway, here's the before and after:

I still haven't perfected the photo upload, apparently. Anyway, I spent $130. Eeeeesh.

Neti Pot and JMW

1. The Neti Pot was fantastic. I bought the Walgreen's brand (ugh, I hate Walgreen's but I was in Gloucester so I was limited in store options). It definitely cleared me out although I did sort of feel like I was drowning a bit while I was pouring the water. And Laura, water definitely poured out the other nostril. It was gross but awesome. I want to post pictures/video but Mike refuses to watch me do it so I doubt he'll take photos.

2. I had a lovely lunch at CB1 today and I saw Miss JMW! Apparently we have the same coloring which is hysterical since her mother and I don't look anything alike. Also I had no idea my hair was that dark!

Stupid purchase or medical miracle?

Yup, I bought this today. I am so sick of spring allergies and I heard that this might help.

I'm kind of scared/grossed out though.

YAY!

I'm so happy for Laura! Even if she isn't a follower of this blog. :)

HIPAA

First of all, did my last post look weird? The photo set-up looks good in Google Chrome and Firefox but weird in Internet Explorer. Maybe I have too many internet browsers. 

Also, I'm very psyched by my FIVE followers!!!

Anyway, a little complaint: I saw an endocrinologist (well, two of them technically - the attending and the fellow) a few months ago. I liked the attending (mostly because she said "you'll have children" in such a straight-forward way) but I'm irritated at the fellow. When he called to give me my follow-up information, he scared the crap out of me. I was referred to a million (ok, three) other doctors and now I feel like my days off are spent making appointments and getting inconclusive results and MORE BLOODWORK. 

When I was at the appointment, the fellow mentioned that his wife was a resident and was surprised that I didn't know her name (it was uncommon - trust me, if I knew her, I'd remember). Well, I met her on Sunday and I said that she must be married to this guy. Her response surprised me - she said "oh yeah, he told me about you! I was wondering if we would meet!"...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? He told her about me? Isn't that a HIPAA violation? 

I'm hoping/assuming that he just mentioned that he cared for a co-worker and didn't use any patient identifiers. 

But maybe she'll convince him that I don't have any mental deficits (yup, I've been asked this at EVERY recent appointment). 

Am I only applying to grad school to prove my intelligence to my new physicians? :)  

Sheep and Alpacas

The Tonester, Linda and I went to a sheep-shearing festival in town on Sunday. I saw signs for it all over town last week and I thought that they might like it. They were both really enthusiastic; apparently Tony has always wanted to take his kids to see a sheep being sheared. Weird but cute.



I also saw alpacas. For some reason, Mike and his buddy have this thing about me really liking alpacas. They are pretty cute! You can have your very own alpaca for $500.

Front Yard

After four summers here, I decided that this was the year that I was going to take care of the front yard. As you can tell from the picture on the left, it's a little pathetic looking. In the early spring, there are some lonely daffodils and tulips (not planted by me) but other than that, it's bare.

***Wow, this really did become a gardening blog. I haven't cooked in over a week so I can't even call it a recipe blog anymore. How boring. At least Gange is interested. ***

Anyway, I planted a hydrangea bush. We had them growing up and I always thought it was awesome to throw pennies in the ground and watch the flowers change color.

Based on my friend ACG's advice, I went to a well-respected nursery in town and told the woman what I needed (low-maintenance, flowering throughout the season).

Based on her recommendations, I planted Vincas (Titan Lavender Blue Halo, Titan Burgundy and Polka Dot), Cosmos (Sensation) and Zinnias (Profusion Cherry). I'm sure none of you care about the names but I needed a place to write it down for next year.

Housekeeping...of my blog

1. I am really psyched that I now have TWO followers. I am not sure what that means but I like it.

2. I still don't know how to insert the photos correctly into the text.

3. Gardening updates:
a. Gangers, I think it is too cold to plant outside. It's going down to the mid-40s tonight. I'm bringing mine in.
b. The green tomatoes, Marzano tomatoes and orange peppers have now sprouted (albeit on a wimpy scale).
c. The mint is really out of control already. Mojitos, anyone?

I can't even begin to explain how much this photo layout is offending me right now. Adam? CCBL? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)