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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** This is my family updates blog. I'm sorry to say that it's moved to Facebook. If you would like to continue to read about my life, you need to be my Facebook friend.  |
Responding to "Invalid Entry"  Man, I was almost hoping I would get to talk about marijuana because I miss being in a debate society where the whole "legalizing marijuana" topic came up at least once a semester. But it's probably for the best, since my job with the government is all secret squirrel and it makes me scared to admit to knowing anything about the subject outside of accidentally inhaling 2nd hand smoke at rock concerts. And even then, that may be back when I was a teenager...and I make it a rule not to apologize for being a dumb teenager. So...I'll just make my way out of that fog and onto the island of relevancy...ah yes, bluntness... I am a pretty blunt person in general, which works best in the workplace where I have talked myself into quite a few jobs. In general, people are too busy to beat around the bush and try to guess what you are thinking. It is much better when you just tell them straight out. (It doesn't seem to work on this website, especially when I use the word "cliche" in reviews. For some reason, my reviews are too blunt and people get pissy.) This whole bluntness is an innate gift of mine I think because I remember using it to argue with a number of various adults from the time I was in elementary school...long before my Mom nurtured it by encouraging me to become a public speaker. Being that I am as busy as everyone else, I also appreciate straight-forwardness from other people. I can't say any of the guys that I have dated have used that as an excuse to ask me straight out to have sex. A couple have asked for just kisses outright...which I thought was sweet in that awww gushy stomach-melting way you get when you're first in love. One of those was my husband. We were roommates and friends at the time, but it had been an awkward summer because we both knew that we were pretty much in love with each other. But I was dating someone else and it is such a large step to go from roommates to live-in couple even if you're good friends. Especially if you're good friends. But eventually, he just came out and asked, which seems like it would be hard for him to do since he's such a quiet man, but I know now that when he wants something he isn't as shy as people think. When we decided we were officially going out, I remember my brother asking me, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" By that time, I knew that I had made worse decisions in pursuit of my happiness instant gratification. Turned out to be a WAY cool idea! Chris is a bucket of chub nuggets covered in awesome sauce. And I need to think of something to get him for his birthday in a few days. . . . . I actually had a second thought after re-reading this entry. It seems like some people who study Criminal Law expect guys to be that blunt, so there is no confusion whatsoever about whether a woman "gave consent" to sex. I think that is ridiculous. I think it is pretty obvious that when someone says "no" that is not consent. But to go through something formal...? "I would like to have sex with you." "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I would like to have sex with you too. Please sign the following waiver." It sounds like Bush and Blair deciding to go to war together. How awful would that be if every romantic encounter started off with a laying down of the terms? Hehehe...that's a bit much for me. But then I am a serial monogamist and not one of those people who have been into one-night-stands where your risks are higher. |
| Following entry "Double Standards" How can you? They ask. How can you bear and nurture children but then strap on your daggers and take on any number of homicidal missions? People are quick to think that rogues are just murderers and thieves, but there's more to us than that. Who else do they call to heal cuts and wounds? It is I, with my knowledge of anatomy that they rely on. Who else knows how to pick the locks of your doors and chests when you lose your keys? I do these things and ask no questions. Yes, I know more than most should about poisons. And yes, sometimes I take unsavory and strange missions, but that is how you make it in this World as an adventurer. Many of my quests are to protect and save the people of Azeroth. But they don't see it that way sometimes. I used to wear my leather armor all the time, but I got tired of people giving me strange looks when I walked with my baby in my arms. I know when they see me in my regular baby-drool clothes that they don't know how deadly I am. Most don't even see me as the same person as the shadowy hooded creature creeping out at night. Perhaps that is for the best. I would rather they hate the rogue than hate me. Most frustrating is the distrust I get from fellow adventurers. True, no one wants to face a rogue, and I have heard many a drunken tirade in inns from foolish people who made the mistake of crossing a rogue. But these same people would be glad to say "yes" when a rogue offers to help kill a particularly nasty monster. No other class of fighter offers the useful stunlock, the deadly poisons, the damage per second. What a warrior could spend hours hacking away at, a rogue could dispatch with a few well-timed, well-placed dagger wounds. The truth is I can't completely dissect myself from the rogue. A part of me will always be mistrusted, no matter how much of a hero I can prove myself to be. But I do what I must to fight the plague of slathering ghouls, cheeky orcs, fel demons, or any number of dangers that threaten my World...of Warcraft. If you don't play WoW, you may not understand. And if you do, I'm a lvl 62 human rogue on Smoulderthorn, and I melt the faces off the Horde. |
An attempt to follow "Invalid Entry" by Problematic Content  who is another judge of the FTL contest. Please click link for it is quite entertaining and contains a very detailed account of urinals. But I especially enjoyed being referred to as first a peon, then a douchebag. Wow, what loving judges we have for this contest! ROFL According to the contest page anything goes, so I'll write my entries the way I please without regard to your fascist judging preferences.  (That being the closest emoticon equivalent to kiss-my-ass as I could get.)I won't commisserate with you about how horrible Olive Garden is. (Although it does suck.) I personally don't sit around and take that sort of crap. I get what I want or I don't pay because it's a service industry and they are there to please me. The especially wonderful thing about restaurants is the tip comes last, so you can always take it out on someone. I don't have much patience with the people who work at restaurants because it's not that hard of a job. My opinion of restaurant workers - teenagers in high school or college needing extra cash, people working 2nd jobs who are half-asleep, people who can't seem to stay in college or are not motivated to find useful skills and therefore have no other choice but to work in service. I assume they probably spit in the food and drop shit on the ground anyway, so yeah, I have no problem pointing out their mistakes. Mostly I don't even bother with restaurants much anymore. It's much quicker, easier, cheaper, and healthier to cook my own meals. So that's my advice - learn to cook. Here's a simple recipe: Open a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup, pour it in a saucepan, and warm up over medium heat. Slice off an inch of Velveeta cheese and melt it in the soup. In the meantime, boil water and cook spaghetti noodles until al dente  real Italian word according to the Food Network. Pour soup/cheese sauce over noodles. Voila! Homemade ChefBoyardee!I personally love this stuff. Apparently, it was my Grandma's recipe because my Mom said she used to eat it when she was a kid. And now I'm going to write about what I want to complain about. Live with it! What the hell happened to rock music?!?! Or alternative? It seems to be a snakerack of singer-songwriter lets-sing-about-feelings stuff now. Think The Fray and you know what I mean. I don't mind listening to that every now and then, but what if you really want to rock out? I usually turn to what I listened to in middle school and high school. Cause what are my choices now? Am I getting old or is this stuff actually good and I don't know it? Nickleback is just awful. I hear them and want to puke. I want to puke when I think about their Grammy awards. They are SO mainstream it makes me want to cry. And poor Chris Daughtry, which I thought had a lot of potential, sounds just like them. Evanescence - too damn depressing Fall Out Boy - alright but a little egocentric and overplayed Panic at the Disco - different, maybe too different, and overplayed The Killers - way way overplayed I really like My Chemical Romance. But what the heck else is there to listen to?!?! I mean, there are other rock bands out there - Saliva, AFI, Mastadon - but it just seems like when I was growing up there was much more to choose from. Thank God Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers are still releasing decent stuff. I kind of miss Blink 182, Offspring, and Presidents of the United States of America. I kinda miss the albums that don't insist on every song having some sort of meaning. And don't get me started on female rockers. Garbage is gone. Gwen Stefani went retarded. Avril Lavigne, which I thought was alright when she first came out, is making the sappiest crap now. Ugh! It's all just sad. Maybe I just don't know where to look for this stuff. It's not like I have time in the day to go searching iTunes for the most obscure indie rock out there...although I have tried a couple times with some not-that-bad results. I need some good music soon or else I'm going to end up listening to Augustana's friggin "Boston" song again. Snakebite ouch! |
| "Invalid Entry" Apparently, elizm446, judge of the Follow the Leader contest, is bored to tears by all of our entries. That may be just too damn bad for her...at least as regarding my blog. For one, I never let writing fry or drown my noodle. I write for my own amusement and enter contests that inspire and motivate me. Impressing other people is gravy. And on top of that, I am glad that my life is boring. I created too much drama for myself in the past, and I am passed an age where I find that tragically romantic or some other nonsense. I was the ocean, I am now the pond. But to answer the question and to illustrate my point about no-more-drama (as Mary J. Blige would say), I will tell you What Happened In Law School. It is possible to fry and drown your noodle. This was law school...the 7 mos I was there. I actually loved studying law. It's a fascinating subject for me. BUT I hated law school...and my life at that time. My life was a constant turmoil. I was upset about my dad being so sick. I fought with my now ex-husband constantly to the point where I would run off and disappear for a few hours. I lied to him all the time about where I was at, so he would leave me alone. And plus we had hardly any money. Those problems were exacerbated by how much I disliked law school. I found most of the other students to be arrogant and insufferably lawyerly. Everywhere was this holier than thou attitude like they were the kings of the world for just being able to make it into law school. Don't get me wrong, you're doing good to get accepted to a top tier school, but you don't know everything. Knowing that these people were going to be my professional peers really turned me off to practicing law...even as a JAG in the military which is what I wanted to do. And then they tried to kick me out... Me and the rest of my study group. We were in the same Legal Research and Writing class. Part of our grade for our papers and projects were citing things correctly...to the point that if you didn't cite something correctly you could get a negative grade. To help you cite things was an inch thick blue book, appropriately titled The Blue Book. We decided to compile it into a program that could do it for us. We called it the Citator. They called it cheating. What bastards! So yeah...that's when my brain was about as fried and drowned as it possibly could be. Even though I didn't feel like I belonged in law school, I was completely crushed by the idea of them wanting to kick me out along with the couple other people I actually liked. And for something so stupid. We fought as a group for a little while, but eventually I told them I was cutting my losses and getting the hell out. I had already talked to an officer recruiter for the Navy. Ironically, the first job after officer training was Legal Officer for the entire command. I did the same thing a JAG would do, no degree necessary. ROFL I was an ocean, I am now a pond. And if I wanted waves I would make them. I am obviously capable of doing that to myself. I guess I shouldn't say my life is that boring. Last night was kind of exciting because Jack was so sick we had to take him to the ER. His temperature was 105.7! Ouch! Yeah, he was not a happy kiddo. Scared the hell out of me too. He looks better today though. |
| following "Invalid Entry" My body is tired right now. I have spent the better part of the day cleaning in one of those fierce grime-scouring moods I get in every now and then. My husband cheered me from the side-lines "nest nest nest." And maybe he's right - maybe this is early nesting. All I know is I woke of this morning and felt filth closing in on me. I just can't live like that. So now I managed to clean the family room down to the itty bitty corners and couch creases, do the laundry, straighten up the nursery, and wash all the windows. There's still much to do in the kitchen and bathrooms. Needless to say, my body aches as if I was working out all day at the gym. Especially my midsection...like right where the baby is growing. The wombsection. It feels like I have done a bunch of situps. The body does some strange things during pregnancy. I just hope I don't have that restless leg syndrome like I did last time. That was as bad or worse than the leg cramps. Cleaning burns a lot of calories I hear. Not that I need to worry about that. I finally gained some weight, now that my nausea has passed all but completely. Despite the slow weight gain my waistline has grown pretty much continually. I'm getting rounder. Friday I broke down and started wearing the maternity uniform because I just couldn't stand the belted pants anymore. So I looked pretty ridiculous because even the "small" maternity uniform is so huge you could fit another person in it...which I guess is the point. I have to admit, I was a lot more comfortable. I'm expecting our new baby to be as white as Jack, which as you can tell from the picture is about as white as you can get. That would be me too. At least Chris may tan a little bit in the summer, but I'm burn-white-burn. (This is actually where my nickname Piglet came from...because I turn so pink in the sun. Bet ya'll didn't know that huh.) We are an SPF 60 family. Hehehe... There are times when I wish I wasn't so white...like when I was in the Middle East. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb. Even here in Maryland...there's a lot of black people and mixed couples. I see more here than I did in Georgia where I grew up in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. If you aren't from Atlanta, than you may not know that the northern suburbs have been (and may be still for all I know) predominately white. Even though Atlanta is a big city and there are a lot of black people there, I didn't really talk to any of them on a regular basis. Not so here in Maryland. Everyone is all mixed together in a way I am just now getting used to. I think it's great! I have black neighbors and coworkers. It's a good thing! But boy do I feel white! My bare legs are like blinding beacons in the sunlight. Hehehe...quick get your sunglasses! |
| following "Invalid Entry" The current news about the low-income sub-prime mortgages is absolutely fascinating to me. I can remember only a couple years ago talk about the housing market bored me to tears, but now that I'm staring it in the face I can't get enough of it. I guess once you decide that getting a house is the right thing for your family, it becomes this huge effort to do it right...especially if you're careful planners like me and Chris. Buying a house is an engrossing topic for us now. We can talk for house about how many bedrooms we want, whether we should worry about schools even though the kids will only be babies, how far we want to commute, whether we should get our dream house or settle for a starter home and plan to move later. The list goes on... NPR made an interesting comment the other day about the sub-prime mortgages saying that buying a home is just not right for everyone. Even though home-ownership is a tempting goal to accomplish, low-income families shouldn't necessarily be looking to buy. Renting offers much more flexibility if you do not have a stable employment. If you get evicted it will not be the loss of equity that a foreclosure would be. What struck me about this comment wasn't that I should rethink our own plans. I just found it interesting that there is such a push to have so many people own their own home. I definitely feel peer pressure from people in my generation to get a house. It's like even if you're single, if you're out of college and have a good job, why wouldn't you buy? I know late-twenties who strive to become homeowners before their parents were, and I know quite a few couples who are adamant about getting a house before they have children. Chris and I would like more room now that we have kids. I would like to be settled somewhere after bouncing around from place to place since college. I can't wait to move and get out of Maryland. I know I have said it before...but it's just SO true. Not that it would kill me to stay here another year, but I do not feel at home here. Seattle is so nice and we have so much family there. Anyway...I keep having these headaches. After two weeks of a headache every single day at 3pm, I called my nurse practitioner who said my blood sugar is probably dropping. I should eat more snacks. So I tried that and had a couple days without headaches, but then today it came back. Did I miss a snack? I don't know. I'm not that hungry all the time, so I don't think I need as many snacks as she suggests. I drink tons of water. I get a decent amount of sleep (although I don't have time for naps). I don't understand. If I was really hypoglycemic, it seems like I would get dizzy too. Maybe not. I could have sworn Jack said "ball" today. We were playing with his ball, rolling it and throwing it, and he said "baw baw." It was so close I was ready to give it to him, but I just don't know. Of course, when Chris came home I couldn't get him to say it again. |
| I couldn't believe this email I got today. For a week I have spent my workdays researching a problem that we noticed last week. I did up stats and charts and wrote this nice simple explanation about what was wrong and how to fix it. I sent all of this to the people who can actually fix the problem. The gist of the reply was, "Oh this is nice. We'll see what we can do but really it is more art than science." LOLOL The "more art than science" part is a direct quote. Um, I work in a very technical field. It's pretty much ALL science. And what I do isn't even hard science because let's face it I'm not a astrophysics genius. I had so many smartass remarks, but those never sound right in email so I just responded with some kind of drivel like "I know you guys will do what you can." Sometimes I'm amazed anything works at all! After work I went to the park with Jack. BECAUSE it's so warm!! Yea!! Happy dance! Dare I keep my windows open tonight? I guess we'll try and see if I'm all stuffy with red itchy eyes tomorrow. Hehehe...ah Spring! I can barely see you because my eyes are watery, but it's nice to have you here anyway. Jack liked the park. He was fascinated by the grass and really enjoyed tearing up the dry leaves. He only tried tasting them once. LOL He's still not walking on his own yet, but he is able to climb onto the low toddler table at day care. It scares the hell out of the caregivers. It would scare me too if I wasn't hearing about it after the fact. Tonight for the first time we went to a restaurant and had a real sit down meal with Jack. I mean, he didn't just fall asleep after a bottle in his car seat. Nope, he sat in the high chair next to us the entire time, nibbling on his own food. We ordered him a hotdog and french fries and he loved it. Gosh, he's getting all grown up! I'm so glad he is a good table eater. You just set it all in front of him and he goes to town. He can even do his own sippy cup and bottle. My friend Trish's son is a month older than Jack and isn't eating on his own...maybe because he still only has one or two teeth. Jack's got eight. I have a good picture on my camera with him grinning and you can see most of them. I'll have to upload it and put it up. |
| In response to "Invalid Entry" It is kind of fun to play with the idea of alternate universes - one for each major decision in my life. A different Becky who is off doing some other thing because for whatever reason in that universe I decided to stay in law school or go into the Marines instead of the Navy (OMG can you imagine? I would be in Baghdad! Unless Gore wins in that alternate reality) or any of a number of major decisions I have made. To be honest, though, this brain exercise always ends with my imagination killing them all off. Those Beckys aren't me. The Becky who went to college in California probably became a dog owner and does yoga and would never even think about joining the military. I didn't want to write this entry because I don't like the "what if" game. Every what if scenario takes me somewhere other than where I am, and I like where I am. I like who I am. I'm a happy person. (Except when it snows in March. That makes me cranky.) I have a friend who jokes about how my life is one big accident. Hehehe...well, at least my 20s. But it isn't entirely true. I made decisions and some of them were unfortunate and others have brought me great success. I own it all. Maybe I shouldn't kill the other Beckys off. Maybe they will continue on their path and we'll actually meet up one day. Something tells me that although we part for a short time we would eventually meet up again at a different fork in the road. Deep down inside the inner Becky would come out eventually. I know me, and I think no matter which path I took I would probably make the same mistakes. Maybe with different guys and different friends and in different places but the results might not look as different as I thought. |
| Response to "The tribe has spoken ..." I do not worship Tyra Banks, but I find it amusing that others do. I also like when skinny girls are called fat, when they say modeling is hard, when they say 5' 7" is short, and when people break down crying because they are going to have to cut their hair to be a model. This is why I watch reality TV! I mean, I'm a Survivor fan, and I like Amazing Race too although most of the time TIVO cuts off the end because basketball or whatever goes over. But when it comes to empathizing with laughing at our fellow human beings, it doesn't get any better than America's Next Top Model (except maybe the first couple weeks of American Idol). I know that may sound cruel, but I don't really care. If you choose to put yourself on TV, you are now there for my amusement. The girls on ANTM are truly entertaining. They can't always do math. Some look weird because that's considered "high fashion." All but a couple are extremely skinny. Some consider this to be a healthy figure, others think they could still lose some weight. Many think that modeling will change their life. All of them think that because they got picked for the show, it is proof that they can make it. Hehehe... Best of all are the cat fights they get into in their deluxe dorm. According to Tyra and the other judges there is skill to sitting in front of a camera. You have to find the light. You need to know how to position your body in order to amplify your assets and/or downplay your ugliness. Most of all, you have to be "fierce"...except when you are supposed to be softer. And even then, you can have a soft face but make your eyes fierce.  Surprisingly enough, some of the candidates really are bad at taking pictures. That's when the judges say "her beauty does not translate into a photo."Part of me believes that this whole show is a front to make modeling a legitimate profession. We're talking about a job that's a step up from mannequin, and in fact, in a couple episodes girls are challenged to be living mannequins. By saying how hard it is, by talking about how these girls could be role models, Tyra may just be trying to convince fool us into thinking that it is of immense human importance that people continue to walk down runways. So listen up! If you meet a certain body type and can walk (yes walk!), you could be...America's Next Top Model. And even if you can't walk in high heels without tripping over your gown, come on down because that's funny too! So get our there you waitresses...you Walgreen clerks...you mail-order Russian brides! BE ALL YOU CAN BE!! Be that oddly beautiful girl who has no other talents other than sitting in front of a camera. You might as well model because you aren't saving the world. You ain't no rocket surgeon! And maybe I'll just play along for an hour and pretend you are actually important and not just there for my amusement. |
| Eliza. That's the name we will give our new baby if it's a girl. Probably Eliza Rae. We actually picked that name out last time, so it was an easy choice. Not so easy with boy names. We liked the name Jack so much, and it's taken now. I almost want a girl so we don't have to actually decide on one. Hehehe... We did manage to narrow it down to James, Timothy, and Eric with Michael (my father) as a middle name. But none of the three are my favorite. Picking a name is not as easy as I used to think it was. When I was young, I dreamt about getting married and having children. I had names picked out. I was particularly taken with names like Anastacia ( ) and Josephine for a girl. Walter and Arthur for a boy. Not only has my taste changed, but you have to take other things into account.Like your husband. Hehehe.... There's always the significant other veto you have to get around. Chris and I are usually on the same page. We both like names that are short or shortened easily. We don't like new-fangled names or fancy spellings. Sometimes certain names just have unpleasant histories. For instance, I liked Luke for a boy's name, but Chris had a stepbrother that he didn't like with that name. So that one is out. Perhaps parents worry too much about names, but it is the first decision you get to make about your new baby. You would like to not mess that up. I saw a survey somewhere that said most people end up liking their name, so that should be a comfort. I love my name. Well, I love Becky. Rebecca is alright. We have an ultrasound at the end of April, so perhaps there will be some closure to this issue then. Yes, we are one of those couples who like to find out ahead of time. The big surprise for us is finding out we're pregnant. LOL |
| My last little blurb was in response to the "Follow the Leader" contest which I joined because (1) everyone says good things about it and (2) I probably should be writing more self-reflective stuff. LOL But that self-reflective stuff doesn't let me document what is going on. Jack's been feverish and well...that's about it really. He's been miserable today and yesterday. I'll probably take him to the doctor tomorrow if he's still sick. It was warm last week and then inexplicably snowed again on Friday. I'm really getting fed up with this cold weather. It makes me cranky and apparently makes Jack sick. Chris got approved to receive the Agency's Scientific Acheivement Award. When people ask me why we're getting out of the Navy, I'm going to start saying it's because they can't afford to keep him. He's so smart. I wish I was that good at something. I suppose it's okay to be mediocre at quite a few things, but no one gives me awards for it. St. Patrick's Day came and went without a single sign of leprechauns (those vile creatures) although the upstairs ogres were somewhat active. Much pounding and Avril Lavigne's awful "Keep Holding On" song blasted at full power on Friday night. I woke up last Thursday at 12:30am to some girl doing the balcony soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet in the parking lot. One of the other neighbors told her to shut it! LOL All in all the ogres have been on better behavior since I complained to the leasing office about their shenanigans. I bought tickets to the Muse/MyCheRo concert on the 6th of April. I am now trying to find a babysitter. My Chemical Romance is my new favorite CD. It kind of gives me this nostalgic angsty teen feeling because the music is so melodramatic. But it's catchy too. Ok...really tired now. Moonchubs! |
I finished State of Fear. It was SOOO much better than the last books I read. It wasn't great literature, but it moved quickly and was interesting throughout. Such a nice change of pace! Here's my PR for it:
In case you haven't noticed, I am really trying to push myself to read more. Write more too, but I feel like I have had a stack of books waiting to be read and it's really time to do it. |
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| Yesterday was very slow at work, which sucks cause all I had to think about was dumb gossip column stuff...as you can see. But today was the opposite. It was very busy and, even better, the problems that came up were just plain weird. I mean, the kind of stuff you don't expect when you go into work, which to me is very cool because I like that a job can still surprise you even after you have been working it a few years. What was even more bizarre today was that some of the issues came up as normal things but when I started pulling the string really odd stuff started coming out. And this was an eye-opener for me because sometimes I am just not motivated to pull the string. Unfortunately, this is an unclassified blog, so I can't actually tell it anything about what really happened. This makes me want to start a classified blog, which you can do if you have access to the Top Secret internet. It's funny because the blog community there is very similar. They all read each other and make supportive comments about how wonderful their intelligence is and how they should keep doing such an awesome job for the IC. They started this blogging effort to encourage collaboration between agencies, which was a recommendation of the "9/11 Commission Report." (Which if you haven't read is actually very interesting for a government document. I should write a product review.) My boss actually tried starting a blog but some of his rivals within the Agency got all mad and complained that he was talking about stuff that was outside his realm of expertise. It's amazing how petty some people are!! They were really just jealous that he knew something they didn't. Some people forget that the bottom line is better intelligence. I do actually keep a handwritten journal at work which is organized and color coded (because colors make me happy). I do this so when people come and ask me if I remember such-and-such, I can look up and say "why yes I did handle this and talked to so-and-so on this date."  I have been doing quite a bit of job hunting online lately. I was doing a search of USAJOBS and saw some interesting things out there. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was looking for special agents which handle enforcement of policies on marine life and stuff like that. Sounded really cool. I talked to my brother today. He said he was going to Mexico for Spring Break and wanted to get a Speedo to shock and awe his friends. LOL So look out for those pictures if I get them. Female Speedos are actually very expensive and hold a totally different connotation for me - mostly one of jock swimmer girls. Hehehe... |
| I read on Google news that Britney Spears tried to hang herself after declaring she was the Antichrist. Somehow finding out that she is undeniably crazy only makes the world make more sense. Just like how Anna Nicole died - it just makes life feel more predictable. This news satisfies me the way criminals in jail and kids in Sunday School reaffirm the goodness in the world. Not that I have anything against Britney, I just felt deep in my heart that she would eventually go crazy and hearing that it has happened makes me feel like I was right along...simply put - you push someone far enough they will break. Don't worry...I don't think she's REALLY the Antichrist. The Antichrist in my mind is a powerful, twisted genius. Being a tortured pop princess doesn't quite qualify. I wonder if we will even know when the Antichrist or the Apocalypse comes. I wonder if we'll just be so consumed by living through such a mess that we won't even know until generations later when they look back and see how awful it all was. Anyway... It snowed today - an awful early Spring snow which does nothing for me at all. I am finally feeling better. Jack got a little bit of my cough, but he is taking it much better than I did...probably because he gets so much sleep. He's now standing a few seconds on his own and getting more interested in learning to walk. It's pretty cool! We took him to his 9-mos well-baby on Monday and found out he grew a whole two inches and one pound. He definitely looks taller. |
| I'm so tired of being sick!! I was feeling alright this weekend. I got my appetite back, but then Sunday night I started coughing and it just didn't stop. By Tuesday I was feverish and couldn't talk. Yesterday was really awful because all that phlegm in my chest had kinda hardened and so I couldn't talk or breathe. So I went back to the doctor and a nice army doctor said I had a flu-like upper respitory virus and I should stay in bed for the next two days. He did give me some awesome medicine that loosened the phlegm up and made me cough up lung boogers. Hehehe...pretty gross but it is nice to breathe. Today I still feel sick but in a almost-better sort of way. I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll be pretty much back to normal. My appetite is returning again. I haven't really been eating much this week either because of this flu-like whatever. All told I have lost 8 lbs in the last two weeks. It seems a little scary when you're trying to grow a baby and all. But like I said, the appetite is returning so I'll probably gaining again in no time. Still...somehow I don't think I'm going to be racking up 60 lbs like I did when I was pregnant with Jack. For lunch today I'm having Spaghettios. I know what you're saying - that is absolutely disgusting! That's what I'm saying to myself at least. I'm looking at this stuff wondering how I can eat it and yet it's like the only thing that is at all appetizing for me right now. How strange! I probably haven't had this stuff in at least ten years. Another craving over the last two weeks - when I have felt like eating - has been alphabet soup. Hmm...tomato based comfort foods from childhood. Go figure! Monday I had my first OB visit where they did another ultrasound and the baby was still chilling out having a ball. This one is going to be just as much of a mover as Jack was if these ultrasounds are any indication. We even got some pictures. Jack has been in a really good mood lately. He is able to drink from his bottle by himself now, which is a revelation for him. I worry because he hasn't been growing as fast as he used to. Obviously, he is burning off most of his calories crawling around and stuff. He just seems so skinny! He must at least be getting bigger or taller because the 9 month clothes are already starting to be too small for him. I'm also excited that he is eating more and drinking more at mealtimes, so he is definitely replacing those calories. Still, he is never going to be one of those chubby round babies. New baby: ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| I have finally worked my way out of the fog of nausea that I have been suffering from for the past week. It was the worst morning sickness I have ever had. I couldn't keep anything down, and finally went into the ER on Friday to get fluids and medicine. At the hospital they had to check the baby to make sure it was alright, so I got to see the little one for the first time on the sonogram. They said I was already 12 weeks along, which was 3 weeks more than I thought. That puts the due date the first week of September. 12 weeks is good. That means that hopefully the morning sickness will be all gone now because I'm past the first trimester. And today I feel fine...still a little tired, but pretty good. I was all excited that it got warmer this last week and the ice melted. Of course, on Monday that meant that some of the melting ice leaked into our apartment. We don't even live on the top floor. For whatever reason, it by-passed those guys and came in through our ceiling. Go figure! And now it's snowing. At least snow is better than ice. And it probably won't last long. It's supposed to warm up again into the 50s this week. Yea! Because it's almost March! Zuma! I was playing a little bit of World of Warcraft last night. I got my rogue high enough level-wise to go into the new Outlands, the planet they added in the expansion. It was so exciting! And the new gear that I was able to get almost immediately was awesome! It added 1000 hitpoints to my health bar, and that's nice to have. |
| Alrighty! What the heck? What is with everyone hating on holidays. I have read all sorts of stuff about how Valentine's Day is evil, etc etc. One piece even said that Mother's Day was dumb because you should love your mother all year round. Well...yeah...but that doesn't mean you can't take one day out of the year to do something special. I mean, seriously!! I think the problem is people don't know how to have fun. It's like they feel like they are expected to behave a certain way, so they get all independent and black sheep about it and say "oh well no card company is going to make me do a damn thing." Well, yeah...hehehe...I should hope not.That being said, my husband and I didn't actually celebrate Valentine's Day either. LOL Not because we have a thing against the holiday though. We're just lazy...and there was ice. Actually, we're taking the 20th off and spending the whole day together while Jack's at daycare. Booyah! So that's kind of like a belated V-Day.The ice sniks hard. One of our cars is sort of entrenched in a little bowl of ice. It was parked in a corner slot and the geniuses who plowed the apartment parking lot shoved a mound of ice behind the wheels. Rubbish! On Thursday my husband went to try digging it out and threw his back out. Ouch! And then he goes to the doctor and he happens to have an unrelated tumor on his shoulder blade called a lupoma...I think. It's a benign thing that they cut out without too much of a to-do, but still not fun to go into surgery for that. Chris is just not having a good week - sore throat, bad back, and a tumor. Jack is getting over his cold, but is still a bit cranky because more teeth are coming in. That will make eight soon. I have the cold/cough thing that everyone else has which is total crap because I already have no energy because of the baby. This may be a long weekend...and not just because of Pres Day. Speaking of which, if you really want to get upset about commercialization, just look at what car companies are doing to President's Day. |
| It iced last night. That's what happens when the air near the ground is colder than the air near the clouds. I woke up in the middle of the night to the oddly whimsical sound of sleet. Plickity-plick on the windows. Because there is a half-inch of ice on the roads, I will not be going anywhere today. I don't drive in snow and ice. I know there are people from ungodly places where minus degrees and three feet of snow is no big deal, but I am not one of them. I grew up in Georgia. I like the summer. And I just do not drive in snow...if I can help it. You probably don't want me driving in snow. Don't get me wrong, I am a good driver. I drive close to the speed limit. Never been in an accident or gotten a ticket. But I do not have much experience with driving in icy conditions and I would just rather not do it. I believe that if you push your luck you will get in an accident eventually and that's just a bad day. I have a cold today anyway...and so does Jack. It's a pretty good day to stay home and chillax. I probably have a cold from walking around DC yesterday when all the nasty weather started. I had to go down to the Capitol for that class again. I am less enthusiastic about the speakers yesterday. The first one had 60 um/uh's in a 5 min period and then I stopped listening because the filler words were just that distracting. And there were a couple good ones, but the lunch guest was more interested in name-dropping people who sounded important than telling us what he really does. And then they closed the government due to weather conditions. Unfortunately, I had taken the commuter train, so like many others I was still stuck at Union Station until 4pm because they didn't have any earlier trains due to the weather or anything. It was pretty rubbish and by that time I could feel a cold/headache coming on. Blah! At least I got to sleep in this morning and Jack's feeling just as bad, so he's not up for a lot of playing and running around. I feel bad for him, but of course, it makes it easier for me and Chris to keep up. |
| I thought that Jack would be really into walking, but he doesn't care at the moment. He has perfected the crawl, pull to standing, sit down, crawl some more. That's all he seems to want to do right now. When I hold his hands to help him walk he takes two or three steps and then wants to sit down and crawl. LOL Something tells me, though, that when he does get the hang of it, he'll wonder why he didn't do it sooner. This weekend I was showing him how to roll a ball and trying to get him to roll it back to me. This was a new game for him and he thought it was pretty fun. Of course, his aim when he rolls or throws the ball can be off, but he was having just as much fun chasing down the balls. He is much better at picking out colors if, say, I show him a red and a blue block and ask him to pick the red one, he's getting pretty good at it. Some colors he still doesn't know as well...like pink. He definitely understand more than he can say. He responds correctly when we ask him to do things, but he doesn't make coherent words. Even his mama and dada seem somewhat random. And the other one? Well, the new Baby Watson is floating his/her bubble of fluid causing all sorts of trouble for my digestive system. Even though I haven't gained any weight, I do have the pooch sticking out already. Already my waistline is gone. LOL Chris teases me and says there's triplets in there, but I think that you lose your figure earlier on subsequent pregnancies. This week I am taking a class on Capitol Hill. The class is a more in-depth look on the legislative process than your average civics class, and tailored for members of the military. I was a little apprehensive about taking the commuter train and being out of my everyday routine. But today the lectures were really good and I loved being out of the cubicle. I am supposed to go observe in the galleries of the House and Senate. It would be cool to see some of the debate on the "Iraq Resolution." That is...if it doesn't snow. |
| Hehehe...someone wrote a response to my review on The Historian and told me that obviously I didn't read the whole book and didn't get it. Well, by all means, explain to me why an author would write a first person book and then drop her narrator as a character halfway through the book. Sounds kinda noob to me...but hey, what do I know? So anyway....OUR ORDERS CAME IN!! Yea! The separation orders say August 07, and we get to choose which date. I think I'm about 8 wks pregnant and the baby will be coming mid-September or a bit later, so we'll probably choose an early August date. Then with terminal leave we could be on our way to Seattle in July. Sup! It would be so awesome to get there in July and have a couple months to get settled before the new baby comes. I could get a new OB and everything. Chris might even have a job lined up by the time we get out there. I think I might start looking for a job now even though I know I won't be starting until December or something. You can never have enough time for these things. Yesterday the Khaki Bowling was pretty awesome! Everyone liked the trophy - that damn trophy that caused me so much problems!! I still kinda think it was an ugly thing these two mounted crabs fighting. But the commanding officer was happy, so how can I complain. I am not a good bowler, but I was a team with other sucky bowlers so it was pretty fun. |
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But I am happy about those Cardinals! The same Cardinals that I'd written off as possibly the worst playoff contestant in history just three weeks ago. Now look at 'em! I'll be pulling for them in the Big Game!
