And She Was...

If I had to sum up today...

I had to clean up dead baby lizard.

We've been watching the Olympics for the last ten days or so, and we watched last night's men's beach volleyball gold medal match. We also watched the women's match the other night.

Upon the conclusion of the match, the two men who won embraced and celebrated.

zedrikcayne's comment on last night's win? "That's not nearly as hot as when the women won."

I just want to know why the women play in bikinis and the men in tank tops and shorts.

I've taken to using this as a spot for just dumping things...I save them up and then make posts that are a collection of all the various things that have been going on.

Things like the weird dreams I've been having-most of them are about places that I used to have to go, like junior high school, where I had to talk about the people I had crushes on back then, or high school where I forgot my locker combination. And then there was the airplane dream. No one needs to tell me that the airplane dream was a birth dream....I dreamed about airplanes, on the ground, rolling through tunnels and into hangars that were smaller than their wingspans. Yeah, that was a birth dream.

There was the strange experience this morning. I got up and got out of bed and heard noise. Before I went to the bathroom or brushed my teeth, I went to investigate what it was, thinking that Cayne had left the TV on or something when he was getting ready for work, only to discover Cayne sitting on the couch watching TV-about an hour later than he usually leaves for work. I asked him what he was doing, and he responded "Sitting on the couch." I asked if he was taking the day off from work and he said "No, it's Saturday." I reminded him it was Friday and he looked shocked. He scurried off, got dressed very quickly and sheepishly headed in to work.

We got the second trimester screening results back-this looked at the risk of Down's Syndrome-1/3000, Trisomy 18 (Edward's Synrome)-1/10,000 and Spina Bifida-1/1600. That of course still means that there are plenty of other thing that could go wrong, but at least that's somewhat reassuring.

We bought a chair last weekend...it arrived the other day and is in a box in the living room, on it's side. It will probably stay there until we figure out what to do with the two chairs it's replacing (one spot is getting a chair, the other is getting a new filing cabinet, but I need to decide if I'm going to Freecycle or Craig's List or what with the old chairs.) But the box is right where a coffee table would go if/when we buy one for the living room. And it's become a hot spot for cats to nap in lately. I wonder if the same thing would happen with a coffee table.

The craving for salty foods is going to drive me crazy. I really wish I could cut back on them, but I can't get enough pickles. I'm going to go open another jar when I'm done with this post.

I hope the writer's strike doesn't mean that the new shoes I like on TV disappear. Not much in the way of new shows that we're watching, just Big Bang Theory and Chuck, I think. And on the subject of TV...NBC Universal has been going on and on this week about all sorts of environmental stuff. They also sent correspondents to the Equator, the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. And my first thought when I heard about this was "I wonder if they accounted for the environmental impact of moving crew and equipment there, and what they did to balance it."

We've both been reading Scott Westerfield's books-in particular the Uglies series. I finished the first one about a year ago, on one of our winter trips, picked up the second one months later and caught the third one on a remainder table at Borders recently. They're adolescent fiction, so they're quick reads, but they're pretty good. Someone at Border's suggested them to me last year. I gave Cayne the fist one when we were traveling recently and he liked it, devoured the second and third within a matter of days, and insisted on having the fourth one, which had just come out in hardcover, and between a coupon and a sale, it was reasonable. The third one felt unevenly written, but the fourth one, the writing has gone back to what we expected, but the concept is really interesting. I'm enjoying the concept of a reputation economy, though I'm wondering how different some of that is from the way adolescents currently live today.


And the links, since I collect them.

This one talks about post partum sex...someone fears that her vagina will be too loose after giving birth. And also on the subject of vaginae, slinkr pointed me at The New York Times on the word Va-jay-jay.

This one (text follows behind the cut) is about a woman who was asked to cover up or leave Universal Studios because she was breastfeeding. (The end result, by the way, is that Universal apologized to her, because Florida law allows her to breastfeed in public.)

( The Cut )


There's also Abstinence Doesn't Curb Teen Sex

( Read about how abstinence fails )

Has anyone looked into Sony's Digital Book Reader? Despite his hatred of Sony, zedrikcayne has suggested that if I want one, I should get it. I haven't really investigated it much yet, but the idea of being able to read while nursing late at night in the dark if I'm awake, for example, is kind of appealing. It's bigger than a Palm, which is also appealing, as I've always found reading on my Palm screen rather irritating. Does anyone know more about it than I do?

We're also starting to shop for cameras-it's amazing what's become lumped in with "baby expenses" even though they really have very little to do with the baby. The two things that first come to mind are more life insurance and the camera. We're looking for a point and shoot, throw into the diaper bag kind of camera. I bought Mom a Canon of some variety last year, and the camera that I'm replacing (nothing wrong with it but the LCD screen is shot, and frankly, the cost of the LCD replacement isn't worth it) is also a Canon.

In case you haven't read about it already, comment editing is in place for paid users. Can't edit a comment that's already been replied to, but it was nice when it helped me correct some bad HTML today.

Okay, that's enough. It's time for pickles.

If you saw this post last week, you may remember that my someone came home and announced that he'd lost his wedding ring.

On Saturday, it turned up. And he thought he'd mention it in an oh-so-casual way. "Oh, when I was getting up this morning, I moved the pillow and saw something shiny on the bed. It was my wedding ring."

I suspect, as was suggested the other day, that it got tangled in the sheets while he was sleeping and pulled off. He's lost a little weight recently and, while it's not really enough for him to want to get his ring sized (I don't blame him either) it's probably enough that with a good tug, his ring slipped off.

And if you're wondering how it could happen in his sleep...he sleeps more deeply than anyone else I know.

One of the things I dread about becoming a parent is the "selling things" that seems to come with school or other organized activity. (Though seriously, I don't know many people who will turn down Girl Scout cookies, which are a much better choice than that awful Boy Scout popcorn.)

As many of Cayne's colleagues have children who are involved in school or other activities which do engage in this sort of fund raising, he often gets asked to purchase this or that thing, which we rarely do-I buy cookies when his friend Herb's daughter sells them, but that's about it.

And then, he got this e-mail today:

"My son L. is selling cookie dough and wrapping paper for his school(Blah Blah Elementary) if anyone is interested. While L. doesn't suffer from any ailments and certainly needs no sympathy, he does have a dream. The dream of winning as many cheap(possibly lead-contaminated) prizes/toys as possible. This dream is only possible through your financial support. While few of us here would see the reason behind supporting the arts or public broadcasting, I'm sure all of us can rally behind something so pure and utterly American as toy lust. So, if you're in need of a tub of cookie dough or some beautiful wrapping paper stop by my cube and place an order."

While we need neither a tub of cookie dough nor any wrapping paper at the moment, I think that sort of brutal honesty and persuasive advertisement needs to be rewarded. So I think we may purchase a tub of cookie dough, bake it off and send it back to the office, or something.

Ever have your brain tell you some particular food would be a good idea and your body tell you "absolutely not"? I've been feeling like that today.

It seems that the stretch of 90 degree days is finally about to end here. My in laws were telling us that it was 3C and they had frost.

We hosted our Rosh Hashanna dinner on Friday night and it was wonderful. We had a great crowd, and good food, plenty of interesting and rowdy conversation and a generally good time. I was amazed to discover how much wine we'd gone through though. We'll have to replenish our supply at some point before the next event, which may be a Canadian Thanksgiving celebration at our place in a few weeks. Fortunately, I think the menu for Canadian Thanksgiving will be less extensive than the one for Rosh Hashannah. Rosh Hashannah left me pretty wiped out for the rest of the weekend though.

Oh, and in case I confused anyone last week when I was asking about vegan TVP...when I read the labels of the TVP in the grocery store, all listed some sort of "flavorings" but not specifically what kind of where they were derived from, which made me question whether they were actually vegan or vegetarian. I could however get Boca Burgers and the store brand patties that were specifically labeled "vegan" on their packages. I was rushing so I didn't compare the labels, but I would have been uncomfortable serving something prepared with the TVP that I wasn't certain was vegan based on the label.

I found a corn maze nearby, and I think Cayne and I will plan an outing to that, as well as the market that belongs to the farm. Twenty minutes away is nothing. And, they've got fall corn available, which I'll pick up soon. I'll also have them ship my Mom a dozen ears as part of her birthday gift next month. We've invited friends to join us for that, as well as for lunch at the Orlando Greek Festival which is the first weekend in October. It looks like things will get busy here again soon, since I'll also visit Maryland some time next month. Yay for real fall weather.

Dear Spouse,

I am hungry. I have also been going to bed very early lately. And we had a discussion just a few days ago about eating supper earlier. Therefore, I appreciate even less than usual when I get phone calls from you at twenty after seven saying, "I haven't left work yet, I'm in an important beer fueled meeting,1 and it will be about another half an hour." This is especially irritating when you're responsible for two errands, which include picking up supper on your way home from work. I am hungry. I would like to eat supper at a reasonable hour, where it doesn't leave me feeling ill by bedtime.

No love,

Your Spouse


1. No, important beer fueled meeting is not a contradiction in terms. There is often beer in EA's offices, and frequently, late day meetings include beer and grilled burgers and hot dogs.

It's been a bang up weekend. Yesterday was productive. This morning I got up, changed the sheets, and made waffles. I followed the impending baby news, and Cayne mowed the lawn. I paid bills and then we rather suddenly decided to go to a movie. We checked on the schedule and decided to go see Hairspray. I had high expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Cayne liked it more than I expected him to. I may send the soundtrack and a gift certificate to my Mom, who would probably enjoy it.

Dinner is now in the oven, and I'm recording the JK Rowling interview on Dateline NBC so that Cayne doesn't get spoiled by any of the things she said. Speaking of such things-he wants to know if he should put his "Snape is Loyal" or his "Snape will betray" sticker up. I know the answer, because I finished the book already, but he doesn't. Do I tell him, or not? (Any comments with spoilers will be screened...)

[Poll #1029618]


The short version...

zedrikcayne has had an AT&T/Cingular/various iterations of cell phone for a long time. However, his phone is old enough that as AT&T cuts service to analong and older stuff, he needed to replace his cell phone. My phone was in fine working order, but, we were paying for two separate plans, it seemed to make more sense to get a family plan. The only way to do that was sadly, to lose the number I've had for quite a while. So, I have a new cell number. If you want it (or think I have a cell number that's yours and is probably several years old since the last time I updated phone numbers was when I got the phone we replaced) please provide contact info. :)

We thank you for your support.

Dear Neighbor,

As president of the nanny organization homeowners association, you should be aware of the regulations regarding trash being placed in front of the house which come from both the city and the HOA. And yet, you insist upon placing yard waste in plastic trash bags, and impeding my mail delivery. Fix it.

No love,
Me

Dear Neighbor on the other side,

That blue LED sign with your house number is really tacky looking, and annoys my eyes when I'm driving at night. It's even worse because you have the colored lights along your walkway. Really tacky looking.

No Love,
Me

Dear Property Tax Appraiser Staff,

We did in fact submit the required documentation for the Homestead Exemption. It's not my fault that your office can't read "I-551" on the passport stamp, or that you can't read the letter that I enclosed with the copies explaining that the plastic card hadn't arrived, but the stamp was given at the interview to use until the card arrived. I'm not pleased with having to drive downtown to bring zedrikcayne's green card to you so that you can see it. I hope that our trip downtown will resolve this issue and I won't have to deal with the Appeals Board, and that you get your act together before next year.

No Love,

Me

Dear Old Guy Working at the Supermarket,

I appreciate that Publix provides carryout service for my groceries, even if I don't take advantage of the service. But it creeps me out that almost all of the guys who are doing the carrying are old enough to be my grandfather.

Love,

Me

Dear Creepy Guy Working at Wendy's,

No, the fact that we're both from New York (as you observed by reading the stickers on my windshield) doesn't mean I want free food or your phone number. Just give me my salad and let me go.

No Love,

Me

Dear Pharmacists and Pharmacy Techs,

The reason we go to this pharmacy hasn't ever been the service, and you continue to exemplify that today. We go to this pharmacy because it's easier to get into and out of the parking lot both coming from home and heading towards home than it is to get into the other 24 hour pharmacy, conveniently across the street from you. And when you keep insisting I have no refills on a prescription that I know there are refills on, it makes me question that decision.

Yes, the doctor wrote the script for 90 days with 3 refills. Yes, my insurance won't cover it that way, so you filled it as 30 days with two refills. That's why I picked up a refill on June 9, and I'm back today for another refill. And, yes, there are refills left, so stop telling me there are none. Just fill the prescription, give it to me and let me go home before it starts raining.

No love,

Me


Dear Cats,

Yes, I planted a big pot of grass to help your digestive systems since you don't go outside and can't get that digestive stimulation that way. Please don't overdo it on the first day and make me clean up piles of puke.

Love,

Me