Chuck Norris Riding Godzilla

This lovely watch is on sale at Amazon.com for the paltry price of around $140,000.00 based on the reviews I don't think I can afford NOT to buy it. (they offer financing)  Oh and it qualifies for free shipping!

 

 Jon McAwesome (Awesomeville, SC (pop. 1))

The Zenith Men's Defy Xtreme Tourbillon Titanium Chronograph Watch or Z.M.D.X.T.B.T.C.M. as I like to call it, is by far the most awesome watch. Chuck Norris riding into the Super Bowl on the back of Godzilla and round house kicking the crowd is no where near as awesome as this priceless poon magnet. When I was just moments from sending my $100k to some needy neo-hippie help group, I stumbled onto this gem. It was like the heavens opened and Jesus himself appeared with this same watch on. I mean how can you not follow Jesus when he's rocking a watch of this caliber. So I asked "What would Jesus do?" Jesus pimp smacked me and said "Forget those hippies, buy the watch!" I was like "HECK YEAH." I busted out my Discover card and bought this rocking piece of art. I mean its art but its also practical too. Like when I take my summer trips to the Marianas Trench, I have no more worries that I am going to miss Tea Time back on the yacht, because water ruined my watch again. It can withstand the immense pressures of the deep due to the wicked awesome titanium. Deep seas, cant beat this. Bullets cant beat this. Heck, I can deflect cruise missiles and the apocalypse. With a watch like this you don't need to tell time, you tell people what time it is. 

If this isn't enough to make you want the watch, how about this review:

By 

Oldballs "GatorRanger" -I think a proper review of this watch needs to be done categorically.

Awesomeness: As one reviewer succinctly put it, this watch is more awesome than Chuck Norris riding Godzilla. However, that statement indicates that the reviewer clearly has not realized the full awesomeness of the watch, as depicted by its "Pandora Setting" whereby a holographic image of Chuck Norris suplexing Gandhi is displayed in full scale. When I first saw it I thought "yeah, that's pretty awesome, but what if I want him to do something different like punching Rosie O'Donnell in the face?" Well, my friends, that option can be downloaded straight from the watch's own satellite.

Value: Poor people can't buy it, which makes it automatically better. The sad-face expressions on people at the soup kitchen when I show it off are beyond priceless. One time I made a guy think I was going to give it to him because he liked it, but then I was like "naw man, you would probably just sell it and buy a house or something. That's lame."

Ability to conquer foreign lands: This watch actually caused several earthquakes in third-world countries when I set my alarm for multiple time zones.

Ability to offend hippies: It offends hippies. All of them.

Ability to offend bleeding-heart whiners: This one chick was like "you could sell that and build a house for poor people!" And I was like "yeah, I totally could. But that would be stupid because then I wouldn't have this awesome watch." She was upset, which was pretty cool.

Ability to cure disease: If everyone bought this watch, absolutely no money would go to disease research and all the people with disease would die so all the disease would die with them. It's sound logic and in the owner's manual for the watch.

Ability to stop terrorists: I would say that Jack Bauer wears this watch, but this watch actually wears Jack Bauer as an accessory.

Faults: There is only one fault with this watch -- that it is priced low enough for wannabes and posers to buy it. I want a watch that only the most elite can afford; I don't want to see Joe Blow wearing this watch because then I would have to throw it away. That's why it got four stars instead of five.

Also, I bought two of them because I like to put them both in a cage and watch them fight for my love.

The Monday before Christmas...

We spent time yesterday cleaning our not dirty house.  It's amazing how much time that can take.  It was lovely to split up the effort and he picked up our junk from down stairs and I did the upstairs.

Jason told me that he had a conversation with his parents about how we don't typically vacuum between visits from Angelica the wonder housekeeper and I'd like to say for the record that while we're not on a floor cleaning schedule, all bits get zipped up on a frequent basis.  Of course, the "parents are visiting paranoia" has kicked in and I want to vacuum lines into the carpet before they arrive.  I remember my mom getting into that frantic mode before holidays too, now she lives in a carpet free environment so the pressure is off. Of course, the conversation was not all about that, but he dropped that tidbit on me and in my weakened mental state it has stuck.

I also think maybe the "Shark" floor cleaner will come out tonight.  Jason has one last chore to do before we become hosts and while he's de-residueing the fireplace glass I'll give the kitchen floors a good steam.  He likes to do the steaming, but the faster we get done the sooner I can sit my ever tired butt on a couch. 

Back to the exciting vacuum story - I checked the bag after getting half of the upstairs done and WOW it was full.  I was tempted to go back and re-vacuum every area I had covered with a clean bag, but this tiny baby is making it hard to breathe so it will have to wait.  Maybe tonight, maybe not...

Our first round of guests arrive tomorrow and while I'm not taking any extra vacation Jason is working half days for the rest of the week.  They will make the required Costco run during an afternoon while I hold down the home office and with other events we have scheduled it's going to be a busy week. 

We're skipping baby class on the 22nd, but have worked out how to get the information we'll be missing (the epidural class.)   I received a lot of that information when I was the birth coach for Janie and thus my only concern is that I want to wait until we're well into labor before taking the drugs so that we've progressed a lot before I'm bed ridden. (more on that topic on the baby blog.)

All of our cards have been sent, our lights have been up for a while and it is quite festive and happy in our house.  I do love this time of year and now that I'm not 14 it's not about the gifts I get it's a genuine enjoyment of the family interaction. 

I am a bit blue that this is the third Christmas in a row that I won't be seeing my aunts, but I'm so happy we don't have to choose between spending Christmas with Jason's parents OR my parents.  It is a wonderful thing to have our most favorite soon to be grandparents gathered together in our home.  I wish my brother and his wife could come up, but they have their own family traditions and it isn't practical to drag their whole world up our way or our world down their way.

There is some comfort in keeping our celebration small, the risk of DRAMA is low.  I'm too old for drama that I don't create on my own.  I'm sure that in 13 or 14 years I'll get enough drama with Lucy.  Lucky us!

So, with that rambling I'm off to get more work done (and then a quick break to steam clean some obscure area of the house).

Happy Monday before Christmas!

More wonderful things from the Internet

I find that the auto correct on my iPhone is frustrating, but I usually manage to correct it before things like this happen:

For Jason

This makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. Poor girl

Wild Weather

"They" said it was going to be a wild winter.  A La Nina weather pattern promises to bring wet and more wet with some cold.  These last few days have certainly lived up to that prediction.

The "pineapple express" brought lots of wet in a short amount of time which was exciting to be sure.  A weekend dumping of more than 3 inches of rain in areas leaves us with a soggy mess. 

Last night we had a squall whip through the region that hit our house at about 12:30.  The rain on the windows woke me up and then startled my guy (who sleeps with the aid of a C-pap machine that nicely drowns out all other noise such as the snoring of a pregnant lady.)  The rain was loud enough to wake him up. 

I'm a weather nerd and needed to look out the window to "see" the rain and was kind of surprised to see how windy it was.  The big tree across the street was whipping around and I'm thankful that it is a tree that has not been compromised by a lot of modifications to its root system.  That big happy tree has been allowed to grow and grow without anyone paving over or cutting around it.  It still scares me a bit, but it isn't close enough to take out our house but could do some nice damage to our back fence.

As I was watching the rain, the electrical pops started to happen.  First they were far away and then there was the tale tale crack of the transformer that services our house.  Jason and I zipped into action to turn off computers and the back up batteries.  It was an adrenaline filled few moments with lots of devices beeping including the house alarm. 

The squall was gone before we had the computers off, but the damage was done, we were powerless in our own home.

It's odd how quiet it is in the house with no fans or other ambient sounds.  Going back to sleep was a challenge.  In fact I think we both laid there awake until we heard the power pop back on a bit after 2.  I know, I know, there are activities to do in the dark when there's nothing to do, but  we just laid there, talked and then tried to sleep.  Once the power was restored we (Jason) made a sweep through the house resetting the computers and network and then we were finally able to settle down and go to sleep.

It has been raining like cats and dogs on and off today and I wonder if we get another big wind how many more trees will come down.

It's only December...what will January and February bring??

Wow!

This is the Stillaquamish river after our pineapple express hit. 

I need a vacation from our weekend

Seriously, I think both Jason and I need a day off.  This weekend was hectic and busy.  Friday, I arrived home at 6pm from my last San Jose trip until after Lucy arrives and I was spent.  We had planned to go to dinner and Jason had done all the nice things to welcome me home, flowers, a clean kitchen and a nicely made bed.  (Nothing says I didn't miss you like when all the extra pillows are stacked on my side of the bed when I come home.  *giggle* )

Unfortunately, I was feeling tired and rather unrepresentable after my day.  We opted for takeout Chinese food, but by the time I stepped into the house I had taken offense at something Jason did or didn't do (seriously, it doesn't matter) and had my feelings hurt.  We had a silent dinner while I tried to recover.   This pregnancy thing at times is like having the worst PMS ever.  The thing is that when I'm emotional the reasons behind it are real, but I know I'm not reacting like I would on a normal day.  Instead of being able to see things with perspective I get a little lost in the "poor me" place.  Thankfully, these moments are not everyday.  I'm also careful not to get overly tired because that seems to be fuel for the insanity fire.

I did recover, took a nice bath, we talked, watched some tv and went to bed.  In spite of the Pepcid that I'm taking religiously I am still being plagued with heartburn (maybe I need one in the morning and one in the evening) and it woke me up at 4 am and my brain started spinning again.  I had to get out of bed, eat something, and then process the dark moody thoughts that were swirling in my head.  I knew I needed to work it out before morning because it simply isn't fair for anyone to wake up to find that their partner, who less than 12 hours earlier they were anxious to see is mad at them and all they did was go to bed.  Thankfully I was able to wind down again and headed back to bed at 5:30.   Our alarm went off at 7am and all seemed normal in my head.  (I'm not discounting my feelings, but really remembering that the thoughts that start with "you never ever...." are likely not rational.) 

We were up early because we had an appointment with the hospital to get a tour of the baby delivery zone.  We were getting the inside scoop on where to park, what would happen, where to go, what to expect, all those things.  We were in the lobby area with at least 6 other very pregnant women when the receptionist came out from behind her desk and cleared her throat.  (Poor thing)  She then told us that someone forgot to schedule the person who gives the tours and that no one could do it for us.  We would have to call and reschedule.  There was a (pregnant) pause in the room and I swear I heard 6 or more people say with their internal dialog "You've got to be f*cking kidding me!?"  We all looked around, stunned and then I couldn't stop myself from asking "This isn't going to happen when we come to give birth to our actual babies right?"  I know the receptionist was just living a nightmare at that moment not of her own doing, and mistakes happen but HELLO OVERLAKE HOSPITAL - you're running a business and we have a choice as to where Lucy is born.  GRRR


After waddling back to the car Jason and I decided that we were only 40 miles away from the Tulalip outlet mall and that we should zip up there.  (see how shopping soothes the beast?)  We like that mall because it is compact, outdoors and we love the Le Cruset, Kate Spade and Nike Stores.  We zip into other stores too but those are our favorite.  (Jason is less impressed with Kate Spade than I am, but he likes to see me happy.)

We then zipped down to the regular mall at Alderwood and then over to the Costco Business center.  (If you've never made the trip to the CBC and you're planning a party - you should.  AWESOME.)

Eventually we made it home and I was able to sneak in a much needed 1 hour drool festival (nap) before we started getting ready for a holiday party.  The rain started earlier in the day and I have to say a nap on a rainy Saturday is a lovely thing.

We ate a light snack and then headed to Duvall in the dark to our destination.  We made a quick stop at Cousin Marty & Lynne's to provide some IT help with an Xbox, but alas the connection to a MAC renders my mobile IT guy useless.    We mingled and nibbled at the party until after 11 when my pregnant body screamed "NO MASS".  In spite of the rain we made it home in record time and I think I was in a coma by midnight.

Sunday we were up early again, but that was by our choice.  We wanted to go out for breakfast before starting our day.  After eggs and meat cooked by other people we took a harrowing ride into Issaquah.  There are many places along SR900 that don't have good drainage and when mother nature dumps 2 inches of rain in 24 hours the creeks flood as do the roads. 

We joined Doug, Chelsey and little Jordan at their church for Jordan's baptism.   Sweet Jordan who is only fussy when she is hungry waited until the moment that their little family stepped onto the alter to start the "hey, feed me NOW" notification.   She was pleasant as pie after her bottle but silly little monkey was a bit cranky for the ceremony.  After the service our party headed back to Jordan's house for food and a nice visit.

We had a bit of a break before having to get dressed up again for yet another party, this time in Seattle.  I knew we wouldn't be at this party for hours and hours because I was tired before we even left the house.  However it was really nice.   This party was for kids and adults but when Santa arrived it was ALL kids.  We sang carols, had a little show and then Santa sat down for pictures with anyone who wanted them.  Of course, while the Santa show was going on everyone was packed into the living room which made it rather warm.  Thankfully, the fire was roaring... I knew I reached my limit when my head began to melt.    We said our thank yous and then zipped away into the blissfully damp and cool evening.

The party food was light and this momma needs to eat, so what is a girl to do?  DICKS!  It probably wasn't the healthiest choice, but it was happy in my belly.

We were home by 8pm which means - BUBBLE BATH!  Oh how I love that I can still get in and out of my big bathtub.  I'll be sad when it becomes and issue. 

We watched some tv and then headed to bed - exhausted from our busy weekend. The alarm this morning was a mean reminder that we didn't rest enough on our weekend.  We have a very busy week this week, but don't have ANYTHING planned for Saturday.  I think we'll fill the day just fine, but it will be great to sleep in and be on our own schedule. 

Have a great week!

have fun... if you can

Yesterday's post prompted PNBDave to provide the link to possibly the best pre-family get together planning letter that has ever been written.  I thought i posted it before, but I couldn't find it on my site so here it is.  Be thankful Marney isn't in your family.

From: Marney


As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

The Mike Byron Family

1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.

2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).

3. Toppings for the ice cream.

4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.



The Bob Byron Family

1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.

2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).



The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family

1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).



The Michelle Bobble Family

1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.

2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon

3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.

4. A pie knife



The June Davis Family

1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.

2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay



The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)

1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.

2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.



Looking forward to the 28th!!



Marney

Beans and Franks

I have a friend who has a marked difference in level of taste with her adopted family (in laws). These folks are perfectly nice, lovely people who simply have a different expectation about holiday events. This person, whom we shall call Sarah, like many of us, have the idea that holiday meals are special and require attention to detail. Maybe not Martha Stewart attention to detail, but something more special than dinner on a busy Tuesday night when the kids have practice after school and the husband is running late after having the oil changed in the cars and you had to squeeze in a dentist appointment between your 10am meeting with your best client and a status meeting with your boss. Darn, I need a nap after that imaginary day.


Sarah has no issue with the members of her new family. She celebrates their life victories and shares her genuine sorrow when things like death or illness occurs. She is a good person and sees that they are good people. However, their idea of a “good time” for the holidays is a massive pot luck where everyone is asked to bring a dish (hot or cold) to feed everyone with enough for leftovers. Her experience has been family gatherings with a savory turkey, or prime rib and flavorful sides with discernable vegetables, hand crafted desserts and nice wine. A large table filled with dish after dish of “whatever feeds 30” does not scream holiday extravaganza to her (or to me for that matter.)

I am an evil friend and when she vented that the idea of whipping up a hot dish for 20 with enough for leftovers made her stomach churn I started a quest looking for 1950's casserole recipes that she could bring. Here are a few that I have found:


Beans & Meatball Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
2/3 c. soft bread crumbs
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. sliced onions
1/8 Tbsp. catsup
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. shortening
1 lb. can baked beans (2 cups, if homemade)
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Mix ground beef, evaporated milk, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Wet hands and shape into 16 balls. Brown in skillet in 1 tablespoon shortening with onions. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add mixture of baked beans, 1/8 teaspoon salt, catsup and dry mustard. Cover and heat on top of stove.



Casserole - Ham Roll Ups
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
6 slices boiled ham
3/4 cups pineapple juice

Fill slices of ham with mixture and roll up. Place in casserole, pour pineapple juice over all. Bake 350 for 20 minutes.

Frankfurter Casserole
2 Tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tall can of milk
4 cups diced potatoes
1/2 pound frankfurters, sliced in thin rings
3 tablespoons buttered bread crumbs

Melt butter, blend in flour, salt and pepper. Stir in milk, stirring constantly in sauce - thickens and boils for 1 minute. Add potatoes and franks, heat to boiling. Transfer to baking dish. Sprinkle with crumbs. Broil quickly to brown.


I also recommended that if she didn’t want to double or triple these recipes to feed the masses then she could serve the traditional Oyster recipe that Rico’s mom brings to all events. It contains whole oysters, saltine crackers in some mystery cream sauce. (I’ve talked about this before – they look a lot like the genitals of women) . It is a small dish, but most people see it on the table, gag and then move on to a more appealing looking dish. Thus you have an easy to make, simple to transport dish that “serves 20 with guaranteed leftovers.”
Part of my coercion was to explain how much fun she could have by sitting back and seeing if people were confused, repulsed or excited by the mystery 1950’s casserole dish she brought. The danger is that the dish might be a complete hit and she will forever be hounded to bring Frankfurter Casserole to every group event from now until the time that the entire family keels over from heart disease.
Self Disclosure: I am a fan of hearty and easy food. I have been known (in the last week) to whip up a Tater Tot Casserole to feed my people – but in no way do I think of it as special or holiday worthy.
To be truthful Sarah will likely knock herself out and cook something fabulous and savory for the event. It will be delicious and probably not appreciated by 70% if the attendees. However, there will be pockets of family members that will be scanning the table of potato based dishes and jello salads and their eyes will land on her dish and they will think to themselves “oh, thank God for Sarah!” They will fill their plate with her dish and be thankful that the others skipped over it in favor of the taco pizza. She will have to endure comments like "Who brought this strange Butternut Squash Stuffing?" but she'll know in her heart that it was good - REALLY good. Heck, maybe she'll bring it my house.

Preggo Picture

I've been asked to post a pregnancy shot so here it is. This is the belly at 29 weeks.

yeahright

see more Failbook

It's Christmas!

the stockings

downstairs tree

Beloved Rudolf

upstairs tree

I am so thankful that my one true love (whatshisface) is as much in love with Christmas as I am.  He even indulges me a second tree in the loft.  Sunday, we decorated our primary tree, put up our stockings and had a little misty moment when we hung the stocking for Lucy.  (Yes, she hasn't been born yet, but that doesn't mean she isn't getting presents.)

I moved our housekeeper appointment from the day after Thanksgiving to Monday so there was lots of incentive to get all the x-mas boxes put away.  I know, it's silly to clean the house before the housekeeper comes but I've said it before I want her to clean the floors and bathrooms and not pick up our junk.

There was one very sad casualty, during the decking of our halls.  The fun (and not at all cheap) ornament that my MIL (mother-in-law) purchased for us during the summer to commemorate our dinner at Teatro Zinzanni didn't even make it out of the packaging before it hit the floor and died a sad death.  Poor thing died before it got to live on the tree for a single year.  I felt really bad and made Jason tell his mom.  I couldn't do it - the shame was too much.

The Lucy Ornament

After a quick ornament funeral complete with vacuum cleaner salute, we finished up.  We make a good team, I hang ornaments until I think the tree can hold no more and then Jason swoops into action and adds the other 900 ornaments.  He makes some adjustments such as moving the most beloved ornaments to prime real estate.  He apologizes with every adjustment, but I think it's related to some childhood trauma for him.  I am thrilled he is so involved and know that when Lucy wants to help that he'll have the patience to let her decorate part of the tree.   Will I be able to let her touch my "perfect" tree upstairs? The one that is exclusively red, silver and white?  We'll see.   

traction tires advised

Damned KING5 news. Alyssa Hahn is "reporting live" in Issaquah. She makes a big point about the lack of traffic on Gilman (a major road) but as the camera pans back we can see she's standing at the 100 yard stretch that goes to nowhere. (2 businesses but no residences or services.). It's like she's standing on the freeway NEAR the airport and reporting no planes are taking off from her location.

We didn't need that light pole anyway.

So, I'm settling into my work this morning and heard a significant crunch outside.  I run to the window in our bedroom and see something that looks fishy, then I hop into the bathtub in our master bath and yank the shade to see that a gold pickup has crashed through the neighbors yard taking out the light pole, their happy little tree and has come to rest about 3 feet from our fence.

The kid (probably 16) is ok, walking around his car, and trying to get his mom on the phone.   I do my duty and call the Renton PD (who I'm pleased to say were on the scene in less than 10 minutes even though I said the kid didn't seem hurt.)

The neighbor in the yellow house that you can see in the first picture came storming across the street to yell at the kid for doing 60 on the street.  I didn't see it, so I can't comment other than those damn kids from the high school do tend to drive fast.

I was able to snag a few photos that I thought might be fun, especially considering how LITTLE snow there is, and that the kid is fine.  His airbag deployed, and while his truck is munched, he'll suffer little physical damage other than maybe a smack on the head from his mom.   The Renton Light people were on the scene in less than 15 minutes and are already working out a new light.

This is the kids mom, who arrived in about 22 minutes comforting him with the mom hug.  I didn't realize that I captured this picture, but it is rather sweet. Go MOMS!!!!

I got to meet some of the neighbors and exchanged some phone numbers.  It seems smart.  Thankfully the power pole was there to stop his forward slide or we would be posting (much later) pictures of his truck in our yard.  We've talked about a rock retaining wall and if there's ever another incident we'll certainly move in that direction. 

Oh - I got distracted and took a picture of our house and my flowers in the snow.  How pretty.

hey could you...

This has been my week (month) for having to reschedule appointments to accommodate others.    One work meeting has been rescheduled no less than 6 times to adjust to the schedule of the "key" participant.  Doing the meeting without him was pointless (it FINALLY happened this morning) and since he's in the UK the time difference leaves us with a one hour overlap or a 6am meeting for the West Coast US staff. 

I've also had my latest hair appointment moved because Amy, my wonder stylist doesn't work Fridays anymore.  Her lame excuse is that she had a baby and will only be working part time.  WHATEVER. Lazy Lady.

My last two OB appointments have been moved because Dr. Kristen feels that it's like oh so important to be able to schedule and conduct Cesarean Section procedures on OTHER pregnant ladies according to their medical needs.  WHATEVER Only I count!

The darned baby classes (that I scheduled work and personal events around) was moved because there were only two or three of us to sign up and it wasn't cost effective for the hospital to conduct.  SHEESH - keeping expenses down at a hospital - WHATEVER.

I had to move my date to see Harry Potter because they released the movie on the same weekend that I already had plans to be out of town.  What the heck is up with that???? 

So, I'm super flexible and the entire world seems hell bent on taking advantage of it.  What's next - the baby will come on her own damn time and not on a day that works for me????  Not gonna happen  (riiiiiight, you keep thinking like that.)

Scan This!

I'm all for safer travel, I buckle up, I remove liquids from my carry on luggage and never ever joke about bombs while even thinking about the airport.  However, I'm not very thrilled about the new body scanning that TSA is doing now.  I don't quite believe the reports that the radiation that you are exposed to during the scan is less than what you experience for 2 minutes on the airplane.  It smells like false reassurance to me.

I am also not really feeling comfortable with the new "enhanced" pat downs where the super professionally trained TSA dude or dudette gets to rub his or her hands over your private parts. Trust me, if I'm going to hide an explosive on my person and kill myself anyway, I might as well use the Get Smart version of the tampon bomb.  They aren't going to detect that on me with a touchy feelly grab between my legs.  Maybe the next rule will be that menstruating women won't be allowed to fly oh, and we'll let those people sporting the sassy Depends Diapers skip the trip to the kids house too. 

What really irks me is the idea that these "tools" can't be used in conjunction with what seemed to be acceptable security practices, not 30 days ago (or in the case of the SeaTac airport today at Gate C.) Why not pass EVERYONE through the regular scanner and if you set it off, then you get the option of the invasive pat down or the "look at how tiny his penis is" body scan?  (Seriously, if I do have a penis it is tiny.)

I know that eventually, I'll be forced to make a choice between the scan and the mini-date with an ugly TSA lady but for now, I'm thankful that at SeaTac I can jump to a different line and avoid the scan.  Whilst I continue to be pregnant you won't catch me in the scanner booths.  I really only have one more trip on the books before I won't be allowed to fly anyway, but the whole idea of the pat down stresses me out.  The previous pat downs made me uncomfortable and they were localized to my torso, arms and pretty high up the leg.  The boob and crotch grab feel like a personal violation. 

Will TSA be grabbing my kid's crotch if I refuse to let them scan her little baby body when we go to Denver to visit Grandma & Grandpa?  I'm pretty sure she'll be in a diaper and thus what kind of assurance will TSA get that I haven't stashed something nefarious in that little absorbent pad?  Maybe they'll want the kids to go through naked or have mommies and daddies remove the diapers for the TSA agents.  I tell you if we're asked it might be a challenge for me not to save the poopiest diaper for that experience.  "Here, let me store this poop side down on your table while you inspect my 3 month old daughter."   I'm guessing that Jason will help me fly right and not get arrested for stinking up the security line with Lucy's poop, but in my head it feels like a nice 60's era type of revolt against "the man".

Too True

This may seem like a silly cartoon, but the idea that departments all over a company stop thinking about the bottom line and rapidly spend their allotted budget at the end of the year is not untrue.  I've seen it at multiple companies and wonder if there isn't a better way.  Instead of letting the finance people hold a department "flat" meaning, what you spend this year you get next year and no more, why not budget for what they need and if they manage to save $$, then reward them for their efforts. 

 I know, me and my silly ideas.

PS - I'm in trouble with whatshisface over having watched my movie girlfriend's Glee performance.  Oops.  Sorry honey.  I still want to watch the show - it won't kill my enjoyment.  HONEST. 

Glee

I must confess that my movie star girl crush did a bang up job on Glee.   Here she is with Mr. Shue knocking it out of the park with a mashup of Singing in the Rain and Umbrella.  (love it)

Brain Damage

This post should probably land in the baby blog, but since it is mostly non-baby, and this poor site is clearly neglected I shall leave it here.

There are multiple symptoms (side effects) of being pregnant.  I've been lucky in that my list of unpleasant pregnancy issues have been few and far between.  I have an aversion to some smells and am now getting heartburn at night time.  I am also being plagued with itchy skin (which I assumed would be localized to my belly, but NO SUCH LUCK) and then there's the brain damage.

Yesterday I was in San Jose, packed and ready to come home.  I took my carry on bag and my nifty little backpack with my laptop to the airport.  I checked in and then rolled up to the security gate.

I was proud of myself for noticing that the screening line nearest the id checkpoint was backing up, but that four other stations were open, so I walked the 15 extra feet to avoid standing in line. 

Once through the scanner, I loaded my laptop back into the backpack, put my shoes and sweater back on and then met my fellow Seattle travelers for a diet coke (they had beer and wine) at the "San Jose Wine Bar".  (did you catch what happened there?)

About 30 minutes later I heard my name over the airport PA system asking me to come back to security for a 'left behind item'.  Strange - what on earth could that be.  I checked, I had my laptop and my id, so I was truly confused.  Upon re-entering the security bay it dawned on me that I didn't have my suitcase. 

To make matters worse, the bag itself didn't have my name on it.  The poor TSA guy had to go through the bag and all the pockets in search of anything identifiable. Thankfully, I didn't toss my boarding pass from my Seattle to San Jose flight from Monday and they were able to work with Alaska Airlines to figure out that I was checked in for the 3:45 flight. 

I am horrified that while my bag was 90% packed neatly there was a pair of very obviously used underwear stuck right on top of the handy clothing folder thing that I use to keep everything in check.  Oops.

I chalk this bag oversight to a newly addled brain.  Keeping track of everything and keeping the baby alive is clearly too much for me.  I guess it's a good thing that the use of alcohol is frowned upon during this "special" time. 

Help

I'm trapped in a hot, airless and windowless hotel conference room. This is day two, and while the content of the meetings have been interesting and applicable to my worklife I'm ready to be free.

It has been nice to meet all the people on the team where I work. When you only deal with folks over email or the phone the human aspect can get lost. This is especially true if your person has different goals than you do.

One of my "growth areas" in my professional life is to not assume that anyone who pisses me off is a total douche. I need to accept and move on.

There were people at MegaBank that I would go out of my way to not deal with. I don't want there to be a group of people here that fall into that category. Admittedly, the only thing all these "irritating" people have in common is me. But, there's no way that I could possibly be the issue. I mean, I'm so perfect and easy to get along with. <<birds chirping>>

Speaking of MegaBank. They sent out some information to (former) shareholders regarding the bankruptcy. I'm not an attorney but it seems like the notice is 10 pages that simply say. "yer stoopid if you think/hope that you'll ever see any money.". Mostly these notices serve as a big knife to reopen the financial wound and then liberally pour salt onto it.

On one level I appreciate that there are people suing for "what is right" and yet it all seems so futile that i feel like I did in high school the boy I liked started dating someone he liked. No amount of complaining would change the hard cold facts. (She was am evil shrew who "stole my man". Er, that he was honest with me and kindly told me he valued my friendship, but didn't have romantic feelings for me. (oh the angst of high school...)

see, the lack of fresh air has totally derailed me from the point of my post. You're use to that though.

The good news is that I get to come home tomorrow. Yeah.

Terri

Then there's this response to the election

see more Failbook

Post Election Blues

When the issues that I think are important fail at the ballot box I have to wonder why am I so out of touch? 

I'm ok with the failure of the income tax initiative and the second booze initiative (had there been only one, to allow private retailers to sell booze too it might have passed, but by confusing the issues - they were doomed to failure) but the repeal of the candy/water tax makes no sense to me.  Are we unwilling to fund our services?  Do the people who vote not see a correlation between our tax revenue and public services?   Our state will end up having to make dramatic cuts in expenditures, which on the outside seems like a FABULOUS idea.  Government shouldn't be bloated and a cash cow for some.  However, since 70% of the state budget is "protected' the 30% that is discretionary is going to take a whopper of a hit.  It's going to be ugly for "optional" services.

Reading the 10% budget cut proposals that have been submitted to the Office of Financial Management for the 2011-2013 (http://www.ofm.wa.gov/reductions/2011-13/#affected) is daunting.  Some smaller groups, like the commission of elected officials that 10% represents training and printing budget.  Other areas, like the Department of Social and Health Services the 10% represents the elimination of 49 positions and the closure of a ward at Western State Hospital.   This could have a much larger impact on our community.  The Eastern Washington Historical Society claims that this cut would kill their program entirely (a cumulative effect of previous years cuts and loss of community support.)  It's a bummer that we'd lose a museum, but if executed well the artifacts and information wouldn't be lost to our community.

One thing is clear when reviewing these initial proposals (that were submitted in the August, September and October time frame) is that the primary way to cut is to eliminate staff.  Efficiency and waste are not quick budget wins.  Jason keeps saying an entire tax overhaul is needed in our state, but that also means a holistic look at services that we pay for should have to be fully evaluated.  I don't see how it would be possible.  

I heard last night on the news before sulking off to bed was a commentator talking about Dino Rossi.  He basically said that it's clear that Dino could run for King of Eastern Washington and rule for years and years, but the voters in the more populated counties won't let it happen.  I think that is true, but similar to how votes are split in other areas of our nation, folks in the more densely populated areas tend to trend towards Democrats.  Maybe we need some sort of exchange program so we can see and understand the needs and concerns of our fellow citizens in other areas.  Can we meet the needs of populated and rural areas at the same time?

Last night I read something that made me really angry. Some fella who had just won a seat in the US Congress, where the majority shifted from Democrat to Republican vowed to block all Obama's legislative attempts.  REALLY!?  Rather than vote on each item on its own merit and for the value and benefit it may bring to your country the plan is to stonewall and do nothing.   It's that kind of "all X are bad" mentality that makes me hate our political system.  (That us and them crap isn't localized to Republicans - Democrats do it too.)   Maybe it's time to abolish the parties altogether and let our leaders lead based on their smarts.  I guess, that's a silly idea. 

I need an adult beverage... but whine is all I get to indulge in these days.

One other thing about Daly's

Some of my handiwork from the 90's is still lingering around the stores in the form of brochures and how to guides.  I don't think my intention was for them to still be in use years and years (over 10) since I left, but it's nice to know I have a legacy.

That legacy might really only be that when I ordered the faux finishing books that I ordered so many that when I die in 50 years that there may be enough of the HOW TO FAUX booklets still around to make a paper mache' coffin for me.  

I showed the one book to Jason and he wasn't very impressed.  At the time, my mom was excited...of course she was thrilled I had a job and wasn't moving home.

Whatever...

Blah to beautiful in 2 days

Wow, what a busy weekend.  After all the success and ease of painting the babies room I got a yearning to paint the guest bathroom. 

Saturday morning, we made a quick trip to the Daly's store in Bellevue.  I haven't been in that location yet and I thought it was really nice.  The old downtown location was nice, but this location has that "wow" factor.  Plus it is co-located near all sorts of home improvement retailers like Seattle Lighting.   There was a 3 day blinds store, but I still feel a sense of superiority about their store.  Not that I was ever a customer, but I don't get that quality feeling when I see their store.

Anywho, we knew we were after a happy and not green yellow and found one that we liked with relative ease.  The helpful paint dude mixed up our gallon and quart of  NOVO (no voc)  in short order.  There is a benefit to shopping early in the morning and on a October Saturday as opposed to doing your painting project in June with all the other home owners in the entire county.

We had a yummy breakfast at the IHOP near Crossroads.  I was surprised to see that the bacon at that IHOP was far superior to the bacon at the Issaquah IHOP.  I had given up ordering bacon at IHOP and since pancakes and I aren't really compatible IHOP is a treat for Jason and "just" eggs for me. 

Arriving home we started the prep work in our bathroom.  I will confess that I knew that painting the bathroom would be a lot more work than the babies room even though it is much smaller.  Our guest bath is divided into two rooms which means twice as much cutting in  because it essentially has three doors - front and back of one and the back of the other.  Getting around the toilet, shower and mirror is the primary hassle.  Jason and I make a good team and I do the taping and cutting in and he removes all doors, hardware and rolls out the walls. 

Yellow is a lovely color but it doesn't cover like a peppy green will, so the Jason's dream of a one coat application died pretty quickly.  This is another fact I strategically kept hidden from my helper.  See, I AM manipulative and evil. 

There's nothing like getting on the floor between the wall and the toilet to find the areas where the original painters were sloppy.  Thankfully, I'm not so pregnant that getting on the floor wasn't too uncomfortable.  We painted, and painted, cleaned up, had lunch and then painted again.  Sunday we popped back into the bathroom and were pleased to see that once dry the areas that required more attention were few and far between.  They were of course, hard to reach.  The corner above the toilet that can only be reached by standing on the toilet was one that took some effort. 

I circled the area one time with the ceiling paint and removed all the unfortunate glops on the ceiling (mostly were from the original painters and a few yellow glops from my fella who doesn't like detail work.)  Then, in a fit of maniacal perfectionism I pulled out the mill work paint and made the rounds by repainting all the areas where the millwork met the walls.  This made a HUGE difference in making our paint job look put together and finished. 

Then, because I already had that paint out I circled the house and cleaned up nicks and scratches on doors and trim work all over the house.  At one point, Jason found me on the stairs trimming repainting the banister.  I felt like the maintenance crew at a historic home turned museum where they paint the mill work every season to keep it fresh.  I might paint the banister every time I touch that can of paint. 

By Sunday night we had put everything back together, except the switch plates which we gave another day before reinstalling.   I must say it looks very sunny and happy in there now.  My desire to paint more rooms has been sufficiently squashed for a while. 

This project along with the painting that was done by our builder as part of our 1 year warranty work has left me with a desire for a put together house.  Of course, once the house is fully put back together (thank you Doug for helping move the furniture and replacing the heavy mirror) it will be time to drag out all the Christmas stuff.  That's ok, I'm looking forward to it.

Halloween at our house was kind of fun.  We put scary music on the outside speaker and spooked the kids.  We were out of candy by 8:30 and had to hide upstairs.  Next year we'll have to get more than one pack of Costco candy bars.  We're the kind of family that gives out full sized candy, but are rather parental about each kid only taking one.  I scolded one kid who was carrying a baseball bat and was happy to find that our pumpkin wasn't smashed on Monday morning.

I will post pictures of the bathroom later (stanley steemer is here cleaning our stairs and thus I'm trapped downstairs away from my own computer.)

Project Runway: Fail

I am a fan of this show.  It is one of only three reality shows I can handle.  Project Runway is a competition show where they bring 12 or 18 or however many clothing designers together and make them cobble together outfits in a day and then whittle down to the top three or four who get to show a collection during fashion week in New York.  It is catty and wonderful. 

The finale was last night and I tell you I am irritated by the winner they chose.  The Interweb is abuzz today with loathing and sadness for the fan favorites. 

Here are a couple of fun, bitchy comments from blog posters:

"I feel like the ultimate backhanded compliment was Jessica telling Gretchen that, 'my sister would love your clothes'. REALLY?!?! Who wants to dress like Ashlee Simpson? "

"Caca couture. Gretchen's line is 100% inside-out Huggies.  "

I know she's a Northwest girl who got dumped by the fella while she was filming the show, but she was unkind and flat out rude to other designers INCLUDING Tim Gunn.  No one messes with Tim Gunn.

  My favorite was Mondo (see the little cutie) his style was unique and fun.  Granted, I can't wear most of his things, but if his prints were translated into ready to wear, I'd be dropping some coin. 

Fictionary

Stellular - a fantastic new phone service with coverage between Earth and Neptune.  "Thank you for calling Stellular One, a representative will be with you in a moment."

Waggle - My new pregnant way of walking.  It is a side to side, yet forward motion.  It can be emulated, but you have to tuck a small pumpkin into the front of your pant to get the full effect.   (oddly enough, waggle didn't pop up as misspelled.. I wonder what it really means...)

Officially "waggle" means "to reel, sway, or move from side to side ".  The reason for the waggle is irrelevant. Sigh...not a new word.  


Boredrobe - a collection of clothing that is dull and predictable.  'It's time again form my black slacks, blue button down shirt and loafers." 

EDUCATION

New baby post

If you're following the baby blog.  There's a new post. 

Weekend away

I've abandoned my fella again and am at the lovely Lake Quinault Lodge on the Olympic Penninsula with my gal pals. It was quite the drive to get here, but it is totally worth it.

A storm is coming in so it is windy and wet. Fabulous winter(ish) weather. The rain held off enough for a hike this morning.

The lodge, built in 1890, is charming and cozy. The one restataunt has very good food. That is fantastic because near as I can tell the closest food is about 40 miles away in run down Aberdeen.

This place falls solidly on the list of places to come back and enjoy with whatshisface.

My book is calling me. Later!

Seems totally legit

see more Oddly Specific

Duh...

A few weeks ago we had our one year warranty walk thru with our home builder.  Our house is in good shape but there's lots of nail pops and hairline cracks in corners, so today is the day that the dry wall repair person is here.  A tile grout dude is also showing up to redo the kitchen counters and make repairs in our shower.  I think they used the wrong products and considering the lack of argument the inspector made I think they know it.

A great thing about working at home is that I can be here without interrupting my work schedule.  However, I made Jason stay home (work from home as well) because I'm attending a charity lunch event that has been on the calendar for months.   We didn't want to abandon our house while the workers were here. This morning we finished prepping for the workers and I got dressed in my finest charity lunch get up (skirt) so as to be ready before the first worker arrived.  I felt a little silly for being so dolled up on a day when so much manual labor was going to take place in our house.  It sort of screams "I'm not helping with anything."

I took my decaf coffee to my desk and looked at the calendar.  Sigh.  The charity lunch is NEXT Wednesday.  I had about 6 seconds to change back into normal clothes before the first worker arrived.  Silly me. 

The good news (other than the fact that our builder cares enough to fix the little stuff in our lovely home) is that now I can use my previously busy lunch time to try to finish my excellent book club book.  The meeting is tonight and I have 230 pages to go.  I'm 415 pages in and the story is zipping by.  I think I can do it.

Voting: My opinion of this crazy process

My ballot arrived yesterday and I quickly got to work on my duty as an American and voted.  I hope that the moment the ballot hits the mailbox that the nagging and dreaded political ads will stop. 

I wish that candidates would spend their advertising dollars to tell us what they have done that is noteworthy and not link their opponent to dreaded and dastardly deeds.  I think I would respond better to that.   I'm a Patty Murray fan, I think her efforts to support veterans and to bring earmarks to our state have been beneficial to our community.  Yes, she voted for the banking bailout (which most of the big banks have paid back) and she like every politician alive has taken money from big business and special interest groups - sorry people that's how this crazy system works.  I'm not impressed with Dino Rossi and haven't seen (or paid attention to) his plan to improve things.  His platform seems to be "time for a change".  That's a reasonable idea, but bring something to the table other than "I'm not her".   Both of them need a time out for their nasty and misleading ads.

The real effort in voting this go round are the multitude of initiatives and propositions.  Is it ok to sell booze at the grocery store?  I think yes.  Should we restructure the taxes on booze? I think not.  I don't mind paying a ton of taxes on unnecessary items like booze or cigarettes.  Yes, it is a slippery slope, I mean at what point do my pretty shoes become unnecessary and could be subject to more taxes than someone's work boots? 

Should we repeal the taxes on bottled water, soda pop and candy?  Again, these are taxes I don't mind.  It is a nutty convoluted calculation as to what is considered candy and what isn't, but  for the most part these are items that aren't required to live.  The bottled water issue could be questionable in an emergency situation, but we're typically not in emergency water situations. 

One ad went to town on the issue of certain local foods being subject to taxation that foods manufactured elsewhere weren't subject to.  This turned out to be true but not really accurate.  The local foods were subject to a B&O tax that the out of state items weren't subject to.  B&O is a tax that most, if not all, local business pays on their products and services.  If you hold a Washington State Business License, you pay B&O.  I paid city B&O in Issaquah as well as the portion of my consulting income that I paid to the state.  These out of state food manufactures are not subject to local B&O - they likely pay a similar tax in the location where their business is located.  Taxes like B&O are part of doing business and if you don't like it, move your business to a state or city that has low B&O rates.  (Did anyone notice that Boeing moved it's headquarters to a tax friendly location of Illinois?  Washington Mutual did the same thing when they moved their primary holding company to Arizona or some similar nicely tax friendly location.)   Granted, it is hard to establish a business license in a place where you have no physical presence, but when you're Boeing or formerly WaMu, you can move some poor lackey to the area and hold down an office without having to move your headquarters.   I think Boeing actually moved to Chicago - but none of the execs at WaMu moved to the southwest.

Some of the other issues were not so easy to land on a decision.  Thankfully, Jason and I can cancel each others vote out on topics like income tax for the wealthy.  I'm torn between thinking we need to do something to shore up our finances but am worried that we'll drive our big income families out of our state and open ourselves up to an entire state income tax.  Granted, taxes paid to the state in the form of income tax can be deducted from your federal taxes so our rich friends won't actually be paying MORE taxes we're simply redistributing the flow of money to our state.  But, is that the right thing?  Aaarg.  How are we supposed to know?

When little Lucy says she wants to be President of the US when she grows up I'll be thankful that the likelihood of that actually happening is more remote than my winning Project Runway. 

Jason says that he hates that we have to pay for postage to mail back our ballot.  I do agree that voters might be more likely to participate if they didn't have to find a stamp. (I mean who has STAMPS these days?) His suggestion is that every candidate contribute the cost of one ad to a fund to cover the cost of postage.  I think we need to go farther and require that for every single stinking dollar advocacy groups and candidates spend on advertisements that have any inkling of negativity or are found to be false or misleading that they contribute the cost of the ad (including the cost of printing, or airing the ad) to a fund for a good cause like education.

One thing is for sure, I will never run for office.  I've stated too clearly my distaste for negative ads, my support of equal rights for our gay community and my opinions on silly Lindsay Lohan to ever be taken seriously as a politician.   My inability to get through a debate without a "Frankly Mr. Opponent, You SUCK" would also knock me off the podium pretty quickly.

But, I will endure the season of negative ads and vote.  For this I think I get a cookie!

The babies room

Photos of the work on the babies room can be found here.

Next Summer....

I'm thinking there will be a moment next summer when my new bundle of happiness is napping and I can lay on the table in the sun after some yummy wine.

Boston

I’ve been at a conference in Boston this week. It has been interesting and informative. I really enjoyed the lengthy discussion and overview of the BP oil spill and how their response and missteps with the press can be applied to any event that may occur in our own companies.

without glasses

with glasses

I haven’t been to this conference since early 2008, and I was only about 3 months out from my surgery and thus was still “big Terri” at that point. I have mostly adjusted to my new stature and don’t really think about it anymore in my daily life, but when I encountered some of the folks who knew me before their reaction is kind of funny. The women flat out say, “wow, you lost weight” and the men, who are trained to never EVER comment on someone’s weight, tend to mention the color of my hair or my glasses.

If I known that these eye glasses would make me look 115 pounds thinner I would have purchased them years ago!

A tiny corner of my vain brain wishes I wasn’t just beginning to show the baby bump, so they could see all the progress that I made, or that I was far more obviously pregnant. No matter, anyone who has had any sort of “catch up” conversation gets to hear about my transition from MegaBank to the current loved employer and the personal transformation of the marriage to my very own Mr. Wonderful and the impending arrival of our Lucy.

I get to come home tonight and while I was excited to come, I’m ready to go home. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to get out and explore this lovely and historic city, but the warmth of home is calling my name loudly.

The other trouble I’m having is that I haven’t adjusted in anyway to the east coast time zone. I was up until 2am (11pm at home) the first night and again last night. I’m tired now, that’s for sure. I hope I don’t sleep the whole way home on the plane. I’ve got movies and a book to keep me busy and we’re all aware that a cocktail will not be in my future.

I’d better get back to the conference topic at hand. Although I did choke on my scone this morning when I saw that the Sr. Director from the organization that MegaBank was given to is on the agenda. I don’t have any animosity towards the MoreMegaBank people, but I’d rather not deal with them any more that I have to – seems like a normal reaction.

The other reason to come back to Boston is the food.  The clam chowder fricking ROCKS.  I'm also finding an unusual after dinner treat on the menu at every venue.  The expected Boston Cream Pie is on the menu, but so is a yummy apple crisp.  I had no idea it was a food associated with this region.  I expected lobster, clam chowder and the BCP, but a warm and gooey apple crisp?  That has been a happy find.

A party, a red headed slut and a red nosed girl.

We zipped off to Denver for the weekend. We were there to visit Jason’s parents and to celebrate the 80th birthday of a dear family friend.


Mrs. B was one of the Southmoor Park Denver ladies who made the trip out for our wedding. Her attendance was made all the more special because of the fact that she lost her “Mr. Wonderful” in June. Trust me, when someone of her spirit and situation grabs you on the arm, pulls you in and says “pay attention to every day!” you listen.
Mrs. B is a tiny woman with a very formidable presence. She is a surrogate grandmother for Jason and her love of Jason and his family is clear. We will be lucky to find someone like her in our own neighborhood. She says it like it is and is a true lady.
She told us at Easter last year to save this weekend for her 80th birthday party, so we made sure to book a ticket as soon as we were able.

She’s been having trouble with her back and had surgery earlier in the year. At almost 80, complications are not unusual but she has been determined to celebrate her birthday in style. Last week she experienced what was described as unbearable pain in her back and so she called 911 for assistance. Before the fire department could wisk her to the hospital (well, actually,they waited with her while a transport company came to take her to the particular hospital that she insisted on going to) she invited them to her party.
Here’s a clue as to how likeable and what a strong personality that she has, during the party there were no less than ten members of the local fire department that came to the party. They were on duty, so they were in uniform and arrived on their trucks. This delighted the kids at the party to no end. It was if the Pied Piper arrived because at one moment all the children simply disappeared. These patient fire fighters were giving tours of the truck and letting the kids blow the horn. Thankfully, most of the neighbors were at the party, thus the blasting of the horn was likely not a major disturbance.

No less than 200 people were invited to the soiree and it was lovely. She even had a band tucked into the corner of her living room. Mrs. B knows how to party. We’ve privately agreed to attend any party she throws.

In addition to this fun event we also were able to have dinner with some of the local family and friends. We dined one night at this place called “The Perfect Landing.” This little restaurant is at the other Denver airport, the one where the private jets land. It was rather fun seeing these expensive corporate jets take off and land while we enjoyed our meal. Over dinner the discussion turned to cocktails and someone mentioned having something called a “Red Headed Slut.” Well, let me tell you this, I’m so very thankful that I’m pregnant because we ordered one and it was horrid.

A “Red Headed Slut” is a drink made with equal parts of jaggermeister and peach schnapps and a dash of cranberry juice. It is NOT good. We passed one around the table and I had a sip and then happily tossed it aside. I’m not a fan of licorice flavored beverages, jagger, uzo or anise are not common flavors in my world. Those of you who like it amaze me.

We also spent some time with the soon to be grandparents, who tipped their hands that they are very excited about the impending arrival of Miss Lucy. It was sweet to see their excitement in person. We ventured out to Babies R Us for a showing of the thus far selected baby items (the pack n’ play, rocker and other items that no baby should ever have to suffer without.)

On an overly personal note (as if I never go there) I grew a rather large pimple on the top of my nose. My attempt to resolve it has resulted in a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer situation. This morning in the shower I rubbed the wash cloth across my face too aggressively and scrubbed off the scab. The amount of blood was frightening. In fact, I haven’t seen so much blood in the shower since the movie Psycho. (Becky wins the award for the most blood in a bath tub in an unfortunate leg shaving incident while in college.) I worried that I was going to need a Band-Aid across my face, but thankfully I bled out before I had to leave my room. I do feel like quite the grown up at my conference this morning with a cute scab on the top of my nose.

New word: TRAILERHOOD. As in, we live in the sixth yella trailer on the left in Butler's Cove Pines.
(stollen from Janie)

Dinner with old friends

I still love this blog.  honest.  Even if I leave it for periods of time.

I dragged Jason to a dinner party last Saturday night.  (This is an over exaggeration considering all I had to do was say,"Hey, my friend Robin invited us to dinner Saturday.")   However, since I seldom have to endure dinners with people I've only heard of, I wouldn't have blamed him if he had been apprehensive about spending the evening with these folks.  He's a good sport and my people are very enjoyable so he has enjoyed all my friends thus far and told me as we left Robin's that he thought they were nice people with very articulate kids.

Over the course of the evening talked about all the gossip of the work life we use to share and our common people.  We delved a little into politics (not much) and talked a lot about parenting.  It was great to get more perspective.  Their kids were interesting but still kid like.  I was happy that the evening wasn't too heavily weighed down by our common work history.  I'm still very interested in the success and well being of the company that Robin owns but if it was all we had in common can I just say... boring dinner party.

A few of my former beloved MegaBankers are guilty of falling into the rut of only discussing the demise of the bank or how they got screwed.  Sorry sweeties, we all got screwed (some to a much lesser degree) and if we're honest we were part of a massive organization that in some ways took advantage of people who have the tendency to trust rather than research.  I loved the work I did at MegaBank and I learned so much, but feel sick at how "the market" sold things like interest only loans and zero equity loans to people based on "stated income."  I am lucky in that I was far removed from the actual selling and processing of these dream killing products but I don't think I would let myself off the hook if I was in Hitler's Army but just processed payroll.   There is some forgiveness in remoteness, I mean they didn't convict Ted Bundy's housekeeper.  (These are very dark references - Hitler, Ted Bundy, Banking.  Time to lighten up.)

So, back to the point.  We had a great evening and it made me reflect on all the people I've known over the years that are close in geography but whose lives have become separate.  I still have love in my heart for them and try to keep in contact, but I guess this is how life goes.   We're about to embark on a journey that is going to make us less accessible to our people, but I know it is the right journey.  (By less accessible, I mean that we're going to be more closely tied to Lucy's schedule than our own.  I believe we will be raising a portable kid, but life as we know it will be changing.)  I think it is important to learn from everyone I meet, be a good friend even if it means simply checking in on them every now and then and remember that I'm never too busy to call and say "how are you:?"  Ok, maybe some days I am too busy to do that, but I can make an effort from time to time.

This isn't a pointed remark about anyone other than myself.  I'm talking about the former co-workers, old college chums and friends of friends I've met, connected with. and have faded away from.   I do have some very dear friends that I'm not able to see as often as I think we would all like, but I give us gold stars for making the effort to stay connected as our lives morph from teen to hip sassy 20's and now into our *gasp* middle age.   In fact, I'm super jazzed about a long planned girls get away that is coming up.  Multiple gold stars to us all for making time to do it.  It's going to be great - we're going to hang out, enjoy a fabulous lodge hotel and stay up to late.  I'm giddy with excitement.   I know it is not possible to plan events like this with all the people I've met and appreciated throughout my life, but I can be more outgoing and less self-involved.  (Me, self-involved!?  Get out of here.)

Perhaps that's the beauty of FaceBook, you can send genuine support to someone you use to have things in common with, but not suffer the awkward silences that might accompany the reality of lives that have really diverged.  It is nicely remote  (again with the Hitler's housekeeper thing.)

I guess, I'm just feeling grateful for time with an old friend and feeling nostalgic about those that I've lost along the way.