fun in the sun...fun by monitor-glow...
Well, tomorrow will be a day of firsts for the wee one: His first play-date, and his first time in a pool. I've got to make sure to stop by Walgreens on the way home from work and pick up swimming diapers (who knew there were such things?) and a flotation thingie. Very exciting! I hope he likes water as much as I do. He's been so good about new experiences in the past, I have high hopes for this too.
In other news, I've been accepted into the
World of Warcraft stress test beta! Also very exciting! I've been an avid online gamer since 1999 when I started playing Everquest (an online fantasy adventure game), and I'm so ready to try something new! I've had tons of fun with EQ, but after 5+ years, it's getting a little tiring always feeling like I have to keep up with the powergamer Joneses.
How will WoW be different in that respect? Well, I'm not sure, but I've heard good things. I've been following the beta by reading the beta boards, and one interesting thing about WoW is that regardless of your play style (power gamer, casual gamer), there are things to do in the game for fun and experience even if you only have a small window to play in like I do these days.
I've just only started the download for the game client. It's HUGE! 2.37GB! According to the download-o-meter, it looks like I have about 7 more hours of downloading to do. Whew! Gonna let it run overnight.
Promise to report on wee one's pool experience tomorrow...
random late-night thought...
If toilets could talk, would they be potty mouths?
now THIS is what the Olympic spirit is all about, IMHO...
MasterSkier.com: "The Brazilian. or ...My most Memorable Olympic Experience"
ESPN.com - ESPN 25 - 94: Derek and dad finish Olympic 400 together
I read these articles and I cried. Honestly, I was sitting here with tears dribbling down my cheeks and smiling.
mars/venus translation dictionary!!
'Let's Just Cuddle': "BERLIN (Reuters) - A leading German dictionary publisher plans to launch a guide it says will help men translate the subtext of female conversation. "
Yes, I've read
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and it actually was pretty helpful! I think this new book ought to be a hoot and a half!
Wish they'd asked me to help with it though. I take pride in being able to translate "female-ese" for my male friends. =)
another day of the moron client...
Yes, today was another fun-fest with the moronic "I don't know anything about the internet, the web, or computers, but I'll be damned if I'll admit it" client.
She emailed me today saying that one of the people in her office had all her email addresses in her email program disappear, and did I know how that could happen, and it must be our fault and how were we (I) going to fix it???
Breathe, two, three, four.....in....out......OK.
I was very nice.
I sent her a very professional email back saying that the Address Book (Contacts) in an email program are part of the program itself and are not something that we (their providers) have any control over or can fix. (Unless she wants to pay to have us come out there to troubleshoot it, but by the gods, I wasn't going to suggest that option because there's no way I want that to happen.)
Calgon, take me away!
ketchup & fishsticks...
My hubby says putting ketchup on fish sticks is "an abomination".
I also put ketchup on crispy chicken sandwiches, you know, like at fast food restaurants.
I see no problem with ketchup on fish sticks!! In fact, I'm heating up the oven for some RIGHT NOW! So there! hehe
when the cat's away....
So I'm all alone at work this week. Silly me, I thought "Hey, things ought to be pretty quiet this week with no one else around." Boy, was I wrong! I spent most of the morning troubleshooting email and a website for this client who knows absolutely nothing about the internet.
"The website doesn't work!" she complains. Yeah, that's helpful. "Ok ignoramus, WHICH PART of the site doesn't work?" Of course I didn't say that. I was helpful customer service personified. But you know...if you are a training organization, and you rely on your website to have your customers register and pay for classes, one would think you would take some time to find out how it works so when your customers call you about it, you can HELP them instead of calling and screaming at us about something that could have been fixed/handled by YOU if you only knew the minutest amount about it.
/sigh
No, I don't feel strongly about this at all. Hah!
I just hate having my time wasted by morons.
Needless to say, I got very little REAL work done this morning because of this situation. At least I have the rest of the week to try and catch up. Most of the time I'm very very glad I only work part-time, but when stuff like this happens and I get behind, part of me wishes for more time to work on it. Then I smack myself and remind myself that I've got a pretty good thing going - work part-time, spending time with my adorable wee one the rest of the time. And hubby making enough money so that I can.
Speaking of hubby (raising hand to change subject), last night he ordered tickets for us to see "Mama Mia", that musical with all the Abba tunes in it, as well as tickets to see Queen......in Las Vegas!! Yes, we're packing up the boy, taking him to grandma & grandpa's, and going off to Las Vegas for 3 days in September! Alone! WOOT!
I can't wait. Last time I was in LV, they were just starting to build New York New York. That was...umm...1995 I think. Maybe 1994. ANYWAY, I'm dying to see all the new resort hotels! We'll be staying at the Golden Nugget, the casino where they filmed the recent reality series "Casino". I'm hoping we'll get to see that awesome lounge singer guy there.
And maybe play some Blackjack. =) OH! And go to the Hilton for the Star Trek Experience, now that they've upgraded it. When we were there last, the lower level was all done up like the Promenade from ST: Deep Space Nine, including Quarks restaurant, AND guys running around in Klingon and Ferengi suits. It was waaay cool. Hoping they left that in tact when they redid the thrill ride/attraction thingie.
I'll let you know after we get back. =) Or....if hubby brings his laptop, maybe I'll be able to report from LV! Hehe, well, we'll see.
back in the swim of things...
So today marks Day One of my return to the swimming pool after many many moons. Geez, I'm out of shape. My form and technique are still there, but the muscles get tired so fast, and my cardiovascular system and stamina are severely underpowered.
Swimming at the local YMCA in Los Altos. They've got a real nice pool. Outside, regulation length, with even the proper markings on the bottom, lane lines, and backstroke flags. The awesome thing is that it is only 3 blocks away from the wee one's day care, so after getting off work at 12:30, off I go to the Y to swim, and then pick up the wee one.
I'm so glad to finally be doing something to get rid of this last 15 lbs of pregnancy weight! Now if I could lose another 10 or 15 AFTER that, well, life will be good. =) Baby steps, baby steps. Today was only the first day.
I do feel very good for having swum today though. My body is tired, but I have that after-workout fatigue that's really not like any other kind of tiredness. I'm tired, but I'm also feeling good. And I think I'll sleep better tonight, too.
After the past few months having only two pairs of pants that fit, I'm ready to be non-pregnant looking again!
new photo of the wee one!
Have a look down the right hand column, a new photo has been added.
He's so cute, I can't stand it!
And day care seems to be going just fine. =)
The past couple of nights have been rough on him, though. He's teething hard, and in quite a bit of pain from it, and when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he has a hard time going back to sleep because of it. I don't see any sign of tooth eruption when I check his mouth, though, so I hope this latest phase of teething will subside soon. Poor little guy. =(
Olympic swimming
Yahoo Sports - Olympics - Plenty great
As a former nationally-ranked swimmer (I missed making the Olympic Trials by .06 seconds back in 1984), it really chaps my hide to hear people express disappointment with athletes who "only" achieve a silver or bronze medal.
Honestly...second or third in the WORLD? That's freaking AWESOME! Even making the olympic team in the first place is an amazing achievement, worthy of praise and pride.
well it finally happened...
Yes ladies and gentlemen...at age 36, I finally found my first gray hairs. Yes, hairs, plural. Two sneaky little white strands at my left temple, hiding out among the other strawberry blonde ones, trying not to be noticed.
Needless to say, they weren't long for this world...I yanked them out and unceremoniously tossed them in the trash!
Silly, I know. Like cockroaches, if you see one or two, you know there are many more that you don't see. (grin) I knew this day would come, and it's cool. At least I didn't take after my mom - she started going gray at 16!
When I was younger, I told myself that I would never color my hair. I vowed that I would stay au naturel and embrace my gray whenever it appeared. Well, all I can say now is that if I go white, I'll keep it. But if I go steel gray...ugh, Clairol might have to be an option. =)
For now, though, I'm not going to worry much about it. But it was kind of an interesting turning point to reach.
No! I won't get older! =)
happy dance!
My mom volunteered to watch the wee one tomorrow so hubby and I can have a "date night" - woo woo! "Spiderman" here we come.
Now I've got to find a way to see those other zillion movies I want to see that are out right now, hehe.
you go girls!!
Yahoo! News - Breastfeeding Moms Hold 'Nurse-In' at Starbucks: "More than two dozen mothers staged a breastfeeding 'nurse-in' at a Starbucks Corp. store in Maryland over the weekend in an effort to get the world's largest coffee shop chain to adopt a policy allowing breastfeeding in all its U.S. stores."
day 2 and all is well...
I'd expected my training session at work to last all day (til 5), but it didnt. Thank the gods. I was out of there at 1:30 and zooming down the freeway to pick up my boy! He seemed real glad to see me!
One of the ladies there said he'd eaten better today, and another commented on what a pleasant baby he was. =) As hubby says, I cooked him well.
Two days isn't really much to evaluate how he's going to handle day care, but my preliminary gut feeling is that it's going to be OK and he's not going to be any the worse for wear emotionally.
I probably will be, but he won't.
I'm dreading the upcoming "separation anxiety" phase that I've been warned will likely occur in month 8 or 9. I'm thankful, though, that we've started him in day care before that, so it won't be a big scary unknown environment to have to adjust to when he's also going through the separation fears.
He's a pretty well-adjusted boy. I think he'll be OK. I am probably going to continue to have these fears and guilt about him being there, but like so many mothers before me, I'll have to deal with it as best I can. That doesn't mean I'm going to become complacent about making sure things are going well there. I plan to keep my eyes and ears open for possible signs of trouble.
So far, though, from what I've seen, and from what we've heard from other parents, this place is OK.
I breathe a small sigh of relief inside (silly me I know) that tomorrow and Thursday will be grandma day care.
That I can handle so much better.
Now I've just got to pick up the house so she won't think we're total slobs! Ugh, the clutter! (grin)
well we both survived...
My wee one smiled and laughed when he saw me come in to pick him up. That was awesome. And as soon as we got home and he realized where he was, he smiled and giggled some more. I know he was glad to see me, and glad to get home.
Apparently he didn't eat much while he was there this morning. Usually he takes in 2 bottles (2 x 6oz) between 8am and 1pm, but today he only ate 3oz all morning. I attribute that to the new environment and the strange people. He's going to need to adjust to that I think before he is comfortable enough to fall into his normal routine there.
After I got him home, he sucked down 2 bottles within an hour and a half of each other. =) Making up for what he didn't eat in the morning. And he had a loooong nap, since he didn't nap much in the morning either, again I think because of the new surroundings.
And tomorrow.....it's a FULL DAY in day care. I'm going to be a basket case all day worrying whether he's eating enough, napping enough, whether he's lonely and crying missing his momma. I'm getting all worked up now just THINKING about it.
Thank goodness for my mom though. She's going to watch him on Wednesday and Thursday morning, so the day care thing is only 2 days this week.
Like I said earlier, I'm hoping hubby gets done with court early and can pick him up...otherwise I won't be able to get him til 5:30, and that's a long day to be with a bunch of strangers. (sigh)
another first for the wee one...
Today is the first day of real official day care for my wee one. I dropped him off about 7:45am. I wonder if it isn't going to be harder for me than it is for him!
My dad had surgery on Friday, so for the next two weeks he's unable to come over and watch the wee one like he had been...so day care was our only logical option.
My wee one's never spent any considerable time in the company of strangers without me around. I feel like I just threw him in the deep end of the pool and said "swim!" The caregivers at the facility seemed very nice, attentive, and caring, but they are strangers. They don't know his body language, don't know his likes and dislikes, don't know when he's just crying to be held or crying because he's hungry.
I suppose that over time they'll familiarize themselves with his non-verbal communication, but I guess I just feel guilty. I'm leaving my child in the hands of strangers so I can go to work.
Yes, I know this day had to come sometime. There was always going to be a day in the future that I had to leave him with strangers to take care of him (Kindergarten, for example), but it just feels so wrong to do it when he's only 6 months old.
I try and reassure myself saying that it's good for him to socialize with other infants his age, and to get used to new people. But I still feel scared and guilty, and horrible that he might be lonely and crying and I'm not there to comfort him.
I'm told I'll get over that eventually. Well, maybe, but that maternal instinct for protection and nurturing is hitting me pretty hard at the moment and it's hard for me to imagine "getting over" this feeling.
The one saving grace is that the day care's only for half a day, since I only work half days (3 days/week).
Except for tomorrow. My boss arranged an all-day training session for tomorrow (told me about it last Thursday, gee thanks for the short notice!) so he'll have to be there all day. I've told hubby that if he happens to get off work early tomorrow afternoon (he's a lawyer and will be in court), to PLEASE pick up the boy as soon as he can.
I just don't want him there any longer than he has to be. (sigh) Guess we'll just have to see how things go.
computer update...
Dunno who cares or who's reading, but hey. There's enough narcissism in me that this blogging thing is still entertaining, even if just for me.
Computer is all working...hubby worked hard and got it pretty much all fixed up. Thanks hubby! (smooooch)
Yay! New faster system!
Yay! DVD-RW drive for me to make XWP screengrabs!
FYI....
It's
World Breastfeeding Week! Celebrate by...um...well...nm. hehe
Breastfeeding down undah!
ROFL...my husband just came up with a great new slogan for WBW:
"Have a treat, grab a teat. From the American Boob Council (ABC)"
poor Lucy...
What is it that causes a normal rational calm adult human being to act like a rabid wild dog slobbering over a fresh kill when put in the same room as their favorite celebrity? (the most recent example being
Lucy Lawless after the REAF benefit)
I mean honestly! Ganging up and crowding our lovely Luce will NOT encourage her to repeat this sort of personal interaction with her fans. Shame on all of you.
new computer...new headache
Getting a new system is a love/hate thing with me. I love upgrading my hardware and enjoying the fruits of it. I hate when something goes wrong. Hubby installed a new motherboard/CPU for me, in a new case. Therefore we had to move all the other hardware to the new case too (hard drive, sound card, video card, etc.). But unfortunately, something went wrong and the hard drive had to be reformatted. Thank goodness I'd backed up all my essential files and saved games.
So I sat down this morning fully prepared to reinstall all my programs. But lo, though I have a CD drive and DVD drive, what do I see under "My Computer"? Floppy drive A and hard drive C. That's it. For some reason, the computer does not "see" the CD or DVD drives. Therefore I can't install anything that requires me to actually double click the CD drive to start. (versus those that start the install protocol automatically the moment the disc is put into the drive)
And of course hubby is still asleep. And of course, once he gets up (in a few mins), he'll rush to get ready and rush off to work. So I'm left with no email, no EQ, no Sims, no web site files (since I can't get into the network to get my backed up files either), no web site software (Homesite). Sigh.
At least I do have IE, but I tell ya what...I hate wasted time. I could have spent this morning installing things, but instead I'm twiddling my thumbs. And blogging about it of course, hehe.
I shouldn't be annoyed about it though. Hubby worked long and hard to get this system to work after it was all put together, with much frustration, and believe me, I am appreciative.
Hmm....if I go wake him up early, maybe he'll fix it for me. (laugh) That would be so mean. "Honey, I woke you up out of a sound sleep early so you could spend more time futzing with my computer!" That would go over like a lead balloon, I know it.
Oh well, I just need to adjust my attitude and be patient. He'll help get it working tonight when he gets home from work, I'm sure. Just gotta make sure I ask nicely and don't press. Now where did I leave that "good patient wife" implant? ;-)
Yahoo! News - Husband of Missing Utah Woman Is Arrested
Yahoo! News - Husband of Missing Utah Woman Is Arrested: "The husband of a pregnant woman who disappeared two weeks ago has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, police announced Monday. "
Have you been following this story? Shadows of the Laci Peterson case.
There aren't very many things that I have a vehement opinion about, but violence against women and children is one of them. And in the case of pregnant women, my outrage is tenfold. Whosoever perpetrates violence against a pregnant woman should, IMHO be taken out back and shot.
In the immortal words of Xena, "No more living for you."
Now I can't speak to this guy's guilt. I wasn't there, I don't know all the facts, only what's been reported.
And we all know the media is only interested in presenting the exact truths and not sensationalizing them. (sarcasm meter going into the red, there!)
But I tell you what...if he
is guilty...I hope he fries.
babyproofing...
...has begun. Hubby spent most of Sunday afternoon and evening redesigning our computer room/family room in order to get rid of all the myraid of wires, plugs, and cables tangled under and behind his desk.
I must say the room looks much better! (and will look even nicer after we've vaccuumed and removed the carboard and styrofoam bits left over, and picked up a bit)
Our wee one has started what I call "worming". He'll roll over onto his tummy...pedal with his legs a bit, scooch forward til he face-plants, then roll over on his back. Then the process starts again. It's slow, but he is on the cusp of being truly mobile, and it's time for us to get down on the floor and figure out what needs to change and what needs to be hidden or gotten rid of. Once he starts crawling and really being able to explore and get into everything, we'll be in trouble if we haven't.
I'm really getting the "this clutter has GOT to GO!" instinct hard now. I'm hoping I can instill some of the urgency into hubby and get him to help. Unfortunately, he and I generate a lot of clutter. It's going to be tough on us to curb our normal habits and really start paying attention to where we put things. "Can baby reach this?" is going to start to have to be primary in our minds.
No more leaving loose change lying around. No more discarded staples lost in the carpet by accident. No more computer cables within easy reach. Flat surfaces in our house collect clutter and we've got to stop it. (an image of Susan Pouder just jumped into my mind - "Stop the Madness!") LOL
Here's hoping I'll stay motivated once I get home from work to dig into the picking up.
AtomFilms - "This Land"
AtomFilms - "This Land": "One is a liberal wiener. The other's a right-wing nut job. See John Kerry and George Bush square off and trade insults in this can't-miss campaign parody of 'This Land is Your Land.' "
ROFL. Just had to share.
