Sour Cream and Roosters

I've been informed that some people miss me when I don't update my blog. I'm glad to hear it. It's always nice to know that I'm loved. I don't really have much to say today, so I guess I'll just have to talk about random stuff that's happened.

Yesterday I had this incredible craving for sour cream. Nothing else, just sour cream. It was a real dilemma because I didn't have anything to eat with the sour cream, and I felt really silly eating sour cream by itself. Ah, pregnancy. Gotta love it.

On Tuesday, Todd was trying to think of ideas for activities for his young men's class. Trying to be helpful and think of a service project idea, I suggested that they put together hygiene kits. His response? "They're not THAT bad...they come pretty clean on Sundays..." I had a good laugh about that. The young men may be a little smelly sometimes, but I think the poor, homeless, and disaster victims probably need it more.

In the work world, Commuter Services is finally recovering from its summer crisis. Enough officers have been hired to replace the ones who left, and we finally have the handheld computers up and running to write tickets with. It's a good thing, too. Fall semester has started and it's a lot busier with all the people who don't know how to park. I've decided to stay in this job until I have the baby. My supervisor has agreed to keep me in the dispatch office and only sends me out when I volunteer. That can be pretty fun because I get to drive a little golf cart around instead of a bike. Me and those carts aren't always a good combination, though. The first time I ever drove one, nobody told me how to use it. I had to ask one of the maintenance guys, who looked at me like I was an idiot. Then I drove it into a banister. I've also crashed into a parking attendant's booth and forgotten that a golf cart doesn't have the same clearance as a bike when going off curbs. But I'm happy to report that I have yet to kill myself or anyone else.

In closing, I just want to pass on another fascinating tidbit from the internet. According to the Mythbuster's website, a farmer in Colorado beheaded one of his roosters in 1945. Mike the rooster then went on to live for 18 more months without a head. He survived because part of it's brain stem remained intact, while a blot clot stopped the bleeding. The farmer fed it food and water with an eyedropper into its gullet. It eventually choked to death in a hotel room. So now you know.

Olympic Sports

I know I promised I would, but I've decided not to bore everyone with a travellogue today. I know you just don't hear enough of them in testimony meetings anymore, but maybe you'll still get to when you're visiting teaching. Instead, I think I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and talk about the Olympics. After all, it only lasts two weeks every four years. I have to seize blog topics while I've got them. I'm also going to mix it up by including more "fascinating things Claire learned online while having nothing better to do at work." Try to contain your excitement.

Todd and I were pondering the other day how women's beach volleyball could be an olympic sport, while cricket is notoriously missing from the list. Well today I stumbled upon the answer. It turns out that cricket, croquet, golf, lacrosse, rugby, polo, and tug of war all used to be in the Olympics prior to 1924.

Now why anyone would want to do away with a fine sport like croquet is a mystery to me, but apparently a sport has to meet certain standards. A sport needs an association or governing body to qualify. It also needs to be popular in 75 countries for men's summer sports, 40 countries for women's summer sports, and 25 countries for winter sports. Unfortunately for all football fans, I don't think anyone plays that except for in the United States. I must admit I'm not too devastated about that. Anyway, I would recommend reading this column. In addition to being educational, it's also pretty entertaining.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/Default.aspx?article=olympics

Well, I guess I'm done talking for the day. Work decided to be busy for once!

Baby Update

Well, I'm back from vacation and back at work. It wouldn't be so bad, but it's a little depressing to think that I probably won't get another vacation until next summer, and by then I'll be changing diapers and scrambling for stuffed animals. I'm a fan of stuffed animals, of course...I mean, who isn't? I guess I'm just a little nervous about the sudden responsibility of a little one. And I'm pretty sure that's not unusual for a mom-to-be.

I'll give everyone a quick update on the baby and I'll try to cover all the questions I've been getting lately. I do not know yet if it's a boy or a girl, but we do plan to find out. I'm too excited to wait, and finding out makes it easier to plan for. I'll probably find that out next month. I'm kind of hoping for a boy, but both Todd and I have a hunch it's a girl. I'd be happy with a girl...it's just that I worry about what will happen when she gets to be a teenager. I know I was no picnic to deal with. At this month's appointment, they'll be taking my blood and making sure I don't have herpes or anything...although I'm pretty sure that's not going to be an issue. I haven't felt the baby kicking yet. The all-knowledgeable book says I probably won't until the end of this month or even into next month. I'm looking forward to that, but I don't know what to expect. I'll probably just think my tummy's rumbling when I finally do feel it.

That's all for today. I'll post again soon and tell you all about my vacation adventures. Maybe if I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll figure out how to post our fun pictures and videos.