Finally a New Post

Yes, I know I haven't posted anything in a while. The problem is that nothing very interesting has happened in a while. And I haven't felt energetic enough to write about random things. But I'll give it a shot, if only to give you something to look at other than that rather unflattering photo of Todd.

I'm very proud of myself. I know many of you will feel the same when I tell you that I actually finished a just-for-fun project I started. I've been doing a cross-stitch, and I'm rather notorious for not finishing things like that. If you don't believe me, my mom can show you a sewing basket of mine with an unfinished quilt square and a knitting bag with half of a hat. Granted, this latest project was only a bookmark. I guess the trick is accomodating my short attention span with very small projects. I bet I'll get along famously with my baby girl...infants have no attention span either.

In other news, Todd and I plan to make a second attempt at a homemade pie for Thanksgiving. The Linfords might remember the apple pie we brought last year. We actually made two pies, but the dough got so crumbly for the second one that we couldn't save it. The first one would have been good, except that the store-bought apple pie filling we used wasn't a big hit. We're going to do cherry this year, so we're hoping for the best. It might turn out to be quite the adventure, though, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Finally, next time you reach for ketchup, just remember that it was derived from an East Asian sauce made from fermented fish. Yum.

Pictures

I know you're all dying to see the shiner I gave Todd, so feast your eyes on this really flattering picture:

The lighting in the photo makes it kind of hard to see, but look closely at the side of his eye to get an idea of his midnight battle wound.

I have to say that this Halloween was somewhat disappointing. I would guess that the number of little ghouls and power rangers that showed up at our door totaled less than 20. Todd and I even dressed up in some super spiffy costumes and stayed in with a pizza instead of going on our usual Friday night date. If we hadn't told the last group of teenagers to take a handful each, we'd be as hopped up on sugar as the kids! I suppose Halloween loses some of its magic as soon as you turn 12. Oh well. But since we didn't get to show off our spectacular costumes and pumpkins to the kids, I'll show them off to you. Please contain your excitement...

Surrender to Zorro!

Look closely to see my baby bump.

And let's not forget our masterful pumpkins:

Now that you've had your fill of picture fun, I have a question. For any of you with kids, I'd like to hear your opinions on epidurals. Especially if you have tried it both ways. I'm leaning toward getting one, but I want to know just how bad it really is if I chose not to. Let me know what you think!

Early Morning Adventures

I've finally done it. I've become a violent sleeper. Anyone who has ever shared a bed with me knows that it's no picnic, but I don't recall inflicting any lasting damage. Until now. I gave Todd a black eye in my sleep last week. Still mostly-asleep, I had propped myself up on my elbow to rotate my pillow to the fluffier and cooler side. Since Todd likes to sleep nice and close to me, he had his head right behind mine at the time. With the rotating process complete, I flopped back down, whacking the side of his face with my head. I must have come down pretty hard, because for the next week, poor Todd had a bruise, and I had a pretty good goose egg.

I've heard scarier stories about people punching their spouses or hitting them with pillows and things, but I never expected it to happen to me. I know my habits of kicking, tossing and turning, stealing pillows, and sticking my feet in other people's faces make me an annoying bedmate, but until now, I'd never injured anyone!

In other news, we thought maybe the stork had come early when we heard crying outside our window yesterday morning. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We didn't see anyone out the window, so we got dressed and investigated. Outside, we found a toddler wailing in the bushes, huddled against our front wall. She was in pajamas, barefoot, and clutching her doll. She could just walk, but couldn't yet tell us her name or where she lived. We know most of our neighbors now, but we don't know all their kids. So we walked around with her, knocking on doors until another neighbor saw us and told us who she was. It turns out she had escaped from the house right across the street. When we knocked, her mom opened the door looking panicked. Apparently, this little mischief maker had just learned a new trick: operating doorknobs. She had started letting herself out and wandering around by herself. A few nights earlier, her mom found her up the street in the middle of the night!

Our experience gave us a peek of the adventures of parenthood! I'm sure our little one will get herself into all kinds of trouble when she comes. :) I can't wait to find out what...

Broken Meters and Tuna Sandwiches

I'm going to tell everyone all about what's happening right this very second. It's 9:42. I'm eating a tunafish sandwich. It's edible, but not nearly as good as the killer tuna Mom makes. Yeah, I know it's a little weird so early in the morning, but I didn't get breakfast! Officer #32 is patrolling in lots 82 and 74, meter #14 is broken, and somebody has a flat tire. It's still pretty cool outside, but I have the air conditioning on. I thought I wouldn't have hot flashes for another 30 years or so! Ted and Geri are talking about an officer that ran into a bus the other day. The bus didn't hit him...he rode into a moving bus! I think that almost beats the time I ran into a stop sign. That had to be the most effective stop sign I've ever encountered. :)

Alright, I'll stop boring everyone now. It's sometimes difficult for me to comprehend, but I do realize that not a whole lot of people care about broken meters and tuna fish.

Laundry Day Dangers

I'm sitting here at work struggling to breathe. I took my uniform, including the maternity pants I bought for work, home to be washed and forgot to bring them back today. So I had to squeeze into my old pants that were into my locker. I did managed to wrestle the button together, but now it's rather difficult to move. It will probably be uncomfortable enough that I'll be sure to remember them tomorrow!

There's not much else to tell you today, except that the word "pencil" derives for the Latin word "penicillus," which means "little tail." Also, good news for Jessica: you cannot get lead poisoning by getting stabbed by a pencil. You can, however, get a permanent black mark on your nose. Fascinating information courtesy of: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Lists/?article=20ThingsPencils&GT1=27004

Break Out the Pink!

Ok, I'm guessing that there is at least a 95% chance that my baby's excited grandma-to-be has already told you, but just in case she overlooked anyone...it's a girl! I would have updated sooner, but I was pondering posting some of the ultrasound pictures. But that was taking way to much effort to figure out, and the only time I ever update is at work, so I gave up on that idea. So that's my excuse.

The ultrasound was really fun to see. It looks like we're going to have a really wiggly baby. She was rolling all around and grabbing her feet, and sucking her thumb. It took the technician nearly an hour to determine the sex of the baby. She was being a little shy and had scrunched herself up into only about half of her available space.

I am feeling her kick now, which is neat. Except that the other night I watched the show "Fringe" on Fox about a genetically mutated guy with messed up growth hormones who gets a girl pregnant. She has a super accelerated pregnancy and gives birth about an hour after getting pregnant. The baby then grew so fast it killed her during labor and went on to become an old man and die four hours later. The whole show was the stuff of nightmares for someone who actually is pregnant.

We haven't thought of any names yet. I'm afraid I've never been known for decisiveness. I'm thinking maybe I'll let Jessica name my kids after all. I'm sure she'll pick a good biblical name...like "Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz Argyle."

Tag Tidbits

Ok, Jessica tagged me so I'm going to seize the opportunity to share more about my wonderful life with everyone.

4 Places I've lived:
1. The good ol' house on Michigan Avenue. The basement may be a meat locker, but the rest is quite cozy and enjoyable.
2. I enjoyed the very, um, diverse atmosphere in room 101 at Utah State, where we mysteriously discovered beer in the fridge and where my roommate swallowed a live goldfish.
3. Todd and I took advantage of his parents' mission to live in their house. It was great, except for the decorations, which weren't exactly my thing, but which were too much trouble to take down and store.
4. A charming little duplex, whose only drawback is a landlord who likes to fix things but isn't very good at it.

4 Shows I watch:
1. The Red Green Show
2. Red Dwarf
3. Doctor Who
4. (Insert your favorite PBS show here)
(Can you tell we don't have cable at my house?)

4 Jobs I've had:
1. Warehouse Slave where I got very dirty
2. Warehouse Slave where I got very glittery
3. "Sandwich Artist/Teryaki Rice Bowl Maker"
4. Parking Nazi

4 Places I've visited:
1. Washington, DC
2. Mexico
3. New York
4. Hawaii

4 Favorite Foods:
1. Taco salad
2. Tuna sandwiches
3. Grilled Cheese sandwiches
4. Cinnamon rolls
(This one may be slightly skewed by my random cravings for things like sour cream)

4 Places I Would Rather Be:
1. Out in the awesome weather today
2. On the beach
3. Somewhere with a kitty cat
4. Umm, I can't think of any more. I guess I'm just such a content person.

4 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Painting my belly like a pumpkin on Halloween
2. Finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl (tomorrow!)
3. Christmas
4. No longer having to pay the university for anything like Todd's tuition and my parking permit.

4 Things I Do in My Spare Time:
1. This
2. Puzzles (number, word, jigsaw...)
3. Sleep (I do that a lot lately)
4. Play games

4 Favorite Things To Do With My Family:
1. Talk politics (Ok, so I don't really contribute much to these discussions, but it is entertaining to listen to all the arguing) Actually, just talking to my family is pretty fun because usually several conversations are going on at the same time.
2. Games
3. Fun Family Traditions like egg-breaking and gingerbread house making
4. Well, gosh, what wouldn't be my favorite activity when it involves the Fun Family?

I'm sure you will all sleep better tonight knowing a little more about Claire.