Monday, January 30, 2006

When it hits the fan, read it

I have been so lax in writing lately but not so lax in reading. A few posts I saw today are worth an extra mention, so I would like to highlight them here:

First, if you are looking for an in-depth, no holds barred birth story, check out Beaver Girl's blog. We have had to wait a bit to hear the nitty-gritty on the arrival of Fred, but she has come through and then some with all the poop. Literally!

Second, if you are planning to cloth diaper at any point in your life, you must read what Jo has to say. She is the queen of cloth and has also begun elimination communication with her daughter. And, again, she's a gal that will give you all the poop. Literally. (Are you noticing a theme, here?)

And last, but so very far from least, is the most recent educational symposium on adoption from the ever-lovely Karen. Asshats of the world beware! The Ovary is watching! (While Karen does not literally discuss fecal outpourings, she does give you the straight poop and therefore fits the theme. My blog, my theme.)

I have a few random posts a-brewin'. Till then, enjoy the words of these lovely ladies.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Mama Meme-a

Today I am borrowing a meme from the lovely and ever-snarky Jo, who credits Mamamarta (sorry- I don’t have her link) with giving it to her (or tagging her, you know, whatever). I liked it because it will give a little more flavor to the “dish”- ha! Get it? A flavorful dish?

{crickets chirping}

What were you doing ten years ago?

I was at UCLA, had just finished my master’s degree, and was continuing down the road toward the doctorate. I had also just realized that my advisor WAS truly insane, not just quirky, and I was in the process of deciding whether to stick it out, move to another lab in the same department, go to a different department, or change universities altogether. (I ultimately created a hybrid of option two and three and moved into two different labs but graduated from my original department.) I had also just moved (again- I moved something like 6 times in a three year period) into a rental house with a friend after getting dumped by my boyfriend and having him move out of our apartment. It was pretty ugly at the time, but worked out nicely in the end. I loved the new house, loved living with that friend (with whom I am still close), and actually enjoyed being unattached for almost two years (no, I’m not that lame- I really got used to living life for me and loved it). Now that it has been many years later, I even have a casual friendship with my ex and his wife (I had moved away from LA and they happened to move to same city). We have dinner sometimes, we have kids a month apart in age, I have coffee with her occasionally (she’s a lovely gal). We still have awkward moments given the history, but life isn’t always a smooth ride, so I take the bumps as they come.

I also started attending the local University Catholic Center. At first I wanted to feel a connection to a group, reconnect with a church (and I had grown up R.C., so why not start there), and perhaps meet some new people (many of my friends were mutual with my ex). I ended up finding some wonderful people, getting involved in the choir (more of a folk group), and used it as a great base to the chaos of my life. Some of my best memories of living in LA revolve around the people I met at that church.

What were you doing one year ago?

One year ago I had just entered the second half of my pregnancy and persisted in the state of disbelief that I would actually come home with a baby. As many infertiles experience, even when a pregnancy occurs there is such a cloud of doom hanging over your head because your body was uncooperative for so long that it is difficult to enjoy the pregnancy to its fullest.

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Pretzels and diet cola (I love to eat them together)
2. Crackers
3. Peanut butter on banana or apple
4. Popcorn
5. Ice Cream

Five songs to which I know all the lyrics:
(Ok, I must qualify this by saying that as a Sweet Adeline—bet ya didn’t know that about me—I know all of the words to a LOT of songs. I will pick non-SA songs.)

1. Most everything by Erasure, Sting (not the Police), and Duran Duran (yes, I admit it)
2. Pink Floyd’s The Wall (the whole album, not just the song)
3. R.E.M.’s It’s the End of the World
4. Toad the Wet Sprocket’s All I Want
5. Blind Melon’s No Rain

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Move to a big piece of land, build three little houses, and move there with our parents.
2. Open a Bed and Breakfast (...thus limiting location of property in #1, but that’s ok)
3. Buy a Toyota Highlander hybrid. (We want room for more kids and the dog without mutilating the environment.)
4. Homeschool my kid(s)
5. Write a book

Five bad habits:

1. General laziness and procrastination (lifted from Jo)
2. Chewing skin around my nails
3. Using clean laundry out of the basket rather than putting it away first
4. Over-committing myself to activities
5. Watching too much TV (cop/forensic/medical shows)

Five things I like doing:

1. Spending time with my son
2. Creating (usually jewelry, cross-stitch, or fabric-based items)
3. Reading
4. Singing
5. Hiking

Five things I would never wear, buy, or get new again:
1. Any clothing in a fluorescent color
2. Mini-skirts
3. High heels
4. Blue cosmetics (mascara, eye shadow, lipstick, or nail polish- and I had all four at one time)
5. Leg warmers (what the hell were we thinking?)

Five favorite toys:

1. Wei*ght Watchers point calculator thingy (which has helped me to lose 26 pounds in 11 weeks, thankyouverymuch)
2. Web sudoku (does that qualify?)
3. My new crock pot (hey, we both work full-time...hot meals are nice)
4. My son’s Leap Frog Alphabet Pal
5. Our digital camera

If you have not only visited my blog (it’s an elite group, I tell ya) but read to the end of the meme, consider yourself tagged. Plus, it’s delurking week so leave a comment, ok? Toodles!

Monday, January 09, 2006

A New Year's Eve Review

Wow. Did the year really turn already? I am still in denial. New Year's Eve (NYE) is always one of those awkward nights where you don't necessarily want to go out because of the potential hassles involved but you feel awfully lame staying in for the night.

I have spent most of my NYEs at home, saying goodnight to my parents at about 9p.m., and then staying up alone to watch the ball drop. Yeah, I know, how exciting is that?

On a few other occasions, I spent NYE with my in-laws and while they normally stay up until midnight, the evening is not much different than the rest of the visit.

In two previous years I have gone to a NYE party and both were spectacularly lame. At the first one, I was abandoned by the friend who dragged me there and had to find a way home. At the second, my immediate group of friends was about 10 years older than the rest of the crowd. Yes, we were the old fogies...at midnight we quickly snuck out the door to get home before the drunks hit the roads.

However, a few NYEs stand out in my book:

In 2000, NYE became the day that I got engaged. It was freezing outside, we're talking below zero with the windchill, and A asked me to marry him while we were outside and standing on an exposed deck on a hillside. Don't crucify him for the meterological mishap- he chose the spot because it is one of my favorite places (not that I normally go there on brutally cold nights, but that's ok).

In 2002, we went to one of those "First Night" celebrations in my husband's hometown. It was fun, not too crazy, and I would definitely go again.

In 2004, I spent NYE in Florence, Italy. I have to admit that I went to sleep far before midnight, but I was also 19 weeks pregnant at the time and was a wee bit tired as we neared the end of our European trek. Florence, however, was fabulous.

In 2005, we decided to attend a party, baby in tow, and then stay the night to avoid the risks of driving home that evening. Overall, a good party. The best feature, though, was knowing that our baby was asleep upstairs. The latter half of 2005 showed me, without question, that although I spent many of my younger years claiming that I wasn't cut out to be a mom, I was absolutely and completely wrong. That is about the best way to ring in the New Year that I can imagine.



Happy New Year, all.