I forgot to complain about two pregnancy symptoms yesterday.
1. My teeth hurt! I feel like I can't even thoroughly chew my food because they hurt. I can't wait to go to the dentist and get them cleaned after the baby gets here. It's recommended that you go during pregnancy, but I am so nauseated, I'm not letting anyone put their hands in my mouth. I'm just brushing and flossing a lot while I wait.
2. My wrists and elbows hurt! Pregnancy often makes carpal tunnel syndrome a lot worse, and mine is bad enough to begin with. For an example of how bad it is now, Jason got himself a new rifle on Black Friday and I was holding it, looking at the cool sight on it, and my elbow wore out after about 30 seconds. I just couldn't hold up the gun any longer. Youch!
I finished a book today:
#47: Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris. This is Harper Connelly mystery, and as usual, Harper "listens" to a dead person's bones and discovers the cause of death and then gets into trouble because of it. BUT in this episode, this stranger's death relates back to Harper's own family secrets. Entertaining as usual, and I didn't even notice any glaring problems with the writing or technical elements of the story. Good job, Charlaine! (FYI, I say that name in the most horrible southern accent!)
Do you have your Christmas tree up yet? I put ours up last weekend. I even have most of my presents wrapped. I always like to decorate, shop, and wrap early. I love Christmas. I hate shopping in crowds. I think it's so fun to have gifts under the tree. And this year in particular, I know I won't be able to concentrate much on people other than my new baby and my own little family. So I had to get it done early, or maybe not do it at all.
I still have a couple strands of lights to put up when I have the energy. I have about 100 things I'd like to do right now, but I don't have it in me. They will just have to wait!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Still Pregnant! Plus some books
Well, y'all, I'm 38 weeks along now and my little girl can't come soon enough! Oh, we're crowded! My poor leg is so pained from muscles and ligaments loosening up and moving into the wrong places and putting weird pressure on something where my inner thigh muscle and hamstring meet my groin. Sometimes it makes me cry to walk around the house. Sometimes my leg won't respond when I try to make it walk around. Sometimes it just hurts but still works. I can't wait for that to stop! It should stop pretty quickly after the baby is born and my body stops flooding itself with Relastin, the hormone that makes your muscles relax.
I'm also THRILLED at the thought of heartburn going away!! And the thought of sleeping as long as the baby will let me without waking up choking on vomit!! I think that problem might be known as GERD.
Jason's excited for me to stop snoring so much and so loudly. I also drool in my sleep. The insides of your nose swell up and then sometimes you have to breathe through your mouth, and you have to sleep on your side when you're pregnant, and you make extra saliva, but I don't remember why, and add it up together and it means lots of drool.
I can't wait to meet this girl! Who is she? What's she going to be like? What's she going to like? What will she look like? What will her voice sound like? We'll find out pretty soon.
Okay, some more books that I've read this year:
#38: Find Me, a mystery by Carol O'Connell. I like the protagonist, Kathy Mallory. She's pretty much a sociopathic cop and badass. In this one, we learn about how she was orphaned and why she has been calling hundreds of phone numbers and freaking out the women who answer by saying, "It's Kathy. I'm lost." She also tracks a serial killer who finds victims along Route 66.
#39: The Man Who Cast Two Shadows by Carol O'Connell. Another Mallory novel. Pretty fun.
#40: World Without End by Ken Follet. This is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth. Each book is over 1,000 pages long, so I recommend getting them on your Kindle if you have one. If you are pregnant, it is surprisingly difficult to read giant books because it's not comfortable to prop them up on your stomach. This one takes place in the same locations as Pillars, but it's 200 years later. Some of the characters are descendants of those in Pillars. I think this one is just as good. It's a little different in that it doesn't immediately establish the good vs. evil dichotomy. There are people we don't like, but I didn't hate anyone right off the bat like in Pillars. It's an engaging, satisfying read.
I've read the following books on my Kindle, which Jason got me for my birthday this year. I really like it, but I know I will continue to read paper books, too. Huge books would be nicer on the Kindle. Books with pictures are better on paper. Books that you want to flip back and forth through are better on paper. And sometimes price will be the deciding factor. Most books are $9.99 on Kindle, but sometimes you find paper books much cheaper than that. Anyway, here's what I read:
#41: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The old fashioned language in this one made me slow down and enjoy it more. It was fun, and pretty exciting.
#42: Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. This was a cute, fun little mystery. Written in 1967, it has some funny stereotypes about the difference in attitude between Americans and British. Also funny: the American's idioms and catch phrases.
#43: Room by Emma Donoghue. In this novel, a young woman was kidnapped at age 19 and held by a wacko, locked in a room for 7 years. She bore his child, Jack, who tells us this story at age 5. It's really interesting -- she tried to make it seem like life was okay there, and that is was normal for them to be locked in the room. How else could she raise her son? But when he turns 5, she decides it might be time to try to get out. He doesn't even know that Outside is real, so it's quite a big upset in his life. If you can stand to read a whole novel in child-speak, it's definitely worth checking out.
#44: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. This novel takes place in the early 1900s in Wisconsin. A country businessman advertises for a new wife, and a woman comes to him, but it's not who he expected. There are a few twists and turns and a surprising amount of sex. It was okay.
#45: Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I don't want to share too much plot, but there is a teenage Nigerian girl and a middle-aged British woman. They meet once in Nigeria and then again in London a couple years later. I will tell you that something horrible happens, but the victim does not feel sorry for herself. She says something like, "celebrate my scars because it means I'm alive and I healed." It's good.
#46: At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. This one's pretty fun. He goes room by room in an old British house, telling us all sorts of facts about architecture, vermin, industrialization, fashion, surgery, landscaping, and sewage, among other things.
Okay, I'm all caught up on finished books. I'm still in the middle of lots of other books, including several about babies. I may only finish 52 this year, or one per week. It's quite a difference from last year.
I'm also THRILLED at the thought of heartburn going away!! And the thought of sleeping as long as the baby will let me without waking up choking on vomit!! I think that problem might be known as GERD.
Jason's excited for me to stop snoring so much and so loudly. I also drool in my sleep. The insides of your nose swell up and then sometimes you have to breathe through your mouth, and you have to sleep on your side when you're pregnant, and you make extra saliva, but I don't remember why, and add it up together and it means lots of drool.
I can't wait to meet this girl! Who is she? What's she going to be like? What's she going to like? What will she look like? What will her voice sound like? We'll find out pretty soon.
Okay, some more books that I've read this year:
#38: Find Me, a mystery by Carol O'Connell. I like the protagonist, Kathy Mallory. She's pretty much a sociopathic cop and badass. In this one, we learn about how she was orphaned and why she has been calling hundreds of phone numbers and freaking out the women who answer by saying, "It's Kathy. I'm lost." She also tracks a serial killer who finds victims along Route 66.
#39: The Man Who Cast Two Shadows by Carol O'Connell. Another Mallory novel. Pretty fun.
#40: World Without End by Ken Follet. This is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth. Each book is over 1,000 pages long, so I recommend getting them on your Kindle if you have one. If you are pregnant, it is surprisingly difficult to read giant books because it's not comfortable to prop them up on your stomach. This one takes place in the same locations as Pillars, but it's 200 years later. Some of the characters are descendants of those in Pillars. I think this one is just as good. It's a little different in that it doesn't immediately establish the good vs. evil dichotomy. There are people we don't like, but I didn't hate anyone right off the bat like in Pillars. It's an engaging, satisfying read.
I've read the following books on my Kindle, which Jason got me for my birthday this year. I really like it, but I know I will continue to read paper books, too. Huge books would be nicer on the Kindle. Books with pictures are better on paper. Books that you want to flip back and forth through are better on paper. And sometimes price will be the deciding factor. Most books are $9.99 on Kindle, but sometimes you find paper books much cheaper than that. Anyway, here's what I read:
#41: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The old fashioned language in this one made me slow down and enjoy it more. It was fun, and pretty exciting.
#42: Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie. This was a cute, fun little mystery. Written in 1967, it has some funny stereotypes about the difference in attitude between Americans and British. Also funny: the American's idioms and catch phrases.
#43: Room by Emma Donoghue. In this novel, a young woman was kidnapped at age 19 and held by a wacko, locked in a room for 7 years. She bore his child, Jack, who tells us this story at age 5. It's really interesting -- she tried to make it seem like life was okay there, and that is was normal for them to be locked in the room. How else could she raise her son? But when he turns 5, she decides it might be time to try to get out. He doesn't even know that Outside is real, so it's quite a big upset in his life. If you can stand to read a whole novel in child-speak, it's definitely worth checking out.
#44: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. This novel takes place in the early 1900s in Wisconsin. A country businessman advertises for a new wife, and a woman comes to him, but it's not who he expected. There are a few twists and turns and a surprising amount of sex. It was okay.
#45: Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I don't want to share too much plot, but there is a teenage Nigerian girl and a middle-aged British woman. They meet once in Nigeria and then again in London a couple years later. I will tell you that something horrible happens, but the victim does not feel sorry for herself. She says something like, "celebrate my scars because it means I'm alive and I healed." It's good.
#46: At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson. This one's pretty fun. He goes room by room in an old British house, telling us all sorts of facts about architecture, vermin, industrialization, fashion, surgery, landscaping, and sewage, among other things.
Okay, I'm all caught up on finished books. I'm still in the middle of lots of other books, including several about babies. I may only finish 52 this year, or one per week. It's quite a difference from last year.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Books #32 - 37
Hello, friends!
I've been doing some reading since I last posted, though nowhere near as much as last year. I got a Kindle for my birthday, which I really like. It's nice to have multiple books in one little contraption. I still love paper books, with their pages and the smell of paper and the cover art and the ability to mark a page and turn back to look at it easily (you can bookmark with the Kindle, but I don't know how yet). Anyway, here are some books I've read recently:
#32: The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing. A couple push their luck by having a fifth baby when they already had a perfect family. And there's something different about him -- like he might be a throwback to one of our pre-Homo Sapiens ancestors! When I started feeling our baby kick, and seeing my stomach bulge and ripple, I couldn't help but think of this book, in which the little monster tortures his mom in utero. Since reading this, I saw an episode of the show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" in which a woman's first baby had broken 3 of her ribs while kicking inside her body! The second, surprise baby barely moved at all. No wonder she didn't realize it was in there!
#33: Ben, In the World by Dorris Lessing. This is the sequel to The Fifth Child, in which the little monster heads out on a search for more of his own kind. Poor Ben. He's a little late.
#34: What Makes You Not A Buddhist by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse. I like reading about buddhism because it makes me feel calm and less enchanted by consumerism. But this is my least favorite buddhism book so far. It took me forever to read. I think the others I've read had some fun and humor in them, and this one had none.
#35: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris. I love David Sedaris and his sister, Amy. This is a book of very short stories which star animals. It's illustrated by Ian Falconer. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoy David's stories about his own life, but it's okay. I guess I was expecting the same level of hilarity, but I did not find it here.
#36: The News Where You Are by Catherine O'Flynn. This is a winner! A local newscaster investigates the death of his friend and colleague. But the important thing is that the writing is fantastic. Try this:
"Frank didn't expect much from food, but he thought it shouldn't injure you."
and:
"Sometimes he imagined that he was the last person living after the bomb had dropped, and such thoughts inevitably failed to lift his mood."
#37: The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. As long as I can avoid seeing the author's photo (the hair -- oh man, the hair!), I really enjoy these mystery-thrillers starring Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. In this one, someone is going to elaborate lengths to frame men for rapes and murders. There is physical evidence planted in their homes -- but how does anyone know what kind of beer, condoms, and shoes they recently bought? It's a pretty decent story about the evil potential of information-gathering companies.
I have a few more to report, and I'll be back soon to do so. Hey, there are lots of ways to define "soon."
I've been doing some reading since I last posted, though nowhere near as much as last year. I got a Kindle for my birthday, which I really like. It's nice to have multiple books in one little contraption. I still love paper books, with their pages and the smell of paper and the cover art and the ability to mark a page and turn back to look at it easily (you can bookmark with the Kindle, but I don't know how yet). Anyway, here are some books I've read recently:
#32: The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing. A couple push their luck by having a fifth baby when they already had a perfect family. And there's something different about him -- like he might be a throwback to one of our pre-Homo Sapiens ancestors! When I started feeling our baby kick, and seeing my stomach bulge and ripple, I couldn't help but think of this book, in which the little monster tortures his mom in utero. Since reading this, I saw an episode of the show "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" in which a woman's first baby had broken 3 of her ribs while kicking inside her body! The second, surprise baby barely moved at all. No wonder she didn't realize it was in there!
#33: Ben, In the World by Dorris Lessing. This is the sequel to The Fifth Child, in which the little monster heads out on a search for more of his own kind. Poor Ben. He's a little late.
#34: What Makes You Not A Buddhist by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse. I like reading about buddhism because it makes me feel calm and less enchanted by consumerism. But this is my least favorite buddhism book so far. It took me forever to read. I think the others I've read had some fun and humor in them, and this one had none.
#35: Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris. I love David Sedaris and his sister, Amy. This is a book of very short stories which star animals. It's illustrated by Ian Falconer. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoy David's stories about his own life, but it's okay. I guess I was expecting the same level of hilarity, but I did not find it here.
#36: The News Where You Are by Catherine O'Flynn. This is a winner! A local newscaster investigates the death of his friend and colleague. But the important thing is that the writing is fantastic. Try this:
"Frank didn't expect much from food, but he thought it shouldn't injure you."
and:
"Sometimes he imagined that he was the last person living after the bomb had dropped, and such thoughts inevitably failed to lift his mood."
#37: The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. As long as I can avoid seeing the author's photo (the hair -- oh man, the hair!), I really enjoy these mystery-thrillers starring Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. In this one, someone is going to elaborate lengths to frame men for rapes and murders. There is physical evidence planted in their homes -- but how does anyone know what kind of beer, condoms, and shoes they recently bought? It's a pretty decent story about the evil potential of information-gathering companies.
I have a few more to report, and I'll be back soon to do so. Hey, there are lots of ways to define "soon."
Friday, October 1, 2010
Book #31
Martha Sandwieiss's Passing Strange sounds SO good! It is the true story of a white man living in New York in the late 1800s, going to hoity-toity clubs and fraternizing with movers and shakers. He's a well known and well respected geologist and writer. And he's got Jungle Fever. In his geologically oriented travels around the world, Clarence King decides that dark-skinned women are more natural and real, and they're the only ones who really attract him. But in Manhattan in those days, racial intermingling simply was not done.
So he starts sneaking out at night, frequenting black clubs and listening to black music. Did you know that many white men did so at that time, in the U.S. and in Europe? They'd leave all their identification at home in case they "got caught" and prowl around black neighborhoods, seeing what was going on in what they thought of as a more "real" world -- one with less artifice.
But that's not enough. Clarence King met Ada Copeland, a black former slave, and he gave her a fake name and identity: James Todd, black Pullman porter. And he married her and they had a bunch of kids! And he pretended for 13 years to be black! And he never told his friends (and certainly not his mother) that he was married! He lived a double life right in the same city.
Now, you can get most of that information off the book cover, so don't think I ruined it for you.
What a great story! Unfortunately, neither Ada nor Clarence/James left any diaries, letters, or other evidence about their thoughts or feelings toward each other. The story must therefore be told with a lot of, "we must suppose that..." and "it can be assumed that..." which is damn boring. Sandweiss also using an academic voice throughout, which reinforces the boredom. I think I would have rather read a fictionalized version of the story.
Here's a great line from one of King's letters to his friend, "You have always thought my alleged savagery of soul a mere attitudinizing but you were wrong." Try to use that somehow in your own life!
So he starts sneaking out at night, frequenting black clubs and listening to black music. Did you know that many white men did so at that time, in the U.S. and in Europe? They'd leave all their identification at home in case they "got caught" and prowl around black neighborhoods, seeing what was going on in what they thought of as a more "real" world -- one with less artifice.
But that's not enough. Clarence King met Ada Copeland, a black former slave, and he gave her a fake name and identity: James Todd, black Pullman porter. And he married her and they had a bunch of kids! And he pretended for 13 years to be black! And he never told his friends (and certainly not his mother) that he was married! He lived a double life right in the same city.
Now, you can get most of that information off the book cover, so don't think I ruined it for you.
What a great story! Unfortunately, neither Ada nor Clarence/James left any diaries, letters, or other evidence about their thoughts or feelings toward each other. The story must therefore be told with a lot of, "we must suppose that..." and "it can be assumed that..." which is damn boring. Sandweiss also using an academic voice throughout, which reinforces the boredom. I think I would have rather read a fictionalized version of the story.
Here's a great line from one of King's letters to his friend, "You have always thought my alleged savagery of soul a mere attitudinizing but you were wrong." Try to use that somehow in your own life!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Ikea Haul!
Here's the pile of stuff we brought home from Ikea (not including the furniture). It is so fun to look around that store. Next year we will have our own store, only four years after it was originally promised. If everything goes as planned. And our whole house can become organized with cute, well-though-out design.
So, at 24 weeks into this, I am surprised at how compromised my movement is already.
I'm already having trouble getting up from the couch without using my arms to push me up. I didn't think that would happen until the very end, but my abs really can't work like they used to.
I also have trouble rolling over from one side to the other in bed. I used to be able to do that in my sleep (HA!).
I can't jump nearly as much, which is seriously slowing down my workouts. If I can't do tough workouts, I have to eat less, and I don't like that.
I can't lie on my stomach, which isn't a big deal, but I'll probably really like it when I can do it again.
AND, if it's past noon, I can't bend over without getting painful heartburn. So that includes picking up things off the floor, putting on my shoes, using the dishwasher, etc... And the heartburn doesn't just hurt; it makes me feel like throwing up. No fun!
But it's totally worth it and I can't wait for December!
So, at 24 weeks into this, I am surprised at how compromised my movement is already.
I'm already having trouble getting up from the couch without using my arms to push me up. I didn't think that would happen until the very end, but my abs really can't work like they used to.
I also have trouble rolling over from one side to the other in bed. I used to be able to do that in my sleep (HA!).
I can't jump nearly as much, which is seriously slowing down my workouts. If I can't do tough workouts, I have to eat less, and I don't like that.
I can't lie on my stomach, which isn't a big deal, but I'll probably really like it when I can do it again.
AND, if it's past noon, I can't bend over without getting painful heartburn. So that includes picking up things off the floor, putting on my shoes, using the dishwasher, etc... And the heartburn doesn't just hurt; it makes me feel like throwing up. No fun!
But it's totally worth it and I can't wait for December!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
A Song That Makes Me Laugh Out Loud
We've heard this song a few times on satellite radio, and it is just so silly! It's South African hip hop.
Yo, I'm a NINJA!
Yo, I'm a NINJA!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Hot shorts
When Jason and I were in Vegas for our honeymoon, we saw these shorts for sale at H&M:
Elastic-waist, acid-washed short-shorts! They were only $5, but still! Someone should probably be ashamed.
Elastic-waist, acid-washed short-shorts! They were only $5, but still! Someone should probably be ashamed.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Baby's Room!
I'm done painting the baby's room now, and today I put together her furniture. She has a crib and a dresser (which we will use as the changing table, too).
I draped one of her curtains over the crib so you can see the design and the colors with the wall color. The wall color is called Sanibal Grey, but to me it looks like light blue with a hint of grey and a hint of green. In person, it looks like a lighter version of the blue stripes in the curtains.
See that ric-rac? Well, those curtains are a little bit country. And I really didn't want country-style furniture in our house, so we had to go to Ikea in Dallas to buy our furniture and then drive it all the way home. And THEN I picked out country-tinged textiles! Still, I love her plain furniture (which was reasonably priced and did not take very long for me to put together by myself). And I love her curtains and bedding.
And I desperately hope someone buys her this as a present:
http://www.target.com/dp/B001SI416M/ref=sc_qi_img_viewdetails?ie=UTF8&title=view%20full%20details
It's a sleep sack with a cowboy theme! It doesn't get much country-er than that.
Stuff and then More Books! # 23 -
Jeez, has it been long enough since I posted? All is well with the baby and everything else.
I went to the in-laws reunion and the horrid email writer was there, but he just pretended that nothing had happened and I just avoided him as much as possible. Since there were about 30 adults and 20 kids, it was easy to do without people wondering why I was snubbing him. I learned from another relative that he often writes really horrible, inappropriate emails. Somehow that made me feel better, even as it reveals him as an even bigger asshole.
My garden is giving up all kinds of good stuff now: basil, cilantro, dill, watermelons, corn, peas, tomatoes (finally!), hot peppers, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and spinach. And gourds. I am still waiting on potatoes and muskmelons and also for that glorious day when I can eat tomatoes until I'm sick of them. [Yeah, I think either tomato or potato doesn't have an "e" when pluralized, but I don't know which one. Just like G.W., I know.]. I have only been getting a few teeny tomatoes each day, which just whets the appetite without sating it.
I'm working on the baby's room and will share some photos later or tomorrow or sometime. It's so fun to imagine having a little girl living in that room! What's she going to be like? What will she look like? What will she like? Will she have one of those super-high-pitched little girl voices?? Oh man, I used to babysit a little girl whose voice was unbelievably high! It made me laugh every time she talked.
Okay, some books I've been reading:
#23: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. The third in the trilogy. Tight writing, good plot development, very satisfying. I really want to talk about a problem I had with it, but it would spoil the book for you, and I'd rather you read it.
#24: Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman. A Baltimore-based mystery novel with a female P.I. as the star. It was okay. I have enjoyed other Lippman books much more. I think What the Dead Know was excellent. This was just okay.
#25: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. A short novel about two young women. Pretty good. I loved her short story collection, Birds of America, more, but this is pretty good. Here are a couple great excerpts:
"I sang 'Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?' in a solo, in front of everyone, at Sunday service. At the end no one clapped, but you didn't at a church service. That was one of the things that was too bad about church."
and
"At vespers I actually prayed hard to God and on several occasions believed I felt the Holy Spirit enter me then silently cry out and flee."
#26: Faithful Place by Tana French. Another Ireland-based mystery novel from French. I really like her style. It's another story about a flawed detective who is drawn back to his home town to face up to events from earlier in his life. I'm not tired of that yet. There's a lot of the literary in her mysteries, so they're not just genre novels. Really good writing.
#27: The Burning Wire by Jeffrey Deaver. Another one starring Lincoln Rhyme, the paralyzed ex-crime scene detective, and his girlfriend/protege, Amelia Sachs. In this one, a killer with an expert knowledge of how to use and abuse electricity uses it to terrorize New York City. It might make you afraid of the outlets in your own house, if you're easily spooked. As usual, a good read.
#28: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris. Another Sookie Stackhouse novel. These are total fluff, so don't expect too much. Fun to read, but I've already forgotten most of what happened.
#29: Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child. Near the Arctic Circle, some ancient preserved creature is found. Is it the greatest scientific discovery of our time, or a monster that must not be awoken? Fast-moving, lots of characters, capable writing.
#30: Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. I have liked Anne Tyler since I was a kid. Her novels are well-written easy reads, with quirky characters in odd situations. In this one, a 61-year old man is attacked in his home and becomes obsessed with remembering what happened. Forced into early retirement, he has plenty of time on his hands. His daughters, sister, ex-wife, and a surprising love interest harass him throughout the book.
I'm going to try to write more often! Maybe I can re-establish the habit of posting almost every day.
I went to the in-laws reunion and the horrid email writer was there, but he just pretended that nothing had happened and I just avoided him as much as possible. Since there were about 30 adults and 20 kids, it was easy to do without people wondering why I was snubbing him. I learned from another relative that he often writes really horrible, inappropriate emails. Somehow that made me feel better, even as it reveals him as an even bigger asshole.
My garden is giving up all kinds of good stuff now: basil, cilantro, dill, watermelons, corn, peas, tomatoes (finally!), hot peppers, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and spinach. And gourds. I am still waiting on potatoes and muskmelons and also for that glorious day when I can eat tomatoes until I'm sick of them. [Yeah, I think either tomato or potato doesn't have an "e" when pluralized, but I don't know which one. Just like G.W., I know.]. I have only been getting a few teeny tomatoes each day, which just whets the appetite without sating it.
I'm working on the baby's room and will share some photos later or tomorrow or sometime. It's so fun to imagine having a little girl living in that room! What's she going to be like? What will she look like? What will she like? Will she have one of those super-high-pitched little girl voices?? Oh man, I used to babysit a little girl whose voice was unbelievably high! It made me laugh every time she talked.
Okay, some books I've been reading:
#23: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson. The third in the trilogy. Tight writing, good plot development, very satisfying. I really want to talk about a problem I had with it, but it would spoil the book for you, and I'd rather you read it.
#24: Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman. A Baltimore-based mystery novel with a female P.I. as the star. It was okay. I have enjoyed other Lippman books much more. I think What the Dead Know was excellent. This was just okay.
#25: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. A short novel about two young women. Pretty good. I loved her short story collection, Birds of America, more, but this is pretty good. Here are a couple great excerpts:
"I sang 'Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?' in a solo, in front of everyone, at Sunday service. At the end no one clapped, but you didn't at a church service. That was one of the things that was too bad about church."
and
"At vespers I actually prayed hard to God and on several occasions believed I felt the Holy Spirit enter me then silently cry out and flee."
#26: Faithful Place by Tana French. Another Ireland-based mystery novel from French. I really like her style. It's another story about a flawed detective who is drawn back to his home town to face up to events from earlier in his life. I'm not tired of that yet. There's a lot of the literary in her mysteries, so they're not just genre novels. Really good writing.
#27: The Burning Wire by Jeffrey Deaver. Another one starring Lincoln Rhyme, the paralyzed ex-crime scene detective, and his girlfriend/protege, Amelia Sachs. In this one, a killer with an expert knowledge of how to use and abuse electricity uses it to terrorize New York City. It might make you afraid of the outlets in your own house, if you're easily spooked. As usual, a good read.
#28: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris. Another Sookie Stackhouse novel. These are total fluff, so don't expect too much. Fun to read, but I've already forgotten most of what happened.
#29: Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child. Near the Arctic Circle, some ancient preserved creature is found. Is it the greatest scientific discovery of our time, or a monster that must not be awoken? Fast-moving, lots of characters, capable writing.
#30: Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. I have liked Anne Tyler since I was a kid. Her novels are well-written easy reads, with quirky characters in odd situations. In this one, a 61-year old man is attacked in his home and becomes obsessed with remembering what happened. Forced into early retirement, he has plenty of time on his hands. His daughters, sister, ex-wife, and a surprising love interest harass him throughout the book.
I'm going to try to write more often! Maybe I can re-establish the habit of posting almost every day.
Monday, July 26, 2010
BABIES!
First of all, our baby appears to be a GIRL! I had been nervous about having a boy (because they're so wild and I don't have a lot of little-boy experience) but then I got used to the idea, and then I fell in love with the idea, and I was really surprised to hear we have a little girl coming!
And she is really big! According to the sonogram measurements, she is in the 95th percentile. I will be tested for gestational diabetes, which worried me at first, but now I have found out that most pregnant women are tested for it. Also, that type of diabetes is usually not that big of a deal, unless you're obese or have some other issues, and I am not even overweight and don't have any other pregnancy-related issues. We just won't talk about other kinds of issues for now.
She may just be big, because Jason and I are both around 6 feet tall. And Jason weighed over 10 pounds when he was born. Plus, those measurements are imperfect. So I'm not worrying about GD unless I find out that I have it. And I'm not thinking about the delivery of a giant baby yet -- I have plenty of time to deal with that terrifying prospect!
But it is a good additional reason to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. It is so easy to let myself have lots of treats! I deserve them, come on! But for good health, the baby and I need the best nutrition I can get, so I'm trying to be a better eater.
Our little girl is also super active! Both times we have seen her on the sonogram screens, she has been twisting and somersaulting and throwing her arms over her head. It took about an hour for our sonographer to get the 8 measurements he needed. I think it often takes about 20 or 30 minutes. But our little wiggler would not hold still long enough to be measured. And I had NOT just had any caffiene or sugar -- imagine if I had!
In other baby news, we have had some squatters in our back yard. Aren't they cute?
Little cottontail rabbits! All they want to do is eat my whole garden and dig lots of holes in our yard. Awwww, so cute! When I spotted the first one amongst the cucumber plants, I was simultaneously SO mad (we've been fighting to keep the parents out of the yard since we moved in) and FILLED with a desire to pick it up and pet it and try to tame it and keep it as a pet.
Don't worry -- I didn't touch it. Jason put on gloves and caught it (it screamed when he picked it up!) and then we found two more lurking around. We carried them a few blocks away and let them out in an open space area. According to the internet, they are big enough to survive on their own. I just hope they can't find us again. Then they'll want to have THEIR babies in our yard, and you know how quickly they multiply! They only gestate for one month and can have up to 12 babies in a litter.
Hopefully they enjoy their new home enough that they don't come back.
Goodbye, cutie!
And she is really big! According to the sonogram measurements, she is in the 95th percentile. I will be tested for gestational diabetes, which worried me at first, but now I have found out that most pregnant women are tested for it. Also, that type of diabetes is usually not that big of a deal, unless you're obese or have some other issues, and I am not even overweight and don't have any other pregnancy-related issues. We just won't talk about other kinds of issues for now.
She may just be big, because Jason and I are both around 6 feet tall. And Jason weighed over 10 pounds when he was born. Plus, those measurements are imperfect. So I'm not worrying about GD unless I find out that I have it. And I'm not thinking about the delivery of a giant baby yet -- I have plenty of time to deal with that terrifying prospect!
But it is a good additional reason to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. It is so easy to let myself have lots of treats! I deserve them, come on! But for good health, the baby and I need the best nutrition I can get, so I'm trying to be a better eater.
Our little girl is also super active! Both times we have seen her on the sonogram screens, she has been twisting and somersaulting and throwing her arms over her head. It took about an hour for our sonographer to get the 8 measurements he needed. I think it often takes about 20 or 30 minutes. But our little wiggler would not hold still long enough to be measured. And I had NOT just had any caffiene or sugar -- imagine if I had!
In other baby news, we have had some squatters in our back yard. Aren't they cute?
Little cottontail rabbits! All they want to do is eat my whole garden and dig lots of holes in our yard. Awwww, so cute! When I spotted the first one amongst the cucumber plants, I was simultaneously SO mad (we've been fighting to keep the parents out of the yard since we moved in) and FILLED with a desire to pick it up and pet it and try to tame it and keep it as a pet.
Don't worry -- I didn't touch it. Jason put on gloves and caught it (it screamed when he picked it up!) and then we found two more lurking around. We carried them a few blocks away and let them out in an open space area. According to the internet, they are big enough to survive on their own. I just hope they can't find us again. Then they'll want to have THEIR babies in our yard, and you know how quickly they multiply! They only gestate for one month and can have up to 12 babies in a litter.
Hopefully they enjoy their new home enough that they don't come back.
Goodbye, cutie!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
New House: Third Month
Here is the painted loft. Our niece helped with this room, too. The color is called Spa Blue, and it may be the brightest color in our house. We hope to build a big built-in bookcase in the niche where the books are currently sitting. It will be floor-to-ceiling and fill in that whole area. In this photo, all the books are two-deep on the shelves. The envisioned built-in should house all the books in single rows AND leave some empty spaces for displaying things.
Of course it's also possible that this area will fill up with toys and kid stuff. :)
Of course it's also possible that this area will fill up with toys and kid stuff. :)
New House: Third Month
Our second bathroom is designed for kids. The counter is about 6 inches lower than in our master bath and the tub is really low for kids to climb in and out. That will be great for our little guy or girl -- until he or she grows up! Our kids may be taller than we are, and we're both around 6 feet tall. Oh well, we tall people know all about backaches from leaning down.
Our niece came over to earn some cash and help us out with this room. At that time, the smell of our low-odor paint was still making me nauseated after about half an hour. The color is Misty Surf.
It was so nice to have this room done before my mom came to visit! I'd say this bathroom was one of the dirtiest looking rooms in the house, and now it looks clean and sharp.
Our niece came over to earn some cash and help us out with this room. At that time, the smell of our low-odor paint was still making me nauseated after about half an hour. The color is Misty Surf.
It was so nice to have this room done before my mom came to visit! I'd say this bathroom was one of the dirtiest looking rooms in the house, and now it looks clean and sharp.
New House: Third Month
Here I am painting in the front room. The wall on the left is Secret Passage, and the one to the right hasn't been painted yet in this photo.
Here you can see the two different greys: Secret Passage and Silver Charm. At some times of day, the two walls look like they are the same color because of the lighting.
Here's the front door with our new pendant light (the old one was the brassy metal that isn't our style). The darker grey wall is adjacent to my life-risking yellow wall.
We put our old furniture in this room for now, and we barely use it. Eventually we'll figure out what we want to do with it.
Here you can see the two different greys: Secret Passage and Silver Charm. At some times of day, the two walls look like they are the same color because of the lighting.
Here's the front door with our new pendant light (the old one was the brassy metal that isn't our style). The darker grey wall is adjacent to my life-risking yellow wall.
We put our old furniture in this room for now, and we barely use it. Eventually we'll figure out what we want to do with it.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Less-Bad Evening
So, supposedly the writer of the email has been chewed out by phone, and supposedly he feels very sorry for sending the email. It was supposed to be a joke about my husband, and it was only accidentally a degradation of me, you see. So I'm supposed to feel sorry for him because he feels so terrible. Well, I don't. I'm glad that he feels badly and I hope he is really ashamed of himself.
And I talked to my sister on the phone, who knows that when I'm feeling really upset and like I've been harmed in some way, I just need someone to listen and be appalled with me! Don't start giving advice! Don't try to convince me that it's not that bad! Maybe you can LATER, but at first, just take my side!! Thanks, sister. I really needed that.
And I slept for a couple hours and feel a lot better. Though now I'm ravenous and I sure wish I had a chocolate baked good to eat for supper. :)
The best news is, I think I'm all cried out, finally. But for now, I'm keeping today as The Worst Day, hopefully never to be topped. And I did several loads of laundry while I was upset, so at least I don't have that waiting for me!
Also, if you're ever having a terrible day, I recommend watching some kind of insipid TV show, if you can. For me, it was a few episodes of The Hills, a show about stupid rich kids whose parents buy them cool jobs in LA. Oh, boo hoo! The rich girls have such trouble meeting decent guys and getting internships at makeup companies! Wahhh! It makes your own problems seem more substantial, valid, and worth brooding over.
And I talked to my sister on the phone, who knows that when I'm feeling really upset and like I've been harmed in some way, I just need someone to listen and be appalled with me! Don't start giving advice! Don't try to convince me that it's not that bad! Maybe you can LATER, but at first, just take my side!! Thanks, sister. I really needed that.
And I slept for a couple hours and feel a lot better. Though now I'm ravenous and I sure wish I had a chocolate baked good to eat for supper. :)
The best news is, I think I'm all cried out, finally. But for now, I'm keeping today as The Worst Day, hopefully never to be topped. And I did several loads of laundry while I was upset, so at least I don't have that waiting for me!
Also, if you're ever having a terrible day, I recommend watching some kind of insipid TV show, if you can. For me, it was a few episodes of The Hills, a show about stupid rich kids whose parents buy them cool jobs in LA. Oh, boo hoo! The rich girls have such trouble meeting decent guys and getting internships at makeup companies! Wahhh! It makes your own problems seem more substantial, valid, and worth brooding over.
The Worst Day?
Or does it just feel like it?
A relative of my husband sent a very nasty, disgusting, demeaning email about me to a bunch of his family members, and to me. It's supposedly a joke. Maybe someone would think it was funny, but I really can't imagine who. The One Person who should be even angrier than I am about it has not said one fucking word in response.
I got in a car wreck earlier this week -- a perky blonde girl hit my car. She became much less perky when I wrote down her license plate and demanded her insurance card. This morning the insurance guy barged in, without any appointment, on my saying goodbye to my visiting family! I appreciate their excitement to settle the claim, but they should not inconvenience ME to get it done quicker -- their customer is at fault. Now the insurance company guy says they're most likely going to declare the car totaled. It's old and not worth very much.
THEN I got a rejection for a job today. I was unbelievably over-qualified for it. It would have been so fucking easy to do with the distraction of the upcoming baby. I guarantee you, without exaggeration, I was the most qualified and experienced applicant they had and I should have definitely been offered the job. Instead, I received a fucking EMAIL rejection. That piece of shit could not even take five minutes to show me the respect of CALLING ME?
Oh, I'm so tired and I know that's making it worse. But I'm too upset to sleep. But I won't feel better until I sleep.
I wish someone would make me some chocolate cupcakes! That is probably the only thing that could help.
A relative of my husband sent a very nasty, disgusting, demeaning email about me to a bunch of his family members, and to me. It's supposedly a joke. Maybe someone would think it was funny, but I really can't imagine who. The One Person who should be even angrier than I am about it has not said one fucking word in response.
I got in a car wreck earlier this week -- a perky blonde girl hit my car. She became much less perky when I wrote down her license plate and demanded her insurance card. This morning the insurance guy barged in, without any appointment, on my saying goodbye to my visiting family! I appreciate their excitement to settle the claim, but they should not inconvenience ME to get it done quicker -- their customer is at fault. Now the insurance company guy says they're most likely going to declare the car totaled. It's old and not worth very much.
THEN I got a rejection for a job today. I was unbelievably over-qualified for it. It would have been so fucking easy to do with the distraction of the upcoming baby. I guarantee you, without exaggeration, I was the most qualified and experienced applicant they had and I should have definitely been offered the job. Instead, I received a fucking EMAIL rejection. That piece of shit could not even take five minutes to show me the respect of CALLING ME?
Oh, I'm so tired and I know that's making it worse. But I'm too upset to sleep. But I won't feel better until I sleep.
I wish someone would make me some chocolate cupcakes! That is probably the only thing that could help.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
More Books! #10 - 22
I've been doing some reading this spring, but since I read some of these books a couple months ago, I can't remember too many details about them.
#10: You Suck by Christopher Moore
I think Moore is really intelligently funny. This one is about vampires in San Francisco.
#11: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
This trilogy of books totally deserves its Best Seller status. They are fun, exciting, thrilling, and really well written. The plots are complicated and layered, but Larsson keeps them under control. The characters are well-developed. My only complaint is that there are a lot of horrible sex crimes in them, and I'd prefer not to read so much of that.
#12: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
I tore through this one even faster than the first.
#13: Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
I really like the books by these two authors. They are thrillers with interesting (though absolutely unbelievable) plots and great characters. Special Agent Pendergast is a long-time favorite character who appears in this one.
#14: Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
This one felt rushed, like they'd often cheat to advance the plot by suddenly being in a new location and Agent Pendergast would explain to another character how he followed a clue to arrive there. Still fun to read -- if you're looking for excellent writing, you probably shouldn't look to genre novels in the first place :)
#15: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Excellent novel about early civil rights-era relationships between those Southerners who employed black servants and the servants themselves. Not too upsetting for us sensitive types.
#16: Frankenstein: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz
The third installment in this series of sci-fi thrillers. Frankenstein's monster is alive and well in modern times and is on a mission to destroy his creator! Fun, fast read.
#17: Jazz by Toni Morrison
Morrison is an awesome writer, but I felt ambiguous about this book. It left me kind of unhappy at the end. (Of course I also finished it on an annoying flight when I was exhausted -- possibly no book could have made feel happy at that point.) The main plot of this one revolves around a cheating husband who kills his mistress and makes his wife go crazy, so it's not a light-hearted read. I guess I'm in the mood for more light-heartedness right now.
#18: The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
How many times have I read this book? I first read it at about age 12, when our family got a used copy of it at a book exchange in my Dad's workplace. It's a gritty crime novel written in 1952 about a deputy sheriff who plays dumb to hide his inner sociopath. With this reading, I noticed multiple parallels to the TV character, Dexter Morgan, who I also love. They are both told by their fathers that they are sociopaths and that they can't ever live normal lives and have to hide in plain sight. Dexter pretends to be kind of wimpy, letting people walk all over him, while our deputy acts like a moron, talking mostly in cliches and pretending he just made them up. Like, "I've always believed that every cloud has a silver lining!" Once their respective fathers die, each man has to face new problems without his sociopathy mentor, and they struggle with it.
#19: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
A lovely novel that focuses much more on philosophy than action.
#20: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
A great little mystery novel told from the perspective of a 12-year old girl in NY in the 70s. I will definitely be reading this one again.
#21: Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
Excellent, hilarious and beautiful short stories. Moore is a great writer.
#22: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
A big novel by the author of The Historian (about vampires!). I recommend both highly. In this one, a psychiatrist/artist unravels the breakdown of his artist patient. He traces the root of the problem all the way back to the 1870s and becomes far too enmeshed in his patient's life and relationships.
And I'm reading a bunch of books about babies, pregnancy, exercising while pregnant, baby name books, still working on War and Peace, and also devouring the third Stieg Larsson book.
#10: You Suck by Christopher Moore
I think Moore is really intelligently funny. This one is about vampires in San Francisco.
#11: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
This trilogy of books totally deserves its Best Seller status. They are fun, exciting, thrilling, and really well written. The plots are complicated and layered, but Larsson keeps them under control. The characters are well-developed. My only complaint is that there are a lot of horrible sex crimes in them, and I'd prefer not to read so much of that.
#12: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
I tore through this one even faster than the first.
#13: Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
I really like the books by these two authors. They are thrillers with interesting (though absolutely unbelievable) plots and great characters. Special Agent Pendergast is a long-time favorite character who appears in this one.
#14: Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
This one felt rushed, like they'd often cheat to advance the plot by suddenly being in a new location and Agent Pendergast would explain to another character how he followed a clue to arrive there. Still fun to read -- if you're looking for excellent writing, you probably shouldn't look to genre novels in the first place :)
#15: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Excellent novel about early civil rights-era relationships between those Southerners who employed black servants and the servants themselves. Not too upsetting for us sensitive types.
#16: Frankenstein: Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz
The third installment in this series of sci-fi thrillers. Frankenstein's monster is alive and well in modern times and is on a mission to destroy his creator! Fun, fast read.
#17: Jazz by Toni Morrison
Morrison is an awesome writer, but I felt ambiguous about this book. It left me kind of unhappy at the end. (Of course I also finished it on an annoying flight when I was exhausted -- possibly no book could have made feel happy at that point.) The main plot of this one revolves around a cheating husband who kills his mistress and makes his wife go crazy, so it's not a light-hearted read. I guess I'm in the mood for more light-heartedness right now.
#18: The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson
How many times have I read this book? I first read it at about age 12, when our family got a used copy of it at a book exchange in my Dad's workplace. It's a gritty crime novel written in 1952 about a deputy sheriff who plays dumb to hide his inner sociopath. With this reading, I noticed multiple parallels to the TV character, Dexter Morgan, who I also love. They are both told by their fathers that they are sociopaths and that they can't ever live normal lives and have to hide in plain sight. Dexter pretends to be kind of wimpy, letting people walk all over him, while our deputy acts like a moron, talking mostly in cliches and pretending he just made them up. Like, "I've always believed that every cloud has a silver lining!" Once their respective fathers die, each man has to face new problems without his sociopathy mentor, and they struggle with it.
#19: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
A lovely novel that focuses much more on philosophy than action.
#20: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
A great little mystery novel told from the perspective of a 12-year old girl in NY in the 70s. I will definitely be reading this one again.
#21: Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
Excellent, hilarious and beautiful short stories. Moore is a great writer.
#22: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
A big novel by the author of The Historian (about vampires!). I recommend both highly. In this one, a psychiatrist/artist unravels the breakdown of his artist patient. He traces the root of the problem all the way back to the 1870s and becomes far too enmeshed in his patient's life and relationships.
And I'm reading a bunch of books about babies, pregnancy, exercising while pregnant, baby name books, still working on War and Peace, and also devouring the third Stieg Larsson book.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Happy Summer!
Hi all,
Sorry I've been ignoring the blog for so long. I had a secret and it was tough to avoid mentioning it, and the secret itself made me tired and that made it harder to write anything.
There it is. I'm so excited, you guys! We're 15 weeks along. In 5 weeks we'll be able to find out if it's a girl or a boy, and we want to know. 5 weeks goes by so quickly AND YET SO SLOWLY.
I feel simultaneously like:
I am not ready. I need 5 more years before I can be a good parent.
AND
Hurry up and get here, Baby! I can't wait another second for you!!
So, that's the big news. I have lots of other stuff to tell you, but it kind of pales in comparison.
Try this:
Sorry I've been ignoring the blog for so long. I had a secret and it was tough to avoid mentioning it, and the secret itself made me tired and that made it harder to write anything.
We're having a baby!!
There it is. I'm so excited, you guys! We're 15 weeks along. In 5 weeks we'll be able to find out if it's a girl or a boy, and we want to know. 5 weeks goes by so quickly AND YET SO SLOWLY.
I feel simultaneously like:
I am not ready. I need 5 more years before I can be a good parent.
AND
Hurry up and get here, Baby! I can't wait another second for you!!
So, that's the big news. I have lots of other stuff to tell you, but it kind of pales in comparison.
Try this:
We got married!!
And this:
We spent our honeymoon in Las Vegas!!
See? Also big news, but they seem a little less big, right?
Okay, I'll be back soon. Now that morning sickness has let me out of its evil clutches, I have some more painting photos to share.
Okay, I'll be back soon. Now that morning sickness has let me out of its evil clutches, I have some more painting photos to share.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Juror #11 Update
Well, I went back to court the second day to hear closing arguments and go into jury deliberation. We were divided about 50-50 on whether or not Mr. Suspicious Mustache was guilty. It was fun to see how the defense attorney's attempts to create doubt had worked -- until we really read what the law said and it was clear that none of the issues that could cause doubt had anything to do with the decision we had to make.
For instance, he tried to make the detectives look stupid because they couldn't remember what a bunch of other cops did 9 months ago. Well, all the detectives were testifying to was that there was a gun in the house in a certain location and that the victim had called the police. There was no doubt about either of those things. The defendant didn't take the stand, so we had no reason to doubt the events as told to us by the attorneys, victim, and detectives.
The defense attorney also tried to say that maybe the victim had been attacking Mr. Mustache, but there was no evidence of that at all. Mr. Mustache simply pulled a gun on his wife in the middle of an argument and the only believable reason to do that is to scare her. That means he menaced her, and since a gun is a deadly weapon, it was a felony and he's in pretty big trouble.
So yeah, my side convinced the not-guilties to come over to our side.
The lesson is: fight fair! Don't pull guns on people.
Alternate lesson: jury duty is kind of interesting, besides it being your literal duty to serve your country and contribute to our legal system, which you might appreciate some day. [Sorry for the mini-lecture, but it was astounding what crazy extent people go to to avoid jury duty!]
For instance, he tried to make the detectives look stupid because they couldn't remember what a bunch of other cops did 9 months ago. Well, all the detectives were testifying to was that there was a gun in the house in a certain location and that the victim had called the police. There was no doubt about either of those things. The defendant didn't take the stand, so we had no reason to doubt the events as told to us by the attorneys, victim, and detectives.
The defense attorney also tried to say that maybe the victim had been attacking Mr. Mustache, but there was no evidence of that at all. Mr. Mustache simply pulled a gun on his wife in the middle of an argument and the only believable reason to do that is to scare her. That means he menaced her, and since a gun is a deadly weapon, it was a felony and he's in pretty big trouble.
So yeah, my side convinced the not-guilties to come over to our side.
The lesson is: fight fair! Don't pull guns on people.
Alternate lesson: jury duty is kind of interesting, besides it being your literal duty to serve your country and contribute to our legal system, which you might appreciate some day. [Sorry for the mini-lecture, but it was astounding what crazy extent people go to to avoid jury duty!]
One More Post About Hail
Here's a nice action shot
Our yard after the first round of hail. During the actual storms, it looked like popcorn popping all over outside.
They weren't quite golf ball size, but maybe ping pong balls
It looked pretty cool on the driveway
After the first hailstorm, Jason and I drove around the neighborhoods a few blocks away from ours. There were broken windshields everywhere. But even MORE ubiquitous were the insurance agents who flooded the neighborhood! They strode purposefully up and down driveways and sidewalks, proudly clutching their binders and clipboards, and looking around intently.
Then it started to hail again, so we hurried home to the safety of our garage, from which we watched the littler hail fall and fall. The noise! The freakishness of it all! We were so lucky that we didn't have any damage besides the poor, poor garden.
Our yard after the first round of hail. During the actual storms, it looked like popcorn popping all over outside.
They weren't quite golf ball size, but maybe ping pong balls
It looked pretty cool on the driveway
After the first hailstorm, Jason and I drove around the neighborhoods a few blocks away from ours. There were broken windshields everywhere. But even MORE ubiquitous were the insurance agents who flooded the neighborhood! They strode purposefully up and down driveways and sidewalks, proudly clutching their binders and clipboards, and looking around intently.
Then it started to hail again, so we hurried home to the safety of our garage, from which we watched the littler hail fall and fall. The noise! The freakishness of it all! We were so lucky that we didn't have any damage besides the poor, poor garden.
Tomato Before and After
Oh, so strong and healthy! They smelled like summer.
After the hail, I couldn't even find some of the plants. They were obliterated!
After the hail, I couldn't even find some of the plants. They were obliterated!
My Poor Garden
First all we had was a big plot of rock-covered ground. We had to shovel and throw and kick rock after rock out of the way. Then, the annoying weed cloth underneath dulled our knives and was very stubborn about wanting to stay in place.
Jason bought wood and cut it and nailed it to the ground with rebar or something, and we dug the whole thing with shovels and added 30 bags of compost and manure and garden soil. The soil still looked a lot like sand.
But I happily planted my 10 tomato plants and a dozen peppers (I want to make salsa this summer or fall!) and tomatillos, potatoes, strawberries, plus herbs, cucumbers, melons, corn, peas, lettuce, carrots, spinach, garlic, and onions.
And then the wind blew like it would never stop and my tomatoes and peppers were beaten into the ground, but they still might have made a comeback!
And then we were pelted with rain and small hail and then medium-sized hail and then rain and rain and wind and then a whole bunch more small hail. Only one tomato survives, and it looks incredibly sad, like I do. Wahh! I want a nice garden!!
Now I'll have to buy more tomato transplants and probably settle for Big Boy or Better Boy or whatever they sell everywhere. And I'll see if I have to reseed everything. Who knows where
any of the seeds ended up.
Jason bought wood and cut it and nailed it to the ground with rebar or something, and we dug the whole thing with shovels and added 30 bags of compost and manure and garden soil. The soil still looked a lot like sand.
But I happily planted my 10 tomato plants and a dozen peppers (I want to make salsa this summer or fall!) and tomatillos, potatoes, strawberries, plus herbs, cucumbers, melons, corn, peas, lettuce, carrots, spinach, garlic, and onions.
And then the wind blew like it would never stop and my tomatoes and peppers were beaten into the ground, but they still might have made a comeback!
And then we were pelted with rain and small hail and then medium-sized hail and then rain and rain and wind and then a whole bunch more small hail. Only one tomato survives, and it looks incredibly sad, like I do. Wahh! I want a nice garden!!
Now I'll have to buy more tomato transplants and probably settle for Big Boy or Better Boy or whatever they sell everywhere. And I'll see if I have to reseed everything. Who knows where
any of the seeds ended up.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Book 9: A Play of Treachery
This is a mystery novel set in 1436 in France. Its star is a traveling actor who has been convinced to become a spy for England.
It's written just fine and was a great relaxation-distraction for me while we were moving. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but it just didn't grab me in the way that makes me hunt down all the books by the same author. I feel more entranced by the female doctor in Ariana Franklin's books, which take place in 12th century Europe. I guess I'm not a huge historical fiction fan, so her series pretty much fills my desire for that genre.
But if you love historical mysteries, you should check out Margaret Frazer's books. She has several that feature the actor-spy, Joliffe the Player.
It's written just fine and was a great relaxation-distraction for me while we were moving. There's nothing wrong with it at all, but it just didn't grab me in the way that makes me hunt down all the books by the same author. I feel more entranced by the female doctor in Ariana Franklin's books, which take place in 12th century Europe. I guess I'm not a huge historical fiction fan, so her series pretty much fills my desire for that genre.
But if you love historical mysteries, you should check out Margaret Frazer's books. She has several that feature the actor-spy, Joliffe the Player.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
I'm Juror #11
Guess what. In March, I received a jury summons in the mail. This week, I just barely remembered in time. So, I called the phone number on Tuesday night to see if I really had to go, and I did.
Then I spent literally hours waiting to find out if I would be chosen. AND I WAS!
I can't tell you about the case, but I can tell you a few things about the day and the situation.
1. Someone pushes his glasses up above his eyes when he doesn't need them for seeing. Not on top of his head, sunglasses-style. Just up above his eyebrows.
2. Someone has a suspicious mustache.
3. I could do as good a job as the lawyers, and I'm terrified of courtroom lawyering.
4. Someone keeps mispronouncing legal terms. Someone who should know better!
5. Just like law school, and like The Law in general, jury duty is a little bit interesting but mostly boring, boring, mind-numbingly boring.
I have to go back tomorrow to see what we decide. I already know what I think, but who knows what is going on in anyone else's mind?
Then I spent literally hours waiting to find out if I would be chosen. AND I WAS!
I can't tell you about the case, but I can tell you a few things about the day and the situation.
1. Someone pushes his glasses up above his eyes when he doesn't need them for seeing. Not on top of his head, sunglasses-style. Just up above his eyebrows.
2. Someone has a suspicious mustache.
3. I could do as good a job as the lawyers, and I'm terrified of courtroom lawyering.
4. Someone keeps mispronouncing legal terms. Someone who should know better!
5. Just like law school, and like The Law in general, jury duty is a little bit interesting but mostly boring, boring, mind-numbingly boring.
I have to go back tomorrow to see what we decide. I already know what I think, but who knows what is going on in anyone else's mind?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
New House DAY 29
Well, since we both went back to work, we haven't been making such huge strides in changing the house. I tried to put my books away, but I need more shelves. We plan to build some custom ones in the garage/workshop, but we don't know WHEN yet. Probably this spring or summer. Also, a custom desk for Jason's office, including storage space for all his computer language books.
The front room looks different, though it's still not done being painted.
Here it is before, looking down from the loft:
And during:
The light grey on the left is Secret Passage, our most-used color in the house. The darker grey in the middle is Silver Charm. The yellow on the right is Cornmeal. I've had seconds of doubt about choosing so many different colors, but it doesn't feel like a Clown House around here yet. (Is there such a thing as a Clown House? Like a Clown Car, but 49 clowns have to live there together, sleeping in some wild bunkbed set?)
We have a different, non-brassy light to hang above the front door. Brassy isn't really our taste, so we've had to replace light fixtures, doorknobs, door hinges, and even those springy door stoppers. We have more to replace. All those details add up, in money and in time. It's incredible how many details I would like to change! This house seemed so clean and simple before we moved in. Now it seems filthy (don't look too closely in any unpainted room, or you'll see dirt and hair and dust and stains in the corners, and on the doors, and on the walls) and it seems just inundated with BRASSY.
Anyway, we've also been moving rocks off of our garden plot, and Jason mowed the lawn, and we've unpacked and organized and now we only have 3,052 more things to do before we can have a housewarming party. :) It's still coming along.
The front room looks different, though it's still not done being painted.
Here it is before, looking down from the loft:
And during:
The light grey on the left is Secret Passage, our most-used color in the house. The darker grey in the middle is Silver Charm. The yellow on the right is Cornmeal. I've had seconds of doubt about choosing so many different colors, but it doesn't feel like a Clown House around here yet. (Is there such a thing as a Clown House? Like a Clown Car, but 49 clowns have to live there together, sleeping in some wild bunkbed set?)
We have a different, non-brassy light to hang above the front door. Brassy isn't really our taste, so we've had to replace light fixtures, doorknobs, door hinges, and even those springy door stoppers. We have more to replace. All those details add up, in money and in time. It's incredible how many details I would like to change! This house seemed so clean and simple before we moved in. Now it seems filthy (don't look too closely in any unpainted room, or you'll see dirt and hair and dust and stains in the corners, and on the doors, and on the walls) and it seems just inundated with BRASSY.
Anyway, we've also been moving rocks off of our garden plot, and Jason mowed the lawn, and we've unpacked and organized and now we only have 3,052 more things to do before we can have a housewarming party. :) It's still coming along.
Friday, April 16, 2010
New House DAY 16
Outside, I planted 5 rose bushes and 3 raspberry bushes. The before and after photos don't look that much different, but imagine a few months from now! Or a couple of years! Hopefully our yard will fill in with greenery and look like a garden that's not mostly a rock garden.
I would like to see a lot more plants and less fence. My plan is to use mostly plants that make food or flowers, but it may evolve over time to include plants that look good all year long.
Inside, I put a first coat of light grey on the lower parts of two walls in the front room. I'll cover the tops and do a second coat on Day 17.
I would like to see a lot more plants and less fence. My plan is to use mostly plants that make food or flowers, but it may evolve over time to include plants that look good all year long.
Inside, I put a first coat of light grey on the lower parts of two walls in the front room. I'll cover the tops and do a second coat on Day 17.
New House DAY 15
I finished the big yellow wall and also took the yellow around the corner and up the stairs. The tricky part is getting the very top of the wall, above the lowest stairs. You can't reach up very high from those low stairs.
I reached part of the wall by leaning around the corner from the big yellow wall. I could reach some of it by using the ladder safely on the stairs. But there was a triangle of white that was left, that I couldn't quite reach. I became very stubborn and determined to finish that whole wall!
Dad, don't read this: I found a painting tool with a handle on it so I could stretch farther, took some long, slow breaths, and stood completely on top of that ladder, on the stairs, balancing carefully. I s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out my left arm with that corner-painting tool and ever-so-carefully covered the last white spot! I said aloud, "I'm doing it!"
And I only got a tiny bit on the ceiling, but I still had to climb back up to the top of that ladder with my ceiling paint to touch up the ceiling.
It was all worth it: the heart palpitations, the terror of some lawn-maintenance company ringing the doorbell and startling me off the ladder, the unnatural contortions to reach farther than a body is made to reach. It looks pretty good, and I didn't even come close to falling off or tipping over.
Man, my leg muscles were sore that night from tensing so much to keep my balance!
Isn't that ladder cool? It straightens out to be 16 ft tall (in that form it can only lean against a wall), or it can be 8 ft tall and stand alone, or it can be like 5 feet tall for easier storage, or it can be staggered to use on stairs. I couldn't have done it without that ladder.
I reached part of the wall by leaning around the corner from the big yellow wall. I could reach some of it by using the ladder safely on the stairs. But there was a triangle of white that was left, that I couldn't quite reach. I became very stubborn and determined to finish that whole wall!
Dad, don't read this: I found a painting tool with a handle on it so I could stretch farther, took some long, slow breaths, and stood completely on top of that ladder, on the stairs, balancing carefully. I s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out my left arm with that corner-painting tool and ever-so-carefully covered the last white spot! I said aloud, "I'm doing it!"
And I only got a tiny bit on the ceiling, but I still had to climb back up to the top of that ladder with my ceiling paint to touch up the ceiling.
It was all worth it: the heart palpitations, the terror of some lawn-maintenance company ringing the doorbell and startling me off the ladder, the unnatural contortions to reach farther than a body is made to reach. It looks pretty good, and I didn't even come close to falling off or tipping over.
Man, my leg muscles were sore that night from tensing so much to keep my balance!
Isn't that ladder cool? It straightens out to be 16 ft tall (in that form it can only lean against a wall), or it can be 8 ft tall and stand alone, or it can be like 5 feet tall for easier storage, or it can be staggered to use on stairs. I couldn't have done it without that ladder.
New House DAY 14
I painted the narrow walls between the kitchen and the front room, making them look finished. I also started painting the big yellow wall. It's 17 feet tall, so it was a little scary to climb up high enough to reach the top. But I got used to being on the ladder, once I felt sure that it wasn't going to tip backwards or slide out from under me.
This shows the small ladder since I was too focused on not falling to my death to take a photo of the big one.
This shows the small ladder since I was too focused on not falling to my death to take a photo of the big one.
New House DAY 13
I painted the little hallway between the TV room, laundry room, basement door, and garage. Now the TV room really seems finished.
Let's look at a before and after of the kitchen, since that's more fun than a bunch of doors.
Pretty good!
Let's look at a before and after of the kitchen, since that's more fun than a bunch of doors.
Pretty good!
New House DAY 12
We moved more things over from our townhouse, including our bikes. Then we went for a bike ride! Our neighborhood is great for riding bikes, walking, and even jogging if I decide to try that again (3rd time's the charm, right?)
We did some unpacking, and even some relaxing.
We did some unpacking, and even some relaxing.
New House DAY 11
I finished painting my office and started unpacking it.
I wanted it to be fun and creative-feeling, not just a place where I slave at my computer. Even though it turned out looking like a boy's room, I like it well enough to keep it.
The colors are Cool Blue at the top, Blue Silk in the middle, and Sea Sage on the bottom. Green is the most creativity-stimulating color, so I wanted to include it in my room.
I wanted it to be fun and creative-feeling, not just a place where I slave at my computer. Even though it turned out looking like a boy's room, I like it well enough to keep it.
The colors are Cool Blue at the top, Blue Silk in the middle, and Sea Sage on the bottom. Green is the most creativity-stimulating color, so I wanted to include it in my room.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
New House DAY 10
We got our appliances!! Won't our kitchen look great once we get it cleaned up?
Also, I finished painting our closet and started unpacking my clothes and hanging them up in there. And I had so much fun seeing my shoes again! I have been wearing the same two pairs for 10 days now, and it was like a reunion when I got the rest out of their moving boxes.
Also, I started painting my office, but I haven't taken any photos yet. I am very excited to get my office put together! I will be able to have JUST an office/sewing room, because all my home gym stuff is in the basement, and all my books can live in the loft, and my clothes can be in the bedroom closet. I could actually put the sewing machine in the loft, too, but I like to watch movies while I sew, and I have a brand new cool TV for my office, thanks to Jason and thanks to an old TV getting broken during the move.
Also, I finished painting our closet and started unpacking my clothes and hanging them up in there. And I had so much fun seeing my shoes again! I have been wearing the same two pairs for 10 days now, and it was like a reunion when I got the rest out of their moving boxes.
Also, I started painting my office, but I haven't taken any photos yet. I am very excited to get my office put together! I will be able to have JUST an office/sewing room, because all my home gym stuff is in the basement, and all my books can live in the loft, and my clothes can be in the bedroom closet. I could actually put the sewing machine in the loft, too, but I like to watch movies while I sew, and I have a brand new cool TV for my office, thanks to Jason and thanks to an old TV getting broken during the move.
New House DAY 9
So, our appliances did not arrive on time. Angry, bitter, threatening words were exchanged with a salesman, and OUR salesman, who had the day off, called us from his house to work things out. *Someone* was supposed to have called us on Tuesday (Day 7) to let us know that there was a delay and we would not get our stuff until Friday (Day 10). *Someone* did not call us. We got a discount.
So, we did a few things that day with our frustration energy:
Jason painted the baseboards in his office. The color is Ancient Bog! Sparky, do you like that name? I sure do. Ancient Bog. I like saying it theatrically.
I received some roses and tomato transplants via UPS (plus I brought over my pepper seedlings from the old place -- there are bell peppers and three kinds of hot peppers for making salsa, plus tomatillos).
And I laid down the first coat of paint in our closet. It's called Blue Silk. It starts out such a pale blue that it looks off-white. But as they say on every home improvement show, It'll Dry Darker.
So, we did a few things that day with our frustration energy:
Jason painted the baseboards in his office. The color is Ancient Bog! Sparky, do you like that name? I sure do. Ancient Bog. I like saying it theatrically.
I received some roses and tomato transplants via UPS (plus I brought over my pepper seedlings from the old place -- there are bell peppers and three kinds of hot peppers for making salsa, plus tomatillos).
And I laid down the first coat of paint in our closet. It's called Blue Silk. It starts out such a pale blue that it looks off-white. But as they say on every home improvement show, It'll Dry Darker.
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