Things to do before it's born


Here I am in Big Sur, already 10 weeks with fetus. This reminds me. First, I am way to busy to blog today. Second, there's a lot for me to do before I have this baby. Tons of stuff that won't require us to get a sitter first or to try and manuver a giant stroller utility vehicle.

1. I have to get out and see more movies. Hopefully my friends at the Crest and Tower can help with this. I'm also stockpiling a bunch of free tickets I get from work for Regal Cinemas.

2. Some road trip thing. This is going to be a whole lot harder to do with a car seat and a critter. We better get on this soon. Just a short trip, nothing huge.

3. Go to more shows. No matter which way you look at it, babies are just never allowed at bars to see shows. Unless they are unborn, as ours is now, so I've got to use this time to get out a little more.

4. Uh, I was going to say finally go to Vegas, but maybe I'll wait until after baby is born so that I can drink while I'm there.

5. Someother travel...somewhere.

It's the last days of just me and you, Leon. That's not to say that our lives will end once the kid gets here, it's just going to change a little because it has to. I promise not to become lame.

I got nothing today


Yep, I'm pretty busy at work today. Remember when I went to Nottingham Castle and found this Soft Whippy truck? That was fun. "But mummy, I just have to have a soft whippy!"

My 11 year high school reunion is on Saturday. Why 11 years? Because the planning comittee couldn't get it together in time for 10 years. I really don't care enough to go. I didn't have that many friends in my class. The only one I really cared about, I still talk to. The last invitation reminder I received had our big class photo on the front. I was still trying to decide if I wanted to go, so I asked Leon what he thought I should do.

He asked, "where are you in this picture?"
I said "oh, I'm in there...towards the back, I think. The popular kids are in front."
Then he asked "you know who's going to be at the reunion? All these people in the front. Do you really want to see and talk to them?"

I guess not.

Plus, it's like $81 dollars a person. I highly doubt I'll be getting my money's worth in fun. Even with the "taste of tuscany" buffet that's promised in the invitation.

Can I not blog at work?


So, there is a new policy about blogging at work. I think it's okay so long as I don't write any disparaging comments about the place I work at or the people I work with.

Anyway, I keep needing burritos lately but I haven't had any that really satisfy me. I had a terrible one from Una Mas yesterday. It was so bad, I passed out after eating half. Well, really I probably just ate too much of it and then got pretty tired and took a nap. So the exciting part is that when I woke up, I could feel a little fetal movement. It was a squirmy feeling followed by a little kick. Later when I was reading in bed last night [re-reading the scandalous parts of Answered Prayers by Truman Capote], I could feel it again except a little stronger and it went on for about a minute. Most of the books I'm reading describe the first movements as "feather tickles" or "champaign bubbles." I would describe mine more like the sensation of holding a goldfish in hands clasped together.

Aww, I wish Leon was here. He spent last night in Yosemite and is currently climbing Half Dome, but will be back sometime today. I have to get him to take me to La Favorita for a burrito correction.

If they mated, part 2


Niki + Leon


=



You get it, right?

Not too hot for soup


I've been wanting to make a huge pot of chowder before it gets too hot. Tonight's the night! I'll be using my trusty Vegetarian Times recipe for Slurpy Chowder. The base is vegetable stock and pureed rice (a falling apart starch classifies it as a chowder). It ends up so thick that I've considered it for pasty filling or for mini pot pies in ramekins with drop biscuits on top. Though tonight I'm just making the chowder. It will be a nice break for baby, who only seems to want beans lately.

Lost: American Idol Season Finale.


First things first. Last night's Lost episode really made me mad. I have more questions than I did when this season started. Now I have to wait until September until it comes on again.

Second thing. I lost the American Idol pool at the office. I also lost the American Idol finale episode last night because our Tivo was still set to record whatever is in Top Model's time slot now. Sorry Leon. Luckily my sister taped it on her old timey VCR. We can at least watch it anyway, if for nothing else but the Elliott Yamin duet with Mary J. Blige!! And the more puzzling Prince duet with Clay Akin. Or so I've heard.

Hmm.

The 16th week, only 24 more to go.


All kinds of bellies at 16 weeks along. Via flickr.

I heard of some baby bets going around. Big baby or small baby, boy or girl. Bet away friends. Here are a couple of tips: I'm pretty sure the baby will start out small but eventually get a lot bigger. I also feel that the baby will either be a girl or a boy. Best of luck to you!

More dog stuff


This Saturday is Yappy Hour at the Bernardo/Monkey Bar corner from 3 - 5pm. Mmm, portabello sandwich for me, organic biscuits and water for Heylove. I might put her in the bee costume for the occasion since the event is being described as a costume party, for whatever reason...but Heylove ate the antennae piece. More places should allow well-behaved dogs around.

More about pets. I'm listening to Be Your Own Pet right now. I hate to quickly classify this as "riot grrrl" sounding since it has a girl singer that borrows a little Kathleen Hanna/Polly Styrene-style squealing, but I feel like I would have really loved this in 1994 - 1997. The older, less angry me thinks it's okay. Not something I would spin regularly though. A girl's aesthetic tastes can change eventhough her heart keeps the same politics, more or less.

Two books


I finally got the dog book I heard about on NPR a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it. It does a wonderful job of showing just how comforting it is for humans to relate to dogs. I have considered taking up rescue again, but after futher thought, I am not sure my cats or little ribs could hang with it. Maybe I'll be able to do something else helpful instead. Doggy Dash is coming up soon and I've always wanted to do that...it's a start.

Speaking of dogs, we figured out what's wrong with Heylove. She's highly allergic to the mold growing in the bedroom (thanks rain). We got her on some steroids (you should see how much she can bench now!) and the stuffy nose went right away. The problem with this is that steroid treatment can't be a longterm solution because the meds will eventually hurt her. We really need to fix the house. Oy. Us and who's wallet? Can't I just call the landlord?

The other book I read recently is much too embarrasing to admit to liking. It's written by a once pregnant pin-up girl. It was frank and pretty funny. That's all I'm saying about it.

Pregnant Bed

How to treat a pregnant lady



1. Always let her cut in line to the bathroom. You don't know how hard it is to hold it until you've got a little fetus squishing your bladder.

2. Never take food off of a pregnant lady's plate. She's hungry. All the time. If you want to try her food, wait until she's done eating or maybe she'll offer you a bite. You should also make sure she is served first and don't make her wait for everyone else to get their food before she starts eating.

3. Always listen to her when she says she has a craving. If she doesn't eat what she's craving ASAP, all the food she eats until she satisfies the craving just won't taste as good.

4. Let her have your light rail seat, airport chair or aisle seat on the plane. She's going to get up a lot to use the bathroom anyway. This way, she won't bother you as much.

5. One more: Remember to tell her how cute she looks or how she's radiant, something nice you know? Her body is betraying her in so many ways (stretch marks, pimples, jiggles), she'll need a little boost every now and then.

Growing a baby is hard work. It hurts and it's uncomfortable, but it's also kind of cool because you're making organs, bones, skin and sustaining a life that's not your own. Crazy how bodies can do that.

Houseguest


We've spent the last 4 days entertaining my father in law and now I am exhausted. Only 1 more day until he goes back from whence he came. Phew. I mean, we love him and all, but get this: Leon was just in Germany, we had a hell of a week and then I went to DC. I come back and I feel like I've barely seen my dude. We need some quality lay-on-the-couch-and-watch-netflix-time. Just me and Leon.

Our weekend was so packed with activity that I barely felt like I had a weekend at all. We ate out all over the place, did tourist stuff in SF, made sure dad is getting tired out with long walks and hikes. But this guy is like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going. Leon's been a saint. I've been a little babyish, relying on my present condition for excuses to beg off of stuff because I'm tired and achy. Which is all true. I can't wait to have my life back.

The good news is...


I spent most of this week in DC. Before I left, I was major stressing about what to wear. The East Coast is not as casual as our side of the country, well at least that's my experience.

Since most of my nicer things don't fit anymore, or I should say, most of all my things just don't fit me anymore, I went looking for clothes, mostly pants over the weekend. I didn't find much of anything except shirts. I feel so reluctant to buy those pregnant panel pants just yet, which is exactly my dillema. I have one pair of jeans that fits comfortably. That's it, no other bottoms I have except sweats fit me anymore. I know that whatever size I am now, will be much different two months from now. So why waste the money on weird panel pants?

Anyway, I ended up with a free morning in DC and used it as a chance to shop at H&M. Hello! The store there was awesome! They had maternity clothes (H&M Mama) ...for way cheap! I bought a few things, again...mostly shirts but also a pair of pants and a skirt. Progress! Unfortunately, H&M in SF does not carry the maternity line. Sigh. I'll have to wait until my trip to Philly next month so I can make a trip to the H&M in Cherry Hill.

Black Friday

I just read in this morning's paper that Zelda passed away on Wednesday. I am devistated. I really, really hope nothing about that restaurant changes.

Aww, I'll miss the chef


Joshua Ploeg will be in town while I'm in DC next week. I would have like to have tried to weasel my way into the dinner he's doing on the 17th. Out of luck. Anyway, I was thinking of him this morning because NPR had a Hidden Kitchens episode on today. This guy totally needs to be interviewed by the Kitchen Sisters.

If they mated?


One of the most fun things about having a baby is trying to figure out what it will look like. I hope it's tall with thick, wavy hair. On the other hand we could get something more treasure troll-like. Short, with large feet and thick, crazy hair. It's a gambler!

The other cool thing is not feeling guilty about giving in to a craving. Hey a burrito has beans & rice, which I think may be a complete vegetable protien.

I keep forgetting to bring home the new Futureheads. That's part of what's happening to me though. Growing a baby is something like the mental and physical equivalent to rock climbing. I get tired easy and I forget a lot of stuff. When we went to Big Sur, I completely forgot to pack pants. Pants! I had to wear the pair I brought with me all weekend. By the end of our trip, they could have walked themselves home. I also forgot to pay the car insurance and I drove Heylove to the sitter's place, but forgot her food at home. I'm on a roll these days.

Futureheads!


I got the new CD yesterday but I haven't listened to it yet because it's one of those advances that won't play on my computer at work. Bummer! I can't wait to hear it. Maybe Leon can h4xor into it at home. Gotta love Leon, he lives in the future.

It's true.


I'm pregnant and I'm pretty sure it's Leon's. We don't know yet if it's a boy, a girl or another little boston terrier (fingers crossed!).

I have to tell my boss today and I feel kind of nervous about it.

This just in: The Brittish eat gross food.


Okay, except for chips. Who doesn't like french fries though? But check these out...turkey twizzlers (pictured above). Those are breaded sausages. Yuck. I was watching Jamie Oliver's School Lunch Project last night and nearly puked at the sight of these disgusting things. No wonder he wants them banned from school's lunch menus. I know American kids eat just as poorly, but man, the brittish really got a gross thing going with these twizzlers. You could maybe increase the gross power of them by dipping them in mayo or cracking an egg on top. Hell, why not do both?

Blogging about blogs

My editors advise me that I am free to post more later this week. In that light, I'm blogging about a blog today.

KEXP, Seattle's all music answer to KCRW started a blog. Someone posted a little thing on it today about the Eighteenth Day of May...some English folky band that I've been interested in checking out for the last month when I heard about them from the label that distributes Hannibal. Hannibal hasn't put anything out in years (Nick Drake), and then they revive themselves this year to release this band. Anyway, there are some MP3s on that blog link and I've been playing them this morning. So far, eh...they're okay. I asked to get the full length so maybe I'll get a chance to listen to it a little more before I really decide if I like this.

The small things


Sometimes I get really stoked about the small things at work. The little things that don't really matter to anyone else but me and like one other person. Every now & then when this one girl in the art department has control of the itunes, she'll throw on some indie pop. Whenever this happens I send her an email freaking out about it. The other day she was playing a Heaveny song on her playlist. I fired off the following message: Heavenly!!! P.U.N.K. Girl!!!

We both kind of dork out about it a little. Once she asked me if I knew about the Brittle Stars. OMG?! What? I know the Brittle Stars! Well, one of them anyway. I don't think there's many other places I could work where this can happen.

Still stuffy


Poor Brisket is still waking up in the middle of the night not being able to breathe well through her nose. Poor thing. I need to call the vet today to see if maybe it could be something else.

I went to three barbeques this weekend. One Saturday for the Lootenany and then two on Sunday. I had one for Heather's baby shower at our place and then I went to one at Kalice & Cramille's place. Amazingly, I'm not tired of gardenburgers yet.

Oy, so much work to do today. I have to plan my trip to DC next week and I must do so in a way that all my meals are covered by people who want to take me out to lunch and dinner.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I met Alice's new guinea pigs! Terrence and Lionel make really cute noises. They also have sharper nails and softer fur than I expected. I could not immediately tell if Terrence was retarded as Alice claims. Or is Lionel supposed to be "special?"

Did Maggie just out her brother?


Rumors have been known to surface on certain gossip blogs about the sexual preference of Jake Gyllenhaal. Well! I was watching a Tivo'ed Martha Stewart from Monday or Tuesday and caught pregnant Maggie Gyllenhaal on a segment making tiny gazpachos (baby pandemic again). Naked Chef Jamie Oliver was also on the same episode.

Martha asks Maggie, "did you meet Jamie Oliver backstage?"
Maggie says something like, "oh he's great! My brother just loves him."
Martha then says, "Jake?"
Maggie says, "yeah! You know, because he's a young sexy chef and Jake's a young guy."
Audience errupts into "wooooo!!!" at the mention of "sexy."
Camera flashes to Jamie cooking backstage and blushing.

How did none of the gossip blogs catch this? I sure hope the Soup covers it tonight.

Sick as a dog


Poor Heylove has an upper respiratory infection. We don't know how she got it, but she's so miserable. The last couple of nights she's been pretty sleepless, trying so hard to breathe through her nose, but she's just too stuffy to get a satisfying breath. It keeps us all up at night. I took her to the vet yesterday to get this taken care of so hopefully she gets better soon.

Dude, I'm feeling so boring lately. Maybe this weekend will be better. There's that Lootenany thing that sounds fun, Leon's show tonight, then Sunday I'm hosting a baby shower for one of my many, many pregnant friends (it's a baby pandemic) and hitting a bbq later.

Sigh. Lost? Crazy. Top Model? Just what I thought would happen. Furonda got voted off. Her favorite food was corn. Furonda, you will be missed...sort of.

Der Leon


Yay, Leon is back! Well, he came back Monday, but I'm just getting around to noticing because I keep finding these giant shoes all over the house. Anyway, poor guy is still trying to hack the American time zone. Brisket was so excited to see him she went in to a fit of extreme snorting and coughing that happened to get really bad around 1:30 AM. Maybe Leon brought back a German dog flu. No, dude! I said bring Heylove back some German dog FOOD!

What else? Hmm, can't really say. My editors are totally on my back today.

Report from the blogging mexican contingent

Flags
Originally uploaded by thepostalservice.

I took yesterday off. When I planned this a few weeks ago, I chose May 1 because it was a Monday without any meetings, and I am dangerously close to maxing out my vacation bank. It turned out that the rally at the capitol was the same day, so I decided to go to that.

I took lightrail from 29th street at about 10:15 am. The cars were packed with tons of marchers all heading to the capitol, too. I got off at 8th & O and walked on over to the west steps where thousands had already gathered. As I wandered into the thick of the crowd, I couldn't help but be emotionally moved by the numbers that had turned out in support of the issues at hand. Before long, I was handed a little flag and the march was on. I really hesitate to call this demonstration more than a rally or a march. When I think of the word protest, I think of something much more agressive. The overall feeling of the event was positively charged and peaceful. There were familes there, kids in strollers, the very old and young. I did not notice many other minority groups aside from latinos though and I only saw a few white people.

Along the march around the capitol park and down L street to 4th and back up to the west steps via the captiol mall, I only viewed two counter demonstrators. One white power dude in red-laced docks carrying a sign that said "we built the fence, you jumped it." His presence was met with louder chants of "si se puede." Another guy, dressed in office casual was holding a sign that said "remember the alamo, invade Mexico!" Many of us were a little puzzled by that last one. As the parade progressed back to the capitol, the weather turned blazing hot. I did my best to find some shade near the west steps and tried to listen in on the speakers shouting from the PA on the steps. It was getting more and more crowded as the other marchers from south side park joined us. At about 1:30 I decided to take off. Since I vowed to not buy anything aside from lightrail tickets, grabbing a bite to eat downtown was off. So I got another lightrail ticket and waited for the train. Because of the march, the schedule was really delayed. I waited at least 30 minutes until the train arrived and then it was packed with demonstrators. I barely got on and had to stand in the stairwell all the way to 23rd street.

I'm really glad I went to this and showed my support. Immigration reform is needed, but not in the way that the House of Representatives is proposing. I guess you know how I'll be voting.

Okay, that's about as political as I get.