my angels

audrey and her dad

babies and trash

the life of a baby is ever changing, ever evolving. lil miss is sitting fairly well, trying to stand when you hold her up, and sort of attempting to crawl. that last one is sporadic. she is getting better about riding in the car on our way to the grocery store or the gym. and she still has a fondness for shopping. just the other day we spent hours looking for new toys and finally located a bag of wooden blocks and plastic connecting toys. she was pretty happy with the blocks. the plastic toys went to the tub with us and she sort of bats them around. her favorite toy in the tub is a disposable, red, plastic cup. of all the floating ducks, squirting frogs, and plastic connectors, she likes the cup best. why is it that the non-toys interest my baby more than the stuff i paid good money for? she loves foil wrappers, my stainless thermos, junk mail, and spoons. she also likes to chew on the reusable grocery bags i take with us to the store. her favorite is the purple one. she also likes the one made from used juice containers. it is colorful. i do not think i will be spending much more on toys but rather gathering up the odds and ends from around the house for her amusement. she has been a real delight today. which is good because there were a few days of terror. i will try to get up the cute picture i took this morning.

more adventures in kansas

we are having a good time back in lawrence. it has taken a few days to get adjusted and we still have not unpacked. i should say me and not we, lil miss cannot take care of her own clothing yet. speaking of clothing, her dad has been getting up with her in the morning and dressing her before bringing her to me. this should be normal except he has the oddest way of dressing her. the first morning it was a pair of overalls, no shirt. the next it was a forth of july one piece. and this morning it was a small top and pant set that looked like pajamas and was decidedly too small. i redressed her today. i try not to say anything because he is helping and who can complain about that. it is just funny. it may have something to do with the fact that her clean laundry is sitting in a basket instead of hanging in the closet. i would work on the laundry but audrey has been very needy the last few days. today i can at lease set her down for small periods before she screams. i know it is a phase but i am tired today and i want her to play by herself with the cool blocks i found for her. at least she still naps, i should not complain.

Card night

Old people can stay up late if there are cards involved.

saturday in the park

this trip has been great. my sister helps out a great deal with the baby, the cousins love to keep her entertained when we are on the road, and little miss is sleeping well now that she is used to her travel bed. we have spent so much time away from home she is starting to think that is her bed. i take it with me where ever we go and now i can put her down for a nap when she is tired rather than waiting until we get home. we all went to the pool today and every one had a good time except audrey. she screamed when we got in the pool so i moved to the toddler area and sat her at the edge. she screamed there as well. she finally learned to tolerate the water but not before i got beaned in the head with a water gun. a group of rowdy boys threw the toy in the air so high that when it hit me i was stunned for a moment. i had no idea what happened and it was all i could do not to drop the baby. my sister got in the pool and disiplined the boys because there was not a parent to be seen. after i recovered they started playing right in front of me and splashed water in the baby's face. i lost it then and told them to go to another area of the pool and stay out of my sight. i have a nice little knot on my forehead now from my relaxing day at the pool. war wounds from a saturday outing with the family.

Water baby

She likes watching more than swimming

Family

Audrey is learning music from Uncle Sam

Cousins

Kissin' cousins

Austin baby

Audrey is enjoying being spoiled by relatives. Aunt Cheryl fed her
this morning.

baby and grandpa montgomery

world travelers

we are home, briefly. and she sleeps. for some reason when we fly with joshua she screams the entire way home from the airport. i have yet to figure out why. it may have something to do with the fact that several times she was almost asleep and joshua would yell at the radio. he has an opinion about everything. i kept trying to get him to turn down the radio so she could sleep but then he could not hear over her fussing so he would turn it up. it was self fulfilling. i need to unpack and repack for our trip to austin in the morning. and i mean texas this time. i had no idea there was another one until i found out my mother-in-law was from austin, minnesota. we may go there for the burial service for joshua's grandma. it is undecided. what we have planned is a trip to the lake cabin. baby gets to learn to swim in a cold minnesota lake. rhonda promises it will be warm. last time i was there i froze, in june. we just have to find some cheap and easy way to get to fargo by plane without 10 stops. no one goes to fargo so it is a little difficult. i found a cool product called google reader which pulls from all the blogs i read when there is a new post. that way i only have to visit one site for everything. check it out. more tips to come. i am having more fun with this blogging thing recently.

Just like dad

She is starting her mt dew fixation early

Silly baby

I chew foil.

audrey's 6 month birthday

happy 6 months

so i have been publishing a lot of pictures without a lot of text. this is because i have finally learned how to mobile blog. i can take a picture with my phone and email it instantly to my blog. i can write but i found that sending pictures is easier. i hope this is of enjoyment to all. we are still in milwaukee enjoying the in-laws. i have been able to sleep in two mornings in a row. little miss gets up with grandma and i am able to have an extra 30 minutes to relax. today is audrey's 6 month birthday. we are thinking about having a little celebration. maybe we will get her a cupcake to gum.

Lake Michigan

Baby likes the beach.

Milwaukee baby

She is sitting up all on her own.

Princess has a pretty new chair at grandma and grandpas.

I found her at the gym like this and had to take a picture

fun with technology. i am trying to do the mobile blogging thing and it is not working so well. maybe it is a 1-2-3 error. i am going to keep after it.

gypsies

we are back from tulsa. but that is not where the fun ends. tomorrow we board a plane for milwaulkee and the in-laws. i love my in-laws so that part should be fun but the little one has been getting fussy for her bed and her sleep routine. i thought it might be a change she was making to her routine but now that we are back she is napping perfectly. i hope she is able to adjust because we will be gone for 7 days and then back for 1/2 a day and then down to austin to see my grandma and my sisters. we are traveling chics. joshua is going with us to milwaukee so that will be a nice family vacation. i am going to keep this short as i need to do a mountain of laundry before we leave. i will try to get pictures up later.

hitting the road

so it has been a few days. i keep meaning to write, really, but i have been busy. you will forgive me, right? i promise it will not happen again, honest. i am a good blogger. the baby and i have been busy. we are getting ready for the trip home and that always takes time. i had to take the recycling to drop off so there would be room in the car. then i stopped to get a few items from target, mainly because i love target and i needed an excuse. i packed the baby's bag and started the laundry, and then she tried to break my toe. i already mentioned that. i do not think it is really broken. tomorrow i have a pedicure, an investors dinner, and i still need to clean out the fridge. i have not even had much time to take pictures of the baby. i did get a short video of her trying to crawl. joshua says she will hate me when she is 16. i do not think it will take that long. the video is up on youtube. i will try to get a link here soon. my user name is ivycassidy but you can also search by her name, audrey rose.

babies are harmless

how can one so young cause so much trouble for everyone?
i broke my toe a few years back, stubbed it on a vacuum cleaner. i think i may have another broken toe. this time it was not my doing. the baby did it. really, she did. those cute photos of her eating in the little chair take place on the kitchen counter. she grabbed for a spoon in a mug as i was walking by and knocked the mug onto my toe. the nail is cracked. she just looked at me. joshua had to finish feeding her because i was too busy cussing. feeding, other than that one, are getting better. she eats better and will sometimes try new things. i got her to eat a little green beans and she ate some squash the other day. mostly she likes yogurt and bananas. and sweet potatoes.
check out my new gig:
www.larryville.com
i am a moderator for a local site joshua acquired. some fun we are having.

solid foods continued

so i almost knocked myself out with the dryer door. i opened it to put the clothing from the washer in only to find that the washer was empty. i proceeded to fill the washer with what has to be the worst smelling diapers ever, trying to steer clear of the stench. that is when i came into contact with the dryer door, still open from earlier. i knocked my glasses off and bent them. if i end up with a black eye i need a better story. maybe i will say that joshua wanted me to do the dishes and i said no. i wonder if he will appreciate the humor in that...
summer is almost here and the little one is wearing her cute little dresses, if anything at all. she has continued with the fun solid foods, trying sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, yogurt; and hating peas, and green beans. she is starting to eat three squares a day in addition to her nursings so she has put on a little weight. i call her chubba wubba. we will be in tulsa in a week for a family thing so we can visit the tulsa peoples. and everyone can pinch little chubba wubba's cheeks.

peas

so i cleaned the house, mostly. i am still working on it but the upper level is clean, mostly. we are having a get-together tomorrow and joshua wanted the house to look decent. i just wanted to find all the laundry. i would wash it, and throw it in a big pile in the basement to be folded while watching a movie some night. i kept falling asleep so the pile got bigger. now when we want clean clothing we go 'shopping' for outfits in the basement. i feel like i am 13 again and hiding the piles of laundry from my mom so i do not have to fold them. come 3pm tomorrow everyone is going to see my laundry habits. audrey has tried to help. she screams at me when i take her down there, as if to say, "mom, time to put away the laundry. you have to set a good example for me." maybe that is not what she is saying, it might be in my head. i have a new picture for the viewing pleasure of all... this is what happens when you try to get peas into audrey.

toys

we went to the farmer's market this morning. what a great idea! all kinds of people bake really good, local food and bring out their eggs, lettuce, meat, honey, and more. we purchased eggs, lettuce and wool yarn. i got the see a picture of the animal my wool came from. he was cute. audrey enjoyed seeing all of the dogs. she even got to pet a few. i really wish i had time to get her a dog. i think she would like an animal a great deal, probably more than i ever did. she is fascinated by every dog she sees. i am going to make time this week to visit the humane society to see if they need volunteers. that would be fun for both of us. all of the joy of a dog with none of the responsibility. and we would be helping out. i also wanted to add this photo, taken by and arranged by joshua. by arranged i mean that he arranged to have audrey play with all of her toys at once. and i do mean all of them. the picture does not show the entire play yard.

new menu

so as promised...sweet potatoes.
this has become her new favorite food. however, for a child who has had nothing but mom's milk and cereal up 'til now, this is not a big surprise. the sweet potatoes are a nice orange color that she enjoys rubbing all over her face and sometimes spitting at me. not because she does not like them, she has just discovered how to spit. oh the joys of motherhood. why did someone not tell me to get a plastic wardrobe earlier? she drools, she spits, and sometimes she leaks. there is a nice sound that goes with the spitting too, a humming that could be soothing if she did not have sweet potatoes in her mouth. i will try to get a little video once the new camera shows up.
next on the menu, peas or avocado?
i have yet to decide.

good times

if i avoid writing my papers do you think the professors will take the 'dog ate my homework' bit? i am so done with school and yet i am not finished. they will not give me my degree until i finish these classes. i want to just cry. i wonder if that will work? so i play the avoidance game. if i ignore it maybe it will go away. i am also avoiding cleaning the house, but that is a different story.
my little angel is learning to sit up. she still wobbles a great deal so, unlike joshua, i stay close so she does not hit her head on the coffee table when she topples. no, no, that never happened. honest.
the weather has turned nice for a brief period and she has pulled out her summer outfits. she mostly likes to chew on the edges of her dresses so i will need to keep her in those whenever possible. her 'singing voice' has increased as well. that is her father's term for the high pitched scream she emits when entertained, or tired. that is all for now. i will try to add info about the sweet potatoes soon. as larissa would say, 'good times.'

the life and times of audrey

little miss has been a joy and a trial these last few weeks. we are learning to get along, this includes sleeping from 7pm until 3 or 4am. she has also thoroughly taken to the solid food concept and has started to assist me in those feedings. she grabs at the spoon and tries to shove it in her mouth for me. i am not certain if this is because i am not doing it fast enough or if she just needs to be in control. i am leaning toward the latter. we have taken several trips recently and audrey has faired very well i feel. the first was a trip home in which she pleasantly rode in a car for 5 hours there and then repeated the act home. most of the time she slept but there were quite a few periods of quiet play in her seat. our next trip involved several plan rides to what turned out to be an annex of mexico located in the south of texas. she did well then as well. mostly i nursed her while she slept in my arms. the last leg of the journey home was not so pleasant because she did not want to nurse but rather have her own place to sleep. eventually she calmed down and slept on my lap. this was not until all of the passengers had decided to throw us out as soon as the door could be wrangled open. then she screamed during the entire car ride home. i believe that for a 5 month-old she did very well. joshua, however, has decided never to travel with small children again. and for the amusement of all, i include this photo. it was taken recently during what i like to call 'naked baby hour.'

messy

messy, originally uploaded by krisadair.

i am still having fun with the solid food thing. should feeding my child illicit such humor? obviously, i took more pictures. here is my favorite. she still looks at the camera with suspicion every time i bring it out. sleeping is still slowly getting better. she went down at 6pm yesterday and did not wake for her dream feed until 2am. then she slept until 6am. that made me happy. she is also asleep now. after a prolonged battle she decided to take a longer nap. i made have had a little influence in that decision. when i let her she will take 6 30 minute naps a day. i would rather she take 3 1-2 hour naps. i am currently winning this battle. it could turn on me at any moment though. we are going to a small town somewhere near corpus christy this weekend to be with joshua's grandma who is not doing well. travel is always fun with a baby. this trip will involve several hours on planes and in airports. i believe we even get to change planes. good times. i am wondering how i am going to pack everything. for instance, she eats in the cute little chair that helps her sit up. how am i going to get that in a suitcase? maybe joshua will know. actually, best not to ask him, he thinks there is little need for all of her stuff.

more sleep issues

nothing really exciting going on here. except the entire town is going crazy about the ncaa championship. the game is big news in a town that boasts the founder of basketball as its first coach. audrey and i are still working on sleeping. she has her good days and her bad. she mostly wakes me up a lot but i usually get to go right back to sleep as she is just crying in her sleep. tonight is no different. eventually she will actually sleep though the night and both of us will get some rest. i am reading a book by a woman who calls herself the baby whisperer. cheesiness aside it is actually a good book. she is british so the thing is full of references to mums and she keeps using the term ducky. supposedly it will help me get my baby on a routine in 2 weeks. we shall see.

pictures

she really is taking to the eating from a spoon thing. i only feed her solids in the evening and this morning she was eying my grits. i tried to tell her that grits are an acquired taste but she seemed to want some. maybe when she gets the hang of swallowing. on a happier note, we are all in various stages of sickness in this abode. i have allergies that have caused a cough and sore throat, audrey is teething with the accompanying runny nose and cough, joshua seems to have some sort of sympathy illness with unknown symptoms causing him to sleep a lot.





he was able to drag himself out of bed to go put a van downtown for the game. if you want to know about lawrence, ks read the ljworld.com website today and see how the town is preparing for the game. for instance, no missiles are allowed downtown tonight and you must be at the restaurant no later than noon if you want a table for the 8pm game. i bought audrey a shirt last week before the game and she is getting a lot of laughs for it when we go out. i am curious about downtown and may try to get down there some time today before bedtime. we will be asleep before the game starts so do not wake us with congrats when ku wins.

'solids'

several items of note: audrey had her first 'solid' food, we hired a nanny, sleeping is getting better, joshua is now working from home. also, i made a lasagna. this last item is major for me. i have tried and failed several times to make one and this time joshua had seconds, always a good sign. he even used one of my favorite lines while dishing his second helping, 'beware of showing competence.' i do not mind making dinners for him if he will eat them instead of poking and saying it is fine and then never touching it again. on another note, we went to the doctor this week for audrey's 4 month check up with it's accompanying round of shots. the shots went better this time but lil miss is not gaining weight as quick as they would like. the doctor strongly encouraged solids so we started with a little rice cereal. the instructions call for 1tbsp of cereal and 4-5 tbsp of liquid. this makes a runny mess that could hardly be considered solid. she had fun with it and joshua took a few pictures. they are up on my flickr if anyone cares or i will try to load one here soon.

the internet is infinite

I have been invited to a new site to share books. This sounds like a great idea since I am constantly recommending books to friends. If you would like to join me the site is Goodreads.

I have just started using it so I do not know much about it yet.

lil miss and her easter dress

easter2, originally uploaded by krisadair.

it is hard to see in this photo but it is a cute dress. it has little lambs on the front and is made of cotton. i love the matching bloomers and, apparently, so does audrey. she would not leave the dress alone and kept pulling it up to taste it. reminds me a a bit george used to do about little girls pulling up their dresses. she always said it was a trait women should not give up, that they would get further if they randomly pulled their dresses up over their heads. my little one certainly looks cute with her dress up. i wonder how i will feel about that in 15 years?

too girlie

it is official, she slept through the night. of course the crazy people who decide call sleeping through the night more than 5 hours. i do not believe waking me at 4am should be celebrated. i should have gone to bed after her 11pm feeding and maybe i would be happier about it. joshua wanted to watch tv together, then we decided a little adult relations would be nice and it was much later before i went to bed. i hope she can repeat the sleeping performance tonight and then i can join her. i do not even know what 6 hours in a row feels like.
today we will put lil miss in her easter dress and take pictures for grandma. joshua complains that i am making her too girlie by putting her in a dress. she usually wears jeans so i am uncertain as to why a dress one day is a problem. my problem is that she has learned to scream. it is not a cry but a high pitched scream and she loves to do it. i think she just likes the sound of her own voice. i am not complaining, i love her voice.

a&k

a&k, originally uploaded by krisadair.

Mom and baby playing together. We hung out in Tulsa with my sister, I got a new tattoo and shopped for fabric with my step-mom. All was well until my return to the mad daily life of Lawrence. I have tried to stop working and keep failing miserably. This time maybe it will last. We hired a new person and Joshua promptly fired me. There is so much else to do around the house and I still need to finish school work. And I could use a decent amount of sleep.

home again

after a four hour drive we are home. it was great to see the family and spend time in tulsa but it is nice to be home. the drive was relatively easy as the little one slept most of the way. she awoke once and demanded food at a truck stop. we stopped, she ate, and we went on. i am happy to be back in hopes that she sleeps better. we had a rough time sleeping at my dad's house; the last night she woke up every 30 minutes to an hour all night. at 3:45 my step-mom took over for me and i went to bed. if i could have only explained to audrey that i was driving the next day and she needed to let me sleep. she is sleeping now and i hope she stays that way. i am off to slumber land myself. it is good to be home, even though mine smells like paint right now.

mommy brain

i went shopping today to get a slow release food for the fish and new bras for me. my little angel went with and i had her in the front sling. everyone kept stopping me to look at her and marvel at the way she was being carried. it was like they had never seen a mother strap a baby to her chest and go about regular chores. it did end up a fiasco when i misplaced my purse and had to go retrieve it from customer service. i explained to the nice man behind the counter that i used to be smart and be able to remember things but then i had a child and now i have mommy brain. he smiled politely at me and said he understood. maybe it happens often in his store. some woman sets her purse down to look for a coupon for diapers because she is traveling and can not use the cloth ones on the road. she is thinking about all of these things and trying to decide which diapers would work best for her baby and then she calmly leaves her purse on the shelf. i bet the mother who found my purse and turned it in understood, i bet she has done the same. that is what i think anyway.

bathing beauty

bath pictures as promised. she loves her new friend the rubber duck.

love

i never knew love like this until i had a child. it hurts sometimes it is so strong. i just went to check on her to make sure she was ok while she slept. i think part of my problem is that i miss my dad so much. i really miss him. he should be here to share in my joy. i remember the look on his face when my brother was born. you never saw a prouder father. he was a good grandpa too. i thought it would get easier but it seems to be getting harder. maybe that is because i bottled it all up and did not deal with it when it happened.

audrey rose

audrey rose, originally uploaded by krisadair.

i made a mosaic of my little angel. she is screaming right now so it helps me to see her happy. we are starting to have fun in the bath but she hates to put clothes back on after. i will try to post the bath photos soon. yes i am having a little too much fun with technology. my smiling child is all over the internet.

let sleeping dogs lie

i am still new at the parenting thing. this is evident in my daily life when i do silly things like try to put an active baby to sleep by simply laying her in her crib. or, my best one yet, waking up because my child is talking to herself in her crib in the morning and going in to pick her up. she is happy and not making any sort of fuss yet i feel the need to rush in to see if she needs to eat. she was a perfect angel last night and so i was worried when she did not wake me up four times before 6am. rather she stayed in bed, happy until 6am. i need to have my head examined, or maybe just a few extra hours of sleep. i finally put her back in the crib to watch the mobile and she is happy. maybe next time she does this i will simply stay in bed until she cries for me.

how much farther?

we are having sleeping issues again. i am hesitant to try to do much about them as we are going to tulsa next week and that is bound to cause problems as well. i think the best thing to do is grin and bear it for a few weeks and work on the problems later. i know we can work through issues because we had a major problem with her sleeping in her crib for naps and now she does every time we are home. it took a few days of nothing but tears and now we have fewer problems. tonight she wanted to sleep on her tummy and almost got herself turned over. she works at it like a rolly polly on his back and she does not give up. at least then i have access to her back to pat her and calm her to sleep. our little angel is three months old now. who knew i could make it this far?

best_friends

best_friends, originally uploaded by krisadair.

audrey made a new best friend. she has long conversations with her friend.

my new web phone

Yes We Can

we had a moveon.org "yes we can" party tonight. fellow lawrencians came over to help us make calls to texas voters encouraging them to vote for senator obama on tuesday. it was great. i have never done anything like this before but i felt compelled to do something this time.
i keep going back to youtube.com for this video:

let us hope that tuesday goes well. audrey had a great time as usual. she would not nap during the party and kept wanting to talk to everyone.

mother's day, early

all of the troubles associated with being a mom really fly right out the window when your baby falls asleep on you. there is nothing that melts the heart quicker. she can be screaming one minute and asleep the next but the second she slumps on my shoulder i am at peace. i have been know to watch her sleep as well. i never understood that before.
joshua said a cute thing as i was getting up to feed the angel. he has been telling me what a wonderful mom i am, mostly to keep me from going crazy, and he said this year would be a good mother's day. he also stated that he understood the holiday now. i am sure his mother would be happy to hear that.

better, just barely

i am getting better everyday. except today. i have figured out what it means when she cries and when to put her down for a nap. but today she cried so hard and loud she turned purple. it upset me so much that i started crying. joshua was on a conference call and just shut the door on us. afterward he claimed not to have heard her cries.
i am finishing up a beautiful scarf and i will try to remember to post a picture before mailing it. it is a windy city scarf and it is for a swap. i love the way it has turned out.
i am off to bed to get a few winks before angel wakes again.

sleepless in larryville

i am starting to get used to the lack of sleep. i awake each morning around 7 (or earlier) and can not get back to sleep. joshua is on the 4-8 am shift so in theory i could sleep in. usually audrey is fussy or joshua can not get her to eat from her bottle, or any other number of reasons i need to help. it is getting to the point where i do not mind. she is getting a little easier to understand, i am getting used to it. we are all a little happier around chez montgomery. princess has gained quite a few pounds and now weighs in at 11 05. she is starting to look like a chubby little baby. we are off to costco and the baby store today to stock the freezer and baby room with supplies. it is not as easy to pop over to kc now so we have to make special plans. larissa is going with me so that i have help if needed.

you tube

yes i am one of those mothers. i took a video of my child doing absolutely nothing. well, she was playing with the mobile. i thought it was cute, so cute i loaded it to youtube and sent it to the in-laws. now i am putting it on my blog because that sounds like fun. blogs are very egotistical anyway. we know they are there just to make the writer feel better. i feel better now.

obama_audrey

obama_audrey, originally uploaded by krisadair.

Audrey had her first caucus. It was tiring. We spent 3 hours in order to get our voice heard. I am going to writing my representatives and complain, caucusing is not fun.

not much better today

we had another rough night and slightly difficult day. she woke up every hour for four hours until joshua rolled her on to her stomach. she was fine for four hours after that. she spit up all over both of us while she was eating. then again four more times until we left for the gym. i was ready to put her out with the trash today until she finally went down for a two hour nap. i slept then as well. i would like to someday get back to being able to craft or even keep my house reasonably clean.
i found thanksgiving pictures from before our angel was born. look how happy we were. so excited and ready to be parents. why did someone not try to tell us it was going to be so much work? maybe they did and we did not believe them. i love my angel but i am going to love her more when she sleeps for more than an hour at a time.

parenting 101

i took the class. at no time did they say that my child would look at me and spit up, or scream in my ear when i tried to burp her. she has been a pill today, but look how cute she is. and she smiles at me every time i change her diaper.

My creation

My creation, originally uploaded by krisadair.

My latest flickr creation. My loves. Notice the fabric, magazine covers, and chocolate!

new addition

i say new but she is two months old. i am still trying to get the hang of this mothering job. she is a vocal child and that means she screams at me a lot. when we go to visit people she does ok so everyone just thinks she is cute. i know better, at 4am she is not so cute. and then she smiles at me after a feeding or a diaper change and my heart melts. being a parent is the toughest job i have ever had and i am no slouch. i have much more respect for single parents now.

sleepless in the third trimester

i have reached the sleepless stage of pregnancy. well, i sleep but it is in fits and spurts. some nights i sleep very little and then nap a little during the day. some nights i sleep all the way through and then nap a lot during the day. who knows, i may be getting just the right amount of sleep over the week but in strange amounts. we are still working on the house. the floors are done, air conditioner is in, and joshua's shed is up. he has to have them come back and fix the roof of it but otherwise it is great. he takes pictures of it all the time and since he moded his iphone to connect to his flickr anyone who cares can see it. his account name is oojoshua. please ignore all the unflattering pregnant pictures. i am just happy he is interested in filming me at all, i look like a cow. the reason i got out of bed tonight is because i was hungry. i wake up in the middle of the night to eat now. or sometimes i just need a tall glass of water, with ice. i have been eating a lot of ice. tonight it seems that a few mini scones and some dried papaya are all i need. i cleaned the kitchen yesterday and joshua wanted to know if this meant the baby was coming. he did pay attention in birthing class when they talked about nesting. now he wants another sonogram to make sure she is not breech. i have tried explaining that the birth is a month away and she has plenty of time to turn but he is still worried. he can now feel her and tell that she is laying sidewise with her head in my side. i should get some sympathy but instead he is worried about his child. at least i know he will make a good dad. he bought batteries for all the smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors. i am just excited to get my new washer and dryer. i can not use them yet because the plumbing is not secure in parts of the house so we can not turn the water on. i am biding my time. they are so pretty and new. i even went out and bought the special soap for the washer so i would be ready. mary already posted a clip about the happy song it makes so i will not bother.

new floors

So I realized that not only have I not been blogging but I have not put up photos of the new house. It is still being worked on so we have not move in yet but I did get most of my new floor today and am so excited to see the finished product. They will start sanding and hopefully get the finish done tomorrow as well. The hard part then is the wait for the floors to dry so I can get back upstairs. All of the main rooms are on the upper floor so I am stuck in the basement until they finish. Maybe this is a good time to shop for light fixtures. I have been to Home Depot just about 20 times looking at everything. The couch arrived today as well. It is beautiful! I bought it online. I have never purchased furniture online before, it was a little scary. It came from Target so I figured it was safe. Tomorrow I get to clean the basement walls and putty. Joshua won't let me paint or I would start on that as well. He bought "odorless" Kilz, how many really think it does not smell? Our house was unoccupied for 3 years because it was foreclosed so with no light or air the walls got a little mildew in the basement. It would not be a fixer upper if there was not a lot to do. Just for fun I will put up a photo of the kitchen before and then when it is finished I will add an update.
Notice the lack of cabinets and appliances. We have had to do everything in the kitchen. It is a small room though so it has not been too bad. It is a cute little house, just big enough for the three of us. It is more like 2 1/2 right now but I am getting bigger by the day. We are in the 33rd week. I could do without the heartburn but I am not looking forward to the sleepless nights. Fortunately, I am having her around the holidays so everyone is able to visit and I will have a lot of help in the beginning. I am starting to get a little nervous.

is it tomorrow yet?

i spent another weekend at home. this will be my last for a few weeks. it was an average weekend but i was just not having a good time of it. i spent time with my sister, brother, dad and step-mom, and even got to see george and derek. i should have been happy. my mother called and left guilt-ridden messages and then proceeded to call me 20 times in one day. i think it may be time to cut off her phone. cheryl and lee both want her to have one but i for one am not happy about her harassing me. i ended up spending most of sunday sleeping because i felt bad and then had a terrible night sunday. my daughter is still exploring her space and sometimes really gets to kicking me. that plus the heartburn made it a rough night. i finally got out the door monday around noon then had to stop half way and take a nap. when i arrived home i was sad, tired, and not feeling great so i went directly to bed. joshua came home with a hideous handle-bar mustache that he thought was funny and then told me i had to put up with it for another month. that really did not sit well with me so i got even more depressed. a warm bath helped a little and then i decided to continue on my quest for new decorations for the house we bought. really all i need is a good cry and some cookie dough. maybe i can even get enough energy to go to work tomorrow.

a new day

joshua and i are taking the day off. he is still in bed at noon. that is the best place for him. he has worked so hard this year and has been supportive of me through everything. we are going to have lunch with friends, yes friends. we have two nice couples we hang out with. actually they are the girls from my yarn group and their husbands but joshua knew one of the husbands before we moved here and the other is an engineer so we are hoping they speak the same language. after lunch we will hang out a bit and then head to kc to have dinner with joshua's cousin and aunt. i actually need to end this now so i can make my hair lay flat.
i just wanted to say that today seems like a better day.

coming to terms

it has been a tough month. i almost said weeks but then i realized that it has been longer than that. my wonderful second dad died august 11th and i am still working that out. he was a father for me when mine could not be. and even though my mother left him when i was a teenager he still was my dad. he helped me with homework, helped pay for college, gave me advice when i asked and was going to be a really wonderful grandpa to my audrey. my step-father passed suddenly at the young age of 52. we are all still trying to pull ourselves together and work through the pain. lee and his girlfriend will move into the house once it is fixed up for them so we will always have a place to go visit. mom still has a hard time talking about it with anyone. i do ok except at night when i have stopped thinking about my everyday life. last night was pretty rough and joshua did not know what to do with me. he wants to be able to fix everything and there is really nothing he can do. if i craved ice cream or pizza he would run to the store for it but there is nothing really i want.
my sis just called and we talked for a while, comparing our lives. remarkably, we are going through the same stages. i told her that i keep thinking about the little things like the state fair coming up at the end of the month. bob always took the kids to the fair. his birthday is next month, what will we do? christmas will be the worst i feel, or maybe when audrey is born. i got online with the tulsa world and read the nice things people said about bob on the guestbook. that made me cry as well.

the travelers return

we are back from the family reunion and i am happy to say that no one was hurt in the final days of forced family love. it was another awesome cruise and i was glad to see my sisters. ashley is looking very preggers and we are excited for her to have another boy. i, on the other hand, just look fat. i wish i could put up a nice, cute pregnant pic but they all turn out with me having a double chin (which i do not have, yet) or there is an abundance of fat hanging from my arms. i will see what i can do about having some photos specially edited to show the belly but not the other horrible side effects of pregnant existence. i can not really spend too much time here, my mother-in-law will be here in mere hours!

our alien

we had our sonogram and it is an alien. all of the measurements are right on for the due date for december 2nd. and it is a girl. they took a picture of her privates to show us. joshua is coming to terms with the fact that there will be more females in his house than males. he is just as happy as i am that she is healthy looking and has good measurements. we sent the pictures to a few individuals but i did not force it on any who did not want to see. if you can tell what the blobs look like then i would be happy to send the pictures. to me it looks like an alien. but she is my alien and i love her.

happy 4th!

no rest for the wicked

tomorrow is the big day for us. joshua and i are very excited to find out the sex of our baby. the sonogram is at 9am so i do not have to wait long now. before bed last night joshua placed his hand on my belly and just left it there for a while. i thought he was asleep but then he said he was trying to feel the baby move. these past few weeks i have started to feel small movements but apparently they are too small to feel from the outside. the journal i have says the baby is big enough to fit in the palm of my hand. that seems so small to me considering the movements and my size. i tell joshua that it is easy to tell this is his child because the little one is always moving a foot, always kicking me.
i took the day off yesterday and slept mostly. today i need to finish laundry and really start working on the little one's room. it is piled high with crap that i can not find room for elsewhere. i still have a number of months left but i would like to get something put together soon. the crib is ready for us to pick up we just need to find time to drive up to des moines and get it. i love the fact that joshua's crib is the one we will use for our child; i am sentimental like that.

strange days

some days you think are going to be great...and then you leave your phone at home and your family can not reach you so they call your boyfriend instead who has to deliver the news of a death in the family. on a good note i had a great hair cut and pretty stripes put in my hair today. your stylist should be a form of therapy. one of the guys who works for us is dating a great stylist so we had a good chat while she added my pretty colors. i have decided i can become a trophy wife if given the proper resources and the right motivation. i like to have my hair fluffed and my nails done and all the girlie things.
not much to say tonight. i need to pack a small bag for tulsa and maybe put a pretty color on my toes. good news is that my stepmom bought me a black maternity dress so i already have something to wear. no need to worry, it was not a close family member but those who know me understand that my mom's family is close so i need to be there to be supportive. i actually feel a bit guilty for not being upset. i had not seen her much these last 10 years so it is not someone whose presence i will miss. i hope the family holds up alright.

proud parents

i am starting to wrap my mind around the parenting idea. i have had an ideal pregnancy so i tend to forget at times that we will be parents this year. joshua attended my appointment this week and was able to hear the heartbeat with me. he is very calm and seems not excited at all about the changes to come. the only time he becomes agitated is when we discuss financial matters. he wants to buy a house before the baby comes even though i would rather wait. we are renting a small place and i do realize that more room would do us good but i want to wait for the right place first. i am more excited about getting this place ready than spending hours looking for a house.
we leave for another family trip in a few weeks and i will finally be able to spend time after to change my craft room to a baby's room. i should get the crib from joshua's parents later this summer and then all i need is to convert the dresser to a changing table. i believe my stepmom would rather i buy all new furniture so that she may help pick it out. she has already purchased a new wardrobe for me and several items for the baby. joshua is crazed that we have so many items already for a baby not yet born. my sister gave me her stroller as she is getting a double and it comes with the infant seat and two bases. i am a bit amazed at everything already. it seems i shall not want for much and yet i have dozens of items in the baby registry at babies r us and target baby. still no pictures as i still just look fat. maybe i will feel more up to it soon. i have gained a total of 7 lbs to date, 4 this month. the doctor says that is great.

more late nights

i have started to get my energy back and am able to stay awake late like i used to. i had my usual thursday with the girls and came home to watch a movie after. i am almost like my old self except that my pants do not fit. i still plan to take pictures soon.

summer is here!

i am enjoying happy warm days with no coats. also all the new clothing my step mom bought me. i am starting to show and so now when i wear my regular shirts i look a bit pudgy. the girls in my knitting circle claim i really do not look fat because the weight is all in my belly. i had to get new pants since mine do not fit well anymore.
i guess i should confirm, for those i have yet to speak with, i am having an alien, or a child. the verdict is still out on that one. we should know which version next month. i am thinking about posting a few pictures because i am starting to show. it is a little odd. i have wanted children for a few years now and i am finally starting my little family with joshua. no one told me i would have crazy dreams. i thought i would gain a little weight maybe get sick and complain about my back hurting. instead i have strange dreams and i have lost my mind. pregnant woman lose their minds. i will try to get a picture up soon.

i should be sleeping

i have this weird problem recently having to do with being tired all the time. i come home from class and can not keep my eyes open long enough to study or do any reading. i decide to take a nap and then two hours later wake up feeling better. this is fine except that i have trouble sleeping sometimes after my nap, even if i am tired. i know it is mainly hormones making me tired but there must be something i can do to get around this problem. i have tried staying up and not napping but that just makes me cranky (and we know joshua loves me when i am tired) and then i tend to sleep for 12 hours. it is nearly midnight, i am exhausted and unable to sleep. i do not want to take anything because i tend to get more tired with medication. maybe this will simply be a good time to get caught up with my blogs. i got a new camera for my birthday and will try to post some pictures. it even takes 30 minute films so i have a fabulous one of a certain someone in drag at a benefit show! if not properly bribed i may post it soon.

hopefully more to come...

no time to clean

Life has turned into a roller coaster again. I just got back from a two day conference in Wichita, meanwhile Joshua had a meeting with a town north of Wichita about setting up a wifi project. He then headed to Tulsa for some computer boards, a PE stamp on some drawings, and a meeting with the guy who runs Tulsa metronet. He left Tulsa around 10:30 and ended up having to stop half way for rest. After arriving in Lawrence he went straight to work and finished his presentation for Friday. It is now 9am and he is just now home. I am up and about ready for class. Once I am finished with school I have a work project due and my knitting circle that takes place every Thursday night. Joshua will leave this evening for Wichita and give his presentation in the morning. He will rerturn home tomorrow night and we will get a few hours together after work. Saturday I am headed home for a barbecue thrown in my honor and Joshua will be playing the role of a leprechaun in the St. Patty's Day parade. I return Tuesday and will head back to work because my boss will be out Wed and Thurs for her chemo treatment. This is very typical.

spring

apparently i am not alone out there in cyber land after all. i assumed that no one would read my blog since it has been months without a post. my vet sent a donation to the local vet school in cassady's name. they also sent me a condolence card right after it happened. for those i have not spoken with, cassady went into kidney failure and we decided to not prolong his suffering. it was a very hard week but joshua helped me through it.
in other news, we are trying to have a baby. i am sure this will also be shocking. it must be part of my martha stewart phase. i will try to keep up to date with this developing story.
i really do like spring. winter is not my favorite time but spring and fall are beautiful seasons.

in a weird mood

it is late and i am sitting up surfing in bed. no real reason, just insomnia. that has been happening a bit lately.
i miss my cat.

better now

the cat and i spent most of yesterday morning in vet offices. we went back to the one i have been using with joshua there to help. everything worked out well but we had to go to a specialist in kc. that cost another $250. turns out it is probably just a bad case of a feline herpes outbreak. i told the specialist it was the week before finals and he said that maybe cassady was stressing for me. funny.
i am not so mad anymore. we have two sets of eye drops three times a day, a goo to lick off his paws, and two more liquids to shove in his mouth. looking forward to finals!
i was inducted as a member of phi alpha theta yesterday. joshua attended and took one picture. just one. and you can not see my face. boys.
we are going to work on finances now so we can make things better. did i mention the hundreds i spent on the cat? joshua has been helpful about it.

do not mess with my cat

There is nothing like going to the doctor to make you feel stupid for skipping science class. They can tell you anything and you will believe it simply because you know no better. After a $30 co-pay and $15 for the generic medication, hopefully, you are on your way to better health. That is if you have insurance. If not you had better hope the doctor accepts payments or you may have to stay after to wash dishes. I ran up a 10k doctor bill when I was 21 because I did not have insurance. I have some now. The cat does not.

Now imagine it is not you who are sick but your cat. If you are like many your cat is a member of the family and there is nothing you would not do for the sick animal. The problem is you still skipped science class and therefore have no clue what the vet is talking about.

This is exactly what happened to my cat Cassady and I. One day Cassady’s eye swelled shut, I decided to wait to see if it got better the next day. I was not rewarded for my wait as he seemed worse the next day. Fortunately, my vet had an appointment for me first thing the third morning. By this time both the cat and I are miserable.

Everyone at the Lawrence Veterinary Hospital seemed very helpful and caring at first. The receptionist gets me right in with what I will call the nurse for a lack of a better idea. She does the usual, weight, temperature, and symptoms while we wait for the vet. We have a few moments so I tell her about how he gets colds all the time with sneezing and mucus. Then the vet arrives to look important and sound serious. He tells me, after a cursory look, that it may be an abscessed tooth or a tumor and that we will need to sedate him and take x-rays. At this point I should add that my childhood pet died of a tumor in his ear.

I tried not to get emotional because it is the week before finals and I knew I was stressed. Then comes the good news, it may run as much as $465 and some odd change. They drew up an estimate for me to sign and I agreed instantly because I just wanted my cat to be alive and healthy. Then I left him there. I received a call later from the vet saying that all of the x-rays and tests were complete, meaning all my money spent, and I could pick Cassady up around 3pm. Moreover, he had no clue what was wrong. The nice nurse showed me how to administer the meds and how much and often. We went home.

Three days later the cat and I were both just as miserable. I called the vet back and the nice nurse lady answered. She sounded genuinely concerned and suggested I come in the next morning to see the other vet in the office who has years of experience with cats. This remark sounded odd but I let it pass.

By the time Joshua and I returned from the movie later that night I was about to cry from looking at my poor, miserable cat. Joshua decided to Google it and in two minutes had the answer. Cassady has a very common case of feline herpes. The key word in that sentence is common. I am just glad that my job making $10 an hour was enough to cover the $465 vet bill. I am going back with my digital voice recorder. The cat and I are pissed. We want the money back and proper treatment.

happy birthday cheryl!

it is officially dead week. our library has decided to stay open 24/7 and service coffee, tea, and cocoa. this is a good thing. i may just take them up on that. i continue to work hard at the papers i should have written weeks ago. i still have made no progress on my african warlords paper but all the others are coming along. this is really all my life is about currently so no fun to report. except that joshua and i did go see 'for your consideration.' any who want to laugh at hollywood should take the time to catch this flick.
today is my sister's 30th birthday and i called her earlier. all is well in t-town. they went out to celebrate last night and cheryl got a tattoo. i forgot to ask what of. no more time for now.
must write papers...

out from hiding

i never finished the paper on african warlord politics but i did get a few pages into it. now i am plugging away at my historiography and hoping i am moving in the right direction. it is nine pages currently and i am no where near finished. this is a surprising change of pace as i am usually short, not long on my papers. today is to be devoted entirely to writing as i still have a paper on kwame nkrumah i have not even begun writing that is due wed. i am not sweating it because i have done all the research.
we are slowly crawling out from the ice. i liked the snow but the ice was a bit dangerous. i nearly wiped out many times. now if i could only get joshua to finish with the garage so i can park the car there. it would not have helped much this time as the ice prevented me from getting the car up the driveway. i was a fun game though, i would drive up and the car would slide back down. i finally had to park in the empty house next door's driveway.
must be short today as i need to spend my writing energy on school papers. i wonder if i could just turn in my blog url and ask for a grade from it?

winter wonderland

i skipped classes today to write a paper and the entire world turned to ice. i got out last around noon and the rain was becoming harder. by 1pm it was icing and by 3pm it was a complete mess.instead of writing my paper i decided to take a short break to watch black hawk down (i am doing african history, it was 'research') and never made it back to writing. joshua then came home and recanted a tale about getting up and going to work at 3am and nearly burning down the office with a faulty toaster. the smoke detector did not go off until the office was full of black smoke. and then the absent minded professor did not notice the alarm for a bit. by the time he got to the toaster flames were shooting out if it. i arrived several hours later to find the front door propped open and only the new secretary in the office. she had no idea what happened. i
nearly peed myself after hearing thatjoshua burned his bagel and almost took everything out. i guess it was more entertaining after the fact. i want to go find the toaster and take a picture but the wind chill is around 9 currently and ice is still falling from the sky. i will try to keep up on this one.
on a good note- joshua is cutting a deal for 700mhz spectrum so we will not have to fight cingular over the bleed from their 850 into our 900. this could be a very big deal. toaster burning aside, he had a good day.
things are going better for us after he lost his temper the other night.
if i remember i will put up a few photos, joshua has yet to get them off the camera for me and he took it away so i can not retrive them. this post rambles, but what of mine do not?

more from nc

I visited Mary and Tim! It was just as you might expect, we talked so much that hours passed and we did not even notice. Joshua had to call to see if I was ever coming home again. I will try to take time later to tell more; I just wanted to get something up.

greetings from nc

i decided to post briefly while i waited for mary to show up for our day together. my excuse for not posting has been that i am too busy and at this moment i can not seem to get any work done. joshua has taken to watching random utube videos and it is annoying. i will try to put up a few photos soon of my travels in north carolina. it is beautiful here and very relaxing. if it had not been for the fact that we traveled on black wednesday it would have been a nice trip. i scheduled the first flight out of kansas city and when we arrived there was a 10 minute wait at the sky cab. we flew through nashville and things were not too bad there other than the food lines were enormous. when we arrived in raleigh/durham the airport was so packed that there was little room to walk as the people were standing or sitting on every available spot. turkey was fabulous and i stuffed myself. more to come.....hopefully.

fun with elections

how about a little teaser for now...

Lawrencian
I edited this because the link did not work. Search for the article titled Protesters Greet President Bush in Topeka.

more of the same

this weekend was great. i went home to help host a 50th birthday party for my mom. most everyone showed up and we all ate too much food. she loved the quilt i made her and the cake from merritts was almost as good as the price tag. the problem is trying to get caught up after taking a day off to go to town early because of other people's problems. i think i am getting better at it. i have two papers due next week and a midterm. if i spend all of my time working on them i should get ahead enough to begin working on the historiography due at the end of the semester. who cares if the house is a mess? the laundry is clean and the cat is sleeping on it as we speak. if i get tired of writing i can always fold and put it away. so basically life is normal. i did get a letter from roddy saying that boot camp was fine and he is joining the 101st airborn. i should be proud but i am scared for him. i know this is what he wanted and i should support him. in other news, larissa and i are making another knitting friend who comes to our thursday night group. it is nice to have that time to get away from school and work and housework. and it is nice to have girlfriends.

miss me?

i have been gone too long. my argument was that i was too busy, and i guess that is true. joshua finally tracked down my blog and i am sure that took some of the wind from my sail. no matter, i am back and plan to keep up this time. all kinds of things have changed. i got caught up on finances, am reading my course books, and i even made cake. the guys at work call it my baking phase. i made carrot cake, banana bread, amish friendship bread, strawberry pie, and a birthday cake for leah and becky (they turned 21). no one seems to mind as the food is always gone the next day. we hired a few more employees and are now operating a 7 day work week. joshua got a local investor, the guys got our hotspot payment gateway up (something about layer 2 routing, i am not that smart) and i met a fellow hornet while attending a workshop on financial statements (who cares about balance sheets or a p&l report?)
i am beginning to wonder if anyone will read my blog now that i have been gone so long.
i forgot, this publishes to my facebook automatically, so some will see parts of it, if they see my facebook.
we made plans for turkey day to visit joshua's brother in north carolina and tulsa for christmas. i have started on 4 of my handmade gifts and actually have most of one finshed. larissa and i knit and crochet on thursday evenings and we bake once a month. i told you she was my kind of girl. and i am babysitting tomorrow evening so they can go to dinner. it will be my turn soon. if things go as they are currently, in another year we will be able to settle down, buy a house and start our family.
i leave on that note, long day tomorrow and i still have reading to do.

hmm, time off?

i have not been blogging. school keeps getting in the way. or is it all this work? i am trying to get caught up so that i can knit or hang out with larissa or read a book. every day that i spend working seems to create more work to do. is it supposed to be that way. for now i will have to live with less time to blog and more homework. if i get caught up at work i may be able to have a normal life again.

lil miss sunshine

the fun never ends. last weekend visiting tulsa was fabulous. i saw old friends from high school, hung out at caz's, got to see most of the family, and then raced back home in time to get ready for school monday morning. school this week has been great. i started my senior year and it shows; many of the classes have culminating papers and i started a class that has as part of its purpose to prepare me for my senior thesis. however, i love it all. none of my classes is dull this semester and each of my instructors is smart, engaging, and seem very capable of helping me learn.
i spent a wonderful weekend hanging out with larissa, going on a date with joshua, and even doing a little homework. the rest of this rainy weekend will be spent doing laundry, reading, and starting on christmas crafts. oh, and i meet a sweet woman at michael's while shopping for knitting needles. she teaches a class on sock knitting which i plan to take next month. i am feeling on top of the world today.
the rain has kept the weather cool and i have felt more up to getting things done. yesterday larissa and i made apple butter; just like my grandma used to make. today i am going to try to come up with recipes using carrots to get rid of the seemingly endless supply in the fridge.
i leave on this statement: everyone must go see lil miss sunshine, if you have not already. i laughed so hard i annoyed the guy next to me with my screeching howls. i can not say enough great things about this movie. if it is not playing in your town, buy it when it comes out on dvd.

are we there yet?

i have not posted in a few days, not because nothing is going on but there has been no time. this weekend was a blur, school started yesterday, work is backed up already, and i need to do the laundry. i will try to spend a little time catching up soon as i have fun stuff to share from this weekend.

ugly day

today was a pisser. mom called at 8:30 to tell me the computer would not turn on; i diagnosed it as a bad power supply and tried to roll over. failing at that i got up to begin my day of work. for some reason i was not able to focus and ended up surfing the internet for a few hours. at about 11 i finally decided to work but found i could not log into the website i needed to work with. so i left to deal with getting a new cell phone for our sales guy. there is nothing that makes you feel more raped than buying a cell phone and plan. with that accomplished i headed back to the office to deliver the phone. the office was a black hole and i was stuck there for the next 5 hours. in order to amuse ourselves we logged into joshua's computer and changed his wallpaper to the logo of our competitor. for some reason he did not notice for a few hours. it is no fun unless the jokee gets mad. finally i made it back home to the stack of paperwork i had to manage before i left the house at noon. tomorrow has to be better.
ps the cat is missing

last week free

happiness continues this week. i have made an absolute mess of my office but that comes with getting used to the space. they are learning to get along without me in the main office and have started sending emails or calling when they need help. i may actually get this together this semester and be a very calm girl. on that note, i heard that one of my professors is very tough and to punctuate that he has already sent the syllabi (two classes with him) and as soon as they let him on a plane back from england he will be sending more info over. i went to school today to pick up the rest of my books so i can get ahead of the game. the books look good so let us hope the classes are fun as well.
i am going home this weekend for one last hurrah before getting crazy busy again. plans have already been made to hang out with friends from high school and my lil sis is coming along. good times, good people. the only drag is that i must go over to the rent house and spray for spiders; they are not able to do that for themselves. and she wants to paint the master blue. i am not sure she saw the perfectly white house; blue? over my dead body. i worked really hard on that place and i want it to stay perfect.

defcon pics

as usual i was being a dork at defcon and decided a self portrait was needed. amazingly enough my camera comes with a self portrait feature. there are apparently enough of us dorks out there to warrant a special setting. i look like my mother in this photo. luckily you can not see the four missing teeth because i conveniently did not smile. joshua looks smashing as usual.

yeah, i am a nerd

by the way...i got a 4.0 for the summer semester.

happy days are here again

larrisa stopped by to return some books she borrowed and sat to chat with me for a few. after she asked how things were (did she really or did i just start ranting?) i went into my usual about how busy/stressed/tired/overworked i am. while i was spouting the same ole i started to get sick of hear myself complain again. so then i told her some of the good things that have been going on. i am getting caught up at work; already purchased my school books and have done a little reading; the laundry is almost finished and the dishwasher is humming its last load; my house is pretty clean and the bills are paid (almost!). it made me feel better just telling her those things. somehow my load seemed lifted and i could see the light. before she left we decided to plan a knitting/crochet group at the local coffee shop so that we can meet other, likeminded (and helpful) people to work on projects with. i have yet to finish my blanket for my mother but i decided to start on a simple shoulder bag for me in the meantime.
life is pretty good today. i worked hard loading and unloading donated imacs to refurbish for a native american after school program (see info).
I hope this look on the bright side feeling lasts. I am baking bread for the boys at work and i do not want to suddenly go into a depressing binge and eat the entire two loaves.

all your base are belong to us

i have been working in the office all week and now feel like i am a true geek.
chown -r us/base
i want to learn a bit more so i can be a better translate for the norms.

hack the planet

so, i attended my first defcon and it was everything i expected. there were geeks wearing black shirts with bionary code messages. joshua taught me how to say 'all your base are belong to us' in unix but i forgot. i decided not to participate in the scavanger hunt even though i could get an automatic 60 points by showing my boobs and letting a team member tag them in permenant marker. the team who drug a 5 foot platform around the contest area exclaiming, 'arg, i am a pirate and i am walking the plank' ended up winning that contest. joshua had a great time but did not end up winning in the bot competition (he would have but the leds stopped working and the university of utah sent an entire class). i was proud of him because he worked hard on his entry. he has decided to win next year so he can claim the coveted black badge. it turns out that computer people are easy to spot, even in vegas. i mostly hung out and watched, caught a few seminars, and made friends with the attendees. a good time was had by all.

vegas baby!

i wait for the plane to open up to let me on board and then it is vegas baby! for some reason i allowed joshua to talk me into going to defcon this year. he said it would be like a vacation. i am not a big gambler and there is something about the desert that makes me think i may not be thrilled with the weather. and yet here i wait in kci for a plane heading to tulsa of all places. who knew that in order to get to vegas from kci one would need to jaunt thru tulsa international airport. i really want to know what international flights are actually going out of tulsa. maybe they were just too cheap to get a name. a lot of airports have nice names.

yea homework!

this post is called avoiding homework. i have one last class tonight for which i am supposed to have a review of a book we read. i am almost finished with the book but frankly do not care to write the review. i think i am burned on school for a bit. we are leaving for defcon in the am and i am not packed. i still need to clean the kitchen and finish some laundry. yet here i sit not doing my homework. i have been fairly successful at avoiding work as well. the only thing besides reading i have done in the past few days has to do with the rent house in tulsa. our new tenants are moving in so i finally had to get everything scheduled. the reading has not been so bad, mostly. we have three books for this class and two of them are very enjoyable; the third is an instant sleeping pill. i guess i will get back at it. do not be surprises if you see another post today. i am really through with the school shit.

just say no

the recovery process is going fine. i long to eat but other than that i am ok. when i talk air rushes out the newly formed spaces and i sound even worse. the lisping with the braces was bad enough. for some reason i can not get the memory out of my head of the nice dentist/doctor prying the teeth from my mouth. i originally was going to take care of myself so i told them local only, no general, so i could drive myself home. they give you the shots like they are going to fill a cavity and then they yank the teeth out. for some i felt the pressure, others just came out. she gave me one stitch for each missing tooth. and yes, they hurt. i had to take the hydrocodone before class and have joshua drive me. then i explained to the nice professor that i was stoned and could not give my prsentation tonight. i wonder if i will get points off for that?